St. George’s, May 12, 2012 – Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has said that he is not worried about an opposition motion of no-confidence filed against him, nor about the chances of more ministers resigning from his government.
“I am not really worried about that,’’ the Prime Minister said in an interview when asked about the opposition motion and about reports that Foreign Minister Karl Hood is resigning.
It was widely rumoured last Thursday that Hood, NDC Member of Parliament for St. George South-East, had resigned as external affairs minister. He, however, denied it.
Since coming to office in 2008, the NDC administration has been hit by the resignation of Attorney General Jimmy Bristol, former Environment Minister Michael Church and former Tourism Minister Peter David.
Works Minister, Joseph Gilbert, was dismissed by Prime Minister Thomas last January.
It is unclear how MPs Church, Gilbert and David – who is also NDC general secretary – will vote when the no-confidence motion is debated in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, May 15.
The motion, if passed, will lead to dissolution of parliament and a subsequent general election.
Thomas, who is leader of the National Democratic Congress, is optimistic that the motion will be defeated, adding that he has no intention of proroguing parliament and calling a snap election.
“I have absolutely no intention of doing this,’’ said the Prime Minister, who also defended his government’s performance in office.
“We have been doing a fairly good job as a government,’’ said Thomas.
He admitted that there are “differences’’ in the NDC, but said the party remains committed to the Grenadian people and has “not betrayed the trust they have placed in us.’’
Ahead of Tuesday’s parliamentary debate on the no-confidence motion, some parts of the capital city of St. George’s were plastered with posters featuring caricatures of Thomas and Nazim Burke, deputy leader of the NDC and Minister of Finance.
It’s still unknown who was behind the preparation and distribution of the posters that read, “Tillman and Nazim Must Go’’.
Meanwhile, discussion continues to rage – on the streets and in the media – on the real cause of the friction in the NDC and government.
New Today, in its editorial and in a regular weekly column written under the pseudonym, Stone Crusher, maintains that the problems are the fault of David, whom they have accused of attempting to replace Thomas as leader.
“There is no doubt about the existence of a groundswell of support for Prime Minister Thomas and not Mr. David and his clique of supporters in the battle for control of Congress,’’ New Today said in its weekend editorial.
However, Grenada Informer argues that the problems have as much to do with David as with Burke, whom the paper charges is “a man with aspirations to be Prime Minister.’’
“Nazim Burke, who is behind all this drama, is using surrogates to get his agenda going, while staying away from the fray, making people believe he is an innocent bystander,’’ Grenada Informer said in a May 11 commentary.