Grenada

Grenada, CMC - As he gets ready to face an electorate in a general election on February 19, Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas is patting himself on the back as it relates to repealing legislation regarding criminal libel in his tiny Caribbean island.

“We are the only country in the Caribbean that has spoken about repealing the legislation and actually doing so,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), citing the need for the media to “be able to carry out its function without much hindrance”.

WASHINGTON, CMC - The Organization of American States (OAS) has signed an agreement with the Grenada government to observe the February 19 general elections. The OAS said Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and Grenada’s the permanent representative to the hemispheric body Gillian Bristol signed the agreement on the privileges and immunities of observers, “which provides the conditions for the work of the electoral observation mission (EOM) to accompany the general elections in the country.

ST.GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC - Law enforcement authorities here are continuing their investigation into a security breach at Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International Airport where an unauthorized person tried to gain entry to a LIAT aircraft which was parked there overnight. Initial checks revealed that one of the emergency doors had been deployed. LIAT says a thorough assessment will be carried out by the Company’s maintenance team before the aircraft is returned to service. LIAT’s Security Department is assisting the Grenadian authorities in the investigation.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC –The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) seeking a second consecutive term in office, has accused the former New National Party (NNP) government of running up a high public debt and preventing the Tillman Thomas administration from carrying out its plans and promises made to the electorate in 2008. Sport Minister Patrick Simmons, speaking at an NDC political rally said that the NDC government has repaid more than EC$350 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) in debt inherited from the Keith Mitchell led administration.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Chronicle - FINALLY, after keeping his political opponents and supporters guessing for at least the past three months, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, has announced February 21 as the date when Barbadians will trek to polling stations to elect a new government for the next five years.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) says agriculture minister Michael Denis Lett, who died from prostate cancer on Monday will be remembered for “his selfless dedication to service, his wisdom and patience as a leader (and) his ability to work across the political divide”. It said Grenada would also remember Lett, 74, for his “heroic stand in defense of the people’s right of access to the La Sagesse beach in 1973 and his willingness to sacrifice his freedom in defense of his principles.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The Grenada government says it welcomes the new Multi-Purpose Identification System (MPID) for citizens of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
A government statement said that the system provides a cost-effective, incremental approach to integrating existing identity systems across the nine-member OECS and will offer a unique, inter-operable, best practice means of identifying each OECS stakeholder.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada’s oldest political party said Monday that it will not contest the February 19 general elections, effectively making the contest a two-way race between the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New National Party (NNP). “We decided at a meeting on Saturday that we will not contest because we have some things to get done, we are just not ready to contest the elections,” said the interim leader of the 62-year-old Grenada United Labour Party (GULP), Wilfred Haynes.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC - Less than 21 days before Grenadians go to the poll to elect a new government, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Minister Denis Michael Lett has died. He was 74 years old.
Lett, a member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) died of prostate cancer.
He had successfully contested the 2003 and 2008 general elections but was not named as a candidate for the February 19 poll.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The main opposition New National Party (NNP) is likely to win the February 19 general elections with more seats than it had before it was swept out of power in 2008, according to a new opinion poll published here on Monday.
The poll by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Research Services Inc (CADRES) predicts that the NNP, which lost the 2008 election by an 11-4 margin, is benefitting from an 11 per cent swing away from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).