The Cabinet Ministers met under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister, The Honourable Dr Terrance Drew, on Monday, May 22nd, 2023, and made several important decisions to improve the welfare of our people.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the Legislative Enactment of Smoking (Designated Areas) Bill, 2023, which seeks to promote public health by reducing exposure to tobacco and other smoke in certain public places, by designating certain specified public places as smoking areas and to prohibit smoking outside of a designated area in public places.
The Legislative Proposal Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act, 2023, whose main objective is to amend the definition of “tainted property”, was also approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The correction of this definition is intended to facilitate the work of investigators and prosecutors.
The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Geoffrey Hanley, updated the Cabinet on the ongoing work to renovate the Edgar T Morris Primary School for the official merger with the Estridge Primary School. Roof and fencing rehabilitation, as well as carpentry work, will be done in preparation for the opening of the new school year in September. Dr Hanley noted that the refurbishments will enable the Edgar T Morris Primary to improve school safety and security measures in keeping with the National Safe School Programme coordinated by the Ministry of Education with support from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
During this week the Honourable Minister of Employment and Labour, Marsha Henderson, is attending the Twelfth Subregional International Labour Organization (ILO) Meeting of Caribbean Labour Ministers in Georgetown, Guyana. The Meeting, being held under the theme “Social Justice – The Foundation for Sustainable Caribbean Transformation,” will address global, regional, and national actions required to accelerate the mainstreaming of social justice for transformative socio-economic development in the current multi-crisis context.