Background Notes: Grenada, March 1998

Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.

Official Name: Grenada

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 344 sq. km. (133 sq. mi.); about twice the size of Washington, DC.
Cities: Capital--St. George's (est. pop. 30,000).
Terrain: Volcanic island with mountainous rainforest.
Climate: Tropical.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Grenadian(s).
Population (1996 est.): 98,900.
Annual growth rate (1996): 0.66%.
Ethnic groups: African descent (82%), some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Indian.
Religions: Roman Catholic, Anglican, various Protestant denominations.
Languages: English (official).
Education: Years compulsory--6. Literacy--95% of adult population.
Health: Infant mortality rate--14/1000. Life expectancy--71 yrs.
Work force (1996): 42,300: Services/Tourism--47%. Industry--18%. Agriculture--8%. Other--10%. Unemployment (1996)--17%.

Government

Type: Constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament.
Independence: February 7, 1974.
Constitution: December 19, 1975.
Branches: Executive--governor general (appointed by and represents British monarch, head of state); prime minister (head of government, leader of majority party) and cabinet direct an apolitical career civil service in the administration of the government. Legislative--parliament composed of 15 directly elected members in the house of representatives and a 13-seat senate appointed by the governor general on the advice of the majority party and opposition. Judicial--magistrate's courts, Eastern Caribbean supreme court (high court and court of appeals), final appeal to privy council in London.
Subdivisions: six parishes and one dependency (Carriacou and Petit Martinique).
Major political parties: New National Party (NNP), incumbent; National Democratic Congress (NDC); Grenada United Labor Party (GULP).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy

GDP (1996 est.): $295 million.
GDP growth rate: 3.1%.
Per capita GDP (1996): $2,985.
Agriculture: Products-- nutmeg, mace, cocoa, bananas, other fruits, vegetables.
Industry: Types--manufacturing, hotel/restaurant, construction.
Trade (1996): Merchandise exports--$19.4 million: nutmeg, mace, cocoa, bananas, other fruits, vegetables, fish. Major markets-- U.K., U.S., CARICOM countries, Germany, Netherlands. Merchandise imports--$152 million: food, machinery, transport, manufactured goods, fuel. Major suppliers--U.S. (42%), CARICOM countries, U.K., Japan.
Official exchange rate: Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC) $2.70=U.S. $1.

PEOPLE

Most of Grenada's population is of African descent; there is some trace of the early Arawak and Carib Indians. A few East Indians and a small community of the descendants of early European settlers reside in Grenada. About 50% of Grenada's population is under the age of 30. English is the official language; only a few people still speak French patois. A more significant reminder of Grenada's historical link with France is the strength of the Roman Catholic church, to which about 60% of Grenadians belong. The Anglican church is the largest Protestant denomination.

HISTORY

Before the arrival of Europeans, Grenada was inhabited by Carib Indians who had driven the more peaceful Arawaks from the island. Columbus landed on Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the new world. He named the island "Concepcion." The origin of the name "Grenada" is obscure but it is likely that Spanish sailors renamed the island for the city of Granada. By the beginning of the 18th century, the name "Grenada," or "la Grenade" in French, was in common use.

Partly because of the Caribs, Grenada remained uncolonized for more than 100 years after its discovery; early English efforts to settle the island were unsuccessful. In 1650, a French company founded by Cardinal Richelieu purchased Grenada from the English and established a small settlement. After several skirmishes with the Caribs, the French brought in reinforcements from Martinique and defeated the Caribs, the last of whom leaped into the sea rather than surrender.

The island remained under French control until its capture by the British in 1762, during the Seven Years' War. Grenada was formally ceded to Great Britain in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. Although the French regained control in 1779, the island was restored to Britain in 1783 by the Treaty of Versailles. Although Britain was hard pressed to overcome a pro-French revolt in 1795, Grenada remained British for the remainder of the colonial period.

During the 18th century, Grenada's economy underwent an important transition. Like much of the rest of the West Indies, it was originally settled to cultivate sugar, which was grown on estates using slave labor. But natural disasters paved the way for the introduction of other crops. In 1782, Sir Joseph Banks, the botanical adviser to King George III, introduced nutmeg to Grenada. The island's soil was ideal for growing the spice, and, because Grenada was a closer source of spices for Europe than the Dutch East Indies, the island assumed a new importance to European traders.

