By KRYSTEL ROLLE

Guardian Staff Reporter

krystel@nasguard.com

Pledging to provide good management of the country's public affairs, newly appointed Minister of Tourism and Aviation Vincent Vander-pool-Wallace and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Michael Bar-nett, were sworn-in by Deputy Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes at Govern-ment House, during a short ceremony yesterday morning.

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham expressed confidence in both men, who have years of experience in their respective fields.

"It gives me great pleasure to have these two gentlemen serve in my Cabinet. Both are well-known to the Bahamian people. Both are making substantial financial sacrifices by accepting the call to public service. Both are eager to make a difference in the public affairs and development of The Baha-mas," said the prime minister.

Barnett, an attorney for more than three decades, said he is humbled by the honour and hopes his vast experience will help him to execute his mandate.

"I hope that my years of experience as a lawyer will help me to give the best ad-

vice to the government of The Bahamas and as minister of legal affairs, I plan to carry out the agenda of the Free National Movement. The improvement of the administration of justice, that's my mandate, that's my task that I undertake for the Bahamian people."

He said he recognizes the awesome challenges associated with such a high office, but he is confident that with the help of the Bahamian people, he will get the job done.

Meantime, Vanderpool-Wallace said first on his agenda is to sit down with all of the stakeholders, beginning with the former Minister of Tourism Neko Grant, who he was expected to meet with yesterday, to discuss the way forward.

While he had some of his own concerns, he said he will take into account the information that he receives from the various groups so that he can make the best decisions to enhance the tourism product.

However, one of the issues that will be immediately looked into is finding ways to boost the economy of Grand Bahama.

"If you look at some of the opportunities for growth, it is very strong in Grand Bahama. That's one of the reasons that I want to speak to Minister Grant very quickly, because beyond talking about tourism in the broad context he has a special understanding for Grand Bahama and he will be able to focus on what needs to be done in order to make sure that we do that as rapidly as we can," said Vanderpool-Wallace.

He also expressed concern for the declining visitor air arrivals – which is somewhat caused by rising ticket prices.

"Air transportation has to do with increasing fuel cost. That is an external factor which will affect all our business and frankly a large part of what has been happening is we have this aspect that says that you have to fly here. So what many people forget – if you look at Las Vegas and Orlando – with Orlando I think about 74 percent of the people drive there and in the case of Las Vegas 51 percent drive there. We don't have that option so many of our people come by air transportation. That's why this air situation is something that is most important to us in terms of being able to fix it," he said.

He added that Grand Bahama is one of the few offshore destinations for Americans that persons can get to without flying, an avenue worth exploring.

Meantime, the prime minister added that both men are eminently qualified for the jobs assigned to them. He said both are leaders in their respective disciplines and have earned the respect and admiration of colleagues, the public, and even their detractors.

Barnett is attached to the prestigious law firm of Graham Thompson and Co.

A former chairman of the Water and Sewerage Cor-poration, Barnett was called to the English and Bahamas Bars in 1978. He has served in many professional and public service capacities including Acting Magistrate, Acting Justice of the Su-preme Court, President of the Bahamas Bar Associa-tion, Chairman of the Indus-trial Relations Board, Member of the Financial Services Ad-visory Committee and Chair-man of the Catholic Board of Education, the prime minister said.

Vanderpool-Wallace was Director General of Tourism in the Ministry of Tourism for 12 years. Last month he completed a three-year stint as Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organi-zation (CTO). Previously, he was engaged for 11 years at Resorts International (Baha-mas) Ltd. where he held a number of senior managerial positions.

Additionally, he has held several posts in the tourism industry including: Chairman of the Management Commit-tee of the Bahamas Tourism Training Center, Director of both the Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Bank of The Bahamas, and Chairman of the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas.

On the heels of the Cabinet reshuffle which came into effect yesterday, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham also issued the mandate to his cabinet and announced several changes to various portfolios yesterday.

