DNO Poll Result: Budget not a progressive job generating fiscal package

The final result of the poll

On Tuesday, July 17 Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit presented the 2012-2013 national budget during the formal opening of parliament.

The $437.6 million budget was criticized by some who said it lacked foresight while others said it was a well thought out budget reflecting tough economic times.

Dominica News Online sought the opinions of readers in a new poll.

The poll asked whether the budget was a progressive job generating fiscal package and is it one that will move the country forward.

612 readers participated in the poll.

374, that is 61 percent, thought the budget was not a progressive job generating fiscal package and will not move the country forward.

175 readers or 29 percent voted yes while 63 voted “Don’t know.”

DNO polls are not scientific.

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21 Comments

  1. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 29, 2012

    DNO, It must be something that LEN&AS of the Next Level programme on KairiFM radio eat or breathe in the studio that make them so intellectually dishonest, reckless and mad on Saturday and Tuesday nights.

    It is unbelievable how such grown men, senior members of the bar, a SC and a former priest could engage in such mischievous lies, distorted truths, and intellectually dishonest discussions in furthering their narrow partisan agenda and misleading the ignorant and diehard Labour supporters. Whatever is in the air that they breathe, causing them to be so mad, they sound silly and desperate.

    Tony repeatedly says that the airport would not be economically viable as it would only increase the debt of the country. Well! J. Astaphan Co. Ltd has been in existence for decades but the company still maintains overdraft facilities at our local banks to meet it recurring expenditures and loans for more long term capital projects. The fact remains J. Astaphan Co. Ltd is involved in business and the expectation is they will continue to remain in business in spite of its debts, especially as it will soon be able to import cheap, (hopefully of good quality) rice, sugar and flour with the restructuring of DEXIA. The company creates jobs and contributes to government revenues from its business operations, including interest and charges from its financial transactions.. It adds value to the economy and its manageable debts are not seen as a negative.
    LEN&AS also read from a letter written by Edison James in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition in the early 90’s to the US authorities in which he clearly supported the construction of an international airport but merely objected to the presence of US military personnel on Island at the sensitive period during the run-up to the general elections. However, with twists and spins, LEN&AS engaged in a vicious, malicious and unwarranted attack with a cheap and insincere interpretation of the contents of the letter. They suggest that Mr. James should be held responsible for Dominica not having an international airport today- kooo-coo- crazy analysis.

    Along that same line of mad men analysis, LEN&AS, who are senior attorneys- at-law attempted to make a non-issue into a controversy. The fact that government purchased productive lands from famers in the Wesley,-Londonderry Estate area for the construction of an international airport was bad in their view. They claimed that it was illegal, caused many farmers to be displaced and to be driven into poverty without assistance of a programme like the Red Clinic etc etc…crazy koo-coo analysis.

    The UWP did nothing illegal. Government has the constitutional right to acquire private property for the undertaking any project for public good. Yes, when this happens individual citizens are usually negatively affected. However, the farmers were paid. Tony himself represented the Laville’s. In exchange, the country was about to get an international airport. Furthermore, once the Labour Party won the election in 2000, the same farmers returned to the land and guess what,…the same productive fertile land that they talk about have been lying empty in fallow with no farming activities today.

    Even more shameful is the insinuation that because of the good intentions of the UWP to construct an international airport, Mr. James caused the decline in the banana industry. It must be something that they eat or breathe in the Kairi FM studios that made them so intellectually dishonest, reckless and mad.

    Are Tony and Lennox getting increasingly desperate and mad? Are they patriotic Dominicans? Are you Dominican? I am.

