Diplomacy is needed!!!
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- Parent Category: Oct 2011
- Category: Week ending Oct 29th, 2011
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Editorial
It is clear to the NEW TODAY newspaper that a diplomatic approach ought to be pursued by Grenada in trying to arrive at a solution with Taiwan on the issue of the unpaid loans totaling EC$75 million.
Armed with a court order, the Republic of China on Taiwan is trying to enforce its legitimate entitlement to the repayment of the funds that were loaned to Grenada by the Far-East country over a 21-year period beginning 1989-90.
And what makes the situation more and more sticky for Grenada is the fact that the former Keith Mitchell-led New National Party (NNP) government did not put in a defense to the claim when the matter was filed before a Federal Court in New York to arbitrate the matter.
The NNP put the matter into the hands of a female lawyer by the name of Mrs Tucker-Nimrod the American-born wife of former Attorney-General and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elvin Nimrod who is not known to be legally qualified and experienced to handle such a delicate matter.
Such was the secrecy of the manner in which the Mitchell government kept the issue away from the people of Grenada that no one heard about the unpaid Taiwanese loan until the now defunct GRENADA TODAY newspaper brought it to the public’s attention prior to the 2008 general elections.
Virtually no information is available about the legal fees that might have been paid to the wife of the former Attorney-General for taking on the Taiwanese assignment on behalf of the then Grenada government.
This situation in which Grenada has now found itself with Taiwan should be contrasted with that of Dominica which broke off ties with Taipei in favour of Mainland China.
When the ROC moved against Dominica on outstanding loans in a Court in New York, the Roosevelt Skerritt government in Roseau was able to retain a law firm to contest the matter.
The end result was that Taiwan backed away. There is no default judgement hanging over the head of Dominica as there is against Grenada because of the inaction of the Mitchell government on the Court matter. Why did the NNP not pursue a similar approach? Only the people who ruled the island between 1995 and 2008 can give the answer to that important question?
However, there is speculation that some of the loans contracted by the former regime might be considered as “unofficial” since no one knows for sure whether Parliamentary approval was received to borrow these millions from Taiwan.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of Prime Minister Tillman Thomas is in a good position to check the records on these loans. If Parliamentary approval was in order then that would be reflected in the laws of the country since all bills passed in Parliament eventually become the law of the land.
This is a government with plenty of lawyers in its midst like PM Thomas, Finance Minister Burke, Tourism Minister, Peter David, as well as Senators George Prime and Arley Gill. The law is their business and they should have been able to research by now the legality of these loans from Taiwan.
In addition, the Minister of Finance, Nazim Burke, should be able to get the likes of Permanent Secretary, Timothy Antoine, a left over from the Mitchell era to help him trace the legality of the Taiwanese loans.
However, this should not prevent Grenada from looking at a diplomatic solution to the uncomfortable situation now facing us due to the non-payment of the monies owed to Taiwan.
Prime Minister Thomas has to move aggressively to engage fellow Caribbean Prime Ministers like Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Dr. Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts/Nevis to make a case on behalf of St. George’s with the political directorate in Taipei.
Any collapse of the Grenadian economy due to the actions now being pursued by Taiwan will have devastating effects not only in St. George’s but the rest of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
It can create huge problems for the sub-region especially with respect to employment for many workers in the various islands especially in manufacturing and agro-processing.
Grenada would also have to make approaches to U.S President, Barrack Obama to engage in a bit of diplomacy with Taiwan in order to go “soft” with this East Caribbean Island for the time being on the non-payment of the loans.
This should be looked at seriously since Taiwan often looks to the U.S for protection in the face of threats from Mainland China on the issue of independence from the Mainland.
As a major supplier of arms to the Taiwanese, the United States government has tremendous influence on Taipei.
Grenada needs a lot of breathing space at this point in time in order to rebuild its economy after the ravages of Hurricanes Ivan and Emily in 2004 and 2005.
There is really no revenue-earning sector in this country like oil and natural gas in Trinidad and Tobago. Most of the funds that end up in the government’s coffers are derived from taxes on its people. So where will we get the millions to repay Taiwan in short order?
And the truth of the matter is that there is no real good reason for the Taiwanese to loosen the grip around the neck of Grenada given the manner in which the former Keith Mitchell administration dumped Taipei in the face of a package of goodies and carrots dangled in its face by the Chinese on the Mainland.
This newspaper has a deep feeling that financial expediency rather than political philosophy was the driving force behind Mitchell’s decision to play the One-China card and leave Taiwan in the cold.
That decision which was not well-thought out is coming back to not only haunt all of us in this 133 square mile island but can affect many succeeding generations of Grenada for years.
“The “want-a-food” mentality has to be stopped because our leaders will only be forced to go into more and more debts to satisfy the greed of a certain section of the population.
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