"If Mr. Wildman has developed in the law on the same path on which he started, is as committed to efficiency, and has the same appetite for knowledge of the law as he had when he first came to the Bar, then in so far as his capability as an Attorney is concerned his appointment as Attorney General should be an asset to your Country."

Notwithstanding the fact that it is within the Government's legal and constitutional right to propose a candidate of its choice for appointment to the post of Attorney General, and notwithstanding Government's own sincere belief that Mr. Wildman is a well qualified and competent person to serve in the post of Attorney General, as Minister of Legal Affairs, I met with a delegation from the Bar Association on Wednesday, February 9 in an attempt to find an amicable resolution to the matter.

In support of its position, the Bar presented some documents which outlined the Association's reasons for opposing the candidacy of Mr. Wildman for the post of Attorney General. I advised the delegation that Government was surprised by the confrontational stance taken by the Bar, and that such drastic action can only be seen as a direct challenge to Government's authority.

Such action left the Government with very limited options. However, I promised to carefully review the documents, discuss the matter further with my Cabinet colleagues, as well as other members of the legal profession in Grenada and other Caribbean countries. Again, in the interest of consultation and engagement, it was my intention to communicate Government's response to the contents of the documents to the president of the Bar at some later date.

Indeed, Government has carefully studied and considered the concerns raised by members of the Bar Association. We acknowledge, in some instances, some behavioural indiscretion on the part of the candidate. This, it must be noted, is not uncommon by many practitioners in the legal profession.

On the other hand, the Government has considered its responsibility to obtain the best legal advice in the conduct of the administration of justice, since the Constitution provides that the Attorney General is the principal legal advisor to the Government.

Moreover, it is imperative that Government has an Attorney General who is sufficiently trustworthy to meet the criteria of the Constitution of Grenada. I refer to Section 59 (2) which states: and I quote "That the Attorney General shall be an ex-officio member of Cabinet".

In other words, the Attorney General, as a member of Cabinet, is privy to all deliberations of Cabinet. It follows that Cabinet must have total trust and confidence in the Attorney General. It is therefore essential that Government has the ability to nominate the person of its choice.

After due deliberation and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances surrounding this matter, including the documentation and concerns presented by the Bar Association and Government's interest in enhancing the administration of justice, the Government saw no compelling reason or reasons to withdraw the nomination of Mr. Hugh Wildman for the public office of Attorney General.

However in a spirit of compromise and in an effort to find an amicable solution to the legal stalemate, the Government had agreed to propose a short term contract for Mr. Wildman, with certain conditions that would help guide Mr. Wildman in carrying out his duties.

On Wednesday, February 16, I met with members of the Bar for a second time, as promised, and communicated Government's decision. Specifically, I expressed Government's willingness to appoint Mr. Wildman on a six-month contract, in the first instance, instead of the normal two year contract.

This would provide an opportunity for both the Bar and Government to assess the performance of Mr. Wildman and to make any necessary changes. The outright rejection by the Bar Association of Government's offer of a reasonable compromise compels one to wonder whether those members of the Bar do not have an agenda other than the concerns they have put forward.

We need to remind ourselves that in 1999 it was the same members of the Bar Association who used the same allegations to launch a vicious protest against Mr. Wildman when he applied to be admitted to practise as an Attorney in the Courts of Grenada.

Needless to say, that those same baseless allegations were dismissed by the Judge and Mr. Wildman was admitted to the Bar of Grenada. In our opinion the real threat to the proper administration of justice in our Country comes not from the appointment of Mr. Hugh Wildman as Attorney General, but from the drastic and radical action by some members of the Bar in withholding critical legal services from their clients.

Ladies and gentlemen, Government is confident that Mr. Wildman will conduct himself with the greatest degree of competence and commitment and will devote his considerable energy and talent to serving the citizens of this Nation.

I thank you for listening and let us pray that good sense, sound judgement and respect for our Constitution and love of our Country will prevail. This is essential as we continue on the long and arduous journey of reconstruction and development of our Nation.