In a recent press statement addressing the latest round of ministerial portfolio realignment across her administration, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has doubled down on her unwavering confidence in Minister of Land and Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein, who has taken on one of the most substantial expansions of responsibility in the restructuring.
Hosein’s portfolio has grown dramatically, absorbing multiple new government programs and state-owned entities. When questioned by the Sunday Express on whether the minister was equipped to handle the increased workload, Persad-Bissessar offered a clear, unreserved response: “Very confident.” She added that the decision to consolidate all land-related governance under Hosein was a deliberate choice to streamline oversight of the sector.
Beyond changes to Hosein’s brief, the reshuffle sees key function shifts across multiple departments. Management of immigrant populations and immigration detainees has been transferred to Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander, a change the Prime Minister framed as a logical next step following the completion of a national migrant registration initiative earlier in 2024. “This was done to easier facilitate the next phase following the end of the migrant registration process earlier this year. Immigration is under the purview of Homeland Security,” Persad-Bissessar explained, noting the shift aligns these management responsibilities with the ministry’s existing oversight of immigration and domestic security operations.
Speculation that the removal of multiple responsibilities from Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ravi Ratiram signaled performance dissatisfaction was firmly rejected by the Prime Minister. When asked directly if Ratiram had failed to meet performance expectations, Persad-Bissessar pointed to the core function of the agencies being reassigned rather than any shortcoming on the minister’s part.
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), one of the entities moved out of Ratiram’s portfolio, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Finance under Minister Davendranath Tancoo. Persad-Bissessar argued the bank’s financial operations make the finance ministry a far more appropriate home for its governance: “ADB is a financial institution which should be under the purview of MOF (Ministry of Finance),” she said.
A second entity, Palo Seco Agricultural Enterprises Limited (PSAEL), was transferred to Hosein’s land and legal affairs ministry. The Prime Minister explained this move was driven by PSAEL’s core mandate of managing large tracts of state land, making it a natural fit for the expanded land-focused portfolio.
Persad-Bissessar made clear that this latest reshuffle is unlikely to be the final adjustment to her government’s structure. She confirmed that ongoing reviews of responsibility distribution across the administration will continue, with future adjustments planned as needed. “As we go along I will keep rearranging to increase efficiency and cut costs,” she said, adding that static government structures cannot adapt to evolving national circumstances and shifting policy priorities. “Governance evolves and changes need to be made to keep up,” she emphasized.
Across all changes, the Prime Minister reiterated that the primary guiding principle for the reshuffle is not performance assessment of individual ministers, but optimizing government operations to deliver greater efficiency, reduced administrative bureaucracy, and lower public spending.