Corruption in Grenada
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- Parent Category: Nov 2011
- Category: Week ending Nov 26th, 2011
- Published on Tuesday, 29 November 2011 18:22
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“...There is some very serious official corrupt activity taking place in Grenada”.
This statement was contained in one of the lengthy pieces sent to the U.S State Department by an American official covering Grenada during the rule of former Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell and his New National Party (NNP).
Most of the 13 years spent in office by the NNP saw its government dogged by allegations of corruption and wrong-going on several projects including Call Center, and oil and gas deals with U.S and Russian investors.
THE NEW TODAY newspaper has been able to obtain one of the controversial wikileaks documents sent to Washington by one of the diplomats charged with covering Grenada and the Eastern Caribbean.
The report was put together in 2006, prior to the hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup which many believed that Prime Minister Mitchell was gauging in order to set the date for the island’s next elections.
The U.S envoy touched on the “Briefcase” issue in which Dr. Mitchell allegedly collected US$500, 000.00 in bribery payments from imprisoned fraudster, Eric Resteiner for a diplomatic posting.
Following are the highlights of the report that was put together by Ambassador Mary Ellen T. Gilroy:
C O N F I D E N T I A L
BRIDGETOWN
SUBJECT: GRENADA TRYING TO READ ST. LUCIA TEA LEAVES
Classified By: DCM Mary Ellen T. Gilroy
SUMMARY:
Grenadians are reading the tea leaves of the St. Lucia election, hoping to find clues to their own future.
Speculation is rampant that Prime Minister Keith Mitchell will call elections following Cricket World Cup in an attempt to ride the expected popular high following successful games.
Although elections have not actually been called, both political parties are campaigning. The problem for Grenada in trying to read the surprise opposition victory in St. Lucia as a harbinger for things to come is that, unlike in St. Lucia, there does not appear to be a comparable respected elder statesman to turn to.
The end-of-year debate on the budget bill the government of Grenada presented to parliament on December 15 was less a discussion of the specific proposals and more a staking out of positions for the expected election.
The opposition walked out of the budget debate on December 20 when the Speaker of Parliament chided opposition member Peter David for bringing up unrelated issues when the latter referred to an alleged video of PM Mitchell taking money from a corrupt businessman.
A vigil against corruption was held on the Carenage (a popular gathering spot on St. George’s waterfront) the same evening which appears to be the primary issue the opposition will run on.
END SUMMARY.
Grenada’s Prime Minister Keith Mitchell congratulated Sir John Compton immediately following the opposition United Workers Party’s (UWP) December 11 electoral victory in St. Lucia, hailing Sir John as a “leader with experience and vision.”
Mitchell said Compton was one of those who provided help to him when he assumed office in 1995. Compton, Mitchell added, will play a “crucial leadership role in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).”
PM Mitchell pledged to continue the close working relationship Grenada and St. Lucia have enjoyed.
Official congratulations aside, many in Grenada are wondering whether Compton’s victory foreshadows the outcome of the next Grenada election, expected sometime after Cricket World Cup, possibly as early as fall 2007 (though not required until, at the latest, January 2009).
Initial press reporting about St. Lucia’s election was mostly factual, followed by more nuanced reactions, including barely controlled elation among opposition politicians who see the UWP victory in St. Lucia as a clear indication that regional political trends are going their way.
For their part, the Grenada’s opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) hammers away at themes similar to those used in the St. Lucia campaign, e.g., corruption, arrogance of the ruling party (the New National Party, or NNP) which has “lost touch with the people.”
The NDC relies on reporting from the U.S. and elsewhere, and continues to call on the government to investigate these allegations, rather than seeking out and providing convincing evidence on their own.
If even half of what the critics claim is true, there is some very serious official corrupt activity taking place in Grenada.
The NDC approach is to throw out accusations and taunt the NNP to prove them wrong. This is good political theatre, and fun to watch. It is not, however, very edifying.
