EDITORIAL
The issue surrounding the loan package of 14 million dollars from Trinidad and Tobago has once again raised serious questions about the operations of the Ministry of Finance during the life of the Keith Mitchell-led administration.
It was rather scary to hear the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Timothy Antoine offer a flimsy excuse for the failure of ministry officials to determine the sender of the funds.
It is no secret that the Government Treasury is often more empty and short of cash on a daily basis and not in a healthy financial situation.
Can anyone imagine a situation of 14 million dollars entering into the Consolidated Fund and not raising an eyebrow?
This untenable situation re-enforces in our view there is need for a major shake-up of the top civil servants in the Ministry of Finance.
This newspaper has made two calls in recent weeks for the removal of Timothy Antoine as Permanent Secretary and Patricia Antoine as Accountant-General.
It is clear in our minds that those in charge of the nation's purse string might only know it got busted and gone astray when someone informs them and not by their own alertness.
The general consensus in the Ministry of Finance itself among some workers is that Grenada needs a working Accountant-General and not one who is giving the impression that she is an imposter.
The current AG has already compromised herself under the previous regime of the New National Party (NNP) of Dr. Mitchell.
It was Pat Antoine who was engaged in conflict of interest as AG and performing the job of Chairperson of the failed Call Center venture at the Seamoon Industrial estate involving close family members of the ex-Prime Minister.
As a high profile member in the Ministry of Finance, she was responsible for ensuring that the public purse was protected from the ravages of Call Center.
However, the same Pat Antoine took up the post of Chairperson of the business and was paid handsomely for meetings that she attended. If that is not conflict of interest then tell us what is.
The nation is still waiting for some form of accountability for its funds on the Call Centre project from its Accountant-General. She did make the promise a few years ago but never kept it.
Ms. Antoine has demonstrated too many weaknesses in the past when faced with demands from the political directorate to be kept on as a competent AG.
There was an incident in the past when Garvey Louison was Accountant General and Ms Antoine was serving as his deputy.
Louison refused to pay monies that were being asked for by a certain individual who was hired by government for a major project.
As AG, Louison took the position that the State did not get value for money from the individual.
The then NNP government through one of its most powerful members requested of the then AG that he should pay the money to the individual. Louison held onto his position.
Maybe Ms Antoine can tell the Grenadian people who was the person in the Accountant-General's office that side-stepped Louison and paid the goodly gentleman the monies being sought from the Treasury.
As events continue to unfold within our Ministry of Finance, the evidence keeps on mounting about the inability of the two Antonies' to hold onto their positions in this vital financial nerve centre.
It might fall on the shoulders of the Prime Minister, Tillman Thomas and not on his reluctant Minister of Finance, Nazim Burke to take decisive action in the national interest.
The campaign theme of the now ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) when in opposition was accountability, transparency and good governance.
No matter how far one can stretch the trio, the two Antoines'' are clearly lacking in their performances in the Ministry of Finance.
The two should do the honourable and decent thing and resign in the public interest.
It is no wonder that the national debt kept rising to almost 2 billion E.C dollars under Keith Mitchell and the level of unpaid claims in the Treasury reached beyond manageable proportions in July under the watch of the two Antoines' who were great facilitators for the whims and fancies of the NNP and their spending spree over the last 13 years.
