Mitchell Parliamentary Representative for the Town of St George, Peter David has accused Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of alienating the business sector following the passage of hurricane Ivan in September 2004.

David levelled the criticism during his presentation on the 2006 Budget debate at the Grenada Trade Centre last week Wednesday. The city MP told the House that the Prime Minister has consistently refused to meet with the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GCIC) and its President Nigel John to discuss the way forward for the private sector in the country.

There was a heated exchange between Dr. Mitchell and David on the issue as the Grenadian leader took serious offence to the charge that he was refusing to meet with the island's leading private sector grouping. David was quoting from a document in which the GCIC boss spoke of problems with getting the P.M to meet but Dr. Mitchell denied the claim, saying that the records will show that he never refused to meet with the chamber.

The Opposition M.P also issued for a call for national unity and said that he agreed with Finance Minister, Anthony Boatswain who concluded his Budget presentation with a clarion call for national unity. "It is only through national unity, shared sacrifice and hard work that we can rebuild a better Grenada for all", David said. However, he noted that only one day after the call was made, members of the Mitchell government spent most of their time in the debate attacking the Grenada Trades Union Council (GTUC) and members of the Opposition. "You talk about national unity, you want a national surrender - this will not happen", David told the house as he looked in the direction of the Government Side.

Like other parliamentarians, David also addressed the stand-off between government and the trade union movement on the controversial National Reconstruction Levy (NRL) to be implemented at 3% from January to June and 5% thereafter on the salary of workers to help rebuild Grenada after two hurricanes in the past 15 months. He blamed the ruling New National Party (NNP) administration for the breakdown in negotiations with GTUC.

According to David stated, the workers in the country have been crying out for months that they are burdened financially and have no faith in the Mitchell regime. He also appealed to government to cut back on wastage by reviewing the Line 340 in most ministry budgets that is used to hire workers outside of the domain of the Public Service Commission (PSC). David pointed out that three weeks ago, the opposition had requested specific information about 340 from the Minister of Finance but received none. He charged the government with giving out the salaries of only the lowly paid drivers and cooks within the service but hiding the huge salaries paid to others engaged in political work for the administration.

David told parliament that the Mitchell government has lost the moral authority to continue governing the people. He said the hope that Grenadians had when the NNP first came into office in 1995 is no longer there and that government has run out of ideas. There is a crisis of confidence in this present administration, he said, adding that, "every time we enter this House a little hope is evaporated". David was adamant that the current government is not capable of uniting the people of Grenada for the task ahead. "We are at a critical stage", he said, and called on the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) in the country to become part of governance on the island.

David suggested that there is a role for civil society to play in helping to address the country's economic challenges. The Opposition M.P said it is clear that Grenada is in a critical economic crisis and that the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) had indicated to government that it needed to implement a Structural Adjustment Programme.