A NEW department of the environment is to be created by President David Granger, who made the announcement on Monday, while addressing newly appointed Heads of Mission.According to President Granger, the structure of government has been modified to deal with the changes and developments occurring in the country.

He said, “Again, there are several agencies responsible for protected areas, wildlife, climate change and some of them have not been put under the control of a single managerial authority. So a Department of the Environment would be soon established. I’ve already had discussions; it will remain under the Ministry of the Presidency in order to ensure that our environment is better cared for.”

Specific attention must be placed on the environment, the President said noting that “it is the only one we have.”

This newspaper was reliably informed that Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Raphael Trotman, will remain responsible for the mining, oil and gas sectors while the Climate Change sector along with related sectors will now fall under the newly established department.

On Wednesday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters at a post- cabinet press briefing that: “The extractive sector and the sector that is responsible for supervising or monitoring the extractive sector together; you put them together is in the wrong place. We believe it is not a right fit.”

The Minister of State reminded reporters that several environmental offices are being managed under the Ministry of the Presidency and referenced the Office of Climate Change.

“It is the President’s intention to ensure that all of these entities are in the same place and so if you are responsible for extraction, then the entity that is responsible for supervising you must be able to do so without having to report to the same minister that is responsible for the same people who are doing the extraction,” he said.

No one has been identified as yet to head the Environment Department and according to Minister Harmon, the President “will decide which minister or person will assist in that regard.”

Notwithstanding this change, President Granger assured the diplomats on Monday that he is satisfied with the work being carried out by the 15 government ministries.

He said “As far as our structure is concerned, we are doing well, we have a stratum of junior ministers and we expect that in the fullness of time they too would be able to bear full responsibility for those ministries…”

The President does not see the need to have a “huge governmental structure” and said “we should continue to examine our development needs,” in that regard. He said the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE) after two decades has restored a level of independence to regions. The Head of State reminded those gathered of the creation of three additional towns which he expects to be hubs for the regions under which they fall.

“Through those capitals we would be able to provide better quality of public service—each will have their own aerodromes without having to go through Eugene Correria International Airport or Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)…so the political structure is evolving.”

President Granger stressed the need to “break the mold of an over-centralised government in Georgetown” and move towards encouraging the regions to raise revenue to ensure the needs of the residents are met.

“It is not a fad creating towns, it is business,” he stressed, while noting that the towns have created the capability to administer their regions.

“Unless we allow the regions to develop and become stronger, even at the cost of diminishing control from Fourth Street, Kingston, we would gradually see [the] development of our country and governance within our country,” President Granger assured.

Meanwhile, referencing the calls by some for him to establish additional ministries, President Granger said he will not be persuaded to create more ministries. He said, “I have a competent cabinet” which he believes is capable of managing the country.

“I have resisted calls to create a ministry of this or that… the whole idea is that these ministries are capable and from time to time I would make some minor changes. For example, the establishment of the Ministry of Public Telecommunications; I admit that at the outset May, last year, we did not contemplate having a separate ministry. That ministry was incorporated into the Ministry of Public Infrastructure…but as time went on, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had other burdens to bear—stellings, aerodromes etc. so we decided to move Tourism into Business and set up Public Telecommunications.”

The President said he is satisfied with the work done thus far in the Ministry of Public Telecommunications.