Dear Editor,
The Cabinet has been named, very small, very technical and, on the face of it, very good. One commends the placement of Ruel Reid as education minister and Dr Christopher Tufton as health minister.
But upon closer examination we see a Cabinet not filled with young, dynamic talent, but instead one only with a veil of youth hiding what must be called political dinosaurs.
Simple arithmetic shows us that the majority of the ministers are either around or above retirement age. Take, for example, Karl Samuda, certainly not a young man, and one who admits that he will not be seeking re-election after this parliamentary term is up; yet he is a minister. Samuda still retains considerable clout within the party, as does Mike Henry.
With at least 12 ministers over the age of 50, one is forced to ask where is the supposed youth, or is 50 still considered youthful?
The answer to the above question is simple, politics.
Many of Andrew Holness’s closet confidants are from the old guard, so it is again natural that he rewards their loyalty with appointments.
This is not a knock against Holness, but instead a comment on the cold, hard reality that, in spite of his victory at the polls, he still is not in a strong enough position to act as freely as he wants.
Call the Cabinet vibrant, call it small, call it technical, but don’t call it youthful.
Alexander Scott
alexanderwj.scott@gmail.com
The Cabinet has been named, very small, very technical and, on the face of it, very good. One commends the placement of Ruel Reid as education minister and Dr Christopher Tufton as health minister.
But upon closer examination we see a Cabinet not filled with young, dynamic talent, but instead one only with a veil of youth hiding what must be called political dinosaurs.
Simple arithmetic shows us that the majority of the ministers are either around or above retirement age. Take, for example, Karl Samuda, certainly not a young man, and one who admits that he will not be seeking re-election after this parliamentary term is up; yet he is a minister. Samuda still retains considerable clout within the party, as does Mike Henry.
With at least 12 ministers over the age of 50, one is forced to ask where is the supposed youth, or is 50 still considered youthful?
The answer to the above question is simple, politics.
Many of Andrew Holness’s closet confidants are from the old guard, so it is again natural that he rewards their loyalty with appointments.
This is not a knock against Holness, but instead a comment on the cold, hard reality that, in spite of his victory at the polls, he still is not in a strong enough position to act as freely as he wants.
Call the Cabinet vibrant, call it small, call it technical, but don’t call it youthful.
Alexander Scott
alexanderwj.scott@gmail.com