ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA CABINET CHANGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000051

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON ENRG XL
SUBJECT: ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA CABINET CHANGES

REF: 06 BRIDGETOWN 1852

Classified By: DCM Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On December 31, Prime Minister Spencer
announced several changes (listed below) in his cabinet.
Although some of the rearrangement of duties seems quite
practical, others appear to have been made in reaction to
accusations of corruption. Two significant adjustments are
the shift of the Antiguan Public Utilities Authority (APUA)
from the Deputy Prime Minister's portfolio to the Prime
Minister's and the removal of Senator Aziz Hadeed, Minister
of State without Portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office,
from the cabinet. These shifts seem to have been motivated
by steadily increasing pressure from both the public and
members of Spencer's own party, the United Progressive Party
(UPP). End Summary.


2. (U) Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister, Baldwin Spencer,
announced the following minor changes in his cabinet in his
New Year's message broadcast on December 31. PM Spencer
explained the restructuring as an effort designed to deliver
social programs, infrastructure development, education and
public safety, public health care, tourism expansion,
national cohesion and good governance on time and within
budget.

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SHIFTS -- Departments
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3. (U) Sports and Youth Affairs has moved from the Ministry
of Health, Sports, Carnival, and Youth Affairs to the
Ministry of Education, which becomes the Ministry of
Education, Sports and Youth Affairs.


4. (U) Culture, inclusive of the Independence Celebrations,
the Community Pride Programme, Carnival and the Environment,
is part of the Ministry of Tourism. That Ministry will be
henceforth be known as the Ministry of Tourism, Civil
Aviation, Culture, and the Environment.


5. (C) The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) and
Energy are being moved to the Office of the Prime Minister.
The APUA was previous part of the portfolio of the Deputy
Prime Minister. PM Spencer announced that Minister of State
for Barbuda Affairs Trevor Walker will assist him with
matters relating to Energy and the APUA, and that the board
will be answerable to the Prime Minister. (Note: Barbuda
Affairs is a department within the Office of the Prime
Minister. End Note.)


6. (C) Comment: The quality and delivery of electricity
supplied by the APUA has deteriorated considerably in recent
years. The APUA Electricity Division is subject to frequent
power outages because of breakdowns of its power generation
plants. APUA's financial situation is very weak, making
upgrades almost impossible. Many Antiguans have expressed
dissatisfaction with inefficient internal management and
allege that corruption is preventing improvements in
electricity service. In addition to addressing public
dissatisfaction with electricity supplies, the PM's
appropriation of the APUA portfolio is also motivated by his
wish to spur the public utilities board to carry out
government policy on the liberalization of
telecommunications. End Comment.

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SHIFTS -- Responsibilities
--------------


7. (U) Deputy Prime Minister Wilmoth Daniel will retain
responsibility for the Ministry of Public Works and
Transportation, including the Port Authority, but lose the
APUA.


8. (U) Minister of Health John Maginley will no longer have
Sports and Youth Affairs, but will retain responsibility for
Cricket World Cup 2007.


9. (U) Minister of Justice and Public Safety Colin Derrick
now has additional responsibility for the Police and Fire
Division.


10. (U) Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Justin
Simon will add to his responsibilities the Land and
Commercial Registries.


11. (U) The Junior Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs,
Winston Williams, has been elevated to Minister of State in
the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs with
responsibility for Sports and Youth Affairs.


12. (U) The Junior Minister of Culture and Independence
Celebrations, Eleston Adams, became a Minister of State in
the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Culture and the
Environment with responsibility for Culture and Independence
Celebrations.

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Influential Senator Dropped from Cabinet
--------------


13. (C) The PM dropped Senator Aziz Hadeed from the cabinet
but appointed him Ambassador Extraordinaire and
Plenipotentiary, with Ministerial rank. Before the December
31 announcement, Hadeed served as Minister of State without
Portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office. The Senator is a
wealthy businessman of Syrian background that many believe
bought his way into the government through huge financial
contributions to the UPP in the 2004 elections. There have
been unsubstantiated rumors that Senator Hadeed's presence in
the cabinet has enabled his family to benefit by receiving
business contracts and that a conflict of interest exists.
Members of Spencer's own United Progressive Party have
repeatedly called on the PM to drop Hadeed from the cabinet
because of possible conflicts of interest in the awarding of
contracts. Senator Abbot, also a member of the ruling UPP,
has been saying for months that Hadeed's appointment to
public office called into question the credibility of the
Spencer government. Though no accusations against the
Senator have been substantiated, the Hadeed family's
extensive business operations in Antigua make many suspicious
of his influence in the inner circles of govenment. Aziz
Hadeed is close to the PM, but he and family members have
equally strong ties to the former ALP government.


14. (U) Though he no longer sits in cabinet meetings,
Ambassador Hadeed will be Antigua's point man in
international trade and foreign direct investment promotion,
merchant shipping and the promotion and establishment of the
Caribbean Festival Park.

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The Opposition Speaks
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15. (C) City West MP Gaston Browne, a senior member of the
opposition Antiguan Labour Party (ALP),described Deputy
Prime Minister Wilmoth Daniel as being "cut down" in
reference to the transfer of the APUA to the Prime Minister.
Browne told PolOff that the transfer was made to enable the
PM to liberalize this sector of the economy and would lead to
the destruction of the APUA within three years. (Note: The
APUA is the largest public sector agency in Antigua, employs
more than 800 people, and has an annual budget of
EC$500,000,000 (US$185,000,000). The APUA is responsible for
telephone service, cellular service, water, and electricity
generation and distribution. End Note.)


16. (C) Browne referred to the removal of Aziz Hadeed from
the cabinet as "the clear humiliation" of the Senator.
Browne believes that Hadeed should have been given the
opportunity to resign. (Note: PolOff learned that Senator
Hadeed did not know in advance of his removal from the
cabinet; he only learned of it from the Prime Minister's
December 31 speech. End Note.) Browne believes that the PM
erred when given Hadeed the new position and rank, arguing
that it is unconstitutional to give a person ministerial rank
and responsibilities without having them in the cabinet.

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COMMENT
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17. (C) This is the second time since coming to office that
PM Spencer has rearranged cabinet responsibilities. Both the
ruling UPP and the opposition ALP agree that the shifting of
elements among the departments of Sports and Youth Affairs as
well as Culture are common sense changes. The removal of
Hadeed from the cabinet and the transfer of the APUA to the
PM's account are more significant end-of-year changes in
Antigua. PM Spencer appears to be gaining confidence in his
ability to respond to party members and the electorate in
reducing the profile of a prominent businessman/politican and
breaking the APUA logjam. End Comment.
OURISMAN