Most notable was his introduction of the Ministry of Environment, which he says will go a long way to ensure that the architectural beauty of the Bahama islands are protected.

As announced last week, Former Minister of Works Earl Deveaux will head this "special assignment", with Phenton Neymour becoming the Minister of State.

Prime Minister Ingraham said the new ministry will be a "great benefit" as it will bring several departments and agencies of the government concerned with city and country planning, building and protection of the physical and marine environment under one ministry.

"We have long expressed an interest in preserving the architectural beauty of our towns and settlements; we are committed to protecting residential neighbourhoods from the infiltration of businesses, including heavy in-dustry; and we have protested against the destruction of unspoiled wooded areas, wetlands, beaches and shorelines. We aim to give teeth to our commitments," said the prime minister.

Deveaux is now responsible for the Town Planning Bill and the new Private Roads and Subdivision Bill for enactment and implementation.

"Importantly, he is mandated to bring order to the environmental impact assessment process so that we can achieve the protection of the environment, without frustrating investors and developers as we seem to do all too often,"

Neko Grant, former Minis-ter of Tourism and Aviation, is now Minister of Public Works and Transport.

The prime minister said the Ministries of Public Works and Environment will join with the Ministry of Tourism to ensure that government's plans for the revitalization of the City of Nassau are brought to fruition in a timely fashion.

"Also, closely tied to our plans for the strengthening of our tourism sector, will be the phased redevelopment and expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Air-port. As would be expected, Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace, as Minister responsible for Aviation, is assuming re-sponsibility for relations with the Airport Authority and, hence, with the Nassau Airport Development Com-pany," Ingraham added.

Meantime, Desmond Ban-nister, previously Minister of State in the Office of the Attorney General, will head the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture.

The PM expressed confidence in Bannister, who is replacing Byran Woodside, former minister of state for Youth and Sports.

"Desmond has a long-standing interest in the development of the youth of our country. He is, I believe, an excellent example and role model to young persons as both an individual committed to healthy lifestyles in sport and as an officer of the court," the PM said.

Adjustments have also been made to the portfolios of several other ministers.

Broadcasting moves from the Office of the Prime Minister to the Ministry of National Security, said the PM, who added the it will now have a real minister, as he was not one.

National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest will be assisted by Parliamentary Secretary Kay Smith who will be responsible to both the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Com-munications and Broadcast-ing Unit in the Ministry of National Security.

"The Ministry of National Security will coordinate with the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs to bring increased focus to improving efficiencies in the legal and judicial systems, with a view to effectively reducing the incidence of crime as well as the fear of crime."

Meantime, he said the Ministry of Legal Affairs has been mandated to ensure that the completion of the Magistrates Court complex on Nassau and Meeting Streets is brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and that plans for the construction of a new Supreme Court are appropriately accelerated.

Dion Foulkes, Minister of Labor and Social Develop-ment, will continue to pursue and implement policies crafted to ensure a constructive work environment which engenders respect for workers and productivity for employers.

This Ministry now has the added responsibility for urban renewal, social welfare and consumer protection. The prime minister said Foulkes will have to ensure that rising energy and food costs are not permitted to compromise the welfare of the poor.

Loretta Butler-Turner, the sole female in the FNM Cabinet, will remain the Minister of State for Social Development.

"I believe that today's ap-pointments, together with the new allocation of ministerial responsibilities, bode well for our country," said Ingra-ham.

It would be remiss of me if I did not, as has long been my custom, use this occasion to remind Ministers that governance is about choices, about equity and compassion. Our service to the Bahamian people must be full, patriotic, loyal and uncorrupted. De-votion to duty, expressed by tolerance, and service to our people, our cause, and our commitments, is expected of each of you, not some of the time, but all of the time," added the Prime Minister.

Last week, Prime Minister announced a cabinet shuffle. Former AG Claire Hepburn, and Minister of State for Immigration Elma Campbell. Campbell will become the Bahamas Ambassador to China. The PM thanked them both for their service yesterday.