Come 2022, Dominicans can expect to see the creation of new employment opportunities and commencement of major infrastructure projects in education, communication and air transport.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit made the announcement during his Christmas Day message as well as his Annou Pale programme on Sunday and expressed his excitement about Dominica’s prospects for the upcoming year.
“We will see the creation of new employment opportunities for our youth and the commencement of major infrastructural projects to boost education communication, air transport and to drive economic activity. This is critical to moving the country forward and positioning ourselves to grasp post COVID opportunities and shape the Dominica and future that we want and deserve,” he stated.
The PM said the government also anticipates the continuation of its housing programs and the completion of health facilities and various communities and “as we forge ahead with our development agenda” there is a role and opportunity for every Dominican citizen.
He stated that persons should commit to working hard towards the constructive engagement that advances collective interests and strengthen participation in development efforts within respective communities and nation by being the positive change they wish to see in Dominica.
“We look forward to the New Year, filled with hope and expectation knowing that this government has sought to keep citizens safe in order to secure prosperous futures for every Dominican citizen…Our survival and success as a people and as a country rest on all working together and becoming our brothers and sisters keeper,” the prime minister noted.
Skerrit said he is proud of advancements in the health sector, particularly the construction of new Primary Healthcare facility and the acquisition of life-saving diagnostic equipment, investments in the digital economy and education to empower youth with valuable skills and progress in the areas of infrastructure housing, agriculture air access and tourism.
“I am grateful for gains and successes over the past year conscious of all that is good in our lives and the possibilities which exists to improve circumstances as a people and a nation. The challenges we face require collective response driven by love, respect and loyalty of country and people,” he said. “Let us draw on our successes, renew our commitment to each other and to country and build for the future. The coming year holds much promise for us all.”
The prime minister highlighted the government’s 2021 focus on safeguarding livelihoods and public health through an aggressive pandemic response defined by effective disease surveillance, procurement of equipment and services and a vaccination program rollout which he stated ensured that citizens have a quick and equitable access to life-saving vaccines.
“The government has also cushioned the economic impact of the virus by helping small and medium-sized private sectors Enterprises continue operations and very importantly sustain jobs. In the face of adversity, we are responding to the needs of our people with compassion and efficacy to ensure their safety and well-being,” Skerrit added.
He thanked the healthcare workers and other staff within the government service who have distinguished themselves as caregivers and protectors of Dominica’s collective health in the face of immense and unprecedented pressures and saluted them for their heroic efforts.
@Telemaque, I would refer to the commercial area as follows: King George Street running from the old Roseau market to Astaphans (very crowded and busy); Bath road at King George Street to River Street (not many commercial businesses but this is the best I can describe); River Street to the current market place to encompass the Promenade, where you catch the Wesley bus (busy, you may have noticed it during your visits); lastly, Dame Eugenia Charles boulevard, stretching from the former Royal Bank to the market (busy). There are lots of small and medium size commercial businesses including banks contained in the area I described. Very busy with lots of people, not to mention vehicles. Telemaque, do you know that Dominica has some 37000 vehicles? By your calculation, this would mean one vehicle per household. Not bad for a poor country.
You need to spend a little more time in Roseau next time you visit so you can see what I’m talking about.
Glad to see you’ve mellowed down a bit.
@Telemaque, maybe I could have used a more appropriate word to describe the activity in downtown Roseau but nevertheless, the word “commerce” still has the same meaning, buying and selling. It doesn’t say on what scale that’s occuring so to imply that very little is being done in Dominica is silly. Dominica has some seventy thousand people so obviously, trading will be done on a scale relative to it’s population.
As someone who resides in the US, you should know it’s not a good idea to keep carrying hundred dollar bills around, first it’s not a wise thing to do (safety) and second, some businesses clearly posts, no bills larger than twenty dollars accepted. Why then would you expect some little shop to always have the ability to accept such a bill? Unreasonable…
Have you visited the market lately or you’re writing about something you heard? People say lots of things depending on what side of the fence you’re on so don’t go repeating things you don’t really know.
“Dominica has some seventy thousand people so obviously, trading will be done on a scale relative to it’s population.”(Mark).
I agree with you that trading will be more effective based on the population of the country. At this point let me remind or inform you we do not have seventy (70,000.00) thousand people resident in Dominica.
Now I am not contending that there may not be seventy thousand Dominican born, but many have since died, and I know for a fact almost twenty thousand of our people are residence on the island of Antigua.
