In My Opinion

We are nearing another election date 23rd June 2022. I would have been comfortable seeing Prime minister Mitchell and Gregory Bowen accompanying their respective replacements on the campaign trail but, I guess some people just doesn't know when to stop. We try hard to make sure that we die in office.
This campaign will be an interesting one. While NDC is trying to prove that the NNP has done everything wrong and that they will do better. The NNP is saying you know what you have but you do not know what you will get. History has shown that regionally no party have lost an election when they were holding all the seats in parliament. Dickon Mitchell has brought new life to NDC and it is spreading to their supporters but can the NDC win this election? Nothing is impossible where people are concern. They can vote you in and they can vote you out. NDC commanded over 40% 0f the votes in the last elections but did not win a seat and could not represent in Parliament, we saw some comical representation when someone cross the floor and claimed he was the official opposition but representing less than 1% of the people. Getting back to the question can NDC win? I cannot answer that but I can just give my views on a few things. St. David's I think is NDC originally and with Dickon as a son of the area he has a good chance. In south St. George NNP candidates struggled in the last 2 outings, they had to call in well known people in the area for last minute help, it will be interesting to see the results. Carriacou has always been a close call for both parties, it is another place of interest for NDC. There are other constituencies NDC can take a good look at and maybe post some surprises but it will not be easy. This is just how I see it for now.
On Wednesday I will take a look at the NNP chances see you soon.

As we approach March 13th 2021 I would like to give you some information on how i met Innocent Belmar.
Innocent Belmar was a top ranking police in the Eric Gairy police force. He was unofficially the second in command of the secret police or mongoose gang. He already made a name for himself during the bloody sunday November 18th 1973 when most of the leadership of the NJM were beaten.
On the 16th feb. 1974 I was selected to transport a number of rifles to the eastern parish of St. Andrew. The rifles were to assist the St. Andrew arm of the revolutionary forces when the actual overthrow came. The rifles were hidden in the flooring of the Presentation Boys College after it was taken from the same school's cadet core immediately after a parade session and it was now a few months that the police was searching for same.
I left PBC with 4 other persons around 9 pm heading for Grenville with 20 rifles in the back tray of a pick up van. The road seems ok until we got to Grand Etang police station where a road block was set up, I had to think quickly and decided to break the road block, there was just sufficient space for a vehicle to pass and i took that route about 50 miles an hour then taking a sharp turn heading to the Birchgrove direction. I knew that I will be followed and there was the problem ahead with the Birchgrove police station ahead and I decided to make a left turn lower down the road in what turned out to be someone's farm house. The other occupants of the van assisted in offloading the rifles in the bush while listening to vehicles racing in the Birchgrove direction. After a short discssion it was decided that we head back over the Grand Etang hills, the reason was that there will be less personel since most of them had left, gone, looking for the van .On the way back I could not develop the speed to scare anyone in the road block so we were stopped. At first we thought we had convinced them that we did not pass there recently but a well known secret police came out and said that was the van. Then we were taken upstairs the police station and a call was made to the other police stations in the parish letting them know that they got us.
We were put into separate rooms and beaten the intention was to get to know where we put what we were carrying. By this time the man called Innocent Belmar had arrived. A few other people were searched with their vehicles and I remember one person who came upstairs and actually witness the beating then was asked to leave. During those beating one of the passengers of the van gave in and said where the rifles were. By this time my 2 front teeth at the top were loose and I had to use my tongue to keep them in place. Other members of my party were also injured in different ways, Belmar took 2 members of my group and attempted to hang them, the rope was already over the tree by the lake when a secret police told him that a passerby was upstairs and saw us alive. He Belmar decided to take us to the Grenville police station and we were loaded in the same van we came in, and we were layed on the floor of the van and they were celebrating and firing shots in the air and shouting we got them,
By this time it was 11.45 pm on the clock in the Grenville police station, the place was crowded with secret police because the news spread fast one of the captured was selected and was asked a few questions it seems that they had information that he knew certain things and they decided to pressure him, he made no attempt to cooperate so they put him out in the middle of all the secret police and brought us out to watch 15 secret police with bull pistle, axe handle, mop stick and other pieces of hard material beating him every time he was ask a question and said I don't know. Eventually he got cracked and said all that he knew. Four of us were put in a cell designed for 2 persons and the one that was beaten were taken away. Around 4.30 am he was brought back put in our cell then we learned that 9 other persons were picked up around the country which brought the total to 14.
All 14 were charged and remanded at the Richmond hill prison, After one week we granted bail and nothing was heard about the charges again.
Belmar was shot and killed in Birchgrove outside a popular in the area.

