July 23rd, 2009 Hon. Tillman Thomas Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Office Ministerial Complex St. George’s Hon. Prime Minister, Greetings Hon. Prime Minister! I write in my individual and private capacity. On the occasion of your administration’s first year in office, I once again respond to your call for citizens’ participation in the country’s governance and take this opportunity to offer my observations and/or concerns. First of all, Hon. Prime Minister, I thank you for offering yourself in the service of our country. It is a well known fact that public service is a challenging and often thankless task but it can also be a rewarding one for those who are genuinely interested in service. Your party offered change. It offered to restore integrity and good governance to Grenada. We the people bought into those election commitments (?) and decisively voted your government into office, well aware of the enormity of the task ahead. We trust that those who were voted into office were also well aware of the challenge – that it was no longer about the “jump and wave” choreography that election campaigning had seemed to become but it was about the task of governing in the best interests of the country in the face of significant economic and social challenges and delivering on some of the election promises that can come so easily when one seeking to be elected to office. The country breathed a sigh of relief when regime change was effected on July 8th, 2008. And ever so often, the conduct of the former Prime Minister, now Leader of the Opposition, serves as a stark reminder of why we the people decisively voted his administration out of office. Among the major platform issues were mismanagement of the economy and the resultant debt burden with very little to show for it and the absence of transparency and accountability in the conduct of the nation’s affairs. Among other election commitments (?), your party promised a review of the many secret deals with foreign speculators which involved the people’s property. E.g. Port Louis development, Levera Development, Mt. Hartman -Hog Island among others. We the people were aware that the country’s economy was in bad shape when your administration assumed office and this was/is further exacerbated by the global economic recession. We are aware that the situation has been and remains a very challenging one for the country and the government. It is heartening that we the people who voted for change do not expect overnight miracles, given the financial/economic situation inherited by your administration and the global economic crisis. Permit me Hon. Prime Minister to offer the following observations and queries for your information and consideration: 1. Change: While we are aware that the change for which we voted will not come overnight, we are concerned that your administration seems to have just fitted into the system re-engineered by the last administration to serve narrow partisan interests. The question is – is this working in the best interests of the new government? Will the status quo deliver the change for which we the people voted? 1.1. Diplomatic Passports: I have read in the July 24th, 2009 issue of the Grenada Today pg. 18 in an article entitled “Return the Passports or else…” that you personally intervened in a matter involving the use of a diplomatic passport by an individual who was/is a high profile member of the New National Party. Hon. Prime Minister, with all due respect, that is “niceness” of which we the people do not approve. We are well aware of the abuse of diplomatic passports by the former regime. This individual was not even a public servant but a “party hack” . What is he doing with a diplomatic passport in the first place? Why should he be using a diplomatic passport more than six months after a regime change? These are things, Hon Prime Minister, that your government is expected to resolutely address in a very decisive manner. Hon. Prime Minister, I take the opportunity to enquire here about the continuing diplomatic status of Ambassador Georges Cohen of Calivigny Island and Ambassador Earleen Taylor of Levera Resorts Inc.? Have these appointments been recalled? If they have been, why has the public not been informed? If these diplomatic appointments continue, what is the basis on which your government has made or has permitted these appointments to continue? These appointments, Hon Prime Minister, contradict all that your party said and promised while in opposition. These appointments are a “slap in the face” of we the people. 2. Commitments and Contradictions: Permit me to draw to your attention the following examples which illustrate the case of saying one thing but doing something else. 2.1. Economic and Political Union: Less than one month after assuming office, and even before Parliament had been convened, your government was signing agreements with Trinidad and Tobago about economic and political union, even though we the people had never heard any position articulated on this matter by your party while in opposition. The Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs admitted that there was no previous concept paper. One had been commissioned after the signing. This appears to have been a case of putting the cart before the horse. He promised that there the paper would be circulated and that there would be public discussion and consultation. From all utterances, it would seem that your administration is advancing the agenda of political and economic union but where do the people of Grenada feature in all this? Where is the promised circulation of the concept paper for public discussion and consultation? 