GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 4-10

UNCLAS GRENADA 000160 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EFIN SOCI EPET ECON GJ SUBJECT: GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 4-10 ¶1. (U) Embassy Grenada's weekly activity report (GWAR) provides a little detail about events of interest that do not merit longer reporting at this time. ¶2. (U) Begin GWAR Text: ¶A. PM calls for speed from World Bank During a recent World Bank team's visit to Grenada, Prime Minister Mitchell called for speeding up implementation of the Grenada Skills for Inclusive Growth Project. The visiting WB team briefed the Prime Minister on feedback they received from project participants, including NGO's, faith-based organizations, youths, employers, and trainers. The joint WB-OECS project aims to increase youth employability through creation of a common framework for competitive and private sector driven skills training programmes. Unemployment in Grenada is over 20%, with the highest levels among youths aged 16 to 25. ¶B. Secretary General of CTO Speaks with Tourism Stakeholders Mr. Vanderpool Wallace, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) during a meeting with government and industry representatives in St. George's, reminded stakeholders that tourism needs strong collaboration between the Ministries of Economic Development and Tourism. He added that Grenada must emphasize structural, economic, and social development.. This event was the follow-up to an earlier Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association meeting in Mexico. ¶C. Larger Fines for Companies Parliament passed an amendment to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Deposits Amendment Act of 1991, increasing potential fines for large companies that violate the rules for exploration and drilling in Grenada. ¶D. PM Mitchell Calls For Special Summit According to the Prime Minister's Office, Mitchell sent a letter to Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados and current chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),urging Arthur to convene an urgent summit of prime ministers and ministers of finance to discuss the steep rise in the cost of living in the region. Mitchell, who is under pressure in Grenada to "fix" the problem, apparently hopes to defuse the issue locally by regionalizing it. MCISAAC