Grenada cabinet hit by another resignation

Rumours become reality as Grenada foreign minister Karl Hood resigns from Tillman Thomas administration.

ST.GEORGE’S, Grenada, Monday May 21, 2012 – Just days after both prime minister Tillman Thomas and foreign minister Karl Hood denied rumours of Hood’s imminent resignation, fiction became fact as the minister quit Thomas’s cabinet.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said Hood’s resignation was tendered and accepted by Thomas on Thursday morning.

Within hours of Hood’s resignation, Thomas addressed the nation and announced that he was assuming the role as the new foreign minister.

Days before last Tuesday’s No-Confidence vote led by the Opposition against Thomas’s stewardship, rumours were swirling that Hood, NDC Member of Parliament for St George South-East, had resigned as minister, but he denied it, and Thomas dismissed the chances of more ministers resigning from his government.

Hood, who refused to vote on the no-confidence motion brought by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Mitchell, has become the second senior minister to resign in less than a month, following the departure of tourism minister Peter David.

The government defeated the motion by eight votes to five in a strict party line vote, but with one government backbencher supporting the censure and Hood abstaining.

However, Hood further fuelled speculations of his departure by launching a scathing attack on his own government during the 13-hour debate on Tuesday, saying he supported the motion in principle. The tenuous grip on power held by Thomas seemed evident during the debate as only three of the government members of parliament (MPs) rose to defend the prime minister’s record, while three government MPs did not utter a word in defence of either government or leader.

Hood is the fourth NDC MP to move from cabinet member to the backbench of the House of Representative, leaving Thomas with a minority of seven government parliamentarians.

The opposition New National Party has four MPs including Dr Keith Mitchell, a former Grenada prime minister.

Following this latest resignation, a brief statement issued by the prime minister’s office stated: “The Prime Minister thanked Mr. Hood for his service to the government of Grenada over the past three and a half years and wished him well in his future endeavours.”

The statement added: “Prime Minister Thomas continues to be focused on fulfilling the commitment he gave to the people of Grenada, who elected him to serve and his pledge to implement government projects announced in September last year.” Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)