Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) must mobilise large sums of money if it is to address the challenges confronting its nine member countries.
“And that is where we call on our development partners to appreciate the challenges with which we are confronted,” Skerrit told the opening ceremony of the 59th meeting of the OECS Authority on Saturday.
“The challenge which we have, with the issue of debt, the issues of our banking system, our financial system, strengthening those institutions, we are going to need an injection of serious hard financial resources to address these challenges,” he said.
Hello and good evening my people. I look at the photograph attached to this article and I see eight men but only two are properly dressed. The six alleged leaders look like they just returned from a bar so why should we expect those men to move the Caribbean forward.
I think we should elect are certain number of people to represent our needs on the OECS level. These people should not be part of the locally elected government. They should oversee geo needs of our people. These people are in cycle and whatever they plan to do are never materialized as they are facing elections of their own not concerned about the OECS as a whole.
Skerrit et AL need injections in more ways than one. Moreso for their psychiatric disorders. These guys are just sick too sick for us. Don’t know the Psychiatrists in the other islands but in DA maybe Skerro might want to treat ours seeing he did a diploma in Mississippi lol
Currently, Dominica has much more natural resources and beter tourist site than any other OECS country. However, fewer tourists visit there. What or who is to be blamed?
1) I think it is the people, they are too comfortable with their way of life and closed to new changes.
2) Bad governance! It has failed to open up Dominica to the world in the ways that other OECS countries have done.
3) Small mindedness.
The faces in the above picture represents the mismanagement of LIAT.
So how can they stand there and ask us to put more money in their hands? It is clear that those men have failed the OECS.
Grenadians have shown it by voting out its entire Gov’t , St.Lucia did it, and just recently Antigua followed.
So let us see how Dominicans will rise-up and answer the call for change.
Dominicans , you all have to move with the times.
I have an other child so I want more tax breaks and duty free concessions on baby clothes and food.
This is such an overly used theme, ” money grabbers asking for more money to be put in their hands.” It is like saying that the “fire needs water.”
It is clear that when leaders like Skerro who has absolutly no financial education ( and takes no or little advise) but still take up the position to hold a country’s purse, a buttomless pit will always be the result. So they will continue to ask for more money doh matter how small their population remains.
Boy Skerrit, you doh tired beg? Instead of seeking ways to revitalize your economy and so create multiple, renewable income streams you want to go cap in hand around the world. Where is the dignity for us as sovereign nations? Alas, our political leaders are really a set of ” wash your foot and come”
what became of that 40million dollars skerrit said he had gotten from venezuela some years ago to build the OECS headquarters in st lucia?
“This statement sounds like an invitation given to The World Bank and The IMF, this is the kind of statement the money masters like to hear.This statement is also the typical slogan of Governments always asking for more money”(Gary).
Perhaps I have not read you correctly Gary, if anything your comment sort of shucked me, on the other hand the Prime Minister’s comment is even more dumbfounded.
“The challenge which we have, with the issue of debt,”(Roosevelt Skerrit).
My question to the prime minister is this: Can a country function free of debt? With the exception of some very wealthy Middle Eastern country’s without any actual banking system, yet they buy, sell and exchange the answer is no! Even the great United States operates on borrowed money. The question is whether the United States can function without borrowing, (yes we can). (Obama). Nevertheless, balance of trade is the influence in that type of borrowing, it is not mandatory, or caused by poverty.
In Dominica’s case unless, someone comes along, and decide to do whatsoever, it takes, whatever is necessary to industrialize the country, creating jobs in the manufacturing, and exporting of goods, and products, poverty will endlessly engulfed our people and country; hence Skerrit’s theory:
“The challenge which we have, with the issue of debt.”
His theory will haunt our nation for as long as there is a Dominica with inhabitance; the only way our nation will cease to be a borrower, and not a lender, is when we decide to industrialize, and have something to sell out of Dominica, which will generate revenue into the country, and I am not talking about shipping green figs, plantain, tanya, and dashine to Antigua and the rest of the Caribbean, that is not the kind of industry I am talking about. And certainly the Barrel industry, in which residence receives sugar, and other groceries from the United States are only temporary help.
We need to develop the country to a point where all of our financial needs are met, and people such as Mr. Skerrit would not find it necessary to see our greatest challenge is debt, neither would he have to be crawling on his belly begging other nations for money to run the country. The source of money to run our country should derive from within the country, through pay role taxes, and sale taxes. The lack of money is not unique to the other seven islands, it is unique to Dominica, however; and that’s the difference.
Misery likes company.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
FET you sounding better each passing post.
Keep up the good work.
Hungary paid off all of its IMF debt and it was much, much more than what we owe
“Even the great United States operates on borrowed money. The question is whether the United States can function without borrowing, (yes we can). (Obama). Nevertheless, balance of trade is the influence in that type of borrowing, it is not mandatory, or caused by poverty.”
That borrowing takes place because most American voters have come to believe that they can receive goods, services, and money from government without anyone having to pay for it. Borrowing, which is simply future taxation, is a way for politicians to trick them into believing this is possible, since most Americans pay attention only to present taxation.
In a society where most people consider the future consequences of today’s policies, and are therefore willing to prioritise, there is no fundamental necessity for public debt (outside of emergency situations).
countries with 0 Debt:
Libya
Singapore
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Taiwan
Who in their right mind gonna trust people like Skerrit them with their money, not even the chinese his so-called friend that trusting Skerrit
These leaders are just hopeless navel gazers with no vision.
