'I do not support abolishing the positions
Hon Smith said that, as a Junior Minister herself, she felt compelled to share her thoughts while contributing to the debate on the 2022-2023 CRC Report during the Continuation of the Ninth Sitting...
Hon Smith said that, as a Junior Minister herself, she felt compelled to share her thoughts while contributing to the debate on the 2022-2023 CRC Report during the Continuation of the Ninth Sitting of the Second Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. “I do not support the recommendation of abolishing the positions of junior ministers.” There are currently two Junior Ministers- Hon Hodge-Smith and Hon Lorna G.
Smith, OBE (AL), Junior Minister for Financial Services and Economic Development. Jr Ministers do a great service, but aren’t treated as equals According to Hon Hodge-Smith, Junior Ministers provide a great service, though in the capacity of assisting the Ministers with their duties. “However, I don’t really feel that Junior Ministers are treated equally, but I don't mean it in a mean way.
Junior Ministers don’t have full authority in a sense because we still have the overarching minister responsible for the areas.” Hon Hodge-Smith said that despite having the title of Junior Minister and the full support of a team, they work just as hard as Ministers. She also said she was not opposed to the title of Junior Minister being renamed Minister of State. “I don’t have an issue with that; however, to me it’s just business as usual.” Meanwhile, Hon Hodge-Smith called for Junior Ministers or Ministers of State to be given more autonomy, power and decision-making responsibilities. “I also believe that this should be done in writing that once the Junior Minister, the Minister of State, is given areas of responsibility, they should be given an instrument in writing, outlining what they can and what they cannot do.” This online news site is the sole property of and is operated by Advance Marketing and Professional Services dba Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) in the Virgin Islands.
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