by Linda Straker
- Prime Minister’s assessment over 2 years factored in 31 July revocation of LaCrette’s appointment
- LaCrette will continue to be National Democratic Congress member
- Minister David Andrews will have sports and youth added to his education portfolio
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell’s decision to have Governor-General Dame Cecile La Grenade revoke Jonathan LaCrette’s appointment as a Senator in the Upper House of Parliament and his current ministerial portfolio as Sports and Youth Minister is based on an assessment of their relationship. The Prime Minister’s conclusion was that “trust and confidence” no longer exist between them.
“As Prime Minister, sitting in the Cabinet, I formed the view that I had personally lost trust and confidence in Mr LaCrette in his capacity as a minister, and in those circumstances, I thought it was appropriate to inform him of that fact and to inform his fellow Cabinet colleagues,” the Prime Minister said during a news conference on 1 August.
Without giving a direct reason for terminating LaCrette’s service, the Prime Minister confirmed that LaCrette was involved in a series of incidents during the past 24 months that was not in the best interest of the people.
“It was not an incident; clearly, confidence comes from a relationship, and we had a 2-year relationship as a minister and prime minister. It would have been a combination of the 2-year period and my own assessment over that 2-year period,” the Prime Minister said. “As it relates to the best interest of the people or the best interest of the government, yes, as part of the consideration that could have been factored into my decision,” he responded when asked if LaCrette acted to the detriment of the people.
The Prime Minister said that despite the sacking of LaCrette, there is no personal issue between the both of them. “I want to emphasise that there is no personal issue between myself and Mr LaCrette; I am quite fond of him. There are no personal issues between him and the ministers of government. They have an excellent relationship,” he said, pointing out that LaCrette — who failed to win the St George’s Northwest constituency in the June 2022 General Election — will continue to be a member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the Prime Minister, the revocation went into effect on 31 July. Minister David Andrews, who currently serves as the education minister, will have the portfolios of Sports and Youth added to his portfolio.
It would seem that the Prime Minister’s decision – and his supporting rationale for dismissing Mr. Lacrette was “after the fact”, that is, after he fired him. One reason behind this conclusion is that the PM did not speak of a structured set of warnings to the Minister or of any problem-solving solutions that would have been introduced as part of corrective measures aimed at arresting/stopping the continuation of Mr Lacrette’s alledged anomalies over the last 24 months.
Nonetheless, the decision to terminate was the appropriate once given the clear differences of opinion between the PM and the Minister. Finally, such a decision is not an aberration given that there is no government that has not initiated such steps in the history of Grenadian and regional politics. Cest la vie!
Michael, I thoroughly agree with your summing up. However when in government, one has to conduct themself impeccably as the spotlight is always shining. .As an educated individual he ought to have known better.