September 28th, 2009: Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition Dr. The Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell headed an Opposition team which met with a six member delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), headed by Phil Young last Friday. The IMF team was in Grenada as part of their Article 1V Consultation on Grenada and for the forth review of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. The meeting began with the IMF team providing an assessment of Grenada’s current economic situation. The team reported that the situation has declined significantly since its last visit, and described the situation as catastrophic. The Mission Chief noted that the international financial climate was having a major negative impact on Grenada and emphasized the need for Government and Opposition to work together in an attempt to reverse the state of affairs in the country. In response to the IMF, Dr. Mitchell agreed that the economic situation in Grenada has declined significantly and described the situation as worrying. However, he noted that the Government’s policy and its poor management of the country had a lot to do with the current circumstances and the suffering of the people of Grenada. He said one of the Opposition’s main concern is the Government’s continued attack on the poor and vulnerable through the removal of safety net programmes such as the uniform and transportation allowance programme for needy children, and the food basket programme for needy families. According to Dr. Mitchell, while the Government remove these basic programmes from the poor they are providing free books to those who could afford. The opposition also pointed to the runaway frivolous expenditure by the Government on travel, both with inflated delegations and on a first class basis, the retro-fitting and customizing of Ministerial Offices, the abuse of the much criticized "340 Vote", the use of Statutory Corporations to hire and reward party faithfuls, as factors which contributed to waste and inefficiency, at a time when the county could least afford it. The Opposition also attributed the unprecedented increase in unemployment to the stoppage of all major projects, a deep-seated fear by investors of being vilified and having their characters assassinated by instruments and agents of the NDC administration, inappropriate and strange messages from the Hon. Minister of Finance, excessive lengthy delays in receiving planning permission for development projects, and a general atmosphere of insecurity formented by the NDC Government. Among other things the meeting also discussed the unemployment situation in the country, economic growth, sectoral performance, impending economic policy changes, crime and violence. The Opposition shared its dissatisfaction with the manner in which the three waves of financial failures were being addressed by the Government, namely the collapse of SGL Holdings, the failure of CAPBANK International, and the British American (BA) and CLICO fiasco. The lack of dialogue by Government with the Opposition, the lack of any proactive responses by the Government of Grenada and its abdication of its responsibilities to depositors and pensioners were pointed to, as contributing to the limited disposable income of Grenadians and to the severe contraction of the economy. The opposition reaffirmed its desire to be constructive and to work with the Government in a non-partisan manner in matters of national interest. However, the Opposition emphasized that the constant, persistent and unrelenting attack on Opposition Members, supporters, and professionals deemed to be in support of the Opposition, investors, senior civil servants, and on key institutions, were a major constraint to consensus action on critical issues, when Grenada most required it. The IMF team conveyed their concerns over the deep division between the Government and the Opposition, and what this could portent for the country's future development. The IMF committed to continuation of its dialogue with the Opposition and the meeting ended with the exchange of the usual pleasantries.