Government Information Service Newsletter - Vol. 2, Issue 5 - 2021

NEWSLETTER GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICE

Vol. 2, Issue 05

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021

INSIDE PAGE 03

GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT SINGLE-PARENT HEADED HOUSEHOLDS

PAGE 05

GOVERNMENT REINFORCES RATIONALE FOR DEFERRAL OF 4% WAGE INCREASE

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DECENTRALIZATION OF HEALTH SERVICES

AND MUCH MORE...

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At 47, Grenada Has Achieved

Brother Nimrod gave much of his life to the development of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Prime Minister Pays Tribute To The 1943-2021 Late Elvin Nimrod DETAILS ON PAGE 03

SIGNIFICANT GROWTH PAGE 02

GIS NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTORS

GIS DIRECTOR AG Leslieann Johnson PRESS SECRETARY Philomena Robertson GIS REPORTERS Mina Booker Keville Frederick Carrema Lewis Delroy Louison Abigeil Mc Intyre Chrisan Mitchell Annette Moore Shere-Ann Noel June Paul Eugenia Peters Rickisha St. Louis Jazelle Sylvester Jermonne Adams DESIGN & LAYOUT Dwayne Francique EDITOR Annette Moore

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At Forty-Seven, Grenada Has Achieved Significant Growth According to Prime Minister, Dr. Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, although Grenada has had its share of challenges over the past 47 years, it can point to significant achievements, notably among them the St. George’s University and construction of the Maurice Bishop International Airport.

During an interview with the Government Information Service on Thursday, Feb. 4, where he discussed Grenada’s 47th anniversary of independence, Dr. Mitchell said we need to focus on the positives and forge ahead to continue building the country.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell

He said, “The advent of St. George’s University in the country in the late 70s must be seen as a major success for the country. The opportunities for higher education been given to so many of our Grenadian brothers and sisters must be seen as a major success. The building of the international airport as a major hub for economic activity, particularly our tourism sector as we know Grenada has enormous potential in the tourism industry, must be seen also as a major success.”

The Prime Minister also pointed to the liberalization of the telecoms industry as another major achievement.

“The advent of electricity been brought to all homes in the country, for example from the period 1984 to 1990 that we moved the coverage of electricity from 48 percent to 95 percent in just five years, must be seen as major successes. We have had our challenges. We have had our weaknesses. It is clear that the problems we have had over a period, whether the rights of human beings were interfered with – we’ve had our challenges there. We have had problems in not being able to provide all the opportunities that we should to all sectors of our society. There were periods, in particular during the colonial period, that we had to deal with many of the problems and maybe we could have done better than we have certainly achieved, but in balance we can say our country has grown from strength to strength.”

As the country continues to face challenges, including that of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Mitchell said the consensus of a wide cross-section is that government, to date, has done what it should to protect its people.

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Prime Minister Pays Tribute To The Late Elvin Nimrod

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Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell with the late Elvin Nimrod

Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Hon. Keith Mitchell is deeply saddened by the death of his former colleague and longstanding parliamentary representative, the late Elvin Nimrod.

Nimrod died on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, in the United States.

several years, I had utmost confidence in his ability to get the job done.”

Dr. Mitchell, who is also political leader of the New National Party, said Nimrod’s passing is a great loss. “He was a faithful member of the NNP and his genuine love for people resonated with party ideals. His commitment never wavered whether the party was in Government or in opposition. The NNP has suffered a great loss, he will be greatly missed,” Dr. Mitchell stated.

A lawyer by profession, Nimrod entered the political arena in 1997 when he became a member of the Senate, two years later, he was elected parliamentary representative for Carriacou and Petite Martinique, a designation he held The late Elvin Nimrod served in many until the 2018 general elections. capacities including Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General. His ministeThe Prime Minister recalls the late Elvin Nimrod as someone who selflessly rial portfolios included Legal Affairs, Local Government, Carriacou and Petite served his country and people.

