The Grouping of Grenada Civil Society Organisations

16/11/2024

Grenada Experiencing Agitated seas on the West Coast

16/11/2024

15/07/2024

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Government Information ServiceMinisterial Complex, Botanical GardensTanteen, St. GeorgeTelephone: 14734402061Email: [email protected] Online TV: htt...

16/05/2024

Wednesday is the International Day of Happiness.

During times of difficulty, relaxing, practicing mindfulness and connecting with friends and family can all help improve our mental health and increase happiness. https://www.un.org/en/observances/happiness-day

16/05/2024

Thu, 16 May at 16:45

ON THE PASSING OF DR. MARGUERITE JOAN JOSEPH

By: Sandra C.A. Ferguson



It is with sadness that I have learned of the passing of Dr. Marguerite Joan Joseph and offer my condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.

I first met Dr. Joseph back in late 1971. It was at a Special Luncheon of the Rotary Club of Grenada held at the former St. James Hotel, Grand Etang Hill (on the way to the General Hospital and Police Headquarters, Fort George). That Rotarian luncheon hosted students from the various secondary schools in Grenada, students who had been chosen by their fellow classmates as potential leaders in the future.

I was a Form 5 student of the St. John’s Christian Secondary School (SJCSS a.k.a Schaper’s) and was chosen by my classmates to attend this event. Rotarian William “Willie” Branch of Dougaldston Estate fame offered transport to the two students that would be coming from St. John’s – myself from Schaper’s and Claris Modeste of the St. Rose Convent. That was when I made the acquaintance of Hon. Dr. Claris Modeste who went on to become the Member of Parliament for St. Mark’s, unbroken since 1999, and holding various ministerial portfolios in the administration of the New National Party.

Besides Dr. Joseph and Dr. Modeste, I do not recall any of the other student invitees. Dr. Joseph, at the time a Form 6 student and Head Girl of the St. Joseph Convent St. George’s, came over to say hello. I do not recall our conversation exactly but I really must have looked like oddity among all the other “big boys and girls”. Yes, I was much smaller and younger than the rest – looking more like a Form 2 or 3 student. She was very pleasant and I recall her smile. She went on to study medicine and became Grenada’s first female gynaecologist and obstetrician, following in the footsteps of the legendary Dr. Desmond Noel.

Our paths crossed again in 1997. I was a member of the Executive of the Alliance Francaise de la Gr***de . For the first time, the Alliance was going to mark the Journee International de la Creole (International Creole Day) and I was charged with producing/organizing this first event. It was after this event that I met Dr. Joseph and became aware of her passion for saving and reviving the patois/creole language in Grenada. She undertook research and produced a booklet on patois/creole. While I do not recall its name, I have seen it in hard copy. She also solicited the support of Dr. James DeVere Pitt and his University without Walls to deliver classes in patois/creole. That lasted for a while but was not sustained. The University had its own challenges.

Dr. Joseph was also an entrepreneur and opened her own private medical clinic.

Her earthly journey is done. I pay tribute to her diverse contributions to nation building and with gender lens recognize her achievement as Grenada’s first female gynaecologist and obstetrician. May she rest in eternal peace.