2.2. Transfer of Grand Anse Beach Property to Lewis Hamilton: When details of this deal were announced to the public in October 2008, you, Sir, told we the people that your government would do all in its power to reclaim the people’s property. Then came statements from the Hon. Minister for Tourism and the then Attorney-General saying that the deal was done and that there was nothing Grenada could do. Some of us wondered then, Hon. Prime Minister, whose interests these honourable gentlemen thought they had put into office to serve. We further understand that the Minister of Tourism even set up some Task Force to help woo Lewis Hamilton to Grenada instead of getting ahead with arrangements to claim back OUR property. Indeed, Hon. Prime Minster, this is a good a time as any to enquire into the status of this transaction and of any progress made by your government in reclaiming the people’s property. 2.3. Re-naming of the Maurice Bishop International Airport: As Prime Minister, Sir, you held a press conference and announced the re-naming of the Lauriston airport in Carriacou. The Hon. Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation came in for much criticism for what has been described as pre-empting the announcement re the renaming of the Point Salines airport. Amidst all the criticisms and aware that this issue was an emotive one, you advised that there would be consultation before the decision (?) was taken. Then we heard from the Hon. Minister for Civil Aviation that the airport was going to be renamed in spite of who/what was in favour of/against the decision. I hasten to add, Hon. Prime Minister, that I fully support the re-naming of the airport but I point to the matter to illustrate the contradictions coming from you and your ministers. These are “signals” that we the people are clueing into. Is everyone “on the same page and reading the same script”? 2.4. Review and Disclosure re Deals with Foreign Investors/Speculators: This has been a very contentious election issue for we the people and we have eagerly awaited the findings of the Task Force that was put in place to review the various agreements entered into between the former NNP administration and a number of foreign developers/real estate speculators. We have noted that there has been a number of disclosures as it relates to agreements involving Grenadian citizens but we the people are still awaiting disclosure in respect of foreign ‘investors” particularly as it relates to a number of real estate developments involving property belonging to we the people – Port Louis, Levera and Mt. Hartman are those that stand out like sore thumbs. We the people have been most perplexed to hear pronouncements from government ministers which suggest that it is “business as usual” as far as these projects are concerned. Take for example the position of Hon. Joseph Gilbert and Hon. Sylvester Quarless, on the issue of the Lagoon Park in the matter, We the People vs. Camper and Nicholson. From the public utterances of these Ministers, made at a meeting of stakeholders, convened by the Ministry of Community Development, Lands and Housing, these two gentlemen appear to be intent on giving away the Lagoon Park, the people’s property, to Camper and Nicholson. How did the people’s property come to be owned (?) by Port Louis to be sold to Camper and Nicholson? Hon. Prime Minister, we the people bought into your party’s rallying cry of good governance, transparency and accountability. We await your government’s promised investigation and disclosure re the following: (i) who/what sold the people’s property, the Lagoon Park and foreshore to Port Louis? (ii) How much was the property sold for? (iii) How and where is the money accounted for? It would appear, Hon. Prime Minister that these two Ministers, and any other member of your government who is so inclined, do not understand whose interests should come first. They seem not to remember who voted them into office and what commitments were made when seeking office. Hon. Prime Minister, we caution against ministerial arrogance which thinks that it KNOWS BEST because of the title “ Honourable”!! 3. Confidentially in the Party and Government: There is a difference, Sir, between transparency and having the party’s and government’s “business exposed”. It is of concern, Sir, that there seems to be a lack of confidentiality as it relates to the business of government and the party. Why is it that the party’s and government’s business seems to be always “on the ground”? 4. Conflict in Party and Government: There is a public perception that certain Ministers of your government seem to operate as individuals who do “their own thing” rather than as part of a team, each contributing to a shared common goal. The “word out on the ground” is that there are factions within the party and the government. The members of your government and party, Sir, should be well aware where such division has brought us in the past and hopefully we all would be learning from past experiences so as not to repeat past mistakes. We trust that all who have offered themselves to hold public office as leaders and managers of the people’s affairs understand their roles and obligations to the people who elected them into office. 5. Leadership Style: Hon. Prime Minister, we the people understand and appreciate the fact that you are not a Maximum Leader. We have had more than our fair share of such over the last 35 years. Indeed, Hon. Prime Minister, it would be fair to say that is one of the appeals of a political party led by yourself. However, Hon. Prime Minister, we the people would like you to remember that we operate within the Westminster system where the Prime Minister is the “first among equals”. The Prime Minister is the BOSS and is expected to wield his authority thoughtfully and responsibly. In this system, Ministers complain and comply if they wish to remain in the Cabinet and the government. I think it is fair to say, Hon. Prime Minister, that we the people find your style of leadership “laid-back”. (This could possibly be due to our over exposure to Maximum Leaders). Often, we are led to wonder whether you are reluctant to “flex” your Prime Ministerial “muscle” and take action and make decisions in your own deliberate judgment. Permit us to advise, Hon. Prime Minister, that we expect our Prime Minister to wield power and authority responsibly, in the interest of we the people. We assure you that is why we placed it in YOUR hands. Among other things, we expect you to decisively discipline erring and recalcitrant members of your Cabinet, government and party. 