JUNE 19th 1980 QUEENS PARK BOMBING

The anniversary of the 1980 queens park bombing has come and gone. The propaganda is still spread that Bernard Coard is the person responsible for setting the bombs.I must say, that, i was not at the queens park that day, but, because of where my office was situated on the fort i was able to interview the women detained for setting the bombs at queens park. These persons were eventually released by the American forces when they took control of Grenada in October 1983. They were then given huge sums of money and were offered visas for the USA.The bombing was planned weeks in advance and these women made several visits to the area that the bombs were supposed to be put so nothing should go wrong. Then came the big day. According to the women they were dropped off on the green bridge also called park bridge.[They also told me who drop them off] Two of them each had a five roses paper bag holding one bomb. By now you all should know that there were 2 bombs, the idea was to put one bomb each on 2 pillars and when the bombs go off it would cave in and the entire cabinet and guest would be buried in the rubble. Again according to the women 250 yards from their drop off they decided to make sure everything were in order. There was one problem one of the clocks stop working and there was confusion on what to do, after a little discussion it was decided among them that they put the bombs together and hope that they both go off. They didn't know that they can separate it and it would go off with the force of the other one. At around 3.10 that afternoon both bombs went off at one pillar so it could not cave in. The good Lord had a hand in that one although several injuries and 3 deaths resulted it could have been worse if the bombs were separated. The conclusion most people came to was that it was CIA organised. That same evening Stran Phillip was engaged in a shoot out in Mt. Airy, st. Pauls, where he was killed and blamed as the person who masterminded the bombing event. In my opinion Phillip knew about the bombs but i don't think he was in support of setting them where he new innocent people would be killed.

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GOOD day to everyone, my readers and supporters of this page. I have been off for awhile but now i am back. There are so many topics to deal with at this point, the teachers issue, politics of the day,the crime situation and other social issues. My first topic back would be on the first of may 2019.
At this point i want to compliment the security forces mainly the police on a great job so far this year. When we compare what is happening in our immediate neighboring islands we can feel reasonably ok. Any one crime is too much but, we have to stay on top of things.
Our nurses, our teachers, our coaches must also be complimented.
Until my next post.
Hail up

With the results of the 1990 elections giving the NNP 2 seats some thought it was the end of the NNP. The new NDC led by the former head of the Interim Government Nicholas Brathwaite was ask to form the government when they got the support of TNP's Alleyne Walker and Ben Jones. Winnifred Strachan of the GULP was opposition leader since they won 4 seats. Later on the GULP was left with 3 seats since Edzel Thomas gave his support to the NDC.
Keith Mitchell was minister of Communication and works in the original NNP led government and was able to directly or through the party assist many communities generously, and, it is believed that he used the way he handled the areas in the past to his advantage in making a political fight back since the present government started to bring in some unnecessary economic pressure on the people.
Keith Mitchell was known for the controversial attempt to import stone in the country. A popular calypso was made on the subject. [Tell Stone]. It is the opinion of some that this topic of the stone made him even more popular since when he walk the streets and was called Stone he answered gracefully. Grenadians all over started to show great admiration and likeness for the man called Keith Mitchell. Another setback for the governing NDC came in the form of industrial actions mainly by the port workers and the PWU. NDC was losing some popularity and Keith Mitchell was working vigorously to make sure that they were not going back in office.
I must say in my opinion Keith is not even half as popular as Eric Gairy or Maurice Bishop, but, tactically both of them together can't come close to him. Keith knows when to push and when to hold.
Nicholas Brathwaite then resigned under some political pressure and the leadership went to George Brizan who was supposed to lead the party into the 1995 elections. The elections of 1995 was an interesting one with the main topic of income tax Keith Mitchell trump card was the abolishing of income tax. The NNP team for the upcoming elections was properly put together, in my opinion.
82 candidates took part in the 1995 elections, the most i think in the history of Grenada politics. In the end it was NNP led by Keith Mitchell winning 8 seats and was ask to form the Government.
Keith Mitchell was back. This time as Prime Minister.
In a couple days i will show you how moves to unseat Mitchell backfired into the first CLEAN SWEEP. 15 nil.

This Week I Start A Four Part Series On The Political Engineer Called Keith Mitchell.
The first part will give you a brief history of Grenada politics after the period of the revolution.