Martinique Affairs, Foreign Affairs and He said, “Brother Nimrod gave much International Trade. of his life to the development of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

He was generous in his service to both Government and the New National Party. He placed special emphasis on representing his constituency, serving his constituents with passion and dedication. As the Deputy Prime Minister for

Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell with the late Elvin Nimrod in younger years

Nimrod will be granted an official funeral, the date for which will be announced later.

National flags will be flown at half mast from Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 for one week in honour of the late Elvin Nimrod.

Hon. Roland Bhola sharing a joke with the late Elvin Nimrod

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GRENLEC Commits To Interconnect Solar Storage Plant

The Grenada Electricity Company GRENLEC has provided a definitive commitment to interconnect the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Hybrid/ Battery Storage Plant, in Limlair, to the Carriacou grid, following the recent repurchase of GRENLEC shares by the Government of Grenada. tricity Services Limited and other stakeholder repreThe plant will have a production capacity of 600 KW sentatives. and a storage capacity of 300 KW that can be increased based on the tender prices received. When it begins operation, it is also expected to result in savings of In 2018, a grant of U.S. $3.2 million was announced 60 percent in diesel fuel imported into Carriacou for at the Eighth Session of the General Assembly of the electricity generation, significantly reduce the related International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to carbon dioxide emissions and increase climate resiltransition from fossil fuel economies to economies ience. based on renewable energy, which remains a key deCurrently, the operations in Carriacou are subsidized liverable in advancing Grenada’s Energy Agenda. by mainland Grenada.

The United Arab Emirates-Caribbean Renewable EnThis project will be administered by a Cabinet-apergy Fund is partnering with the Government of Grepointed steering committee, comprising representatives from the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of nada to develop the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Hybrid/ Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs, Grenada Elec- Battery Storage Plant, in Limlair, Carriacou.

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Government Reinforces Rationale for Deferral of 4 Percent Wage Increase The Government of Grenada is reinforcing the rationale for its proposed deferral of the 4 percent wage/salary increase due to public officers for 2021.

The increase will add $13.2 million to the public sector wage bill at a time when the Government is facing a significant drop in revenue, due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to recent public pronouncements by one of the trade unions attempting to justify the demand, Government outlines the five main reasons why the deferral is necessary.

It is important to note that the Government did not initiate the buyback of GRENLEC. This was mandated by a court ruling following legal proceedings initiated by WRB, based on the provisions of the 1994 Share Purchase Agreement which allowed the company to claim force majeure, due to changes to the operational environment of the energy sector.

Further, the money used for the GRENLEC repurchase was taken from allocations for capital projects.

This money was provided largely through grants and soft loan funding and any attempt to use this for recurrent expenditure will make the country ineligible for future support of this nature.

The fact that Government has been forced into this unplanned expenditure, at a time when revenue earnings are lower than expected, further undermines its inability to manage a larger wage bill at this time.

The public should also know

that moves were already being made to garnish Government’s assets, both at home and abroad, which had the potential to affect Government’s ability to pay salaries or conduct any business whatsoever.

Additionally, given the level of pain and suffering being experienced by those who are unemployed as a result The Government of Grenada of the pandemic, Government has the additional re- recognises its obligation to honour the collective labour sponsibility of agreement that provides for providing some measure of the wage/salary increase, economic support for them. but the economic fallout

from COVID-19, is putting a strain on the country’s coffers at this time and therefore provides justification for the deferral.

HEALTH MATTERS

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Ministry of Health Hands Over Vehicles to Improve COVID-19 Response

Health Minister Nicholas Steele hands over keys to vehicles

The Ministry of Health has received five new vehicles that were purchased under the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility Trust Fund to improve its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vehicles were handed over to the community health nursing services and central medical stores on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Acting Permanent Secretary with responsibility for Hospital and community Health Services, Hannah Julien-St. Paul, said, “Transportation, as we all know, is our key requirement for conActing Permanent tinuity of our public health reSecretary with responsibility sponse to COVID and also to for Hospital and community Health Services sustain our healthcare services.

