On June 29th 2011, the Prime Minister of Dominica presented a national budget of $432.5-million in parliament. Without much deliberation from members of cabinet the amount was approved and voted for.
Members of his cabinet raised no concern regarding the fact that the allocated amount was significantly less than that of the previous year. None of them seem bothered that there were going to be major cuts in expenditure in some sectors of the economy, a measure that would directly reduce the level of employment in the country.
Each one of them accepted the lame excuses read by the Prime minister as to the causes for a reduction in the budget amount:
1. Global Financial Crisis but what is the value of government investment portfolio on the international financial markets Mr. PM?
2. Slow pace in the US and western economies but what is our volume of trade with the US and western economies Mr. PM? Hey!!! What about China? Are we selling one item to them?
3. Rising fuel and energy cost but what role is PetroCaribe playing to cushion the effect Mr. PM?
None of them dare to assist the finance minister in pointing out a plan to generate revenue in a declining economy. Their cheers were lauded, approving the construction of a $27-million state house, a “prime tourist attraction” when they knew there was going to be zero cruise ship calls for the remaining half of 2011 in Dominica.
Listening to the events as they unfolded in our parliament on the 29th of June 2011 without the contribution of the members of the opposition begs the question, how many members of cabinet have an academic background that provided them with a basic under¬standing of how the economy works?
The answer, it turns out, is not many. Publicly available data show that over three-quarters of members of Cabinet, 16 out of the 18 including the Minister of Finance, lack an academic background in business or economics. Only two members (Hon. Julius Timothy (Minister of Health, really?) and Hon. Ambrose George (Minister of constituency empowerment (Oh my God!! Where is the compatibility?) majored in an economics-related field, and less than 30 percent of the members of cabinet hold a college degree.
This research suggests to us that in our choices of representative, we the people of Dominica don’t seem to be bothered about the level of unemployment among our youths, the impact of tax measures on our standard of living, the importance of investing more proportionately in our productive sectors of the economy and whether or not we import five time more the value of what we export. Are these not what the elected members of parliament should be concerned about?
We vote representatives to solve our economic problems but as it turns out they don’t have a clue where to start.
If we do not trust the educated and qualified brothers and sisters among us to lead:
How then do we expect a reduction in unemployment among our youth?
How then do we expect to increase national revenue?
How then do we expect to provide better health care?
How then do we expect to attract foreign investment?
How then can we avoid the brain drain?
How then do we expect to have a society free from crimes?
How then will we stop prostituting ourselves and standing in government line? (red clinic)
How then do we expect to have a corrupt free and accountable government?
Next time these 18 members of cabinet ask your vote, get from them a job application letter with a CV. Because as I see it, we vote to pay them a salary.
I await your comments.
Claudius Sanford is deputy leader of the United Workers Party.
These are very interesting comments to Mr. Sanford’s article. While having a degree may not be the answer to all our problems, the critical thinking skills that one develops during the process are invaluable and transferable across the board. If degrees were not important then there would not be an education industry. If degrees were not important then it would not be a basic requirement for a job. Mr. Sanford made particular reference to Mr. Ambrose George and Julius Timothy in an attempt to demonstrate that they are not being utilized efficiently in their current positions. Companies spend millions annually to ensure that the people with the right skills are placed in the right jobs to ensure and maximize their human capital for financial profit.
With that said, a true democratic society embraces all its people with their qualifications and skill sets and perceives their contributions as priceless. In other words, the man with a Ph. D or MD, JD, DDS or whatever should not be held in greater esteem than the janitor. The firemen, nurses, police officers, farmers, street sweepers are all very essential buttresses of our society. I agree completely with the writer who advocated for greater educational opportunities for our people. We should also higher them when they’re available based on their qualifications and not friendship or political affiliation. We the people should also demand “common sense, logical and transparent” approaches to solving our problems instead of fancy words, punch lines and rhetoric. To those who do not feel that the training a degree offers is important I ask you, when last did you go to the electrician to determine what was wrong with your kidneys? To the “academic elite” I ask did your history professor fix your pipes when your house was flooded.
