Feature
amount here in the country and thus create more jobs as well. We have chickens up at my plantation, Mt. Edgecombe, and we bring the eggs down to ‘Savvy’s’ the restaurant. The guests love it! We use fruits and vegetables all fresh and locally grown. I think that anything the government and the banks can do to stimulate agriculture is hugely positive and not just economically sound, it’s very attractive to tourists too.
A United Caribbean
Dreadful idea. Inflation would go up with loads of government employees; it would be as bad as the EU where inflation has more than tripled since its inception. We should have friendship, cooperation, and foreign policy agreements. I think you would lose your national identities and spend more time worrying about the politics than actually delivering the goods. Look at Switzerland, it’s the least affected country by the recessions in the world and they’re not in the European Union. Grenada should be the Switzerland of the Caribbean. I don’t think Grenadians want to be immersed in a common culture of political leadership that may not understand properly the particular needs of their country. You don’t have to sell your soul to get into a federation to run your country.
On Whaling
I think any Caribbean country that supports whaling is harming their tourism. The tourists don’t like whaling.
On SGU
I think that it’s fantastic that Grenada has the American University here (SGU). It has a very prestigious reputation in the veterinary and medical community as a first rate institution. They have plans to have a hotel//hospitality school as well. I’m a huge admirer of the Chancellor and what he and his staff have accomplished. These 5,000 students and faculty are spending money in the communities. It helps the shops, restaurants, cable& wireless and they‘re getting on airplanes which helps with the airlift. Everything is positive about it. Those students are from so many different countries; it’s quite a little window on the world. ?
Cruise Tourism
I think the cruise ships are fabulous and it‘s great to have them. Let‘s not get carried away and say they don’t leave a lot of money behind. 2,000 cruisers compared with 2,000 guests staying at a resort or hotel is a big difference. There is a limited infrastructure and capacity and I think you want to use that to yield the highest spend per visitor as you can.
the government a $100,000.00 you should be able to have a passport. It’s not as if the government couldn’t use it? If managed well, the government could spur economic growth with this. Without very attractive concessions you will not get the investors. You also have to be aware of the concessions your neighbors are making and be competitive with them. Once Grenada can make the investor feel more welcome and appreciated here, this will become a place of choice and at that point Grenada can say “What are your credentials?” and cherry pick the best potential investors.
2050 On large scale development
Large scale high rise projects demand a lot of labour to be imported for operations and that is when you lose the culture. Imported immigrant workers feel second class and normally the country, I’m sorry to say, treats them as second class. I can tell you that in the Bahamas a Bahamian does not see himself as an equal to a Haitian and vice versa. That’s a problem of cultural differences that causes resentment. You only want a project that can maintain and support the local labour market and the social infrastructure. I think Grenada could, by the year 2050, have a very advanced standard of living and quality of life. I truly believe that it’s possible that Grenada could rise above the rest of the Caribbean; if the average wage is a $100.00 then its $150.00 here. If the average level of education and University is x then it’s more here. The number of people in senior executive positions is higher than anywhere else. The number of foreigners required is less than anywhere else because the Grenadians can do everything. I think that is how Switzerland operates; they don’t really have any natural resources like gold, oil, or mining and yet they are self sufficient and independent. Success is so often built from perception into reality. So if people believe that they can make Grenada the Switzerland of the Caribbean and they government and the private sector do things in the right direction it becomes an automatic reality.
Advice to potential investors
Don’t think big. Start small and grow and respect the fact that Grenada is a country about quality, not quantity. Be interested in upscale market niche products, and don’t look to make a fast buck. Projects should not rely on large scale volumes & quantities. It should be something classy and dignified and marries well with Grenada and appeals to the world. There is a fantastic opportunity for some amazing private clinics for people who want to get away and have an operation and recover in a nice relaxing place. Have it done here by world class doctors, in a world class hospital. Investors are doing these things all over the world. It goes beyond tourism to a diversified range of businesses that would be appropriate here.
Government Concessions
Abso ][ H\??[?X[ ?Y? [?H???]? ??] ?[??]?\? ^H]?H[?X???ZX??]^?[??\ ???[K [?H[??\?H?\?Z[?[[?[??[?^H[? [?H?[??]H \??? ?x?&H[??]??\?? ] ?Y? ?^H [?H[??\?H??\H?Z[[??\??[??[?YH[? [?H ^B??L???????\?[?\???[?YK???B?????HX?]Z[?[???