The collapse of the sugar estates and the introduction of nutmeg and cocoa encouraged the development of smaller land holdings and the island developed a land-owning yeoman farmer class. Slavery was outlawed in 1834. In 1833, Grenada became part of the British Windward Islands Administration. The governor of the Windward Islands administered the island for the rest of the colonial period. In 1958, the Windward Islands Administration was dissolved, and Grenada joined the Federation of the West Indies. After that federation collapsed in 1962, the British Government tried to form a small federation out of its remaining dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean.

Following the failure of this second effort, the British and the islands developed the concept of associated statehood. Under the Associated Statehood Act of 1967, Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs in March 1967. Full independence was granted on February 7, 1974.

After obtaining independence, Grenada adopted a modified Westminster parliamentary system based on the British model, with a governor general appointed by and representing the British monarch (head of state) and a prime minister who is both leader of the majority party and the head of government. Sir Eric Gairy was Grenada's first prime minister.

On March 13, 1979, the new joint endeavor for welfare, education, and liberation (New Jewel) movement ousted Gairy in a nearly bloodless coup and established a people's revolutionary government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop, who became prime minister. His Marxist-Leninist Government established close ties with Cuba, the Soviet Union, and other communist-bloc countries.

In October 1983, a power struggle within the government resulted in the arrest and subsequent murder of Bishop and several members of his cabinet by elements of the people's revolutionary army. Following a breakdown in civil order, a U.S.-Caribbean force landed on Grenada on October 25 in response to an appeal from the governor general and to a request for assistance from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. U.S. citizens were evacuated, and order was restored.

An advisory council, named by the governor general, administered the country until general elections were held in December 1984. The New National Party (NNP), led by Herbert Blaize, won 14 out of 15 seats in free and fair elections and formed a democratic government. Grenada's constitution had been suspended in 1979 by the PRG, but it was restored after the 1984 elections.

The NNP continued in power until 1989 but with a reduced majority. Five NNP parliamentary members-including two cabinet ministers-left the party in 1986-87 and formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which became the official opposition.

In August 1989, Prime Minister Blaize broke with the NNP to form another new party-The National Party (TNP)-from the ranks of the NNP. This split in the NNP resulted in the formation of a minority government until constitutionally scheduled elections in March 1990. Prime Minister Blaize died in December 1989 and was succeeded as prime minister by Ben Jones until after the elections.

The NDC emerged from the 1990 elections as the strongest party, winning seven of the 15 available seats. Nicholas Brathwaite added two TNP members and one member of the Grenada United Labor Party (GULP) to create a 10-seat majority coalition. The governor general appointed him to be prime minister.

In parliamentary elections on June 20, 1995, the NNP won eight seats and formed a government headed by Dr. Keith Mitchell. The leader of the opposition in parliament is NDC leader George Brizan.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Grenada is governed under a parliamentary system based on the British model; it has a governor general, a prime minister and a cabinet, and a bicameral parliament with an elected house of representatives and an appointed senate.

Citizens enjoy a wide range of civil and political rights guaranteed by the constitution. Grenada's constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully. Citizens exercise this right through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.

Grenada's political parties range from the moderate TNP, NNP, and NDC to the left-of-center Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM--organized by the pro-Bishop survivors of the October 1983 anti-Bishop coup) and the populist GULP of former prime minister Gairy.

ECONOMY

The economy of Grenada is based upon agricultural production (nutmeg, mace, cocoa, and bananas) and tourism. Agriculture accounts for over half of merchandise exports, and a large portion of the population is employed directly or indirectly in agriculture. Recently, the performance of the agricultural sector has not been good. Grenada's banana exports declined markedly in volume and quality in 1996, and it is a question to what extent the country will remain a banana exporter. Tourism remains the key earner of foreign exchange.

Grenada is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Most goods can be imported into Grenada under open general license, but some goods require specific licenses. Goods that are produced in the Eastern Caribbean receive additional protection; in May 1991, the CARICOM common external tariff (CET) was implemented. The CET aims to facilitate economic growth through intra-regional trade by offering duty-free trade among CARICOM members and duties on goods imported from outside CARICOM.

