PM Skerrit says Petrocaribe critics were wrong; speaks of ‘challenges’ in Venezuela

pm and venezuela's ambassador
PM Skerrit and Venezuela’s ambassador Hayden Ovando Pirela at Wednesday’s function

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has said that the many criticisms levelled against the PetroCaribe agreement were wrong.

He made the remarks while delivering the featured address at a ceremony to observe the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Petrocaribe Agreement between Dominica and Venezuela held at Krazy Kokonut on Wednesday.

According to him, PetroCaribe is a true symbol of unity and integration.

“Every negative criticism that has been levelled against PetroCaribe time has revealed that those detractors were wrong,” he said. “And we have seen not only in Dominica but from Jamaica down to Suriname and to Nicaragua and to Bolivia, the benefits of PetroCaribe to those countries.”

He also spoke of “challenges” faced by Venezuela, saying they are not unique to that country alone.

“Many countries have gone through these challenges,” Skerrit stated.

He explained that Spain, which is a developed country, has an unemployment rate of 26 percent among the national population.

“Among the youth, 40 percent unemployment with chronic structural problems for the economy,” Skerrit stated. “The United States after the global crisis, the extent of the foreclosures’ people were losing their homes, the unemployment rate was at an all-time high, and they still today have serious chronic structural problems in the economy of the United States. The whole of Europe has gone through and continues to go through over the last 11 years a prolong challenge to their fiscal and economic situation.”

Skerrit indicated that people are discussing the economic situation in Venezuela as if it is the only place in the world that has gone and is going through this problem.

He went on to say that any economy, “whether Saudi Arabia, or Trinidad” that depends heavily on one source of revenue once there is a drop in oil prices, there will be challenges.

He said Dominica also have also experienced challenges and in 2000 the country inherited a very dismal situation.

“Our people public service salaries were being paid on the 12th to 14th of each month, that we were not paying our loans and debts to people,” he noted.

Skerrit stated further that Dominica will always stand in solidarity with Venezuela as long as he is Prime Minister.

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30 Comments

  1. MOM
    July 1, 2016

    This PM priorities are all screwed up. Take care of the children, high child abuse rate in Dominica, PM you have kids. Fight for Dominica’s children man!

  2. June 30, 2016

    What can we show for it, nothing but a huge debt

  3. LifeandDeath
    June 30, 2016

    Just to show that when the time comes and Dominicans start making lines to collect food-aid from Boats at Woodbridge Bay, Skerrit will still have a whip on your backs to keep that line straight..

    This guy keeps medling in affairs he don’t understand..I blame Dominicans for showing themselves up to be poor Judges of Character to have these same inept “officials” in office even after 16 years..Jah!!

    Not only Skerrit, but all the Ministers of Dominica Government seem to be lacking Cerebral Prowess and fair conscience..They seem incapacitated to be interested in anything other than staying in power, regardless if it chains the next generation to poverty and misfortune..

  4. solution 3ex
    June 30, 2016

    Free up Dominica man! You guys, make alix speaker of house in venuzuela and tony the president and you skerro, it’s minister for sports.

  5. rock
    June 30, 2016

    Skerite shut up boss.. Since u came in power tell me how much job u created?????? 17 years in government boss u a bloody waste!!!

  6. FORKIT
    June 30, 2016

    skerrit you will say anything about petro Caribe, once we don’t get to see the accounts and how the money is spent

  7. Bénédition
    June 30, 2016

    Singing for your supper PM… the question that must be asked is what’s the true benefits of PetroCaribe to Venezuela – given its much publicised economic downturn?

  8. cameron
    June 30, 2016

    Skerrit your a lost soul,did you know last week Venezuela officials met with the US officials,stop fooling the poor people of Dominica,its a matter of time before Maduro is eradicated.Skerrit fix the sexual acts on our young children,

  9. Favoured
    June 30, 2016

    Now you have side all that please pay the people the money we owe them if you can’t then send them bananas and dasheen as you promised them at the Haitian summit a few years ago. Stop the BS ing now. Soon from now you will run out of rhetoric and lies.

  10. verynice
    June 30, 2016

    Will never be able to take seriously anything this guy says….. Lol Just look at him!!

