POLITICAL watchers are not expecting any major changes when Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness names his Cabinet after being sworn in to form the Government for a third-consecutive term on Tuesday.

Analysts Lloyd B Smith, Damion Gordon, as well as veteran journalist Pete Sankey have agreed that most ministers have become strongly identified with their portfolios and are likely to remain. However, they believe Holness will eventually need to reshuffle as some ministers prepare to step away from representational politics.

They urge the introduction of new faces such as Members of Parliament-elect Rhoda Crawford, Audrey Marks, Tova Hamilton, Delroy Williams, Kerensia Morrison, and Krystal Lee, as reward for their performance in the 2025 General Election, as well as Senator Abka Fitz-Henley.

Gordon shared that one of the good things for Holness is that the result of the general election saw most of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidates, who held ministerial roles, retaining their seats in Parliament.

All ministers and state ministers who held seats in Parliament — except for Norman Dunn, minister of state in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; and Homer Davis, minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister — retained their seats.

According to Section 69 of the Jamaica Constitution, Cabinet members must be either senators or sit in the House of Representatives. The Cabinet includes the prime minister and a minimum of 11 other ministers, with no more than four being senators.

“In terms of the current ministers who I think have not necessarily made an impact in their roles and who I think the prime minister should consider shifting them or removing them from the Cabinet entirely, I think Senator Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce, is one. I don’t think he has made an impact. His role has been completely negligible, and I think the prime minister should experiment with another option,” said Gordon.

“I feel the same way about [Marlene] Malahoo Forte. She does not exude confidence and she doesn’t come across as learnt in constitutional matters, which is a requirement of her role as the minister of legal and constitutional affairs. She doesn’t come across as being very knowledgeable or an expert in the constitution, and that has resulted in many blunders that have caused embarrassment to the Government, so I think the prime minister needs to look at her role,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

He added that Minister of Finance Fayval Williams might also be in trouble, not because of her lack of capacity but because of public perception of her role.

“Over the years, I think that we have had some very bold, assertive, and prominent figures assuming that ministry who have occupied a central place in national governance and how the party or the Government is perceived by citizens, investors, and so forth. I’m not quite sure if Fayval rises to that character that we have grown accustomed to in terms of who our minister of finance is,” he reasoned.

Gordon predicted that new faces such as Audrey Marks, Delroy Williams, and Rhoda Crawford could be added to the Cabinet, with Marks as a replacement for Hill in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

“I think that the prime minister recruited Audrey Marks specifically for ministerial appointments. I expected her to be added to the Cabinet in some capacity. I’m thinking industry and commerce would be a good fit for her, based on her background,” Gordon argued.

“I think that Rhoda, based on the sheer magnitude of her victory in central Manchester and how pivotal it was to the Government being returned, I think that she is likely to receive a promotion — maybe not as a senior minister but possibly as a junior minister,” he added.

“I also think that the prime minister’s intention to recruit Delroy Williams, who went to Central Clarendon, I think that the prime minister also has plans for him as well, and I also expected him to be included in the Cabinet in some capacity,” he explained.

Gordon added that he is also keen to see whether Holness will maintain the current size of the Cabinet or opt for a smaller one. Similar sentiments were echoed by political commentator and journalist Smith, who suggested that the prime minister should consider a “lean and mean” Cabinet.

“Sometimes a prime minister may try and please as many of his Members of Parliament as possible and so he may go overboard and create all kinds of unnecessary ministries. I’m suggesting that he should have super ministries, a few of them, and then appoint junior ministers as well as parliamentary secretaries so as to allow for the up-and-coming younger Members of Parliament to get experience,” Smith, an Observer columnist and publisher of the Western Mirror, told the Sunday Observer.

He said while he anticipates that the Cabinet will largely remain the same, in about two years Holness will be forced to reshuffle with many senior Members of Parliament retiring from politics.

Energy and Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, and Minister of National Security Horace Chang have signalled their intentions to retire. Smith suggested the appointment of new faces such as Crawford, Lee, and Hamilton to understudy outgoing ministers.

He added that he believes Holness has taken on too much as prime minister and should consider changes to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

“I would like to see him disband that humongous ministry that he has at Jamaica House and allow for one or two super ministries to be created which would have parliamentary secretaries, ministers of state, that sort of thing — which perhaps would lead to a greater level of efficiency,” said Smith.

Veteran journalist Sankey has suggested that Holness should add to his role as minister of defence — housing and digital transformation — supported by minister without portfolio Robert Morgan. He also recommended Kerensia Morrison, Member of Parliament-elect for St Catherine North Eastern, and Senator Abka Fitz-Henley as state ministers in the Ministry of Education, to assist Minister Dana Morris Dixon.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Sankey proposed Crawford as state minister, while suggesting that Alando Terrelonge, the current state minister, be reassigned as a state minister in the sports ministry.

Sankey further argued that Marks is a suitable replacement for Hill in the Ministry of Industry, and recommended Dr Andrew Wheatley to head the Ministry of Works, with Juliet Holness serving as state minister.

For tourism, he proposed Delano Seiveright as a replacement for Edmund Bartlett, while suggesting Bartlett be appointed Speaker of the House. He also recommended Everald Warmington for the role of House Leader.

SMITH..I would like to see him disband that humongous ministry that he has at Jamaica House and allow for one or two super ministries to be created

GORDON… the prime minister should consider shifting or removing current ministers who have not necessarily made an impact in their roles (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

SANKEY… Prime Minister Holness should assume direct responsibility for the ministries of defence, housing, and digital transformation, supported by minister without portfolio Robert Morgan