The nation is aware that the Government of Grenada lost the case against WRB with respect to the repurchase of the GRENLEC shares.
The arbitration tribunal awarded over $200 million dollars to WRB, the main shareholder in GRENLEC. In the face of defeat, the Government has been engaged in discussions with some unknown foreign interests to raise money to repurchase the shares.
In the early days, Minister Gregory Bowen announced that potential Grenadian shareholders will be afforded opportunities to purchase shares in the company.
After the initial impact of the ruling, government bluntly refused to discuss the matter. Now it seems that the issue has taken a new turn. Reliable reports reaching the NDC indicate that the government has struck yet another secret deal with a non-Grenadian interest to purchase the shares.
The National Democratic Congress is of the view that any such deal should be done in a transparent manner and the nation must be made aware of the details. Extensive national consultation must be held, and any proposed deal should be debated in and approved by Parliament before it is finalized.
When the NDC administration contracted to sell 50% of the shares in GRENLEC to WRB, it did so following an entirely public, transparent process, including national consultations and issuing invitations for interested buyers to submit bids. All agreements signed were tabled in Parliament and ultimately formed part of the laws of Grenada in the Electricity Supply Act 1994. Despite this, the NNP pursued a senseless vendetta for 26 years, wrongly claiming it was a bad deal.
Now that WRB has brought us from the days of load shedding and blackouts under Bowen, to a consistent and reliable supply of electricity, it appears that the NNP has struck a secret deal in the dead of the night, when the nation is preoccupied with a most stressful Christmas season.
GRENLEC is a national asset, and any move to sell majority interest in the company must be subject to national scrutiny.
The nation deserves no less.