Who goes where in the new Cabinet of incoming Prime Minister Stuart Young “really matters little.”
This is from Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi as he spoke yesterday to Guardian Media when asked about the Cabinet’s possible composition.
“There’s no lobbying, there’s no positioning. All of us have been at work for a number of years and therefore, those of us in ministerial portfolios have our hands full right now. Any shift means that what you’re shifting has to be balanced against the management of what you’re being shifted from and what you’re being shifted to.
“That is not an easy decision, particularly for a country that is at the end of the tenure of a government. I’m confident that Minister Young, as Prime Minister, has all that is necessary for him to make the right choices and I’m confident that our team is a very capable team,” he said.
Al-Rawi made the comments following the People’s National Movement’s special convention at City Hall, Port-of-Spain yesterday morning, where it also presented its full slate of 41 candidates to party members.
On whether he might be moved to a new position in Government, Al-Rawi said, “The PNM never discusses its business that way. You know I can handle any portfolio. That is not an issue. Competence is not an issue. Right now we have to deal with what we have.
“I’m very excited about the work I’m doing in Rural Development, Local Government.”
On Saturday, sources close to the PNM hinted at a major Cabinet reshuffle which reportedly includes changes to the portfolios of Minister of Finance and Attorney General. Already Reginald Armour has stepped down from the post of AG to take on a post in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
Al-Rawi, like his colleagues Foster Cummings, Minister of Youth Development and National Service and Minister of Agriculture Kazim Hosein, also expressed confidence in Young’s ability as prime minister.
In sharing his advice to Young as he takes up the mantle of leadership of the country, Al-Rawi urged him to “continue doing what he’s good at.”
“Which is working hard, pressing on with the agenda of building a team, demonstrating the refreshing new policies that we have planned and prepared and continuing to portray why the PNM is just simply the right alternative for the nation,” Al-Rawi explained.
He said he has worked with Young “very well and very closely” for many years and also in the “trenches at some very hard times, like dealing with issues such as litigation and even COVID.
“He was Minister of National Security, I was Attorney General. I can tell you that we spent sleepless nights in some very tough circumstances, just literally crafting law and policy and implementing all at the same time. That unique experience of pandemic management tells me what he’s made of.
“We have great discussions. I think that we’re headed in the right direction,” Al-Rawi added.
Cummings also congratulated Young on his upcoming appointment as he “wish him all the best” as he moved on to take on prime ministership of the country.
“He (Young) has a solid foundation on which to build that has been left by Dr Rowley. The PNM is a very strong and resilient party and he has the party behind him and I know that he is one who has been doing all he can to encourage unity within the party and therefore once he continues along that vein, I think he will serve very well,” Cummings added.
Meanwhile, Hosein imparted more spiritual nuggets to Young.
He hoped that God would continue to guide him in his endeavours, emphasising that God is all one needs.