First phase of new hospital to open September 6 says PM

Section of new hospital

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has said that the first phase of the new Dominica China Friendship Hospital will open its doors on the 6th of September 2019.

He made this announcement at a town hall meeting of cabinets on August 13th, 2019 in Mahaut.

“We are grateful and happy to report that on the 6th on September, you the people of Dominica will start benefiting from its new Dominica China Friendship hospital and that hospital will have all of the amenities and the top-notch equipment that you will need here in Dominica to provide better medical services to us,” the prime minister stated.

Skerrit continued, “They laughed at the equipment that we’re going to be having at the hospital; they criticized the Chinese government but from the 6th of September, anyone on of us who falls sick in Dominica and requires an MRI, you won’t have to go anywhere but the China hospital.”

He said the government will continue to provide seniors above the age of 60 and children below the age of 18 with free medical care at the hospital.

The Prime Minister also defended Montreal Management Consultants EST (MMCE) for their engagement in Dominica for the construction of homes after Tropical Storm Erika in 2015.

“Now they are attacking this company called MMCE. MMCE is a company that came to Dominica after Tropical Storm Erika and offered to help us build homes for the people of Petite Savanne and that company front-loaded, made monies available, its own money, to start to first, buy the land for us because we had no money at the time – over 44 acres of land, ” he explained. “They put all the infrastructure; signed contracts to build homes even before we signed an agreement with them as the government, and through the citizenship programme, they got reimbursed,” Skerrit stated.

He added, “I challenge anybody in Dominica to being me a company that would do that for Dominica that would go in and spend its own money because signing an agreement with the government anywhere in the world. And so, because they see MMCE building homes and people are happy and satisfied they have a problem with that and they have to find something negative to say about it.”

Skerrit said the first time that the MMCE received a cheque from the government was one year after they started the Bellevue Chopin project.

Leader of the Opposition, Lennox Linton, is demanding that Prime Minister Skerrit provide a proper accounting of the funds that have been generated by the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Programme over the last three financial years. This would require disclosure of the amount of money that has been received by MMCE under the housing option which the prime minister recently announced as the premier revenue earner of the CBI programme.

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

38 Comments

  1. Bring back the kidnapped Dominican parrots
    August 18, 2019

    Yours truly may be planning to sell Dominica to China as their new colony in the middle of the Caribbean, he names everything Dominica China friendship, how much money does yours truly have in his overseas bank accounts from China? The Chinese have bought yours truly. He has taken so much money from China that when they demand he hand the island over to them he will not be able to refuse.They own him, the Dominican PM.

  2. August 15, 2019

    Get a life for crying loud, be thanks you have a government that’s working for the betterment of all Dominicans. You all great full for anything??? What will it take to satisfy some of you people. For the first time in the country history you have a hospital that’s second to none be thankful and stop behaving like kids that can’t be satisfied regardless of what you give them.

    • RandyX
      August 16, 2019

      For betterment of ALL Dominicans, you say. I’m sure you mend to say for a FEW Dominicans and of these few Skerrit has taken the lion share! A hospital second to none? Are you completely of your rocker??? Go to Germany, go to France, go to Luxembourg, go to Martinique…! Your new hospital is nothing compared to any of them. By the way, what about the Marigot hospital? Man go away and save your worthless propaganda for another day!
      Skerrit is finished in particular if he can’t account for the missing CBI money.

  3. %
    August 15, 2019

    It’s only a lazy, non caring and heartless government that will take 15 years to have a proper MRI machine at a hospital.
    Wicked!
    Where the Money Gone?

  4. Luca Spark
    August 15, 2019

    Do we get shiny new, properly paid, qualified and dedicated nurses too, or just the same ones who are only doing nursing so that they can get out of Dominica and move to New York ? Smoke and mirrors.

  5. mysterious benefactor
    August 15, 2019

    Why has MMCE been so kind to us? What’s in it for them?

    • Shhh. It's a secret
      August 15, 2019

      There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

      • Bring back the kidnapped Dominican parrots
        August 18, 2019

        When China demands possession of Dominica as their new colony yours truly will not be able to refuse, China owns your PM. China would love to have possession of Dominica an island right in the middle of the Caribbean island chain for a new navy base. The Chinese goal is to take over the world.

    • RandyX
      August 16, 2019

      Because there is a link from them to Skerrits wealth and our passport. Ever heard of a facilitator…!

  6. starts with M
    August 15, 2019

    Is MMCE’s sponsorship of the Melissa Skerrit Foundation a coincidence?

    • Odd indeed
      August 15, 2019

      It is very odd. So many local groups we have, catering to the less fortunate in Dominica, for decades now. I wonder why MMCE chose Melissa Skerrit Foundation in particular, a foundation that seems to have just pop up out of nowhere.

