February 7, 1974 - Grenada's Independence Day

This day, February 7, marks the 37^th Anniversary of Grenada’s independence from the United Kingdom. Premier, Sir Eric Matthew Gairy, Grenada’s first Prime Minister, led the country into independence. Prior to independence, Grenada became an “Associated State of the United Kingdom” in 1967, which enabled Grenada to be responsible for her own internal affairs, while the UK still remained responsible for Grenada’s defense and foreign affairs.

Every independence day, it is customary for the current Prime Minister and Governor Generals to offer independence messages. Past messages have updated the Grenadian public on increased government social spending, as well as progress related to new policies such as the working Draft of Grenada’s National Strategic Development Plan introduced in 2007 by Prime Minister Keith Mitchell to promote investments in agriculture, health, education, and youth. This year’s independence message by Prime Minister Tillman Thomas focuses on the theme of “Celebrating 37 years through challenging times, with optimism and resilience.” In his message, Prime Minister Thomas calls for Grenadians to unite and tolerate differences among one another in an effort to move forward in the years to come.

Mr. Anthony C. George designed Grenada’s national flag.

The star at the very center of the flag represents the capital of St. George, symbolizing Grenada’s sovereignty and a guiding light for the country. The diagonal lines which divide the flag into three colors radiating from the star symbolize “maximum expansion” to indicate progress and how far Grenadians have come from their colonial past. Red is the most prominent color on the flag signifying national fervor, pride, and aspirations. Yellow symbolizes warmth and Grenada’s beautiful sunshine, while green represents Grenada’s fertile soil and lush vegetation. The left green triangle showcases the Isle of Spice with nutmeg, Grenada’s highly valued export. The gold outer stars convey Grenada’s six parishes which are: St. Andrew, St. George, St. David, St. John, St. Mark, and St. Patrick.

Locals look forward to celebrating Grenada’s independence each year. Calypso and soca music also fill neighborhoods and bars. Grenadian folk dancers express their national pride by wearing green, red, and yellow. Locals decorate the streets for the annual military parade.

Houses of Parliament in Grenada

STRUCTURE

Parliamentary democracy as we understand it today is based upon the consent of the governed.  Sovereignty resides in the people and it is they who decide who shall occupy the seats of power.

Parliament consists of the Queen, represented by the Governor General, the Senate and the House of Representatives.  The Governor-General summons Parliament, brings its session to an end by prorogation, and formally assents to every bill before it can become law.  In practice, he exercises all these powers on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

The passage of legislation depends on the participation of all three component parts of Parliament.  A bill must be agreed to by both Houses and receive the Royal Assent before it can become an Act of Parliament.  The powers of the Senate and the House of Representatives are constitutionally equal except that financial legislation may not be introduced in the Senate.

All Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

The House of Representatives is directly elected by the people, and although by tradition the Senate is the Upper House and the House of Representatives is the Lower House, it is the House of Representatives which plays the predominant part in the parliamentary system.

The Parliament of Grenada came into being in 1974 when Grenada became an independent country.

THE SENATE

The Senate consists of thirteen (13) non-elected Members. The members come from different sources.  They are:

• Seven are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister;
• Three are appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition; and
• Three are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister after he has consulted the organizations or interests which he considers the Senators should be selected to represent.

FUNCTIONS OF THE SENATE

• To act as a House of review with responsibility for expressing second opinion in relation to legislative and other proposals initiated in the House of Representatives;
• To ensure proper consideration of all legislation;
• To provide adequate scrutiny of financial measures;
• To initiate non-financial legislation as the Senate sees fit: the Senate’s capacity to initiate proposed legislation effectively means that Parliament is not confined in its opportunities for considering public issues in a legislative context to those matters covered by bills brought forward by the executive;
• To probe and check the administration of laws and to keep itself informed and to insist on ministerial accountability for the administration of the Government;
• To provide effective scrutiny of Government and enable adequate expression of debate about policy and government programmes.  As a parliamentary forum, the Senate is one place where a Government can be, of right, questioned and obliged to answer.

