The man who holds the position of President of the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC), Jeffery Baptiste, has said over a month since Erika, it is now time to get the country’s economy back on track and is making a plea to donors to send cash not dry goods to the country.
“We feel very strongly that we have passed the time where we need dry goods and containers of water coming into the country,” he said at town hall meeting on Thursday night. “Those of you in direct contact with donors outside of Dominica we need to encourage them to send cash. Identify agencies and send cash into the country so we can again return the spending power within the population and, I guess, get the economy going again.”
He added, “It’s a matter that we need to put on the public record as the DAIC and what I think we can do is discourage, I do not know if we can impose, I think we can encourage people to change the medium or the method of support that is coming into the country.”
Baptiste noted that the country’s sea ports were not “severely impacted” and while the country is appreciative of the assistance given in time of need, that time has passed.
“I think we have passed that place, I think it is a risk to the operations of the private sector, who continue to sell goods and services, and I think we need to discourage that,” he noted.
Similar sentiments were also expressed by businessman Emile Depooter who addressed the matter at a press conference on Thursday 1st October 2015, held at his DEPEX Colour Lab office located on Cork Street.
“We have so much relief coming in that when we hear the prime minister speaking and saying that the estimated VAT for September was $11-million and they only collected four [million]. Can you imagine how October is going to be? Then they might collect two [million] because so much relief is coming in. What is going to happen Astaphans and Whitchurch and Save A Lot and all these other shops?” he queried.
He said some may argue that these companies have been making loads of money and so on, but “remember, my people, that these people employ people too.”
Depooter noted that his remarks in no way state that Dominica is not in need of relief items.
“I am by no means saying that people don’t need to eat and that doesn’t need to be shared, but please let us make sure that it goes to the people who need the relief,” he stated.
He also pointed out that there may be arguments about his statements however, “next month the prime minister will come on the radio and say how much VAT they have lost.”
Speaking during an address to the nation on September 29th 2015, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had stated that following the storm government revenues have taken a nose dive while expenditures are on the rise.
“Just to give you an example of the impact of this disaster,” he explained. “VAT revenues for the month of August were $10.3-million. For September VAT revenues originally projected for $11.2-million, stood today two days before the end of the month at $4.2-million. A shortfall in excess of $7-million. And that scenario is replicated across government’s revenue stream.”
Is this a joke? This is really an embarassment to my country. Wow! Wait and see if all u will ever get help again…is best i shut up..
Dear Mr. Baptiste I so sorry but another shipment of water, clothes and dry goods already on its way. Even though I am diaspora, I have my food, bills and plenty other expenses to pay with my hard earned dollar. You see I cyan go dong de road by Mr. Wapo to get a hand of fig, and I cyan go Fond Cole and pull sen to get discounted balaw.
So take what you get when I send it because I have no cash to send. By the way, did Erika take your house? Are your family members displaced? You have all your clothes and shoes? You have milk for your baby and what about pampers for granny?
PS. I will never forget my peoples who are presently homeless and grieving. I will always do what I can to help.
what he’s saying is absolutely correct… Dominica is not a welfare state! some people like brogodow too much to the point where they depend on it and don’t actively participate in the economy. what he should have also added was that if goods as sent in the form of equipment and business supplies for those engaging in business activity then that should also be welcomed… because people fail to realize that businesses employ people and those salaries are what helps to keep the economy going.
Pure MADNESS! Can’t rip off the population enough? Y’all not finna get my money,
The ceo,s of those organization like daic,def,still believe that the private sector is the mercantile sector,the companies engaged in importation of and distribution of manufactured goods and services.that sector plays it role in the economy,but no country has made any economic progress by sudsidizing consumption,it is always by subsidizing production.let us all impress the idea on this government that in the reconstruction process that the greatest emphasis needs to be placed on production.Francisco d.Telemacque isan intelligent Dominican,he choses when to sound philosophical and when to sarcastic.i wish as a Dominican he would chose to share his knowledge in a more positive manner .i am not question his political choice,i would just like to see him share his knowledge to the benefit of the entire Dominican people.
why should we ask donors to send cash when a few months ago we spent 32 million in 30 days…
you working in the vat office man.who gave you these false figures/ 10 million and the chinese not paying vat?.
From the definition of dry goods: “In Commonwealth countries, the term dry goods is used to refer to dry food……In the United States, dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries.”
