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Taiwan to Grenada - "Pay us we money!"

Seemingly lost in the kerfuffle over the Anthem Fiasco is this startling bit of information that came to light late last week. Taiwan, our previous BFFs, are suing Grenada for repayment of defaulted loans.

The Export-Import Bank of Taiwan brought the court action against the Grenada government in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York for four loans that the NNP regime took and defaulted on payments. The bank is seeking to recover US$ 21.6 million from the Mitchell government plus interest payments for the loans that were taken to facilitate construction of the first sporting stadium at Queen's Park, the Ministerial Complex at the Botanical Gardens, the agricultural sector, and for road construction projects on Mainland Grenada and the sister isle of Carriacou.

This lawsuit comes as a complete suprise to the ordinary Grenadian, as no one seems to have had any clue about these loan arrangments. What is difficult to comprehend is that the legal action has been going on for a while, with the government retaining counsel in the U.S. (the wife of the Foreign Affairs minister - but OF COURSE!) and the government has never seen it fit to advise the country of this situation before. Ah well, why should they? We are only, after all, just the uneducated masses that keep electing these people into office, over and over and over.

Have you ever heard a more ironic statement than this?

"This matter has severe legal, political, and embarrassing consequences for all of us in Grenada," the article quoted an official from the Ministry of Finance as saying.

Of course let us not forget that this lawsuit comes on the heels of another suit against our Minister for Energy Gregory Bowen, brought by oil investor Jack Grynberg:

[Co-defendant]Korchagin, described as a Russian lawyer, has been sued along with Minister Bowen and two other Russians Mikhail Fridman and Len Blavatnik by U.S oil investor Jack Grynberg for US500,000.00 in damages for breach of contract. Grynberg is alleging that Bowen and the Russians have conspired to prevent him from cashing in on a controversial oil and gas agreement that he signed in 1996 with the ruling New National Party (NNP) administration.

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sigh

You know - I, for one, just cannot WAIT for the Windfall of Humiliation and Embarassment (aka CWC 2007) destined to be heading our way in March. Wait 'til I show y'all some pictures of the main roads in the hotel district and around the "stadium". Soon I promise.

Labels: government, grenada, lawsuits, politics

Posted byYY at 11:14 am View blog reactions