Hmm... are you using any mods, or do you hav your own empire's AI fils set to a custom shipset? Some of them have made alterations to compensate for the 1.41 intel bug. That may have restricted your intel building.
In any case, my advice is to ditch the ministers and Micromanage everything. If you want it done right, do it yourself.
Hey... I just thought of another question for the SE4 code...
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SE4 Code:
L GdY $ Fr- C- Sd T!+ Sf-- Tcp-- A% M>M+ MpD! RV Pw Fq+ Nd- Rp+ G-
/SE4 Code
Work out your code at
http://www.sandman43.fsnet.co.uk/se4main.htm