Since many of these donations are coming from the United States, we The Authorities requested a clarification to no avail.
From the information we have from donors all over the world, most of the accumulated “dry goods” have not yet arrived in Dominica and there is more on the way.
We The Authorities are therefore left with the following possible scenarios if “dry goods” continue coming in :
1-Destroy them as they are a detriment to the local economy.
2-Give them to those in need and continue to loose VAT revenue.
3-Sell them to individuals and keep 100% or the revenue.
4-Sell them to businesses, keep the revenue and collect VAT when they are re-sold to the public.
Alternative suggestions are welcomed.
In the words of Marie Antoinette, “Qu’ils mangent…
Send them to another island in need or warehouse them until they are needed. There is ALWAYS someone in need.
Here is another suggestion, since places like Astaphans, and other supermarkets supports organization such as chances, home for the elderly by donating food items. Why not just give the items to non-profit organizations? It’s not like they are paying for the donations.
i am always by astaphan, whitchurch and save a lot there has not been any change in the amount of patrons, by greens you cannot even turn for the amount of people there shopping.what agenda all you pushing nuh?
After this crisis when Dominicans over seas are sending, food relief for their families Emile Depooter is lending his voice
to the ignorance of the DAIC advice to stop food and water coming to parents and children in the country, and would want people to send money instead to go and shop at the big super markets. These are the guys who stay in the shadows and give Government the crazy ideas to oppress the masses.
Dominicans, people like Depooter do not want you to servive they too want your money, what he sell and do,can’t full your bellies, stop buying this guy goods. He shows that he is against you eating. Think about that.
that’s why i always say my people like to shoot themselves in the foot.just after one month of erika you say you want no more dry goods. maybe mr baptiste and mr depooter don’t cause their bread is well buttered however what about the people from petite savanne, colihaut, coulibistrie etc that lost everything and has to be housed and fed?i’m sure they will be housed and fed for at least 3 months. so you believe that the people who are feeding these people have enough to feed them for the next 3 months? please don’t forget when you stop the relief supplies now after another month you cant come back and ask for more.once the relief stops, it stops.i don’t know how much supplies they have stocked up on however i believe if dominicans abroad and others want to donate supplies it should be welcomed. i don’t believe that we should go seeking however if it is offered we should accept it.
Send cash? To go in whose pockets? Y’all need to get real.
The cracks are beginning to showing
I thought U guys were SORT but now am convinced U guys are MAD.
According to a picture shown on social media, to be more precise, on the face book page of Hon Lennox Linton, Francine Baron, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Skeritt led Administration, is shown receiving USD 10,000 from K.B. Foundation on behalf of Dominica National Diaster and Development Fund. Why hasn’t DIAC approached her in an effort to make a cash donation. God works in mysterious ways. When those funds were alleged given to her, she never thought, we would have had an Erika. The press and others have asked for an accountability of those funds. She has neither denied receiving those funds or has she told Dominicans in which bank the funs were deposited. Now is the time to come straight with Dominicans by making a cash contribution to the Erika disaster fund or putting the allegations to rest once and for all.
Here is the photo! I dare Francine to deny this! Where is the MONEY?
http://www.thedominican.net/images/nu_images/francine.jpg
Let us state he suggested that cash be sent rather than dry goods. This is not a bad idea. Dominica received a lot of that including some from the relatives of those who were affected. The cash will go to purchases to keep the economy going and growing. It makes good sense.
How much of your money you will be sending
Jeffery Baptiste you are talking Rubbish. Who is so stupid to send Cash to this corrupt Regime? I would encourage everyone who is thinking of sending money to Dominica, send it to one of the Reputable NGO’s or directly to a family member! These Government officiasl are all about self, they have no interest in the welfare of the people. We will continue to send relief supply as long as our people needs it! Stop dictating to us! This is not VENEZUELA!!!
Continue to encourage dry supplies and water, then create a food back for the poor people of Dominica and if this ever happen again. Long term thinking. We are working to hard oversees to do the right thing for the people of Dominica. Create jobs to get the people back on their feet and the economy will come back. How hard is this.
Create a food bank or storage warehouses in strategic points of island in case this happens again. Why can’t the food collection continue if others are willing to send.
Storage is used for DLP paraphernalia. Don’t you hear what happened when the Dominican aid group from St. Maarten tried to use an Aid Bank shed on the industrial estate and found all that labour party propaganda in there and the chairman of the bank allegedly told them to shut it down?
