I honestly believe that the vast majority of stakeholders/civil servants at every level in that country are doing some excellent work. Real value for money in terms of being very effective and efficient. Those in front line services provide the public including visitors/foreigners with some of the best service one can find or compare with anywhere else in the world. They are extremely courteous; friendly and helpful and seem to be extremely knowledgeable about their country; business and family links. This is also true of the private sector. For instance, I found it extraordinary on arrival at Point Saline International Airport and having being out of the country for over 50 years, the immigration officer recognising my surname and place of birth straight away told me where some of my relatives live, how to contact them and also how to get there. The taxi drivers were extremely helpful and so were shops attendants. The bus service in terms of effectiveness and reliability is excellent and far better than what we have been experiencing in the UK since deregulation.

The capital St George’s where I was born has not expanded at all (in my opinion) but they have been some advancement in terms of infrastructure (lots of newly built brick buildings; the new shipping terminal and new complex to manage the visiting tourists; the re-structuring of The Careenage and The Lagoon areas). Judging by the open space next to the shipping complex one can expect more modern development in that area which might just include upgrading the famous open market. I have to say that I suspect the newly developed area around the shipping terminal is reclaimed land. If this is the case one must give some credit to all those involved for an excellent piece of engineering. I was also impressed with the stadium that was being built although critical of the roads infrastructure around the stadium and elsewhere. I am extremely disappointed with the conditions at the National Museum and National Library (the country needs a museum that would properly display its heritage and one that would make all Grenadian proud; similarly it needs libraries that encourage reading especially with the youth and older generation).

Grand Anse and the South West Peninsula in general are excellent. Well planned; developments are well controlled and executed (no skyscrapers here! Developed but unspoilt). A credit to the planners and government of the day. Grenada is a gem; no doubt about that.

On the downside; following advice from the Grenada High Commissioner’s office in London I wrote to the Nationality department at the Government Offices in St George’s. The letter was sent by Registered Air Mail in March; we are now at the end of May and to date I have not even received an acknowledgement. They are also the strange behaviour in government which includes their quest to remove an opposition MP from parliament and the arrest of a newspaper editor. We all have experienced the change in some people’s attitude once they discover that you live or lived abroad. The resentment (if one wants to call it that) does not stop there as people who studied abroad or had training abroad will tell you. Some colleagues at different levels in their career do not make it easy for them to want to go into work. I can assure everyone, that Grenada is no different.

I travel on a United Kingdom passport. I am British and I am proud of it but my birthplace is St George’s Grenada and I don’t believe that any civil servant regardless of their rank or status in Grenada has the right to tell me or any other Grenadian what they should do in terms of their nationality. It is none of their business.

Winston Strachan
Northampton England.