ST GEORGE’S, June 1, 2012 – The Grenada Government plans to engage this country’s diaspora in a coherent manner to assist in the nation’s development, according to Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister Patrick Simmons.
Minister Simmons, who recently represented Grenada at the Second Caribbean Development Roundtable (CDR) and the 24th meeting of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) in Guyana, told delegates that beyond the remittances Grenada could benefit from its growing diaspora especially in Europe and North America.
The Georgetown meetings were organised by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Following the meetings, the Grenada delegation, which also included Mr Podie Chitan, Foreign Service Officer, held informal discussions with Mr Rui Oliveira Reis, Regional Coordination Officer for the Caribbean of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), regarding the possibility of technical cooperation between Grenada and the Organisation, specifically in the area of migration and the diaspora.
The Minister believes that the many highly skilled entrepreneurs and business, technology and sporting professionals, the Grenadian Diaspora can be very helpful to their home country in many specialised areas.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Office of Diaspora Affairs, will be hosting a Grenadian Homecoming Event under the theme “Engaging our Communities, Embracing our Heritage” from August 5 to 18, 2012.
During the course of the roundtable, papers were presented on socio-economic issues affecting the Caribbean, and discussions were held on the way forward for the sub-region. The findings of the CDR were then presented to the CDCC, which in turn discussed how ECLAC would incorporate the proposals to its work plan.
As outgoing chair of the CDCC, Minister Simmons was tasked with handing over chairmanship to President Donald Ramotar of Guyana. In his address to the CDCC, Minister Simmons highlighted several of Grenada’s accomplishments since Grenada hosted the 23rd meeting of the Committee in March of 2010.
He explained that the Support for Education, Empowerment and Development programme (SEED) will consolidate three existing cash transfers programmes (the Public Assistance programme, under the Ministry of Social Development, the Necessitous Fund and the School Transportation Allowance Scheme, under the Ministry of Education) into one comprehensive conditional cash transfer programme to improve coverage of poor households.
The Minister highlighted the success of the free school books programme and said that “our fiscal space is limited, but we are convinced that carefully thought out policies are crucial to Grenada’s development and the social wellbeing of our people.”
Grenada’s Head of Delegation also encouraged his colleagues to ensure that the Caribbean sub-region would have only one voice at the upcoming Rio+20 meeting on sustainable development, particularly as relates to climate change.
The meetings were well attended at the ministerial level including the Finance Ministers of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and also included high level representatives from organisations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
