Caribbean L 22 ife, DECEMBER 6-12, 2019
By Rawle Titus
Grenada and Dominica
have hit back following
a documentary
by Al Jazeera television
suggesting that politicians
in the Caribbean
are involved in a corrupt
trade of diplomatic
post in exchange for
money.
Dominica’s Prime
Minister, Roosevelt
Skerrit has threatened
legal action while Prime
Minister Keith Mitchell’s
government in Grenada
has robustly denied the
claims in the heavily
publicized programme,
Diplomats for Sale.
Al Jazeera also claims
politicians in Dominica
and Grenada are
willing to accept secret
campaign contributions
from wealthy foreign
businessmen in
exchange for diplomatic
passports.
“The government of
Grenada categorically
denies the allegations,
which were recently
made in the media,
regarding the CBI Programme,
as well as the
issuance of Diplomatic
Passports,” said a
statement released late
Wednesday, amid raging
debate in Grenada
and around the region
following the release of
the documentary.
“The government
further states that no
one has made any campaign
contribution in
order to be appointed as
an Ambassador; neither
is there any requirement
for individuals to
make campaign contributions
in order to
be considered for an
appointment”.
Al Jazeera interviewed
US businessman
Leo Ford who said one of
his partners in a Grenada
investment scheme
was offered a diplomatic
role in return for kickbacks
on future government
projects.
But the television station
also admitted several
times during the
one-hour programme
that they found no facts
supporting claims that
diplomatic postings
were being sold
However, Al Jazeera,
based in Doha, Qatar
with 80 bureaus around
the world, reported that
its investigation reveals
Prime Minister, Skerrit
allegedly took hundreds
of thousands of dollars
for his 2014 election
campaign from an
Iranian businessman
named Alireza Monfared
in exchange for
an ambassadorship for
Dominica to Malaysia.
“People who libel me
will find themselves
before the courts,”
warned Skerrit, as his
ruling Dominica Labour
Party (DLP) were preparing
for a hotly contested
general elections
on Dec. 6 against Lennox
Lindon’s opposition
United Workers’ Party
(UWP)
“It was clear to me,
as it will be to you that
either Linton, the UWP
directly or their foreign
collaborators provided
this baseless information
to Al Jazeera for
political reasons”.
The Grenada government
boasts that
its Citizens by Investment
Programme (CBI)
has been ranked as one
of the best-run programmes
by the IMF,
World Bank and other
financial institutions.
The government
statement criticized the
Al Jazeera documentary
as making “unfortunate
pronouncements, which
have led to confusion”.
“It leaves the erroneous
impression that the
issuing of diplomatic
passports is a natural
extension of, or in any
way related to the CBI
programme. The two are
governed separately, and
have their own rules for
implementation, under
clear policy guidelines,”
the government statement
explained.
“It is categorically
false that diplomatic
appointments are for
sale, and have, in any
way, been bought by
non-nationals who currently
serve the interests
of Grenada overseas.”
About 15 years ago,
United States conman
Eric Resteiner, who is
still serving time in jail
for fraud, claimed he
handed a million dollars
to Prime Minister,
Mitchell for being
appointed ambassador
at large.
However, Mitchell said
he only received $15,000
for travel expenses and
an inquiry cleared him
of any wrongdoing.
Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit.
Associated Press / Chris Brandis
Grenada, Dominica hit back
at Al Jazeera news program