Grenada has given a strong hint about the need to dispose of colonial-era relics, moving at the weekend to end local officials’ swearing allegiance to the British monarchy.
Timed to coincide with annual emancipation celebrations, Governor-General Dame Cecile La Grenade assented to a parliamentary act mandating officials abandon the decades-old practice. Officials being sworn in are now required to swear allegiance to Grenada rather than “the king, his heirs and successors,” as previously enshrined. Both the lower and upper houses approved the new amendments. Local media reports say officials now have seven days from the beginning of August to retake the oath to reflect the act of parliament.
The move comes amid efforts by some non-governmental organizations to take incremental steps to make significant amendments to the constitution to make the “Spice Isle” a republic.
Authorities had the support of an influential NGO in pushing the bills through parliament. The Citizens for Constitutional Reform (CCR), led by former attorney general and respected senior counsel Francis Alexis, successfully argued that “there should no longer be allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, his heirs and successors, but instead to the land of our birth, our citizenship in which we are domiciled — Grenada.”
