Prime Minister Keith Mitchell announced a minor reshuffle to Grenada’s Cabinet during the weekly post Cabinet briefing on Tuesday. Senator Brenda Hood, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Culture, was promoted to head the Ministry of Culture.
He said the decision was taken to have a minister solely responsible for Tourism and Civil Aviation, and another in charge of the affairs of Culture.
“The Culture issue is one that is extremely important. As you know, it ties in a lot with development and of course the promotion of this country,” the Prime Minister said. He explained that Hood will be a full Minister in Cabinet responsible for Culture, and Minister Otway–Noel will continue to be in Cabinet with responsibilities for Civil Aviation and Tourism.
Former Minister for Culture Alexandria Otway-Noel said that the decision to make separate the Ministry for Culture, from the Tourism and Civil Aviation ministries, is a good decision because the workload has been tremendous.
In a statement to family, friends and supporters via her Facebook account yesterday, Minister Otway–Noel said that the decision to split the ministries is a very good one. “The work load has been tremendous and all three ministries are so important for us to have a world class tourism product. I welcome the decision and congratulate Minister Hood on her appointment as Minister for Culture, and our Honourable Prime minister for his vision.”
“We will continue to work together and with the rest of our team to ensure Grenada continues to advance in all areas. I would like to thank the staff at the Ministry of Culture for their hard work and dedication over the last year. Thank you all for your continued love and support! God bless.”
The Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Finance, said that the change will not have significant financial effects on the administration of the ministries as they currently exist. “There will be one Permanent Secretary for the both ministries and nothing new will be added,” he said.