Hear we go again.beggers are no choosers.you all just want money to put in you alls pocket.
This Baptiste guy is something else, beggars are not chooser, Baptiste you should be thankful for what the country is receiving, are you for real, do you think people will take their hard own money and send it to Dominica to be misuse by you people.it is not easy out there, do you know how much sacrifice people out of Dominica is doing to assist their fellow Dominican?, do you know how many layers of clothing people out there have to wear to go to their jobs?, do you know that with all what your government/ leader is involve in out there it wil be very difficult for foreign countries to dish out tax payers monies in his
hands, don’t you think that the millions wasted during the election bringing in all
the foreign artists was uncalled for?, Baptists we all have to thanks God for what
we are receiving, be it food, clothing, money etc, people out there owe us
nothing, it is being done for the love of people, country and God ok, please get that in your head,
Kind of rude to ask and then demand cash. Our PM sent a loud message to the international community for help. He sounded like the whole of Dominica needed help. Consequently the people responded with whatever they had, be it moneys, water, food etc. You Mr Baptiste is now dictating to the very people the PM ask for help to send cash. You have a nerve, who appointed you to speak on behalf of whom and to whom the cash is to go? It is people like you who have your comfortable positions and causing poor people in Dominica to suffer because you all don’t care if they eat. Remember the old saying “beggars are no chooses” – you take what is given to you.
Will wet goods be exempted?
Mr. Baptiste can afford to buy his bottled water and face Whitchurch, Savealot and other supermarkets with their exorbitant prices so he does not care two hoots about other Dominicans. These people just talk to make themselves feel important.
Short-sighted, one-sided and typical of people in position that just want to say something even if they have nothing meaningful to say.
The are many Dominicans who need what those two people are asking to stop. There is a point when the dry goods will stop of its own natural volition. The suggestion of De Pooter and Baptiste does not take in people in need. See where their concern lies? Save a Lot, Whitchurch, Astaphans.
Are you telling me that the relief will coolay Astaphans, Save a Lot and Whitchurch?
They merchants play a very necessary role in our society. So important is their role that they have their lawyers to represent them, their insurance to pay for their loss in cases like Erica. They have a voice, a loud, brazen, compelling and overriding voice. Plus De Pooter.
One little voice for the voiceless: Let the relief (of any kind) stop on its own volition. Those in need, even if society looks down on them, are people too. The merchants will still and always sell.
I believed Mr. DePooter mentioned these supermarkets because they are the more prominent ones with higher VAT Payments, I think what he is saying makes alot of sense. The country really needs the VAT and if the wrong persons (who can avoid to buy in the supermarkets) are getting relief, then this can cause some effects on the supermarkets and shops. We have to think beyond Astaphans and Save A Lot
arm & leg : let me take a bet : you are not from the private sector ! you probably never work 70 or 80 hours a week to maintain your business alive! you never spend sleepless night wondering how you are going to make it to pay your employee. stop to show a total lack of respect t for theses people who did invest , time, money, health, family life, to try to grow and develop their country. what are they supposed to do? a public apology because in the same time they make a liitle bit of money and also provide employment and collect taxes for the country? Open your eyes , yes we need the relief, but does he need to penalize our people or help them ? why customs Officer going back to their home every day with packs of water when people in certain village do not have any ? how ever took the decision to cancel the festival will get paid at the end of October for sure ( and with big numbers on the check) what about tours operator s , taxi driver, restaurant , bars owner, hotels, guest house,?
And they do all that for love of country and not their bank balance? I don’t mind but LET US BE REAL!
People are being discouraged to drink Pipe borne water, some communities have no idea when they will be receiving running water and bottled water is still being distributed in several communities to needy people. Yet this man is calling for a halt in water coming into the country.
If only you use to be on the ground to see how people react when water is being distributed to some communities, perhaps then you would see the need. But these guys sit outside the circle of the reality of the poor people on the ground. They are unable to identify with the plight of the ordinary man on the ground and their interest is to push nothing but their businesses.
The Contradiction : U know why ? These guys were once extremely poor. what do U expect?
don’t be surprise. A man who grew up with all the goodies in life keeps it simple like 1,2,3 not 10000078 etc. Some have manifested the effects of poverty building houses ( not homes) from ill gotten activities- now they have empty nests may never have grand kids and become divorced and rent in the environs of the upper echelons of our current and old neighbourhoods.