All bills must be passed by the Senate before they can become law and it has the constitutional right to reject any bill, and keep on rejecting it as long as it sees fit.  It can also amend any bill, although it cannot initiate or increase the amount of any bill dealing with taxation or expenditure.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The House of Representatives was modelled on the British, and even now, in any matter of procedure not provided for by its own rules and practices, the rules and practices of the British House of Commons are followed.

The House of Representatives is the focal point of parliamentary activity and public attention, the grand forum of the nation, where major national and international issues are debated; where the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition may be seen in regular confrontation; where Cabinet Ministers defend the policies and conduct of their departments; where the nation’s business in freely and openly transacted, all that is said and done being faithfully recorded.

Parliament makes the laws and the House of Representatives plays the predominant part in making them.  Any member can introduce bills, except bills involving expenditure or taxation, which can only be introduced by the government.  Since the responsibilities of government now extend into almost every sphere of activity, and since most government action involves spending money (and raising it by taxes, fees, loans, and so forth), most of the time of the House is spent on Government Bills.

Every bill must pass both Houses and receive the Royal Assent before it becomes law.  Assent is signified by the Governor General.

By law a general election must be held at least once every five years.  However, Parliament may be dissolved and an election called before the statutory period has elapsed, and this is what normally happens.  The power to dissolve Parliament is a royal prerogative exercised by the Governor General, normally on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Grenada Introduction and Major Policy Issues

UNDP Barbados-Grenada

The country outline for Grenada aims to offer a general overview of Grenada's social and economic situation. It was prepared using inputs from the Caribbean Development Bank Annual Economic Report for the year 2003-2004, the CIA fact-book and World Bank Discussion Papers available online. The complete list of references is available in the sections named Bibliography and Sources on-line.

I. Social Analysis

Unemployment and poverty remain high even with recent increase of the minimum wage. At 5% of the population, Grenada has the highest incidence of extreme poverty in the Eastern Caribbean and unemployment is estimated to have risen to 12.2% in 2002.[1] In addition, 64% of the population does not have formal education certification and more than 25% of students leaving primary school have no access to secondary school education. While the government increased spending on education from 5.3% of GDP in 2000 to 6.3% in 2002, low teacher qualification remains endemic.[2] Urban migration, urban squatting and increased demand for a safety net for the poor has made a streamlined poverty reduction crucial for Grenada.

Grenada has a 1% prevalence rate of HIV. Providing cost-effective primary healthcare continues to be one of the main challenges for government. The MDG report accounts for an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS orphans in Grenada.

II. Economic Situation Analysis

a. Overview of the recent economic performance

Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. The Grenadian economy experienced growth of 5.7% in 2003 following two years of decline since 9/11.[3] This growth reflects a 28.5% increase in the real value-added of the construction sector, which benefited from the tourism industry with the construction of a new cruise ship terminal and a major hotel construction. While the tourism industry expanded by 13.8% in 2003, the overall fiscal deficit widened to 19.4% of GDP.[4] Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. Grenada has been removed from the list as an uncooperative tax haven (OECD) 2002 as well as the list for deficiency in management of offshore sector activities (FATF) 2003.[5] Offshore financial services still contracted in 2003 with many banks closing or liquidating.

Tourism, construction, communications, transportation, and manufacturing have mitigated declines in agricultural production. Agricultural output declined by 2.4% in 2003.[6] Sector performance in agriculture has been uneven because approximately 90% of the total farms are small farms of less than 2 hectares.  Agriculture remains important to economic activity in Grenada with potential in modernization of farms.  In response to cocoa and banana production being down, the Cocoa Revitalization Programme has been implemented to facilitate the commercialization of cocoa production. The goal of the program is to revitalize over 1,000 acres of neglected or unproductive cocoa farms.  As part of Grenada's overall economic diversification plan, the banana industry has developed an organic banana project that will export to a promising market in the UK.

The large increase in the island's debt service payments has absorbed government resources at the expense of economic and social development. Grenada's debt payment obligations rose to $112.4 million in 2003 accounting for 34.7% of recurrent revenues.[7]

b. Development Cooperation

The Government received Balance of Payment support of $10.8 million from the IMF under its Emergency Assistance Programme. Grenada commenced implementation of two capital development projects began in 2003: a Bridges and Roads Investment Project and a World Bank-financed Emergency Recovery Project and Disaster Management Project.

