Full responsibility for Foreign Affairs passed to Senator Peters

There are some among us who were at least sceptical that Prime Minister Gonsalves would shed some of his weighty responsibilities by giving up responsibility for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, given the prominence of foreign relations in the agenda of the government.

But Gonsalves has silenced the doubters by taking the step, relinquishing full responsibility for the Ministry to Senator Keisal Melissa Peters.

It is far from a Cabinet reshuffle as it involves only three ministers, the Prime Minister himself who, while giving up the Foreign Ministry has in turn assumed responsibility for post-secondary and tertiary education, which were formerly under the portfolio of the Minister of Education, Curtis King.

Our congratulations go out to Peters, who when appointed Senator following the fifth successive victory of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) in November 2020 was made junior Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

The Prime Minister in announcing her recent promotion was effusive in his praise of the new Minister.

“I have watched Keisal Melissa Peters over the last year and a half and I am satisfied that she has grown in the job, and that she can be entrusted with the responsibility,” he said.

It is indeed an important responsibility handed to the 35-year-old senator, still relatively inexperienced in political terms.

But despite her inexperience, Peters, a lawyer by profession, has to date given excellent account of herself when representing SVG and the region on the regional and international stages.

The ULP government has made no bones about the crucial significance it attaches to foreign relations as one of the gangplanks of its development thrust.

In an increasingly uncertain and often hostile global climate, a delicate balance in foreign policy is essential and, given international pressures, not easy to maintain.

The situation in the Taiwan straits is one such example, balancing our close and long-standing relations with Taiwan with the need to avoid further military confrontation in an already war-torn world. Playing our part in maintaining the unity and sovereignty of CARICOM is another such vital task as is our principled support for Cuba and Venezuela, victims of international bullying, unjust sanctions and, in the case of Venezuela even piracy of its financial reserves.

Fortunately the new Minister will still have the wisdom of the Prime Minister to guide her along.

She should continue along the path she has begun in trying to make the work of the ministry more relevant to Vincentians, and in so doing, making the ministry far more an active and outreach ministry than just a bureaucratic operation which it tends to be.

As we wish Minister Peters all the best in her new endeavours, we cannot but frown on the churlishness of some in the media who have tried to bully her with their unwarranted personal attacks.

It is one thing to make principled criticisms about her job performance, position on issues, statements made, actions taken etc., but what place do unjustified personal attacks have in all this?

It is time that we lift ourselves above such lowly attacks which have no place in advancing our civilization.

Minister Peters would be well advised to ignore such low attacks and devote her time and attention to continuing to serve the people of this nation.