Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

The members of the Bruce Golding-led 18-member Cabinet that was sworn in yesterday at King's House from front left are: Derrick Smith, National Security; Dorothy Lightbourne, Attorney-General and Justice Minister; Audley Shaw, Finance and the Public Service; Bruce Golding, Prime Minister, Planning and Development and Defence; Dr. Ken Baugh, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs and Trade; Olivia Grange, Information, Culture, Youth and Sports; Andrew Holness, Education. Second row from left: Dwight Nelson, Minister Without Portfolio, Finance and the Public Service; Pearnel Charles, Labour and Social Security; Michael Henry, Transport and Works; James Robertson, Minister Without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister; Karl Samuda, Industry and Commerce; Clive Mullings, Energy, Mining and Telecommunications. Back row from left: Edmund Bartlett, Tourism; Dr. Horace Chang, Water and Housing; Rudyard Spencer, Health and Environment; Don Wehby, Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service; Dr. Christopher Tufton, Agriculture. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Following mounting criticisms about the large size of the new Cabinet, Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday defended his decision to name an 18-member executive, saying it was carefully structured to take on the challenges that face the country at this time.

Speaking yesterday at the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers of government at King's House, Mr. Golding said the issue of size was relative, pointing to Guyana, which had a Cabinet comprising 23 ministers, and Trinidad and Tobago, which had 24 members in its Cabinet.

Adequate policy direction

"In my judgement, there was need for me to ensure that there was adequate policy direction in order to ensure that the Government would focus on the variety of tasks that we need to fulfil in order to make good on the commitments that we gave."

Contending that an 18-member Cabinet did not signify big government, Mr. Golding said there was need to split the former super ministry of Transport, Water, Housing and Works, explaining that with an "overloaded" ministry, many critical things fell through the cracks.

He said the Office of the Prime Minister was deliberately assigned responsibility for planning and development "because the business of planning, the business of facilitating development, of driving all the processes that are involved, it's so critical to the future of this country that I felt that it needed the authority of the Prime Minister".

Local Government issue

Mr. Golding also discussed the burning issue of the abolition of the Local Government Ministry. He said his Government was committed to the principle of local government, but added that what had been practised as local government in the past was "neither local nor governmental".

He said the local authorities were not an extension of central government, noting that they were elected by the people to carry out a specific mandate.

"Yet having been elected by the people we install a Ministry of Local Government in central government that tells them what to do, it is in my view a contradiction," he said.

The Cabinet will have its first official meeting on Monday and state ministers are expected to be sworn in at King's House on the same day.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com