GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FEBRUARY 3 - 9, 2008

UNCLAS GRENADA 000020 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MARR EPET ECPS EFIN GJ SUBJECT: GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FEBRUARY 3 - 9, 2008 ¶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. Official Hand-over to GOG of Emergency Operation Centers Ambassador Mary Ourisman on February 6, 2008 officially handed over to the Grenada Government two Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs),gifts from the people and Government of the United States to the Government and people of Grenada. The project was funded by the United States Southern Command under a program called the Humanitarian Assistance Program (HAP) and managed by the USMLO (Military Liaison Office at the US Embassy Bridgetown). The estimated cost for the two EOC's was US$1.2 million. ¶B. Grenadians Send Letter To Chavez Over 100 Grenadians marched to the Venezuelan Embassy in St. George's last week to present a letter to newly arrived Venezuelan Ambassador Ali Diaz Ascanio demanding that Caracas revive boundary delimitation talks with Grenada. The marchers believe that it is in the interest of the OECS to work together since oil and gas finds in the waters of Grenada and other countries of the OECS could provide a major boost for their small economies. The marchers were predominantly from two politically floundering opposition parties, the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) and the People's Labour Movement (PLM). Not to be outdone, the shadow Minister for Finance in the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC),Nazim Burke, subsenquently called for closer cooperation among member countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) regarding the delimitation of maritime boundaries with Venezuela. ¶C. Cable & Wireless Shares For Sale The Government of Grenada announced plans to sell two-thirds of its shares in Cable and Wireless, the number one telecommunications provider on the island, to the people. While commending the move, the opposition NDC warned of possible wasting by the GOG of the monies collected from the sale. According to the Grenada Advocate newspaper, the government said the decision to sell shares is part of its fiscal reform strategy, which is supported by the IMF and the World Bank. MCISAAC