  2. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 28, 2012

    The International Airport

    According to PM Skerrit, one cannot refer to sustainable jobs in the tourism sector without addressing the issue of air access. You are damn right Hon. PM! By analogy, the fact that you have limited your support for an international airport to dimple service explains why you cannot refer to a budget as one that creates sustainable jobs in tourism. As Ms. Judith Pestaina has stated, the monies allocated to the tourism sector in the budget are inadequate to make the Dominican tourism product more competitive. Contrary to the PM’s statement that stay-over tourists are on an increase, the hoteliers on Island claim that stay-over arrivals are on a decline. Additionally, government has imposed an Air Passenger Duty,
    But now that the PM has recognized that we do need an international airport, it is disappointing that he has been unable to employ his “excellent negotiating” and begging skills to obtain concessionary grant funding or soft loans to finance an international airport project as he so “skilfully negotiated” for the construction of a $27 million state palace. At least the UWP had already secured the funds for the project (Yes, Tony will say it was a bad loan negotiated by Timothy). Had the UWP been in office over the last 12 years- Dominica would definitely have had an international airport.

    The argument of LEN&AS that we cannot afford an international airport as it would be an additional financial burden on future generations is rejected. This vision-less rationale can be apply to any other national debt including the unaccountable, hidden/ and undisclosed Petro Caribe “Austrie” debt. As a country, we cannot accept such a myopic rationale. Can we afford a $27 million place? How does one measure the economic value of Dominica-China Friendship Bridge? What is the economic rate of return on the construction of a government school in a rural community? Some major national capital projects cannot be justified simply on the basis of costs/profit/return on investment basis. We need to expand our national vision. We must reject the simplistic argument about the financial viability of an international airport in Dominica.

    The reason for advancing this argument could be because we are currently on an economic path of low productivity, low revenue and high debt. Whatever the argument, we cannot throw more millions at improvements to Melville Hall airport. The investment in an international airport was a high priority under the UWP and must remain a priority if we are to achieve economic prosperity. Anything less is unacceptable.

    Are you Dominican.. I am Dominican

  3. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 27, 2012

    The budgetary goodies
    (Note in my last posying I meant Sour bites)

    DNO, please accept my sincere appreciation for allowing me to be so lengthy and detailed in my comments. I wish to apologize to you and your readers. I promise to be much shorter with my comments in the future.

    However, in light of the fact that 21 hours- (less 11 for sleeping/eating/shower and travel etc) was given to the seasoned politicians of the UWP in yet another show of arrogance and misuse of parliamentary privilege by a group of immature boys and girls in parliament, my objective here is to demonstrate that one could have presented a constructive and substantive response to the budget within a few hours. I had no preparation time since DNO published the story and here it was, while sitting in my office doing my other tasks, – my intellectual juices and love for country began flowing like the Roseau River and I became intimate with my computer key board -allowing my thoughts to flow to produce this response. The fact remains that the opposition could have done a better job and I am very disappointed.

    Now, to those Labourites and Skerrit worshipers, who may think that I am being too negative in response to the budget, you will be pleased to note that I did read the PM’s dimples and noted the following goodies in the budget: (Well ignorant, gutter politics, mupuise Mammy from Newtown will not be reading this for Sogofly, LEN&AS, Mervin, Cecil, Ronald and Ducreay could tell her what I have written.

    1. No new or increase in taxes, particularly the VAT, albeit there were there were some reasonable increases in some fees related to the economic citizenship programme, permanent residence, permits, employment visa, firearm licenses, importation duty on tobacco, adjustment to costs associated with the application of passports etc;

    2. Focus on developing our geothermal potential in the Roseau Valley, which will result in a decrease in reliance on the use of fossil fuels, clean our environment, lower the cost of electricity and help create employment;

    3. Attention to the provision of affordable housing to the less fortunate ones and the development of serviceable lots in area like Jimmit, Union Estate and Hillsborough Gardens;

    4. Proposed construction of the Roseau River promenade with mall, broad walk etc;

    5 Promises of improvements in the quality, efficiency and effectiveness in basic education;
    6. Construction and/or rehabilitation of police stations in some communities;