This is a clear admission by skeritt and the rest that they have failed miserably to provide adequate leadership in financial management during the crisis period. They failed to understand the problems that they were facing and in so doing they recklessly mortgaged their countries, saddled them with significant debt and now finding it extremely difficult to see any light. This region is going to continue to suffer under these individuals as they continue to drag them into a deep hole.
We should also be mindful of the countries that still have these national banks as these countries governments continues to use them as their piggy banks. So people have to be mindful of these institutions. But then again when there is no plan the people will suffer and this is precisely what is happening in the region.
SEE my PM stance
…..standing tall and strong….the man is a leader at first glance ….say it aint so
Because the others are shorties look at Mitchell of Grenada, the newly elected Antiguan P.M lol!
If he stood along side me ej he’d be a shortie too am 6 ‘6″.
All things are relative Anonymous.
what’s ur height? 5’2″?lol!
tall is tall….short is short ……. average height is average height…. i can understand that someone can appear shorter or taller relative to the people around em…but give credit where credit is due my PM tall period.full stop.no doubt about it.
Since when we accustom to see such pictures nah???
what are you really complaining about?
This statement sounds like an invitation given to The World Bank and The IMF, this is the kind of statement the money masters like to hear.This statement is also the typical slogan of Governments always asking for more money believing it to be the savior to problems and challenges,which i think is an illusion. Borrowing and spending is not the way to prosperity. The challenges confronting the nine member countries should not solely be the mobilization of large sums of money, but a paradigm shift in the consciousness of the citizens of each Country regarding lifestyle and Education. The Global financial situation which we all refer to is not a natural happening as we are told believe but a well orchestrated plan.
Giving Governments more is not a savior to our challenges and problems, look at all the bailouts Governments around the world are given and still their citizens are asked to take austerity measures, the only people who benefit are the lenders, who understand money using occult practices deceiving the populace, our only salvation is knowledge,Liberty is the act of making The Government and the money lenders fear what you KNOW.
OECS needs an injection of cash? Really? You guys paying an ambassador over a million dollars annually in basic salary. In addition every second some unproductive meeting is being held and officers traveling at tax payers advance and absolutely nothing to show for it.
Seriously Roosevelt Skerrit? We have a bunch of disconnected and unqualified leaders running the affairs of these countries creating a major regional financial disaster. Why would an ambassador representing these poor underdeveloped countries make over a million dollars a year. Who is suppose to pay these salaries, poor people who can’t afford to feed themselves and their children properly. Get a dose of reality OECS leaders for crying out loud!
“And that is where we call on our development partners to appreciate the challenges with which we are confronted,” Skerrit told
Despite their own problems Madame Speaker ?
How about that DNO
These Caribbean Leaders are just players period…
There was a BIG cry about “ALBA” been the alternative way.
What has happened to ALBA?
It’s a Caribbean issue lack of honest debate on the issues in the Region, first and foremost Caribbean Governance lacks Integrity period, the Electoral process is a weak not above board so u have a major problem thereon…
Look at air transportation and Windies cricket, where is the concrete direction from the leaders, having given these islands independence will prove down the road or has started to be a disaster..
It has resulted in the very same culture pre the slave trade, tribal warfare.
In most cases we have way too many Educated FOOLS in the Caribbean justifying low level outputs.
Sadly with the advent of the cyber age and lack of depth as a region we will soon become slaves in the modern version
China could very well be our next Motherland of Governance.
Tess, lol It died with Juice.
Hugo/ Jugo. ALBA died of political cancer of the mouth.
Tell its Ambassador stop talking he talking too much.He may soon need mouth Diapers lol!
ye and the large sums of money going in someone pocket….
Boy if Skerritt could be the President of all the Caribbean islands he would love its
Pm you look like a star there!!!!
Hon. PM when you can prove to the world that the little that you have is meaningfully spent then your request of a large injection of cash will not fall on deaf ear, as it is now the world is witnessing how most of the OECS Governments are involve in wastage of the resources given to them by foreign agencies for political gains, Hon PM look at what is happen locally at this point in time the little you have or the little that was given to you in used up in a red clinic on Wednesdays and is spent for your party political gains, it does not reach the needy but only your political supporters , so lets be real a large injection of cash will not make a difference if the policy of giving to those who support me continues and by the way you are asking for an injection of cash while you are disbursing $500,000 to one religious organization, you are approving duty free concessions to your political friends and families how then you expect foreign donors to accede to your request for a large injection of cash.
Does Skerrit even understand what he utters? We are already drowning in debt why is he asking for more debt without a sustainable plan?
“And that is where we call on our development partners to appreciate the challenges with which we are confronted,”
Even if they are confronted with their own s?
Dominica has cash’; pumped 8 million into Liat and not one blasted scent into humming bird air. The public servants and the police are offered 0 increase and the beggar days continues for the ordinary man.
LOL…a bunch of BIG Belly men
!
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” US Pres. Barak Obama- 2008
Men alone ! geez.
From who this time? Oh yes, we’ll figure it out with our great scouting and begging skills.
Large sums of money so you leaders of the oecs could enrich your pockets more,the poor people of the oecs continue to suffer the hardship,visited st.vincent recently and omg that place is horrible with poverty.
they gan take debt to fix debt.. somebody please tell me how is that possible?
Truth you ought to have heard of the horrors of the construction industries yrs gone by.
Constructor Black takes $ 200K back in the day to build Mr. & Mrs Joseph’s home takes 30K for self to support family concubines etc hoping that Mr.& MrsEspirit will give him $260K to build their house he builds Mrs Espirit’s house after he completes Mr. Joseph’s and looks forward for another offer to build from Mr Frank. He does so until he dies leaving the last person or persons with half a house.
Medard knows these tricks.