Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis was sworn in as Minister of Finance on Monday morning by His Excellency Sir Cornelius A. Smith, Governor General, during a brief ceremony at the new office of the Governor General on One Montagu Centre.
It follows the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest who has been accused of being involved in a scheme to defraud two companies he worked for out of more than $20 million.
Turnquest resigned on Wednesday after Minnis faced immense pressure to get rid of his deputy.
As a result, the country had no Minister of Finance, in the midst of the worst economic crisis in recent memory, for five days as Minnis took his time being sworn in as Finance Minister.
Unlike his predecessors Perry Christie and Hubert Ingraham, Minnis did not appoint himself as Minister of Finance following the Free National Movement’s 2017 General Election victory because he feared he could not handle the mammoth task of balancing a budget and crunching numbers.
However, his colleagues are hoping he will make a far more effective Minister of Finance than he was Minister of Health. Following the shocking resignation of Dr. Duane Sands earlier this year, Minnis took on his portfolio but did not attend a single press briefing held by the Ministry of Health, never made himself available to the media for questions and did a poor job of consulting with doctors, nurses and other support staff on the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle.
It is unclear who will be appointed as the new Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister or how soon those appointments will be announced.