Two prominent citizens – a hotelier and a trade union leader – are advising the Dominica government to take marketing of Dominican produce to a different level by addressing the island’s sea transportation needs.
Hotelier Athie Martin and General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) – Thomas Letang, both feel the sea transport problem should be addressed in the 2012/2013 budget scheduled to be presented by prime minister and finance minister Roosevelt Skerrit next week (July 17).
Letang, in emphasizing the need for much more effective marketing to facilitate export of Dominican produce, recommends that much more attention should be paid to the island’s sea transportation issues.
“I cannot see what is wrong, why the government, the private sector could not get into investment in that area so that we can market our goods – you could have two boats plying the Caribbean seas – that could create a lot of employment and provide opportunities for our farmers,” Letang advises.
The trade union leader suggests that specific countries in the region with large Dominican populations including Antigua and Barbuda and St Maarten should be targeted.
Hotelier Martin, well known activist and a former minister of agriculture, is a firm believer that making sea transportation a priority would substantially benefit Dominica.
And he argues, making it happen is not a pie in the sky kind of thing.
He is recommending that “people like Neville Wade and these other captains can be helped to purchase the kinds of cargo and passenger vessels that could reduce the pressure we find ourselves under with the LIAT situation and with the American Eagle situation”.
Martin and Letang in separate interviews with Dominica News Online, have been talking about the kind of budget they would like to see presented in parliament on July 17.
DPSU’s Letang says the budget should include measures to bring in additional revenue to have money circulating in the economy.
He said it should also address wastage and having a little more control over government expenditure.
The trade union leader told DNO he wants more focus on agriculture, especially since the tourism industry is not doing as well as was expected.
Letang also thinks the government should encourage farmers and provide them with incentives, while also prioritising the sale of local produce, working out arrangements with local supermarkets to have them purchase local produce.
Martin on the other hand says the budget should seek to create the kind of economy that allows the island to make maximum use of its natural resources, and find employment for Dominica’s young people.
He also wants to see spelt out in the fiscal package, just how the global economic crisis has affected Dominica.
“In tourism, in agriculture, in infrastructure. And so here is what we are going to do to treat with the negative impact of the global crisis,” is how Martin says PM Skerrit should approach the matter.
He also supports calls for greater input into the agricultural sector to make it more viable.
Martin recommendations, among other things, putting a “land use plan in place” to maximize output.
This is a very good point about maritime transport, I think we should give it a shot.
Sooooooooooo long I hear Cabinet approve money for a man that want to organise a ferry service from Dominica and those Senior Public Officers in those two big buildings on Kennedy Avenue just there playing games.
My sister child that sweeping one of those buildings say in May 2012 she see a man from Portsmouth sitting down on de ground floor trying to see d PM and is not little cell phone call d man keep getting about his ferry service. Everybody that was there on d ground floor that wednesday morning started to talk bout next level in sea transportation.
So those people from d opposition is just copycat they copycatting that decision of our beloved PM and trying to take credit for that idea.
I WISH SOME OF THOSE COMMENTS WERE SHORT AND TO THE POINT ….
haha one thing some dominicans really believe the Govt listens…
why they dont try advocating for a change of regime that will bring new light in terms of hoping a fresher set will listen..those guys in power dont even know how to run a basic home!
thats why Dominica is Rated Highly as the Poorest in the Caribbean and will certainly gain higher marks of being Poorer once this Corrupt DLP Regime stays in office..
So calls about surface travel is just out of the ball park…did the corrupt regime even attempt to have pre-budget discuss…think hard and factual about things and governance for once! dont be naive as many look upon the island as having in its Majority!
International shipping is not for fools! the only reason the banana industry survived was because the singular capital outlay was not local. The importer, Geeste Industries, not only owned(leased) the shipping vessels, they also owned the most productive estates on the island. Additionally, the most lucrative part of the deal was the load of goods manufactured in Europe and dumped onto the Island. Such an arrangement would overwrite the cost of fuel, which was about 10 cents a gallon at that time.
In 1960 or thereabouts, the Canadian Government granted a gift of two commercial ships to the West Indian Federation – GIFTS!!! which were later returned to Canada because the Union could not afford to maintain them (native born Capt Tommy James was at the helm of one).
