HELLO GRENADA

We have witnessed a plethora of comment on the island about the upcoming convention of the main opposition party the National Democratic Congress (NDC).While such events take place each year, this one has special significance. Since the party’s disastrous performance in the last general elections, many opine, both inside and outside the party, that it is time for party leader and former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas to call it quits. The stage is now set for Mr. Thomas’s departure as news reports indicate that he had officially advised the party’s executive that he will not seek election to any position within its executive. In the eyes of many, Mr. Thomas represents a rare breed of “servants” of politics in an era where the reputation of politicians is at an all time low. By his action, the stage is now set for the election of a new political leader. For some months now, the issue has been smouldering but over the last few weeks, the issue is hotly debated on the streets and in th...

Open Letter To Mr Hamlet Mark ‘Too little too late, your pen is stalling’ Dear sir I have been following your blog Notes From All Around and Caribupdate News Service for long time. I think that you are a very skilful writer who has a very good idea of the political happenings in Grenada, but lately I have realized that your poetic pen is stalling. Your blog and news agency has gone into semi-hibernation. I must repeat that your blogs were well written and they had a very magnetic effect on thousands of readers. As a result of this Notes From All Around and Caribupdate News became the talk of the town. People listen to your tunes religiously. You became the Grenadian ‘Pied Piper’. During that time the National Democratic Congress was in office. You spared no effort in crafting half truths, fairy tales and twists all in an effort to create mistrust in the masses and chaos in government and by extension the nation. You continuously speared the NDC heart with you...

Grenada’s 2014 Budget Grenada’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Keith Mitchell presented the country’s 2014 Budget Statement to the parliament on Tuesday December 10th 2013. The budget presentation was anxiously awaited by the citizenry in the wake of the proposed “Home Grown” Structural Adjustment Program. There has been a plethora of comment about the math of the budget; however I will attempt to address the fundamental underpinnings of the emerging socio economic situation existing in the country which was supposed to shape the framework of that budget. The theme “Building the New Economy through Higher Productivity and Shared Sacrifice for the Benefit of all” can be described incoherent and unrealistic. The New Economy cannot be built on clichés and slogans. Economic progress can only grace our land when leadership, vision and hard work are applied to our day to day activities. The expenditure allocations are indeed curious. The Ministry of Youth was allocated $7...

Recently, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, in a speech at the Cave Hill Campus at UWI bluntly admitted that the region is facing a grave crisis which we must address. He said “The tragedy of these times is that we are in the throes of a major crisis like the Caribbean has never ever experienced before, but we are refusing to face the reality that confronts us and all of us are engaged in one form or another of self denial”. Grenada sits on top of the table in the OECS as it relates to Debt to GDP ratio. St. Kitts and Antigua are next in line. The government of Grenada informed the international community that it cannot meet its debt commitments under present arrangements. The country therefore entered into default mode and has experienced, since then, a precipitous drop in its credit ratings. The government then announced that it will implement a “Home Grown” structural adjustment programme.  The country’s Prime Minister is now challenged to lead the country during...

The Middle Class under attact The country’s Prime Minister announced in a national address recently that the income tax threshold will be lowered from $60,000 to $36,000 per annum come January 2014. This policy reversal comes in the wake of a proposed Structural Adjustment Programme which the government will implement for the next three years. Dr.Mitchell stated that the existing tax regime is the most liberal in the Caribbean if not the world. He went on to say that it needs to be rolled back if we want the international community to provide assistance for the Structural Adjustment Programme. The implications of this measure has not yet been internalized by many as the government is yet to  define what this programme is intended to achieve. The Committee of Social Partners has held a series of public discussions in an attempt to promote public education on this thorny issue. However, one senses an underlying state of despair as the soon to be affected wage earners do the ma...

Grenada’s Home Grown Structural Adjustment: Fiction or Troubled Reality Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell delivered his much anticipated National Address on October 30th 2013. The address started off with self characterizing reference as the “Chief Public Servant” a term never before used in his political career. One wonders if that was a form of psychological preparation in anticipation of the pay hike for ministers based on public sector wage settlement In my previous commentary prior to the address, reference was made to the Prime Minister’s strategy of “Drip Disclosure”. The speech proved beyond reasonable doubt that the assessment is and was correct. The main objective of the address was to announce a major policy reversal of reduction in the Income Tax Threshold. Undoubtedly, this would have been a painful moment for Dr. Mitchell as the promise to raise the threshold, if elected, in 1995 was pivotal to his electoral victory. The rest of the speech was pretty mundane. Obser...

Drip Disclosure!! Emerging Strategy of Grenada’s Prime Minister The much anticipated visit to the IMF by Grenada’s Prime Minister and his delegation has come and gone. The nation held its breath as it was understood that Dr. Mitchell was supposed to issue a “Letter of Intent” to the IMF which sets out the policy orientation of the government as it relates to its “Home Grown “Structural Adjustment Program. By all appearances, that letter has not been issued. However the contents seem to be a well guarded secret as discreet enquiries with NNP insiders suggest that only the “Chief” and his close confidant Timothy Antoine, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, actually know what is enshrined therein. The truth is that the Prime Minister has engaged personally with the Committee of Social Partners in an effort to attract their support. The Committee comprises the Council of Churches, Trades Union Council and the Inter Agency Group of Non- Governmental Organizations. This foru...