I am delighted to update you on a number of critical national issues. This is consistent with our stated commitment to keep you informed of our activities, actions and progress as we lead our country to a brighter day. Over the past few weeks we have been holding meetings, receiving status reports, articulating our policies and getting familiar with our various ministries and staff.

The warm reception, willingness to assist and the tremendous goodwill displayed by both the public and private sectors is overwhelming. I wish to thank everyone for their assistance so far. Given our policy focus, we have found it prudent to reorganize various ministries and reposition some members of our senior management team. It is hoped that these changes will accelerate the implementation of our government’s plans.

SCHOOL BOOKS PROGRAMME
Ladies and Gentlemen, I can report with pride that one of our flagship programmes is now up and running. Here I refer to our much publicized School Books programme. This programme represents a major investment in our youth and we are very pleased that we were able to keep our promise to you, despite the constraints.

I wish to congratulate our Minister of Education for her leadership role in the implementation of the programme and the entire team of dedicated persons who have been working overtime to ensure the success of this important initiative. I also want to recognize the many persons who have provided books and other resources to the programme.

We were indeed gratified by the number of persons who have called, gave, and enquired about how they could become involved. We wish to thank all for this outpouring of support.

I wish to remind you that while the core objective of this programme is the enhancement of educational opportunities for our young, it also has the direct impact of enabling families to now spend on other critical needs. In so doing, their ability to manage their finances is enhanced.

Ladies and Gentlemen, while there may be a perception in some quarters that we are moving slowly with our work, we believe it is necessary to lay a proper foundation for success.

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS
Our review of government operations has revealed several areas of concern. The management of contracts is one such area. We have found many and I repeat many anomalies that amounts in our view to a serious abuse of power.
Could you imagine a person, hired to undertake party political work being paid a salary of over 4000 U.S or 10,840 EC dollars a month, 1000 U.S dollars a month for housing and given a government transport all from your tax dollars?

Or another person hired on a three year contract, which can only be terminated if the government pays that person for the entire length of the contract, whether they are doing a good job or not. What is also unique about this particular contract, is the fact that the individual only has to give the government one month’s notice if they desire to terminate the contract. However, if the government so desires, it has to pay out the entire duration of the contract. Ladies and gentlemen this defies logic, good governance and common decency.

Our review has also shown that vote 340 was severely abused. In fact that vote, which was established to pay for specific services, is now paying in excess of 22 million dollars annually. It was used to pay service providers, temporary staff, party consultants, and a group called outreach, which undertook all the political work of the New National Party in the various constituencies.

In effect ladies and gentlemen, it is no wonder then that our finances are in such a bad state. When the general election was called, the debushing
programme which was budgeted to spend seven million dollars, was over spent
by an additional 12 million dollars.

This ladies and gentlemen means, that while budgeting to spend seven million
dollars, the NNP government actually spent 19 million dollars on debushing
alone prior to the elections .

This is a colossal abuse of government resources. Much of this reckless
spending was done in the last two weeks prior to the general elections. And this
is only the tip of the problem. In addition we have inherited a high level of
Unpaid Claims in the treasury amounting to $54.1 million. These are cheques
in the Treasury which cannot be released because Government has limited
cash.

In a recent Cabinet briefing by the Ministry of Finance, the situation facing government finances was described as being very challenging. The general conclusion was that Government is facing a major cash crunch. To further illustrate the magnitude of the problem, Cabinet was advised that 90 cents of every dollar it collects goes to recurrent expenditure such as salaries, pensions and debt repayment. This leaves only 10 cents for development projects in agriculture, health and education. A direct consequence of the NNP’s reckless actions and failed economic policies.

Given these challenges, several recommendations were presented for Cabinet’s consideration. Cabinet has accepted some of these recommendations which include:

1. To review some of the major projects to ensure that Government can meet its obligations as it falls due. These include, for example, the St. George’s Market Square.
2. The immediate commencement of preparation for the 2009 Budget.
3. The establishment of a Waste Reduction Taskforce consisting of persons from the public and private sectors to make recommendations for immediate implementation, in the 2009 Budget and for the next 2-3 years. I believe the public could also play a useful role in this exercise.

