The latest developments in the Layou River saga and the back and forth between the Opposition leader, Mr. Lennox Linton and one the litigants have been disheartening and distracting. But one of the bright sports in this melee is the highly successful radiothon hosted by Q95 FM radio personality Mr. Matt Peltier on behalf of former journalist and Opposition leader.
The effort raised over $100,000 which is more than the total which is required for initial phase of the court fines that were imposed by the London-based Privy Council to the litigant in the failed Layout River Hotel Project.
The Layou River Project started in the 1990s during the Charles DFP government. It continued during the James UWP government and ended in dismal failure with this current Labour party administration. The plan was to build a 5- star resort style hotel which would attract high-end clients along the banks of the Layou river not too far from the capital city. The project would provide much-needed revenue to government and provide stable employment for Dominicans. Unfortunately, the promising enterprise was not realized and millions of dollars disappeared.
Mr. Linton who was working as a journalist ran a very successful exposé of the failed enterprise. As result, he was sued by one of the players on the project. He won the case in the Regional courts but lost on appeal in the London-based High Court last year.
Why and how did this major public enterprise fail? This embarrassment was created due to the fact that the various administrations created and adopted a complex and lack of oversight system where the project and the players were not adequately supervised, monitored and vetted.
Governments and its leader(s) were either unable and/or unwilling to fix things for various reasons- ‘choose yours’. This was a diffusion of responsibility of governance and a massive failure of the various governments at all levels. From a rational (not political) point of view, the governments broke the people’s trust.
But how long was the Layou River hotel debacle in the making? It is clear that this demise is more than a failure of governments; it’s a failure of a specific governing philosophy of our administrations. What were the written outcomes and deliverables of the project? Did the various governments have a role in the decision-making or more appropriately, did they know where, who and how much of the big money were flowing as a result of the project? The bottom line and main agenda by the project’s players seemed to have been making sure that they and their crews got paid the big bucks.
Mr. Linton’s harsh punishment for informing and educating the country of this grave injustice at Layou is grossly unfair. He faced much difficulty after investigating and reporting on this fiasco but held and (still holds) the firm belief that investigative journalism is one of the cornerstones of any functioning democracy. His Layou River Hotel exposé was a brilliant and patriotic assignment. It is a testament to his deep commitment to our country, his bravery and courage. He did it without thinking of the very high personal and financial costs. His treatment by the current government, its agents, and the legions of opportunistic talk-radio and columnists disciples and bloggers is disingenuous. These actions and behavioral patterns demonstrate a concerted effort to stifle free speech and public expression in Dominica.
But the failure of the Layou Hotel project is probably more than the lack of trust on the people of Dominica. Is it also about incompetence, intimidation, and ineptness? If so, we desperately need a new sense of order in the conduction of our affairs. When or did this current government which has been in power since 2000 ever know that the project was in deep trouble? And if it knew, could it have intervened to stop the hemorrhaging to salvage the project? Did the powerful and influential unelected project’s ‘viceroys’ oppose any of the previous and current governments’ intervention by whatever means they deemed necessary?
It might be fair to say that each of the governments since 1990 should share some of the blame for this public–policy failed experiment. It is only fair to say that the foreign and non-native project bosses and players probably arrogantly viewed themselves as wiser and superior to the checks and balances of our democracy.
By befriending various governments and their advisors and causing chaos and confusion in the political landscape and in the courts, these unelected viceroys achieved their goals. Unfortunately, their goals were filling their deep pockets and not necessary building a high-end hotel. That is why the Layou River Hotel project did not happen.
But history has recorded Mr. Linton’s efforts and this colossal failure.
Opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and are not of Dominica News Online or its advertisers.
“Dr. Emanuel Finn – Thursday, January 28th, 2016 at 9:50 AM”
The Facts, Face The Facts, Kid On Block, and all your other fictitious names you write and lie under, and all of your multiple personalities:
Be reminded if you were not 5150 (fifty-one fifty) 51/50; in other words a raging lunatic, crazy mentally derange; demented can’t read, senseless wicked hateful disgusting rat; as I diagnosed you; you would have seen, and know the article was written by Emanuel Fin DDS., and be informed that “DDS” abbreviates doctor of dental science, doctor of dental surgery.