A successful society has room for all of our skills, qualifications and talents. The challenge for leaders in government, academia and industry is recognizing those skills; provide resources (training, education etc) for development of those skills, then placing people in positions that maximize the application of those skills. A COMBINATION OF the knowledge and experience of seasoned employees and formal training (degrees) should be employed to accomplish these goals.
The greatest resource of any society is its citizens. The more skills, education and broad life experience we have the stronger our country will be. In my view Dominica suffers greatly from denigration of the necessity for education, literacy, and technical competency. One merely needs to look at at quality of construction to realize there is a crying need for vocational education. I am certain that a census of our population would find that a significant number of our citizens are functionally illiterate. A successful democratic society demands a level of education sufficient for critical thinking that is essential to informed opinion. Without these things we will always suffer from outside contractors taking jobs because our workers cannot do top quality work and from politicians that play on people’s emotions rather than appeal to their critical intelligence. Our country is small enough to make make major project decisions by referendum—if we only had a well educated population.
Dominicans worry about education and degrees??????? STUPES!!!! Once you can give those “DOMIES IN CANs“ a rum or that you maybe liked in the community,even if you dunce like as hell and cannot do the job they will vote for you!!!!! What a shame
AN ARTICLE DESERVING MUCH REFLECTION.A NEED FOR MANY QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED AND AWAITING MUCH NEEDED ANSWERS WITH CLARITY,RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUDGMENT JUST TO NAME A FEW.ONLY BY HIS SPIRIT CAN THIS BE OBTAINED. ‘YOU CANNOT STAND ALONE, DON’T TRY.’
WE THANK GOD FOR HIS JUDGMENT IS JUST AND HE IS RIGHTEOUS. TROUGH ALL THIS GOD IS WILLING TO SAVE SOULS. HOW MANY? THIS DEPENDS ON WHO ANSWERS TO HIS CALL.BE HE HEARS AND DOERS OF THE WORD ,HIS WORD. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND, REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED .FOR AS MANY AS RECEIVE HIM TO THEM GAVE HE THE POWER TO BE CALLED SONS OF GOD.
HE WHO HAVE EARS TO HEAR LET HIM HEAR. WE GIVE OUR LORD GOD THANKS , FOR WE HEARD AND ANSWER.HE IS MORE THAN ABLE TO KEEP US. HE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP US,PROTECT US,PROVIDE FOR US,FIGHT FOR US.WE WILL (REMAIN), ABIDE WITH HIM FOREVER AND HE WITH US FOREVER. HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. SEEK HIM WHILE HE CAN BE FOUND.
THERE IS HOPE IN OUR LORD GOD AMEN.WE ARE BLESSED,WE LISTENED TO HIS WORD HE SENT FORTH. YOU TO CAN BE BLESSED IF YOU DO THE SAME AMEN.
WHAT JOY AND BLESSINGS KNOWING YOU READ AND ARE WILLING TO HEED.THERE ARE MANY, THEY WILL REJOICE WITH YOU AS YOU HEAR AND OBEY.
LORD WE REJOICE AND SAY THANKS,YOUR WILL BE DONE AMEN.
Mr Claudius Sanford has just been awarded a scholarship to complete his Masters Degree in the USA and he is already criticizing those without college degrees. When he completes his Masters he will be among the top 5% in politics with Masters. He already has his eyes set on leadership of his party and the government. Afterall, that’s why the CIA grooms the most charismatic and intelligent among us to hold the reins of political power.
Mr Sanford did not mention the fact that Dominica’s gross domestic product,(GDP), is about 375 million and a budget of 432.5 million means that we are borrowing millions each year to pay our civil servants and to fund our infrastructural development. I agree with him that we must allocate more funds towards the productive sector to generate more revenue. But i disagree that that the turmoil in the global financial markets have no bearing on our productive sector.