Between 1995 and December 2007, our debt increased by over one billion dollars to 1.73 Billion dollars. This places us as a country in a very difficult situation.

Standards and Poors and the IMF have both pointed to fiscal indiscipline by the last government for the state of our debt. We recently met with the IMF who offered technical assistance in the area of fiscal management. We intend to speak to friends in the international community to seek debt forgiveness and/ or debt restructuring.

Cabinet will also redouble efforts to secure undisbursed grants from friendly governments to ensure certain projects promised by government can be implemented in the next few months.

THE WAY FORWARD

Ladies and gentlemen, fortunately it is not all bad news. We have seen some exciting opportunities to transform Grenada, particularly through some of the new tourism related projects. We believe the tourism industry holds the key in the short term for employment generation and immediate impact on our economy.

My government believes and has consistently said that the private sector is the engine of growth for our economy. Consequently we have committed to working to provide the favourable environment for the expansion and growth of the private sector. We therefore will work with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Employers Federation, the trades union council and civil society to build and strengthen this frame work. We all have a stake in this country and we all must work together to develop it.

CARRRIACOU

Fellow Citizens in a recent visit to Carriacou I met with the business community to discuss government’s priorities. As you might be aware the process to implement local government in Carriacou has started.

We recently received a report that will guide the process. The special opportunities and challenges that form part of life in the sister islands are high on our agenda and we are working to address them. We also appreciate and understand the tourism potential of Carriacou and Petit Martinique. While there, I was taken on a tour of an archeological site in Grand Bay.

It was a wonderful experience. The sad reality however, is that sand mining is endangering the site and our important heritage. This site has uncovered artifacts that are found no where else in the world. It has great potential for the development of the tourism product. However, if this trend continues we will lose much of the history Carriacou.

Of tremendous concern however, is the fact that sand mining is eroding the Grand Bay area by one meter per year. This is unacceptable and sand mining must stop, not just in Carriacou but in Grenada as well. There are better alternatives available for use in the construction industry and we will pursue them. The Carriacou Regatta Festival has provided significant impetus to the development of the island.
We will give our full support to this venture.

VISIT TO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Ladies and Gentlemen, during the period August 13 and 14, I led a delegation on an Official Visit to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the invitation of Prime Minister Patrick Manning. The visit received wide coverage in the Trinidad press which was mainly positive. We had a well organized social programme, a luncheon engagement with the local Private Sector and visits to institutions of economic, social and educational interest in different parts of the country.

Our meetings were fruitful, particularly the bilateral meetings. I held discussions with colleagues from St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago on accelerating closer co-operation and collaboration among countries of the region, particularly the OECS, to further advance the integration process.

The Foreign Ministers from Barbados and Guyana represented their respective leaders at these talks. The leaders signed a Joint Declaration on Collaboration towards the achievement of a Single Economy and Political Integration. The proposal is to seek to achieve a Single Economy by 2011 and appropriate political integration by 2013.

This proposal is consistent with the current CARICOM and OECS Treaty arrangements. Contrary to recent fears being expressed in some quarters, this initiative is simply an effort to get action on already agreed initiatives. In fact, the integration process is expected to be enhanced. The fundamental rationale remains the maximization of our resources to our collective benefit through sharing, rationalisation, technical assistance programmes, collaboration and cooperation.

Professor Vaughn Lewis and Ambassador Dr. Cuthbert Joseph were assigned to prepare a study by the end of 2008 regarding the timely achievement of these milestones. This study will be shared and discussed widely with all stakeholders when completed. I want to indicate that the Joint declaration is a statement of intent, which is subject to ratification by the respective countries and the dates identified are not final, in other words they can be changed.

BILATERAL DISCUSSIONS
On the bilateral level, discussions were held with the government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on a number of extremely important issues.
We discussed the fight against terrorism, crime and drug trafficking through surveillance and interdiction. We agreed that Radar sites will be strategically located in Grenada and neighbouring countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This will assist our governments in responding appropriately to illegal criminal activities within our territorial space.

The leaders also agreed that the excellent security arrangements put into place for the cricket world cup 2007 will be built upon. My government is fully committed to improving security in the country and in the region as a whole, and will consider acceding to the following two relevant regional instruments.