This leads to my view. The state of the regional market is not established with sufficient evidence to warrant government intervention. Well, is this not the same argument used against the 8 million dollarinvestment in LIAT? Come on! Neville Wade was taken to Sweden by Former Prime Minister Rosie Douglas for the same purpose and he returned empty handed. And when the cost of transporting water exceeds the competitive value of the water itself, the venture is not worth it. And water is not perishable as agricultural crops; if we really want to do something about our export trade, let us sit down and among us look at other possibilities other than those recycled and time-worn.
Brilliant ideas. Don’t forget this was a campaign promise, two cargo boats to shipped our agricultural produce to our neighbouring markets. Up to now this promise has not been full-filled and there is no explanation why it is taking so long. Right now Dominica is in need of inflows and inputs to drive its productive sectors in order to propel growth. Exports of agricultural commodities to our neighbouring markets and Agro-processing can be two sectors to start up with. Instead of building the Palace, part of the palace funds should also be diverted to subsidised these two sectors.
where do they sell pig snout by the pails?
Right under the middle bridge exiting Roseau. Them fellas have tons of it.
” Hotelier Athie Martin and General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) – Thomas ”
Athie, I am sorry I have to do this; however, be reminded it is your guilt of engineering the closing of the International Airport that Edison James and the UWP had under construction when you and the coalition siege power a few short years ago.
This is not a personal attacked on you, nevertheless, you must agree that you are more or less single handedly responsible for Dominica not having an International Airport. I suppose you do not remember in a discursion you and I had in the Village, the very night in a meeting when you declared you were going to bring all the other political parties in Dominica together, so that you all would join forces to defeat Edison James and the UWP
You were successful in that quest!
Another reminder, when I ask you what do you have against an International Airport on the island, you told me ” nothing ,” however there should be a discursion on the matter, which Edison James has not done.” The conversation took us to a place where you informed me that we could not afford an International Airport, as it was too expensive, and Bertrand, ( I for got his first name) a Trinidadian who oversee such municipals as Millville Hall Airport told you the alternative is to refurbish Melville Hall Airport, and it will serve our purpose.
What you did not realize at the time is that Bertrand tricked you: and the reason he done that to you was to help him to keep his Job.
This man over-saw small airports such as what we have at Melville Hall, St. Vincent, and wherever they were in the English speaking Caribbean, after Grenada got their International Airport, only Dominica and St. Vincent would left under his control, if we got ours, the man would probable have to go into retirement.
He was thinking of himself, and not you nor Dominica, I know the man he is a rat, what happened since he fooled you?
He went into retirement, and has his own consulting firm, did you know that?
I suppose not!
In any event that is how we Dominicans allow people to interfere into our nations business, we accept their stupid advise which does not for our people except taking us backwards every time.
This shipping thing that you and your allied are talking about now is another waste of time, people do not ship things in fertilizer gags and boxes and barrels anymore you see: the world of shipping utilizes container cargo ships these days, you do not have enough of anything going out of Dominica to fill a ship of anything!
I am an authority on that: I have first hand experience, and knowledge on that dating back to 1977, when I sailed my Cargo Ship The M. V Felskove all the way from Denmark to Dominica, where I never got a full load of anything leaving Dominica, to any of the islands of the Caribbean, North or South of Dominica.
Be informed that these days, the modern days we are in people concentrate on the services of Cargo Aircrafts, no body have time with you and this backward thinking of Ferry Boat, and Wind Jammars as a means of transportation in and out of Dominica.
So too, in our face to face conversation, while you seem to have staked your life on Eco (ecology) Tourism, I told you that would not work in Dominica, I think right now you can prove me right on that, and well, you were wrong!
My question here to you is this:
What do you have against progress, and prosperity, why are you always taking Dominica back to the dark ages of the thirteenth and twelve century?
Don’t you believe that Dominica, our nation, or people deserve more and better than you are suggesting!
We are in the twenty-first century you know!
If DNO do not post this, I will ensure that you get this and read it on the blog which you are also a recipient.
Wake up man it is time you wake up!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
A lot of interesting points in your response. While you are right that containerized freight of goods is the predominant way that items are sent via vessel, I think the point these gentlemen are making is that REGIONALLY, we need to be able to exploit the need for fresh Dominican produce.
