New Bahamas Cabinet sworn in

NASSAU, Bahamas, May 16 2017 – Members of Cabinet of the new administration led by Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis were sworn into office on Monday by Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, less than a week after a landslide victory at the polls.

Shortly after the ceremony, Prime Minister Minnis issued a warning to the 15 member Cabinet.

“I want to send a message to my ministers, that should you engage in unsavory or unethical requests to the permeant secretary and I discover or find you out – you will immediately be fired – and I say to the permanent secretaries, should you not report such behaviour and allow it to fester, you too will be fired,” Minnis said.

The new Prime Minister also told the new governing team that they must hold high standards of integrity.

“Cabinet colleagues, I repeat the charge I made last week at the swearing in of two of your colleagues. Fidelity to the oath you swore today is essential in order to provide the Bahamian people with a government of integrity.

“Good and open government demands transparency and accountability. Good governance demands being responsible for our actions,” he added.

The Cabinet also includes three who will be sworn in as Senators sometime this week.

Members of the Cabinet are – Brent Symonette – Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry, and Immigration; Desmond Bannister –  Minister of Works; Renward Wells, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources; Dr. Duane Sands –  Minister of Health; Marvin Dames, Minister of National Security.

The only female in the cabinet is Lanisha Rolle – Minister of Social Services and Urban Development; Frankie Campbell – Minister of Transport and Local Government; Jeffery Lloyd – Minister of Education; Romauld Ferreira – Minister of Environment and Housing; Dion Foulkes – Minister of Labour – who will be sworn in to the Senate; Darren Allen Henfield – Minister of Foreign Affairs; Michael Pintard – Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.

Dionisio D’Aguilar – Minister of Tourism, Aviation with responsibility for Bahamasair; Brensil Rolle – Minister of State for the Public Service and National Insurance in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Kwasi Thompson – who will also be sworn in to the Senate, will serve as Minister of State for Grand Bahama in the Office of the Prime Minister and Ellsworth Johnson will serve as Minister of State for Legal Affairs in the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Legal Affairs.

Carl Bethel – Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, who was sworn on Friday, is the third cabinet minister who will be sworn into the Senate.

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