Roosevelt Skerrit’s one-man administration continues to be hell bent on precariously sustaining an entire nation on an inherently mendicant policy of governance. This formula effectually ensures imminent economic disaster hence significant anguish to an already languishing society. And, with the recent suspension of the notorious Red Clinic (Skerro’s epicenter of his begging propagation), one can only vicariously feel the pain of the ‘cold turkey’ effect of abruptly yanking away the bread basket of his predominantly less fortunate supporters. Realistically, these DLP supporters had grown to know no other means of livelihood than to look forward to a seat on the sixth floor to plead their case for a weekly stipend. This is much like suddenly depriving an addict of his drug supply which had previously fulfilled his addiction. What an abysmal situation, given the rapid deterioration (in fact, now virtually derelict) of a once booming banana industry, which, prior to his reign, rendered the nation virtually self-sufficient.
Retrospectively, farming was the absolute backbone of our economy – a mere nostalgia most would give anything to recapture; long gone are those days, however. Today, a culture of begging has pervaded the nation – beginning with a dormant, unproductive and inept government – whose focus appears to be disempowerment of its citizens through total reliance on endowments, rather than a willingness to provide gainful employment. But, why would Roosevelt Skerrit foster industriousness when such independence would be totally diametric to his aims and objectives – which seem to be guided by his fundamental dictatorial principles of suppression and control of the masses? Additionally, how productive can we conceivably expect a prime minister to be when his paradigm for the country’s sustainability is a dependence on his sugar daddies’ extended hands? Come on people, let’s be real!
Manifestations of our de facto PM’s apathy for the welfare and development of our country were palpable when he blatantly refused to attend the Summit of the Americas for heads of state, in Panama City earlier this month, citing concerns about wear and tear on his body. One can easily deduce that such deterioration could appropriately be attributed to the many countries he has traveled to in recent times, soliciting handouts and negotiating patrons for purchase of Dominican citizenship at an embarrassing rock bottom price of $200,000. Notably, these passport proceeds and ‘grants/gifts’, by the way, have as good a chance of making it to the nation’s treasury as Air Force 1 touching down at the Douglas- Charles Airport in Melville Hall. Countries in the likes of China, Venezuela, Morocco and Malaysia, which Skerro has covered within a short period, are by no means a stone’s throw from each other; as such, therein lies the potential for wear and tear.
But, when a politician who assumes a position of leadership deliberately removes himself from a Summit of such scope and magnitude, where the focus is ‘to foster discussions on a variety of issues affecting the Western Hemisphere’, it begs the question as to where his priorities really lie. One’s expectation is that a PM who is concerned about restoring a severely fragmented economy (his own doings – by the way) would make an urgent or emergent effort to attend this high-level diplomatic apex – but, alas! Clearly, Roosevelt Skerrit has not demonstrated a willingness to orient himself with the fundamentals of Democracy as it relates to good governance, through less corruption and more transparency. Instead, he has exhibited innate manipulative, opaque and chameleonic abilities – such as altering his title to president, prime minister or premier, depending on the circumstance.
Undoubtedly, the deplorable state of our economy, coupled with deteriorated infrastructure and high unemployment, will inevitably present significant challenges to the next government at the very least. In fact, the complete reparation process may possibly require generations to take Dominica back to the place where we once were in terms of economic viability and vibrancy. Most importantly, however, is the likelihood that the psychological – as well as impaired self-esteem created by extended periods of disempowerment may potentially be irreparable. It is imperative, though, to make it abundantly clear that I am in no way ‘painting with a broad brush’ by suggesting that the begging epidemic has affected everyone, because it has not. However, most objective-thinking Dominicans will agree that a substantial portion of our indigenous proletarians have been contaminated by Roosevelt Skerrit’s permeated model of dependency. The question then becomes, how can we possibly castigate the internet baby for ‘wanting it now’ when such a mentality, sadly, is a bi-product of their very own prime minister’s examples?
DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Dominica News Online or Duravision Inc. Additionally, DNO provides an open forum for all political views once they meet the publishing and editorial standards of this website. Publishing space has also been directly offered to the various political parties and continues to be available to all those who wish to utilize it.
Would you care to share an opinion on the welfare system in the country where you now live? Would you then indicate the difference in the dependency created by that system and that by the so called “red clinic”? When you are through, assuming you deal with it in the way you presented this opinion, would you also have it published in the local press in the community in which you now live?