  11. viewsexpressed
    June 30, 2016

    “Many countries have gone through these challenges,” Skerrit stated. How ridiculous and immature. This man is living in denial to make such illiterate statements, ignorant of the reality of what governance and financial prudence is all about.
    What Skerrit is not telling us is that, Venezuela and Dominica`s economy has been hijacked by leaders of these two countries, who ruled aggressively, poorly, raised their own egos, left the poor people of Venezuela and Dominica is extreme poverty where they were made to beg and bow down to these two inept leaders for bread, water, juice and handouts. They have insulted their people, disrespected their integrity and gave their respective countries a very bad name.

    • viewsexpressed
      June 30, 2016

      Continued: … that failed Prime Minister has had difficulty solving to this day. Promises made of Bills before parliament have not materialised living people and NGO`s shamed and dammed by again playing petty immature political games with sensitive issues as increased Child Abused.
      Skerrit. It is time that he goes and take his bunch of inept bunch of illiterate labour members with him.
      Dominica is desperately need of a transfusion, a new injection of fresh and clean blood type that would not continue to contaminate the vessels and heart beat of Dominica`s ailing economy and Dominicans yearning for decent governant ince, guidance and trusted leadership.
      We need a new face, a trusted one, a decent one, and one where the people of Dominica are able to be part of the development of Dominica.

  12. Dave
    June 30, 2016

    MR P M

    16 years later, Dominica is in no better shape (please do not blame Erika). It was dismal then and it is dismal now.

  13. kubulol
    June 30, 2016

    Venezuela does not face “challenges”.
    Venezuela faces the consequences of any extreme left politic, led by a kind of communist regim :
    – the destruction of the economy of that formerly rich country, by the stupid leftist ideology of crazy Chavez and his boy Maduro
    – the refusal of a liberal economy, that would stimulate the private sector and create jobs
    – a complete lack of economic strategy based on a single source of revenu ( the oil ), instead of diversifying it and invest in other sectors
    – the huge lack of motivation of the workers as in any “ultra-socialist” country ( wether you work hard or not, you earn the same money ! the principle of communism )

    Needless to mention the persecution of political opponents, the endless rethoric of these leaders against USA, EU, … or any other democracy, the corruption, unsecurity…

    By the way ; Spain is not a oil producing country ; and Venezuela is the only oil producer in the world that struggles so much today because of…

  14. Dante Jones
    June 29, 2016

    Mr PM in what other part of the world do people have to line up for hours just to buy basic goods?
    In what other part of the world is toilet paper such a scarce comodity that it is sold at over 10x the market price?
    What other part of the world has several of its prisons making up most of every “top 10 most dangerous prisons in the world”?
    What other country has such a high murder rate per capita with firearms being prohibited?
    What other country has power outages scheduled on a daily basis to deal with an “energy crisis”?
    What other country has not just a vast supply of crude oil but fertile lands in a tropical zones, much sought after tourist attractions and a location that makes it a major trade point yet still has all those problems?

    You finally give your opinion on this issue and you resort to comparing Venezuela to spain and the united states? Please don’t insult people’s intelligence. You’d have probably been better off flat out denying the situation

  15. Jonathan St Jean
    June 29, 2016

    PM Skerritt,you are right that Trinidad and Saudi Arabia are two other countries who depend on oil revenue and are suffering from falling prices for the commodity.However despite the challenges they face there is no food shortage,mass hunger and chaos in those and other countries like in Venezuela.Why is that so,it’s because they have good leadership who rely on the free market forces and proven economic policies to govern.Contrast that with Venezuela,where Maduro and Chavez ruined the economy with their crazy ideology and mad free giveaway practices.Admit the truth Skerritt.These other countries don’t blame the US media for their challenges.Weak people always blame others for their failures.Time to hit the reset button in Venezuela and Dominica

  16. Doc. Love
    June 29, 2016

    I believe Skeritt loves the criticisms, whether it is the alleged corruption in his Government, whether it is electoral reform, whether it is not bringing the child abuse legislation to Parliament, whether it is Petro Caribe, whether it is his control over the IPO. If he would only keep Dominicans informed of what is happening in the country, I believe the criticisms would be minimum. According to Blessings,” in the absence of information, speculation is king.” When was the last time he had a genuine press conference with all the recognized media. In fact, he recognizes the outside press to a greater extent then the local press, therefore, he cannot blame Dominicans for wanting to criticize him and his Government. Everytime a general election comes around , he promises to meet the press once a month, after the election, he hides behind the microphones of two radio stations, DBS, Kairi and Tony, who regularly blows hot air on his behalf.

