One more minister to be sworn in

Of the 16 people identified by the Prime Minister to be appointed government senators, it appears only Dr Amery Browne may need to attend a ceremony at President's House in St Ann's in the near future.

Four others who were listed as government senators may not be required to do to so, unless they are appointed government ministers or parliamentary secretaries. They are Nigel de Freitas, Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing, Daniel Dookie and Yokymma Bethelmy.

In a letter dated August 19 to President Paula-Mae Weekes, Dr Rowley advised her of the 16 people to be appointed government senators.

The others were all sworn in as ministers on Wednesday.

They are Franklin Khan, Paula Gopee-Scoon, Clarence Rambharat, Randall Mitchell, Kazim Hosein, Rohan Sinanan, Avinash Singh, Allyson West, Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal, Hassel Bacchus and Donna Cox.

Rowley said Browne, who is to be Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister, would be sworn in at a later date because he is in quarantine in keeping with covid19 protocols. Browne and his family returned to TT on August 8 and have been at a state-run facility since then. Their two-week quarantine ends on August 22.

One of the Government's 16 senators is elected Senate President.

The Senate President only casts a vote in the Senate in the event of a tie and does not participate in debates.

With uncertainty over whether Christine Kangaloo would be returning as senate president, it is possible that the posts of senate president and vice president could be filled by De Freitas, Lezama-Lee Sing or Bethelmy.

Under the Senate's Standing Orders Four and Five, its presiding officers (president and vice-president) cannot be government ministers or parliamentary secretaries. De Freitas served as senate vice president in the last Parliament. He also acted as Senate President when Kangaloo was acting as President when Weekes was out of the country.

Under the Standing Orders, the first business of the House and Senate after any general election is the election of their respective presiding officers (Speaker, Deputy Speaker; President, Vice-President).

Before the Parliament was dissolved on July 3, ahead of the August 10 general election, it was already heading into its fixed recess period. Under the Parliament's (House of Representatives and Senate's) Standing Orders, the recess begins in the first week of July and ends in the first week of September.

All those elected MPs or appointed senators take their oaths for these positions in Parliament when it convenes.