Karl Samuda, a veteran JLP politician, has resigned as Minister of Labour and Social Security.
On Saturday, Samuda told various media outlets he will quit on Monday.
The elder statesman announced his resignation from the Labour and Security Ministry during its Labour Relations Awards Banquet at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Friday night.
“It has been a good journey; a thoughtful journey,” Samuda remarked in a clip from the awards ceremony on the ministry’s Instagram page.
In a radio interview, Samuda, 81, said he always planned to serve “two to three years” in the Cabinet following the 2020 General Elections.
“It’s about two and a half years where we are almost, and so, with the prime minister in need of a review, I would daresay that it is definitely necessary, and therefore, I give him (Andrew Holness) that opportunity by stepping aside and giving him a free hand to go and select a person of his choice to go forward,” said Samuda.
Samuda said Holness “needs a team that is going to go forward,” hinting at the long-awaited Cabinet overhaul.
Samuda added, “… Remember I’m not going forward, I’m going to the end”.
Samuda, a merchant, farmer, and technocrat, would not quit as MP for North Central St Andrew, where he has served since 1980.
In September 2020, Samuda became Labour and Social Security Minister.
He was Minister of Education, Youth, and Information on June 17, 2020, and Minister without Portfolio with responsibilities for education from March 2019 until June 2020.
Given his age and the corruption cloud that surrounded the ministry after Ruel Reid’s resignation over fraud allegations, Samuda’s first stint as education minister was viewed with skepticism.
