Responsibilities shift among eight ministries

EIGHT ministries now have amended schedules of responsibility following the recent Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. The new listing was released by the Information Ministry yesterday. The Department of Ecclesiastical Affairs, formerly under Social Services Delivery, now falls directly under the Office of the Prime Minister. Evolving Tecknologies and Enterprise Development Company Ltd (Eteck), is under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Tourism and Industrial Development Company (TIDCO), previously under the Trade and Industry Ministry, now falls under the Ministry of Finance, while the Ministry of Tourism is now responsible for the recently formed Tourism Development Company Ltd.

Another new company, the Rural Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago, has been placed under the Ministry of Finance, and both the Education Facilities Company Ltd and the National Schools’ Dietary Services Ltd are under the Education Ministry portfolio. The Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri) and the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) have been placed under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, with the Works and Transport Ministry having responsibility for the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. The amendments were made by President George Maxwell Richards on the advice of Prime Minister Patrick Manning under the provisions of Section 79 (1) of the Constitution.