Seventy Grenadians employed with the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) will be in search of new jobs as of March 1, following the Grenada Government’s decision to shut down the operations of the entity in its current format.
“Yes, I can confirm that it will be shut down as of the end of February,” said MNIB Chairman Henry Joseph.
He said the immediate plan is to keep a small staff whose duty will be to maintain the importation of sugar to the island.
“As you know, the MNIB is responsible for the importation of sugar so that will be the task of those who will remain…. The board will also continue and it will be tidying up…the operations,” said Joseph who was appointed to serve as chairman in August 2022.
He said Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell will inform the public soon about the future of the statutory company which was established more than 40 years ago.
Mitchell disclosed in July 2022 that the operation of the MNIB was a heavy cost on the government and consideration was being given to shutting its doors.
“I want to be very clear that based on my preliminary briefing as it pertains to MNIB, we may have to seriously consider ending the life of the MNIB and reconstituting either a new entity or an entity that really was meant to carry out the mandate of the MNIB,” the prime minister said then.
“We are here to take decisions, sometimes hard decisions, we simply cannot continue kicking the football down the road and expect that you can always come to the government for bailout after bailout, after bailout with no turnaround in the fortunes of the entity, with no real plan to achieve the things that the MNIB was meant to do,” he added.
In January, the Government conducted several consultations with farmers with a view to determining a way forward for the MNIB which, besides importing refined sugar, is also seen as the chief supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Hundreds of farmers supply the MNIB with fresh fruits and vegetables while several manufacturers place their agri-products such as confectioneries at the MNIB for sale.
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