    7 Special concession programme for taxi drivers who have registered and are certified by Discover Dominica;

    8. Lifting of restrictions or waiver of visa requirements for visitors from North America, Britain, EU;

    9. Support and assistance for the Producers Cooperative;

    10. Employment Pilot programme to graduate people on welfare to employment in the Fly City, Layou and St Joseph area;

    11. Consideration to utilize more funds from the economic citizenship programme for funding more local capital projects;

    12. Proposed setting up of Export Dominica and the grating of Mr. Waddy Astaphan long dream of dismantling DEXIA and allowing that entity focus on developing export markets, while the importation of rice, sugar and flour is left to the private sector;

    13. Pledge to support DAPEX (although more should be done);

    14. Provision or securing of funds for the private sector to improve to upgrade sea transportation;

    15. Partnership with Discover Dominica and the Manufacturing and agro-processing sectors;

    16. Vision to make AID Bank a major economic of growth by facilitating access to loan funds;

    17. Investment in the small and medium-sized business sector including the SBU, NDFD, and the DYBT, which will give a boost to young entrepreneurs;

    18. Introduction of an apprenticeship programme to better align skills base to requirements of the labour market;

    19. The call for more elimination of waste in the public sector (which fell short of reducing the size of cabinet, reduction in travel allowances etc but focused on the reduction of private use of government telephones and unfettered use of government vehicles among other goodie;

    20. Whereas government is busy undertaking design and construction of hotels, which ought to be left to the private sector or at least be undertaken jointly with the private sector, it has called on the private sector to partner with it in fighting crime. However, this is an encouraging sign especially as government has proposed to allow the duty free importation of security surveillance camera.

    Peeping, Prof, LEN&AS et al, I hope you appreciate that I have tried to be fair, balanced and professional in my review of the budget of your PM.
    I am Diminican- Are you?
    Love you – DOMINICA.

    • Correction
      July 30, 2012

      I will not be as lengthy but just to say that what you refer to as the BUDGET really is NOT the budget it is actaully a synopsis of what the BUDGET entails as PRESENTED BY THE HON. PRIME MINISTER.

      The actual budget is 459 pages long and the opposition party had it for over 14 days (2 weeks) for them to give their own synopsis to present in parliament, NOT 21 HOURS as they made you believe.

      If you are a friend to Spags or Eddo or any of the opposition members in parliament or if you have other access i want to suggest you get a copy of this 459 page document and tear it apart like what you did with the presentation..

      This document is not posted on the website but is a public document, it contains all the assumptions made, that will assist you in making good discussion on the vision and growth plan of this government.

      I think the BUDGET as presented by the Hon Prime Minister is very good and will reflect growth in the economy.
      To say not enough for farmers is wrong, the Agriculture Investment Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture is a very good avenue but guess what, farmers may kill it like how they kill DBMC, because they refuse to repay the loans and this is very sad.. We must send a clear message to farmers that no one owes them a living and they must take their role seriously, pay their debt!!

      • ROSEAU VALLEY
        July 30, 2012

        Thank you for your kind response. I will, however, leave the 459 page document for the assessment of Spags, Eddo and their friends as this is their official responsibility. This is just my personal analysis without the benefit of the necessary supporting documents. In spite of all my reading and writing, I am a very busy person and do not have the time to review these documents. What I do on DNO and other places is merely based on love for country. Nothing more- nothing less.

        Please be assured that I do not have any dealings with any member of the opposition or government. I do not have access to the referenced document but I wish I could read them just for information. You see, Correction, the public does not concern itself with the documentation that you have referenced. All the public hears/reads about is the PM budget presentation, the contributions of members of Parliament and the opinion of pundits. I would not be surprised that if I were to read the full 459 pages of the referenced document too much would be revealed as I tend to look deep into the details and report objectively – something that Christian does not or cannot do.

        As you noticed I did highlight what I thought were positives in the budget but honestly my fellow Dominican- the budget does not have what is necessary to advance Dominica BEYOND THE NEXT LEVEL. It is too short-sighted to focus on the NEXT LEVEL.

