Can One Minister Handle Two Major Portfolios?

With Oscar Mira stepping aside amid growing controversy, Minister Julius Espat is now being asked to juggle two critical portfolios: Infrastructure Development and Housing, as well as Home Affairs. It’s a heavy lift, and all eyes are on how he plans to manage it. But before getting into the challenge ahead, we asked Espat to weigh in on the situation surrounding his colleague’s exit, and what it means for the government moving forward. Here’s how he responded.

 

On the Phone: Julius Espat, Acting Minister of Home Affairs

“I don’t think it is a downfall. As I told you in the last interview, nobody has the details as yet. He has been under sustained onslaught, no doubt. How he recovers from that, how he handles it is yet to come. But he is a smart man, and I wish him all the best and I hope that he does. I don’t know the details, so I don’t know to what level it is true. Only he can make that decision. We are all different. We all handle situations differently, and so we have to respect that person’s decision and then when it comes to you or me we will have to make that decision independently. I have one philosophy, I don’t immolate anybody else, so you have to handle it with your own style and what makes you and your family comfortable. The reality with us as politicians and area reps, decisions we make is not only for us, it does not only affect us personally. It affects our family, the constituents you represent, the colleagues that sits beside you, your party, the country. So decisions we make cant be taken lightly.”

 

Third Minister in a Year: Can Espat Bring Stability to Home Affairs?

 

Tonight, all eyes are on Minister Julius Espat as he steps into one of the most demanding roles in government, at a time when public safety concerns are running high. Espat takes over the Ministry of Home Affairs as investigators grapple with a spike in violent crime, including the recent, heartbreaking shooting of a pregnant woman near Hattieville. With multiple murder cases still unsolved, the pressure is on to restore a sense of security. Adding to the challenge, this is the third minister to head the ministry in under a year, raising questions about stability, leadership, and public confidence. So, can Espat turn things around and steady the ship? We put that question to him.

 

On the Phone: Julius Espat, Acting Minister of Home Affairs

“Prime Minister called me yesterday in the evening. We had a long conversation. That I take on this additional responsibility and after a while I accepted. It is a difficult one. It is one of the biggest challenges I believe I will have in my life. But we are here to serve. I am loyal to the party and to the government and our prime minister and so I saw it as my responsibility to at least give it a try.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What do you think about the prime minister making this decision?”

 

On the Phone: Julius Espat

“We did not get into much detail. I think he said it was offered to him by Minister Mira. I didn’t get the details and I did not get into it. It was more of a shock when I got the call to be honest. So, I was just listening to his request and giving him the certainty that I would do it. So now I have to calculate in my mind how to handle it and what the situation is. So I will be asking for a briefing. When you get into a new post like this you have to understand how it works, who is responsible for what and what are the responsibilities legally for each person along the chain of command. So those are the things I need to get familiar with and then I will be able to respond more direct questions.”

 

Minister Espat will hold over at the Ministry of Home Affairs for at least three months.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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