Opposition Leader Mark Golding on Tuesday labelled the Cabinet changes made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness as a “fairly trivial exercise” that deflects attention from issues of national importance.

According to Golding, Holness has not been steadying the ship and has yet to indicate any clear strategies for the nation.

Additionally, the Opposition leader berated the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation — which, combined, now comprise Holness, five ministers without portfolio, and a minister of state — as a “naughty corner” for disgraced ministers and which has no clear structure or mandate.

“It used to be the place to house geriatric politicians who refuse to go home; it is now the naughty corner for ministers who have disgraced the Government,” Golding said at a People’s National Party press conference on Tuesday.

Holness announced the new Cabinet late Monday evening and Golding’s comments came on Tuesday against the background of one-time Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green, who resigned last September following public backlash for flouting COVID-19 protocols, returning to the Cabinet as a minister without portfolio in the OPM.

The Opposition Leader also called out Holness for what he dubbed “emotional manipulation” in his tearful address at last week’s National Day of Prayer event and for participating in unnecessary public “squabbles” with the Accompong Maroons.

According to Golding, urgent matters that are being overlooked by the prime minister include crime, health, education, and climate change.

“If you ask yourself the question, will it [the Cabinet shuffle] be to better health-care outcomes? The answer is no. Will it lead to a better response to the crisis in education caused by the pandemic and chronic problems facing the education system long before the pandemic? [Or] address the crisis in crime and violence in the country? The answer is no,” Golding said.

He pointed to the decision by Holness to appoint Dr Derrick McKoy as the country’s next Attorney General and questioned the fact that McKoy is not a member of either of the Houses of Parliament.

“He will not sit in Parliament so he cannot be held accountable to the Jamaican people, even though he is a political appointee who advises the Cabinet. This is an unacceptable arrangement, especially at a time when the prime minister has been talking up a storm on constitutional reform,” Golding said. “The attorney general must be brought into Parliament so that he can answer to the representatives of the people.”

On matters of crime, the Opposition leader said Jamaica is drifting in “a sea of lawlessness and despair” and called for a balanced approach with the implementation of zones of special operations (ZOSOs) with strengthening mechanisms for crime-fighting and peace management initiatives.

Golding applauded the Government for imposing a ZOSO in the Parade Gardens area of the violence-raged Central Kingston, even as he pointed out that his party had made this call more than six months ago.

In the meantime, the Opposition is calling for a more comprehensive set of measures to protect the vulnerable, such as pensioners, the unemployed, and single mothers, until the economy has fully recovered. To this end, Golding is reiterating his call for the minimum wage to be increased to at least $12,000 weekly.