        Nevertheless, I respect your opinion that the BUDGET as presented by the Hon Prime Minister is a good one and will reflect growth in the economy. You know my views on that. Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion. Much appreciated
        Respectfully
        Roseau Valley

  4. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 27, 2012

    Scour budgetary bites

    The budget has failed to outline a strategic growth plan for the economy. It cannot be characterized as a “Peoples budget.” It lacks the fuel necessary for the promotion of long term economic growth. It is a budget that shows that the VAT and grants are the two fundamental pillars of our economic survival. The budget is short-sighted with no major move for construction of an international airport. The budget lies in stating that the complete upgrade of the Melville Hall Airport to accommodate night landing has considerably eased air access to Dominica. It is not a job creating budget.

    The most obvious evidence of the above is seen in the meagre allocation of funds for the agricultural sector. We note that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries accounts for only 3% of the budget expenditure. This is grossly insufficient to accomplish 1% of the things promised by the PM such as increased production of banana and non-banana crops, development of a local poultry and pork industry and increase in coffee production.

    Interestingly, the Ministries with the largest share of the national expenditures are that of the two individuals, whose membership in parliament was challenged for violating our constitution. The Ministry of Finance will spend 27% and the Ministry of Education 16%. Dominicans should be worried that part of this budgetary allocation will go towards the continuation of the programme that abuses public funds and only serve to idolize the PM- I refer to the “Red clinic.” Noting that some of the funds will be used for road rehabilitation projects, it the hope of the people of the Roseau Valley, particularly in Wotten Waven, Ladaut and Morne Prosper that our Parl. Rep will get some of the funds earmarked for that purpose to give some urgent attention to our roads.

    The budget does not offer anything substantial for public servants per se but I will leave it to Mr. Letang to comment on this aspect of the People’s budget. It is also noted that out of the total amount allocated for personal emoluments, salaries, wages of all public sectors employees in the country, approximately 3-4% will go towards the salaries and other allowances for the 17 government ministers and their advisors.

  5. Another UWP Clown
    July 27, 2012

    I am disagreeing with the poll…this DNO stuff is too much in our uwp favour…let’s be more balanced

  6. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 27, 2012

    The National Debt

    DNO- Speak, I must speak, for if Dominica could speak she would have taken more than an hour and a few minutes to defend herself. Dominica has feed me and raised me into who I am today. The least that I could do is write in her honour. Thank you for the opportunity.

    We all recall that one of the accusations made by Tony and the Labour Party against the UWP administration was the mismanagement of the country’s debt, which, at the time, was at a manageable level in light of the emphasis of the UWP on developing the productive sector of the economy coupled with its noble intention on ensuring that Dominica would not remain the laughing stock of the region as the only sizeable Island without an international airport.

    Now we are $1 BILLION DOLLARS in debt and growing. The questions are:
    -What have we done with the debt that we have accumulated so rapidly over the years?
    -How are we going to pay back that amount of debt when all the sources of the grant funding have dried up? In the first place no country can develop based on grant funds.
    – How do we sustain an economy based on this level of debt?
    – Is that really all our debt? What about the 40% unaccounted Petro Caribe debt? Why isn’t that debt included as part of our overall national debt?
    – If the total debt is really higher than is reported then the ratio of debt to GDP must be much higher than reported.

    Then again, it is very difficult to understand that whereas our national debt is increasing and our GDP is declining, the PM reports that our debt to GDP ratio is improving. I do not know but I must have been absent from that macro-economics 101 class.

    As usually, the PM always finds something to blame for the bad news. This time it was not the economic financial situation per se, it was due to “the Layou floods, tropical storm Ophelia, the completion of the Roseau to Melville Hall Road project and bridging finance. Suffice it to say, the only progressive aspect of the budget on Dominica’s debt lies in the statement that government has successfully concluded debt restructuring negotiations with major creditors including the 82.6 million bonds with the Royal bank of TT, a loan taken by the UWP for the construction of the international airport (on rather unfavourable terms) by the same man who the Labour Party accused of being corrupt in the UWP but who is now well-placed in the corruption filled cesspool.