Our export market is entirely dependent on the global economy. If tourism is impacted in Barbados, USVI, Antigua, Guadeloupe, etc, that will seriously impact our agriculture and light manufacture; (Re: soap, oil, juices, spices, candles). Products sold to Canada, USA and the EU are directly impacted. Tourism is a bust!
So, Mr Sanford, while degrees would be welcome, we must not discount the trained nurses, teachers, policemen and firemen within our system. What about the skilled ones? Are we telling our kids that a vocational education has no place in our politics? Furthermore, in our Westminster system the Civil Service, headed by the Permanent Secretary in every department, actually runs the government machinery. We can prioritize our spending but it is disingenuous to make the citizens believe that we can take a loan of $27 million for a certain project and spend it as we wish. I know that Mr Sanford did not say that in this article, but his party and supporters have said so repeatedly without being corrected by the holders of degrees in economics. Maybe we should not take that loan, you may argue, but we cannot spend it on anything else. Or, maybe we need another loan for that something else if we are lucky to get approved.
Please as you seem quite knowledgeable in this area, can you enlighten us all on who is the lender on this statehouse project? And what are the terms and conditions related to this $27 million dollar obligation.
For your information economy does not manage itself just so.
Anyway Sanford I find u come out!!! A little scholagoat America give you and you start lambasting Dominica economy. You will soon find out.
Coming to think of it you not that smart. I mean to say all America economic policies, top economist, and all their brighter than DLP candidates as congressman cannot fix America economy and is that type of economics you going and learn to come back in Dominica?
Man you want to kill Dominica economy like how those top professors and Harvard Economist and Fed Chairman Big Failure Ben that Burn Yankee money supply in Merica?
No, no. Stay in America and try come Chairman of Federal Reserve and if u suck seed in reviving economy of USA then we can take chance and vote for you. Papa if you come back Eddie will boast you up and down Dominica and tell us is you that fix d economy of Dominica – from crisis to recovery so vote for you!!!
Boy, go china instead and learn super power economics tan. China is world top Economy. America Fail, Fall, and Finish. You do seeing dem man just to have you under their wings as their stooge and give you d fing in your juice to enlarge your heart
The current ministers are in power because of the people. The people made the choice to elect them and even if I agree or disagree we have to try stand by our leaders’ decisions until the next general election. In saying that I would like to say that I am one hundred percent (100%) in support of Mr. Stanford’s opinion that our politicians should be more qualified and I believe that they should meet minimum requirements to lead any ministry.
What would be the minimum requirement?
Like it or not a reduced budget is in order, as it is in countries all around the world these days. We are in hard times because many countries, like people, are over extended— borrowed more than they could repay. However, I do question the priorities of this administration to commit $27 million badly needed dollars to a vanity project that will produce few dollars of additional revenue to Dominica. Building a new state house will prove lucrative to the contractors constructing the building, so one must ask just how many jobs will go to Dominicans and at what pay level. One might also wonder if this money might not be better spent on investment in developing geo-thermal power that could be sold and would improve Dominica’s reliance on imported energy.
Mr Sanford if you are prostituting yourself that’s your secret affair. You are accountable to no one but yourself. Would you like a few names to shear your fantasies ?
I realize that Mr Sanford did not give the % of degree holders among the UWP candidates. He also did not compare the present govt with the UWP govt.
If the opposition believes that the parliament is illegit… why even listen or expect question what happens in the house.
The opposition must do what they are getting paid to do.
But all you missing the big picture you know, this man is a SENATOR!!!!
SENATOR SANDFORD SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE HOUSE TO DISCUSS EXACTLY WHAT HE POST HERE!!!!!!
I suspect he must have prepared his response but never got the chance because of his party foolish stance so he have no choice but to post it on DNO, what a shame…. Man sandford tell those idiots you following to give you and spags the opportunity to debate issues in the house, i can see you hurting!!!
I concur totally!! See the hypcrisy? And these guys expect us to take them seriously.
Another observation: Sanford must tell us, no present his party’s plan for development in Dominica. The questions posed could provide a way by informing the Party’s vision for development.