There is one massive difference: the welfare system in other nations is based on specific means testing, rules and regulations set out in the law of the specific country. The Red Clinic is only open to Labour supporters and is based on the ‘good will’ of one person namely in this case the PM of Dominica.
To you ‘anonymous’ please do us all a favour and refrain commenting on issues where you have not got a simple idea what you are talking about. Instead try the local discussing group in your favourite rum shop. I’m sure you’ll find many eager listeners!
You are the one who is incapable of understanding. You are also definitely misinformed. For now I will only comment on the central theme presented by the writer, which was the thrust of my comment the issue id dependency. The welfare system in North America is designed so that the beneficiaries never get out. It produces successive generations of dependants. Many have tried to get out and make a better life for themselves; only hardship awaits them, because they are not allowed to take a job to facilitate the transition. Those who go to Skerrit can in fact take a job and eventually transition out of dependency. many of these people have fallen on bad times and need that “prop” until the economy improves. Your insensitivity to these unfortunate people “stinks”. Lets hope you never encounter misfortune.
bro with all due respect,what kind of audience were you targetting?I don’t think is the average man,with your vocabulary.
This is irresponsible writing. It is disrespectful of truth and loaded with accusations that can’t be located in time. During the UWP administration, a calypsonian won top recognition for the song “Please don’t let our banana die”. At that time the population of banana farmers had dwindled from 7,000 pre-1979 to fewer than 2,500 in 1990. One only has to look at the documentary on Rosie Douglas to note the pitiful existence of people carrying bunches to the loading dock all day for a miserly 7 dollars. Good old days; yeah! for the multinational corporations – Geeste, CDC who owned the land, the ships, the supermarkets in Europe and the merchandise that were shipped back for local consumption. Banana died despite the gallant effort of Edison James. At some point all nations must move away from primary crop economy to varying forms of industry in order to sustain growing populations and position themselves for the demands of a global marketplace.
Hmmm, the message is there but almost gets overshadowed by the use of so many embellishing adjectives. Clearly the young man wants to show the extent of his vocabulary but go careful with that and don’t drown the message. It is like smothering a good piece of fish with ketchup or hanging too many baubles on a woman that is already beautiful.
Words are like leaves and where they most abound few fruits of sense are seldom found. Pure rubbish.
The PM.. has quoted a 2.5% growth in GDP for the current year. I don’t know where he conjured that figure up from but the Worldbank in their forecast for the same period gives a figure of only 1.3& (rising to 1.5% in 2016) – see: dataworldbank.org. (click on the relevant year in the graph).
I hope the P.M. is right and the Worldbank wrong but not knowing the basis for his prognosis I must stick with the Worldbank for now, as will the majority of external creditors when assessing the risk for extending loans to Dominica.
Sorry, a typo crept in. Just to clarify, the Worldbank forecasts only a 1.3% growth in GDP for Dominica for 2015.
We should also be concerned about its forecast for Dominica’s Current Account Balance for the same period at 16.1%, signifying a low level of exports ( goods & services). There are countries that do worse than us but that should be no consolation and certainly no ground for complacency.
bogus figures, I suspect is real posse that give those figures to him
Is Skerrit the only leader in the Caribbean who goes around asking for help for the betterment of his country ?
not asking but begging… that is his policy..
Oh, that makes it o.k. then?
Well said boss. This country is down a very steep slope much faster than we ever imagine.
Another well written piece which speaks so strongly and poignantly to the harsh realities of our time.
It pains me to understand why, we as a people, are prepared to see the vibrancy and pride of our nation washed down the toilet on the back of empty political vote buying promises, founded on the back of 15 years of inactivity, declining productivity and economic deterioration?
Did we really need 5 more years in political office to prove to us that the ruling government administration is not focused on anything that uplifts empowers or develops this country? Please name ONE:
You don’t have to be the most educated person, or the most socially apt person to look at some of the simplest things that could have been implemented by this government, even as small WINS to fool the people into believing that they give a CRAP,, that haven’t been done; sidewalks on the E.O Leblanc highway; sidewalks/ drains in Roseau; public library; Roseau bridges; road signage; parking /traffic…
You have a problem with the Skerrit begging and you want all these things done. Are you prepared to pay more taxes? Why not tell us how it can be done since you appear to know how.
the repor have merit and should be seen as constructive critisim.
