Some two months after re-designating senior Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine Minister of Public Service, President David Granger announced on Wednesday that Minister within the Communities Ministry, Dawn Hastings-Williams, will now serve as Minister of Public Affairs, a new post created within the
Newly designated Minister of Public Affairs, Dawn Hastings-Williams
Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP).
The President said moving Hastings-Williams to a position within the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP) is designed to continue rebalancing and evaluating the work and performance of his administration.
He said the MoTP, over the last two years, has had to assume responsibility for various areas of administration, including the environment and national security.
“So she is there to assist me in managing the responsibility. It is a question of my own judgement. I continuously have to evaluate the workload of every ministry,” he said.
The President has expressed confidence in Minister Hastings-W illiams satisfactorily performing duties she has been assigned, especially given her experience as a third-term Parliamentarian. He reminded that the Public Infrastructure Ministry (MPI) was responsible for telecommunication, a sector he later placed in the hands of Minister Cathy Hughes.
He said he had likewise paid visits and had some investigations done at the Ministry of Education, and similarly placed the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) under the wings of the Ministry of Social Protection.
“So there is a continuous process to ensure that Government works well, and we needed to ensure we put our best efforts where those efforts could have an impact on government,” he said.