Grenada has very free, but rather lazy, media, that devote relatively few resources to serious investigative reporting, relying instead on editorials heavy with innuendo and call-in radio and television shows, as well as reports (unchecked) from elsewhere, including the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The two main television news shows, running 30 minutes each evening, are generally pretty good at reporting what is happening, but do not delve very far beneath the surface.
This combination of political attacks and innuendo leaves the public with an increasingly uneasy feeling about their government.
The NDC, which has yet to offer any clear explanation of what an NDC government would offer, obviously believes that such an approach will work in their favour.
A number of Embassy contacts agree that it will. They also agree that the public is confused. One reflected the mood best when he said, “People want change; they don’t know why, but they want something different. When it happens, they may be unhappy, because what they get may not be what they thought they were promised.”
Should the NDC win the next elections — and many here are convinced they have a good shot at doing so — it may be as much change for change’s sake as support for a, thus far, nebulous NDC agenda.
FOCUS ON CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS
On December 20, during the budget debate, the opposition staged a walkout after the Speaker of Parliament chided NDC member Peter David for straying from the issue at hand when he brought up an ongoing case in which the Prime Minister is alleged to have taken US$500,000 from a German businessman and was apparently caught on video.
David called on the Attorney General to officially request the USG to assist in getting a copy of the video from the state court in Massachusetts that has it.
(NOTE: Mitchell maintains he received US$15,000 to cover travel expenses, not US$500,000. The Commission of Inquiry set up in June 2005 by the Governor General to investigate the allegations adjourned after hearing several witnesses’ testimony without finding Mitchell guilty of any wrongdoing.
Offshore Alert — the Miami-based newsletter that originally broke the story — periodically publishes articles reiterating the charges and most recently claims the inquiry is on hold as the leader of the opposition, Tillman Thomas, sued shortly after the inquiry began for an opposition lawyer to participate in questioning witnesses.
The article states that the court action must be completed before the Commission may resume its work. Post cannot confirm the accuracy of these statements.
As recently as December 16, PM Mitchell felt forced to defend his actions, issuing a long statement again denying the charges. As long as the case remains unresolved, the NDC has the perfect club with which to bludgeon the NNP. END NOTE.)
The government on November 29 introduced two very serious anti-corruption bills: the Integrity in Public Life Bill and The Prevention of Corruption Bill, which would require all public officials to report all income and establish an Integrity Commission to oversee the reports and review government practices in order to provide public accountability of all government officials.
Both bills received one reading, of the required three, but have been put aside as Parliament tries to pass the 2007 budget bill.
The opposition has not tipped its hand about whether it will support the bills, presumably either because they do not want the NNP government to get credit for passing the legislation or because they are concerned that the requirements will be too tough on them, should they take over in the next election.
COMMENT
Grenada does not have an elder statesman waiting in the wings to swoop the electorate off its feet as Compton did in St. Lucia.
There are rumours that, should the NDC win the next election, its current leader might be pushed aside by others in the party who do not believe Tillman Thomas is ideologically pure enough (though in conversations with Charge, Thomas still espouses the revolutionary party line).
The political roots of many in the NDC, including Thomas, go back to the now-defunct political parties which staged the revolution of 1979 deposing then-Prime Minister Eric Gairy in a bloodless coup.
Thomas spent time in prison during the revolutionary period, having fallen afoul of its leaders. Grenada’s revolution ultimately collapsed amid bloody infighting triggering the U.S.-Caribbean military intervention of October 25, 1983.
Even if the NDC wins the next election with Thomas as its leader, an internal power struggle may ensue over who will ultimately be Grenada’s next Prime Minister.
The Chinese goodwill in 2004/2005
A Beijing front group known as the Keppel Foundation was able to lure the Keith Mitchell-led New National Party (NNP) government in Grenada to embrace Mainland China with a promise of US$15 million to be paid instantly into the Treasury.
The NNP administration dumped the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan in early 2005 in favour of diplomatic ties with the Chinese on the Mainland.
Several documents obtained by the NEW TODAY newspaper gave insights into the behind the scene negotiations that took place between Keppel Foundation and the Office of Prime Minister Mitchell on the Taiwan/China issue.
