Stern

Member of Parliament for North West Clarendon Michael Stern has finally broken his silence on criticisms about his reappointment as state minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Gleaner on Saturday, Stern said the Prime Minister was responsible for appointing ministers and he saw it fit to reappoint him.

"The Prime Minister saw it fit to reappoint me in a position in which I have worked before and if I was not performing in that position he would not have reappointed me in the position," said Stern.

Years of experience

The North West Clarendon MP said his years of experience in the field of business, manufacturing, farming, hardware, and telecommunications among other areas have proven to Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the country that he has a wealth of experience which should be used to help the development of Jamaica.

"The Prime Minister and I have been around each other for 14 years; he knows my capacity; and one of the persons who drummed hard for me to return is the current Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Honourable Karl Samuda, who knew whether or not I would have been an asset to him," said Stern.

The state minister went on to say that those who were criticising his reappointment as a junior minister may not know the asset he is to the Government; and that only those with whom he works closely can tell his worth.

Stern said Samuda and the team at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce have done several things well for Jamaica and were proud of their accomplishments.

"We have been able to shut down the large margins in the trading sector through the Consumer Affairs Commission and through the Ministry of Agriculture, when we do research weekly on prices; and this has contributed to low inflation in terms of the pricing of products, including basic food items, hardware, the margins which used to exist in the banking sector and which were widespread," he said.

Access to loans

According to Stern the ministry had also made access to loans for persons interested in small businesses easier. To prove his point, Stern said hardly any of the $4 billion put aside to assist small businesses four months ago is left.

Stern boasted that all the strategies employed by him, Samuda and the team at the Ministry have worked and he was not surprised at his reappointment.

Following Stern's hush-hush reappointment, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller had accused Prime Minister Bruce Golding of breaching the public's trust.

Simpson Miller said in a statement, that as recently as September, the prime minister, during the Supplementary Budget Debate, gave assurances that he would be cutting the size of the executive. According to Simpson Miller, Stern's reappointment flew in the face of that promise.

Sworn in

Stern was sworn in as minister of states on Tuesday November 17. However, Government only confirmed his appointment two days later. The size of the executive was already 28, inclusive of 16 Cabinet ministers, 10 ministers of state and two parliamentary secretaries.

Stern was kicked out of Parliament by the court in July as a result of his dual-citizenship status.

He had pledged allegiance to a foreign power, which is prohibited under the Constitution.

He was later re-elected in a by-election in September, which was only contested by the National Democratic Movement's Eton Williams. The People's National Party's Richard Azan who brought Stern before the courts over the dual citizenship issue opted out of the by-election.