By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER PLP candidate advises critics of Prime Minister Perry Christie's new 21-member cabinet to give the nation's leader the "benefit of the doubt".

George Smith, a former PLP candidate for many family islands between the 1980's and 90's, spoke to The Tribune yesterday about the new cabinet and the latest criticism of Mr Christie selecting such a large cabinet.

"The size of the cabinet is the decision made by the Prime Minister and this position gives him the right to form the cabinet he wants to tackle the problems the country is facing."

"The main challenges are going to be in national security, crime and the attorney General's office. Then you have the education ministry where I am confident that Mr Fitzgerald will do a really good job.

"Infrastructural works and urban renewal is another critical area to look at and the prime minister placed his deputy to cover that."

The economy was the other area that Mr Smith said would be a challenge for the cabinet, but he said: "Looking at the team that the prime minister assembled, there is a very balanced grouping of persons with experience, talent and youth to deal with these challenges."

Mr Smith also responded to a statement from the Free National Movement about the size of the new cabinet, which they dubbed as "bloated".

"I think the FNM should be the last group to talk about cabinet. When the PLP had been elected to power in 2002, they called the PLP's cabinet 'gussy-mae', think it was? Well if you look at the FNM's cabinets in 1992, 1997 and then again in 2007, no cabinet Mr Christie could form could be as bloated as anything Mr Hubert Ingraham and the FNM had."

He concluded that "anyone who doubts this new cabinet should give Mr Christie the benefit of the doubt because he deserves it. The people implored their confidence in him by voting him and his party into governance and he ought to be given the chance to work in their best interest".

However, a member of the FNM's counsel does not see this large cabinet as a move in the interest of Bahamians.

Ivoine Ingraham yesterday said the large cabinet appeared to be the new prime minister trying to give all his party candidates a job.

"It appears as though the prime minister designed this cabinet specifically to get everybody in his party a salary more than that of what they would be getting just for their seat," he claimed.

"I don't see how they were preaching all the campaign about the funds, or lack thereof in the treasury and here it is now, you are giving away money - is it just to find jobs for everyone in your party?" If so, Mr Ingraham found the position "hypocritical."

He questioned the appointment of Damian Gomez as Minister of State in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, pointing out that at the time of his appointment he had a client still facing an extradition hearing before the courts.

Mr Ingraham held his thoughts on how the cabinet would perform based on who was appointed. He wanted to "wait and see" as there were other concerns regarding reported actions of the new government he wished to look into.