I have no doubt our Ministers of government have very little on their plate. With seventeen Ministers in a small country like Dominica, it is patently clear to me that the allocation of ministries is nothing short of “jobs for the boys” to keep everyone happy.
The way I see it, those who are not elected but are given ministries have an additional task to make themselves relevant. In my view, Dominica has never before seen such a bloated executive and, to me, the split of some ministries in a haphazard and irrational way only serves to further compound or complicate the policy formulation and implementation of this extra large executive branch.
In recent times, I have noticed the emergence of a style that involves Ministers of government going off on what I deem as frolics of their own, making statements about businesses and individuals whom they perceive to be critical of government policy. This strategy seems to me to be part of their “next level” approach to governance, where persons in the guise of attack dogs are sent out to ‘terrorise’ any citizen who legitimately questions the governance conduct of the executive. As I see it, our democracy no longer allows for ministers to be accountable to the citizens of the state in the conduct of their duties. Instead I perceive that there is a rabid cohort of opportunists, hogging the airwaves seeking to stifle legitimate enquiry, with drivel couched in some feeble attempts at jest.
It now appears to me that the current target of a seemingly rabid duo is none other than one of the hardworking entrepreneurs on island, who seems to have taken on the mantle as champion of good governance. To me, this decision seems to have attracted the ire of the ‘attack dogs’, and they now embark on a wild baying rampage to seek to silence one of the pre-eminent taxpayers of this land.
So Jerry Brisbane now becomes the target of what I call the rabid cabal intent on destroying anyone bold enough to keep them in check. They rant and rave and in the process completely forget that as a major employer on the island and a taxpayer, Jerry’s success or demise will affect the economic fortunes of Dominica.
As I see it, for a minister to suggest the boycott of any business enterprise is ludicrous at the very least. How can you suggest as a policy maker that the stakeholders of a business should be denied the opportunity to earn a living and contribute to the tax coffers? I think something is clearly wrong with the thinking of this elderly politician who seems to have completely lost his way. I could easily excuse this faux-pas as youthful exuberance if it had come from one of the young ministers but this aged campaigner should know better.
As I see it, we must assess carefully what seems to now bombard the Kairi airwaves as talk. Do some interpret survival of the fittest as survival of the filthiest? Do some wallow in dirt disguised as a pathway to a still unexplained ‘next level’?
Dominica was never like that and the good citizens of this country have the responsibility to take the bull by the horns. This joke has certainly gone too far and the true patriots of this country must restore some sanity to those who have lost their minds. We cannot allow Ministers to get away with irresponsible statements with impunity. We have to hold our executive accountable to the people at all times. We should begin by making an example of anyone who is now comfortable with the bastardisation of our ethics and morals.
Do we have the leadership to send this clear message or will we be intoxicated with more lip service as we continue building our monument to nothingness?
NOTE: This article was published in last week’s edition of The Chronicle newspaper, which has given Dominica News Online permission to republish. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the management and staff of Dominica News Online and its parent company.
Obviously, all these negative comments belong to the Brisbane family. Mr. Brisbane should be charged for treason in Dominica. If you have to settle a scre with the Government, let your party or Leader of Opposition settle it in Parliament in our country.
Last time I check, Jerry wasn’t given title of PRO for Dominica.
Our ministers are the most dedicated on a caribbean stand point and if you have someone for each ministry then we should be happy to know that we know that the Government has more time to deal with our business.
You cannot pile up all kinds of responsibilities to one person alone. I stand in full support of The Right Honorable Charles Savarin on the matter.
u ppl defendin the governement r funny u should mke it a profession n ask skerrit to give allu a ministry….n e wayyyyy charlo has sworn in n promised under oath to protect the citizens of dominica…wen he made that statement 1st n fr most he didnt even give us the hard work of ‘reading between the lines..’ secondly…he was fully aware of the fct that he was makin that statement as the minister for labour n was calling on others to join him (a government minister) in destroying a local business…3rdly …he ignored the fct that dominicans wrk there n can lose thier jobs…however the EU dont think as small as the government of dominica and make ASSUMPTIONS by reading between the lines of a letter…n further more…they wont act in response to one letter n automaticaly cut funding… the LEAST professional ppl do that uurgghhh
Skerrit must go!
