Well over half the number of people who responded to a Dominica News Online poll about Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s so-called RED CLINIC have suggested that the PM should abandon that programme.
DNO asked: Should Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit abandon his weekly RED CLINIC, described by critics of the cash handout initiative as a vote buying exercise?
By Tuesday morning (May 29 2012), a total of 1155 votes had been recorded.
Just over 700 (702 to be exact) – 61 percent, voted yes, suggesting that the programme should be stopped.
Almost 400 (exact number 397) – 34 per cent voted for the programme to be retained, while 5 per cent – 56 votes were counted in the “Not Sure” category.
While critics accuse the prime minister of engaging in a vote buying exercise through the programme, the government says it is a social protection initiative aimed at addressing the pressing needs of some of the country’s destitute.
The authorities have rejected descriptions of it being a cash handout initiative.
The director of audit, Clarence Christian in a statement last week said there were no cash handouts, and that the process is a transparent one where proper accountability is practiced.
Some bloggers to DNO insist however that cash is handed out during those Wednesday morning clinics at the prime minister’s office at the Financial Centre in Roseau.
There have been suggestions that the programme should be channeled through the government’s Social Welfare Department.
Although dubbed RED CLINIC, the initiative is known officially as the Public Support Programme.
well i don’t dis agree to helping the less fortunate, but their is away to do everything, instead of developing a dependency syndrome among our people i believe ways should be created for independence among them.instead of helping the same set all the time or a one time help, help them create employment for their selves and also others as they become more established as the saying goes you give a man a fish you satisfy his hunger for a day you teach him to fish you feed him for life. the manner of red clinic and its name need to be changed let it not be political but an affair of love and help for all Dominicans whether red, green or blue as God desires it to be
JUMP HIGH, jump low, roll on the ground and cry blood. E PAKAY CHANGEY…. allu can stop the man from ensuring his votes for the coming election???
the poll could show that 50,000 of our population
are against the CLINIC, he will NOT close it down.
the man words and works are absolute and without question. he is the perfect being in the eyes of some.
One thing we need to remember is that this is not a random sample. In order to be random we need a representative sample of people participating in the poll.
Somehow, I don’t think the people who come to the red clinic are the one liming on DNO answering polls.
HHMM
I DID THE STATISTICS and with a confidence coefficient of .95 the margin of error is just 2 percentage points!!!! pretty reliable indicator of how the country feels at the moment
Do your calculations again. The margin of error is actually 17.5% regardless of what you think you may have learned at Cameron University.
How exactly how did you come up with 17.5%?
That is a damm shame… Just plain out embarrasing for a people in this country
THIS IS DISGRACEFUL AND DEMEANING
What is RED clinic ?
this nonesence should be stop this man just making people become more lazy than ever dont want o work thier farm anymore because they can go to town on a wednesday to the red clinic and that should stop, Skerrit need to stop that stop having people looking like beggers in this country, this man grow up in Dominica and he never see any gov’t did that kind of nonesence, than only he, and it is because he wants to remain in power for 50yrs as he say thats why he is doing that but my friend a lot of them people who coming to you will turn the ball on you for the next election including myself because we know what you trying………………
THAT SYSTEM IS FLAWED AND SHOULD BE STOPPED, LET US TREAT OUR CITIZENS WITH DIGNITY.
WHEN SOME PERSONS WILL NOT DENEGRATE THEMSELVES TO WHAT THEY THINK IS PERSONAL BEGGING AT THE HANDS OF ONE PERSON WITH AN AGENDA EVEN WHEN THEY NEED IT, IS BAD.
SOME CANNOT MOUNT THE WAIT AND SOME ARE KNOWN UWP SUPPORTERS AND KNOW THEY WILL NOT GET.
SOME WILL BE REPROACHED LIKE I HEARD AN EX PM BEING REPROACHED FOR ASSISTANCE GIVEN, EVEN WHEN VOLUNTEERED.
BUT WE ALL KNOW POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND FOR POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WE’LL DO SO MANY THINGS.
Please, in the name of good, accountable and transparent goverance of the national public funds- abandone this programme in its current form.
This is a great program just unfortunately a few media persons (those on Q95 and now DNO) are deliberately trying to demonize it, this is so sad!!
This is the same program that assisted a family with $80k to go Trinidad for further medical assistance, and even with that Matt had a whole show saying the $80k was not enough because the total bill was $160k….. Can you imagine that?
UWP created the name ‘Red Clinic’ makes me wonder what plans they have for the betterment of our people!!
Lie lie. Is this the program that supported saveron,s medical or the many trips of cabals to Cuba. Past governments have assisted with medical payments for various dominicans. The funding came from government programs. Padt government have also conducted programs to adsist the needy but never have seen such corrupt practice. It is flat out an insidious program to influence votrs and to keep people poor and dependent
you are so sick this is not funny.
This is akin to the question one hears re-phrased so often: Who else, if not Skerrit”, or as mr. Austrie put it so infamously:” Barabas or Skerrit”. The answer is that Dominica will continue to exist and social aid- & care programmes will be administered and dispensed through the appropriate agencies, as they should.
The country is bigger than one man, regardless of his political hue.
correction you again?
You doh tired come with your crazy corrections?
An application being made to the Health Ministry for medical assistance, and then it receiving Cabinet approval, a check written and properly gazetted….HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH 300 and 400 dollars cash being dished out to hungry labourites on a weekly basis.
Sot
now that 61% of dominicans have voted against this distribution of our tax money to skerrit’s supporters, what’s next?
WHAT IS THE RED CLINIC ?
In a nutshell it’s a program where people ask for money and if the reason is deemed up to scruff by the PM then the funds are distributed to said individual.
A Clinic that is red.
those who vote in favor are the middle class an high class. How many people who goes to the red clinic have computers at home.
Rubbish…you don’t know what u are talking about….
I am a tech who works around this country, in every nook and cranny….before we have a bed or a table in the house…there are two and three laptops..everyone online…
before u make your statements ask yourself if u really know what u are saying…not because it sounds like it should be the case….you would be very surprised…
i wonder who u working 4
You are correct. A computer in a house in Dominica right now is as common (if not more common) as a fridge and stove. No more is it a luxury item.
@cha….i work for myself….but whys that relevant?
Sorry pal, you really got it wrong. Currently internet penetration in Dominica is at less than 38%, and most of that is concentrated in the urban centers (i.e. Roseau and Portsmouth).
I do not know which “nooks and crannies” you are visiting, and while many may have computers, internet access is another issue. Check the facts at http://www.internetworldstats.com/car/dm.htm
WONDER HOW THEY ARE GOING TO EARN ONE,GUESS IS HANOUT AGAIN