The Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), in partnership with Harris Paints and the National Bank of Dominica (NBD) have today launched an initiative aimed at injecting life, through color, back into the streets of Roseau.
The Roseau Paint-A-Thon will be held this Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22, with volunteers from the local corporate community painting six houses around the city.
At a launching ceremony, this morning, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Legal Affairs, Claudia Bellot, pointed out that to visitors, the tourism experience is enhanced by a clean environment and indicated the ministry’s delight at the initiative.
“This is the very first Paint-A-Thon organized by the Discover Dominica Authority and supported by various sponsors as part of Tourism Awareness month. On the part of the Ministry of Tourism, we are very hopeful that this initiative can be expanded in the future, to bring a fresh look to the entire capital city of Roseau and possibly the entire country of Dominica,” she said.
Financial Manager of Harris Paints Dominica Ltd, John Joseph reaffirmed Harris Paints’ dedication to this particular initiative, sponsoring all the paint needed. Additionally, Joseph offered the DDA a 15 percent discount on all paint needed for future endeavors with the aim of broadening the scope and reach of the initiative in the years to come.
CEO of DDA, Colin Piper said that the hope is to brighten up at least six city blocks, while looking forward to doing more and uplifting other blocks around the city. He also urged other members in the corporate community to participate in the event.
“We have National Bank of Dominica on-board with 22 volunteers and this is both a promotion and an appeal to other corporate citizens who had not heard of the initiative and who think that this initiative is in keeping with their corporate citizenship,” he stated.
In the event of rain, June 4 and 5 are the reserve dates for the event.
Why not put a BIG……bandage on the bobo without treatment, and see how fast it will heal……but who am I to talk? we all see the problem yes! but as we all know it’s much bigger than the solution… yes Roseau is a big mess…but it is home to some, broken or not, a mans home is his castle..
Painting Roseau, is not cleaning it up this would just be cosmetics (one does not paint over rust). Roseau needs to be cleaned up, clean the drains, get rid of the stench around the city, remove the old dilapidated and rat invested buildings and mind you most of them are fire hazards, there is one right next to the Financial Centre, you mean, nobody in authority see that and take a closer look, the drain really stinks with all the filth running down from the Pound residential are, our Mayor never sees this, Sad..and you know what? the tourist are always taking pictures of that area. Come on DDA better can be done, work with the city council, it´s their job.
Roseau should be extended too. Into Newton or across the bridge or something. The city too small and cram up.
With that said it is good they trying to clean it up nicely. And can we please fine rubbish dumpers??????
Come on people, hopefully this is just a start. An uplift to remind us how attractive Roseau could be. But we also need an effective mayor, who takes firm action to clean up the city instead of wringing his hands like Pontius Pilate and making spurious trips overseas. Install attractive refuse bins (get corporate sponsors to fiance them), ban all non-licenced vendors and those whose hygiene standards do not meet the norm, clear all vacant lots, ensure that no waste is discharged into open gutters and start imposing fines on those, who insist on urinating (…and worse!) in public places. These are all steps that can be enacted reasonably quickly with little or no capital outlay for the City Council.
Cerberus for Mayor of Roseau. It just boggles my mind that the people in authority (i.e Mayor of Roseau, etc.) cannot think of such simple ideas to help improve the capital city.
It’s about time!!!! The place looks BAD!!
how about giving the Ministry building a much needed powerwash. How about this time actually installing rubbish bins around the town .. how about fixing the drainage system in Roseau.
It would be best if we can start with the side walks and the many STINKING drains!!
Good idea. there should be proper sidewalks and drainage on roads throughout the island. This would make our country, especially Roseau, much more visitor friendly.
If you spray a banger (an old rusty car)it will still look like a banger – so painting Roseau will not make it ‘Beautiful Roseau’. Think of better initiatives. For example, we can eradicate the stench and
rat infestation by burying pipes to carry the waste water away from the town – this would be a better ‘Thon’ and in so doing we will not have the worry of leptospirosis.
Start with those government buildings… those concrete Police and Govt HQ buildings have not been cleaned/painted since the 70s… Tear down those old dilapidated buildings in Roseau
PAINT-A-THON MY BIG TOE, ROSEAU NEEDS A CASE OF DASHWAY(IN ENGLISH THROW AWAY) THIS IS THE MOST FILTHY TOWN , THE MAYOR SHOULD BE A SHAME OF HIMSELF
Great idea, but why stop there?
Only 6 (six) houses are to be painted. Surely this will show case the condition of the remaining houses/buildings that are in a desperate need of a face lift.
Why not demolish the shacks, clean up the rat infested urine smelling waste land etc. There is so much that can be done and should be done (not just by the DDA, Government or the local corporate community). We as a nation should play our part by not leaving rubbish on the streets, by keeping our surroundings clean. When all is said and done, we will be doing it for ourselves (and future generations) and not for the tourist.
As I always said we should not be inspired to keep our houses in order for the sake of a visitor (tourist), but because its the right thing to do. What should be tackled is building codes and proper planning particularly for the capital. There are many villages where the avg dwelling houses are in much better shape than some in the capital. This is disgraceful. I wont even talk about the gutters and the garbage piles and the vendor stalls and sidewalks. A good paint job is appreciated but tourism should not be the driver. We need acceptable standards, implementing laws already in effect and incentivizing and educating people to do the right things.
Paint a thon my a*****. All you better get serious in this country. Paint the outside walls when the wall is in itself cr*p.Keep painting those unsightly façade when right beneath the fresh paint is garbage- literally and figuratively.
Just notice how deceitful those in authority are- Badwill is talking about negotiating ith the cruise ships and coincidentally there is a push to paint up Roseau. So the cruise ship fuel issue is no longer.
Dominicans open your eyes and stop drinking these lies that is being fed to you. Stop being fooled by people who are inept , lazy and corrupt.
While it is worthwhile to recognize the effort of Harris paint I also must say that the idea is laughable. Painting a few blocks does not add to our tourist attraction and will not be an added impetus for the cruise ship companies. We need to get serious and stop this low level backward thinking and planning. We are currently spending 27 million dollars on a state house whereas the cruise ship companies are not satisfied with our cruise ship tourism accommodation.
My contention is not about politics but about everyday reality. It is mind boggling that the government has elected to spend that much money on a state house that is designated to be liability and with high maintenance cost too whereas we have dire need to improve our Tourism product.
“Putty and paint may let the devil look like a saint but it is still the devil”- The ridiculous garbage bins that we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for did not make difference and maybe it is time to change the way we operate and do things in Dominica. Dominica needs a revolution of ideas and to do so the change must begin with the politicians who are just to immature , uneducated ( not just academically but socially and intellectually), selfish and egotistic.
I feel nothing but anger for the way that business is conducted in our country – experience will show that corruption breed ignorance and total disregard for the wealth fare of others and what we are experiencing in Dominica is the quintessential trait of a brigand regime the DLP.
Any recommendations!
There’s been enough recommendations put forward many times, so Comic Review is correct. Roseau needs more than a paint job. The first route to progress is to get rid of the current custodians of the town and replace them with more intelligent and far sighted managers!!
That’s an innovative idea, Roseau should really look more appealing because it’s the city and the city should be welcoming.
The should also look into those old dilapidated buildings too and those plot of land which city pple tend to dump their garbage in… They City Councel must start enforcing the laws and penalize persons who disregard the fact that garbage should not be dumped in the town… Then they blaming the government for their wrong doings and when cruise ships stop visiting the island they want to blame a particular person?
The Idea is a great one though, keep up with the good works!!