The Cabinet Office announced that Prime Minister Perry G. Christie, has advised the Governor-General to complete the formation of the new cabinet with the following additional ministerial appointments:
- Frederick A. Mitchell – Minister Of Foreign Affairs And Immigration
- V. Alfred Gray – Minister Of Agriculture, Marine Resources And Local Government
- Shane Gibson – Minister Of Labour And National Insurance
- Glenys Hanna Martin – Minister Of Transport And Aviation
- Melanie Griffin – Minister Of Social Services
- Dr. Michael Darville – Minister For Grand Bahama
- Dr. Perry Gomez – Minister Of Health
- Kendred Dorsett – Minister Of The Environment And Housing
- Daniel Johnson – Minister Of Youth Sports And Culture
- Hope Strachan – Minister Of State In The Ministry Of Transport And Aviation
- Khaalis Rolle – Minister Of State For Investments In The Office Of The Prime Minister
This second and final group of ministers were sworn in during an Appointment Ceremony of Cabinet Ministers at Government House on Friday, May 11, 2012 at 4pm. Christie made his first round of ministerial appointments on May 10.
In announcing the final group of ministers, Prime Minister Christie said that under ordinary circumstances he would have gone with a smaller cabinet but that the extraordinary challenges facing the country today demanded that he assemble a cabinet that would be able to simultaneously tackle these challenges on a broadest possible front. Accordingly, the cabinet in its totality is approximately the same size as the cabinet that was announced by the former Prime Minister following the 2007 General Election.
The Prime Minister also indicated that he would be making mid-term ministerial adjustments with a view to bringing into the cabinet some of the government backbenchers not included in the first round of selections. The Prime Minister advised that this was particularly important having regard to his commitment to ensure the promotion of ‘new generation’ candidates to a dominant position in his government during the course of the present term.
The Prime Minister also announced that Mr. Anthony Moss, the Member–Elect for Exuma has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources and Mrs. Cleola Hamilton, the Member of Parliament-elect for South Beach has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and Renward Wells, the MP-elect for Bamboo Town, have been appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Urban Development.
Mrs. Hamilton, Mr. Moss and Mr. Wells will be sworn in at a separate ceremony at Government House on Monday, May 14 at 11am at Government House.
The Prime Minister also announced that at the opening of the new Parliament on the 23rd May the Government would move for the election of Dr. Kendal Major, the member-elect for the Garden Hills constituency as the next Speaker of the House of Assembly; and for the election of Deon Smith, the member-elect for the Nassau Village constituency, as Deputy Speaker.
(BIS photos Letisha Henderson)
