By: Staff Writer
November 1, 2024
The former Prime Minister of Grenada said at a Town Hall held in New York City recently that the Dickon Mitchell administration is politicizing the public services.
Dr Keith Mitchell, Leader of the Opposition and the New National Party (NNP), said that institutions like the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Public Services Commission have become “political institutions,” under this National Democratic Congress (NDC) government led by Dickon Mitchell,
Dr Mitchell also said: “People are being investigated and transferred based on their perceived political affiliations sisters and brothers, and I’m going to speak about these things. I don’t care who it hurts because it is my country I’m talking about.”
Many more government institutions are “going this route,” under the NDC government and it was something that never took place before in Grenada.
Dr Mitchell also said: “In order to move your country forward you must, one, unify your country as best as possible. So you have to make everyone feel they have a chance to be involved.
“If you don’t have that, you can have all of the ideas, all of the beautiful economic theory and perceived academic qualification, you will not make it if you don’t bring people together.”
Not only does this unification of the people help to move the country forward, but it gives investors the confidence to “take risks” and to invest more in Grenada.
Speaking from experience, Dr Mitchell noted the period after the 2008/2009 financial collapse and how Grenada was on its knees economically and how the NNP led by him had to come back in a landslide. Dr Mithcell also recalled where his 2013 administration had to take out loans to pay public servants.
Dr Mitchell also said on the second point, “you have to put in place a policy of taxation and on a principle of fiscal policy that shows stability that people will have the necessary confidence to take risk…”
He also said that the NDC government “cannot last much longer,” and his NNP stands ready to help Grenadians again.
The Dickon Mitchell NDC government came to power in June, 2022 and while the reign has been relatively peaceful, there has been criticisms of his handling of public servants, national cultural events and also how the Citizenship by Investment programme is being managed.
This recent spate of allegations of politicizing public services is just another in a volley of those criticisms.