The removal of George Payne’s Ministerial portfolio has angered several residents in St Andrew, with some of them even threatening to “vote against” the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in the next general election.
“A lot of people contemplating not to vote in the next election and others said they will vote against the BLP. They say they are done. To do that now, you trouble the people in St Andrew. It is a sombre moment now in St Andrew,” insisted one resident.
A Barbados TODAY team visited the rural parish today to get a sense of how the residents there were feeling about the reshuffling of the Cabinet.
Our news team also visited some communities in the St James North constituency where Edmund Hinkson is the Member of Parliament. He was also stripped of Ministerial portfolio.
In both areas no one wanted to speak on camera or share their names. However, about half of those who spoke said they were not pleased with the reshuffle, some said they did not care and others said they were satisfied with it.
On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced several changes to her Cabinet including the removal of five Ministers who would no longer hold a portfolio – George Payne, Trevor Prescod, Lucille Moe, Edmund Hinkson and Neil Rowe.
Payne was the Minister of Housing, Lands and Rural Development. However, the portfolios of housing and lands has been given to Dr William Duguid, who will also be responsible for maintenance.
In the case of Hinkson, his portfolio of Home Affairs will now go to Wilfred Abrahams, who also holds responsibility for Information and Public Affairs.
Some St Andrew residents believe that with the removal of the portfolio from Payne they would be made to “suffer” some more.
A St Andrew resident said she was “disappointed and upset” about the change “but the Prime Minister has to do what she has to”.
“A lot of people not happy about it. This is not something we expected. It caught us by surprise. We are very shocked and surprised,” she said.
“Mr Payne was responsible for helping the party to win some seats in the last general election. He worked very hard in making sure the BLP secured those seats. Knowing his track record in politics it speaks volume so they should never take away his portfolio,” she said.
In explaining the reason behind the reshuffle, Mottley said there was a need for Government to take “fresh guard” and particularly so in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not a case of dismissing anyone. I want to make it clear I am committed to ensuring that each former member of the Cabinet is utilised in this country in a manner or in the furtherance of the work of this Government and of this nation,” Mottley assured.
Despite the assurance one St Andrew resident suggested that there was more to the portfolio being taken away from Payne, a senior politician, than was being told.
“What about the constituents who voted him in and put him there to represent us. He can speak for us, but he can’t do much now,” she said.
“We don’t know what happened. We are yet to know what happened, but we are still behind him a 100 per cent. I predicted this move would come,” she added.
One man insisted: “they never come and ask we before they reshuffle so they don’t care about us”.
In St James North it was somewhat a different mood.
One man insisted that “what they do is well done”.
“The reshuffle does not change anything for us. Whatever happen they can’t complain about it. There is a reason for things,” he said.
Some St James North constituents told Barbados TODAY they did not believe the change would deter Hinkson from continuing to “do for us”.
“I think it is okay. Those who did not get back their ministry they were in it for so long so they can retire now. I think she give them the opportunity now that they could relax now because they were in politics for a long time and they had ministries over the years,” she said.
“We get some new people coming in and we can see what they can do now,” she added.
Another woman chimed in: “But I still think she could have given Hinkson a ministry. He had a lot on his plate, but she could have given him a ministry.”
However, she quickly pointed out: “New faces coming in not bad. I guess the Prime Minister was watching to see how the others were working and she gave them a piece of the pie.”
Senator Lisa Cummins and Ian Gooding-Edghill are the two new additions to the Cabinet.
One man in the Royal Westmoreland community who would only give his name as M Jones, told Barbados TODAY the shuffling of the Cabinet showed that the Prime Minister was “conscious” of the performances of the Ministers and if she is not satisfied she is willing to be bold enough to make changes to see if it can be improved.
In relation to Hinkson’s removal, he said while he was not aware of “the intricacies of his performance” he was aware he was “very active in the constituency”.
“I think he is committed to the constituency so whether he is a Minister or not he will serve well,” Jones said. marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
