Phillips flays Holness over failure to name Wheatley's replacement

Leader of the Opposition Dr Peter Phillips is urging Prime Minister Andrew Holness to tell the nation who will take on the ministerial responsibilities that were held by Dr Andrew Wheatley.

According to Phillips, adequate time has now passed since the resignation of Wheatley as minister of science and technology for Holness to share information regarding his replacement and future direction and control of the ministry.

Wheatley resigned on Monday amid swirling allegations surrounding agencies under his portfolio and the energy portfolio that he had been stripped of last month.

In a release yesterday, Phillips charged that it was highly unusual for a prime minister to say absolutely nothing to the country on the occasion of a ministerial resignation and to announce what the new arrangements are for the continuation of the work of important institutions and agencies that fall under the ministry.

"Is the country to assume that all agencies, departments, and subjects are now subsumed in the overloaded Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation as seems to be the usual strategy in recent times?" asked Phillips.

He noted that the Opposition has had cause, for the past few weeks, to highlight the haphazard manner in which the affairs of both the Government and the Parliament were being conducted by the Holness administration.

"The treatment of the people of Jamaica in this particular matter is nothing short of disrespectful and arrogant," charged Phillips.

"Three days is sufficient time for the prime minister to tell the nation of his plans in relation to the governance of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Consequently, I call on him to immediately provide the nation with details of his decision on the future of the ministry, its departments, and agencies and to assure the nation that its business is being given the seriousness it deserves," added Phillips.