house of representatives 2008

8/2/2019 House of Representatives 2008

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House of Representatives 2008 - 2013

Hon. Dean O. Barrow

Prime Minister and

Minister of Finance

Queen's Square

Hon. Gaspar Vega

Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Natural Resources and the Environment

Orange Walk North

Hon. Bernard Q. A. Pitts

Attorney General


2/16

Hon. Douglas Singh

Minister of Police and Public Safety

UDP (Leader of Government Business)

Hon. Wilfred Elrington

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade

Pickstock

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.

Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture

Belize Rural South


3/16

Hon. Melvin Hulse

Minister of Transport, Communications and National Emergency Management

Stann Creek West

Hon. Pablo Marin

Minister of Health

Corozal Bay

Hon. Carlos Perdomo

Minister of Defense and Immigration

Caribbean Shores


4/16

Hon. Patrick Faber

Minister of Education and Youth

Collet

Hon. Rene Montero

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries

Cayo Central

Hon. Michael Finnegan

Minister of Housing and Urban Development

Mesopotamia


5/16

Hon. Peter Eden Martinez

Minister of Human Development and Social Transformation

Toledo East

Hon. Anthony "Boots" Martinez

Minister of Works

Port Loyola

Hon. John Saldivar

Minister of the Public Service, Governance Improvement, Elections & Boundaries and Sports

Belmopan


6/16

Hon. Erwin Contreras

Minister of Economic Development, Commerce, Industry and Consumer Protection

Cayo West

Hon. Gabriel Martinez

Minister of Labour, Local Gov't and Rural Development

Corozal South West

Hon. Elvin Penner

Minister of Public Utilities and Information and Broadcasting

Cayo North East


7/16

Hon. Juan Coy

Minister of State/Ministry of Human Development and Social Transformation

Toledo West

Minister of State/Ministry of Works

Hon. Michael Hutchinson

Minister of State/Ministry of Local Gov't and Rural Develop

Belize Rural Central


8/16

Hon. Arthur William Roches

Minister of State/Ministry of Health

Dangriga

Hon. Marco Pech

Minister of State/Ministry of Natural Resources

Orange Walk South

Hon. Salvador Fernandez

Cayo North


9/16

Hon. Nemencio Acosta

Corozal North

Hon. Marcel Cardona

Orange Walk East

Hon. Ramon Witz

Cayo South


10/16

Hon. Edmund George Castro

Belize Rural North

Hon. John Briceno

Leader of Opposition

Orange Walk Central

Hon. Said MusaFort George

Hon. Francis Fonseca

Freetown


11/16

Hon. Mark Espat

Albert

Hon. Cordel Hyde

Lake Independence

Hon. Florencio Marin Jr.

Corozal South East


12/16

Mr. Emil Arguelles

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Cabinet 2008 - 2013

Hon. Dean O. Barrow

Prime Minister andMinister of Finance

Queen's Square

Hon. Gaspar Vega

Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister of Natural

Resourcesand the Environment

Orange Walk North

Hon. Bernard Q. A. Pitts

Attorney General

Hon. Douglas Singh

Minister of Police and Public

Safety

UDP (Leader of Government

Business)

Hon. Wilfred ElringtonMinister of Foreign Affairs

and Foreign Trade

Pickstock

Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation

and Culture

Belize Rural South


13/16

Hon. Melvin Hulse

Minister of Transport,

Communications and NationalEmergency Management

Stann Creek West

Hon. Pablo Marin

Minister of Health

Corozal Bay

Hon. Carlos Perdomo

Minister of Defense andImmigration

Caribbean Shores

Hon. Patrick Faber

Minister of Education and Youth

Collet

Hon. Rene Montero

Minister of Agriculture and

Fisheries

Cayo Central

Hon. Michael Finnegan

Minister of Housing and Urban

Development

Mesopotamia

Hon. Peter Eden Martinez

Minister of Human Developmentand Social Transformation

Toledo East

Hon. Anthony "Boots"

Martinez

Minister of Works

Port Loyola

Hon. John Saldivar

Minister of the Public Service,Governance Improvement, Elections

& Boundaries and Sports

Belmopan


14/16

Hon. Erwin Contreras

Minister of EconomicDevelopment, Commerce,

Industry and Consumer

Protection

Cayo West

Hon. Gabriel Martinez

Minister of Labour, LocalGov't and Rural

Development

Corozal South West

Hon. Elvin Penner

Minister of Public Utilities and

Information and Broadcasting

Cayo North East

Hon. Juan CoyMinister of State/

Ministry of Human Developmentand Social Transformation

Toledo West

Hon. Michael HutchinsonMinister of State/Ministry of

Local Gov't and RuralDevelop

Belize Rural Central

Hon. Arthur William Roches

Minister of State/Ministry of Health

Dangriga

Hon. Marco Pech

Minister of State/Ministry of

Natural Resources

Minister of State/Ministry of

Works


15/16

Orange Walk South

Our Constitution provides for the appointment of a Prime Minister by the Governor-General fromamong members of the House of Representatives who in his/her opinion is considered the leader of

the political party which commands the support of the majority of the members of the House. If it

happens that no political party has an overall majority, the Governor-General appoints a member ofthe House who appears to him/her most likely to command the support of the majority of the

members in the House.

The Cabinet, which is the chief policy-making body in the Government machinery, is made up of

persons who formulate the policy and programme of the Government and is headed by the Prime

Minister. These persons are drawn from the National Assembly, which comprises both the Houseof Representatives and the Senate.

The Prime Minister holds discussions with various elected members of his party and then submitsa list of names of Representatives and/or Senators he wants to serve on his Cabinet. The Governor-

General then appoints the persons the Prime Minister desires, and makes them responsible for theMinistries which the Prime Minister has decided on.

The Government then is really the Cabinet and consists of the Prime Minister and other Ministers,all of whom are collectively responsible for every part of the Government's administration. Each

Minister is given certain departments, for which he is responsible to the Prime Minister and the

National Assembly. It is the Prime Minister then that actually appoints the other Ministers and whomay also require them to resign. All Ministers must be members of either the House of

Representatives or the Senate and a Minister may speak only in the House of which he is a

member.

The Minister must be prepared to speak on behalf of his own Ministry or for any part of the

Government's field of responsibility. They must all defend the policy of the Government in both of

the Houses. They may disagree inside the Cabinet but once a vote is taken each and everyone isobliged to defend that policy and it is never known, or should never be known, that any of them

did not agree with this or that policy. In the event that a Minister feels so strongly against a policy

that he does not intend to defend it in the National Assembly or in private and public, it is normalfor him to resign as a Minister of the Cabinet. If not, the Prime Minister may call on him to do so.

In theory, the Cabinet is responsible to the National Assembly, and through the National Assembly

to the people, who may call it to account at the next general election by giving a majority to theother party.

The Cabinet works in great secrecy. No outside person is allowed to see any Cabinet papers untilthey have become only of historical interest, and no member of the Cabinet may refer outside to

the discussions that have taken place in the Cabinet. This rule is strictly observed, and if it can be

proved that a Minister has made known to outsiders any of the secret discussions he is liable toprosecution, and if found guilty by the Court can be sent to prison.


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house of representatives 2008

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