We are all over the world, now we don’t know how many criminal foreigners out there posing with Dominica passports sold to them by Roosevelt, they perhaps out number Dominican born: If you count how many votes cast in the last election, you will get an idea of how many people are in the country, according to my tally there are less than fifty thousand people residing in Dominica this very day.
You mentioned ” downtown Roseau;” since the term downtown implies in, or characteristic of the central area or main business and commercial area of a town or city.
Can you by any chance where in Roseau this commercial area can be found; and this is simply for my personal enlightenment, the last time I was there I did not see much of anything, like that!
Some of us like to use words that are big and long; sometimes short; nevertheless, we do not actually no the meaning of the words, and what they actually implie: ( i.e. ) the term “commerce ” implies: activity of buying and selling, especially on a large scale.
Now Dominica with only a handful of people; and let me average a population of between thirty and forty thousand people.
What amount of buying and selling can take place in Dominica in a single day, month or year, when everything must be imported, nothing is produced on the island to be exported.
A farmer takes a couple bags of agricultural produce to the market, at eight (8:00 A.M) by three (3:00 PM) half of what he/she brought along are still in his/her bag; what kind of commerce is that?
One goes into a clothing store or grocery shop, buys something hands the clerk or proprietor a hundred dollar bill to pay for the purchase, only to be informed ” I doh have any change.”
What kind of commerce is that?
@St.Jean, it’s almost a waste of time responding to your post since I have asked for follow-up information on some of your writings before and received no response. You write things and when challenged you hide under a rock.
All I ever hear is excuses for why the opposition is unable to win an election. You should know that an incumbent anywhere is hard to defeat. You have to work twice as hard to succeed. Put the work in and maybe things might turn out differently.
Guys like you and the likes of Ibo and company, keep preaching all things Doom and Gloom on island. That’s a gross exaggeration of the truth and you’all know it and guess what, the electorate knows it as well. If one didn’t know any better, they would believe that Dominica was the worst place on planet earth.
You need to visit Roseau sometime to see all the commerce that’s taking place in town. I’m almost certain your tune will change.
“Come 2022, Dominicans can expect to see the creation of new employment opportunities and commencement of major infrastructure projects in education, communication and air transport.”
Roosevelt, nothing you said in the quote above gives any hope of employment to a graduating high school, or the Dominica two-year college. In the first place when we speak of ” infrastructure” the more intelligent people expect it to involve
the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g.) buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society.
There are not many more roads to be built in the country; and even if there was a cycle of building roads, and government buildings it would be foolish for anyone to take such a promise seriously, because we do not anticipate it is the ambition of every graduating student to venture into the construction of major and feeder roads or go into construction of government buildings which cannot continue forever!
Cont:
One would hope when someone or you in government speak of job creation the idea would be job creation through the development of industries.
Without industrialization, there can be no absolute creation of sustainable employment opportunities in the country, all you are doing right now is simply entertaining yourself with sweet sounding words to your ear, meanwhile the nation is overwhelmed by hunger, and every form of suffering.
The basic needs including food and medicine evades many, and I can testify to that based on recent experience, without jobs Roosevelt people are unable to support themselves, a handout from you is not the way God said people should live.
For the Bible teaches; by the sweet of thy brow, thou shall eat bread; it did not say people should depend on handouts from you or any politician to live.
You Roosevelt are the cause of so much poverty in the country!
Dominican Jesus has spoken. The masses will eat it up and that will be all that comes from this. The tragedy that is Dominica. Back to back deaths of dlp leaders gave us this former teacher, guess smartest person on island at the time. Talk about brain drain. Our best and brightest dishing out excellence overseas while no opportunities exist for Dominicans in dominica. Finest, crypto mining, manufacturing etc etc never crosses these guys minds? But then again a film company being told to pay local staff less shows where the issue is in dominica. Keep the people poor and uneducated so those who have will always be those who have. A failed state
I agree with you that Roosevelt Skerrit keeps too many Dominicans poor, uneducated and allow me to add servile.
This is what is incomprehensible to me. How could this one man force the majority of citizens to live in such wretched poverty from hand to mouth; mostly dispossessed; deprived of the basic necessities of life; but, still, these same people shout themselves hoarse in blind support of this narcissistic outlaw.