6. Resignation of Attorney-General; We the people applaud your recent decision to request the resignation of the Attorney-General. We are somewhat taken aback by the influential dissenters who disagree with your decision. However, Sir, for we the people, there are no “fuzzy grey areas”. Given that the rule of law, good governance, integrity in public office, accountability and transparency are your mantra, Hon. Prime Minister, no less an action would have been acceptable. It is difficult to understand how the ex-Attorney-General could have made such an error of judgment – use the government’s letterhead to write to a US Court seeking leniency for a step-son who has been a fugitive from justice - without even seeking an “all clear” from you Hon. Prime Minister. You would have saved him from making such a faux-pas and embarrassing the government and people of Grenada. I would venture to add, Sir, that the explanations of the ex- Attorney-General are asinine. As a lawyer, the ex-Attorney-General must be acquainted with the maxim “ignorance of the law is no excuse” so when he attempts to explain his error by, among other things, his IGNORANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR, I am forced to conclude that the WRONG MAN was in the job. When the individual, whose business it is to advise the PUBLIC SECTOR i.e. Cabinet and government, claims IGNORANCE of the public sector, one now has to wonder what kind of advice he was giving to the Cabinet and government. However,Hon. Prime Minister, we trust that this unfortunate incident signals the need for you as Prime Minister and Political Leader to clarify your expectations and the code of conduct expected of the members of your Cabinet, government and party. It is time for a “heart-to-heart” and/or the “reading of the riot act”. Your party, while in opposition, had to deal with three embarrassing incidents involving high profile members of your party. Now that your party is in office, all and sundry are expected to LIFT their standards and LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Given the context within which your administration took office, it can ill-afford these faux-pas – which are unnecessary distractions to the already challenging business of governing and managing the country’s affairs in the best interests of we the people. Why provide “fodder” for the opposition to posture in some rather self – righteous manner, to continue to sow the seeds of disharmony and disunity and distract persons from the real agenda of nation building? After all that we have endured over the last 13 years of the New National Party, we the people do not deserve this Hon. Prime Minister. So please advise those who have been entrusted with the stewardship of the people’s affairs - either through being elected by we the people or through being graciously afforded an opportunity by you - to shape up or ship out. 7. Expectations of We the People: Hon. Prime Minister, you carry the burden of expectations that, with you at the helm, our country will return from the morass to which it has sunk during the 13-year tenure of the New National Party to provide hope and opportunity for all. We do believe that your watch words are integrity and honesty and that you do genuinely have the best interests our dear little island and its people at heart. But we do question, Hon. Prime Minister, whether or not the same applies to some of those persons who now seem to have been elevated to sensitive and influential positions. We have noted the ex-Attorney-General’s reference to the “second Cabinet”. Was he by any chance, Hon. Prime Minister, referring to certain private sector interests and influence? Of course, Hon. Prime Minister, we recognize the importance and the influence of the private sector in our country but sometimes we get the impression that certain among that interests seem to think that they have some divine right to “run things” and that all else and all others become “invisible”. We remind you Hon. Prime Minister of yours and your government’s responsibility to the “voiceless” – like the people of Mt-Pandy- Islander Gap who were dislocated to La Sagesse and Beausejour to facilitate “development” and who now feel that they have become the forgotten people. Not even a visit or an enquiry from their political representatives past or present!! You begin your second year in office, Sir, as a popular Political Leader in whom the people’s trust has not wavered. The challenge ahead, Hon. Prime Minister, is to mobilize the energy and good will of all for nation building because sacrifices will be required in the difficult economic time staring us in the face. It will be a time to inspire and motivate and to translate rhetoric into action. And you, Hon. Prime Minister, need to “keep your finger on the pulse”, notwithstanding the confidence you have placed in the members of your team. Members of your team must not only assure that things are under control, you must know that things are under control. We trust that your government will be PEOPLE CENTRED – that deliberate efforts will be made to include those who now the “voiceless” and invisible and that the decisions contemplated and taken by your government will put the interests of the people FIRST. That is the change for which we the people voted. Hon. Prime Minister, we know that you possess the quiet resolve. We wish you wisdom, good health and the blessings of the Almighty. I thank you, Hon. Prime Minister for the opportunity to offer these observations. Please receive, Sir, my assurances of highest regard and esteem. Respectfully yours, Sandra C.A. Ferguson