There needs to be a regular route established where farmers who produce quality produce can utilize regional markets. This would inherently depend on
Reliable marketing and transportation. This should not be an adhoc or comme ci comme ça venture. It necessitates proper investigations, market needs, customer demands. It needs planning by people who are not politically affiliated but are guided by the need to see Dominica progress!
Homeboy your words are all sweet sounding nothing; for many years ships, of all types, Sail Boats have been ducking in Dominica, collecting agricultural produce and taking them to Barbados, Antigua, Guadeloupe, and in recent years St. Martin, and even St. Kitts.
I know people who have had contract in St. Croix with Pueblo, a supper market which would accommodate all of the agricultural stuff, Breadfruit yarns of all kinds; avocado the works, you name it.
Every effort failed, it is not because there was a shortage of ships to transport anything by sea out of Dominica, since even a brother of mine whom I will not call his name residing in Portsmouth at one time had two ships utilized in the same purpose.
If I mention his name you will know who he is, nevertheless, I refuse to do so since he does not wish to recognize my brothers, sisters, and I, nonetheless, he is our father son.
All of the 1950’s there were Ships such as Federal Palm & Maple which served all of the islands of the Caribbean, from Guyana in the South to Jamaica in the North, there were others such as Caribe, and the Flyingfish.
Even yours truly, had a ship in the business, I’ll tell you what after we brought it out of Europe, we were based in Antigua: do you want to know how many times I got a fright to Dominica, and out of Dominica?
Once Nassif had some flour in Puerto Rico, he could not get anybody to bring them to Dominica, the country was out of flour, we sail an empty ship from Antigua to Puerto Rico, to pick up less than two thousand bags of that; sailed to Dominica, remain there for almost two weeks without H. H. V. Whitchurch the then agent of our ship the M. V. Felskove, been able to provide us with any cargo destine for any region of the Caribbean North or South.
That was in the year 1977!
We had to sail to St. Lucia, empty where we picked up cargo in less than one day, which we delivered in Barbados, and Trinidad, we got a full load of cargo in Trinidad on our return, which we dropped off on every island, including Dominica.
Dominica is a dead place, the suggestion that the government get involved in shipping is nothing more than a bogus joke, and Athie and his friend are simply playing politics with it, they are not serious, they do not know what they are talking about!
A guilty conscience need no accuser, my friend Athie conscience, and him as the chief opponent of the International Airport which he Athie, Rosie Douglas, the late, Pirie Charles the late, closed down with the aid and blessings of the rats Gonzalez, Bertrand, and the Birds of Antigua who charted LIAT, to bring Dominicans home to vote against themselves, seems to be working on his conscience.
Athie dare not talk in favor of an International Airport in the country, and that is why he is pushing for a fleet of canoe’s to serve Dominica now oui!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Anything pertaining to marketing should be dealt with by the manufactures of their products, in establishing markets for anything to be sold outside of Dominica; perhaps that should be handled by the Chamber of Commerce, and not the government!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
I remembered when there was some interest in copper mining in the rivers during the UWP reign from 1995 to 2000 and who stand in direct opposition to that with his environmental crap…Arthie Martin.
The man is good at oppositions…this is what Green Peace is good at doing …oppose everything
Arthie please listen to Mr Telemaque
The private sector is now widely acknowledged as a key partner in development, including through establishing new enterprises, creating jobs, providing goods and services, generating income and profits, and contributing to public revenues, which are critical to increasing countries’ self-reliance and sustainable growth. This statement fully recognizes the diverse forms of engagement that the private sector brings to support development, together with governments, donors and civil society. These include core business activities, public private partnerships, social responsibility activities, and cross-sector or multi-stakeholder partnerships for development.
Before we can engage in any serious talk we need to negate Arthie at any cost…too much talk..only when Arhtie can update us on the Water Project we will engage you in serious discussion…enuff of the belching on radio and DNO.
Let’s talk Private Sector now….So there is none so bold as to RISK TAKING in Dominica (waving my hands here….where are all the talking heads on Q95 and Kairi) that can approach government and create a partnership to do this joint venture.
OMG…am I missing something here or we just love to talk.
Negate at any cost simpley means to tune out Arthie’s noise.