Mr. Joseph, you are very vocal now, during the time you spent in the CDPF together with your brother, I never heard of you, so being outspoken.Both of you left the Force and are based in The Big Apple, well with you being away caused you to expand your skills. What contributions are you making or did you make to the less fortunately ones .At the time when you left the banana industry was booming,you did not have to run away, you could have remained and assist your dad on the farm, he himself was doing well in Wesley. Skerrit did not kill the banana industry,maybe you were not around, when the Iron Lady, our P. Minister used to warn the farmers,telling them that they should not put all their eggs into one basket, indeed she smelt something. Now for you coming here and want to put the blame on the present PM for the way the industry is in the state it is today, you are totally off base. I’m hoping to see the day when you will return to help build this Isles of Beauty. No hard…
You’re so so right, presently those better day have become beggar days.
I get what you are saying and also think we should focus on self reliance and personal industry. Agriculture must be the root because it is our primary natural resource. That begging thing is a national humiliation and is depressing.
However, your article is hard to read. It is too verbose. Too many ‘words’ only lead to clutter not clarity. You must write in simpler pros.
Go, get a life! election is over. Your article is geared towards the rocket scientist, so I did not understand your beef with the Skerrit Administration.
It just boggles my mind that as soon as someone has achieved some level of higher (overstanding) education, they feel that they now possess a license to dispense their personal vendetta against the Roosevelt Skerritt government. It is so blatantly obvious in the tone of this article. For starters, there is nothing wrong in the PM going abroad to seek financial aid for his country. It is there for the asking, whether it is out of guilt for all the exploitation and plundering of “those third-countries” natural resources that make them first world countries. They feel obligated to provide aid/ grants and humanitarian assistance under a budgetary placeholder called “Foreign Grants -Discretionary Spending”. It covers many categories, e.g. education, health care programs/systems, roads, abuse,military assistance; you name it and I am sure we can qualify for one. So, stop trying to embarrass the PM in your juvenile soliloquies.
Bro. if we have to live off someone else’s guilt complex we will always come a poor second . Personally, I’d rather be the giver than the taker because that is more likely to put me in charge of my own destiny.
Wow great account of the sad and sorry state of affairs our beloved Dominic Jeff. Thanks to Skerritt an his gang. Fast forward this conversation to 10 years and we have Haiti on our hands under Baby Doc .
It is very painful to bear witness to this fact.
frank and straight-up contribution again Mr. Joseph…I concur
lets pray that god handles skerritt. skerrit has no power he tries to imitate rebel leaders but he also need to notice that they have not conquer the world. they all fall.he can never succeed his evil in dominica.
He will succeed unless we stop him!
Sorry… you seem to be dealing with a subject that you don’t understand. You should probably review and rewrite after the appropriate research and analysis.
Brilliant article, u give it to him good, good to see we have patriotic Dominicans fighting for the motherland.
Okay JJ; enough, what was your point? I did not see you say anything that is different from what you are attacking, or complaining about. Your modicum of suppression was in a literal form: What percentage of the people would or could read your piece and understand. This was, in my opinion, a self aggrandizement (beating your chest) expression of your frustration directed at one man.
My bother, the election is over, lets now focus on nation building. If you cannot or refuse to work with Roosevelt Skerrit fine, but istead make some suggestion and recommendations as to how they (he according to you) should better run the country.
Please, go to UWP and advise them. Use your skills to help them to develop some strategies in preparation for the next election, rather than this superfluously overkilling literally…. that is not representative of much of the very same constituencies on behalf you seem to desire to advocate.
You are mistaken, the election is not over. Mr. Skerrit’s name is synonymous with that of King Pyrrus of Epirus.
You are wrong my brother. Mr. Skeritt doesn’t need anyone’s help. It is a one man’s show and he is in (FOOL) control.
Well said.I only hope our people can see what’s going on before it’s too late.Dictatorship is not born overnight but bit by bit.Then it’s too late.Wake up my people.
Unemployment and poverty has long since been an economic issue in Dominica… He speaks of, “economic viability and vibrancy”, while having an “infants” knowledge about the underlying principles that govern the direction of capital flow.