    • D
      July 27, 2012

      This was a really long post but I took the time to read it. You are right about everything. What i don’t understand is why u can see this so clear but the government is not. Maybe you should run for office…. just saying

      • ROSEAU VALLEY
        July 29, 2012

        Thank you. You are so kind and generous. I apologize for the length of the submission but this is such an important matter and I am not sure that the opposition has adequately dealt with the issues raised in the budget. I am happy doing what I do in contributing to Dominica’s development in my own small way.

        The politicians are blinded by partisan interest and therefore they conveniently do not see the truth. I am not one of those who believe that the only way in which one could contribute meaningfully to the country’s development is by getting involved in partisan politics. To each his own- though I would not rule it out if the people were to so indicate there support.

        But I cannot be bought to be a Parl. Rep. I am too independent minded for that. I do not need to be bribed like the Parl. Reps of the Labour party to represent my people. My contribution would be out of love for people, constituency and country in the same way people like Mamo served the country and Henry and Norris served the valley. I would not be interested in personal, status, power or wealth like the current Parl. Rep of the valley.

        My present concern is with the path that the Skerrit lead administration is taking. To that extent, although I have great respect for the entire Mc. Intyre family and I used to see Collins (my Parl. Rep) as a descent young man who could have had my support, he entered politics through money He was bought by and is owned by the PM. Now he is one of the leading corrupt politicians in cabinet. He has joined and has been implicated in many corrupt practices including the fertilizer and garbage bin bol among others.

        Having said that my Parl. Rep –Mc Intyre has done some work in the valley, which is clear in terms of road rehabilitation, housing, sports etc. The Morne Prosper road will be a major piece of achievement when completed, albeit it is clear that the Labour Party is playing politics to have the project completed just before elections so that it can be used as an election gimmick in 2014. But then, all politics is local..,and this is what is expected in local partisan politics. The Parl. Rep is partially excused. Therefore, at this juncture, I am not eager to jump in. I would, however, encourage Collins to move away from Skerrit and join either the Freedom Party or the UWP in demonstration of his embarrassment of the Labour Party and he will certainly regain my respect and earn my support.

  7. Whale Watcher
    July 27, 2012

    Roseau, You have said it all. I totally agree with your comments. This is just hitting the populace with some wicked jabs – Global Economic Crisis – Fiscal Prudence is another of their rhetoric. They just continue feeding us with lies and insults…I guess we just seat there, and blah blah blah with no action; so they will continue until it causes their demise.
    Keep on writing Roseau Valley, I am reading and learning.

    • ROSEAU VALLEY
      July 29, 2012

      Thank you Whale Watcher, Could you tell us how Dominica voted at the recently concluded International Whaling Commission (IWC) held in Panama? I hope that Dominica did not vote along with the other CARICOM countries and our representatives were true to the thrust of Dominica’s eco-tourism industry.

  8. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 27, 2012

    Agriculture, Tourism and Construction.

    DNO- thank you for this forum-I am not finished yet- since Sprags could hardly exhaust 1 hour in dissecting and destroying this shallow budget.

    Page 6 of the PM’s budget tells a sad story that is polished with contradictions to fool the unsuspecting. The preliminary estimates indicate that performance for the year 2011 remained positive amidst…(you guessed it!) the global economic crisis…the economy is projected to grow by 2.0% and 1.8 % in 2012 and 2013 respectively. “The improvement in performance was due to growth in the agriculture, construction and tourism sectors”. Well, Well, Well, I guess we may well add due to the excellent negotiating and begging skills of the PM.

    Improvements in agriculture? Take it from here Randy and Mr. Louis! I hear, “the banana sub-sector is expected to grow by 1.7%.

    Improvements in Construction? Take it from here engineering firms, construction companies, public works, truckers association, employers federation, trade unions! Tell us who got or didn’t get jobs from all the construction and capital projects abound.

