November 12th, 2009: Leader of the Opposition, Dr. the Rt. Hon Keith Mitchell has called on visiting representatives of the European Union not to be misled by members of the NDC administration and those who support the Government such as some Union leaders and leaders of groups fronting as Non Governmental Organisations. Dr. Mitchell advised the team to speak to the local man on the street, those in the rural communities and local business men to receive an honest view of the state of the economy and the performance of the NDC Government. The team from the European Union included Mr. John Wiggins and Jorge Shepherd who are conducting a review of Grenada’s Public Financial Management System. Commenting on Government’s spending, Dr. Mitchell said he is extremely concerned that the Government continues to spend illegally and has refused for the last 16 months to hold meetings of the Finance Committee to discuss and approve Government’s expenditure. This behaviour has caused the Opposition to be very suspicious as to why the Government has been so secretive about its spending. It is strange that the same persons while in Opposition had insisted that the NNP administration present the records of it’s spending every three months as stipulated in the laws of Grenada. Dr Mitchell noted that a government that preached accountability, transparency and good governance in Opposition is now proving that it is unable to live up to the true meaning of these words since they have flagrantly ignored the approval process. All Government spending must be approved by the Finance Committee, and afterwards scrutinized by the Public Accounts Committee to complete the process of accountability to the Public. The meeting also discussed the plan to implement the Value Added Tax (VAT) in February 2010. Dr. Mitchell informed the delegation that the Government laid the VAT legislation in Parliament and rushed it through the process despite his request to make a contribution to the debate. He said the Government chose to pass the Act the same day he was returning home even if there was no urgency One would have thought the Government would have valued his input and guidance, being the only sitting Parliamentarian who has been through the experience of implementing VAT in Grenada and could therefore have provided practical advice. Dr. Mitchell believes that the Government is making a fundamental error in proceeding with VAT at this time since the current state of the economy will not lend to the success of this initiative, and noted that the vulnerable people of the country are the ones who will be most affected by the Government’s decision. In relation to the Public Integrity Bill, The Opposition leader pointed out to the European Union team that the Government while in Opposition constantly clamored for the passing of the Public Integrity Bill which was done then. However after 16 months in office the law has not been put into effect. Members of the NDC Administration have refused to declare their assets and to do many of the things they advocated for in Opposition. The meeting also discussed a number of other issues including the impact of the world crisis on Grenada. OFFICE OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION