Golding

Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has taken charge of the environment portfolio in a move which seems to have caught some members of his party by surprise.

The Office of the Prime Minister has also taken control of the National Meteorological Service with effect from April 1.

The 2008-2009 Estimates of Expenditure provides $15 million to the Office of the Prime Minister for an Environmental Protection and Conservation Division, while $22-million is provided for the Met Office.

A note in the Estimates says: "This function has been transferred from Head 4200 - Ministry of Health and Environment, with effect from April 1, 2008."

The note further states that the main areas of focus under the Environmental Protection and Conservation Division are the protection of natural resources, the reduction and prevention of pollution and the promotion of sustainable development.

In addition, the Estimates say: "The division is responsible for the development of adequate and suitable regulatory and policy instruments for environmental protection and conservation."

Efforts to get further information from Jamaica House and Information Minister Olivia 'Babsy' Grange were unsuccessful. Efforts by The Sunday Gleaner to contact the health minister on Friday were also unsuccessful.

Jamaica Labour Party officials who spoke off the record expressed surprise at the change.

One source close to the Golding administration noted that in the Second Supplementary Estimates tabled in Parliament last week, the ministry was listed as health and environment, but in the 2008-2009 Estimates tabled on Thursday, it was listed as the Ministry of Health.

The move received a cautious welcome from two of the island's leading environmental activists.

Chief executive officer of Jamaica Environmental Trust, Diana McCaulay, said she was awaiting more details but hoped that the new development reflected the Government's commitment to protecting the environment