Good morning, Grenada. The pressure is steady. The response, so far, has been measured.
Visa bond requirement: $15,000 ceiling
Grenadian nationals applying for US tourist visas continue to face the bond requirement of up to US$15,000 imposed earlier this year. The bond is refundable if the application is denied; it is not refundable if granted and used. Grenada was placed on the list as part of the same package of measures that suspended visas for Antiguan and Dominican nationals. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell’s government has continued to push for the measure to be lifted. Washington has continued to link the issue to the CBI programme.
CBI: still the development engine
The Grenadian CBI programme remains in operation. Revenue continues to fund infrastructure projects that, in the absence of CBI, the country would have difficulty financing. The argument from St. George’s is straightforward: banana exports collapsed, sugar collapsed, and CBI is the bridge until tourism revenue and offshore education revenue can carry more of the load. The argument from Washington is that the programmes are a national security risk. Both arguments have merit. Neither has yielded.
Carriacou Parang Festival on the calendar
The Carriacou Parang Festival remains on the regional events calendar. The festival’s December slot is a central pillar of the sister island’s tourism marketing.
ECVA volleyball: Grenada competed
Senior beach volleyball teams from Grenada participated in the ECVA Senior Championship in Saint Lucia from May 1 to 3. The regional federation work continues; Grenada’s athlete pipeline at junior levels is, by regional standards, healthy.
Mother’s Day
Sunday is Mother’s Day. In St. George’s, in Grenville, in Hillsborough on Carriacou, the day is for the women who built and held everything. The oil-down pot is on. The day belongs to them.
— Tradewinds Brief Newsroom