BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Prime Minister Mia Mottley unveiled a 25-member Cabinet on Monday less than a week after her ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) was returned to office winning all 30 seats in the Parliament for the third consecutive occasion.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressing the swearing in ceremony of her new members of Cabinet (CMC Photo)Mottley said that the new cabinet is reflective of the changing geopolitical situation and the continued desire to transform the Caribbean island since coming to office in 2018.
In a wide-ranging speech after the new members took their Oaths of Office before President Jeffrey Bostic, Prime Minister Mottley said that this new term will not be judged by “promises but by truth.
“The pitch has settled…it is time to score the runs,” she said, using a cricket metaphor, promising Barbadians that her administration will continue to work to ensure their future socio economic development.
“Hold us accountable, speak your truth respectfully, step up to the plate and play your part because your nation needs you,” she told the population, promising “respect, consultation and results that you can see, touch and feel.
She said throughout the campaign the ruling party had used the phrase “ a team for the times” adding “those were not simply platform words” but a covenant, because “these my friends are changing times.
“Each and every one of us only needs to put on our television to know that the world is not what we were elected to in 2018 and hence the structure of the cabinet reflects the need for us to meet those changing times.
“It will demand sober judgement of us, steady hands and yes above all else the courage, both the act and to listen,” she said, adding that the new cabinet “is not just a list of names.
“It is a structure that has been deliberately balanced, carefully chosen and repurposed to face the current reality of our moment to date with strategic focus. I used the word repurpose deliberately”.
Mottley said she is aware that questions will come from the population regarding the structure of the cabinet, noting for example that the decision to appoint a dedicated minister for the public service “is because the public service is our delivery engine and Barbados’ next phase as a country will fail or succeed on the quality of our delivery.
“We have to become more efficient, we have to become more responsive, we have to become more laser like in how we serve people,” she said, announcing the implementation of the “Pearly” app that will allow citizens to report on a range of matters in their communities that need to be addressed urgently.
Among the new members of cabinet is Christopher Sinckler, a former finance and economic affairs minister in the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) that was defeated in the 2018 general elections, but nominated in 2022 by the Mottley administration to serve as the alternate executive director for Barbados, Belize, Antigua, Grenada, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Guyana, St Kitts-Nevis, Dominica, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Sinckler joins the new administration as a Senator and has been appointed Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in what political observers say marks a significant political return, as Prime Minister Mottley outlined the rationale behind her selections, while emphasising that the new team must remain focused on delivering for the people of Barbados.
“So every minister who has taken the oath here today, your performance will be measured not by the length of your speeches but by the depth of your impact in the lives of Bajans. If you are not delivering for the person waiting at the bus stop in the rain, if you are not delivering for the small business owner frustrated by red tape, if you are not delivering for the family struggling with the price of a basket of goods, if you are not delivering for those who are most vulnerable, who are exposed to the elements in our country, then my friends we will not be fulfilling out covenant with the people of Barbados,” Mottley added.
The following is the full list of the Barbados Cabinet
Mia Mottley – Prime Minister.
Wilfred Abrahams – Attorney General
Santia Bradshaw – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment, National Beautification and Fisheries, and Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly.
Jerome X Walcott – Senior Minister coordinating Social and Environmental Policy with responsibility for Reform of the Social Sector
Kerrie Symmonds – Minister of Energy, Business Development and Commerce, and Senior Minister coordinating the Productive Sector.
Kirk Humphrey – Minister of Transport and Works, and Senior Minister coordinating Infrastructure
Christopher Sinckler – Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Ryan Straughn – Minister of Finance
Kay McConney – Minister of the Public Service and Talent Development
Indar Weir -Minister of Public and Private Investment
Adrian Forde – Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs
Ian Gooding-Edghill – Minister of Tourism and International Transport
Colin Jordan – Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector
Christopher Gibbs – Minister of Housing, Lands and Maintenance
Lisa Cummins – Minister of Health and Wellness and Leader of Government Business in the Senate
Gregory Nicholls – Minister of Home Affairs and Information
Michael Lashley KC – Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice
Chad Blackman – Minister of Education Transformation
Sandra Husbands – Minister of Technological and Vocational Training
Dr Shantal Munro-Knight – Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security
Charles Griffith – Minister of Sports and Community Empowerment
Jonathan Reid – Minister of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology
Marsha Caddle – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Economic Affairs and Planning
Trevor Prescod – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Pan African Affairs and Heritage
Davidson Ishmael – Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness
Dr Rommel Springer – Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport and Works
Shane Archer – Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, with day-to-day responsibility for Youth and Culture
