Politics
Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell vows to spur economy and ‘engage the world’
“Insensitivity must give way to a new spring of humility; it takes a lot of energy to be arrogant and little energy to be humble; the Feb. 19 results tells us that the people are ready to punish arrogance and will do it again if we walk that road,” Mitchell warned his team.
The twelve-member cabinet of Mitchell saw three MPs being challenged by their leader to take up other roles and to be the mantle of the keeper of the flame of the country’s democracy.
They were not made members of the cabinet because Mitchell wanted to have a smaller cabinet as a cost cutting measure and to make some of his Parliament members’ backbenchers so they can be considered for placement on the Public Accounts Committee; a committee that has the authority to watchdog the government, especially in the absence of opposition members in the Parliament.
Yolande Bain-Horsford, Tobian Clement and Clifton Paul also will receive increased allowances to better take care of their constituencies and will be briefed on a weekly basis by an appointed cabinet sub-committee.
“The decision to leave the three members out of the cabinet was painful for me personally,” said Mitchell who hinted at a possible rotation of portfolios, disclosing that some of the present cabinet appointments may not be for five years and that the non-cabinet members could be made ministers over time while present ministers will carry on the mantle of non-cabinet functions.
Mitchell said he was not committed to working in the past nor repeating mistakes.
“Bad behavior is not good politics, bad behavior is bad politics,” Mitchell told the thousands of Grenadians who cheered on his historical moment.