In July 2002, The World Bank approved a loan and credit for US$6.04 million to Grenada HIV/AIDS programming.[8] The HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project will provide financial assistance to the Government of Grenada to support the implementation of its new national HIV/AIDS strategy with a focus on improvements in the national health system and monitoring the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The project will be implemented over five years.

The Caribbean Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have co-financed the Grenada Rural Enterprise Project which aims to reduce rural poverty through rural development.[9]

The Grenada/OECS Education Development Project became effective on January 28, 2004. The project is financed through a US$11.3 million loan from the World Bank, a US$.8 million grant from DFI and a US$2.5 million counterpart from the Government of Grenada.  The project will aid the Ministry with the development of Curriculum Policy, the provision of and Education Management and Information System, and training of principals and teachers.

The EU also provides the following significant support to the Government of Grenada.  This support is as follows:

• EU - A-allocation ' 3.5 million
  This allocation is destined to cover the long-term development activities identified in the context of the response strategy, namely in the tourism sector while 10% of the allocation is to be used to for studies, audits and technical support in the area of regional integration, disaster prevention and monitoring. An indicative allocation for a project in the Information Communication Technology is also foreseen outside the focal area of concentration.
• B-allocation ' 3.9 million
  This allocation is to be used for unforeseen needs such as emergency assistance and support to mitigate adverse affects of instability in export earnings.
• STABEX
  STABEX transfers to Grenada for loss of export earnings from bananas, cocoa, nutmeg and mace are being used to support a major reform of the banana industry in parallel with efforts to diversify both agriculture and the economy as a whole. In particular efforts are underway to strengthen the national economy, improve the balance of payments, enhance the quality of life of the population in rural areas and reduce the rate of rural-urban drift.
• Special Facility of Assistance (SFA)
  Funds available to Grenada under this facility are being used to develop a more competitive agricultural sector, including the maintenance of the banana industry whilst also emphasising the need to diversify rural income generation and the provision of social recovery for displaced farmers and their families.

III. Key Challenges

a. Overview

The major policy issues for the Government at this juncture are:

• Delivery of Education
• Financial Management and Public Indebtedness
• Poverty reduction

The Government's Budget Address titled 'Promoting Economic and Social Development through People's participation' details the government's focus on agricultural development, education and training, youth development and health care. Grenada will need to support private investment through expanded public investment spending in areas such as infrastructure, water/sanitation, as well as in education and health.  The IMF suggests that the government maintain efforts to create an enabling environment for the private sector, rather than simply provide concessions.[10]  Because Grenada's tourism product and infrastructure remain less developed than its competitors, it will need active private sector participation to sustain growth and reduce poverty.

According to the Caribbean Development Bank, Grenada faces a trade-off between balancing fiscal spending in order to enhance growth and the need to manage fiscal sustainability.

b. The Environment

The government of Grenada has established a National Environmental Action Plan and instituted a legislative and policy framework for the regulation of the management of environmental hazards. Grenada's current environmental issues include:[11]

• Soil erosion; beach and coastline erosion
• Waste management, supply, and pollution
• Sedimentation of coastal and river waters
• Forestry and land protection
• Potential loss of habitat and associated bio-diversity

Economy of Grenada

Grenada has a largely tourism-based, small, open economy. Over the past two decades, the economy has shifted from one of agriculture-dominant into that of services-dominant, with tourism serving as the leading foreign currency earning sector. The country's principal export crops are the spices nutmeg and mace (Grenada is the world’s second largest producer of nutmeg after Indonesia). Other crops for export include cocoa, citrus fruits, bananas, cloves, and cinnamon. Manufacturing industries in Grenada operate mostly on a small scale, including production of beverages and other foodstuffs, textiles, and the assembly of electronic components for export.