24/02/2024

Keeping an Eye on the People’s Business
Inter Island Ferry Service: Caribbean Connect
1. Connect Caraibe
There is a loud regional buzz of excitement as the inter-island ferry service project, Connect Caribe,
was launched at a press conference in Barbados on January 23rd, 2024. Reporting on the press
conference, a story by Dominica News1
online informed as follows:-
• Become Operational: The service was expected to begin operation by the end of 2024,
offering weekly and daily round trips, linking Barbados with Saint Lucia, Trinidad and
Tobago, St Vincent, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua, Suriname, and Guyana. It was expected to
enhance tourism and the free movement of people and goods in the region.
• Private Sector Consortium: This ferry service would be provided by a private sector
consortium, led by Upturn Funds Caribbean in collaboration with Pleion Group Inc. Other
consortium partners were:- Windward Ferries; Ramps Logistics; JS Cruises and Tours / The
Maritime Institute; and HCIS2
• Chairman/CEO: The CEO and Chairman of Carib Connect, Dr. Andre Thomas advised
that, initially, the company would operate three vessels to include:-
o A large ferry capable of carrying 800 passengers with 200 first-class rooms;
o a fast ferry that would carry 435 passengers; and
o a cargo ship that would begin servicing Barbados, Suriname, St Vincent, and St
Lucia before expanding to other countries in the region.
o Capacity: The three proposed vessels would have the capacity to transport up to
8,000 passengers, cargo and manufactured goods and produce.
▪ Note/Query: Up to 8,000 passengers over what period of time? Based on
information provided, even the combined capacity of all 3 vessels at any one
time would not be 8,000 passengers. Other media have also reported this
figure. An explanation of this figure 8,000 is required. Is this the
combined tonnage of the three vessels?
• First Phase Financing: The first phase of the project is expected to cost an estimated US$50
million which would come from the Caribbean division of Upturn Funds, a venture capital
firm with offices in Bridgetown; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and New York City.
o Query: Is the company itself providing this capital or is it facilitating access via
investors who are interested in this project?
2. Caribbean Export Caribbean Investment Summit:
A news release of January 24th from Caribbean Export3
:-
• announced that “New Regional Ferry Project Launched by Private Sector Consortium
Conceived at Caribbean Investment Forum” ;
• elaborated that “the consortium was established as a direct result of the company’s
participation in a roundtable on transportation and logistics at the 2022 Caribbean
Investment Forum (CIF). hosted by the Caribbean Export Development Agency, the European
Union, and its partners.” This Summit was held in Trinidad in 2022;
• further noted that, in a previous media statement4
, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at
Upturn Funds Caribbean, Ambassador Dr Andre Thomas:-
1 https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/new-regional-ferry-service-coming-to-dominica/
2 Hinkson Computer Solutions Inc.
3 https://carib-export.com/news/new-regional-ferry-project-launched-by-private-sector-consortium-conceived-at-caribbean-investmentforum/
4 https://carib-export.com/news/caribbean-investment-forum-paving-the-way-for-economic-growth-through-logistics-transformation/
Island Ferry Service: Connect Caribe
Compiled By: Sandra C.A. Ferguson
February 16th, 2024
2
o Credited the CIF roundtable with playing “a pivotal role in shaping the outcome of
the strategic partnership formed with key participan

Improvements in the Caribbean logistics and transportation ecosystem holds immense potential to drive economic development and ROI for investors.

27/07/2023

INTER AGENCY GROUP OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS (IAGDO)
c/o P.O. Box 750, St. George’s, Grenada
E-mail: [email protected]

ANOTHER STALWART PASSES ON
Another stalwart in the service of our nation and the wider region has passed on!
It with deep sadness and a sense of loss, that we have received news of the passing of Beverly Sinclair in her native Jamaica. A media practitioner, Beverley worked in Grenada for many years with Community Channel and later Flow Grenada. She exemplified professionalism and fearlessness in the practice of her discipline and was a mentor to many young, aspiring journalists.
In 2016, she became very interested in the work of civil society organisations in respect of public education and the proposed Constitution Reform. That interest was sustained and post Elections 2018, she was a founding member of the civil society organisation, Independent Caucus for Constitution Reform. She was one of the hosts of its weekly media programmes, facilitating public awareness and education on Grenada’s constitution and critically examining proposed legislation and policies in the context of Grenada’s Supreme Law, its Constitution. The Caucus presence was felt during those challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic and one particularly recalls the Caucus’ examination of COVID-19 legislation in the framework of Grenada’s Constitution.
The Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations (IAGDO) is particularly grateful to Beverley for her support of its National Round Table on the Report of the 2018 CARICOM Commission Report on Ma*****na, held in collaboration with the Conference of Churches Grenada in January 2021. She afforded the IAGDO her Mek We Chat platform to expand the reach of this important activity, given the COVID-19 restrictions and barriers in respect of the numbers that were able to attend. That support was expanded to the video production of the activity for future reference and use in public education and sensitization re the proposed legalization of marijuana/cannabis. Thank you Beverley!
On behalf of its member agencies and civil society associates, the Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations extends its condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and media fraternity, local and regional, on the passing of Beverley Sinclair. May she rest in peace!

Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations
E-mail: [email protected]

27/07/2023

INTER-AGENCY GROUP OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS (IAGDO)
c/o P.O. Box 750, St. George’s, Grenada
E-mail: [email protected]