The old adage Stands: U can take a pig out of mud but not the mud out of the pig yo cochon.
Remember, we have local producers of bottled water, one that sells natural spring water and the other re-processed Dowasco water. They lose sales (and profit) if people bring in bottled water from elsewhere for free. Mr. Baptiste is talking on behalf of business in Dominica and not for poor thirsty consumers. Mr. Baptiste is ok. He got a duty waiver on his Mercedes from P.M., which would have bought a lot of bottled water.
Good people. I am not there to bash anyone. It is late to ask donors to send cash, but it is the right thing to do. From day one, I stated that instead of the barrels, cash should have been sent to enable commerce. I will not repeat the benefits of cash circulation in the econmoy.
However, I am surprised that DAIC talks about donors sending cash yet Creole in the Park is cancelled which is a “cash cow” event. If you add all the reasons for not having the Creole in the Park, they would not come close to the benefits of having the activity. This would have been a good opportunity to have started the event on Wednesday and continued to Sunday (a suggestion) since there was no Creole Music Festival. The persons who paid their air fares and booked their holidays would have come to Dominica and spend money. – good for the economy – and enjoy Creole in the Park. Patrons are struggling to get return of fares or transfers for carnival etc.
Hope we learn our lesson.
I think its rude to ask donors to send cash
Money some how always seems to get lost or lands up in the hands of people who really dont need it ..
This was not posted by Me but a plagiarist.
I didn’t realize so much revenue was generated from VAT. In one month…. 10.3 million (August). Wow. For the sake of transparency I hope these figures will continue to be published as time goes by. What they should have also stated was perhaps an update on how much more money is required to meet the 1.298 billion for infrastructural rebuilding.
WHAT do they do with all that money.We are still begging. Public work workers still don’t get paid.Is someone pocketing that money? Imagine how much is collected for 12 months.
so its all about the people with the big businesses. its a money game well the world is seeing it so I guess you lost. Do you know the effort these people making to put a barrel or box together ? just be appreciative and say thanks
For individuals or those in general who reside overseas, it also cost a lot to send barrels home. Then the cost of paying for them at the Customs. Preferably, if it is possible,cash would be better.
I could not have said it better. All these guys are concerned about is their pocket. People understand the need to send goods and also realize that it is safer to send that than cash because the greedy will keep ALL the cash. Yes they will also take some of the goods but it is easier to call them out because we know who they are.
Having said that, I want to call out the more fortunate ones from Pte.Savanne involved in the distribution at the DGS to please STOP taking the donated “nice” clothes for you all self and family. You DONT need it
! Mr. Darroux, please talk to “those close to you” souplay!!! 
They are tarnishing your legacy and people are secretly talking about it 
YES I SAID IT!!! 
.
To all donors I say thanks for what you are doing and please send whatever you have for the worst months are ahead. It will be a DEAD Christmas this year for the majority
Assertive, NEVER Aggressive
What about the 100 million dollars wasted during the election campaigns. I guess its haunting the economy now isn’t it?
Oh my, so are you disclosing the amount is seventy million dollars more than was thought?
Waste not, want not! If Skerrit survive to see another election before an uprising in Dominica in which he will be overthrown he can count himself protected by satan, and that all I have to say about that!
Your comment is unnecessary and uncalled for. This is not the topic discussed.
You all should take what you get and no demands should be made for cash.
Dno is changing ,right now ,any comments pertaining to skeritt and his rouge ways is being deleted by dno , Wow ,it seems like money really answers all things,or there is a traitor on board
I will respond to your comment. Why should you make comments about/against the PM? Some of your comments are derogatory, insulting and have no bearing on the article. They are out of place. If DNO prohibits them, I state, good!
If those of you who make such comments were sued for libel, this would be a lot of money for D/ca’s revenue or to the one who sued.
There are some people who get fed-up of reading nonsensical comments which are crap anyway. No one can learn anything from them. They are not educating. They cause DNO to lose readers.
So Truth are you saying / confirming that DNO was/is anti-Government. Nah I don’t believe that.
DNO tries to be fair but remember it is advertisements, not we bloggers, that pay for this.
DNO have to steer their canot carefully and I think they do a good job., much better than Matt in the morning anyway.
Mr. Baptiste
Take two tablets for cold and for cough
Mr. Baptiste the reason why people still need donated dry goods is because they can’t afford to buy the ones on the market. So even if the donors send cash, it will be insufficient to replace all the donated dry goods we are getting. Some of us call it BRO-GO-DOHWEE but without it the country will go hungry.