Hannah Julien-St. Paul Hence the reason the Ministry has decided to assign these vehicles to the community health services and the central medical stores. The Ministry trusts that these vehicles would enhance the distribution of essential medical supplies and support the daily operation of community health services. The project also allowed us to provide support in form of health promotion, awareness campaign, diagnostic testing supplies, PPEs, the prevention of transmission supplies for schools and health facilities and medical equipment and medical furniture.”

Minister with responsibility for Hospital Services, Hon. Delma Thomas spoke of other equipment on island, which also aid in capacity building.

She said, “There are increasing demands from our community health people as Government expands surveillance, monetary and testing. Despite the many challenges and in spite of sometimes severe resource limitations, our community health team has done well in assisting Minister with responsibility for Hospital Services, us in dealing with the whole isHon. Delma Thomas sue of the COVID-19 pandemic and other health issues that confront us as a nation.

These new vehicles here will give our team a greater capacity to interface with the community in an efficient and timely manner and therefore we want to thank the World Bank and the OECS project. We also have other equipment that is on island for the furnishing of the St. John’s medical facility, sanitization, thermometers and other COVID equipment that we gave to the schools and others that will be used at the level of the community and in the hospital.”

Health Minister, Hon. Nickolas Steele thanked the efforts of the Ministry of Health’s team to ensure that the appropriate projects were implemented.

“This greatly facilitates the people-to-people contact.

These vehicles are not the solution, these vehicles facilitate those who solve the problems. These vehicles get our dear nurses into our communities, who have since March been on the frontline,” he said. “I want to thank all of those, in particular, I too want to give special recognition to Ms. St. Louis and P.S St. Paul.”

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Renovation of Mt. Moritz Medical Station Renovation has started on the Mt. Moritz Medical Station, in St. George, which was closed in early October 2021 due to cracks and other internal structural issues.

The Ministry of Health met with residents at that time to update them on the findings of a technical survey conducted by the Ministry of Infrastructural Development and to discuss the way forward.

While discussions centered around whether the facility should be abandoned and services expanded at Happy Hill, St. George, to include the residents of Mt. Moritz, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development considered the facility functional but in need of some repairs.

Contractor Junior Phillips

The more than $20, 000 project is expected to be completed in five weeks. Phillips said the aim is to have the facility in Junior Phillips of JK Construction Ltd. told GIS his team started work on Jan. 25 and will reinforce operation as soon as possible. the foundation of the building and construct new washroom facilities among other remedial work.

“It was four initially and they said they wanted a ramp for He said, “We are in the process now of cutting the floors so we could remedy these problems with the walls, because long ago lots of buildings didn’t have any reinforcement foundations and so on people used all sorts of things they could find and we are cutting the floors now to install some reinforcement compact and install the reinforcement pads under these walls, so that we can underpin them to repair them properly. We’re upgrading the bathroom and the interior and we’re doing some bathrooms on the outside for patients so that we can meet the COVID protocols and a general paint up and upgrade for return to service.”

access by wheelchairs and so and some driveway upgrades, so that will take us a couple of days extra. We’re hoping this will finish in four but our schedule is five. We’re doing this at cost because we’re from the village and we do a lot of community work in here and we accepted the job at that price to ensure that our village could have our medical services back here as soon as possible,” Phillips said.

Since the closure of the facility, residents of Mt. Moritz and surrounding areas have since been using the medical station in Happy Hill.

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New Payment Structure for Housing Units Residents of the new Chinese low-income housing units, at the five sites across the island, will be required to pay 45 percent of the cost price, which will include the cost of security and maintenance of the facility.

buildings and the yard space. All these will be involved in that new second phase housing.”

During a post cabinet press briefing on Feb. 2, Minister Thomas said a decision was taken to increase the cost to include these measures, due to gaps that were experienced in the first phase of the housing project.

