The year of Implementation
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- Parent Category: Dec 2011
- Category: Week ending Dec 24th, 2011
- Published on Monday, 26 December 2011 11:34
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EDITORIAL
The country is around this time of the year taking time off once again to enjoy the merriment and festivities of Christmas.The religious persons in our midst will concentrate on the meaning of the birth of the Christ Child, and the reason for his coming on earth to demonstrate what life should be all about to Mankind.
There are those who would spent most of the holiday period thanking "The Father" in Heaven for taking them through another difficult and challenging year and hoping that he would bless them to meet and deal with whatever lies ahead in the new year.
For us in Grenada, we look each year to the government to send some kind of signal that would help us to fashion our lives for the whole year and beyond.
It is the wish of THE NEW TODAY newspaper that the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government sees 2012 as THE YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION and take it seriously.
This is the kind of slogan that was made popular during the period of the 1979-83 Grenada Revolution of late Prime Minister, Maurice Bishop and his People's Revolutionary Government (PRG).
If the last three-and-a-half years were spent by the current occupiers of State power in steadying the ship-of-state after 13 years of questionable rule by the former New National Party (NNP) administration then the time has come to move the economy into a new gear.
It will have to be a Year of Implementation of those promised projects in order to jump-start the economy once again and to provide jobs and hope for the people of the Tri-island State of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
The very Value Added Tax (VAT), which the government relies heavily on for most of its revenue, will only perform to its optimum if more economic activities are generated within the country.
Too much time was wasted by some within the administration on nonsensical issues like challenging the authority of the Prime Minister as enshrined in the Grenada Constitution and not putting service to the people in the forefront.
Several of the Members of Parliament seemingly forgot that the people elected them to serve the various constituencies. Those who were lucky enough to get an appointment as a Member of the Cabinet should see it as a bonus and nothing more since that falls within the domain of the Prime Minister.
If only Prime Minister Tillman Thomas could have gotten all hands on deck, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would have been much advanced in terms of delivering on the many promises made in the campaign to get into office in the July 2008 general elections.
Too many of the Ministers and Senators are more interested in overseas travel and the good life rather than looking after the welfare of the people of this country.
The bitter, painful and bloody lessons of the past have not stuck with some people as they continue to walk the same path of self-destruction as their mentors.
The Prime Minister has to shoulder some of the blame because of his failure to use some of the powers given to him to "manners" some of the elements within the administration that are trying to create and run a government within a government.
It is no secret that Grenadians are aware of those who are involved in this mischievous behaviour and are advocates of the concept of peaceful co-existence.
The late Maurice Bishop made the cardinal error of allowing a group known as OREL to operate within the New Jewel Movement (NJM) that he formed with Unison Whiteman and Kendrick Radix and it was this splinter faction with Bernard Coard as the undisputed leader that attempted to seize power in the bloody crisis in October 1983.
NDC must never allow itself to be taken over by any group led by those elements of the 70's and 80's. The party needs to protect itself from some of its own members who are still committed to the old ideology that has no place in a modern society.
The Prime Minister has been forced to walk a very cautious route in recent months given the intricacies of his government and the activities of some elements who have demonstrated by their action that they cannot be trusted as true democrats.
He will have to get those who are committed to the process to step up to the plate and spend the better part of the next 12 months in implementing the many projects, programmes and policies that were announced three months ago.
It is a daunting task that lies ahead. Most people in Grenada might agree that the team that was elected into office just over 3 years ago was one of the best in the country when looked at on paper in terms of qualification. That is all.
What was clearly lacking from Congress as a government is the commitment and resolve by many on board to put Grenada first, second and third.
THE NEW TODAY would like to end by borrowing from a sentence that is contained in one of our letters this week.
The writer who is a clear supporter of Congress said: "As we look towards the New Year 2012, we pray for continued good performance on the economic front. We pray that all officials, public and private, managers and workers at all levels would have the benefit of good judgement and put aside all malice and ill intent, put aside all negative party-political agendas and work in the interest of Grenada".
We go one step further and re-iterate that the government should declare 2012 as "THE YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION" for its own good.
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