DLP’s Walters criticises PM Mottley’s cabinet reshuffle announcement Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

One Barbadian politician is of the view that the time and place of Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s announcement of a Cabinet reshuffle was not appropriate.

On Saturday, October 22, at the 83rd Annual Conference of the Barbados Labour Party, Prime Minister Mottley announced several changes to her Cabinet which will take effect Wednesday, October 26.

Democratic Labour Party’s Vice President Ryan Walters expressed his displeasure today, October 23, with a lengthy Facebook post, criticising the BLP-led administration .

“It surely is not the place to be making national Prime Ministerial announcements about a cabinet reshuffle. Such statements are made at a press conference called by the Prime Minister’s Office not to a political section of electorate,” asserted the DLP Vice President.

Referring to the controversial Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) survey, Walters questioned the reshuffle, as the country was plagued with other pressing issues. He suggested that the Ministry of Education, specifically Minister Kay McConney should have been included in the dismissal list.

“Any serious Cabinet reshuffle should include the Minister of Education. The masses have been calling for it. When the PM made the announcement was her mic muted when she said that Kay McConney was sacked from Cabinet? I am still here waiting to hear her name called,” said the DLP Vice President.

Walters contended that Prime Minister should take a leaf out of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s playbook and “fire non-performers”. He also raised questions about the number of reshuffles that have occurred during Mottley’s two terms in office and maintained that persons should be held accountable.

“The PM is now in the habit of reshuffling failure. Speaking of which, how is Kerrie Symmonds now on his third or fourth ministry? There have been so many reshuffles since the Bees came to office in 2018 I cannot keep track.”

“Are these reshuffles because of bad assigning on the PM’s part or is it that her group of ministers simply cannot perform? If the ministers are not performing, Mia needs to take a leaf out of Owen’s playbook and simply fire non-performers. Do not impose failures on other ministries. It is akin to musical chairs. But, this game cannot work when you are dealing with these monumental matters facing our country,” Walters said.

Also touching on the dismissal of Neil Rowe – his opponent for the St Michael North seat – as deputy speaker of the House of Assembly, Walters questioned with Prime Minister Mottley was attempting to pull wool over the public’s eyes.

“The most intriguing of all is the Deputy Speaker. Why is a new Deputy Speaker being nominated Tuesday? Why is this change being announced with a Cabinet reshuffle when the role is not a Cabinet role? It is a parliamentary role. Why is there a change to the Deputy Speaker? Is it to fire the current deputy speaker or to give the incoming one a job? That position hardly ever changes unless it is vacated by the occupant, which was the case in 2020 when Gline Clarke resigned to go Canada. We need to know why this change was made. Is the MP for St Michael North West a failure too in a job he hardly ever performs? If he isn’t a failure, why was he not named a Minister of State as was Corey Layne?

“Was this entire exercise, involving seven people, really just about one or two politicians who continue to be failures?” he questioned.

NewsAmericasNow.com