Now that the bunting has come down, the media ads and YouTube promos have stopped, and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has secured three straight general election victories, Prime Minister Andrew Holness must select a Cabinet that will take the country into economic growth mode and make good on the promises made.

This is a complex task and must be handled with delicacy. Many will have expectations and believe they should be rewarded for their efforts. Younger JLP winners will be saying ‘Time Come’. It’s my time to rise. 

Andrew Holness credits himself as a strategist, and this task will draw on his skills. Some will get upset and feel unappreciated. The prime minister will have to put his hand over some shoulders and placate them, implore them to be patient, and an opportunity will present itself.

This victory unassailably establishes Andrew Holness’ position in the party. The MPs have no leverage on him; they serve at his will, but he must ensure that he does not come off as dictatorial. With a seven-seat majority, he needs to keep everyone close.

Our Today takes a look at some considered appointments:

Kamina Johnson Smith 

Kamina did a fabulous job at the helm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. She managed that portfolio with professionalism, grace and efficiency. She was never gaffe-prone and could always be relied upon to fly the flag for Jamaica with class and dignity. She is a credit to her father, the late Ambassador Anthony Jonsoson. She has established a reputation for being a competent operator on the international scene, a safe pair of hands.

She is multilingual, taking care to observe all protocols. She is youthful, dignified and not too stuffy. Other than carrying out her duties in one of the major offices of state, she is a loyal and hard-working executive of the JLP apparatus.

It was said that Lisa Hanna would make a good minister of foreign affairs, but that decision was arrived at with glamour and style clouding judgments. Kamina’s loyalty to the party is unquestionable. With this campaign, she put her heart and back into it and was an unwavering team player, the kind of warrior you want in your corner. Many can’t say the same about Lisa Hanna.

Kamina will graciously say she serves at the prime minister’s pleasure, but he would be hard-pressed to find a better foreign affairs minister.

In a few years, Kamina could go off and work for an international agency like the UN. If Jamaica is serious about growth, there is no better minister of foreign affairs to represent the country’s interests on the world stage as well as court foreign trade.

Christopher Tufton

Chris is one of the brightest and most capable members of the JLP’s executive.  In a string of polls, he comes out as the most popular member of the Government. That kind of talent is an asset and must be skilfully deployed. As it now stands, he is one of the longest-serving health ministers in the world, having seen COVID-19 come and go. He’s ready for a new assignment.

It would be prudent to promote him to deputy prime minister and make him replace Dr Horace Chang as minister of national security. Chang has given sterling service and is probably one of the most astute political strategists in party politics in Jamaica. He has done a brilliant job as general secretary of the JLP. He is now in his sunset years and must be appointed to a position that is less taxing and where he can utilise his intellect effectively and with time to think. The Ministry of National Security requires reactive solutions and makes demands on energy levels.

Dr Chang has left the ministry in good shape for his successor, boasting the enviable record of reducing crime by over 40 per cent. The next minister will have to maintain that and look to lower it even more. Chris will be up for the challenge.

It has been mooted that Chris should replace Fayval Williams as the minister of finance, given his ability to better communicate and explain financial policy. Fayval has a better grasp of the technical issues of running the country’s exchequer. She should remain at the helm for a while. Communication is not a strength of hers, but if she can manage the country’s finances and sees to it that Jamaica becomes investment grade, then she should continue.

Chris Tufton has been a minister of agriculture and a minister of industry and commerce. It’s time he held one of the major offices of State.

Dr Dana Morris Dixon

Dana will be a star of the JLP and is expected to be one of the leading luminaries of the JLP government in the years ahead. She is articulate and has the ability to think critically on her feet.

Operating from the Senate, it won’t be too long before she takes her place in the lower house. Many saw her as one of the better performers during the national debates, and her stock continues to rise.

An academic, she acquitted herself well at Jamaica National, JAMPRO and in the Office of the Prime Minister. The prime minister would have taken notice.  Dana is smart and personable.

She should remain as education minister but if the prime minister is committed to growth, he can only accomplish that with a literate and educated populace. Dana will have to push him to increase the education budget to 10 per cent of GDP. This portfolio will be a critical one, more so than in years gone by and will need a good administrator and executive to head it. That’s Dana. She will also help to remove the stigma that beset that ministry during the Ruel Reid years. Reid will be facing trial next month for his alleged participation in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. It is difficult to counter Dana being involved in anything that questions her reputation and good name.

Juliet Holness

As far as his wife is concerned, the prime minister may find himself on the horns of a dilemma. On one hand, facing accusations of being self-serving and illicit enrichment, he doesn’t want to be seen as engaging in nepotism. On the other hand, Juliet Holness has distinguished herself, yet again winning her seat and serving as an effective Speaker of the Lower House. Respect is due and has been earned. She should hold a Cabinet position. It would be trite to place her in the Office of the Prime Minister in some junior capacity.

