Many of us grew up with the full knowledge that it took over 1000 years to build the city of Rome but equally so it can be destroyed in just one day.
This really means in reality that it takes a long time to build something but at the drop of a pin that which was built can easily go up in smoke.
In Grenada, this saying does not apply to the architecture that was deliberately and craftily built over the past 25 years by the strongman leader of the New National Party (NNP) Dr. Keith Mitchell who had designs to turn Grenada into a one-party State.
The Keith Mitchell NNPisation of the island was unfortunately aided and abetted by a small group of so-called leftwingers who found their way into the bowels of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of Tillman Thomas and regrettably made a senseless grab for power.
The newlook Congress under the leadership of 45-year old attorney-at-law Dickon Mitchell is cognizant of the fact that he has to dismantle the system that was put in place by his predecessor in office in order to remain in power for at least another term.
The only quarrel that THE NEW TODAY has with the new Prime Minister is the length of time being taken to effectively get the job done.
Nine months after the June 23, 2022 general election which resulted in the change of government, the new rulers in the Botanical Gardens have now been able to make the necessary changes in the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to start the process of serious investigation into suspected wrongdoing by some key players in the former administration.
The skillful Keith Mitchell was able to plant within the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) trusted NNP supporters in all the key positions and this cannot be argued.
The recent appointments of Superintendents Vannie Curwen and Randy Connaught to serve as Acting Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP) by the Public Service Commission (PSC) will undoubtedly have the effect of neutralizing the influence of other officers who are known to be aligned to the defeated regime.
It is well-known in the past that Police Headquarters will send down a list of officers to the Permanent Secretary in the Office of then Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr. Keith Mitchell for passing to the PSC for promotion and drastic changes will be made to it in the Botanical Gardens.
The current PSC led by attorney-at-law Debra St Bernard has a duty and responsibility to correct the historical wrongs done to many police officers by the NNPisation of the police force on suspicion that they were not supporters of the “Green Machine” but followers of Congress.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell will be held to his commitment given days after taking up duties that promotions and advancement in the service will be done on merit.
THE NEW TODAY would also like to make a suggestion to the ruling party on the need to start a programme of political education classes for many of its members especially those elected and appointed to serve in Parliament.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in having study groups in the science of politics and governance for those who offer themselves for public service to the people of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique.
This is not a suggestion that the NDC has to follow the model of the New Jewel Movement (NJM) and engage in the study of Marxism and Leninism.
The party can look at holding workshops in which the more politically astute minds from the advanced sister parties in the Caribbean can be brought in to share their experiences with them.
The NNP is linked to the Caribbean Democratic Union (CDU) which was formed in the aftermath of the 1983 bloody events in Grenada and was able to benefit tremendously from the association as Joan Webley was a key player in helping to train their field workers.
The Keith Mitchell doctrine for success in politics and NNPisation of the society did not happen overnight but was nurtured in the period between 1990 and 1995 by former Jamaica government minister Joan Webley.
Although she was handsomely paid and did not come at a cheap price, Webley along with a few other locals who understood what it takes to be a politician, was able to turn the Keith Mitchel-led NNP which won only two seats in the 1990 general election into a very formidable and well-oiled winning machine.
The NDC has not been able to develop the winning culture like the NNP has been able to do since 1995.
Several of the politicians who have been rather lucky at the polls do not know what to do in the political arena to remain relevant at the time of the next poll.
A classic example is the Member of Parliament who would ignore the Congress supporters who provided security for him and the team at each and every rally in the campaign for the 2022 general election and seek to advance the cause of others who did not contribute anything to regime change.
Some of the current ministers are academically qualified but do not understand the ABC of politics and the need to help the marginalised in the society by giving them a helping hand to advance in the country.
The NDC has to be realistic that the issues in the next general election will not be the same that created the conditions for its victory at the polls.
As Caribbean people, we should understand that the wicket used for the square at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad for the test match will be vastly different from the one prepared by the groundsmen for the test match at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
The NDC has to concentrate on finding a way to eradicate the NNPisation of Grenadian society based on the Keith Mitchell doctrine in the national interest.