This is a man that has been given a chance to lead in many instances but has turned them down just to oppose…come on man
SMH…wikileaks, it would seem that athie is worthy of your attention, so why is he not worth of mine..
you lost the point you were making, as usual focusing on Athie, Q95 and Kairi.. why make all this good prose and come back to being basically unapproachable.
What’s next? Then the Government should buy planes and buy ferries and then buy buses, etc etc. No matter which Government in office, this is just a dumb idea.
This is why we have the private sector. Their role is to look for these opportunities and take advantage of the need.
Go back to the drawing board guys.
Arthie i don’t intend to marginalize your brilliant suggestions. In fact i firmly believe thst this government need to get up and recognize that they the individual members of the cabinet have already hit thier personal mile stones while the people are languishing in poverty. However i must ask Arthie what was the problem with the Farm to Market organization and why that nice vessel that eas purchased by the farm to market organization was left to rot on the bay front in Portsmouth. It is well and good to throw the ideas around but if we must go down that route all the cards must be placed on the table. The pit falls, mistakes made by the farm to market organization that Arthie was very much involved with. Did the farmers boat not have the proper insurance and if so why or why not? Was ther not enough business for the farmers boat? Just asking .Jacky Chan always call it as i see it.
Jacky thats the 1st time i give u thumbs up u called it like it is.Now he talked about Wade dem boys know how to take things down the drain don’t talk about exploiting the young men who worked for them,Athie please if u going down that road invest in the young blood Che` in zicack would do a dam good job.PS u should have ask for the pm to buy a boat with water tanks built in it just a while back the USVI needed water we could have sold some to them.
You actually gave me a thumbs up for saying the cabinet took care of themselves while DA people swiming in hard knocks and steady blows? Are you sure you want to give me a full thumbs up or a pinky finger? (lol). I do understand though that some of us read to fail.
The marine transportation guys in Portsmouth that Arthie mentioned are not singing the praises of this administration and the DLP and cabal are not mature enuogh to seek consultation paricularly with those who criticize the policies of the Skerrit administration.
“Letang also thinks the government should encourage farmers and provide them with incentives, while also prioritising the sale of local produce, working out arrangements with local supermarkets to have them purchase local produce.”
Government, Government, Government !
Is this a government duty ? Isn’it it the duty of the producers and farmers associations to do so ?
Should Government be blamed because Dominicans drink imported sodas or eat imported chicken ?
Of course this needs to be addressed. But is it in the hands of Government ?
Government said : “Eat what you grow, grow what you eat” . Can they be blamed if only a few follow ?
You seem to be intelligent, but you are really an educated fool.You seem to trying to defend governments miserable governance of this speck of rock?
Yes the need of alternative transportation should be an integral part of the responsibility of government in small open economies like ours where air access to the country is so difficult. In addition sea transport especially of our agricultural produce might well lure more farmers to go back to agriculture.
WELL SAID ATHIE AND LETANG.
is the average man the one who implements POLICY???????????????? so what would you have the average man and the farmers association do without the policies in place to support their moves???
tell us dreamer?
“DREAMER”
The basic point he is making is that GOVERNMENT should create the infrastructure for these things to be realized.
He is not saying that government alone should do it. He is just saying that the government should play their part!!
Dreamer well said… Athie and Letang and the others in PRIVATE SECTOR can get together to implement this… STOP WAITING ON GOVERNEMNT…. Pappy didnt wait on the Government ….
Dreamer, i understand your exasperation. I too, am fed up of Dominicans asking a government to do any and everything for them. I do not understand why any government should be responsible for “working out arrangements with local supermarkets to have them purchase local produce!” Or, even
I think we can agree though, that government’s policies can encourage or discourage farmers. It is my view that this government has been successful, in very difficult items, in supporting farmers (duty-free on vehicles to those who qualify, subsidized inputs, technical staff, the production of healthy planting material, attempts to diversify the sector into livestock and non-traditional cash crops, financing arrangements at AID Bank, the construction and/or rehabilitation of some strategic feeder roads, etc). Governments must play their role but at the end of the day, it is the farmers who must get to the land and produce.
I will soon be releasing my treatise on the direction for development in Dominica. So, a lot more will be said on this topic.
(Thanks DNO for the advertising opportunity.)
I’m for positive change and development.
Very good idea…… I’m totally for this!!!