Some immediate measures, including help for farmers, should be taken by the Grenada government to help alleviate the negative economic impact of the ongoing war in Iran, MP Peter David has recommended.
“With this war that has broken out, with the impact it is having, with the blockage of the Straits of Hormuz, we expect the impact to be devastating for countries like ours, if we do not prepare,’’ David said Monday. “We’ll have rising fuel costs, pressure on food production and imports, and higher travel costs.’’
Three weeks ago, the United States and Israel launched joint military action against Iran, leading not only to deaths on all sides but also to surging oil prices, especially with the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, an important sea transport route.
“It is difficult to overstate the importance of the closure of the Straits,’’ said Desmond Lachman, writing for the American Enterprise Institute.
“Not only does 20 percent of the world’s oil supply pass through those Straits. So, too, do 20 percent of the world’s natural gas and 20–30 percent of the world’s fertilizer supply, so vital for the world’s food production. This raises the specter of both an energy and a food price economic shock to the US and world economies.’’
In the current Middle East war situation, Grenada ought to strengthen its domestic food supply, said David.
“We must prepare for the impact of this war. We need to put in place our mechanisms to ensure that we deal with the problems that will arise with the outbreak of this war to ensure that our people are fed, that our society remains stable,’’ David told reporters at a news conference of the Democratic People’s Movement (DPM).
David, Member of Parliament for the Town of St George, has been serving as interim Leader of DPM since its formal launch four months ago.
The central focus of the press gathering, which included DPM officials Alister Bain and Derrick James, was on The Movement’s hosting of its inaugural Congress on Sunday, March 22, at the Grenada Trade Centre.
At the Congress, delegates will elect a national executive that will include a leader, deputy leader, chairman, general secretary and public relations officer.
“We are going to formalize our constitution; we are going to announce some of our candidates for the next general elections,’’ David said, commenting on Sunday’s Congress.
“We have done a bottom-up process to arrive at the persons the Movement has come to decide are capable of leading this country. We believe that Grenada deserves better. We need a new way and we need to establish a process that delivers for our people. This is not about rhetoric; this is about better results, a better way forward.’’
The Congress “is a historic day for us’’, said James, interim DPM General Secretary.
“The DPM is here,’’ added Bain, who holds the position of interim Chairman. “It is about the best of Grenada, delivering the best for Grenada. We are confident that we have a winning team.’’
David, in encouraging the government to act in light of the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict, called for a subsidy for farmers.
“We believe that the government should establish a subsidy, establish a dialogue, and establish a plan which involves all of our people to ensure that the impact of this war is mitigated as much as possible,’’ said David, a former Grenada Foreign Affairs Minister, who also has served as minister responsible for agriculture and tourism.
“The global system has been disrupted and will continue to be disrupted for some time,’’ David warned.
“We must prepare to feed our people in these circumstances. We are calling for an immediate and meaningful subsidy to our farming community. Not only a subsidy in the short-term, but a subsidy that also encapsulates and ensures that going forward, we keep our food prices down.’’
