ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The Grenada government says it will “wind down” the operations of the island’s Grenada Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) and repeal the legislation that governed the state-owned entity since 1973.
“We did not come to this decision lightly, I certainly do not for any second enjoy the fact that we have to get to a point where we have to be severing staff, but the reality is, this situation was created by others who had the opportunity to correct it, chose not to do so and are now pontificating…about possible solutions,” Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told a news conference.
The government said that by September this year, the MNIB will cease to exist in its current format and that 70 of the 94 workers will become redundant when the facility closes its doors on February 28.
The remaining staff will work at the leading packing and distribution outlet that will purchase produce from farmers and sell it to the public until the new entity is established. The MNIB will continue to have a monopoly license to import refined sugar during the waiting period.
The government said that it will provide a severance package totaling EC$2.5 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) for the affected workers but that the entire financial liability of the statutory body is approximate EC$15 million.
Mitchell said the government had appointed a technical working group whose duty is to assist the government in finalizing the future organizational structure for a new entity, a public-private partnership (PPP).
Since 2014, the government has developed a PPP policy that typically only considers projects with a minimum investment value of EC$50 million.
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