Interesting contribution!!? I like the section that dealt with the percentage of Ministers with OUT degrees. Do you know, Mr. Sanford, that in the “great United States of America” the percentage of representatives with at least a four year college degree is ONLY 20%? Is this the reason for thier current economic crisis?
Have a nice day!!!
Thats a big fabrication on your part. Get your twisted statement corrected. You probably will only fool ignorant people with that garbage so please try something better if you can.
It’s not a fabrication. Look it up before you call people a liar.
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/congress/
There are 535 members of the US congress. The New York Times reference states that one in 20 members does not have a college degree. This my friend does not add up to 20%. It represents a grand total of 27 persons out of 535. You can do the math can’t you?
Mr. Sanford, The fact that the budget that the Prime Minister presented was unanimously approved and voted for by members of his party shows tht the party is unified and they have a vision which they all believe in. Where was the opposition when the budget was being passed in parliament? Shouldn’t they have been there arguing and poking holes in the budget. This is not the time to speak on the budget. You are speaking after the fact.The fact that you do not approve of the budget does not mean it will not work. Only time will tell.
Mr. Sanford, the fact that you and your party never seem to put country first but, always look for faults bothers me. You all seem to have a get into power at any cost attitude. This is not a “country first” attitude. A country first attitude is asking yourself what can I do to help improve my country. Identifying certain areas and going ahead and doing them with or without the help of the government. And don’t worry, you will get the recognition for your good works.
Opposition members should not have the attitude that their party should be in power in order to help improve their constituencies. In fact, I think this is one of the keys to getting elected. The argument that you cannot get nothing done because your party is not in power does not hold. You claim, sir, that our elected officials do not have a clue of what they are doing, so why don’t you and your party show us with works not words.
Lastly, Mr. Sanford, having a degree does not automatically qualify you for a position, you have to be willing to put it into practice and do the work in the real world.
They don’t know better can’t you understand? Do you expecxt them not to support
Well said.
And backed up by those narrow minded who try to say that in 2011 a government minister should not be educated or we do not need to identify yourself before you vote.
Sadly the media continues to condone such by saying free and fair elections were held in Dominica.
With basic educational analysis of the information available isn’t it clear that we have had a coupe?
Typical opposition rant devoid of real solutions. No wonder you only have 3 seats in parliament. The fundamental political issue that you fail to grasp is this… people are uninterested in you stating problems they can see for themselves …THAT does not require a college degree. What they ARE interested in is your COSTED plans to solve them. This is where the economics comes in. You rant about the cabinet not having economics expertise (not required …. That is why you employ economists… a budget is essentially a political statement , not a display of the nuances of economics theory. If it was there would be no point of debating it among elected representatives)
You talk as if the global economy has no effect on Dominica (lame excuse?? do you not know of mass US unemployment and riots in London? Greece ? Ireland? ) and that somehow similar economies to ours are faring so much better without serious retrenchment and austerity measures. Dominicans are not blind .. and this is why your alternative plans have to be both clear and logical and EXSISTENT. Try again
smfh
Would you trust a fisherman to maintain a banana plantation? Most likely not, you would look to employ a banana farmer with experience or some knowledge in the field. That is what Stanford is talking about when it comes to degrees. Other than Ambrose and Timothy- nether have degrees in economic/ management; and neither have the EXPERIENCE in running a successful business making them capable of successfully running a country. Its square pegs in round holes people!!!
On the issue of the ‘global economy’ in shambles- WTF does that have to do with Dominica? How much trade does D/ca do with the US or Europe? How much foreign aid do we get from those countries? I thought China was our best friend now- their economy keeps increasing by 9%+ per year. Wait do we trade with China… aka do they buy our goods? These are the questions you gotta ask- other than a decrease in remittances fro the US and UK, their economy shouldnt be affecting ours… unless cruise ship tourism is directly affected by the recession- and as far as im concerned that isnt the case. Petro-Caribe should have been reducing the cost of fuel- has it? Or is the western ‘global crisis’ affecting the Venezuelan supply? Did the gov’t invest in the Western stock markets? If not, then why the F**K should their problems affect ours in any way? I wanna hear you reasons.
