by Lincoln DePradine
Senior officials in the Grenada Ministry of Foreign Affairs want nationals in the Diaspora, dubbed the country’s 16th constituency, to participate in an ongoing initiative that will conclude with parliamentary passage of a Grenada Diaspora Engagement Policy.
Among the components of the initiative are the conducting of a “skills gap analysis” and the completing of a Diaspora Mapping Project which involves using an online survey tool to collect information about the socio-economic profile of Grenadians in the Diaspora.
“I want to urge everyone in the Diaspora to get online and engage in that survey,” Hon. Peter David, Grenada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, appealed on Tuesday.
David was speaking at the official launch of the website for the Grenadian Diaspora For Development (GD4D) project.
The two-year project is funded in the amount of US$200,000 from the International Development Fund and administered through the Guyana-based regional coordinating office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN member-agency.
The mapping project is a data collection exercise “to learn more about the socio-economic profile of the Grenadian Diaspora in North America and the Caribbean – and to begin the creation of a database of skills for knowledge transfer,” said Trisha Mitchell-Darius, the IOM’s Project Officer for Grenada. “The survey is online at www.grenadiandiaspora.gd. “Please tell your family and friends out in the Diaspora,” she urged. “It’s open and available for all persons of Grenadian origin globally.”
Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Alva Browne, underscoring the importance of the mapping project, said that “without the mapping exercise, we would not be able to achieve much.”
The IOM-administered GD4D initiative began in February of this year. To date, Minister David and other members of the project team have hosted Diaspora outreach meetings in London, England, and Washington, USA. The next Diaspora outreach meeting, with David scheduled to be the keynote speaker, is Saturday, 16 November in Toronto, Canada.
“This project seeks to engage the Grenadian Diaspora globally. The project will facilitate a collection of data on skills, resources and the return interest and plans of those willing to support the development of Grenada, through organisations and institutions here in Grenada. The information collected through the project will help to guide government policies aimed at engaging the Diaspora,” Mitchell-Darius said Tuesday.
Apart from the mapping component, a consultant soon is to be hired, she said, “to assist us in gathering information regarding current and future skills gaps in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and to facilitate a matching with the Diaspora.”
Another key activity planned is a remittance workshop, with banks, credit unions and companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram, to discuss ways of reducing the cost sending remittances to Grenada and on how remittances can be structured for national development.
“The talents and skills within the Diaspora are wide and varied,” said Browne. “It is our firm view, though, that if we engage in an organised and strategic manner, we can harness those skills and resources in national development.”
According to Minister David, “the Diaspora is not just a group of people out there who sometimes we rely on just to send this and send that for us. They should be engaged as a part of our development process.”
He added that the Grenada Diaspora is “our 16th constituency and must be treated as our 16th constituency, in that they must be integrated into national development.”
No reason exists, said the minister, why Grenadians abroad “cannot invest in hotels, individually or as a group. They can get involved in health. We have excellent health practitioners in the Diaspora.”
He emphasised that, “all areas of investment are open to persons in the Diaspora”, reiterating that he wants “all Grenadians – in the Diaspora, in Grenada – to become involved in the project.”
As far as the online survey is concerned, Mitchell-Darius said the highlights will include job, volunteer and investment opportunities. “Please take the survey so that Grenada knows how to connect with you when any of these opportunities arise,” Mitchell-Darius said.
She referred to it as a chance to “allow Grenada to be able to connect” with its overseas nationals “on a holistic level. As well, in terms of the draft Grenada Diaspora Engagement Policy, it is downloadable on the website www.grenadiandiaspora.gd. Please, take the opportunity to review that,” she said.
“If you have feedback, we’re accepting submissions until 31 December and/or if you are in a city near where the project team will be visiting, please come on out.”
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Interesting to hear that Grenada now wishes to make an assessment of the “skills gap analysis” within the Diaspora, and encourage Grenadians abroad to invest in projects within Grenada. Well, since when does Grenadians listen and take any advise or any form of recommendations from Grenadians living abroad, including returning Nationals. In Grenada, the people in authority or shall I say, Government personnel gives the impression that they know it all, but yet fails miserably to deliver.
AS for investing in projects, I will only do so if I’m in charge of the MONEY..just to make sure its not wasted and siphon off.
I find this rather suspect intentions.
Of what concern is it of this Lincoln DePradine or Peter David; if my family sends Western Union to relatives in Grenada; they want cut out of it ?? They need to keep their hands out of our pockets. Period. We already have long trail of victims of this Mitchell Regime.
We are formally notifying our family & friends to stay away from this latest Government caper.
Other areas are already focus of an Investigate Target,
This is a repetition of wastage. A similar initiative was carried out in the UK by the Grenada High commission a few years ago. Many of us submitted our CV. Nothing was done. We had held diaspora conferences here at the trade centre, many of us attended and presented in the areas of Education, Engineering, Health, Economics, Science all of which was simply a showcase talk shop, nothing was done. There are many of us who are now living in Grenada, we have offered our services, it was turned down. So is Grenada serious or is this another talking exercise.
Reading this article & family & relatives say it smells like a SKUNK ! Sleazy BS.
This Gov. selling our Passports like hot Pancakes. Hundreds of $$$$ millions keep evaporating, pocketed or put in Slush Funds ? Not being sarcastic.
This Diaspora Mapping is to get their greedy hands on our money, their hands into our pockets. All else is snake job.
PM Mitchell travels the world with some 14 of his make escorts: costing Treasury millions & millions $$. This is alarming.
Kinky behaviors are alarming expenses.
This Peter David jet hops the globe in luxury First Class like some King’s boy; yet these very characters criticized the former PM Tillman Thomas whenever he traveled too much. These here Jokers hop scotch the globe like oil Barons.
Speaking of Oil: where did it Go $$$ ?
These characters want piece of my hard earned money when I would ship same via Western Union to family. You people are Looney Tunes, The Three Stooges.
This Minister Peter David is Hypocrite – one not to be Trusted by our Family & Relatives. There are credible reasons !
This is a shady Snake Charmers sale !!!!