St Elizabeth South West welcomes recall of Floyd Green to Cabinet
BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — Leading politicians, activists and a businessman in St Elizabeth South Western have welcomed the recall of their Member of Parliament Floyd Green to the Cabinet.
This follows Monday’s shuffle of the Executive by Prime Minister and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness.
Green was yesterday sworn in as minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister.
“The prophecy has been fulfilled. He has risen. I called him and congratulated him. I am beyond pleased that he has been brought back into the Cabinet,” said Jeremy Palmer, a former mayor of Black River and sitting councillor for the ruling JLP in the Pedro Plains Division in Green’s constituency.
Palmer had said last September that Green would rise again after he resigned as minister of agriculture and fisheries and apologised to Jamaicans after a widely circulated video on social media showed him at what was said to be a birthday party with friends and political associates in an alleged breach of COVID-19-related safety protocols on a no-movement day.
“My only disappointment is that he has not been given back the ministry he was at a ministry in which he had laid out some great plans and was doing well,” said Palmer.
He added that a “generational catch-up is now taking place”.
“Young people in the party are now at the forefront of Government and that is an extremely good thing,” he said.
Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the Black River Division Dwight Salmon, meanwhile, suggested that Green could have been placed in the education ministry.
“[It] needs someone with energy because Jamaica is facing a real problem,” he said.
He said it was expected that Green would be recalled to the Cabinet.
“I realise that the prime minister has very few options. The margin of selecting people within the Cabinet is very slim… He could even put back Floyd Green at agriculture. It is just like a slap on the wrist. Everyone knew that he [Green] would get back a [post],” said Salmon.
Long-standing PNP organiser in St Elizabeth South Western David Satchwell although admitting that Green has “ability”, still questioned the outcome of the minister’s ‘out of character’ behaviour last September.
“It is not about Floyd Green, a nice guy, a smiling guy, who don’t trouble anybody, so it is not anything personal. But it is an act that was committed… So what is the result of that?” he asked.
“What evidence do we have that you taking him out for three months would have changed him?”
And JLP activist and organiser Kaydean Senior said, “It would have been a mistake if the prime minister didn’t recall Green based on the work he has done.”
“This is no surprise. We anticipated that Floyd would have been back in the Cabinet whenever Andrew shuffled…. We were just awaiting it,” she said.
“The truth is he is a hard-working MP…. The Jamaican people are not reacting negatively about his reappointment because of the kind of MP he is,” she added.
David “Folby” Folb, an Englishman who owns and operates the Lashings Boutique Hotel and Villas in Treasure Beach, said Green’s recall to the Cabinet was a sensible move.
“I’m not surprised; this is an outstanding, hard-working MP. I think Jamaica is a better place for people like him,” he said.
“Jamaica has got a first class MP and minister. We are extremely lucky in this area to have him,” he added.
