The new government has lost millions in investment for Grenada, alleges the opposition
Keith Mitchell was Prime Minister of Grenada for 13 years (1995-2008). His New National Party (NNP) was defeated in the 2008 General Election and has four seats in the country’s House of Representatives. Now, as Leader of the Opposition, he tells us the government is responsible for alienating potential investors.
© Hegel Goutier
What are the main concerns of the opposition vis-à-vis the new government in power?
You need as much unity and coming together of ideas at all levels as possible, and more so in times of financial problems. My government laid a solid foundation for this. When the new government came in, they simply had to build on this. In fact, they have done the complete opposite and proceeded to witch-hunt their opponents and victimise the supporters of the last government. The current government only won by 1,800 votes. Almost all the major projects have stopped. You are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, whose father is Grenadian, was interested in making an investment here but the opposition [at the time] proceeded to say there was corruption between himself, the government [then NNP] and the former Governor-General.
Some argue that investments are suspended due to the global financial crisis?
The government clearly has to put its own spin on things but the facts are there. They attack peoples’ characters that’s the issue. Despite the international context you would have seen a lot more activity and a lot of projects would have been going on. By smearing, you are not only attacking the politician but are endangering the possibility of investment.
Why do you not sue the government in the Court?
I have about 20 court cases for slander. I have judgements in my favour but the system is rolling so slowly.
What’s your opinion of CARICOM? It seems to becoming weaker.
The need for stronger economic and political ties among small nations in the region is becoming more and more critical if they are to survive in this global village. My own feeling is that the pace of integration is too slow but economic development of small states is becoming more and more difficult without an integrated approach. Every time decisions are made at CARICOM level to work cooperatively, somebody, or groups of persons tend to undermine the system and CARICOM organs are not strong enough to force people to operate within the framework of which decisions are made. There is a need to strengthen CARICOM institutions. It has become very bureaucratic in its approach to a number of issues. There needs to be a deeper sense of political integration but this will not come overnight.
How can hope be passed on to young people in these challenging times?
If young people are left without hope they feel a sense of marginalisation and can find themselves in positions where their actions have permanent damage on themselves. There’s a sense of hopelessness at ground level in the country. We had a transportation scheme for children whose parents could not afford to pay the bus fare and a uniform allowance for pupils but these and other programmes have been cut by the government.