In reality Finn by profession is a dentists; but rats like you who are ignorant, all you look for is the name “Lennox Linton” written any place, it sets you off like the mentally ill demented specimen that you are!
And let me qualify that: Note, a mentally demented person is one who is useless to themselves, unable to helpthemselves. You sit in one place looking into space, unable to help yourself, you…
And let me qualify that: Note, a mentally demented person is one who is useless to themselves, unable to helpthemselves. You sit in one place looking into space, unable to help yourself, you defecate, and urinate on yourself without realizing you are siting in filth, the only sense of reality you have is the name of Lennox Linton.
You hate Lennox so much that in your mind you made him your god; and so in your hate you worship him everyday
One of the dark SPOTS is that Linton cannot pay for his own mistakes. Yes he raised issues but why do others have to pay for this man’s blunders? Lennox as well as Mat should be ashamed that they have to be asking people to pay Byrne. And the people so foolish they are pledging. Meanwhile the country is in a state of dismay, Carnival- a national celebration NOT owned by the government is a mess, villages and constituencies need assistance from since before Erica, but Mat the brilliant, can only think to ask for handouts to bail out his buddy Lennox. Mat running a reverse clinic. The Blue clinic. And i want to know what they did with the change, the excess that was left over. I am not a Laborite, i am not into politics and politicians and people seeking attention and power and influence. Everyone has and opinion this is mine.
Line 3 Word 1: Replace “Sports” with “Spots”.
This hotel is in a disaster prone area.
Only in Dominica it takes more than twenty-five years for a project to get started, and remains under construction, while all the money disappeared ………
They always get started but can never get finished; the Arab spring thief all the money for the construction and put it into the pocket of some redneck wild Carib Indian, mulatto or Arawack accountant pocket. First the thief stole pennies, then the thief stole a dollar, when the thief felt safe, the thief (s) said to hell that I going to thief all that’s left.
Bingo, dem thief all the rest of the money, that is why de hotel is still under construction to this very day; ah see something in the architectural drawing I want to thief, so I coming tonight to thief it oui!
Then me going to de Moroccan an thief all dem toilet useless toilet an sell dem fu money fu pay me passage fu cum back ya!
Francisco, you have lots big talk in front of your laptop you said that you went to University and call your self educated person calling us fools and stupid, educated person never goes about telling orders how smart they are for a start ,now why you don’t come to D/ca to get things sorted or are you just a sad old man in God waiting room.
Why is the pricey Council hearing cases from DA are we not independent?
It was not only Mr Linton that lost, but Dominica lost and in the end, all of us Dominicans lost
I can say that there are a lot of Dominicans even in this 21 century that are so blatantly ignorant about issues and event in their own country.
Some of them have no knowledge at all, they seem to pick quotes from conversations they overheard or something and like parrots just speak of what they know not.
The height of ignorance and stupidity still runs high in that country.
People in DA only listen to people they trust as the source of truth. A lot of the time the blind leading the blind up and down the place.. In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
This court matter with o.l Linton has nothing to do with government.it is O.l defaming the character of byrne.uwp including layou river into the debate was just stupid.All that litany by the writer does not present information on the layou river project failure neither from him or linton.
Dr, Finn. Dont skirt around the damn issue. Why did you not state how the project was handled during the term of each administration?
Liar, liar your pants on fire, Pinocchio nose keep growing longer. You may have a doctorate degree, but we the people have common sense. Under the UWP, Unity of Worthless Parasite, the Layou River Hotel FAILED. You and Lenox are politically incorrect going after innuendoes that cannot be substantiated, that isn’t journalism, but rather gutter politics. The Doctor you are dead wrong, you spent 10 or more years
working towards your degree, therefore you are qualified in your field. Now it is insulting to label LENOX LINTON as a journalist. Mari got doesn’t have a school of journalism do not insult the millions of journalist our there, investigate first. In order to be qualified he first has to complete high school.
