And in other Cabinet level news, as you heard last night, the Leader of the opposition has written to the Prime Minister, complaining about the appointment of almost a dozen foreign judges to the High Court. He also complains that being written to does not constitute the consultation on high court appointments as outlined in the constitution.
The letters notifying the leader of the opposition came from the Cabinet secretary. He responded to Shyne Barrow;s remarks, claiming that this is how the Government works and he is merely sending and signing letters on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Stuart Leslie, Cabinet Secretary
"My response is this, if you want to take on the responsibility to be the government you have to know how the government works. OK it is always been the case that it is the cabinet."
"Secretary or the office of the Prime Minister that writes or signs a letter on behalf of the Prime Minister it was back from independence. I can go back in the file. In fact, I can send you letters that were sent to John Briceno, when he was leader of the opposition that was signed, not even by the cabinet secretary but by the administrative officer, in the office of Prime Minister Barrow. And so this is some thing if you know how governments work, you understand ministers in prime ministers don't always sign every document but you are signing on behalf of that person so I would have advised the leader of the opposition to check with one of the more senior people in this party who has served the government that they could've told him that this is a procedure. It is not insult. It is nothing like that. This is the way the government works. Do you want the Prime Minister to sit in his office and sign the hundreds and hundreds of letters that the cabinet secretary has to sign every day?"