1. The CARICOM Maritime and Airspace Cooperation Treaty
2. The Common Arrest Warrant Treaty

Ladies and Gentlemen, importantly, both Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to work towards completing the process of delimiting our maritime boundaries by the 31st December 2008. Prime Minister Manning accepted Grenada’s proposal to establish a Joint Trinidad and Tobago/Grenada Boundary Commission which will be responsible for establishing the boundary. The demarcation will then be presented to both governments for ratification. Settling our maritime boundary is the first step in a process that will enable Grenada to benefit from the exploitation of possible oil and gas resources in our territorial waters.

In the area of health we signed an agreement with Trinidad and Tobago that will allow Grenadians to travel to Trinidad and Tobago to obtain medical attention that is not available locally. Both governments would contribute to meeting the costs. The problems relative to airlift and the cost air travel within the region was also discussed.

The case of LIAT was particularly highlighted and both delegations agreed that LIAT cannot adequately service Grenada, especially at the time of major festivals in the sub-region. Over the last year, we lost an estimated 20 – 25,000 visitors due to inadequate airlift. This carnival season was no exception. Discussions were held relative to Caribbean Airlines servicing the Grenada route. This idea has to be pursued by both sides.

In fact, the Heads of Government at their meeting on August 14, 2008 in Port-of-Spain, agreed that the two regional airlines, Caribbean Airline and LIAT, should continue their efforts aimed at realizing cost savings and enhancing cooperation. It was further agreed that a meeting will be held between the Prime Ministers of the three LIAT shareholding countries and the management of the two airlines, during the week of August 25, 2008.

Additionally, the government of Trinidad and Tobago has agreed to explore the possibility of expanding its Tobago ferry services to Grenada, St. Vincent and even further up the chain of islands. This service which now caters for over 800 passengers plus cargo will be a bonus to our tourism industry and would provide a much cheaper alternative to air travel.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Trinidad and Tobago agreed to examine and remove the sanitary and phyto-sanitary restrictions on Grenada’s agricultural products to its market. This will lead to a possible resumption of the once profitable agricultural trade between the two countries. This is very good news for our farmers and traffickers whose trade declined in recent years.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is also in the process of revitalising its own agricultural sector, and has offered to share expertise and advisory services with Grenada on request. We also signed an agreement on training and technical assistance in education. In this regard scholarships would be available for up to ten (10) Grenadian nationals per academic year, to pursue their tertiary education in institutions in Trinidad and Tobago.

There is further assistance on the horizon as Prime Minister Manning also mentioned the establishment of a Petroleum Fund aimed at assisting us as smaller countries, to tackle poverty. A sum of over TT $500 million is available for that purpose and Grenada was invited to use that grant facility to advance our social programmes.

The Grenada delegation welcomed this information and confirmed that the government certainly intends to follow up so that we can fund some relevant projects. Ladies and gentlemen on August 23, 2003, the previous administration signed an agreement to operate a consular office in Port- of- Spain with some funding provided by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.

Although the agreement expires in August 2008, it allows for the automatic roll-over for another five (5) years. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has also agreed to continue the assistance for that period. We intend to officially open that office during the third week of September, 2008. The objective here is to advance the country’s trade, investment and tourism interests in Trinidad and Tobago.

We see the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as an extremely important partner in our economic strategy to bring benefits to our people. We wish to thank Prime Minister Manning and the people of Trinidad and Tobago for the warm welcome and the well organised programme we experienced in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ladies and gentlemen, the changes in the global environment do not leave us with many choices. We must work together for the improvement of all our people. The survival of our small nations is intricately tied to our ability to work together as a region.

Ladies and gentlemen the NDC won the election as a party. Now we are the government for all the people irrespective of color creed or class. Our commitment is to build Grenada for the benefit of all. My government will work to ensure that once again we can be proud of our Grenada. I want to thank all those who have come forward so far to play a part during these early days. Your work has not gone without notice.

I want to thank all those who have given spiritual guidance. We look forward to your continued prayers. Together we must rebuild the moral fabric of our land.