DOMINICAN CABINET RESHUFFLE TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 001372 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT FOR WHA/EPSC-CORNEILLE DEPT FOR EEB/ESC/IEC-IZZO E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL ENGR EPET XL DO SUBJECT: DOMINICAN CABINET RESHUFFLE TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY Classified By: DCM Anthony Fisher for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit reshuffled his cabinet October 16, taking the Foreign Minister portfolio himself and shifting previous Foreign Minister Charles Savarin to Public Utilities and Energy. According to one official, this will separate Housing from Public Utilities, both major priorities for the Skerrit administration, allowing both to receive full-time attention. To assist with foreign affairs, Skerrit appointed a Parliamentary Secretary in his office and assigned the new Minister of Trade to also tackle regional and diaspora affairs. Because of this shift, focusing on energy partnerships might be the most successful inroad for strengthening relations with Dominica. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) On October 16, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit reshuffled his cabinet to place more emphasis on housing, reducing the cost of living, and creating new jobs. The resignation of Tourism Minister Yvor Nassief a month previous was one of the catalysts for the reshuffle. Nassief resigned because he had contracted with the government to serve for only two years at a salary of ECD 1 (USD 0.37) a year and, following this term, chose to return to his family business. ¶3. (U) One significant change was Skerrit keeping the Foreign Minister portfolio for himself. According to Steve Ferrol, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Skerrit so deeply involved himself with foreign policy that officially taking on the portfolio was not a stretch. To assist with foreign affairs, Skerrit appointed Peter St. Jean as Parliamentary Secretary under him and also appointed the new Minister of Trade, Colin McIntyre, as Minister of Caribbean Community (CARICOM),the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS),and Diaspora Affairs. According to Skerrit, this is to send a clear message that Dominica is serious about CARICOM and the OECS. ¶4. (SBU) Former Foreign Minister Senator Charles Savarin is now Minister of Public Utilities and Energy. In the previous cabinet, the Minister of Public Utilities was also Minister of Housing, portfolios that proved too important to cram under one minister. According to Ferrol, disputes with the sole electricity provider Dominica Electric, the development of new energy policy, participation in Petrocaribe, the construction of fuel storage tanks, and the planning of a potential oil refinery took too much time away from work on crucial housing projects. Even as Foreign Minister, Savarin commonly advocated for energy policy and foreign investment in the energy sector. ¶5. (U) The new cabinet is as follows: -- Roosevelt Skerrit: Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Social Security, and Foreign Affairs -- Ian Douglas: Minister of Tourism, Legal Affairs, and Civil Aviation -- Reginald Austrie: Minister of Housing, Lands, and Telecommunications -- Vince Henderson: Minister of Education, Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs, and Sports -- Senator Charles Savarin: Minister of Public Utilities, Energy, Ports, and the Public Service -- John Fabien: Minister of Health and Environment -- Matthew Walter: Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry -- Ambrose George: Minister of Public Works and Infrastructural Development -- Francine Baron-Royer: Attorney General (Note: She is the first female AG in Dominica.) -- Lorraine Bannis-Roberts: Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, and Information -- Senator Colin McIntyre: Minister of Trade, Industry, Consumer Affairs, Private Sector Relations, CARICOM, OECS, and Diaspora Affairs -- Kelly Graneau: Minister of Carib Affairs -- Rayburn Blackmore: Minister of National Security, Immigration, and Labour -- Julius Timothy: Minister of Economic Development and Urban Renewal -- Urban Baron: Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works -- Senator Peter St. Jean: Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for foreign affairs -- Senator Ian Pinard: Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs, and Sports ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Savarin is a friend to the United States who will be missed as foreign minister. Although educated in the United States, Skerrit seems somewhat ambivalent to Dominica's relationship with the United States, cultivating relationships with countries willing to pump capital projects and foreign assistance into Dominica, such as China and Venezuela. Given Savarin's historic friendship with the United States and his new role over energy policy, assisting with private investment or public assistance in the energy sector is a potentially successful inroad into strengthening relations with Dominica. OURISMAN