Come on man. Give this a rest. Lennox needs to work out what needs to be done to win an election. So far he has failed and will continue to do so unless he realises that personal attacks will not win anything other than blows. He needs to get labour voters to cross the floor and find a way to achieve that. If he has not realised this and is not working on it then a change is required in the UWP leadership. This is not very complicated but I think he hasn’t realised this or he is not capable of doing so. Current strategy is boring and out of date.. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Point please read this again: Governments and its leader(s) were either unable and/or unwilling to fix things for various reasons- ‘choose yours’. This was a diffusion of responsibility of governance and a massive failure of the various governments at all levels. From a rational (not political) point of view, the governments broke the people’s trust.
Have a good day.
Please state the part that the DLP played in the failure of the Layou River Hotel project. It was a massive failure of the DFP and UWP administrations. Just follow the events from 1993 to 1999.
A few additional notes that were forgotten here. The problems go way back: The Layou River Hotel was opened in 1972. Remember the political dayba in 1973 when Premier Le Blanc and his guests were not served drinks “because they arrived after closing time”. Hurricane damage in 1979 of Fort Young which led to the folding of Layou River Hotel, its less damaged sister hotel.
The attempt in 1988 to revive it and the birth of the Citizenship Programme and passport sales in 1991 by Dame Eugenia to raise funds for its sale and payment to reimburse shareholders. The sale to “Amazing Grace” to quote the late Attorny General, Jenner Armour. The loss of $52 million in “passport money”. The building at a new location and the abandonment of the half finished hulk due to “faulty cement”.The destruction from flooding in 1997 and later floods. I would advise any government, present or future, not to touch this over 40 year old project at any cost. It has a jinx and is not located in a safe…
Mr. Jno Finn, let me apologize for calling you a very qualified liar, although it is true. You know very well that the dismal failure of the Layou river hotel project happened in 1999 when the UWP government was still in office. Even the the investigation conducted by Mr.Linton was focused on the 1999 report that mentioned reasons why this project failed. When the DLP came into office in 2000 they were left with the impossible task of putting Humpty Dumpty, which was the Layou River Hotel together again.
@point emancipate yourself from mental slavery!!!!!
@Silver Bird, the truth always offends. Did I state anything that was not true? If so kindly correct me and I will stand corrected. However I am certain that you cannot accomplish this simple exercise as your pea size brain will not stand the pressure of such simple intellectual activity.
and lets blame UWP for the Morrocan hotel saga
I am glad that the writer of this article dud not dwell on n naming and blaming. There are however several take aways. The sa m e old leeches who oppress the poor, they are the architect of economic slavery. They walk around looking to be venerated and still get praised by those that are enslaved.
One man decided to speak out and look who led an attempted to vilify him. Hoover amd Hitler.
Who the $$$ is thus black boy? Why not utilize the uncle Tom concept to destroy the black boy. It always work.
Emigration will be on the rise. People will continue to leave this place. I often wonder if Skeritt cannot handle the affairs of 70,000 people, (A FOOTBALL STADIUM), what would he have done if we had a few hundred thousand? I don’t think it is fair that in order for somebody to build a house and make it in life they have to run overseas. Basic life’s achievements cannot be attained in your homeland. That’s very sad. Even Skeritt is embracing the high emigration rate because he always calling on the diaspora to send barrels for their family and he so wicked that he invented a barrel economy out of that by imposing high taxes on the port to clear those same barrels. He is training our nation to dependent instead of independent. Then when natural disasters pass by he calling on the same diaspora to come and help fix the same island they had to run away from because there was no work for them to make a living. I suggest that he only call on those he giving ticket to come and vote
FLORIDIAN Diaspora, apart from your big mouth you cannot do a thing for Dominica get on ya bike and run along with the Workers party supporters.
Continue to chase my comments all around DNO website. I want to know what it doing for you. Sarkway sor sort
People who run to overseas commies back more broke than when they left. If u have a good look around its the people who remain behind are the ones building houses
A convoluted piece of writing, whose findings I do not necessarily share in their entirety.
We have been looking for the best part of twenty five years to find people to blame for this colossal failure. Right now I am far more interested in how we can rescue, at least some of the assets and make them work for us. Is it not true that the court has ruled that we own 51%? That gives us a controlling interest so mr. Prime Minister share with us your plans to revitalise the Layou River project. that does not mean that we should not hold anybody to account for past failures and possible misdeeds but let that proceed on a separate track lest we get waylaid again.
