Welcome to my website, We the People – Grenada, intended to encourage the citizens of Grenada to “mind our/their/Grenada’s business”.
I began writing on issues of governance, public interest and concern in October 2003, just prior to the general elections of November 2003. During this period, I began to critically scrutinize what the political leadership of our country, both incumbents and opposition, did and said. I realized that, in general, the citizens/electors did not have information on which to make informed opinions and judgments on:
- what our leaders did and said;
- developments in the country in general.
Working in the non-governmental, development sector which promoted citizens’ participation in governance, I was privileged to have access to and understand certain information. I read quite a bit and was not averse to writing. Thus, writing on issues of public interest and concern could be my contribution to governance, public education and debate – all in the exercise of my citizen’s rights and obligations.
Following the November 2003 elections, I made a conscious decision to fulfil my citizen’s rights and responsibilities by continuing to contribute to public education and debate through informed letters and articles. At the same time, I would also be giving life to the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society (download here)– in keeping with Article XXIV, Awareness and Responsibilities of the People:- “The States hereby declare that the people have an important role to play in the pursuit and maintenance of good governance…..”
My letters and articles have addressed numerous and diverse issues. The articles and letters ask questions and make conclusions on the basis of information and fact. They are intended to provide information, encourage debate and, sometimes, provide an alternative view.
My writing has incurred the ire of some people who have sought to discredit me and label me with partisan tags, and I have even been dismissed as a “public nuisance” by persons to whom I have posed inconvenient questions. However, the response of the general public to these contributions has been very heartening and I have been thanked, encouraged and commended.
As I continue to make a contribution via my writing, the setting up of this website fulfils a commitment that I made some nine years ago to those persons who suggested to me/encouraged me to make my articles and letters more widely accessible and available via an independent website while contributing to the documentation of Grenada’s political history.
About the author
Sandra C.A. Ferguson is a leading member of the non-governmental development /civil society sector in Grenada with which she has been associated over the last twenty-five years. Ms. Ferguson has a special interest in citizenship and governance and was trained to conduct civic education on citizens and governance in a regional Training of Trainers programme sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation. She was later a member of the Advisory Body which provided support to the revision of the Commonwealth Foundation’s Citizens Education Action Learning Guide in 2012.