Andrew Holness is pursuing a sheet of paper with names on it that should form his Cabinet and, if he is doing so purely on performance, then he has to give Juliet the nod, notwithstanding that she is his wife. Her political career cannot be framed by her being the prime minister’s wife.

Given her professional background and her penchant for holding people accountable, she would be a good minister of works. Roads and infrastructure programmes will have greater significance now, and the SPARK initiative must be implemented by a good manager. Who better than Juliet?

Matthew Samuda

Young Matthew Samuda has the makings of a future prime minister, and he needs to be promoted. His talents should not be held back, languishing in the Office of the Prime Minister. He has served his apprenticeship and must now be unleashed.

Daryl Vaz holds a mega portfolio and has said that he will be walking away from politics over the next few years, with this being the last time he puts himself up as a representative for Portland Western.

He has said that he wants to see to it that Jamaica gets a better deal with the electricity licence and that the rural school bus initiative becomes successful. Vaz has a reputation as  “the minister who gets it done”. For his contributions to the JLP, he should be allowed to continue to do so for the time frame he has specified. 

The prime minister could give Matthew the science and telecommunications part of the portfolio and bring climate change under it. That would give Matthew something to sink his teeth into while allowing Daryl time to focus on the energy and transport ministries. Perhaps in two years’ time, Matthew can step into Daryl’s shoes, running the combined ministries in a single portfolio.

Matthew has both the energy and the acumen to do so.

Marlene Malahoo Forte 

Delroy Chunk should replace Juliet Holness as the Speaker of the House and his vacancy should be filled by Marlene Malahoo Forte. For years, she harboured ambitions to be a judge, but this is a far more prestigious and rewarding assignment. Yes, there is no real tenure to speak of as justice minister, and she could find herself on her bike as a result of political machinations.

Attempting to get Jamaica to become a republic took plenty of energy from Malahoo, but she can ably replace Chuck with Tova Hamilton, replacing her in the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs. Hamilton would then report to Malahoo.

Malahoo Forte has been a trusted supporter of Andrew Holness and worked assiduously to ensure that he was on the right legal footing with any move he made. She had his back. She could hold that ministry for the next two terms.

Rhoda Crawford

A tricky situation, this one. It is very easy to keep her in the back of the class, but after winning her seat in 2020 and retaining it in 2025, she should be promoted. It would be cruel not to acknowledge her progress and contribution, and allow her to waste away good years as simply an MP from the countryside.

Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange has been a magnificent servant, and it is difficult not to imagine her as the sports and culture minister. Sport and entertainment must now play a bigger part as a driver of economic growth. Why not let Rhoda helm the Ministry of Sport and Entertainment, with Babsy focusing on gender and culture?

Grange had some health issues last year and should not be placed under stress and strain. It is unlikely that she will hold a ministerial position for the complete term.

Audrey Marks

The founder and former boss of Paymaster, Audrey Marks, did well to win Audley Shaw’s seat in Manchester and now makes the move from the Senate into the Lower House. The former ambassador to the United States has entered the political arena, and Andrew Holness has big plans for her. She has made it clear she is very interested in industry and commerce, and said more should be extracted from the productive sector.

It is not clear at this point in time whether Senator Aubyn Hill wants to continue in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He has done a very good job of championing exports, and his visits to potential markets to drum up business have been successful. Senator Hill has been very dedicated to his mission and should continue in that role if he so desires.

Should he decide to move on or perhaps return to the private sector, Audrey could take on the portfolio, and it would suit her abilities and strengths. She will bring decorum and research to her parliamentary performances.

Robert Morgan

Robert has proven to be an effective operator and is loyal to Holness. He is dependable and deserves to be promoted.  If Chris Tufton were to be moved from the health portfolio, Robert could take his role. It is more responsibility, but he is capable. Robert is a very good communicator, and the Health Ministry needs someone who can ably interface with the public; that’s Robert.

Delroy Williams

Delroy Williams is an asset to the JLP and has displayed noteworthy administrative abilities that must be harnessed by the Holness administration. Always personable and willing to engage the media, Delroy should be in the Cabinet. Delroy did a good job in the office of the Kingston mayor, and his work in that position should be rewarded as he makes the move into representational parliamentary politics. He came through for the JLP in Clarendon, and if given the opportunity, will be a performer in government. His work during the COVID-19 crisis was commendable. 

It is easy to have him earn his spurs in the Office of the Prime Minister, but he is far more capable than that. Desmond McKenzie served well as Minister of Local Government but he would be the first to acknowledge that he has run his race and should make way for a younger lion. Delroy Williams would be a great minister of local government and there should not be too much thinking on Andrew Holness’ part to make that move. Desmond McKenzie would be a star as a chief whip of the Lower House of Representatives.