Fi­nance Min­is­ter Dav­en­dranath Tan­coo and Plan­ning Min­is­ter Kennedy Swarats­ingh both have re­ceived cross-ap­point­ments as ju­nior min­is­ters in each oth­er’s min­istries, in what the Gov­ern­ment says is an ef­fort to strength­en eco­nom­ic co­or­di­na­tion.

Ac­cord­ing to the Trinidad and To­ba­go Gazette, Tan­coo was ap­point­ed Min­is­ter in the Min­istry of Plan­ning, Eco­nom­ic Af­fairs and De­vel­op­ment with ef­fect from May 15, while Swarats­ingh was named Min­is­ter in the Min­istry of Fi­nance, ef­fec­tive May 13.

Both men re­tain their sub­stan­tive min­is­te­r­i­al port­fo­lios.

Tan­coo is the sub­stan­tive Min­is­ter of Fi­nance and Swarats­ingh is the sub­stan­tive Min­is­ter of Plan­ning.

Swarats­ingh de­scribed the move as “clever” and part of the Prime Min­is­ter’s push for greater col­lab­o­ra­tion across key min­istries.

“The Prime Min­is­ter felt that both my­self and Min­is­ter Tan­coo and the Min­is­ter of Trade have to work close­ly to­geth­er,” he said, “as we seek to re­shape the di­ver­si­fi­ca­tion port­fo­lio and gen­er­al work in the econ­o­my.”