The latest news coming out of Gravel & Concrete is rather disturbing and calls for quick action on the part of the Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell who is now the line minister for the company.
It is clear that some persons invested their time, energy and money in the June 23, 2022 victory of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the General Election with the intention of cashing in as quickly as possible.
The information in our possession is that a proposal was brought to the Board of Directors for the state body to purchase cement from a little known company based in St. Andrew by the name of ICON INC.
This company was set up in 2003 for the sole purpose of engaging in “Real Estate Development” and not in the business of importing cement and other building material into Grenada.
It is ironic that the Director who brought the proposal at a meeting of the Board of Directors is from St. Andrew where the company is located and is known to be a close friend of those behind the business.
THE NEW TODAY applauds the Board for rejecting the proposal as the company has no track record in the importation of cement and could have put the funds of Gravel & Concrete at great risk if any shipment of the product went bad.
There is a group from St Andrew who have been boasting that it was due to their work that Dickon Mitchell landed the victory at the polls over Keith Mitchell ten months ago in which he ended up with the top job of Prime Minister of the country.
If this is to be taken with any seriousness, how come NDC won only a single seat in the Big Parish while the governing New National Party (NNP) took three seats?
This claim by these elements in St Andrew is nothing but hogwash as it was a coalition of forces that came together including key persons in the Diaspora in New York and elsewhere out of the deep held belief that Keith Mitchell had overstayed his time as leader of the country and regime change was badly needed for Grenada to move forward with its development.
This so-called Grenville Group is going to cause tremendous problems for Dickon Mitchell and NDC if not checked and brought into line quickly.
Several of them have already made a bold grab to land influential positions in a number of statutory bodies and should be monitored constantly and carefully.
The Prime Minister has to move without delay in meeting with the Board of Directors and Staff members of Gravel & Concrete to show that he is fully in charge and will not be afraid to make bold decisions in the national interest that might affect even some of the supporters of Congress.
There is an urgent need for a review of the several high paying positions at the corporation since the change of government.
Is this necessary and is the company getting value for money with all these persons who are taking home thousands of dollars every month for doing very little work?
It appears that some persons in key positions at Gravel & Concrete are running their own little Empire.
The information that has come out this week is that the cleaner at the company was fired without the knowledge of the Acting Manager and the job given to another female who is a member of the Evangelical Church of the person who issued the dismissal letter.
This Gravel & Concrete Board is occupied with many trivial issues while the company is unnecessarily losing thousands of dollars.
The corporation just lost a lucrative contract to provide concrete for a major construction project in St George due to the arrogance of a senior employee who is badly in need of a course in Customer Service and Public Relations.
This is a call on the Prime Minister to make sure as a matter of priority and urgency that the Transformational Agenda is allowed to take deep root inside Gravel & Concrete and to make sure that it does not become a strain on the public purse like the Marketing & National Importing Board.
THE NEW TODAY will also like to make some passing comments on the violent acts that took place on Sunday in Victoria.
The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) is becoming a laughing stock as the men and women in uniform are too often easily overpowered by unruly gangs at some events.
Given the behaviour of the youthful population in recent years, the High Command of the Police Force should be aware of the need to deploy enough officers on duty to police certain events.
The police can afford to turn a blind eye when it comes to the presence of law enforcement officers at a play in the Trade Center as the patrons who turn out there are vastly different from those who are attracted to these street jams like what took place in Victoria on Sunday.
There is also the suspicion that elements within RGPF who are aligned to the opposition NNP of defeated Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell are prepared to perform on the job in such a manner that the new rulers in the Botanical Gardens will be left embarrassed as much as possible.
A chaotic society will provide opportunities for the NNP to rant and rave all over the country.