Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, serving simultaneously as Grenada’s Infrastructure Minister, delivered a stern warning to local government contractors during parliamentary debates on December 1st regarding the 2026 Budget. He declared an end to leniency regarding contractual non-compliance, emphasizing that henceforth, all contract terms—including termination clauses and delayed payment penalties—will be strictly enforced.
Mitchell expressed particular frustration with contractors who secure projects only to subsequently attempt redesigns that cause significant delays. “You cannot bid for a project, have the designs, have the plans, get the contracts, and then you decide you want to re-engineer and redesign to delay the work,” he stated, reminding attendees that taxpayer funds finance Grenada’s infrastructure development.
The Prime Minister revealed that despite his advocacy for local contractors over the past three and a half years, many have responded with substandard work, delays, and a lack of accountability. This has prompted a shift in his approach: “I now intend to fight on behalf of the citizens of Grenada,” he declared, demanding contractors immediately deploy adequate resources to project sites.
A critical issue highlighted was the reluctance of local contractors to collaborate, which Mitchell identified as a primary factor hindering their growth and necessitating foreign work permits. This lack of cooperation prevents them from qualifying for larger projects under Caribbean Development Bank procurement guidelines, ultimately allowing non-Grenadian contractors to increasingly dominate the construction industry.
With millions in infrastructure contracts awarded annually—many of which have experienced significant timeline overruns—the government’s new stance signals a major policy shift toward accountability and quality assurance in public projects.