Dr Peter Phillips, the man who held the national security portfolio in the last People's National Party administration, has slammed Prime Minister Bruce Golding over his decision to move Derrick Smith from the ministry.

Phillips said yesterday that, while he accepted the right of the prime minister to appoint his Cabinet, the removal of Smith seemed to be a panic-stricken response to the worsening crime problem.

According to Phillips, the opposition spokesman on national security, the response by Golding appears to be an effort to disguise the fact that there is no clear plan to deal with crime.

Clear vision needed

"What we need from the Government is not so much a shuffling of the deck but a clear strategic vision that can give the country some assurance that there is a design and a road map to enhance the nation's security," Phillips said.

He argued that the prime minister needs to give Jamaicans a sense of his overall strategy to combat crime.

"The Government's response to this present situation has given rise to concerns as to whether there will be a knee-jerk reaction to every crisis in the future," said Phillips.

In the meantime, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller has expressed concern that the security minister and his junior minister (Arthur Williams) will come from the Senate.

"The representatives of the people should have a colleague in that house to ask questions and to whom direct representation can be made," Simpson Miller said.

She said the Opposition was also disappointed at the "haphazard" manner in which the appointment was made.