THERE IS NOTHING REALLY WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT, LIKE EVERY THING ELSE THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVMENT. WHAT I SEE IS SOME PERSONS SEAM TO HAVE THE SKERITT SYNDROM, DO’NT MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IS SKERIT. SOME WRITERS LEAVE IN THEIR OWN DREAM WORLD , SOME ONE JUST HAVE TO SAY SOME THING UNTRUTHFULL ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT AND THEY GRAB IT LIKE FOOLS AND RUN WITH IT. THEY HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT THE VILLAS, BUT THEY REFUSE TO LISTEN. HOW EVER LENNOX WILL LERAN HIS LESSON IN COURT, YOU MUST HAVE PROPER EVIDIENCE BEFOR YOU JUST BLA BLA BLA .THE LABOUR PARTY WILL BE THERE FOR SOME TIME AND THOSE HATERS WILL HAVE TO PUT IT IN THERE PIPE AND SMOKE IT. WHAT EVER THE UWP AND THEIR THREE MONSTROUS HEAD DO TO THEM SELVES IS THEIR BUSINESS. WHEN EVER THEY POINT FINGERS AT SKERRITT FOUR IS POINTING BACK AT THEM. TOGETHER WE MUST TAKE DOMINICA TO THE NEXT LEVELL , WITH A NEW HOSPITAL IN THE VILLAGE OF WARNNER .
What is extremely disturbing to me is that the biasness occurs on both sides, but one side only sees the biasness of their opponents.
When Mr. Brisbane is up in arms about the Government’s bad spending and tendering practices, the Skerittites start to holler and make noise, “what Mr. talking about, he knows nothing, go back and do your work at Brizee’s Mart”.
When the DLP camp talks about the UWP’s lack of representation in the House and the fact that they are hindering the real Democratic law-making process, the Workers make noise about villas gifts of land.
Both parties need to shut up for a second and take stock. That “shut up” goes to the party supporters as well. Too many of us follow party lines blindly. It makes it alarmingly easy for party manipulators to garner support for what would normally be rejected as bull.
As the electorate we need to see the election process for what it really is; a show where the best performers gain the most seats and the most seats win the show. If we accept this, then the antics and games employed by party operators will not surprise us.
Our problem seems to be that we can’t get out of “election mode”. Both sides are still going at it as if elections come ever 12 months.
Let us try to think objectively as Dominicans, and not as Workers or Laborites. I liked Jerry when he started talking about the Government’s poor practices with regards to some walls they had built and their tendering process. It was an eye-opener for me, and undoutedly many others as well. What we need is a process to examine his claims objectively and critically and then put the results of that forums to good use. The airwaves of Q95 and Kairi FM serve NO ONE! Nothing gets done; just mouth-talk and mudslinging.
But, call a spade A SPADE. Mr. Brisbane took his reasonable questioning one step too far by writing to those institutions. His letters could have jeapordized the future donations to Dominica. And fans of Mr. Brisbane NEED TO REALIZE AND UNDERSTAND THIS.
That aside, Mr. Savarin did worse than Mr. Brisbane by suggesting a boycott of Jerry’s businesses. Savarin did exactly what he chastized Mr. Brisbane for; jeapordizing his source of income and putting workers at risk.
Let us all take a step back. Work as a team of Dominicans, not at odds as hardline party fanatics.
That’s My2Sense
Jerry was calling on these donor countries to boycott Dominica in a sense because of DLP, not for the good of the country, I lready start to BOYCOTT his business and i’ll tell my family to do the same with his business in Antigua as well, no Dominican in Antigua wants to see Brisbane and Sons Business there.
LOL
This article would probably be of more appreciative if the author had only broken down the ministries and portfolios and state how and why they are cumbersome. At then end, it is biased to make such general statements just because of one or two appointments that may seem irrelevant from what can be judged based on the public’s perspective.
Kairi is not the only station with talk… talk is all over.