National Security

Security in Grenada is maintained by the 650 members of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF), which included an 80-member paramilitary special services unit (SSU) and a 30-member coast guard. The U.S. army and the U.S. coast guard provide periodic training and material support for the SSU and the coast guard.

Principal Government Officials

Head of State--Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General--Sir Daniel C. Williams, GCMG, Q.C.
Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Home Affairs, and Carriacou and Petit Martinique Affairs--Dr. Keith C. Mitchell
Minister of External Affairs--Raphael Fletcher
Ambassador to the United States and OAS--Denis Antoine
Ambassador to the United Nations--Dr. Robert Millette
Grenada maintains an embassy in the United States at 1701 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Tel: 202-265-2561.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

The United States, Venezuela, and Taiwan have embassies in Grenada. The United Kingdom is represented by a resident commissioner (as opposed to the governor general, who represents the British monarch). Grenada has been recognized by most members of the United Nations and maintains diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, and Canada.

Grenada is a member of the Caribbean Development Bank, CARICOM, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and the Commonwealth of Nations. It joined the United Nations in 1974, and the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States in 1975. Grenada is also a member of the Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System (RSS).

As a member of CARICOM, Grenada strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto authorities from power. Grenada subsequently contributed personnel to the multinational force, which restored the democratically elected government of Haiti in October 1994.

Prime Minister Mitchell joined President Clinton, in May 1997, for a meeting with 14 other Caribbean leaders during the first-ever U.S.-regional summit in Bridgetown, Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional cooperation on justice and counter-narcotics issues, finance and development, and trade.

U.S.-GRENADIAN RELATIONS

The U.S. Government established an embassy in Grenada in November 1983. The U.S. ambassador to Grenada is resident in Bridgetown, Barbados. The embassy in Grenada is staffed by a charge d'affaires who reports to the ambassador in Bridgetown.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has played a major role in Grenada's development, providing more than $120 million in economic assistance from 1984 to 1993. Following the closure in July 1996 of the USAID regional mission for the Eastern Caribbean, U.S. assistance is channeled primarily through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank. About 10 Peace Corps volunteers in Grenada teach remedial reading, English-language skills, and vocational training. Grenada also is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. In addition, Grenada receives counternarcotics assistance from the U.S. and benefits from U.S. military exercise-related construction and humanitarian civic action projects.

Grenada and the U.S. cooperate closely in fighting narcotics smuggling and other forms of transnational crime. in 1995, the U.S. and Grenada signed a maritime law enforcement treaty. In 1996, they signed a mutual legal assistance treaty and an extradition treaty as well as an overflight/order-to-land amendment to the maritime law enforcement treaty. Some U.S. military training is given to Grenadian security and defense forces.

Grenada continues to be a popular destination for Americans. Of the nearly 267,000 cruise ship passengers arriving in 1996, the majority were U.S. citizens. In addition, there were more than 30,000 other U.S. visitors in 1996. It is estimated that some 2,600 Americans reside in the country, plus the 800 U.S. medical students who study at the St. George's University School of Medicine. (Those students are not counted as residents for statistical purposes.)

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Ambassador--vacant
Deputy Chief of Mission--Donald K. Holm
Charge d'Affaires--Dennis Carter
Political/Economic Counselor--Stephen R. Snow
Consul General--Philip M. Jones
Regional Labor Attache--Peggy Zabriskie
Defense Attache--Lt. Col. Donald Robinson
Economic-Commercial Officer--Leo Gallagher
Public Affairs Officer--Jennifer Clark
Peace Corps Director--David Styles (resident in St. Lucia)

The U.S. Embassy in Grenada is located on Maurice Bishop Highway, Point Salines, St. George's, Grenada (tel: 809-444-1173; Fax: 809-444-4820). The mailing address is P.O. Box 54, St. George's, Grenada, West Indies.

Other Contact Information

U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Trade Information Center
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 1-800-USA-TRADE

Caribbean/Latin America Action
1818 N Street, NW; Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-466-7464
Fax: 202-822-0075

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov and the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). To access CABB, dial the modem number: (301-946-4400 (it will accommodate up to 33,600 bps), set terminal communications program to N-8-1 (no parity, 8 bits, 1 stop bit); and terminal emulation to VT100. The login is travel and the password is info (Note: Lower case is required). The CABB also carries international security information from the Overseas Security Advisory Council and Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Consular Affairs Trips for Travelers publication series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000.