A management committee will be established to ensure that residents are adhering to the procedures outlined by the Ministry.

“In this phase we looked at what happened in the first phase, so we have incorporated in terms of the price that you’ll pay - while it is a gift - we have 45 percent of the cost price and that will include the insurance and security fee. So, one of the things that we feature that we saw was not in the first site - and we have a number of conflicts - was security. The people now will be paying in terms of the fee to have security and maintenance cost,” Minister Thomas said. “When you are talking about apartment buildings it means that you need somebody who will be able to maintain the outside of the

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Minister in the Ministry of Health and Social Security, with responsibility for Hospital and Community Health Services Hon. Delma Thomas

Minister Thomas said, “Based on what we saw happen with the first one and there’s so many challenges.

When different families are now living together it is difficult.

So, based on what we saw in the past we will be working to ensure that we deal with those issues.”

Three of the five units - Carriacou, St. Patrick and St. Mark - will be handed over at the end of Feb. 2021.

The Minister said, “At present a team from the Ministry is now in Carriacou with the Chinese officials looking at finalization of work there. They are finalizing water connection and electrical connection. In the next couple of weeks three sites will be available - St. Mark, St. Patrick and Carriacou will be completed. In April, we will see the completion St. David and Beausejour will be completed by July.”

Minister Thomas said a ceremony will be held to signal completion of the units.

“There will be a ceremony. The biggest one we’ll have, we’ll have it in at the Prime Minister’s constituency in Beausejour,” she said.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell

addresses students at assembly

Plaque of appreciation presented to Prime Minister

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HEALTH MATTERS

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Decentralization of Health Services

The Ministry of Health plans to decentralize some of the services that are currently only offered at the General Hospital, in St. George.

Minister responsible for Hospital and Community Health Services, Hon. Delma Thomas, said obstetrics, gynecology, ophthalmology and pediatrics will also be offered at three health facilities across the island. This is part of Government’s thrust towards improving community health services, to ensure that healthcare is accessible island wide.

During the Government’s weekly post cabinet press briefing, on Tuesday, Feb. 2, Minister Thomas said the decentralization of health services will be done in a phased approach.

She said, “Many of the services we have now, they all are provided in the capital and so people have to Minister with responsibility for Hospital Services, leave across the island, even CarHon. Delma Thomas riacou to come get tests done.

We are in the process, a phased approach; it’s a different period but Government is committed to ensuring that whatever revenue is available is placed in healthcare. Even if there needs to be cuts in other areas, we are ensuring that we provide, because health is too fragile. It cannot wait like a road or a school or any other thing.”

Three facilities have been listed as the first to offer these services.

“Princess Royal in Carriacou, Princess Alice in St. Andrew and the St. Patrick Medical Center will have OBGYN clinics at the three locations, on a phased approach to community health services. We will continue our general medicine; there will be ophthalmology and pediatrics starting from February. Then we will look at the other services in those sites,” Minister Thomas said. “We are also looking at St. David’s in terms of bringing those services there, we are working with the Ministry of Works at present to get the scope of work, because there’s some infrastructural work

that must be done before we can have the services implemented there. So, we are working on that now. As a Government, as it relates to healthcare, we continue to do what it takes.”

Minister Thomas reiterated Government’s commitment to invest heavily in improving healthcare in Grenada.

She said the sector has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, however with the procurement of equipment and continued training of health professionals, there is hope for the sector.

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EDUCATION CORNER

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Chronic Disease Training for Schools

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Individuals from 13 schools islandwide are being trained as part of the sessions themed “Capacity Building in Primary And Secondary Schools and Parent Teachers Associations, to Reduce Risk of Chronic Diseases Among School-Aged Children.”

The sessions were conceptualized by the Grenada Chronic Disease Commission and the Ministry of Education, in recognition of the urgent need to educate cooks, teachers and parents about food portion sizes, nutritional content of food, recipes and components of a balanced meal.