    • viewsexpresed
      June 30, 2016

      The criticisms will taint and haunt him for life. Trust me.

  17. Hortus
    June 29, 2016

    You are right, Venezuela is not the only country in the world going through this problem. Power mad dictators are being removed by the people all over the globe. So don’t get too comfy.

  18. truth
    June 29, 2016

    Skerrit boy….. How long?

  19. Real!!!!!
    June 29, 2016

    Comrade people are dying of hunger and the majority are starving not sure where the next meal will come from in an oil rich nation and you are reporting they are just experiencing.” a challenge”.

    That is exactly what you will tell the INTL community when our people are dying and starving in this country very soon.

  20. "No Respector of Persons"
    June 29, 2016

    The world is round and not flat as the early discoverers thought. Your time is coming, Sir. Be prepared.

  21. Daryl Joseph
    June 29, 2016

    It is true that the USA market took a hit in 2008 but most jobs was recovered within 4 years. An unemployed American can collect unemployment, so although they are not working they are not hungry.
    Try as hard as you can to make sure every single Dominican get treated equally and what happened in Venezuela will not happen in Dominica.
    Please Sir you are only 44 years old. Forward thinking, get rid of that custom system which has forever keep the Island down.
    Put people in a position to excel by getting everyone involved
    Stop making comparisons between 70 thousand and 300 hundred million

  22. Shameless
    June 29, 2016

    Wait a minute here; the event was held at crazy kokonuts? 8-O 8-O

    Are we back supporting an “alleged” accused child molester by hosting and attending such events at this place? Are these guys really thinking of the messages they are sending? The wounds are still raw in the minds of those of us who care guys. Are you doing this deliberately to tell us you openly endorse the accused against the allegations made? I am heart broken Dr. Punjabee Of Enba (under in patois). But on another note, what else do we expect from a sick and corrupt cabal.

    Always Assertive! :twisted:

  23. Me
    June 29, 2016

    Yes Sir! Just as they were wrong about your friend Muammar Gaddafi and Libya.

  24. Shameless
    June 29, 2016

    Go ahead Dr. Punjabee Of Enbar(under in patois). Make a smart fool of yourself in an attempt to please your handlers. Time will surely tell because you seem to think that as long as we are along the same line as Spain an Venezuela in terms of unemployment etc then Dca nice. There will always be a tomorrow to judge the unjust….,

    AlwaysAssertive! :twisted:

  25. Mark
    June 29, 2016

    That is not the reality skerrit. People are stealing food from each other homes and kitchens all over that country. You don’t have the i correct information Sir and if you have it you are not telling the truth. As for Austrie what does he know than to take out maypey.

  26. %
    June 29, 2016

    I dont believe anything emanating from your mouth! NOTHING!!!I agree with you that Venezuelas situation is not unique…I see Dominica next,because you have modelled the same handout policy of Chavez, aimed at impoverishing the people to get their votes…Once again it is shameful that it had to take honourable Linton to tell you that you should lend a hand to Venezuela.

  27. country man
    June 29, 2016

    Why don’t we do like Jamaica and Venezuela pay bay our Petro Caribe debt now. It will be pennies on the dollar given the loss of value of the Venezuelan currency

    • FORKIT
      July 1, 2016

      the pm said we do not owe Venezuela.. why are you wan us to pay a country we do not owe,,,, if he said he want to give them a grant to help with the situation they are in now, then that’s ok.. but again the ambarassador said that Venezuela is ok and if we give them anything, it would be returned to Dominica as a gift…
      I am really confused. I guess that is what we have nowadays… confused politicians that are clueless and greedy.

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