Passport Services information can be obtained by calling the 24-hour, 7-day a week automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648)

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at (404) 332-4559 gives the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.

Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (For this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication.)

U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency.

Further Electronic Information:

Department of State Foreign Affairs Network. Available on the Internet, DOSFAN provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information. Updated daily, DOSFAN includes Background Notes; Dispatch, the official magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press briefings; Country Commercial Guides; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc. DOSFAN's World Wide Web site is at http://www.state.gov.

U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of State, USFAC archives information on the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network, and includes an array of official foreign policy information from 1990 to the present. Contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To order, call (202) 512-1800 or fax (202) 512-2250.

National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information.

[end document]

THE WINDWARD ISLANDS consist of Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. The name Windward dates back to the 1700s, to the time when English ships bound for Jamaica followed the trade-wind passage, stopping at islands along the way. The islands constitute a north-south chain in the southern section of the Lesser Antilles and share a volcanic rock formation. These nations also had highly similar political and economic systems in the late 1980s. Despite these parallels, the Windwards were much more heterogeneous than other Commonwealth Caribbean island groupings. These differences prevented the establishment in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries of a common government along the lines found in the Leeward Islands.

A French legacy distinguished the Windward Islands from their Commonwealth Caribbean neighbors. The French established permanent settlements on the four islands in the 1600s and controlled them until the islands were seized by the British in the 1760s. Even after the British takeover, France continued to compete with Britain for authority over the Windwards, regaining control over St. Lucia, for example, on several occasions. France did not relinquish its claim to St. Lucia until 1815.

The islands varied widely in the degree to which they subsequently assimilated British culture and mores. The most extensive assimilation occurred in St. Vincent, where the population easily adopted the English language and Protestantism. In Grenada, on the other hand, the majority of the residents remained Roman Catholics even though English became the sole language of the island. Dominica and St. Lucia offered the greatest resistance to British influence. A French creole language called patois continued to be spoken in the late 1980s among much of the rural population of both islands. Dominicans and St. Lucians were also overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

Beginning in the 1830s, the Windward Islands and Tobago ostensibly were under the authority of the governor of Barbados. In actuality, however, lieutenant governors on each of the islands exercised considerable autonomy. In 1875 the governor of Barbados attempted to implement a British proposal calling for a Windward Islands confederation. Fearing a loss of political and financial autonomy, Barbadian planters successfully defeated the measure. In 1885 Barbados withdrew from the government of the Windward Islands, leaving St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Grenada with a nominal governor (Dominica had left earlier). In 1940 Dominica rejoined the Windwards after being a reluctant member of the Leeward Islands Federation for the previous seventy years. The weak Windwards structure lasted until 1956; its members were absorbed the following year in the ill-fated West Indies Federation.

The newly independent nations of the Windward Islands shared common political and economic patterns. All were constitutional monarchies with a parliamentary system of government on the Westminster model. St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada each had a bicameral legislature consisting of an elected House and a non-elective Senate. The prime minister was the leader of the party that secured a majority of House seats. The pattern was similar in Dominica except that House and Senate members were part of a unicameral body. Agriculture was the leading component of the gross domestic product for each of the islands. In the case of Grenada, however, tourism had replaced agriculture as the primary earner of foreign exchange by the mid-1980s. All of the Windwards islands had high levels of unemployment and emigration.

In the late 1980s, following a tumultuous decade, national security remained an important consideration for the leaders of the Windward Islands. The overthrow in 1979 of the Grenadian government and its replacement by the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), the temporary seizure the same year of Union Island in the Grenadines, the attempted coup in 1981 in Dominica, and the assassination in 1983 of PRG leader Maurice Bishop had shocked the Windward population. These events led to the creation of paramilitary Special Service Units within each of the national police organizations. At the same time, however, leaders generally continued to oppose the establishment of a regional army, fearing that such an institution could endanger democracy.