And though a minister may have acted dis-favorably or irresponsibly, that does not make his ministry irrelevant. Instead, he should assume the level of responsibility and charisma that his ministry and position demands of him. AND should be cautioned and or sanctioned accordingly.
AND if Jerry were as straight thinking as he purports to be, he should have considered the risks, especially to his employees and business before taking such a drastic move unilaterally. An act that does not implicate only the government, BUT the PEOPLE of the country.
For those (DLP & its supporters) who milk the cow, what will you do when the milk runs dry?
“Do some interpret survival of the fittest as survival of the filthiest”? Unfortunately yes!
@ YOGI BEAR. I just love it when uwp-ites call dlp-ites bias…esp when those uwp-ites pretend to be neutral…lol
Great article! Based on my rough estimate our top heavy government cost the dominica Treasury over $2.04 million dollars annually. Now, that does not include the deplomates if what you said is correct about the 17 ministers. Therefore, I understand why some ministers are constantly snipping because they want to remain in the good grace of Master; the louder and more consistent the noise the better the chances of of Master remembering their relevance. can anyone remember the slogan used by UWP “Workers” I remember how often it was repeated in my villiage to the extent that freedom party supporter repeated it in lieu of the freedom slogan because it was so catchy, and in this case with the labour ministers it is the same. Dominicans are peaceful and loving people and after the dust settles from these issues the country will never be the same again because many people will be too proud to admit that they were wrong. I hope that they will remember the bible set the standard for the amount of times we need to forgive “70×7” and it has not changed. It is a wise man/woman who is willing that they are wrong so do not be timid do your research to find the truth. If it mean being objective which I would advise while researching the truth to avoid bias but, find out the truth on your own and be on the right side of justice.
Who have, have. Who don’t have must beg or starve. All of them in government care about is themselves their frends and their family. Nothing last forever so keep on grabing.
Thats a lie
YOU DOMINICANS ARE SO BIAS ,WAS BRISBANE DOING DOMINICA GOOD WHEN HE WROTE THOSE LETTERS,NO HE WAS NOT.WE TEND TO BELIEVE THAT DOMINICA BELONGS TO SKERRIT AND BLAMES HIM FOR EVERYTHING,I WONDER WHY.THE MAN IS DOING A VERY GOOD JOB IN TERMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY AND HE WAS DEMOCRATICALLY VOTED BY THE PEOPLE OF DOMINICA THEREFORE HE WILL REIGN AS PRIME MINISTER OF DOMINICA FOR THE FIVE YEAR TERM LIKE IT OR NOT.
AND AS TO DNO YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE PROMOTING DOMINICA AND ALL WE READ IS JUNK,ARE YOU AWARE THAT NOT ONLY DOMINICANS GO THROUGH THIS NETWORK AND ARE YOU TELLING US THAT NORTHING GOOD IS HAPPENING IN OUR BEAUTIFUL LAND.SO MANY CHILDREN DOING VERY WELL IN SCHOOL AT ALL LEVELS, OUR GREAT CULTURAL HERITAGE BEING MAINTAINED,OUR ELDERLIES BEING TAKEN CARE OF,OUR ROAD NETWORK BEING DONE AND SO MANY OTHER THIGS BUT INSTAED ALL YOU PUBLISH IS NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT DOMINICA,YOU ARE NOT HURTING SKERRIT OR THE DLP YOU ARE HURTING DOMINICA .EVEN THE RESPONSE PERSONS GIVE ABOUT AN ATTICLE AND THE THINGS THAT YOU PUBLISH WE OUT THERE ARE LEFT TO WONDER WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS NETWORK DNO
WE BELIEVE YOU CAN COME MUCH BETTER THAN THIS AND PROMOTE DOMINICA IN A BETTER WAY AND FILTER YOUR COMENTS BEFORE POSTING THEM.
The skeletons are thos of dinasours. Some behave like is fish bone.
Dominica is now at the level we thought of African countries and Latin American Nacro states. It reminds me so much of Nigeria and Mexico as classic ej of corruption.