ANOTHER STALWART PASSES ON
Another stalwart in the service of our nation and the wider region has passed on!
It with deep sadness and a sense of loss, that we have received news of the passing of Beverly Sinclair in her native Jamaica. A media practitioner, Beverley worked in Grenada for many years with Community Channel and later Flow Grenada. She exemplified professionalism and fearlessness in the practice of her discipline and was a mentor to many young, aspiring journalists.
In 2016, she became very interested in the work of civil society organisations in respect of public education and the proposed Constitution Reform. That interest was sustained and post Elections 2018, she was a founding member of the civil society organisation, Independent Caucus for Constitution Reform. She was one of the hosts of its weekly media programmes, facilitating public awareness and education on Grenada’s constitution and critically examining proposed legislation and policies in the context of Grenada’s Supreme Law, its Constitution. The Caucus presence was felt during those challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic and one particularly recalls the Caucus’ examination of COVID-19 legislation in the framework of Grenada’s Constitution.
The Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations (IAGDO) is particularly grateful to Beverley for her support of its National Round Table on the Report of the 2018 CARICOM Commission Report on Ma*****na, held in collaboration with the Conference of Churches Grenada in January 2021. She afforded the IAGDO her Mek We Chat platform to expand the reach of this important activity, given the COVID-19 restrictions and barriers in respect of the numbers that were able to attend. That support was expanded to the video production of the activity for future reference and use in public education and sensitization regarding the proposed legalization of marijuana/cannabis. Thank you, Beverley!
On behalf of its member agencies and civil society associates, the Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations extends its condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and media fraternity, local and regional, on the passing of Beverley Sinclair. May she rest in peace!

Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations
E-mail: [email protected]

INTER-AGENCY GROUP OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS (IAGDO)
c/o P.O. Box 750, St. George’s, Grenada
E-mail: [email protected]

ANOTHER STALWART PASSES ON
Another stalwart in the service of our nation and the wider region has passed on!
It is with deep sadness and a sense of loss, that we have received news of the passing of Beverly Sinclair in her native Jamaica. A media practitioner, Beverley worked in Grenada for many years with Community Channel and later Flow Grenada. She exemplified professionalism and fearlessness in the practice of her discipline and was a mentor to many young, aspiring journalists.
In 2016, she became very interested in the work of civil society organisations in respect of public education and the proposed Constitution Reform. That interest was sustained and post Elections 2018, she was a founding member of the civil society organisation, Independent Caucus for Constitution Reform. She was one of the hosts of its weekly media programmes, facilitating public awareness and education on Grenada’s constitution and critically examining proposed legislation and policies in the context of Grenada’s Supreme Law, its Constitution. The Caucus presence was felt during those challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic and one particularly recalls the Caucus’ examination of COVID-19 legislation in the framework of Grenada’s Constitution.
The Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations (IAGDO) is particularly grateful to Beverley for her support of its National Round Table on the Report of the 2018 CARICOM Commission Report on Ma*****na, held in collaboration with the Conference of Churches Grenada in January 2021. She afforded the IAGDO her Mek We Chat platform to expand the reach of this important activity, given the COVID-19 restrictions and barriers in respect of the numbers that were able to attend. That support was expanded to the video production of the activity for future reference and use in public education and sensitization re the proposed legalization of marijuana/cannabis. Thank you Beverley!
On behalf of its member agencies and civil society associates, the Inter-Agency Group of Development Organisations extends its condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and media fraternity, local and regional, on the passing of Beverley Sinclair. May she rest in peace!

Inter Agency Group of Development Organisations
E-mail: [email protected]

26/04/2023

21/09/2022

for your information!
---------- Forwarded message ---------
Please find below an update concerning the Grenada Land Actors v Planning Department Court case being heard on Thursday virtually. The article explains what has been happening to date and gives access to further documentation which the organisation has used in representing its case. Please take time to read all and should you with to join us, you can do so on the website.

Thank you for your time

Grenada Land Actors.
The Grenada Land Actors Inc. vs ? transparency are being maintained through informed public participation in environmental decision-making. This would be in keeping with the Escazú Agreement (the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean) to which Grenada is a party. However, it is one of the remaining two countries in the OECS region that have not yet ratified the treaty.



Photo Credit: Reginald Joseph
Earlier this year at the High Court level, Justice Glasgow ruled in favour of GLA that the issue of standing should be decided at a later stage in the case, allowing all the issues at hand to be presented. The Attorney General was not satisfied with that decision and filed an appeal, which is supported by all three developers. This appeal will be heard at the next court date on Thursday 22nd September 2022 before the Court of Appeal in Grenada via Zoom. This will be the first court date since the NDC Administration was sworn in.

