St. George’s, Grenada – November 3rd 2011: Parliamentary Representative for St. Andrew North East, Hon Roland Bhola is calling on the Government to do the right thing and proceed to hold consultation with the people of St. John’s about recognizing local athlete Kirani James for his outstanding performance at the international level. He said “Kirani has made every Grenadian proud and deserves to be recognized. However, while the decision to do so is a noble one the specifics should not be left up to a few politicians.”
Bhola the former Minister for Sports said he is indeed surprised that the same Government that preach consultation and promised that this will be a hallmark of their Governance has decided to ignore the voice of the people in making a decision to rename the Port High Way, Kirani Boulevard. He compared this with the Government’s decision to rename the Point Salines International Airport, and the decisions to sign onto economic and other regional arrangements without first consulting with the people.
Meanwhile, Bhola noted that he is happy that Kirani’s victory has pressured the Government to decide to renovate the Athletic Stadium. He said when the NDC Government abandoned the plan to rebuild a new stadium with funding already negotiated by the NNP administration, it was clear that that the Government was insensitive to the number of jobs which would be created through the project. He said the Government also demonstrated a lack of vision for the development of sports in Grenada.
Bhola pointed out that the NNP never waited for Kirani’s Victory to build a stadium but provided the proper facilities for him and all our athletics to excel. Bhola has commended the people of St. John’s, Kirani’s family and his coaches for the role they continue to play in his success.
The former Minister is therefore appealing to the Government to live up to its promise to consult with the people on important matters and to convene discussions with the people of Gouyave and by extension St. John’s as it relates to recognizing Kirani’s outstanding performance. He is also calling on the Government to move speedily to rebuild the Athletics Stadium to ensure that Grenada can produce and support many more like Kirani in the future.