Lloyd Noel is a former Attorney General of Grenada, prominent attorney at law and political commentator

That is not say the weather patterns should be put to one side and ignored. We are getting more than enough warnings that strange things are taking place above the earth’s surface, possibly because of what human beings are experimenting with on earth, to make us take serious notice, and do all we possibly can to put systems in place in readiness for any natural disaster that may come our way.

If we get caught in an unprepared state in the months ahead, it will only be our fault for whatever shortcoming we could have overcome that we fail to prepare ourselves to be ready to face.

But those natural disasters, whether or not aggravated by manmade experiments -- over which we the lesser mortals in the under-developed world have no control -- are not so much my concern at this time as the actions, and omissions, and decisions by those in authority and in control of our local and regional affairs, that are destined to affect us all in the days and months and years ahead.

On the local front, when the case between the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Tillman Thomas, and the one-man Commissioner in the “Brief Case” Inquiry, Dr. Richard Cheltenham, came up in court last week, it was agreed by the lawyers on both sides, that there was no need for further argument in the matter, because the issues on each side were fully presented at the initial hearing when the court’s jurisdiction was questioned; so that the Judge can now go ahead and hand down a decision on the substantive issue of whether or not the Leader of the Opposition is entitled to be represented at the Inquiry.

This means, of course, that the said Inquiry remains at a standstill until that decision is handed down.

The ruling in the matter between Hugh Wildman and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC), in which he had challenged the Commission’s decision not to uphold the Government’s recommendation that he be appointed as the Attorney General of Grenada, is also still pending.

But from all appearances, as well as the legal grapevine news making the rounds -- although Mr. Wildman does not hold the substantive position in the Legal department -- he, nevertheless, is responsible behind the scenes for whatever is taking place in that crucial area of Government’s activities.

He is supposed to be Legal Adviser to Cabinet and the Attorney General, and he is virtually in charge of the Legal Affairs Ministry.

And although the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is an independent legal official, protected by the constitution in the carrying out of his duties and responsibilities, the latest breaking news surrounding criminal charges that he, in his own deliberate judgment, may have instituted or advised/directed the police to bring against an officer who is close to the Prime Minster as his Security Officer, is that some move is afoot from inside the Ministry itself to get rid of the current DPP, Mr. Christopher Nelson.

The attack on the DPP is centred around his certified appointment by the Governor General, on the advice of the JLSC, based upon the recommendation of the Minister of Legal Affairs.

Mr Wildman would be well aware of the procedure, because he must be privy to the Minister’s actions and decisions as his advisor and supervisor of the Ministry. But more so because he was himself in the centre of such a situation some years ago, when the Governor General had not re-appointed him as DPP after his contract as Acting DPP had expired -- yet he went ahead and signed Indictments (charges) for the Assizes and a number of persons were freed without any trial.

The difference with the current situation, is that the JLSC -- then headed by Chief Justice Byron -- had refused to endorse the Government’s recommendation of Mr Wildman, and so advised the Governor General; whereas in this case it may well be that the Minister has not sent in any recommendation at all -- although he knows very well that Mr Nelson’s acting appointment as DP.P has expired.

All part and parcel of the plot to remove Nelson as the DPP, because it is perceived by the powers-that-be that he does not toe any line, but operates as the constitution lays down that he should, in his own deliberate judgment.

These rumblings beneath the legal surface are not in the best interest of a stable system of law and order, nor of the expected protection of the rule of law by one and all. And what is worse, is that the tamperings with the systems are happening in a period when criminal activities are definitely on the ever-increasing rise in our midst; and detection or solution of the majority of those incidents are mainly under the column of “unsolved mysteries.”

Our tri-island state of Grenada and its inhabitants are much, much, larger than any political party, or group of individuals, or any leader in any area -- be it secular, or spiritual or ecclesiastical.

And anyone with the slightest knowledge of our turbulent history should surely be well aware that the longest day has an end; and sadly as it may appear in retrospect, all those leaders who came to prominence on a bandwagon of declared justice for one and all, freedom from oppression and discrimination, fighting for the under-privileged and downtrodden etc, etc, etc, -- and then later changed their tune and their modus operandi once they feel they have reached the highest height -- have all suffered the most disgraceful humiliation for their dishonesty and hypocrisy, from the very people they once led in glory.

And from that perspective, it beats my simple mind why our present leaders cannot open their eyes, and eardrums, and locked-up mindset, to see and hear and truly understand what is taking place around them and, before the going gets really rough, turn around and make amends.

Too many things are going wrong, or not been done in the right way -- and causing embarrassment to those in authority and to our people in general -- and these could be avoided to produce the opposite result.

On the regional front, there are also some serious rumblings that have been behind the scenes or beneath the surface, but are now coming to the forefront or rising above the scenario being presented.

In six of the CARICOM states to date, the Caribbean Single Market (CSM) is in operation, and in two of those states (Guyana and Barbados) the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court is in operation. This said court will also deal with any disputes over the Amended Treaty of the CSM, in its original jurisdiction; but no provision is available for appeals from that jurisdiction to date.

But what seems to be of serious concern, since the CSM came on stream from the 1st January, or the 30th January as the case may be, are the number of misgivings expressed, or exemptions being requested, or separate actions being taken by individual states, that are clearly not in keeping with the spirit and intention of the treaty in the areas of unity and integration.

The areas of economic development in the smaller states of the OECS, and the issue of Import duties (taxes) have been mentioned before -- from the point of view of competitiveness even inside the smaller individual states -- but not put forward very forcefully.

A Regional Development Fund (RDF) was hurriedly set up, but not much else was done to make it effective or ready for implementation by or in those smaller states.

But now that those smaller states have given a commitment to get on board the CSM by June 30, 2006, I saw the St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister making the point, and a case for exemption, about Alien’s Land Holding Tax for acquiring land in that state by other CARICOM and foreign states.

It is a valid point, in my view, and what is more I am sure it is merely the tip of the iceberg, on the whole question of the governments of the smaller states' revenue earnings to meet their internal expenditures.

We are also hearing some warning signals from the St Vincent Prime Minister about the general economic picture in the region because of the risks being taken by some states on certain projects. And the “PetroCaribe” cheaper oil salvation that was proposed by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela is still fermenting among the States -- except in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, where the proposal was not endorsed.

Now whatever may be the real reason for the decision by the George W. Bush administration in Washington, DC, I saw a report last week in which the Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, was informing the Congress that the USA is drastically cutting its aid to Latin America -- including the Caribbean.

The reason advanced was that the need was greater elsewhere in the world, so the USA was refocusing its attention to reduce tension in those other areas worldwide. It cannot be doubted that the USA has its hands full in many countries across the world -- and that is so for a variety of reasons, all centred around its homeland security as well as its foreign policy military activities worldwide.

But it is also very obvious that, as far as the Caribbean states are concerned, their governments, policies and activities (the majority of them that is) are not designed to make friends and influence policy-makers in Washington DC.

And it is the considered opinion of many, which I share, that the region would have been far better served and listened to if our leaders had chosen their friends and political bedfellows with greater wisdom and common-sense diplomacy.

As things stand, the die has now been cast and whatever the happenings with CSM and the fall out therefrom, the picture on the regional scene looks very, very cloudy indeed as the rumblings beneath the surface increase.