Well it’s back to Commerce 101 for you…. The very first thing you have to realise about trade is that you can only sells things to people if you can make that commodity cheaper than they can make it for themselves(or if you are cheaper and/or better quality than anywhere else). The products that we (Dominica) can produce or think of producing (agri products … hotel space etc) are more expensive in the west (US,UK France (?)) ans so we have a chance of selling to them. There is, however, NOTHING that we can produce cheaper than the Chinese … ZERO. When Wen Jiabao sits down to figure out if and how he can help Dominica it is more efficient to simply hand over some cash than attempt to buy and ship stuff from us and have it rot on a Chinese warehouse because it is too expensive for a Chinese family to buy. Trade with China is a red herring for us. That is why the global economy stagnating in the west has EVERYTHING to do with Dominica. The west is where the market is that can (barely) afford to trade with us and it is where ALL our diaspora live who make investments (land , houses) and remittances into the countries economy and where the few tourists live who may want to visit us. School children understand this stuff.
Just a couple of other points ….
1. How can cruise ship tourism NOT be affected by the recession? Who do you think go on cruises? .. Yes you guessed it .. The very people whose disposable income has been decimated by rising unemployment and cutbacks in the US and UK.
2. Count the number of economic degrees and/or qualifications in other Westminster type Cabinets around the Caribbean or even Westminster itself. You will find it is not many and that is because that is not the way this system of government works. You ‘sell’ a manifesto to the people and if they buy into it you employ technocrats to implement that manifesto for you. Very simple … I’m not saying that is the best system for us but it explains the lack of need for expertise in a Minister. In any case the UWP is not advocating a change to that system.
3. All Petro Caribe promised to to was credit us the oil … not give it to us free or below production cost. In this deal .. we are holding the blade .. and Chavez , the handle . Venezuela owes us NOTHING. So unless we can get the oil cheaper from Iraq or Saudi or Libya , I don’t understand the complaint.
How many degrees did Romanus Bannis have? Remember his own words, “the donkey beat the doctor” That’s what he said when he won his seat.
WHAT A SHAME! WHAT A SHAME! WHAT A SHAME!
If Glenn Ettienne had won his seat how many degrees would he have to show? Oh i guess the degree in womanlology!
I quote from the article “Listening to the events as they unfolded in our parliament on the 29th of June 2011 without the contribution of the members of the opposition begs the question…..”
IS he kidding? The opposition is boycotting parliament, so how does Sanford expect “contribution from the opposition.” Ahahahahhahahahahaha.
Boss what happen you just woke up man? So long the budget pass, all what you saying there now should have been discussed in the real ‘Peoples Parliament’ just so you not confuse, all you should go to the ‘HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY’ to dpo the people business, because you all are being well-paid for to go and debate on our behalf.
Now what rubbish you talking about Cabinet colleagues not asking the PM certain questions?? Are they the opposition? You mean you don’t know that the entire budget, although is read by the PM is actually a Cabinet paper, so all the cabinet colleagues is in full agreement with it!!! You guys are amazing men!!!!!
Take my advise boss tell your colleagues to go in the house to discuss issues relevant to us and stop coming on DNO to post your rubbish!!!!
Very well said Mr. Sanford and very revealing too. It shows how we got to where we are and where we will end up if Dominicans fail to use any of the brain that god has blessed them with
You stole my comment
WE HAVE ALREADY FAILED CLAUDIUS, WE HAVE ALREADY CROSSED THE POINT OF NO RETURN. GOOD LUCK WITH RE-EDUCATING DOMINICANS..
When you live somewhere where there is no viable alternate for government then I am afraid we will just have to put up with the dictatorship voted in.
If you say “you didn’t vote for him”, then why did the (apparently useless), alternate(s) get the votes. Not voting against is as good as voting for.