Despite its nineteenth-century ties to the Windward Islands, Barbados differed from its neighbors in several ways. Barbados lies east of the Windwards and is characterized by lowlands, plains, and rolling hills rather than the mountainous terrain of the Windwards. The island also followed a distinct historical path. Barbados was regarded as the most British nation in the Commonwealth Caribbean, a reflection undoubtedly of the uncontested control exercised by the British from 1625 until the granting of independence in 1966. The economic base was different from most of the Windward nations also; tourism had replaced agriculture as the primary foreign exchange earner by the 1970s. Barbados was also distinguished from its neighbors by the maintenance of a standing army. Barbados' political structure, however, was identical to that found in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.

Grenada has been an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations since 1974. This status has been one of the few constants during Grenada's somewhat turbulent history since that date. Although the 1979-83 tenure of the PRG led by Bishop produced marked changes in the governmental system, the PRG chose not to break its formal ties with the Commonwealth.

The PRG did revoke the independence Constitution of 1973, preferring to rule by revolutionary decree (or "people's laws"). This action produced some legal complications, particularly in the case of the judiciary. After the United States-Caribbean military intervention of October 1983 that deposed the short-lived Revolutionary Military Council established by Bernard Coard and General Hudson Austin of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA), the Constitution of 1973 was brought back into force by Governor General Paul Scoon. Some judicial provisions established under the PRG were retained, however, for the sake of continuity and for the facilitation of the transition to a more representative government.

The 1973 Constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government on the Westminster model. The theoretical head of state is the British monarch, whose authority is represented on the island by a governor general. When an elected Parliament is in place, the governor general has little real authority and limited official duties (a role similar to that of the monarch in the British government). The governor general is not altogether a figurehead, however, as demonstrated by the events of the 1983-84 period. Scoon assumed constitutional authority in October 1983; he subsequently appointed the Advisory Council (also known as the Interim Government) led by Nicholas Braithwaite, which guided Grenada until parliamentary elections could be held in December 1984.

Even when an elected Parliament is in place, the governor general retains a degree of latent constitutional authority. For example, it is the governor general who must dismiss members of Parliament (for nonattendance or criminal conviction, among other reasons), even though in practice this action is taken only at the urging of the prime minister or the leader of the opposition. The governor general also has the power to declare a state of emergency, a declaration that has the effect of dissolving Parliament.

Parliament is the major governmental institution in Grenada. It is a bicameral legislature, with a lower house referred to as the House of Representatives and an upper house known as the Senate. Representation in the House of Representatives is apportioned according to population. The leader of the party securing the majority of seats in Parliament is named prime minister by the governor general. The leader of the party winning the next largest bloc of seats is named leader of the opposition.

The position of senator is nonelective. The prime minister has the authority to recommend the appointment of seven senators of his own choosing, plus an additional three senators who are to be selected in consultation with "the organizations or interests which the Prime Minister considers the Senators should be elected to represent." These "organizations and interests," although not enumerated in the Constitution, traditionally encompass agricultural and business groups as well as trade unions. In addition to the ten senators nominated by the prime minister, the leader of the opposition is entitled to three nominations of his own. Thus, total membership of the Senate is thirteen.

According to the 1973 Constitution, Parliament "may make laws for the peace, order and good government of Grenada." Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution by a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Constitution also makes provision for amendment by referendum. The House of Representatives wields the power of the purse; so-called money bills (bills dealing with taxation, public debt, or grants of public funds) may only be introduced in that chamber. Nonmoney bills may be introduced in either chamber. Sessions of Parliament must be held at least once each year, with intervals of no more than six months between the end of the last sitting of one session and the beginning of the next.

The parliamentary system gives a great deal of power to the prime minister, who can control the workings of government through the authority granted the prime minister to call and dissolve sessions of Parliament. One complaint lodged against Prime Minister Blaize in the Grenadian press since 1985 has concerned his failure to call frequent parliamentary sessions. This tactic allows important governmental matters, e.g., the formulation of the budget, to be handled exclusively by the cabinet, thus limiting the input and oversight of Parliament.

The power of the prime minister rests further in the authority to name a cabinet of ministers who assume responsibility for the administration of the government in such areas as the prime minister may designate. The prime minister frequently assumes direct control over key portfolios or over ministries of particular personal or political interest. For example, after his party's electoral victory in December 1984, Prime Minister Blaize took charge of the ministries of home affairs, security, information, Carriacou affairs (Blaize is a native of the island of Carriacou), finance and trade, and industrial development and planning.

