Scenes from the opening of Parliament at Gordon House, Duke Street last month. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERSINCE HIS appointment as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister in 2002, K.D. Knight has significantly cut the total number of official overseas trips made when the portfolio was previously split between Anthony Hylton and Dr. Paul Robertson. In 2001, Mr. Hylton who was then Foreign Trade Minister and Dr. Robertson who was Minister of Foreign Affairs, were absent from Cabinet meetings for a record 17 times while on official business overseas. Since his appointment, with the exception of last year, Minister Knight has never missed more than eight Cabinet sessions for official overseas trips. His official overseas trips only increased to 10 last year.
Minister Simpson Miller's records show that she missed a total 22 meetings, a close run on the number of meetings held for the entire year in 2002. Nearly one half of these of 22 meetings were not missed for official reasons, such as travelling on official business overseas, which almost every Cabinet member, with the exception of the prime minister does at least once per year. Records show that she was just absent or off on urgent or other business.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has attended the most meetings as he was absent only twice in 2001 while on official business overseas. He has not been recorded as missing a Cabinet meeting since then. Attorney-General and Minister of Justice A.J. Nicholson, along with Transport Minister, Robert Pickersgill, both follow close behind the prime minister with near perfect attendance, being absent occasionally or not at all in the last four years.
For last year alone, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and the attorney-general were present for all Cabinet meetings.