Our people are no longer what we once were or were we mascardes all along.I beileve it is the latter from my personal experiences when living on the island. I lived the hypocracy of our peeps. Whe i was a kid i wanted to leave didn’t accomplish that till i was in my mid 20’s and am so glad i did.I can fight another day.Da seems to be a country filled with pirates and buccaneers on one side and eunchs on the other. Men without C.O Jones( balls) as someone told our once local Larry King, turn crusader. You know Da is screwed when your P.M is a vermin, Savarin is in DLP gov’t as one more Freedom infiltrate in to the DLP,Chinese calling the shots. Former P.M’s wife joining those who caused her husband demise just like in the Jack Bauer’s (24).
Former daughter of Frank Baron’s pulled out after much embarassment… The dad has been firing consistently at the regime and D/cans just read and give compliments and state how well he writes and everything is normal and forgoten till he writes anew. It becomes by the water cooler talk on monday morning. What a pathetic nation we’ve become or have we always been. Mr.Fred, Mr.Paul Mr.Tom just say Boy! we have our loan to pay UWP, Pappy or Parra will not pay it for me so let me be quiet and support the crook(s). Next we learn of a bigger lie and scandal coming from Skerrit. I guess we will (try) to rise and remove Skerrit’s Neo DLP when the Chinese and venezuelans have establish military bases North South East & West & D/cans cannot pum.
Do not worry Dominica. Things must get worse to get better.
dedicated to Charlo…………an ole time calypso!!!!(a big belly bajanman come trinidad playing calypsonian)chorus this way….sing dolfus sing,sing till your throat get dry you must sing 4 u rum tonight.
Yoogi Bear, You said you can still throw stones! lol This 2010 almost 11now we need bazzookas.Blow their ras clot to smimmerings.
What is extremely disturbing is the obvious biasness of the Dominican people or rather DLP supporters / Skerritites who tolerate such idiotic behavior. Even when government abuse is as crystal clear people support those negative behavior all in the name of Party Politics. When are we going to stand up and demand a change of behavior. At this point the country is “Bull Dogged” by a few people namely Tony Astaphan, Charles Saverin and the speaker of the house. All three people are protecting the Lord and king Skerrit. It is rather sad that all the other elected member of the cabinet are mute and unfortunately the dark cloud hovers over their heads too.
As a concern citizen I am afraid that our country is heading for unrest. The PM has worked himself into a situation that he must become Machiavellian in other to conceal the skeletons in his closet.if one keeps covering up lies with lies then what do you expect.
As indicated in the article – we have never seen such a political climate in Dominica. Too many lies – the PM lied about the Land deals, the fertilizers ; Garbage Bins; Citizenship; Villas etc. It is obvious that this Pm is running his office like the Mafia movement , having chartered flights and giving $10K cash money to friends and with Henchmen like Charles Saverin, Tony Asaphan and people like Charles Maynard Dominicans are bombarded with propaganda. As a former coworker of Skerrit told me – “ What do you expect from a man who while a teacher would demand money for volunteer work. Roosvelt would demand pay for school fund raising activities”. The man is Avyege..
I am an independent minded person and I not a fan of the UWP gang either but it is time to stop this racketeering in Dominica. Wee need to start thinking of an interim government. Charles saverin should not forget that we can still throw stones all the way up the last floor of those high rise government building..
Don’t insult the chimp, without a doubt he is better looking than Saverin and more intelligent as well.
YOU ALL FIND EVERY THING WRONG WITH OUR ELECTORAL PROCESS , BUT AT THE FIRST GIVEN OPPORTUNITY YOU WOULD HEAD TO USA WERE THE ELETORAL SYSTEM IS SIMILAR. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BIG GOVERNMENT IF IT IS WORKING AND SO FAR WHAT WE HAVE IS WORKING.
@mouth of the south: You, sir, are a scholar & a gentleman.
could not be said better and in so few words
Dominica is at a real low at this junture,jah never give man more than he can bear our {18} policy makers have no principle.Evil can never overcome the good and upright.
ay ay i need glasses wii pal,,,,,i honestly thought is charles savarin pic dat was dere,,,,cuz i know is a joke mr have a ministry!!!!!