The majority of Dominicans lament about the, “good old days”, but yet failed to realize that, this era was based on a contractual agreement for a short period of time. What then should we do when we lose a preferential market, when countries like Bolivia produce bananas on plantations, 20 times the size of our beloved country? The laws of demand and supply would apply here; with greater supply means lower prices, and the only people who can profit from these circumstances are the people who have the ability to acquire an “economy of scale”. Yet we still employ primitive methods in our production efforts, thus maximizing our inefficiency in producing goods.
Why would you let an economy so fragile and primitive, endorse an agricultural…
The article was great and to the point
What a wonderful article, right on point. The educated individuals who are also drinking from Skeritts trough have no pride, no conscience, no self worth or love of country. They are all singing for their supper. We have become such a passive nation with no backbone, no guts and willingness to do whats their right. We see so many demonstrations been carried out around the world, all demanding democracy and transparency in government. the list includes Hong Kong, Burundi, UK, US , France, Nigeria, Venezuela etc and yet we are content to just sit back and bemoan the fact that there is nothing we can do. I say shame on Dominicans, they allow themselves to be brainwashed into an apathetic and comatose state from which i fear they will never ever wake up. What a country, Dominica nice boy. Look at the incident involving the Labour Division and the Haitian visas fiasco. Just simply swept under the carpet like everything else without a murmur from the populace. We deserve everything we get
say it as it is brother. who doh hear will feel granny used to say
Oppress man
Man must live
While you still have your head in a cloud re the banana industry and agriculture on a whole in Dominica the economics of agriculture has shifted against Dominicans expectations.
Do you think that a government is wicked in giving short-term assistance to its citizens? Is a government equally wicked in phasing out short-term assistance to signal to its citizens including supporters that the outcome and impact of a short-term hand-out becomes unsustainable and worse for a Country if not arrested early knowing fully well the opportunity cost of scarce cash resources?
For your own education , the Prime Minister as leader of Dominica is no different from the George Washington of the United States of America that you and most of the Dominican Diaspora have come to love!!!
As a leader Washington made a lot of mistakes but equally made improvements continuously. See this in our present Prime Minister of Dominica as well.
Are you serious patat? You want to put our Skrit on the same level as George Washington? Sorry but that is ridiculous. Maybe the P.M. believes this himself and that would explain why the thinks this little country is too small for him and his genius?? Simply absurd.
J.J. I agree with everything you are saying. Having said that it is not enough to talk about the issues in front of us any longer. The time has come for all the spirited people, that keep on high lightening the well known problems Dominica is facing to come together and DO something about it. Talk is not enough anymore, let’s stand up and be counted. Even the UWP has in recent weeks become very silent. I guess Linton is trying to distance himself somewhat from the stigma of ‘trouble maker’. I for one do not believe that that move is right. We need to keep on putting pressure on the DLP regime and increase this pressure on a daily basis. We all have witnessed in recent weeks and month that Skerrit is not functioning very well under pressure and it is equally clear that he has no intention to work with the opposition either. Dominica is running out of time, so let’s stop talking and do something about it.
Well said bro!
Our beloved nature Isle of the Caribbean is badly broken and needs fixing due to greed and neglect of it’s key industry sector Agriculture (i.e. Banana etc).
One day, just one old good day, those responsible for it’s demise will be brought to justice – there just ought not to be no hiding place for the perpetuators. They may try to rewrite the books whilst in office but any new Gov’t coming into office should go for the jugular with investigation after investigation and when the culprits are found guilty put them in and throw the keys away.
All my financial contributions over the years to special causes (i.e. Scholarships, Local Council initiatives, Churches etc) seem to be in vein.
By a beloved D/ca
I miss the point of the article, it bring scottshead then i find myself cottage.
Jeffers Joseph do you have an alternative government? Are you runnging for office?
NOT WESLEY FOR SURE.
this is food for thought.
sir after reading ur aticle i dont have to ask every dominican is a university graduate !
I am not a Skerrit fan, however, Skerrit cannot be logically blamed for the dependency syndrome. At best one may say, he has contributed in perpetuating it.
Dr. Lennox Honeychurch in a recent feature on Q95 FM radio described the situation very well by saying that Dominica had entered a new Era of professional politicians. Have Dominicans really understood the reality of this new “professional” and how it impacts on society? Obviously No! Otherwise, less concentration would be placed on Skerrit who is obviously trying to do some good but is limited by his own life experience coupled by this new political professionalism…The first step to resolving this problem is not moving Skerrit per se, but making it constitutional for only two terms as PM.
