Grenada to dissolve operations of MNIB, create new entity
The Government of Grenada has decided to dissolve the operations of the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) and restart the entity as a Public Private Partnership, following extensive consultations with stakeholders on the most effective way forward.
The Grenada Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) is an organisation that helps local farmers and agro-processors to increase sales through retail stores, wholesale customers and international exporting.
According to MNIB’s website, initiatives by Government to establish a public enterprise to market agricultural produce in Grenada dates back to 1945.
Related Article
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell in a special briefing on the matter this week said the Cabinet on February 6 approved the reform of the Marketing and National Importing Board must happen and to that end will embark upon the following:
-
The current MNIB will be dissolved over the next six months starting effective February 28, 2023.
-
The staff of MNIB will be severed and the government will undertake the responsibility for paying severance packages to the 94 employees at the MNIB.
-
Between February and September 2023, and if possibly sooner, the government will take a two-pronged approach to address the reform of the MNIB.
-
The existing MNIB will be wound down, the board will be responsible for the closing of MNIB outlets that do not need to be open and expects the board will concentrate on the River Road facility and the Packing House to continue servicing farmers during the next six months.
-
During that period the board will be responsible for the management of winding down the MNIB operations.
-
In addition to severing the staff, and undertaking the liability to pay the staff, government will also assume liability for the estimated 15.1 million dollars of debt that the MNIB is currently unable to pay. To that end the Ministry of Finance will lead the negotiations with the third parties including the banks and other third parties that MNIB is owing.
-
Government will also appoint a technical working group, whose job is during the six-month period, would be to assist the government with the creation of a new entity. That entity is envisaged to be the Public-Private Partnership between the Government of Grenada, private sector individuals, members of the public who may be interested and other stakeholders including farmers who would be interested in investing in the MNIB. Government anticipates the creation of this new entity will occur during the six-month period while winding down the existing MNIB.
Prime Minister Mitchell said to do this, they had no choice, but effectively to begin the process of bringing to an end the existence of the current MNIB, it’s a statutory body created by legislation and ultimately at the end of the six-month period, government expects the MNIB Act will be repealed.
Mitchell again made it clear that the MNIB staff will be severed as of the end of February 2023, and the government will assume liability for paying the staff their severance. The estimated severance for staff is $2.5 million.
The prime minister said it is not a case of where the government is closing down MNIB without the prospect of a better future: “We fully anticipate that with the formation of a Public-Private Partnership, it will put the food industry in Grenada, particularly our farmers, our agro-processors and those who are interested in finding export markets in a better place, to do so with the new entity.
We would expect the new entity would focus on, amongst other things, the question of the storage, logistics, preservation, distribution and exportation of food and agro-produced goods within Grenada throughout the period.”
