As we told you on Tuesday, Cabinet met with a new member, Minister Of State In The Ministry Of Finance Dr. Carla Barnett. She becomes the third senator brought up to the Cabinet - and her ascent, along with the portfolio upgrade for Vanessa Retreage, suggests a further dilution of the power of elected representatives, and the Prime Minister's confidence in them to administrate competently and scrupulously. So what's the mood like in cabinet now with these changes? That's what we asked the UDP de-facto party whip today and he went into an entertaining digression on political history:..
Hon. Michael Finnegan
"The government is trying to put its best foot forward and if you are trying to put your best foot forward and you have to go outside of elected representative to do that, I don't see any problem with that."
Jules Vasquez
"However, isn't it an indication that the Prime Minister does not have a confidence in the elected representatives of which you are one?"
Hon. Michael Finnegan
"That is not necessarily true Jules. The Prime Minister is trying to find that integrity, that trust in placing a minister at Lands Department and he believes that the Attorney General - that she has the wherewithal, she has the expertise, she has most importantly the integrity and so what is wrong with that. You are looking for integrity. There is integrity inside the elected members and you have integrity outside the elected people."
Jules Vasquez
"Real talk, is there any ill feeling among those in the cabinet in terms of two new person brought in - they are both empowered...."
Hon. Michael Finnegan
"I don't see any honestly of there were any I would tell you. But I don't see any. Maybe they got it behind their back, but in the forum I don't see any and furthermore Jules, bringing people inside the cabinet started by this man who we love - the Father of the Nation, the great George Price. It was Mr. Price who first started this. JW McMillan in the 60s he was the first Minister of Education and member of the executive that was not elected to parliament. Carl Lindbergh Bernard Rogers who I succeed or one of the person who I succeed. He lost his seat in Mesopotamia here in 1979. He was given the powerful ministry. He was named a senator and given the powerful ministry of home affairs and defence and furthermore we went into Independence with him and he was named the deputy prime minister of Belize unelected, started by our beloved Mr. Price who we all loved. So we are just following the precedent that was set by George Price. Eamon Courtenay, Lisa Shoman, weren't they minister of foreign affairs unelected? Nobody would ever elect those two to parliament, but they got to ministerial position by appointed by the then prime minister. Dickie Bradley lost his seat twice in Queen Square - two consecutive times and he was given the powerful ministry of housing and attorney general. What is there to complain about? Vanessa and Carla comes to the government with the wherewithal."
Of course, there are those elected officials who long for a full, well-resourced ministry, but Finnegan says he isn't one of them:
Hon. Michael Finnegan
"I don't have to be a minister of government and if they take away the ministry of housing from me today or tomorrow, it doesn't matter me. But I still deliver to my people, because I go out there and I get the ham and I get the egg sunny side up for my people. So what is wrong with that? I don't have to be a minister to do that. What I must do is get off my bottom and work and deliver to the people who I represent."
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