The Grenadian judiciary has been the branch of government most affected by the political events of the post-1979 period. Prior to the advent of the PRG, Grenada participated in the Eastern Caribbean States Supreme Court along with Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as provided for by the West Indies Act of 1967. The Bishop government severed this association and set up the Grenada Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Magistrate's courts were retained by the PRG to administer summary jurisdiction.

After the events of October 1983, the status of the courts set up by the PRG came into question. The legality of their continued operation was challenged specifically by defense attorneys for Coard, Austin, and other defendants who were to stand trial for the October 19, 1983, murder of Bishop and others in Fort Rupert (the name given to Fort George between 1979 and 1983 in honor of Bishop's father) in St. George's. The Grenada Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal considered several such challenges under its civil jurisdiction, but it rejected them under the doctrine of "state necessity," thus permitting both the court and the trial to continue. Meanwhile, the Blaize government formally applied in July 1986 for readmission to the Eastern Caribbean States Supreme Court. Upon acceptance into this court system, the Grenada Supreme Court and Court of Appeals will be abolished because cases involving both original jurisdiction and appeal can be submitted to the regional court.

The civil service (or public service, as it is known in Grenada) is professional and generally apolitical, although there have been instances in Grenada's colonial history when an entrenched bureaucracy has acted to frustrate the ambitions of a ruler, e.g., Eric Gairy's conflicts with the bureaucracy during his brief tenure as the island's chief minister in 1961-62. The civil service still owes much to its British colonial origins. Its relative autonomy, once a product of isolation from the mother country, was legally reinforced by the Constitution of 1973. During the period of the Constitution's suspension by the PRG, the civil service was politicized to some degree as the ruling NJM sought to solidify its control over all aspects of Grenadian life. During the time the PRG was in power, the civil service lost a great many experienced employees to emigration. The loss reflected to some extent the traditionally high levels of outmigration; in the case of civil servants, however, the motivation was in many cases more political than economic, expressing the employees' unwillingness to cooperate or collaborate with the workings of the "revo." The basic unit of the electoral system is the constituency. For the elections of 1984, the country was divided into several constituencies (some constituencies are grouped into parishes, a traditional designation deriving from the discontinued local government organization). In the December 1984 elections, fifty-two candidates competed for the fifteen seats in the House of Representatives. The total number of registered voters was 48,152; of these, 41,041 (or 85.2 percent) went to the polls, a reflection of the general enthusiasm for the return of electoral politics.

No information in file.

In 1987 Grenada, as a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), was a member of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), which was headquartered in St. Christopher and Nevis. It was bound by the ECCB's general guidelines on money supply and bank regulation and used the Eastern Caribbean dollar, which was pegged to the United States dollar at a constant exchange rate of EC$2.70 equals US$1.00. This relationship had some unusual effects on Grenada's international transactions. Because Grenada's exports were sold to numerous nations, the strength of the United States dollar in relation to other foreign currencies affected the ease with which Grenadian exports were sold.

In the case of a strengthening dollar, the Eastern Caribbean dollar would also appreciate with respect to other world currencies. This would cause Grenadian exports to become more expensive in the world market, while imports would become less expensive and more competitive with domestically produced goods. The overall effect would be to reduce Grenada's terms of trade, negatively affecting its balance of payments position. The reverse situation would have the opposite effect, strengthening Grenadian exports abroad, which would discourage the purchase of imports and improve overall terms of trade and the balance of payments. This situation occurred in 1987 as a result of the depreciation of the United States dollar in world currency markets.

The financial needs of Grenada were served by numerous public and private institutions below the central bank level. In 1985 the commercial banking system included four financial institutions, two of which were controlled by the government. The system was a holdover from the PRG, which chose to absorb all but two commercial banks into the public sector. The Blaize government slowly returned financial intermediation to the private sector and intended to solicit proposals in 1987 for the sale of the remaining two publicly controlled banks.

Credit was extended for development projects through the Caribbean Financial Services Corporation, which provided long-term funds to new businesses through AID, the Grenada Development Bank, and the Grenada Cooperative Bank. Foreign investors provided much of their own funds for capital-intensive investment. The government planned to establish a merchant bank in 1987 to facilitate lending to new small business ventures.