Wow, lots of words. Billion dollar government and unemployment still sky high. One solution is to have lower cost of electricity in order to attract foreign investors. They are on the fringes paying attention. You need to complete the much politicized geothermal plant, work with Domlec to lower rates immediately and promote this new-found treasure to the world, particularly the Chinese for manufacturing anything, especially clothes, T- shirts, shoes, hopefully to cloth your people noting that it’s expensive to even feed them with all the imports after having dropped the ball on agriculture. You have to attract foreign investment, can’t compete with Antigua, they don’t need as much foreign direct investment as you but you’ll need 365 white sand beaches to compete for tourist dollars, such isn’t going to happen. If not we’re screwed even if you are our first billion dollar government.
More pie in the sky from a corrupt and incompetent PM. I wonder when Dominicans get tired of listening to the same broken records?
@Ibo, I firmly believe that poor messaging by the opposition, you included have resulted in the DLP’s extended stay. You have yourselves to blame for allowing, like you pointed out, poor guys to become filthy rich on their government salaries. Where was the opposition while this was taking place? Why wasn’t this not constantly brought to the attention of the citizenry? Why didn’t they not advocate a strong case for change to include protests? This is something that needed to be done on a daily basis to show that you were serious.Words without action is meaningless.
In my humble opinion, one of the worst acts against the citizenry was when the PM’s $64,000 monthly rent was approved. Dominicans should have protested then in droves against the government’s decision.
It’s never too late to change course but I believe a better strategy is warranted to achieve your desired results.
Mark, the poor messaging you complain about is called TRUTH. TRUTH has plenty enemies like you. A man who speaks TRUTH does not have many friends. In fact, there’s is a saying – ‘Speak the TRUTH then run’.
Your assumption about DLP’s extended stay defies credulity. Every person with a modicum of common sense knows it’s the corrupt electoral system, the treating and cheating, the unknown sources of dirty millions of dollars, the padded electoral list, the rented overseas votes, cookout money and the list goes on.
If Nelson Mandella, Desmond Tutu, Barack Obama were eligible to contest the last election in Dominica because of the corrupt nature of the electoral system, they would not recoup their deposits.
@Mark, you must have been hiding under some rock and not able to get information from Dominca to ask the asinine questions about the state of play for politics in Dominca. The opposition was tormented by the tontonmakoot passing for a regulated police force in the country. There is a saying that money talks and bulls… walks. The Labor cabal spent $30 million to buy the last election without even having a bake sale to raise funds, go figure. When last did Labor party hold a delegates convention? Skerritt is conniving by having parliament approve his $64,000 monthly fleecing of the Treasury. He did it at a time when there was a national lockdown for Covid-19 knowing fully well that his tontonmakoot force would brutalize anyone who showed up to protest. What about not having cleaned the voters list, bringing in people to vote who didn’t qualify based on the length of stay requirements, using state funds to favor one set, denying the opposition access to state media, etc
The employment opportunities are declining like Skerrit’s receding hairline.
Where are the good paying jobs that would help the many thousands of citizens and residents to elevate their present floor-level standard of living.
Mr. Skerrit is undoubtedly the most untrustworthy and unintelligent Caribbean leader. His promises are like vapour, immaterial. He, his uneducated wife and his American born children are mainly the beneficiaries of his rulership.
This is one of the most galling actions that really irks me. In a time when businesses were closing; unemployment exploding; families going penniless; babies and children going hungry; Mr. Skerrit and his immediate family took up residence in a multi-million dollar palatial home, costing the dirt poor tax payers $74 000 monthly. This is heartless and evil.
There should be daily protests around this residence forcing him to exit it and find his own. This is the act of an ungodly, villainous scumbag.
Take dat garbage to solid waste.
Skerrit could never write this by himself.
No stimulus… remember?…dat is your record Skerrit.
Only those who belief in fairies, mermaids and unicorns believe the promises made by this habitual LIAR.
If each time one tells a lie his nose would grow by an inch, Mr. Skerrit would have a Pinocchio nose as long as Gatwick Airport runway.
No one in Dominica can honestly become filthy rich from the salary of a civil servant. How did the ministers and cronies of the Skerrit’s cabal manage to accumulate multiple, luxurious houses, vehicles and large chunks of the choicest lands?
An independent political analyst from the Caribbean once posited this. Members of the ruling political parties in the Caribbean collect millions of dollars corruptly from no bid procurement practices. So whenever one sees a government investing heavily in construction projects, without proper and transparent procurement practices, corruption abounds.
