Cabinet Secretary to Remain in Office Until New Candidate is Selected

Cabinet Secretary, Ambassador Douglas Saunders, will remain in office until a new candidate is selected for the post, says Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for Information, Hon. Robert Morgan.

“The current Cabinet Secretary is at work. He was obviously planning [for his retirement] but I suspect that he will be with us a bit longer,” he said, at a post Cabinet press briefing, held at Jamaica House in Kingston, on Wednesday, September 28.

Ambassador Saunders was expected to leave office on October 1 this year.

The Public Services Commission is responsible for selecting the new candidate, after which they will inform the Governor-General for his approval.

Meanwhile, Mr. Morgan disclosed that Cabinet has approved several board adjustments. These include Colin Virgo, who is now Chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs and Dr. Derrick Deslandes, the newly installed Chairman of the Jamaica Dairy Development Board.

“Also, Mr. Linton Johnson is now Chairman of the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) Limited, and Mr. Christopher McPherson is the new Chairman of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA),” Mr. Morgan said.

Another major decision taken by Cabinet was the award of a contract for the provision of grades 7even to 11 electronic textbooks, under the Ministry of Education and Youth’s National Textbook Loan Scheme.

“There was also a variation of contract to supply and deliver bulk fuels to the Harbour’s Department of the Port Authority of Jamaica,” the Minister noted.

A contract valued at approximately $163 million was also awarded for road rehabilitation works under Phase 3 of the route Retirement to Hurlock to Fairfield Point in St. James.