EDITORIAL -
The serious business of governing Grenada has started for the new rulers in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the ceremonial opening of Parliament for the first time since the July 8 general elections.
The way is now clear for the government to take its measures into Parliament and to fulfill its many promises made to the electorate.
The new Minister of Education, Franca Alexis-Bernadine is already up and running in so far as leading the way with the free school book programme for the nation's school children.
It is our hope that the other ministers would follow in her footsteps and start "the ball rolling" in their respective ministries and get Grenada moving and swinging before too long.
The honeymoon period will soon be over and Congress will have to start performing in office.
It is performance in every aspect that will be the determining factor for the Tillman Thomas government when the bell tools for another election in the next 4-5 years.
And one of the issues that readily comes to mind is the vexing question of the rising cost of living in the country.
The new Minister of Finance, Nazim Burke will have to start to put structures in place so that in Budget 2009 a serious package would be included to help ease up on the pockets of Grenadians who are feeling the wrath of a hostile global environment.
Another issue which concerns GRENADA TODAY is the continued presence of many of the left-overs of the previous NNP regime in the system.
The country voted for change and not a recycling of the political hacks and hatchet men of the once mighty Keith Mitchell-led administration.
This newspaper will always adopt a hardline approach to all those in the civil service and statutory bodies and corporations who were either suspected or known to have aided and abetted the New National Party (NNP) in the past 13 years in office.
And it appears to us that the Minister of Finance has "full confidence" in his Permanent Secretary, Timothy Antoine who was known to be too close for comfort to the old regime.
How can we ever forget the statement made by Dr. Mitchell himself said that Timothy Antoine's appointment to the post was the best thing he had ever done since assuming office in June 1995?
It is the same Timothy Antoine who took part in the handing back to Cable & Wireless of a cheque of over EC4 million dollars that were given in dividend payments to the Treasury.
This money could have helped to purchase vital medicine, bandages and other goods for our hospitals and to help buy supplies for our nation's schools but went back to Cable & Wireless because of recklessness of Mitchell and NNP.
And do you know what the funds were sent back for? It pay-off the millions in debts that Call Centre owed to the telecommunications provider.
This is the same Call Centre that was partly owned by the close relatives of the Prime Minister from Happy Hill. Our taxpayers were taken for a ride by Dr. Mitchell and his close relatives with the help of a few civil servants in the Ministry of Finance.
This newspaper cannot forget the behaviour of Timothy Antoine when he was called before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament headed by then Opposition Leader, Michael Baptiste.
The PS in Finance was called to give evidence on a number of issues including the same Call Center fiasco. Mr. Antoine attended a few sittings and in the end refused to make himself available to PAC members who are all Parliamentarians on the grounds that it was a waste of his time.
Can you imagine one so "big and mighty" who choose to defy a body set up by Parliament which is the highest making decision making body in the country?
He could have only done it because of the backing of his political boss, Keith Claudius Mitchell who described him as the "best appointment" that he had ever made in the civil service.
It took a change of government through the people on July 8 to open up the door of possibilities for us to get to know of some of the schemes undertaken by the previous government with the full knowledge and connivance of some questionable civil servants.
Our brand new Minister of Finance certainly has the prerogative to keep in place any of the leftovers of the past regime in key and sensitive positions as he wants.
But it is equally our right to come to a conclusion on whether we might want to continue to maintain trust and confidence in the decision-making of members of the new government including the same Minister of Finance.