Now, if the disaporas send cash to family, it will go to cell phone top up, bling and the likes while the children and the needy go hungry. So as businessmen Baptiste and Emile would care less about the poor, needy and hungry but rather about their bottomline. The same attitude that the corrupt DLP has entertained for years which eventually sending our economy into a tailspin. We are on the verge of total bankruptcy in this country and it is because no one listened to the likes of Dr. Fountain and Lennox when they sounded the alarm. A country cannot prosper solely on VAT dependence. Chu nou toute paytay.
Assertive, NEVER Aggressive!
Beggars are no choosers
In times like these you need people with wisdom. As far as Skeritt is concerned he get more reason to beg. We act on impulse and don’t think before we act. Commonsense is very much lacking. It’s like a doctor prescribed the wrong medication for an ailment because he think it will make the patient feel good only to make the sickness linger and get worst. I have been here shouting loud hoping that people with commonsense will see. I will say again the key to recovery is to get back to business ASAP. That does not mean we forget the ones who were lost, does not mean we don’t care. It means we are strong and resilient. If our housing policy are not changed and our environmental and engineering practice remain the same TS Erika will happen again. I wish more people with some sense in their head will speak up. For those who scared they loose their lil government job you guys will all feel the pain so seat like lil dummies and say nothing.
All you cannot even hold a concert to raise cash but all you demanding donors to send cash since all you do want the ration or as we say on Borough Square BLOGODOW.
Well I have news for you; THE BARONESS collecting the cash for us already so please do not discourage people from sending their BLLOGODOW.
Remember you will remember preventing poor people from making an extra dollar during the independence by cancelling the WCMF and the CITP now you want to prevent us from getting our BLOGODOW. Why you do reduce telephone and internet rates for people since things bad now?
You know these jokers are insulting people with their politics? How dare you tell people what to send! Who cares about what happens to Astaphans and witchurch? Did it matter when Savarin called on the nation to boycott the business of Brisbane, which eventually shut it down?
The fact of the matter is, with this corrupt regime we have in Dominica, donors and democratic thinking persons might not be confident sending cash. Since they are about humanity, they might feel more comfortable sending food to ensure our people are not staved.
Did you not think of the economy when Skerrit spent over $30 million to campaign? You all need to call those foreign artist that left Dominica with a large chunk of money.
The economy was shrinking way before Erika and you all said nothing but kept promoting Skerrit as the best. So stop that garbage talk. If I want to send cash, I will send to my relatives, friends or church since I can trust them. Cash they want to prepare for next election?
Well said brother. Amen to that! Is not the hungry they worried about but the shortfall in their profits.
I would like to ask these businessmen and politician, you who have not been affected, and are well fed, even through this devastation, whether the very poor and hungry share your opinion?
Ask those who’ve lost everything they ever owned, their children and love ones and are now living in shelters, do they share our opinion?
Will you give them, enough clothes and food to replace what they’ve lost?, are the businesses suffering because, these business men, gave so much away free, or kept prices extremely low, that now they need to make up the lost
You would rather seet hat they receive money , so they can spend it on the inflated prices of goods? May God have mercy on you
Sounds a bit rude to me
I do not know to whom or what you are responding, but what I do know is that you ampere stupid, you look stupid, you write nonsense; it should be intellectual, something people can learn from. And I do not mean intellectual garbage!
So, shout your marijuana, cocaine mouth; that is my impression of you!
Are you feeling unwell what on earth is your reasoning behind your comnent . What the person is saying makes perfect sense , it is rather presumptuous to tell people what they have to donate . Think a little before you comment ,
By the way ,what is so intellectual about your comment , pray tell what can I and the rest of the readers learn from your posting . Dont worry i will tell you absolutely nothing ,
Why? Mr. Baptiste is saying that on behalf of the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (Business!) remember, not on behalf of the poor malaway.
“The man who holds the position of President of the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC), Jeffery Baptiste, ”
Sometimes I have to laugh at people like you covered with some title, doing nothing that is remotely related to the title you hold. Here you are talking about dry goods: Dry goods are simply things such as textiles, ready to wear clothing; and other distinguished from hardware and groceries.
