The Tribune

THE much-rumoured, long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle has arrived – and those expected to get the chop have instead simply received a new title and desk.

This is a reshuffle that has moved the non-performers around rather than getting rid of them entirely.

Despite a host of questions surrounding his performance at Immigration, Keith Bell finds himself with a newly bolted together ministerial post. He gets a bit of Housing and the Urban Renewal portion is removed from Social Services and attached to it instead. Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was also at pains to praise Mr Bell despite the catalogue of unorthodox moves during his tenure at Immigration, that seemed to bring him into conflict at times with senior officers there. Mr Davis made particular mention of Mr Bell’s leadership in that post.

Alfred Sears has seemingly been given a hefty demotion. Out he goes from Ministry of Works – replaced by Clay Sweeting, who has impressed at Agriculture – and instead he becomes Minister of Immigration and National Insurance. Half of that is a ministry in which PLP chairman Fred Mitchell recently said there can be no rational discussion on immigration, and the other is NIB, which is heading for a significant increase next year, which is not likely to make any announcing minister wildly popular.

Myles Laroda, meanwhile, who was previously responsible for the NIB fund, finds that stripped from his title to leave him as just Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, with no sign of a portfolio to administer.

There are other, positive movements – Pia Glover-Rolle has been rewarded for her success and becomes a full minister, of Labour and Public Service, and Jomo Campbell is given the vacant spot at Agriculture and Marine Resources following Mr Sweeting’s upward movement.

That is as it should be – those who are seen to have done well should be rewarded with greater responsibility.

But there have to be questions that if Bell and Sears have to be moved from their posts, for whatever reason the Prime Minister feels they need to be relocated, should they be rewarded with another full ministerial role at all?

The questions that dogged Mr Bell will only follow him to Housing, where no doubt the Opposition will keep a close watch on contract awards and ask whether there are any conflicts with his previous role as general legal council at Arawak Homes.

So has the Prime Minister moved ministers rather than axing them? The size of the Cabinet is an issue in that there is no depth to draw on from the back bench to replace underperforming ministers, and the shuffling of various ministers of state suggests those are not ready to take a step up to a full role if the substantive minister falls short.

There is certainly little incentive for a minister to perform if the worst they face is being shuffled to a new role rather than face the chop. If worst comes to worst, there will be a new desk, a new office, perhaps a new licence plate on your ministerial car.

That will be the challenge facing the Prime Minister if indeed this is a reshuffle based on performance – getting his team to produce the best for the Bahamian people if there are few consequences for not delivering.

That two of those moved are those that the FNM have called to be reshuffled seems to show a consensus of sorts that a change was needed – although Mr Davis defended both Mr Bell and Mr Sears in his speech.

What matters of course is what the outcome of this shall be for the citizens of The Bahamas, who will have their own views on which ministers are performing and which are not. And as many governments have found over the years, the electorate can be very unforgiving if people feel that government is serving its own interests over those of the voters.

Mr Davis certainly knows some of the challenges ahead – he referenced light bills in particular as people feel the heat in their payments to BPL. This is the team he thinks can lead the party as it moves through the next administrative session and towards the next election. He’s shuffled his pack, now it’s time to deal the cards.