I have used this illustration to show how easy it is for an individual to misdirect himself and even an entire nation by his own illusions, misconceptions and false premises. I am convinced that this is where Grenada is today as a nation. We are being misdirected, divided, destroyed and taken down the path to destruction by an individual who is so filled with a misguided sense of his self worth that he is unwilling and unable to receive any proper direction from any source.

Initial Thrust

It is no secret that he initial thrust of Keith Mitchell when he came into the office of Prime Minister was to remove all persons that he perceived to be unsupportive of him from all places of influence and to replace them with persons that he felt that he could trust. Notice that the emphasis was on trust and not on competence. This obviously led to the marginalization of several persons in the society and clear divisions among the people. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that we are a country of less than 100,000 persons which means that the pool of talent to choose from is rather limited. The country is now filled with the proverbial square pegs in round holes, incompetent persons saddled with important jobs and creating havoc and disgrace. A case in point was the way in which the Mitchell administration dealt with the offshore industry in Grenada. This was a sector that interfaced with an Economic Citizenship and Passport program and was headed by Michael Creft whose only real and relevant qualifications for the job seems to be that he was a Keith Mitchell loyalist. The ongoing Inquiry has revealed that Creft decided on the passports, dealt with the banks and he (not the Foreign Affairs ministry) made the contacts for Keith Mitchell with Grenada’s diplomatic agents who came through the passport program. We all know what has happened to the name of Grenada as a result: Scandal with passports, scandal with millions of depositors’ money stolen, end of the offshore industry and a significant drop in revenue. But worse yet, Creft ends up as the manager of the only water company in Grenada. The lesson is that Keith Mitchell is the boss and he can do whatever he wants with persons in Grenada and with Grenada’s resources.

Lip Service to Unity

It began with Mitchell’s proclamation that he wanted to be remembered the most as the prime minister who did the most to unite Grenada! What a great deception! It appears that Mitchell was only saying what he believed that the people of Grenada wanted to hear the most. How could Mitchell be so heartless that after all that we have gone through as a nation that he should now come and use our vulnerability in this way? It is now turning out that Mitchell will be remembered as the prime minister who has caused the most severe polaristion and division among our people. What has happened to his theme of reconciliation? He has spit it out as a piece of hot yam on the tongue! It is reasonable to conclude that he never truly intended any reconciliation in spite of his many promises. I was so very shocked to witness the last election campaign and how Mitchell used the events of 1979-1983 in an attempt to malign and negatively label persons whom he thought were a political threat it him. There was no concern for the sensitivities of persons who had suffered the effects of that period! Mitchell will pay for that because the people have spoken and, in an overwhelming manner, elected the very persons that he attacked so viciously. I am so proud of all the voters in Grenada who have recognized that we need to put the past behind us at this time and truly build a just and free society. I am so proud of all who realize that we need to elect competent persons and not popular persons to govern our country if we want to make progress. This politics of hatred that is being promoted by Mitchell will only lead to talk of unity but no realization of unity. It is not about who can give a few dollars and a few gifts to you but about who will manage your millions properly and not lead the country into billions of dollars of debt. Hurricane Ivan presented us with a perfect platform for unity but it has been abused by Mitchell and manipulated in a most common way in an attempt to control our people. The main opposition has been left out of every major decision that has to be taken regarding rebuilding our nation and yet Mitchell talks about unity. What gross hypocrisy! The lesson is that Keith can say what he wants when he wants and his word must be accepted without question.

Absence of leadership quality

How does one expect to be acknowledged as a great leader when he lacks critical and vital qualities that are associated with good leadership?

When the going gets tough

Where was Mitchell to be found right after the passage of Ivan? Who was there to rally the people of Grenada in one of their worst moments? It was certainly not Mitchell! When he was finally found and asked if there was going to be a state of emergency he said that he did not know! All he knew was that he was going to build back the stadium for World Cup cricket in 2007! He was minister of National Security during our darkest days when the business community was being looted after the destruction of Ivan. He should have resigned, but he pulls a fast trick by appointing another minister of national security and saying that he is still the minister. The minister of National Security is none other than Einstein Louison and not Keith Mitchell.

Accept my wrong and move on

If you follow Keith Mitchell’s philosophy, he is never wrong, it is always someone else, and someone else always has to take the blame for him. I was amazed to hear that on the morning after the passage of Hurricane Emily, Mitchell got on the radio with Victoria Hughes and reminded the nation and the world that the police let us down badly during Ivan. No, no, Keith, it was you who let us down badly and you continue to let us down badly by your behaviour! The minister of national security is responsible and bears the blame for all that is done in his ministry! Keith, it was your ministry and you let us down badly. Keith was even "throwing words" at GBN for him not getting time to speak promptly after Ivan. After all Keith, you sold the station to your partner from Trinidad! Do you not know that you cannot have your cake and eat it too? Up to now Keith has not accepted that he was wrong to go to a crook’s house and take money from the crook, especially when he says that the was on official Grenada business. If we leave Keith alone we will have no proper standards to pass on to our children. They will get used to high officials doing anything and justifying it. Keith must be investigated fully so that our nation can get a chance to clear itself and "breathe again"!

Lack of vision

It is painfully obvious that our Prime Minister cannot see further than his own nose, if that far. Imagine how he has tried to stage the reconstruction of our country by putting it into the hands of his own cronies. The village teams are filled with NNP loyalists. NNP houses are being built before any others. He goes to China with his cousin and a failed politician as the only so-called members of the private sector. He completely ignores the private sector organizations in Grenada and then gets Selwyn Noel and his press secretary Barry Collymore, with a strong bajan accent, to tell the private sector that he, Keith has made a way for them to make use of. What madness! Who is giving him this crazy advice? Is he truly crazy? What has brought on this fit of madness? How does he expect to make any progress by alienating the private sector?

Scare Tactics

A true leader settles down his troops in times of adversity; he does not scare them and tries to create adversity for his people. I really wonder what Keith is trying to achieve with all of that cheap propaganda. After Ivan there was supposed to be a plot to overthrow him. He will fall on the weight of the briefcase of money so no one will want to do that now. Who will want to stage an overthrow with the country in this state? Afire happens in a school and he begins to talk about Scotland Yard and the Canadians. Why were they not called when the briefcase scandal started?

I can go on and on, but I believe that the point has been made, that we need to move on away from these cheap political tricks being sold to us by Keith and into serious national consensus and construction because time certainly waits on no man or nation. The longer Keith remains the further we sink into darkness and hopelessness.