    Improvements in tourism? Take it from here hoteliers, Small guest house owners in the Roseau Valley, tour guide operators, street vendors, taxi drivers. Tell us how come we have done so well when the number of cruise ship arrivals and visitors has declined and continue to decline. Thank God, the few who visit enjoy our country and are willing to stay longer and spend more. Consequently, rather than allowing the private sector to grow-government is now building 150 room hotel against all advice from the same IMF who has advised governments to stay away from such activities which are better left for the private sector.

    But the core of the failed policy of the administration lies in the PM’s statement that it is not the private sector that is the engine of growth in Dominica, it is the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). According to him, this acts as a fiscal stimulus, targets capital expenditure and continues to fuel economic growth in a construction sector in which more Chinese and foreigners are employed than Dominicans. What kind of economic model is this!

    Our Government must now accept the fact that we are going nowhere with a total dependence on tourism, grants and foreign remittances if we are truly interested in enjoying growth and sustainability of our economy. We cannot continue to accept IMF’s advice against our better judgment and what is good for Dominica. We can no longer fail to make significant investment in and revitalize our agricultural sector in lieu of the pie in the sky focus on tourism and continued begging for international grants.

    The need to invest heavily in our agriculture is now. It is of paramount importance and of critical necessity in building and sustaining our economic future. Agriculture has been and should continue to be the main stay of our economy. We need to listen to Pat Arron and Soul Puss and go back to the soil while DEPEX and DEXIA aggressively continue to seek sustainable markets for our produce.

  9. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 27, 2012

    The fallacy of blaming everything on the “global Financial Crisis”

    We should all be very tired of hearing the misplaced references to the “global financial situation” like a stuck record and banging our head against the thick wall of intellectual lies, dishonesty and disrespect of this administration. A superficial read of the budget would lead one to the false conclusion that all our problems should be blamed on the “global financial situation.” I cannot join that choir in singing this chorus while I exonerate the Labour administration from the consequences of its failed economic policies.

    Those who wish to know the truth will understand that this manufactured lie of the Labour Party Administration is a fallacy and untruth. To the extent that we hinge our economic survival on tourism, of course we will be significantly impacted by the global financial crisis but that shouldn’t be our main concern today. I shall not reiterate my comments made on DNO https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/tourism-publicity/fewer-cruise-ships-calls-for-dominica/- but I would simply reiterate that the global economic crisis that affected Dominica began in the late 80’s. We lived through it in the 90’s. Reference is made to the devastating impact of the changes in the international trade regime under the policy direction of the WTO, the consequences of globalization, international trade liberalization and issues related to the unification of the EU.

    Dame Eugenia repeatedly warned us about this in the 80’s in her calls for diversification of our agricultural sector and the entire economy. She got the Taiwanese to assist us in that regard. Our economy was not to be dependent on international grant funding. We were on a path to economic growth under that basic economic model of enhancing our ability to fend for ourselves and to avoid the dependency on hand outs. Ian Douglas, it wasn’t only about paw-paw sir.

    The UWP managed the country through the worst of the negative impact of “the global crisis.” that affected Dominica. The UWP did not only keep the ship of state afloat with investment in agriculture and a thriving off-shore/financial sector but in four short years the UWP was setting a solid foundation for our future economic advancement. Now we are told on page 3 of the address that the UWP is “armed with the same ideas and suggestions (that was putting the country on a sustainable path) when there was no global crisis then”. What a lie.

    The fact is what is happening in the world today should not have impacted so heavily on Dominica’s economic sustainability had we continued with the approach and focus of the UWP. The reality does not support the rhetoric of the government and its agents. Dominicans should not be fooled into believing the nonsense about the impact of the global financial situation in Europe and North America blah! blah! blah!