In recognition of the change in Administration and cabinet, GLA reached out to the new Attorney General (in July) to discuss if any of the issues arising in the case at hand “could be resolved without further recourse to litigation”. In August, GLA wrote to both the Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry for Planning, the Ministry for Climate Resilience and the Environment, and the Ministry for Culture to request a meeting to: 1) provide context to the new Ministers about the case and why GLA instituted legal action against the PDA in 2021, 2) discuss the need for expediency on legislation that could provide more protection for these ecosystems (e.g., Environmental Management Act, Natural Resources Management Act, updated Forestry Act, updated Planning and Development Control Regulations, Land Use Act); 3) the need for a cabinet-approved Coastal Zone Management Plan and appointment of a Coastal Director to enforce our 2019 Integrated Coastal Zone Management Act; 4) enforcement of the Museum Act of 2017, which would ensure proper protection and management of archaeological remains in areas of cultural importance; and 5) ratification of the Escazú Agreement (the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean), which Grenada signed in 2019. We still await a date for these meetings from the respective Ministries. We provide an example of the letters and appendices that were sent here:https://grenadaland.org/s/PSForEnvironment_10-AUG-2022.pdf ,https://grenadaland.org/s/Annex-A-Summary-of-Concerns.pdf ,https://grenadaland.org/s/Annex-B-Six-Sense-Review-of-EIA-Landscape-Plans.pdf ,https://grenadaland.org/s/Annex-C-Levera-Resort-Review-of-Landscape-Plans.pdf .

The basis for GLA’s case is that permissions for the developments at La Sagesse, Levera, and Mt. Hartman had not been properly granted by the PDA and that the environmental impact assessments (EIAs), which are a mandated part of the development procedure, either did not happen before development began or showed major deficiencies, including lack of public consultation. During its efforts to uncover this information, GLA members also found that the public register, which is supposed to keep a record of all developments in Grenada, together with the accompanying materials such as Environmental Impact Assessments, was not properly kept by the PDA and was not being made accessible to the Public.

The filed affidavits in the Court case from the previous NNP administration opposing the action laughably accused GLA members of being covert opposition members. Now that the Government has changed and the ruling party is now the NDC, will they continue down the same line of thought as the previous administration? As the Attorney General has not indicated otherwise and continues to argue that GLA has no right to take this matter to court, GLA’s members can only assume this is the case.
GLA's case remains clear. That the PDA has skirted the planning process and allowed these developments to be approved without conducting the proper environmental impact assessments. This touches not only these three developments but all major developments in Grenada. In the interim, these developments are continuing. In Mt. Hartman, work by “The Hartman Group” continues on, as Phase 1 of the project has now morphed into a massive University Town and Resort – a major threat to the surrounding wetland areas and Grenada’s critically-endangered national bird that is only found on mainland Grenada (i.e., The Grenada Dove). At Levera, work on yet another ill-fated golf course appears to be taking place by Singapore Heng Sheng Grenada Development Ltd. At La Sagesse, despite destroying all the mangroves at the La Sagesse Pond, Range Developments is attempting to engineer an artificial wetland complete with manufactured islands to take its place. Public access to the beach, in a location well known for its turbulent history with Lord Brownlow, looks to be restricted once again.

Furthermore, not satisfied with one mega-resort, Range Developments intends to build another massive hotel – the InterContinental Grenada Resort – right next door to its first Six Senses resort, encompassing all the remaining beach land in La Sagesse up to the river. This would remove popular recreational areas for locals, destroy important known archaeological sites in this area, and have potentially irreversible impacts on the marine and terrestrial biodiversity in La Sagesse. GLA's recent inquiry into the status of the EIA for this forthcoming development was met with no answers. This highlights that the problems with the physical planning process are not restricted to the three developments that GLA is focusing on, but are instead deep-rooted and ingrained into the system. We await to see whether the NDC Administration is satisfied with this ongoing situation.

GLA, as a small NGO, has also had to continually canvass for local support for legal fees and technical expertise to continue this case. We would like to thank all members of the public who have supported us and the over 7000 people who signed our initial petition to the Government (https://www.change.org/p/our-paradise-and-sovereignty-under-siege-protect-grenada-from-destructive-development). The organization is also incredibly grateful that Leslie Thomas Kings Counsel, a staunch advocate for human rights in the UK and throughout the region, who has agreed to take our case pro-bono, supporting our local lawyer, Ms. Rita Joseph-Olivetti who helped the organization initiate this case. We are also gratefully being aided by the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW). GLA would also like to thank the many local and international partners who have supported and continue to support our cause.

GLA looks forward to the outcome of the hearing before the Court of Appeal and trusts that sustainable development in Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique is still an attainable goal in the very near future. As the world prepares to gather for the global climate change Conference of Parties in November once again, more emphasis has to be placed on countries’ individual actions (including small island states) and assessing whether they have the technical capacity, legal framework and political will to implement climate adaptation actions and fulfil their climate change goals.

Please visit our website (https://grenadaland.org/take-action) where you can find details to sign up to support our ongoing initiatives in Grenada.

GLA