INSIDE GRENADA
MARCH 18, 2008


ST GEORGE'S – Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has given his broadest hint that he would soon announce the date for the general election, as a visiting Jamaica government minister called on Grenadian women to support a bid by the ruling New National Party (NNP) for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office.

Addressing the women's convention of the NNP on Sunday March 16, Mitchell said it was important that the young people got involved in the future socio-economic development of the island and that following a youth convention on April 20, "any number could play".

"If we have so much power tonight in the women's representation, we have even more power in the youth of our country.

"So, my friends, on April 20, we have a youth convention and we have lots more in store for young people . . . . They are going to set the tone for bigger things for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

"So sharpen your pencils, and [when] we say 'On your mark, get set', we will tell you when to go my friends," Mitchell said.

Mitchell's NNP controls eight of the 15 seats in the parliament.

In her address, Jamaica's Youth, Sports, and Information Minister Olivia "Babsy" Grange said the fate of the NNP in government rested heavily on the role of the women.

"Whenever Mitchell calls the date, you are the ones who would have to ensure that the people go out and vote.

"No political party in the Caribbean could survive without support from women," Grange told a women's convention of the NNP at Tivoli in the eastern parish of St Andrew's on Sunday night.

"You are the field force. You are the foot soldiers, and if you don't work the party cannot win. You have an awesome responsibility.

"If the party wins, it's you who made it win, and if the party loses, it's you who would have made that happen. You have to work very hard to bring home your party so that it gets the fourth term." (CMC)