  10. ROSEAU VALLEY
    July 27, 2012

    This is definitely not a progressive budget. It does, however, contain some instant goodies, which are incapable of taking us to or sustaining us through the Next Level of national economic progress and prosperity. On the contrary, there are too many indicators in the budget that point in the wrong direction and will keep us on a slippery and dangerous slope closer to the edge of the economic abyss.
    The budget is filled with a lot of unnecessary maipuis, economic lies, contradictory statements and attempts at misrepresenting and masking the international global/financial realities for partisan political reasons. The budget is bloated with an excessive amount of vague, unrelated and ambiguous statistical references and figures, which when closely examined give a totally complete picture from the ranting and raving of the government. One must be prepared to engage in deep analysis to discover the undisclosed truth about the state of our economy. Things are bad and we are on a free fall of economic disaster. One would not know that simply by listening to the PM and his supporters.
    Having read the budget address, I do not understand why more Dominicans are not fed up with the aggressive assault of the Labour Party on truth. I wonder why Dominicans continue to listen to the incomprehensible noises coming from the Labour Party for so long. Why according to Dr. Aaron are people not prepared to bang their heads into the fragile 18-3 political wall of the Labour Party government and causing the political bulldogs to humble themselves.
    One could spin the truth until every drop of its character falls to the ground but the reality remains that the focus, policies and priorities of this Labour administration are all wrongly placed. The PM’s statement on page 4 of his address did not escape my attention that there is no easy answer but it is all about focusing on priorities including “steadfastness and loyalty to country.” This is the same person who was illegally nominated to serve in parliament having been loyal to a foreign country/France and who then posted a coward defence of “self-incrimination” for violating the constitution that he swore to uphold as PM.
    Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of praise for the response of the opposition either. I was disappointed. Therefore, for now, I shall refrain from rebutting the PM’s jab at the opposition on page 3 of his address, that Dominica is the only country where there is no record of opposition participation in the economic debate for the last two and a half years and all he heard leading up to a budget on which there was no consultation with relevant stakeholders, was “noises from opposition quarters.’ I shall leave such comments for Edison, Spags et al to deal with.

    There is so much more to say…………

    • Another UWP Clown
      July 27, 2012

      I support you on that statement and this is why I am so tuned in to QFM, Matt in the morning, the farmers voice, What;s on your mind with Angello Allen, the Linton boys, Welcome to Pokitics, Judith Pestina show, and Hector’s facebook page.

      I think Hector John is a very dynamic leader and will lead us to economic glory.

      • ROSEAU VALLEY
        July 29, 2012

        Well, there are no clowns in the UWP, Freedom or Labour party. I suggest that you rethink your name. Whether you support one Party over the other, think more of and uplift your self-image.
        Thanks for your support of my statement but you should not limit yourself to QFM, Matt in the morning, the farmers voice, What;s on your mind with Angello Allen, Between you and me, Welcome to Politics and Freedom Voice. In order to be well round, well informed and knowledgeable of the issues, you should also listen to BDS (Talking point), The Heng and the Next Level on Kairi. Read the Chronicle, the Sun, DNO, DAvibes and the Dominican.net. Read regional and international news also and educate yourself. Broaden your scope and you will no longer be a CLOWN but another UWP WISE GUY.

  11. patriot
    July 27, 2012

    WHY THE HEADLINES ? THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN OUT NOW FOR A WHILE.

    TRYING TO CREATE A SPARK ?

    • ROSEAU VALLEY
      July 29, 2012

      I hope that I have created enough sparks to light up your dark world but I don’t think you would take the time to read what I have to say.

  12. fact check
    July 27, 2012

    At least the majority d/cans agree that it will not generate jobs. This should be the focal point of this budget.
    With a decrease in cruise ships and passengers.
    A decrease in Hotel stays by tourist.
    What’s next for this country? The RED CLINIC will not do the trick.
    jobs! jobs! jobs!

  13. Choice
    July 27, 2012

    Hey DNO,

    simply love the polls you are doing. Could you look at doing one on the populace acceptance on the CCJ. As you know the PM has already stated that Dominica is going to be the 1st OECS country to jump onboard.

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