CATEGORY:INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT
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By Wallace J.A (Inside Grenada correspondent)


GRENADA – One of the most visible persons associated with Grenada’s carnival celebrations over the past two years, Mr. Dexter Mitchell, has been sacked from his job as the Manager of the Carnival Secretariat. Mitchell received his letter of termination on Friday September 29, 2006.

The sacking of Mitchell has come as a surprise to some persons in the country. Mitchell, who took up the job as Manager of the Grenada Carnival Secretariat back in February 2004, had become a popular name on the island when it came to carnival-related matters.

This year’s carnival celebrations witnessed a welcomed deviation from the traditional build-up to Grenada’s carnival; there was a greater decentralization of the many carnival-related activities on the island. This buildup created a momentum that many Grenadians, especially in the rural communities, commented very favorably on. Mitchell was obviously a major player in this innovation and he was present at almost all the activities as they unfolded.

Earlier on this year, both Dexter Mitchell and Jacqueline Alexis (Manager of the Grenada Cultural Foundation) accepted invitations from the Grenada Board of Tourism to do a live interview involving selected radio stations from around the region. The two of them were quizzed on plans for this year’s carnival and gave excellent reasons why people from around the Caribbean should visit the Spice Island for the revelry.

Obviously, not everyone was pleased with Mitchell holding on to the position of Manager of the Carnival Secretariat. Some Calypsonians, as well as other persons associated with carnival in Grenada, were displeased with his seemingly autocratic style of management and a perceived supercilious demeanor.

Carnival in Grenada over the years (especially the more recent ones) seems to always ‘brew’ some sort of controversy over the payment of prize monies, the staging of shows, the collection of monies or something of that nature. This year was no different. There was a controversy involving Dexter Mitchell and an individual known as ‘Sebert’ over the use of the song “August is the Time” which was re-done by Mario Castle and used as the theme song for carnival 2K6.

The current chairperson of the Grenada Cultural Foundation, Mrs. Joslyn Sylvester Gairy, has said that the move for Mitchell’s sacking was purely for financial reasons. She disclosed that the possibility of re-hiring him when it gets closer to the carnival season has not been ruled out.