BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN keeping with the customary filling of vacancies whenever a new party takes office, the Team Unity Administration has made public the names of a number of well known individuals as Permanent Secretaries and Political Appointees.
This revelation was made yesterday afternoon (May 27) by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris in the Parliamentary Lounge at Government Headquarters.
Dr. Harris announced that Osmond Petty, Personnel Officer of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, has been recommended to serve as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security.
Petty, who had served in that capacity in the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs, would, among other things, be involved in coordinating and bringing successful completion to a number of European Union’s projects related to security, according to Dr. Harris.
“The appointment of Mr. Petty now facilitates the proper implementation of the following legislative instruments and organs for which the Permanent Secretary with responsibility for National Security is required to be a member,” Dr. Harris said.
He explained that Petty would also oversee the delivery of a modern rehabilitation and correctional facility to replace the outdated Her Majesty’s Prison, which was built since 1840, and to pursue vigorous reform agenda in the country’s security forces.
The Prime Minister also announced the appointment of Kay Bass as Permanent Secretary (Ag) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that she is a career Foreign Service Officer who had worked with him during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the previous Administration.
Describing Bass as a quiet, calm, competent and able individual, Dr. Harris said she knows how to get the job done and “I think it is fitting that those who work hard should reap the good rewards”.
Dr. Harris proclaimed that in order to bring reliable experience and qualified support to serve in the Team Unity Government, his Cabinet had agreed to a number of political appointments.
The appointees are Vernon Connor, Lorna Hunkins, Sydney Osborne, Michael Powell and Jonel Powell.
“Mr. Vernon Connor has been serving as Special Advisor in the Ministry of Youth. I congratulate him and wish him well. He has been involved in young people, moulding young people, changing the lives of many of our citizens, and I know in this new assignment, coming in his last one as a teacher, he will serve us well,” Dr. Harris said.
He announced that Hunkins would serve as Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pointed out that Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Mark Brantley “has expressed confidence in her ability and capacity to help him take the Ministry forward in collaboration with the rest of the staff”.
Osborne was named to head the Regional Integration Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister. According to Dr. Harris, the former educator would be named Ambassador to CARICOM and would also have responsibility within the Regional Unit.
“It is with equal delight that I am pleased to announce that Mr. Michael Powell will serve as a Special Envoy in the Office of the Prime Minister. A man of vast experience in public life, in private sector engagement, had an illustrious career in Tourism, in Labour for a significant number of years over the period 1980 to 1995,” PM Harris told media operatives.
He also announced that Jonel Powell was designated Ambassador and would serve as a Special Envoy in the Ministry in the Ministry of Sports and Culture.
In his description of Powell, Dr. Harris said: “Mr. Powell, of course, has been an inspiration to many of us during the course of the campaign, and we hope that the vitality, the vibrancy, the knowledge and the energy would all be harnessed to good use in that particular Ministry.”
“These appointments,” he stressed, “are not about the individuals themselves, significant as they are. In my view and in our books it is about how they will help the Government take fuller charge and ensure that we deliver on the mandate and the slogan we have adopted...’Working for you’. It is about not their post and the rank, it’s about the people’s results, and that is what we are hoping to achieve.”
He declared that other appointments would be announced in due course as his Administration is having significant consultation with a number of citizens who, he professed they know, have the ability to make the contribution.
“And as soon as we have fine-tuned those we will make further announcement as an act of accountability, an act of transparency so the people must know who is operating in their name,” Prime Minister Harris added.
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