Head of School Feeding in the Ministry of Education, Marlene Neptune

Marlene Neptune, Head of School Feeding in the Ministry of Education, said, “In an effort to combat that problem, trying to educate cooks at various schools, as well as parents, so it can be brought into homes; ways in which they can continue to provide nutritious meals for our students; healthy meals that will prevent them from becoming obese. So, our lifestyle has changed over the years and so has our access to certain foods that are high in salt, oil and sugar and our children have access to a lot of those things and consume it in large quantities in some cases. One of the things we are trying to focus on is how can we provide the support to schools and to our nation so that we can combat some of these diseases.”

The training is being sponsored by the European Development Fund and facilitated by the Grenada Food and Nutrition Council.

Neptune said, “We’ve had two training sessions so far. The first one was at the Crochu R.C School and Corinth Government School.

The training is done on a district level, so that was covering district four and district one, which is Carriacou and Petite Martinique their training was on the 28 Jan. and those schools were Hillsborough Secondary and Mt. Pleasant Government.”

Training will continue in district two at the Hermitage Government and Chantimelle R.C. schools, in St. Patrick; district three at the St. Mary’s R.C. and St. Joseph’s Convent schools in Grenville, St. Andrew; district five at the St. George’s Methodist School and at the Salvation Army, in St. George and district six at the St. John’s Anglican and St. John’s R.C. schools.

EDUCATION CORNER

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OECS Education Ministers Called on to Collaborate for Sustainable Education

Director General of the OECS, Dr. Didacus Jules, is calling on Education Ministers in the sub-regional grouping to collaborate to make education more sustainable in the future.

Director General of the OECS Jules made the call while adDr. Didacus Jules dressing the 6th Council of Ministers of Education meeting hosted by St. Lucia, which was attended by Grenada’s Minister for Education, Hon. Emmalin Pierre.

The virtual two-day meeting focused on sustainable education, collaborative policies and practices for the future. COVID-19 has changed the education landscape, leaving governments in the region to invest heavily in technology to propel the digital learning and teaching initiatives that many were forced to adopt.

During the opening ceremony, Jules emphasized that while it is important to invest in technology, it is equally important to collaborate to make teaching and learning more sustainable. He said in order to fast track the digi-

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tal learning agenda in member countries, there must be changes to the framework within which educational institutions operate.

Jules said, “We must embrace the opportunities that ICT provides and act now to provide the right policy framework, the enabling environment and the stimulus that can introduce innovative learning and teaching practices. An open innovation framework is central to this objective and has demonstrated the proven success in removing barriers and making learning accessible, abundant and customizable. Embracing open innovation in education will remove obstacles to digital education in cost, geography, time and entry requirement, by giving all learners the opportunity to access education resources at a lower or nearly no cost and in a flexible way extremely important consideration to the context of the vulnerabilities faced by OECS member states today.”

The Director General encouraged the Ministers to brainstorm new and innovative policies and approaches to accelerate the realization of the vision of the OECS education strategy, which highlights the need for every learner to succeed.

EDUCATION CORNER

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St. George’s University Announces Decision to Continue Limited Access to the Campus The St. George’s University said it will continue to limit access to the True Blue-based campus for the time being, out of an abundance of caution for students, faculty, staff and the people of Grenada.

The University announced in a statement on Monday, Feb. 1 that it will continue to provide online distance learning for all students for the April 2021 term.

It said while the goal is to eventually return all students to campus as soon and as safely as possible, students in the School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Graduate Studies will continue exclusively via online distance learning throughout the spring.

SGU is evaluating the possibility of students returning to campus in Grenada in the summer of 2021, if a vaccination is widely available.

Although Grenada has few active COVID-19 cases currently, many members of the SGU community live in or travel through countries where the cases of COVID-19 infection are Students in the School of Arts and Sciences will continue to poorly controlled or where these new variants have led to inhave access to minimal in-person classes. creased infection rates.

