J. K. Roberts (Sound Public Policies Advocate); Circulated on Monday 14 February 2022.

The ingredients of morality and objectivity are crucial in advocating and analyzing the political landscape and issues which are pertinent to the benefits of a people and the wellbeing of the State. Unfortunately, those ingredients are not strikingly evident in Grenada and even the reasonable efforts towards engendering a thriving and rewarding democracy are often met with disdain and pushback. While competing for State power is typically aggressive and brutal by the frontline political actors, it should be very disconcerting about the partisan and selfish attitudes of the influential “good citizens” who do not provide sound guidance, knowledge and judgement for the electorate on the circumstances and factors relating to the “right to vote”. The leading-up to Grenada’s general elections which could be this year ahead of the due date sometime in April 2023, is already proving that the doings of devious presentations and unconscionable defences of political positions will be at the highest in its recent record, as the battle builds up and unrolls. 

Taking center stage in the upcoming electoral battle for national supremacy is the quest for the creation of history on both sides of the political divides; thus generating tremendous excitement and anxiety by the followers of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the ruling New National Party (NNP). The scenario is turning out to be about NDC’s political novice, Attorney Dickon Mitchell, uprooting NNP’s veteran leader, Statistician Keith Mitchell; although the pursuit isn’t assuredly or necessarily be to the direct improved benefits for the common man.  Many things are at high-stakes for the politicians and thus drastic weaponries will be employed by the parties and each one is hoping that there will not be any defectors at the voting booths. The NDC is seemingly backed by a resentful coalition of forces for humiliation to the exit reign and legacy of prime minister Mitchell who is cherished by those settled NNP’s accomplices and beneficiaries possibly seeking to escape prosecution for the ills and losses inflicted to the State.

For the focused and conscious individuals about Grenada’s political experiences and evolution, institutional configurations and alliances, entrenched corruption and unaccountability, and development trajectory and sovereignty challenges, there is much ‘curiosity and uncertainty’ about the ‘significance and soundness’ of future elections, despite who will be the victor at the next occasion.  What would be the level and range of the consequences and revelations from the elections? Would the governance status quo, the business and service environment, and the external dependency syndrome inevitably remain; or rather, is there any real latitude for productive negotiations and modifications in representing the people? Both NDC and NNP are depending on the wide cross-section of the common man to amass votes by any means possible for win. However; what are the grievances and expectations of the people, as compared with the ‘behind the scenes’ issues of the parties, and who are the ‘open’ arbiters for the common man?

A relatively new issue for captivating the electorate is about marijuana, as references are made to the 8 June 2018 Final Report of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana.  A sharp policy-difference between the parties on adopting this Report is decriminalization by NNP versus legalization by NDC. How genuine and deliberate though is the debate on the merits of those approaches, especially in terms of the purported benefits to be derived by the common man? What are the practical differences between legalization and decriminalization of the herb? Is it fair to give the impression and to hype confidence that the legalization of marijuana means the opening up of a free-for-all regime which will bring overnight results of overflowing rewards and optimum benefits to solve the myriad of national problems, without any serious processing time and barriers? Couldn’t operational regulations, including pertinent global treaties and United Nations declarations, debar or frustrate the common man of a fair share of the marijuana market?   

The NNP-government has tabled a Bill in the Parliament for the decriminalization of Marijuana, involving amendments to Grenada’s Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) Act, and it would thus be constructive for NDC to stimulate active public debates with recommendations on the Bill. An irony in the drive for decriminalizing / legalizing marijuana is the noted neglect of agriculture and the need for its viable resuscitation, including processing and marketing of fruit crops and marine products and the patenting of the local spices and crafts. Has NDC any counter proposals to the persistent moves by the Government to merge and privatize the nutmeg and cocoa entities? Does NDC intend to assist in securing and maximizing the benefits for ‘small-scale’ cultivators of marijuana, by modelling a cooperative similar to those of the traditional agricultural crops? 

Moreover; it is puzzling how the NDC leader relate the marijuana issue to the 2022 report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the national economy, without releasing the party’s taxation and public debt policies nor emphasizing its approach for the relationship with and / or for manoeuvring the finance fountains such as IMF, the World Bank and China.  Dickon Mitchell acknowledged that Grenada will face significant challenges as to where revenues are going to come from to meet all of the challenges that are needed to be met in the next 24 to 48 months and intimated that currently the sound option of transformative and creative avenues to enhance government’s revenues is to fully establish the marijuana industry. Are the holistic considerations on the economic turnovers from marijuana provide for the inherent social and security cost to the State? Has NDC’s Mitchell any deep commitment for repositioning the National Transformation Fund and Fiscal Responsibility Act which are central to the economy? Is Mitchell also affirming that his party’s 2017-2030 Policy Agenda, as well as the National Sustainable Development Plan 2020-2035, lack the measures for alleviating the woes of the common man?  

Once again constitutional reforms would be featured directly or indirectly on the campaign trail, including inclusions in the manifestos of NDC and NNP; and any of those parties getting the nod for State government would make a show towards constitutional referenda. Pertinent issues such as the type and structure of Parliament, term limits and recall of Representatives, Republicanism and the Caribbean Court of Justice should not be prioritized over the Source Document.  The past attitudes of NDC and NNP for reforms have registered contempt for the Grenadian people and democracy, and thus both parties deserve condemnation by the people. However; some measure of credibility can be salvaged if any or both joined in championing the ‘cause and call’ for having a referendum on the ‘views and desires’ for a new ratified constitution in celebrating the fiftieth year of Sovereign Independence, to be held along the coming elections.

It should also be mindboggling to comprehend that since the two treacherous referenda allowed by prime minister Mitchell in 2016 and 2018, to date the NDC has not presented to the people a clear and convincing paper for the unchanged 1974 Constitution which has proven not to be serving the people ‘good and accountable’ governance. This is especially the case on the basis of its 2018 elections manifesto promising to “Establish a Constituent Assembly to complete the reform of the existing Constitution after comprehensive public consultations on the Constitution with the citizens of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique both at home and in the diaspora”. Being unsuccessful at the elections should not cause a damper and an excuse for not embarking in a rational way on such ‘noble goal’; marking a determination and preparation for Government.

The issue of Fixed Date for elections is superficial and secondary compare to the many other constitutional deficiencies and grievances; and in fact, the politically-correct remarks by NDC’s Mitchell about this particular issue during the 18 January 2022 Grenada Broadcasting Network’s “To The Point” programme is instead most applicable for the Constitution in its entirety. That is; the existing constitutional system should be a thing of the past … it is outdated and frankly counterproductive to democracy and doesn’t lead to good governance because essentially what this means is the exploiting of the system for political advantage.  Without meaningful evidence otherwise, NDC seems to be also wedged in the mentality and fortitude for Absolute Power.

Political engineering takes scientific and strategic decision-makings, especially as the various parties seek to shield its brand and approaches and to balance this with the need to share moderate materials for mileage at the elections.  Ambiguities and red-herrings do not often fascinate the undecided / swing ‘meticulous and inquiring’ voters who try to read between the lines and to decipher what are behind the scenes; however as is prominently the case, rhetoric with half-truths does not disturb stalwart constituents, interest groups and gullible citizens.

It would be ridiculous and reprehensible for the management of COVID-19 to blaze the campaign trail of the upcoming elections, targeting the vaccinated against the unvaccinated voters. The fact remains that any of the contesting parties gaining the Government will respond hastily to the private enterprises and other economic sectors, thrust by international trends on mandatory vaccination in one form or the other, to the extent of ‘adversely representing’ portions of the people on the critical issues of life and livelihood, as well as Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.