Economic growth picked up in the late 1990s following slow growth and domestic fiscal adjustment in early years of the decade. Despite an expansionary fiscal policy, the public debt remained moderate at around 50 percent of GDP as deficits were financed partly by privatization receipts. Since 2001, economic growth declined caused by adverse shocks such as a slowdown in the global economy and natural disasters. To deal with the shocks, fiscal policy became more expansionary while privatization receipts declined. As a result, public debt increased sharply to near 110 percent of GDP in 2003. Economic conditions worsened when Hurricane Ivan hit the country in September 2004; progress in fiscal consolidation was impeded as government revenues fell and policy priority was shifted to post-hurricane relief.

Although reconstruction has proceeded quickly with significant aid from the international community, tourism and agricultural activities remain weak and nearly offset the stimulus from the reconstruction boom. The country is still facing the difficult task of reconstruction and recovery, while public debt is unsustainable and the government faces large financing gaps. In the years ahead, reinvigorating growth will be a high priority, and continued efforts are needed to address vulnerabilities.

After experiencing GDP growth averaging nearly six percent a year in the late 1990s, economic growth declined considerably after 2001 as a result of a decline in the tourism industry following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and damages caused by several hurricanes.

The economy of Grenada was brought to a near standstill in September 2004 by Hurricane Ivan, which damaged or destroyed 90 percent of the country's buildings, including some tourist facilities. In July 2005 Hurricane Emily struck Grenada again as the country was still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Ivan. Besides the negative impacts to the tourism industry, the two devastating hurricanes destroyed or significantly damaged a large percentage of Grenada’s tree crops, which may take years to recover.

As the damage of Hurricane Ivan to the economy exceeded 200 percent of GDP, economic growth registered a negative growth of three percent in 2004, compared with a positive growth rate of 5.8 percent in 2003. Although signs of recovery have been seen in Grenada after the damage inflicted by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily, economic conditions remain difficult; GDP is projected at a growth rate of only one percent for 2005.

With the absence of sustained growth, the fiscal situation started to deteriorate after 2001 reflecting a continued expansionary policy with sharp increase in spending on social sectors, the wage bill, and goods and services. As a result, the fiscal deficit rose to 8.5 percent of GDP in 2001 from 3.2 percent in 2000. The fiscal situation remained shaky in 2002 with the deficit widening to 19.2 percent of GDP due to dampened output from Tropical Storm Lili. As the economic began to recover in 2003, the government began to take steps for fiscal consolidation, and the fiscal deficit fell to 4.8 percent of GDP. But progress in fiscal consolidation was impeded in 2004 as the government policy changed abruptly to post-hurricane relief. Meanwhile, government revenues decreased as a result of the impact of the hurricanes on the economy.

While economic growth has declined since 2001 due to adverse shocks, including slowdown in the global economy and natural disasters, fiscal policy became more expansionary when privatization receipts declined. As a result, public debt has increased sharply to over 100 percent of GDP since 2002; it remained as high as near 130 percent of GDP in 2004.

Grenada is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), which manages monetary policy and issues a common currency for all the member countries. Inflation has remained low and stable within the framework of the currency board arrangement, with inflation averaging at two percent over the past 15 years.

Grenada's current account balance has remained in large deficit due to its heavy dependence on import of most consumer goods and domestic investment. Following an average deficit of around 20 percent of GDP from 1997 to 2000, the current account deficit has increased to over 30 percent of GDP since 2001 due to higher import demand combined with lower receipts from tourism and nutmeg exports. The current account deficits are financed by inflows of foreign direct investment, official grants and loans, and commercial borrowing by the private sector.

Grenada’s economy is vulnerable to external shocks considering its high dependence on tourism, exports, and imports of most of the goods that are consumed or invested domestically. It is also prone to other adverse shocks such as natural disasters.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan and Emily, the priority now for Grenada is to continue the recovery process necessary to restore the infrastructure that was devastated by the hurricanes. The international community has disbursed significant amounts of aid, including financial help under the International Monetary Fund's emergency assistance policy for natural disasters and assistance from the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.

In the context of regional economic development, further integration into the Eastern Caribbean regional economy will help enhance Grenada’s competitiveness and increase its scale of economy in production, marketing and distribution.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Grenada

History of Grenada

Before the arrival of Europeans, Grenada was inhabited by Carib Indians who had driven the more peaceful Arawaks from the island. Columbus landed on Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the new world. He named the island "Concepcion." The origin of the name "Grenada" is obscure, but it is likely that Spanish sailors renamed the island for the city of Granada. By the beginning of the 18th century, the name "Grenada," or "la Grenade" in French, was in common use. 