SGU said the leadership of the institution remains concerned about the current worsening status of the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries around the world and the emergence of new, more infectious variants of the virus.

SGU will continue to collaborate with the Government of Grenada and provide updates on its public health response to combat the spread of the virus. The next decision about returning to campus will be made in May 2021.

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National Hype Mentoring Programme The Cabinet has given the approval for the launch and commencement of the HYPE Mentorship programme, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Social Services.

HYPE is a diversion and rehabilitative programme that will provide alternative adult support and guidance to children in conflict with the law. The national mentoring programme forms part of phase two of the Ministry’s Juvenile Justice Reform Project.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Services and Community Development, Chrissie Worme-Charles, explained that the programme was born through the need to establish an effective system of diversion for young people in conflict with the law, at-risk youth, family members and communities.

Acting Permanent Secretary Minister for Social Services and Community Development, Chrissie Worme-Charles

Worme-Charles said, “On May 28, 2019 [Grenada] entered into a memorandum of understanding between OECS and US Aid for

the purpose of achieving the outcomes of a Juvenile Justice Reform project - phase 2. One of the key objectives of this project is to establish an effective system of diversion which serves the needs of children in conflict with the law.

The project goal is the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of youth in conflict with the law.

So, the National HYPE Mentoring Program is intended to create a strong and meaningful connection that can positively influence youth development and facilitate their transition to adulthood. The program will assist youth to harness confidence and support the drives to fulfill the potential.”

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some of those issues experienced by our young persons.”

Minister for Social Services and Community Development, Hon. Delma Thomas, made an appeal for more Grenadians to get on board, to mentor young people and give them an opportunity to have a bright future.

It will focus on developing the beneficiaries’ personal problemsolving skills, advocacy, and communication skills among others.

“The expected benefits of the National HYPE Mentoring Program are as follows. We do have protective factors which are to enhance personal skills, persons social confidence, self-advocacy, problem solving - some of the issues and challenges faced by our young persons; positive functioning; pro-social behavior example; community service and also academics so that we’ll want to see improvements in children’s abilities, not just only on a person level, but also scholastically as well. To reduce adaptive difficulties, substance use and misuse - sadly, a large proportion of our young persons are in conflict with the law because of substance abuse, so this program in essence, will be able to tackle

Minister for Social Services and Community Development, Hon. Delma Thomas

She said, “There is still room for more persons who are willing to come on board to be a part of this mentorship program. There are so many young people crying out for help. I applaud those mentors who are on board, but I look forward so that our social and corporate Grenada will join us in providing additional mentorship for those vulnerable and at-risk young people who are searching for our attention.”

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ECCB to Issue EC Polymer Five Dollar Note by End March

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Camerhogne Park Receives Facelift

One of Grenada’s highly recognized parks, Camerhogne Park, has been given a facelift by the management team of the Ministry of Tourism.

tourism attraction to consider gardens. We also want to encourage persons in the various parishes. We know in every parish there are wardens who clear the sidewalks and the sides of the roads and we believe that as they clear they can also look at areas where they can plant flowers so that Grenada can be a beautiful garden.”

Tourism Minister, Hon. Clarice Modeste-Curwen, and her team took the time off to participate in the facelift, recognizing the necessity for beautification in the park that is frequented by visiThe Ministry plans to execute tors and locals. more beautification activities.

She hopes that this activity sets a The Minister said, “This is just precedence for others. the beginning. We are going to Minister Modeste-Curwen said, look at other ways that we can “We are planting because we enhance this location working want to start and set the exam- with private sector persons. Conple. Gardens will be one of our versations have already started, focus in the near future. We want though not concrete, and we to encourage the private sector want to make this place somepersons who want to get into a where where persons can find

Tourism Minister Hon. Clarice Modeste-Curwen

beauty but also find it useful, like get internet service and other services, so that it can be a multifaceted location where locals as well as visitors can come and enjoy and find useful things to do.”

