PR – The Democratic People’s Movement (DPM) has released a detailed breakdown of funding mechanisms for its three-pillar economic platform, following earlier announcements of proposed housing grants, food security initiatives, and healthcare reforms.
DPM Leader Peter David addressed questions about the platform’s fiscal sustainability head-on, presenting what he calls a “virtuous cycle’’ of economic investment rather than traditional government spending.
“The Movement is built on three anchors – Work, Food, Healthcare,’’ David declared. “People ask how we pay for it, like it is a ‘gotcha’ question. But the truth is, these policies are not just expenses. They are investments that pay for themselves.’’
The DPM’s housing grant programme proposes $35,000 EC for singles and $50,000 EC for couples, targeting 1,000 young Grenadians over five years at a total cost of approximately $500 million EC. This amount, David emphasized, equals “roughly five months of the national budget spread over five years’’.
The programme, he said, is designed to generate construction jobs, building supply purchases, and property tax revenue.
“A generation building equity here instead of sending rent money abroad,’’ David explained, noting the multiplier effect of keeping capital within Grenada’s economy.
David, addressing Grenada’s import dependency, outlined how food security investments would self-finance through import substitution.
“Breaking that cycle is not charity,’’ said David. “We send hundreds of millions abroad every year importing food we can grow ourselves. Every dollar we shift to local production is a dollar that stays here.’’
The DPM’s agricultural initiative aims to redirect import expenditure toward local farmers, creating jobs and market growth, while simultaneously reducing the national food bill.
On healthcare, David identified systemic inefficiency as the primary obstacle, arguing that it’s not a problem of funding shortfalls.
“Millions in funding already goes unspent while patients wait. This is not a money problem. It is a priority problem,’’ said David, whose DPM proposal is to stock medical clinics with supplies, deploy mobile units, and retain healthcare workers.
“Healthy people work. Working people earn. Earning people spend. The economy grows,’’ David said. “It is strategy. We organize a budget that reflects real priorities and move forward – together.’’
