Trinidad’s Public Utilities Minister resigns – PM Rowley accepts

Trinidad and Tobago’s Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte has resigned.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has accepted the resignation of Senator Le Hunte, who is also vice-chairman of the Road to Recovery Committee tasked with resetting the country economy post-COVID-19.

The resignation letter is dated Friday (May 15).

The resignation follows a conflict that arose during last Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

The Communications Ministry issued a statement this afternoon, confirming the resignation.

The statement read:

Prime Minister accepts resignation of Robert Le Hunte

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley accepted the resignation of Minister of Public Utilities Robert Le Hunte.

The resignation became effective yesterday, 16 May 2020.

The Prime Minister is in the process of making the necessary adjustments consequent to Mr Le Hunte’s resignation.

Who is Robert Le Hunte?

Senator Robert Le Hunte assumed the portfolio as Minister of Public Utilities in September 2017.

Prior to his appointment as Minister, Senator Le Hunte has been a career banker for more than 30 years, the majority of which was spent at the Managerial and Executive levels.

His career at Republic Bank culminated in his appointment to the Executive Director level in 2016, where he was charged with the responsibility of executing the bank’s African Continent expansion strategy, a role he held just prior to opting for early retirement.

Other notable highlights during his career with Republic Bank include his appointments as Managing Director of the then Barbados National Bank, now Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited, and Managing Director of HFC Bank (Ghana) Limited.

Le Hunte holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Manchester, and a Master of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of the West Indies, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He has also participated in the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.

Le Hunte has also made time for national interests, by serving on a number of Boards, including the National Flour Mills, National Feed Mills, the Environmental Management Authority and National Initiative for Service Excellence, Barbados. He also served as President of both the Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks, and the Barbados Bankers Association. (Trinidad Express)