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GBN’s Veteran Cameraman, Levi Benoit, Dies

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The Ministry of Information and by extension the Government of Grenada acknowledges the death of long-standing Grenada Broadcasting Network employee, Levi Benoit.

Government, as a shareholder in GBN, has extended heartfelt condolences to Benoit’s family and colleagues.

Benoit worked as a cameraman at GBN for more than 30 years. The Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Levi Benoit (TAWU) is also mourning the loss of Benoit, who was a shop steward and general council delegate, who represented workers at the Grenada Broadcasting Net- TAWU issued a statement which said, “Today our Union mourns the loss of a comrade, husband, father, work. brother, and friend.”

AGRICULTURE CORNER

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Meet the Farmer - Slade ‘PPM’ Matheson

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Slade Andre Matheson recalls his youthful days when he first began caring for plants in his kitchen garden as this is where he developed a love for Agriculture.

The 43-year-old from Brunswick Carriacou said that although caring for his kitchen garden was a norm growing up, he got much more serious around the age 19.

“Around this age, you start to mature more. This is when I developed the habit of eating much healthier. This is one of the things that drove me to start planting my food.”

Slade started farming on a plot of land in Beausejour, Carriacou, partnering over the years with many of the farmers, who farm in communities such as Brunswick and Prospect Hall. His major crop is watermelon, but Matheson also supplies the market with root crops, sweet potatoes, groundnut, cassava and some vegetables. He explains his best farming technique.

Matheson said, “If you look at life, there is a principle to everything. Just like there are principles to business, there are principles to farming. You have to maintain space; you have to preserve the soil. This is why I use procedures like composting; mulching.”

being destroyed by animals, especially in the dry season.

Matheson said, “It doesn’t matter what career you choose; you should play a He said, “We would plant fruit trees part in your food production. You can and based on the type of dry season move from that level into commercial we get, animals would eat or even Matheson, who is also a popular soca destroy it and we have to start back production. Once you can play a part artiste, said his favorite part of farm- from zero. That was one of my biggest in feeding your nation, you become a ing is being able to grow his food. He challenges at my previous farming lo- role model for the youth.” spends most of his time on his farm. cations. I am not affected by stray aniHe explained his day as a farmer. mals here (at his farm in Brunswick), Matheson plans to scale-up his production levels to offer crops such as “The first thing I do when I go in the as yet. This is the most progress I have garden - I walk through-out my farm made, in farming, here at this loca- watermelon in periods of scarcity. and observe my plants, I water my tion.”

Things to note about plants, give them manure, weed He described the farming journey as a Slade Matheson: these are some things you have to do great experience. [on a] regular basis,” Matheson said.

‘I don’t have a schedule for the work - He has been farming since a young that I do. There are some weeks that “I made a lot of progress - it might not age.

I work hard every day, then there are be financially, but the things you can learn from being a farmer,” Matheson - He plans to scale-up his production other days where I relax.” in watermelon, groundnut and other said. types of crops.

PPM, as Matheson is affectionately known, explained that one of his ma- He describes farming as one of the - He has farmed in many different communities in Carriacou. jor challenges as a farmer is his crops best things anyone can do.

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Highlights of History for Grenada’s 47th Independence FOODCelebration On Wednesday, Feb. 3 students and staff of the Calliste Government School and the Grand Anse Roman Catholic School featured aspects of Grenada’s history in commemoration of the country’s 47th celebration of Independence.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, many of the events are being held virtually or reduced, in keeping with the Ministry of Health’s approved COVID-19 guidelines.

Frankson Marshall, teacher at Grand Anse R.C School, believes the collaboration will give the students an experience in history they will always remember.

