And the Chebat departure from health has created a number of portfolio re-assignments in Cabinet. Kevin Bernard gets what is essentially a promotion to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
Rodwell Ferguson gets Bernard's two former portfolio responsibilities of Youth and Sports, in addition to his original portfolio of Transport. Chebat will now take over Ferguson's previous portfolios of Public Utilities and Logistics. E-Governance, the new portfolio which Bernard oversaw the creation of, will now go to Francis Fonseca, who keeps his original responsibilities.
In this new reshuffle, Public Service Minister Henry Charles Usher also gets a newly created portfolio of Religious Affairs. Today, the press asked him about it. He said that he had been reminding the PM about the absence of a liaison between GOB and the religious constituents of the country for some time:
Hon. Henry Charles Usher, Chairman, People's United Party
"For some time now I have been advocating for a liaison between the government and the council of churches. I keep asking the prime minister month after month, can we get a liaison officer between cabinet and the council of churches, so I guess this was a way of getting me off his back in this request. But certainly, I welcome the challenge, I welcome the opportunity of merging the public service with the Christian fundamental principles upon which our country is based. The constitution of Belize is very clear, it advocates the supremacy of God. We are a country based on the supremacy of God and we must make sure that our Christian principles are adhere to and what better way than to merge them with public service in the way we govern our country."
