A growing controversy has erupted in Grenada over the nearly one-million-dollar annual expenditure by the Dickon Mitchell administration to maintain the country’s consulate in Dubai.

At the center of the debate are allegations surrounding the spending of taxpayer money on the office, including a substantial salary, high living expenses, and education allowances for the Consul General’s family.

The consulate’s expenditure includes a $45,000 salary for Consul General Ziya Rahaman, along with support for his penthouse suite in Dubai and a $10,000 monthly allowance for his children’s education.

Critics argue the costs are excessive and have sparked a political debate between the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New National Party (NNP).

Former Prime Minister and leader of the NNP, Keith Mitchell, has been one of the most vocal critics of the spending.

During a recent public meeting, he accused the NDC of mismanaging public funds, comparing the current expenditure to what his administration spent when it was in power.

“The NDC opened an office in Dubai for a certain family and put a budget of 800 and something thousand dollars of your money to support that office,” he stated.

“When you combine the salary of the individual who is there with the rental, it’s over $600,000 of your money… this is criminal.”

Mitchell went on to defend the practices of his government, claiming that the consulate’s expenses were covered by foreign investors and donors rather than public funds.

“Not a cent from your money,” he emphasized. “The taxpayers of the country were not paying a cent.”

In response to the criticism, Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Andall defended the expenditure, arguing that the high cost of living in Dubai necessitates such spending.

“Child allowance for children 18 and under or between 18 and 21 at a recognized university, again, is par for the course,” Andall explained. “Public school in Dubai is for the people of Dubai, so diplomats and other expatriates must find private means to educate their children.”

Andall’s defense has not quelled the controversy, with additional accusations emerging from Private Sector Senator Salim Rahaman, the brother of Consul General Ziya Rahaman.

The senator accused Jenny Simon, host of the popular program Simon Says, of being paid to break the story about the consulate’s expenditure.

“These people who are saying certain things are paid. They’re being paid,” Rahaman claimed, suggesting that the coverage had political motivations.

Simon, however, vehemently denied these allegations on her program.

“It is a rumor, and I know who started it… I have not been paid by anyone, absolutely no one,” Simon responded.

She further noted that she was also accused of being paid during her time working as an NDC Talk show host but affirmed that she has never received payment for her work.

As the debate continues, the expenditure on Grenada’s Dubai consulate has become a lightning rod in the country’s political discourse.