Member of the Independence Planning Committee, Kendell Charles, stressed the importance of getting the chil“Many traditional activities are not done in schools as dren involved in highlighting Grenada’s history. before and I think this is of greater pertinence this year He said, “We know it is challenging times and we have because of the fact that school attendance have been so to roster our children to get them out here, but we can- limited. School is not only about teaching and learning, not forget the season. It is independence so must keep but about experiences and having the students have this in contact with our history and with our country’s origin and the things we ought to celebrate. We planned a few opportunity to have this independence experience goes a long way to add value to their knowledge and experiactivities and had our children engage in them.” ence in being at school. This is a remarkable event.”

GIS NEWSLETTER

Vol. 2, Issue 05

Government to Support Single-Parent Headed Households

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The Government of Grenada, through the Ministry of Social Development, will soon launch a financial support programme targeting single-parent headed households, to assist families where the breadwinner is unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is in line with Government’s continued investment in the overall well-being of Grenadians, as they cope with challenges brought about by the global pandemic.

Speaking during Government’s weekly Post Cabinet Press Briefing on Tuesday, February 2, Minister for Social Services and Community Development, Hon. Delma Thomas, said Government must find the delicate balance between honoring its financial obligations and meeting the additional social and financial needs of the population.

She said, “Very soon we will be seeing the launch of a programme that will provide some form of financial assistance to those families who have lost their jobs because of COVID-19 - single-headed households where no person in the family is working. We will be launching a programme to assist them. I cannot disclose the amount because we’re at a period where Government is collecting less revenue, so all our programs within the Ministry is done on a phased approach and so we will be doing what it takes, working along with the Ministry of Finance to provide assistance.”

Minister Thomas stressed the importance of Government’s intervention for families during these times and commended the Ministry’s team for the tremendous efforts being made to provide support to families.

She said, “They are hurting outside there.

A number of families are losing their jobs because of the pandemic and because of where they worked and so, as a Ministry, we not only have to provide psychosocial support, but we also have to look at alternative avenues to assist families so they can survive in this period; they can take care of their children and do the necessary things for survival in this period. This is not an easy period, so as a ministry we are committed to continue working along in with families.”

Minister for Social Services and Community Development, Hon. Delma Thomas

NEWSLETTER GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICE

Thursday, Feb.11, 2021

Vol. 2, Issue 05

Spotlight Initiative Fulfilling Mandate to

ELIMINATE GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN GRENADA The Grenada Spotlight Initiative has made significant strides towards fulfilling its mandate to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Since the launch of the programme in 2020, the Ministry of Social Development has hit the ground running to implement projects and programs to strengthen service delivery.

The EU and UN funded Spotlight Initiative will contribute to the achievement of gender equality, peace, social inclusion and protection of human rights, which are in accordance with the national sustainable development goals.

Feona Sandy, Acting Senior Programme Officer in the Division of Gender and Family Affairs, said with the help of the spotlight initiative, the Ministry has been able to recruit additional staff, case managers and a coordinator.

She said, “To date, we have recruited and trained three new gender-based violence

case managers and a policy development coordinator. These persons are now on the staff of the Division of Gender and Family Affairs on a short-term basis, to help strengthen the essential service delivery pillar and to strengthen the various institutions, coordinate policy development and policy processes throughout the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative.”

Acting Senior Programme Officer in the Division of Gender and Family Affairs, Feona Sandy

Sandy said, through the initiative, the Cedar’s Home for women and children has violence. The team is now examining the been retrofitted. She highlighted other next steps. This will look at the sectors of implementation progress under the police, health, social services et cetera,” country programme. she said. “Cedars has been retrofitted, “A draft report has been done, consider- that’s Cedars home for abused women ing where Grenada is now at in terms of and their children, to include a quaraneliminating violence against women and tine isolation area, making it COVID-19 girls, in terms of law and policy. What ready.” reforms need to be made; what new laws and policy need to be introduced?

There’s been completion of a situational The initiative will be implemented in two analysis and resulting draft standard op- phases. The first will end in December erating procedures of services offered by 2021 and the second phase will conclude the sectors that respond to Gender based in December 2022.

GRENADA CELEBRATES