Dominica is being taken to the cleaners by the most unprincipled, dishonest, shady characters in government.
CORRUPTION is responsible for starvation wages, high unemployment, poor healthcare, dilapidated public edifices, lack of feeder roads for farmers and the ‘uglification’ and deprivation of Dominica.
Still waiting to see the MOU that the Pm signed with China. Why is he still keeping it a secret?
Seeing is believing. Promises are just that, promises.
Less talk more action please
STFU…Stay tuned for untruth
Garcon, you aren’t tired of lying to Dominicans. The new cruise terminal at Canefield, the replacement for RUSM, the bypass from Ravine Cork through Canefield, the completion of the Petit Soufriere road to Rosalie and on, and on. It was in June 2020, during the pandemic that you had parliament rubber stamp your decision to put a monthly payment of $64,000 for you and your family to live large and in charge at the expense of taxpayers. Following the outcry from the public you promised to find accommodation for you and your family at your own expense in two years. June 2022 is the deadline for you to take that yolk off the back of Dominicans as you promised to do. Don’t try to sweet-talk the public with your fake promises. You didn’t even mention which healthcare facilities you completed, can’t you say Marigot? I promise you that we won’t continue to pay for your expensive and acquired lifestyle after June 2022. Find your own housing, Roosevelt Skerritt.
We still waiting for the 50 something junior clerks to get appointed. A promise is a comfort to a fool.
When young men come to me seeking employment and I ask about their previous work experience, they frequently answer: “construction”. On delving deeper I find that “construction” relates to labouring on a building site. They have not been trained or served a recognized apprenticeship in any of the building trades.
I therefore hope that these “new employment opportunities…that we can expect to see”, will encourage and enable the acquiring of lifetime skills rather than merely providing short term casual labouring.
Roger, what building contractor will employ someone to learn a skill on the job. Time is of the essence as time is money. Contractors are seeking eminently qualified tradesmen to complete his projects before or on the stipulated time of the contract.
Throughout history, skills have been learnt on the job by way of bonafide apprenticeships. Apprenticeships benefit both the employer and the apprentice.
The reason why we have a deficiency in highly skilled artisans at this point in time is because apprenticeships have fallen into abeyance.
Around the island there should be centres of excellence set up, especially in the larger communities, to teach skills. With the procurement of a job, the person would be ready from day one to perform. It would not be wise to let a novice practise (tiling floors,etc) on a multi million dollar building.
I can assure you that an apprentice, under the eye of a master craftsman, would not dare to turn out inferior work.
The high standards that were instilled in me during my far off days as an apprentice are with me to this day.
Why don’t you open a trade school in Dominica, IBO France? Stop criticizing and do something for your country. Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. You just criticizing and throwing mepuis everywhere and you have done nothing for your country. What a shame. What a disgrace.
Why does this media outlet, DNO, continue to post every lie, empty promise and frivolous utterances that Roosevelt Skerrit blockages about on his propaganda, dolly house show. DNO, DBS and Kairi operate as though Mr. Skerrit has the controlling majority shares invested in them. Are these three blind mice beholden to this shady character?
These three lackeys will never comment about the many unfulfilled promises nor blatant misdeeds of this unethical regime.
Why don’t pose these to the misleader in chief?
*the replacement as promised for ROSS
*the completion of geothermal energy
* the start of the cruise village
* the publicatio of Mr. Byron’s electoral reform report
* the missing CBI billions he promised to shed light on
*the corrupt procurement practices of his administration
These three media entities would remain deafeningly silent on these burning issues. Their combined silence gives tacit approval to the plutocrats’ reign of destruction.
Why does this media outlet continue to post the mad ramblings of ibo France?
DNO is a singular organisation, a news-and advertising medium, the singular form of media.
Is this a possible sign that his political advisors & handlers in Barbados have commanded him to call a snap election in Dominica at some point in 2022?
Stay tuned…
P.S. – By the way, what happen to those investors he said that were ready to move in and take over the Ross University campus site?
Everything that he is claiming credit for and everything that is on the future agenda was paid for through overseas aid, grants, loans, and passport sales. none of it has been paid for by anything this government has actually established. he may as well be saying, ‘hey look what I’ve done and am going to do with other people’s money’.
I agree 110%. He is a master of deception and passport sales. The problem is that less than 50% of the passport revenue is returned to state coffers. Where is the difference? Will the Dominican citizens ever force him to account?