It is the first elections after the intervention/rescue mission by US forces.
The interim gov't led by Nicholas Brathwaite has announced that the elections will be held on 3rd December 1984.
The interested parties at the time were,
Grenada National Party [GNP] led by Herbert Blaize.
Grenada United Labour Party [GULP] led by Eric Gairy.
Grenada Democratic Movement [GDM] led by Francis Alexis.
Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement [MBPM] led by K. Radix.
National Democratic Party [NDP] led by George Brizan.
I want to note here that the GDM was the party in exile and rumors had it that they were to be installed after the US forces invaded Grenada. A group led by the American representative in Grenada invited GDM, GNP and NDP to a meeting in Union Island in St.Vincent and came back with a party called NNP led by Herbert Blaize. It is believed that thousands of US dollars played a part in the agreement reached. Note that the neither MBPM nor GULP were invited to that meeting.
We now have the candidates for the NNP in the 1994 elections.
Carriacou-- Herbert Blaize
St.Andrew S.E Pauline Andrew
St.Andrew S.W Ben J. Jones
St.Andrew N.E. McLean Pope
St.Andrew N.W. Alleyne Walker
St. David's Danny Williams
Town of St. George George McGuire
St.George N.E. George Brizan
St George N.W. Keith Mitchell
St George S.E. Francis Alexis
St.George South. Phinsley St.Louis
St. John Grace Duncan
St. Mark Felix Alexander
St. Patrick East Tillman Thomas
St. Patrick West Kenny Lalsingh
These were the candidates for the NNP which won the 1984 elections 14 to 1. The only losing candidate for the NNP was McLean Pope St. Andrew N.E.
After the results Eric Gairy and his only successful candidate Marcel Peters complained of rigging and other irregularities.
Within months of the party's term in office there were rumors of conflict and the first to exit the party was Phinsley St.Louis.
The name Keith Mitchell kept coming up in most conflicts and some saying it is because he was very close to the leader Herbert Blaize. I personally remember a saying that Keith doesn't mind being a house slave to Blaize. That was to show how close he was to the leader.
I am not sure if it was written or if it was an understanding that there should be no challenge for leadership of the party in the first term of office.
By this time there were other persons leaving the party like George Brizan, Francis Alexis and Tillman Thomas. They eventually formed the National Democratic Congress NDC.
By this time Keith Mitchell and a mastermind in Grenada politics
called John Watts had challenged the leadership of Blaize in the convention and was successful. Keith Mitchell is now the leader of the party and should now be prime minister. Blaize in refusing to give up the prime ministership decided to form a new party called it The National Party.
Let me point out a little more history here. The parliament of 1984 to 1990 started of with NNP ruling and GULP opposition but before the 1990 elections parliament was made up of four parties the ruling party is now TNP and the main opposition the Grenada Democratic labour party [GDLP} ied by Marcel Peters, NNP led by Keith Mitchell and the NDC led by George Brizan.
Then came the 1990 elections which was won by NDC with a new leader in Nicholas Brathwaite. NDC 7 seats, GULP 4 seats, TNP 2 seats and NNP 2 seats.

Next week-- The Political Engineer work towards the 1995 elections.

Just want to say thanks to all the likes and shares of my previous post. Look out for this weekend post The political Engineer called Keith Mitchell.

In My Opinion On this page i will be giving my personal views on various topics as they come.
Mainly Sports, some political history and more.

The name of the Game is
INTER-SECONDARY SCHOOL GAMES.
Once again I want to big up the sponsors SCOTIA BANK, the PRINCIPALS of SECONDARY SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION and the ATHLETES OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS participating.
Since students of secondary schools are now leaving school at ages 15, 16 and 17 then, goes into TAMCC where the competition is sort of restricted for them, I am appealing to the organizers to change the name of the games so that you can accommodate TAMCC and the athletes still within the age limit. I remember playing primary school football and GBSS and PBC were part of the competition but, the name of the competition was JUNIOR LEAUGE FOOTBALL.
At this time i wish all athletes, officials and spectators the best.
For the athletes competing over the next three days please stay FOCUS ON THE PRESENT- The simplest way to block out everything that is going on around you and some of the stuff that is going on in your own head- is to focus on the present.
Being ready to race means being relaxed [mentally, if not physically]
When you are relaxed you give the body a chance to perform in competition what you have been working on in practice.
Work hard to get the results you want.
HAPPY INTER_COL

This week my opinon on Inter-col, and, the political engineer called Keith.

Well the elections come and gone and it seems as though NDC has to go back to the drawing board. I think that they should really put people first by listening to them. What happens within the executive and the general supporters out there must mesh otherwise you are chasing them away from the party.
IN MY OPINION Nazim was the most unpopular losing candidate in the 2013 elections not only because of the job NNP did on him about houses he owned but he was part of what people thought was a power struggle which caused the breaking up of the party. He should not have got himself up for leadership. On the other hand Franka was the most popular losing candidate and it was proven if, you were listening to the people they were saying that NNP should keep her on as min. of education. Franka Bernadine would have been the Ideal leader of the party then. It is not the first time they did it that way. After Nicholas Brathwaite resigned the powers that be within the party brought in people to make sure that Francis Alexis did not get the leadership of the party although he was the most popular person going in to the convention. I do hope that they do it right this time since NDC has the material in people like Tevin, Adrian, Claudette and listening to the people you put first.