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Is New Cabinet Configuration A Demotion For Deputy Vega?
posted (November 9, 2015)
Prime Minister Dean Barrow settled into his third term this weekend with the nuts and bolts of administration - that is the selection of ministers of government. It's not an easy job, since constitutionally, only 12 of 17 elected representatives can be made into full ministers - and everyone wants to be a full minister - so inevitably, 5 of the 17 elected would be disappointed. And even among those full ministers, there's at least one who should be disappointed - and that's Deputy Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega. He was the Minister of Natural Resources, commonly known as the minister of lands - a king-making ministry which stands at the headwaters of patronage and power. But, on Saturday the Prime Minister told him he's transferring Natural Resources to Senator Godwin Hulse - who becomes the first senator/minister to control that mega-ministry. It sounds like a major demotion for Vega, who is now the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment. Today at a press conference to present the new cabinet - we asked the Prime Minister about it:...

Jules Vasquez
"Are you able to speak about the apparent demotion of the Deputy Prime Minister? We see that he has lost the Ministry of Natural Resources. We know that that has always been synonymous with the post of the deputy prime minister and we also see that 5 of the 8 seats in the north are for the UDP."

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Well, I don't know what that became synonymous with the DPM's position. I will ask you to note two things; the Deputy Prime Minister remains the Deputy Prime Minister and the second thing is this - from before the elections, the Deputy Prime Minister and I has spoken. He had actually asked me to be relieve of the Lands Ministry, maybe 6-8 months or so before the last election. I ask him to stay on to see out the term. I think the Deputy Prime Minister for that long spell during which he was the minister, gave it his all. But he paid a price. I don't say that he complained. But it was a fact that he had to spend late hours every day that he was in Belmopan and I think he spent 4 days a week in Belmopan - late hours getting home 11, 12, 1 and 2 with all the signing that was necessary. The tremendous work load that was attached to that ministry. He would not have been human if he didn't reached a point at which he said as he did to me; you know what let me stay with Agriculture and do something else, it is time for me to move on. So in those circumstances it would be absolutely inaccurate and a bit of a slur to suggest that this is a demotion."

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