“Mr. Linton who was working as a journalist ran a very successful exposé of the failed enterprise” Really? Is that why he got the journalist black eye of guilty of libel and slander? Correction – he lost the case in the High Court. The regional court attempted to reverse the conviction by interpreting the laws incorrectly. The Privy Council corrected the regional court and affirmed the High Court decision – the court which had original jurisdiction. Mr. Linton is not necessarily the epitome of truth. He doesn’t speak all things that are correct. He often speaks without thinking.
Michael Davis I feel your pain. You are rejoicing because Lennox exposed you but your garbage is just another example of your and others like you dishonesty. Lennox has not said anything untrue ………………….
Garbage – why do you think you hide behind the name Papa Dom ??? Wild guess … because you know you are spreading a falsehoods, gossip & maypuie? You “Papa Dom” is another envious person that Lennox Linton’s imagination has created. Good luck to you – – – you can hide but the good God knows the evil you do …
Was this written by Lennox Linton? Lennox’s punishment was not for educating and informing the country. Lennox’s punishment was because of his long tongue he uses towards people. Now what has this present government has to do with the dismal failure of the Layou Hotel? Skerrit wasn’t even born yet when that Layou Hotel started. Maybe Lennox was born around that time. The Layou Hotel Project came to a complete failure in the time of the UWP.
Above comment, Good on you Kids, tell them brainless vagabonds what there is to know about layou hotel project failure under WORKERS PARTY
You so stupid you supporting the person above that saying that Skeritt wasn’t even born yet when the hotel started. The last time I check Skeritt was in his 40’s. What did your Labor party do to carry on that same Layou River Hotel? A hotel that would have been a viable source of income instead of your useless P.M. selling our passports and raising taxes while creating no jobs. Your damn fool. Continue to think with your backside and shit through your head. Jackass!!!
Yes, if indeed construction failed while the UWP was in power, they were not responsible for the accounting of the money being spent!
There were accountants, I doh know how many, but the UWP was not in a position to thief not one dime!
Ask the real thief where is the money?
I believe the thief is a red face, redneck, Caribbean Indian thief,or perhaps a pale face Mulattos, or maybe a cannibal Arawack! They say they all look alike, and thief more than a rat that thief and suck eggs oui! If is one thing Lennox reputation is not that of a thief!
People like you who keeps running your mouth off are exactly like your name, you are a fly bussing around feeding on human feces!
The kind you dabble in that ignorant people like Facts/ Kid On Block feed your nasty hungry gut! You ar so dumb you cannot accept while you are talk garbage defending the thieves whose bank account grows wether by stealing or suing the innocent, you like a dog barking while your very soul sinks deeper…
This have simply been a case of the persons that we entrust to manage our affairs not looking out for us. Everyone involved in this saga made monies except the people of Dom who are held holding the rotten end of the stick and an ecological disaster in layou. Also note that the persons that have made money are all non nationals who have cozened up to government circles to inflict this pain on the people of Dom. I another country they would have to flee for their lives.
But this all rest on the people who have allowed governments to be unaccountable for their actions and for our resources that we have entrusted them to manage. we the people are the real losers when we allow these individuals to go unchecked.
It doesn’t matter whether or not the project started under UWP. If the Labor regime were filled with deep moral values like they often claim to be they would have saw this as a viable source of income and pursue finishing it. These days, all Skeritt know how to do is issue people ultimatums. He told the general public “it’s either I sell passports or I raise taxes.” In other words chose your poison. No clear vision, no political foresight, no future planning, only thinking of today but tomorrow is ignored. Their personal finances and deep pockets are the order of the day. Sell our citizenship, get rich, rip the country to shreds, don’t care about on whose toe they step on in the process. Taxes, taxes, and more taxes. Soon we will in taxed into oblivion. I’m tired of Pharaoh telling us to make more bricks with less straw. Soon we will suffer from malnutrition because the food is getting too expensive. “Labor ka travay”