Grenada’s Thomas Addresses Nation After MP Files No-Confidence Motion

Above: Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas addressed the country Tuesday night following another no-confidence motion filed against him in Parliament.

This motion, which followed one filed in May, was filed by former Foreign Minister and current Member of Parliament Karl Hood, a remember of Thomas’ National Democratic Congress.

Hood, who resigned from his post in May, is reportedly prepared to sit on the side of the Opposition New National Party in the House of Representatives.

Thomas called the move “deliberately designed for the purpose of inducing anxiety and instability in our country,” accusing the NNP of “inspiring” the motion.

“It cannot be in the best interest of the people of Grenada,” Thomas said. “[It was] planted shamelessly in the name of greed, money and power.”

Thomas wondered about the timing of the motion, a few days before the return home of sprinter Kirani James, Grenada’s first-ever gold medalist in London.

“[The motion] has come at a time when God is openly blessing our nation in a special way, and our duty is to give him thanks,” he said.

It’s not clear what the move means for the ruling party, which has experienced turmoil this year, from the resignation of Hood to the similar resignation of former Tourism Minister Peter David, who resigned less than a month before Hood.

“I wish to make my position abundantly clear,” Thomas said. “The interest of the people must come before that of the NDC party and government at all times.”