Most of the correspondents were addressed either directly to the former Grenada Prime Minister or his influential Special Advisor, Richardson Andrews.
In a confidential letter dated October 25, 2004, President of the Foundation, Frank Hwang dropped hints that the Chinese might soon lose interest in the apparent foot-dragging by the Mitchell government to oust the Taiwanese and invite Beijing into St. George’s.
Hwang warned Dr. Mitchell that Grenada needed to agree to make the visit to Mainland China as soon as possible “before the momentum of the Chinese goodwill disappears totally”,
Less than two months later, Dr. Mitchell was secretly leading a delegation of government and private sector officials to Beijing to meet with senior members of the Chinese government.
Following is the full text of Hwang’s letter to Dr. Mitchell in which the promised US$ one million payment to a non-governmental trust fund for the former Grenadian leader was once again brought to the forefront:
Dr. the Honorable Keith Mitchell
Prime Minister of Grenada
St. George’s
Dear Honorable Prime Minister,
Since Taiwan is fiercely accusing China of conducting “money diplomacy” in a tug of war over diplomatic relations with Grenada, China is adopting a much more conservative position with regard to the matter. Taiwan can’t help Grenada now and won’t really help Grenada in the future, but they seem to be successful in making sure Grenada gets no help from China.
Upon my receipt of the written response from the Honorable Elvin Nimrod, I will confidentially present it to His Excellency Li Zhao Xing for consideration and will of course confidentially deliver his reply to you.
Nevertheless, I have just spoken with His Excellency Li Zhao Xing on the phone and he would like to respectfully point out that the Chinese proposal has already included the provision of funds of US$15,000,000 to be paid into the treasury of the Grenada Government instantly, part of which will be used to repay the loans from Taiwan and to finish the community-based projects originally funded by Taiwan.
Subject to further confirmation, there are also provisions of funds of up to US$35,000,000 in the total to be paid into the treasury of the Grenada Government on various dates within the first year of the normalisation of bilateral relations and the implementation of economic and technical cooperation between the two countries, to assist the Grenada Government in meeting its immediate financial needs.
The above provisions of funds amounted to US$50,000,000. While being accused of “money diplomacy” with Grenada, however, China regards making a lump sum payment of the entire US$50,000,000 up front to Grenada highly inappropriate.
The proposed contribution of US$1,000,000 to the educational trust is from the Keppel Foundation, not the Chinese Government. The Keppel Foundation doesn’t have the resources to make such contribution annually.
The Chinese proposal, however, has included the provision of gratuitous aid per year over a five-year period from 2005 to 2009 for technical cooperation or project support as agreed by the two governments.
Although it is the Chinese Government’s policy not to make international commitment in economic and technical cooperation for more than five consecutive years, the proposed agreement on economic and technical cooperation between the two countries is renewable every five years.
The Chinese Government would undertake the redesign and construction of the Grenada National Stadium Complex expeditiously and manage to complete it in 2006, if and only if without further delay of the commencement of the proposed project into the forthcoming Western and Chinese holiday seasons of 2004 and 2005.
Due to his extremely pressing timetable of official functions, especially at the conclusion of the year, His Excellency Li Zhao Xing respectfully requests your written confirmation on the proposed 4th- 8th December visit by Monday, 1st November 2004, or alternatively, he would be pleased to welcome you after, the Chinese New Year Holidays in March 2005.
He respectfully urges you to visit China without further delay and sincerely promises to afford you such courtesy, friendship, hospitality and generously as can be expected from a true friend. Under the circumstances, he expects to welcome the Honourable Elvin Nimrod and Mr. Richardson Andrews as part of your delegation.
As a true friend of the Caribbean, I would like to respectfully recommend you to visit China to kick off the proposed project swiftly, before the momentum of the Chinese goodwill disappears totally.
Chinese people believe in personal contact between the decision-makers and I am certain that the sooner you visit them, the better you can expect from them. With my warmest regards and best wishes, I remain
Respectfully yours,
Frank Hwang
President
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