U.D.P. Criticizes New Minister of State Appointments

U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte also took shots at the Prime Minister for appointing additional ministers of state. As we reported, three elected area representatives were elevated to ministers of state. Peyrefitte questioned the purpose behind that decision and the role that newly appointed ministers of state will fill. Here is how he puts it: 

 

Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.

“I guess the prime minister must find employment for those he believes delivered in the March sixth elections, or at least to give them an inner track to maintain that majority of sixteen in the next general elections. So, he wants to keep everybody happy at any cost. But we must remember ministers of state are not full ministers. They don’t sign any statutory instruments. They don’t play any role other than being in between the CEO and the minister. The minister is the minister, John Briceno said that himself when referring to Chris Coye. I can’t see what the purpose of some of them was other than a bump in salary and privileges. Again, this government does strange things. We have a non-minister of state who is more powerful than certain ministers with Cabinet privileges. So, they create whatever they want to create. They come up with all sorts of things and so it would be interesting to know what these new ministers will do that the CEOs and the ministers were not doing before.”