Partly because of the Caribs, Grenada remained uncolonized for more than 100 years after its discovery; early English efforts to settle the island were unsuccessful. In 1650, a French company founded by Cardinal Richelieu purchased Grenada from the English and established a small settlement. After several skirmishes with the Caribs, the French brought in reinforcements from Martinique and defeated the Caribs the last of whom leaped into the sea rather than surrender. 

The island remained under French control until its capture by the British in 1762, during the Seven Years' War. Grenada was formally ceded to Great Britain in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. Although the French regained control in 1779, the island was restored to Britain in 1783 by the Treaty of Versailles. Although Britain was hard pressed to overcome a pro-French revolt in 1795 Grenada remained British for the remainder of the colonial period. 

During the 18th century, Grenada's economy underwent an important transition. Like much of the rest of the West Indies it was originally settled to cultivate sugar which was grown on estates using slave labor. But natural disasters paved the way for the introduction of other crops. In 1782, Sir Joseph Banks, the botanical adviser to King George III, introduced nutmeg to Grenada. The island's soil was ideal for growing the spice and because Grenada was a closer source of spices for Europe than the Dutch East Indies the island assumed a new importance to European traders. 

The collapse of the sugar estates and the introduction of nutmeg and cocoa encouraged the development of smaller land holdings, and the island developed a land-owning yeoman farmer class. Slavery was outlawed in 1834. In 1833, Grenada became part of the British Windward Islands Administration. The governor of the Windward Islands administered the island for the rest of the colonial period. In 1958, the Windward Islands Administration was dissolved, and Grenada joined the Federation of the West Indies. After that federation collapsed in 1962, the British Government tried to form a small federation out of its remaining dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean. 

Following the failure of this second effort, the British and the islands developed the concept of associated statehood. Under the Associated Statehood Act of 1967 Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs in March 1967. Full independence was granted on February 7, 1974. 

After obtaining independence, Grenada adopted a modified Westminster parliamentary system based on the British model with a governor general appointed by and representing the British monarch (head of state) and a prime minister who is both leader of the majority party and the head of government. Sir Eric Gairy was Grenada's first prime minister. 

On March 13, 1979, the new joint endeavor for welfare, education, and liberation (New Jewel) movement ousted Gairy in a nearly bloodless coup and established a people's revolutionary government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop who became prime minister. His Marxist-Leninist government established close ties with Cuba, the Soviet Union, and other communist bloc countries. 

In October 1983, a power struggle within the government resulted in the arrest and subsequent murder of Bishop and several members of his cabinet by elements of the people's revolutionary army. Following a breakdown in civil order, a U.S.-Caribbean force landed on Grenada on October 25 in response to an appeal from the governor general and to a request for assistance from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. U.S. citizens were evacuated, and order was restored. 

An advisory council named by the governor general administered the country until general elections were held in December 1984. The New National Party (NNP) led by Herbert Blaize won 14 out of 15 seats in free and fair elections and formed a democratic government. Grenada's constitution had been suspended in 1979 by the PRG but it was restored after the 1984 elections. 

The NNP continued in power until 1989 but with a reduced majority. Five NNP parliamentary members, including two cabinet ministers, left the party in 1986-87 and formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which became the official opposition.

In August 1989, Prime Minister Blaize broke with the NNP to form another new party, The National Party (TNP), from the ranks of the NNP. This split in the NNP resulted in the formation of a minority government until constitutionally scheduled elections in March 1990. Prime Minister Blaize died in December 1989 and was succeeded as prime minister by Ben Jones until after the elections. 

The NDC emerged from the 1990 elections as the strongest party, winning seven of the 15 available seats. Nicholas Brathwaite added two TNP members and one member of the Grenada United Labor Party (GULP) to create a 10-seat majority coalition. The governor general appointed him to be prime minister. 

http://www.historyofnations.net/northamerica/grenada.html 

Learn About Grenada

Grenada is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters.Its size is 344 square kilometers (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.