Maybe one day when there are cohesive parties for the opposition we may get full and fair elections, until then, we may as well make the best of the cards dealt.
Please, no stupid comment regarding any opposition parties, we all know they are more likely to be on the sideline crying foul and having a tantrum,than forming a positive basis for change.
If all you can do is make noise then you aren’t ready.
This was an interesting article from Mr. Sanford. In particular, I liked the reference to the education levels of the current cabinet. It is sad that while Mr. Skerrit calls for “one university graduate in every household”, his house boasts so few degree holders. Not that men and women who do not have college degrees are unable to lead or contribute meaningfully, but a college degree adds breadth to one’s understanding of the world, it’s economics and the ways of the people who inhabit it.
this country cannot prosper because, to many dominicans are IGNORANT, EMOTIONAL ABOUT PARTY POLITICS, GREED OF MONEY, LIKE TO BEND THE TRUTH TO MENTAIN A SALARY(PLS LIKE TONY ASTAPANS, CHARLO, DR.AARON).
STOP IT allu hurting my country and the democracy many galiant people died for
Hey Claudius i understand quite clearly where you are coming from and many will be bashing you when you are right.
I want to say something because there are many really educated people in Dominica that i notice who are very lazy or careless.
They rely on the name of their qualification be it (PHD, Dr. what ever) to give them an upper hand then they do absolutely nothing to help in the improvement of our lives in Dominica.
However, there are many very patriotic, unqualified or non-professionals as you would call it who know what it means to work hard and they even out-perform the so-called educated ones in technology and many other areas.
You can imagine the effects if many of these folks were given an opportunity to excel. That is a fact if you look around and see it because i guess many who are very optimistic and hard working with no education is mainly as a result of lack of opportunity.
I am not making excuses for the unqualified Government ministers who still do not perform I just raised the subject to show that the “brain drain” that you mentioned taking place is not only referring to the tech qualified or more so academically inclined but the more well motivated individuals in our society who are being overlooked.
Many Square Peggs In Round Holes
I have to agree, to a degree. While it would be ideal to have members of government all holding degrees in fields appropriate to their positions, as well as other degrees (an English minor, for instance, is a fantastic, mind-opening minor that everyone should have a chance to take, as well as philosophy, music, etc.), it is no guarantee of competence merely to hold a degree. Sometimes, the unlikely happens, and a person with little academic experience still possesses that inestimable virtue, common sense, in such quantity that he or she can make good, smart decisions.
Nonetheless, common sense is not common, as the old adage tells us, and one should attempt to judge every member of government with the sime criteria. If a member of government can get the job done, this is all we need. If his or her degree helps inform his or her decisions, excellent, and I hope he or she can teach others some things.
My bigger concern is with the difficulty of Dominicans getting a chance to earn a degree. The state college is not nearly enough if one really wants to learn. The foreign scholarship programs are an excellent, if daunting, step in the right direction, as can be seen from how many Dominicans have been able to go as far as China and learn to adapt to radically new settings, words, and ideologies. But it is not enough. I want to see better secondary school education and more scholarships available and more extracurricular educational activities. This means that teachers, not only students, need to sometimes make greater efforts.
With greater education in the island and more chances to go abroad to get graduate degrees, we have the chance of making that 30% without degrees drop a number of points. Degrees are not necessarily a litmus test for qualification, as I and the poster above me said, but I still think anyone who wants to change the island for what he or she thinks is better should attempt to go for one. Unfortunately, this is but a desperate dream for many students without the means.
yet again I concur. and I add that if the local administration would stand behind their returning degree holders at the local lending institutions who’s to say what could perpetuate. but when our administration is more eager to stand behind foreign investors than their own people what will we be left with??
Is it just the government, or the culture that we have embraced? It is a culture that does not put much value into empirical things.
Well, this is a culture full of fundamentalists, so the idea of valuing empirical things is somewhat of a sad joke.
Mr. Sanford, not wanting to call you a liar, but would you tell us the figure for last year’s budget?