By J. K. Roberts (Sound Public Policies Advocate); Circulated on Tuesday 6th March 2018

An elections manifesto is a public pronouncement of the policies intended to be implemented by a political party (or, by an independent candidate), if it forms the government.  The manifesto generally speaks about a wide range of national issues, directly and indirectly; but it is essentially aimed at capturing the attention and acceptance of the ordinary people.  Whilst a manifesto seems to form a ‘patriotic contract of fiduciary responsibility and moral persuasion’ with the people, there is no guarantee that it will be meaningfully fulfilled as expected, neither is there any effective mechanism for the people to protest against the disappointments caused by the politicians and to redress misrepresentation and dishonorable conduct in government.

Less than two weeks for the 13 March 2018 elections, the two major parties, the New National Party (NNP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), launched their manifestos.  Their manifestos are fundamentally similar in contents and proposals, and in fact there are a few issues for which the same source of public-private partnership is identified.  Reference is made by each party of the St. George’s University to assist in addressing the embarrassing health sector.  There is also the case with the diversifying and liberalizing of the electricity / energy sector; but whilst NNP seems to be taking an adversarial stance and inciting the people against the main provider Grenlec, NDC seems to be promoting cooperation and consultation.

The leaders of NNP and NDC affirm that this elections presents a crossroads in the life of Grenada, but each has a different connotation for the way forward.  The NNP is clamouring that the people should continue in its direction of leadership, with the theme “keep moving”, whilst the NDC is beseeching for a change in the direction of the governance and development of the nation.  Although the political philosophy, vision and mission of both parties can be taken to be quite similar and which attract applause within constitutional democratic governance, there are noted radical differences in the versions, approaches and practices by the parties, which go to the core of the prosperity, safety, sovereignty and sustained welfare of the nation.  Review the previously internet-circulated article “At 44 Grenada’s Independence is on the rocks”, which seeks to arouse genuine concerns on the camouflaged trends and thrusts toward surrendering the local people and their assets to the domain of powers of neo-colonialism.

The NNP’s 2018 manifesto points to a number of achievements based on the performances by its administration during the last term (February 2013 – March 2018). However, the electorate is asked to place credibility and confidence in those claims and boasts, in the absence of sound accountability of stewardship and without gauging the performances with the promises made in the 2013 manifesto (having the theme “We Will Deliver!)”.  As regard judgement on its 2013 manifesto, the record should be clear for example, that the NNP delivered a failed constitutional reform; the NNP failed “on improving delivery of services at the present General Hospital …” on the issue of “fixing the urgent problems of a broken health care system”; and that the NNP failed to deliver the “introduction of local Government in Carriacou and Petite Martinique … in accordance with the Constitution and to the benefit of the islands’ citizens”.   Moreover, it is obvious that NNP’s achievements have been in favour of foreign beneficiaries, including global institutions, at the expense, sacrifice, hardship and peril of the local people.’

In a society of civic unconsciousness and political polarity, and particularly where the voting population is not attuned to and astute on Good Governance principles, elections manifestos and national debates on pertinent issues do not really affect the outcome of an elections.  Most regrettably, political rhetoric and propaganda, as well as campaign engineering and rituals, seem to be very effective in persuading the young and inexperienced voters, who are the greatest to suffer from the dangers for the future by recklessness.   Moreover, it could be said that proclaimed ‘failures and faults’ of a party do not matter in the reelection (or non-reelection) of the party into government; but predominating, that party may be in a more advantageous position in terms of the resources, including funds, and the “control of the electoral machinery”.

It will be instructive to consider that the NNP registered its historic all seats victory in the 1999 elections with the campaign’s theme “Time To Settle Down, We Are Moving On”.  This has been the situation, even after NNP’s government from June 1995 to January 1999 collapsed when senior Minister, Dr. Raphael Fletcher (deceased), stepped-down after accusing his NNP administration of gross corruption and mismanagement; the party came into government with a majority seat of 8 to 7 victory in the 1995 elections.   Significantly for this 2018 elections, NNP is coming from a 15-0 seat in parliament, and with a scenario of having at least three senior executive members (Messrs Kennedy Roberts, Terrence Forrester and Joslyn Whiteman) virtually disassociating themselves from the party on the basis of dictatorship, insensitivity, selfishness, nepotism, gross irregularities and a leadership-direction going the wrong way.

Despite the scant emphasis (deservingly so or not) given to manifestos by the ordinary people, NNP and NDC could be culpable of perpetuating the ignorance of the people by the limitation of mass-circulation of their 2018 manifestos; the solution is not about the manifestos are on the internet.  On this note, it is pitiful that none of these parties has raised the issue of the reinstatement of the public library and an upgrading of the national museum, so as to enhance the literacy and general knowledge, as well as the reading and research skills of the people.

Unfortunately both NNP and NDC have not explicitly mentioned anything in their manifestos about the institutional studies, arrangements and projects undertaken by international bodies on the various socio-economic sectors of the nation.  There have not been any public discussions and clear answers on the lingering critical concerns such as relate to the International Monetary Fund and pensions reforms; Compete Caribbean and the liberalization of the Nutmeg and Cocoa industries; World Bank and the Blue Growth Coastal Master Plan; Nature Conservancy and the Debt for Nature Swap; Global Petroleum Group and the Oil and Gas exploration licence; as well as other controversial deals and programmes.    The internet-circulated article “Grenada’s 2018 Elections : Beyond the Issues!”, attempts to show that there are hidden details and aggravating parameters associated with elections issues, which are over the naive and uninformed thinking and decision-making process of the electorate.

It will be interesting to realize the extent to which the NDC’s elections theme “Putting People First” resonates with the desires of the people. A glamorous manifesto with ambitious promises must also come with objectivity, reality, and modality including cost and time indicators. This theme must also mean ‘listening to the people for the people with the people’ and must be propelled by an immediate mobilizing of personnel-resources, particularly independent voluntary experts and not those political vultures and opportunists who would cause deviations from the manifesto, to undertake comprehensive overhauls of social and economic projects, as well as to steer institutional authorities such as on local government.  The input of the other elections candidates of the likes of Forrester, Mr. Kerry V. Simmons, Dr. Martin W. Edwards and Mrs. Venescia Francis-Banfield should also be integrated in a new chapter of governance.

The NNP 2018 five-year manifesto makes reference to the party’s 2025 Development Vision for Grenada; likewise, the NDC five-year manifesto makes reference to the party’s 2030 Development Vision.  Grenadians would be asking many questions on both NNP and NDC manifestos.   A bewildering question then may well be, how will the Development Vision of the parties positioned or cited in the National Sustainable Development Plan designed by China?