Premier Dr. Orlando Smith said at Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony for government ministers that his administration’s backbenchers will have more responsibility in crafting and carrying out public policy.
Getting non-ministers more involved is a part of the effort to make ministries more efficient, he said during the event at the Central Administration Building.
“I will be assigning certain responsibilities to some elected representatives, thereby creating the equivalent of a minister of state in some ministries to support and enhance the work of the particular ministry,” he said.
According to the Constitution, the number of ministers in the House of Assembly may not exceed two-fifths of the total elected representatives. That means in this territory’s case, there cannot be more than the current five ministers.
However, Dr. Smith said that his plan would create “the equivalent” to a minister of state, adding that he’ll be working with plan Governor John Duncan to implement the initiative in accordance with the Virgin Islands Constitution.