Since industries falls under your portfolio I expected to hear you counting the amount of manufacturing industry’s put out of commission by the storm which you need to revitalize in order that affected work could get back to work. Rather you are here talking about food and lumber, and apparels. Even at that the mediocre stuff you are talking about should be manufactured in Dominica.
Where are our industries: President of what industry and commerce are you?
HA Ha ha Ha Ha HA ha Ha,AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,
what a country , , beggars have become choosers , want to tell people what to send ,
sir ,you should tell skeritt to come make his statement for himself and stop making a fool out of you,I find now that money have made too much of our well educated men turn J,A sses,
WHat ,too much dry goods ,and a week ago you all were sending people away saying ,food finish?alyou cannot save the dry goods in the bank ,so you all wants cash instead
If the dry goods cannot be disbursted ,fairly, Much less for cash,OH MY GoD,what a skeritt ,,
And he always finds some foolish sheep to push forward his agenda,,He had never been given a chance to learn how to use little, Is like he was born big,He would have been a better leader if he had purchased a bycicle before an SUV, Or ,if he had acted in the position before he was made official ,It is impossible to sail a boat to panama if you have never been there before ,or have no knowledge of it.
How did Christopher Columbus sailed throughout the Caribbean from Spain He had never been there before.what are radars for… And navigational equipment…
How dare you request a halt on dry good and ask for money instead !
Dominica never had enough dry goods before the storm anyway and I think certain corrupt elementsof our society who were prospering on the backs of Dominicans before the storm, are worried about their cash flow . Such silliness never cease to amaze me. Soon we might begin to take refugees from the middle east !!!
Furthermore, where would the cash end up…?!
Well it was you mr Baptiste that encouraged the cancellation of the WCMF, a revenue generating tourist attraction for the country. You businesses get involved in politics and completely screw things up. The government decided to cancel the festival, a major contributor to the vat revenue of the state and now all you crying? you all didn’t have the foresight to see what was going to happen if you all cancelled revenue generating activities? Similar to you all not investing in the agriculture sector was to the benefit of the import merchants. you all killed the farmers to make the importers wealthy. The mismanagement of the govt is catching up to it, if they had managed the resources of the country responsibly, then they would not have the country in that state. and all along the private sector supported the recklessness of the govt, now all you want to cry
AA, I couldn’t have said it better myself. I concur with you fully.
Good Point.Mr Baptiste, we want our BloGoDow
Do we really believe having the Festivals at this time would be better for the country so soon after TS Erika? Ask yourselves a few questions.
Would additional traffic help the roads still saturated with water?
Homes were destroyed? Are people whose homes were destroyed can accommodate family and friends?
Did any of our hotel and guest houses get destroyed or not accessible to the public?
Were any farms destroyed due to the TS Erika to supply enough food for the usual number of visitors at that time?
I mean those back seat drivers we have who believe they can see the roads better that the drivers have to stop believing they know better.
The government has the responsibility for every citizen even those who say they do not want them, but that is how it is. If you want to come and see your family and want to come and help cleanup the country come.
You know something we know opposition so well, if the Festivals were on, the same people would be blasting the…
You know something we know opposition to anything thing the government does or does not do so well, that if the Festivals were on, the very same people would be on DNO or the radio blasting the government for having had the Festivals and if by chance anything and God forbid would have happened, we would hear the same criticism.
At this time, I support every decision the government takes because I know no decision is taken lightly. Mr. PM and the Government of Dominica has my full support in the direction they are going to rebuild our country.
The critics will always have their say no matter what you do or do not do; so do whatever you believe is best that is the mandate we gave you.
You know something we know opposition to anything thing the government does or does not do so well, that if the Festivals were on, the very same people would be on DNO or the radio blasting the government for having had the Festivals in the first place and if by chance anything and God forbid would have happened, we would hear the same criticism and worse.
At this time, I support every decision the government takes because I know no decision is taken lightly. Mr. PM and the Government of Dominica have my full support in the direction they are going to rebuild our country.
The critics will always have their say no matter what you do or do not do; so do whatever you believe is best that is the mandate we gave you.
May God Bless our country and her citizens.
He-heh-he, Mr. Skerrit is having the concert in Barbados instead, more in keeping with the class of people he mixes with these days. His own country is too backward and the smell of poverty offends his delicate senses. I’m afraid first class travel and 5-star hotels may have spoilt him and make him lose touch with reality. By the way, is he traveling to Barbados on LIAT, the airline he asks us to support?