Former minister blames demotion on interference

 St George's, Grenada (CMC):

Former Environment Minister Michael Church said that the actions of mischievous persons who advise Prime Minister Tillman Thomas led to him not being able to fulfill his national and regional obligations as a Cabinet member.

"I will refrain from chronicling the misdeeds of this group, which reports to no one but itself," he said in a statement, which he read to members of the media at his constituency office on Wednesday, two days after resigning from the Cabinet following a Cabinet reshuffle in which he was demoted.

Without providing names, Church said that the mischievous persons were not members of the Government and, in most cases, were not members of the ruling National Democratic Congress.

Church resigned from the Cabinet less than 72 hours after he had been demoted to a junior minister. Church, along with former Foreign Affairs Minister Peter David had been the main persons affected by the reshuffle that the prime minister insisted was his prerogative.

Prime Minister Thomas said he had demoted Church to a junior minister in the Ministry of Works, Physical Development and Public Utilities because of his decision to attend an international meeting with regional trade adviser Dr Patrick Antoine, without the consent of Cabinet.