Ehnn, whatever.
UWP ran the country broke, could not find money to pay civil servants, then sold an easy on the pocket electric company for citizens and businesses alike, hence their inability to attract foreign investment….all because they did not know how to beg like other countries and business do, including General Motors in the USA, and other countries that benefit from assistance from donor countries.
Your policies have failed before they continue on that track if you do not want help from donor countries like the rest of Caricom countries. Skerro and his boys may have mastered the trade of attracting donor countries for assistance, but you, you will not ask or beg because you boast being business men, and will just be happy with Dominicans being back in the dark days of carrying Fig on our heads, while you all enjoy your money. Sorry, Skerro is years ahead of all you which may be why Dominicans refuse to put you back in Gov’t.
The Roosevelt Skerrit “Begging policy” reminds of me of a story I heard many years ago about Bear Anancy. He was lazy, tricky, and had to take care of his large family. Here is part of it: Bear Anancy is a tricky bear. He had a wife and ten children. Such a large family was hard to feed. One very rainy day. He had no food for his family. The children began to cry for food. Mrs. Anancy tried to comfort her children but this did not help to stop the crying. Mrs Anancy got very angry, so she went to her husband who was cozily wrapped under his blanket. She said to him. Why are you sleeping? The children are crying for food. You must go out to get them some food. Bear Anancy did not want to go out in the rain, but his wife threw him out of the house. Bear Anancy went to beg his friend for food. First he met Mr dog. Hello my friend, he said. Please give me some food for my hungry children. If we don’t get rid of that Anancy government, soon our children will cry for food
Good piece! The worse regime in the Caribbean region is this Skerrit lead Labour Party. I wonder when they will stop boycotting parliament! I LOVE HONOURABLE LEADER LENNOX LINTON! He is bright, highly articulate and has a vision advancementfor Dominicas .
Mr Joseph, why do you insist on using vernacular that is beyond the comprehension of the common Dominicans you wish to impress by your fancy editorial pieces? Use words we can understand. There is no need to use big words to convince Dominicans to appreciate your point of view. We all know you have extensive vocabulary. And while we are at it, I’d be grateful if you would tell us(Dominicans) what you could and would do differently/better if you had the opportunity to help lead on the island. Or, are you too entrenched in the luxuries that New York provides that your only contribution is to criticize those in leadership. If you cannot–or more importantly, WILL NOT–put your money where your mouth is, what would your point be? I am not a supporter of the current regime, but as an out of state resident, I prefer to let Dominicans living on the island decide on what best works for them.
I concur with Mr. Joseph. And even whilst we face such predicament, there are others who will come here to bash you, but time will tell. The lost souls will be disillusioned.
Please give me a break
Guess you’re rite that begging thing contagious am of the thinking you feel the same way of the Lindo Park board because instead of begging the Aussies for help they should’ve raised the funds locally with cake and lemonade sales, DNO let my comments through all I did was asked questions you all like to delete things that’s not in line with you all party.
image a person can just make a comment and leave it at that, that article which is the truth burn you so much, and I guess is because you on de begging list for de crumbs, you had to write all that garbage to try and convince who…. talking crap about GDP …
I mean we live in age where you hit a keystroke and most of the info you need is rite there and you trying to tell me he killed banana, awa boss your education is going to your head boss.
Let me get this before Skerrit came into power things was great banana was thriving infrastructure was at it’s best we had stadiums we had proper road network we had a state college 2nd to none, and since this beggar name Skerrit come into power all of that went down the drain. ECONOMY
Bananas and other agriculture dominate Dominica’s economy, and nearly one-third of the labor force works in agriculture. This sector, however, is highly vulnerable to weather conditions and to external events that affect commodity prices. With the decline of banana exports, GDP growth began declining and in the late 1980s, average annual GDP growth was 5.5%; in the early 1990s, about 3.5%, and from 1996 to 1999, 2.5%. In 2000, GDP stagnated and in 2001 there was a contraction of about 4.5% as adverse weather, a drop in tourism, and reduced export demand added to the effects of declining banana production. From 1998 to 2000, banana exports fell 24.6%, and then in the global slowdown of 2001.
Shoemaker, stick to your last!
Great article! Good to gooo!God be praised