Members of the audience at the St. Michael East branch’s Annual General Meeting held at the Israel Lovell Foundation.
Member of Parliament for St. Michael East, Trevor Prescod, assures constituents that he remains committed to the task of working on their behalf, though he is no longer a Government minister.
The new Special Envoy for Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement sought to make this clear as he addressed the St. Michael East branch’s Annual General Meeting at the Israel Lovell Foundation last weekend.
“I am still here with you. I am still your elected representative of St. Michael East. Nobody cannot change that; the Prime Minister, Governor General, Supreme Court judge, nobody cannot change that. I am your de jure and de facto representative of St. Michael East.”
Prescod also shared with the gathering his reaction when he was informed by the Prime Minister of plans to reshuffle Cabinet and that he will no longer be the Minister of Environment and National Beautification. He said, “I really got the shock of my life, because I had no expectation of facing any judgement or any determination.”
Alternatively, he spoke about his decision to take the new post as Envoy. He said while opting to take this job, the constituency he represents in Parliament remained top of mind.
“I have entered into an arrangement with the Prime Minister on the role that I will play and as long as that arrangement in any way does not disconnect me from the constituency of St. Michael East, I believe it was the best decision for me to make.”
He continued, “I made it very clear to the Prime Minister, I am not engaged in any form of government administration unless I have a direct hand in the development of St. Michael East… I live in St. Michael East, my family lives in St. Michael East, my friends live in St. Michael East and my constituents… they still live in St. Michael East and I have accepted the responsibility to represent all. When I came in 2018, I came to represent you. As far as I know and I believe that you equally as conscious as I am, I am still your representative and all I did before, I will continue to do unless somebody stops me from doing it, I report to you. I don’t report to anybody else…” (MG)