TAKING CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT

When Philip Davis took over the reins of the Government, he was surrounded n the privacy of the Governor General’s office at Montagu by a few trusted counsellors.  There was no media but there were a few private cameras.  That was Saturday 18 September 2021 and he had just arrived from his constituency in Cat Island.

The Governor General administered the oath and that was that.

The new Prime Minister did that because in this country there is no interregnum  There is no transition period. You are in one day and out the next. And until the new Prime Minister is sworn in, the last Prime Minister and this Cabinet have the power of executive action.

How do we know?  Well the last in living memory there was such an issue was when Lynden Pindling took over the reins of office in 1967.  The election took place on 10 January 1967.  He assumed power on 9 February 1967.  That was almost a month later.  That meant that the last Premier Sir Roland Symonette and his Cabinet continued to rule the country.

This time, there were stories about how the last Prime Minister Hubert Minnis was busy executing last minute actions as he went out the door. So one story is that  on the day of the general election itself, the former Prime Minister gave an instruction to his Permanent Secretary to say that one of the FNM’s leading ideologues should be placed on the permanent and pensionable.  The Permanent Secretary deferred. 

Well since that time, there are a number of obstacles in the way, who should really resign because they are political appointments.  They have not, so they will have to be removed. That is how the transition of power goes. Ministers will have to watch very carefully because there are poisoned pills all around. However, the work will and must get done.