  7. Bring back the kidnapped Dominican parrots
    August 15, 2019

    China will soon have a navy base in Portsmouth.

  8. Ask Mel
    August 15, 2019

    Let’s be real people. When Skerrit became a government minister 20 yrs ago, he was a very broke man. When he became PM he immediately established diplomatic relationship with China. At that time he had a car. 15 yrs later Pm has really enriched himself to the point that he is considered to be the richest PM in the Caribbean. But what has he done for us? How many of us can honestly say we are better? Maybe a handful though the handful are not all together happy. But my point is after 15 yrs PM has promised to open the first phase of a hospital and wants credit. This is the same PM that told us last month that he could fly his family abroad for health reasons , but we couldn’t! After 15 yrs as pm and 20 yrs as the government? But instead of improving our health this PM attacked our health by closing down the Marigot hospital, the Portsmouth deteriorated significantly, which is one reason Ross has to leave , Vielle Case and Penville health care is a disaster etc. PM has failed us

    • Bring back the kidnapped Dominican parrots
      August 18, 2019

      The FBI should conduct an investigation in Florida with the county property tax division where he has his mansion to see where yours truly got the money to build his house in Florida, they also need to check his overseas bank accounts for very large deposits to see where that money came from.

  9. dissident
    August 15, 2019

    Skerrit do not give de world de impression that you running a nation a fools……that will say alot about you.
    There are several different Hifu machine manufacturers and suppliers in China’
    There is alot of information online…..any primary school student can research de information themselves. Did you know that there are portable hifu machines costing less than US$5000…..go on alibaba and check for yourself Skerrit.
    We never criticized de Chinese…de fire was aimed at your Health ministry and minister because our research has revealed that de machine is for body enhancement.
    de ting is our health issues are non-communicable diseases …….not body enhancement lie wrinkle removal, shin tightening and the like,
    since de MOU was signed with China people dying from diabetes, and cancers now 15 years into de agreement you trying to put a block on people head with liposuction machine

    Is this how u want us to remember your on non-communicable diseases?
    its your legacy

  10. RandyX
    August 15, 2019

    I wonder if Skerrit and Gucci will also use the ‘chinese’ hospital from September?? Of course they won’t, so if it is not good enough for them why should it be good enough for ordinary Dominicans. Get shot of this liar, he’s only fooling all you!!!

  11. new name?
    August 14, 2019

    8-O Wait a while… The hospital name change man? The dictator strikes again.

    • Obviously
      August 15, 2019

      If the Hospital was called Princess Margaret when the English built it…you expect it to still be called Princess Margaret when the chinese build it ??

    • Compere Tigre
      August 15, 2019

      Yes we…. in his own words, the CHINA HOSPITAL…. woye…. how about Dominica China State house, Dominica China State College. I mean soon we will be Dominican Chinese. Exaggeration out of the way, we really couldn’t name the Hospital after a Dominican or are we paying for it with name rights? SMH

      • Bring back the kidnapped Dominican parrots
        August 18, 2019

        Dominica is well on the way to becoming a Chinese colony courtesy of your PM. Yours truly is not worried he will just flee like all dictators do with his millions stashed away in foreign bank accounts.

  12. %
    August 14, 2019

    So do like those who follow you to just “clap”, while you cannot answer the question where is the money? I know figures give you a lot of problems, but 366 units at $350 000.00 per unit is not 1.29billion Mr ……. Its just EC$128, 100, 000. By the way you were not even sure if every unit costs $350 000.00.
    So where is the money?
    Why was your so called Housing Option not known about by 99.99999% of Dominicans?

  13. Marve
    August 14, 2019

    I am glad to know that the hospital will be well equipped with the MRI machine, hopefully when the other hospital is functioning again there will be MRI machine also.
    One thing I hope that the hospital staff will be well trained in the precautions needed when an MRI is in use or not in use. I work at a hospital, and every year employees have to be trained on the precaution of those equipments. So hopefully they will be trained in order not to have any accidents with the equipment

  14. Kalinago Justice
    August 14, 2019

    :?: This one-man corrupt rogue regime prime mistake thinks he’s only speaking to his head and eyes closed blind labarats :?: Who’s going to believe that foreign company entered in an arrangement to start building houses without a contract! :?: Those of us who knows how it works with contractual works for every government that the person or company who’s selected have to start with their finances. First of all,they have to prove financially by coming up with a certain amount! I personally, like many others, don’t believe anything you’ve said! You allowed the company to sell passports and use a minimum amount of what they’ve earned to build those houses! It’s the people’s passport money paying for those construction! By the way, where’s$1.2 billion dollars missing,is it that company holding it :?:

  15. Snake in the grass
    August 14, 2019

    As a laborite I am very offended by the statement made by PM. It’s not fair to put politics ahead of health. PM, I work at a healthcare facility and I can tell you that the last 5 years more Dominicans died than any 5 year term before. Sadly I had to bury loved ones, relatives, friends and I can say that had they been in St Lucia or any other island, many of them would be with us today and maybe working. PM it’s how many years since you promised us a state of the art hospital and really I could not understand the delay until after reading the date for the opening of only the first phase. PM don’t tell me you put winning an election ahead of my health and wellbeing? PM, you spent $30 million on a state house and it took you less than 2 yrs to construct it and you telling us after 7 yrs since you first promised to build us a hospital you dragged it until the eve of an election? What about our many people that died because we didn’t have MRI? You should take responsibility for that

    • Rojo
      August 15, 2019

      Not St Lucia mam they’re even worse off than us as their hospital has been operating in the Stadium for the past few years and more people are dying also.

  16. August 14, 2019

    Well, at least a good thing is going for my Dominica, on my birthday, September 6, 2019. Lord on behalf of fellow Dominicans, I thank You for this great gift.

    And may Your Will continue to be done, by the Manpower of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and his fellow Government.

    I know that he knows, without You, he can do nothing. Let Your glory continue to shine upon us and our Land, by the strength and vigor, of which You continue to bless him. Amen!

  17. Old Labor Soldier
    August 14, 2019

    Skerrit continued, “They laughed at the equipment that we’re going to be having at the hospital; they criticized the Chinese government but from the 6th of September, anyone on of us who falls sick in Dominica and requires an MRI, you won’t have to go anywhere but the China hospital.”

    Wow! did these words really come from the mouth of the PM? After 15 years as PM and 20 years as the government of Dominica they could not even put an MRI machine in place? We didn’t have to wait for a hospital to have a life saving MRI equipment Skerrit. Man that statement just proved that you put politics before people. Do you know have a count of how many Dominicans that died say from 2010 to now due to the poor state of healthcare and poverty you brought on us? You know how many from Calibishie, Woodfordhill. Wesley, Marigot, Concord and the Kalenago people that died before time because of the Marigot hospital you closed down?I think you should be tried for causing deaths for political gain.

    • sanaa
      August 15, 2019

      but are u a fool. have u been to the hospital , these machine has to be stored in proper areas do u know that

  18. Red Sox
    August 14, 2019

    Who knows maybe if the hospital was already opened or stayed like Skerrit met it in 2004, when he became PM, my dad who passed away last year from an illness that no one should die from, would probably alive today. But a combination of dust, no medication and poor heathcare service at the PMH caused the premature death of my dad. I hope Skerrit did not plan the delay of the hospital so he could open it just before the election like he did with the new Ross University, the three west coast bridges and those hotels. The man is only concerned about power that he doesn’t even care how many people that die as a result of his tactical and malicious delay

    • Man bites dogs
      August 15, 2019

      @Red Sox, ….. and there are many like you makes me sick to the bone. If you are not telling lies you didn’t explain your so-called father illness or what he died from, my point I am making countrys like UK, US, EU and many others one could die from lease little things according to their Immune system. I am not a professor but any fool ……….. would of known better.

    • August 15, 2019

      @Red Sox, you said “my dad who passed away last year from an illness that no one should die from”

      Some years ago in Toronto, where I no live, a man went to a hospital emergency with a toothache. That hospital kept him there and treated him. However, they found it necessary to transfer him to another hospital, where he died. From a toothache! And that is in Toronto, Canada

      What was it that killed your father? You should have told us. And by the way, no one stays in his or body longer than the days which God gives to him or her.

      • Joseph John
        August 17, 2019

        @Elizabeth,…..the media in the USA report the many doctors and hospitals that are sued for mal practice.

  19. REAL!!!!
    August 14, 2019

    No legit business that worth it salt would ever go into a non-contractual , gentleman hand-shake verbal agreement with a PM or GOVT and use its own money upfront to purchase 44 acres of land and build houses for the GOVT, then receive it first check one year later.

    This makes absolute NO SENSE for the magnitude of the project.

    What if Skerrit was to pass on during the period of NO signed contract, then MMCE has no leg to stand and could loose all its money…in the range $100MM for construction and land.( Are we fools to believe MMCE would expose itself in this manner)

    Our PM is telling more LIES…Time to vacate office!!!!

    Please tell us where is our 1.2BILLION Dollar!!!!

    • dark souls
      August 15, 2019

      MMCE knew exactly how they were going to benefit from this “deal” and Skerrit did not care because he and Melissa would get their cut.

  20. PRO
    August 14, 2019

    “…you won’t have to go anywhere but the China hospital.”

    YOU SOUND DUMB , SKERRIT !!

    It’s embarrassing how gullible you think Dominicans are. you for one, are not that smart and to think that we dont see whats going in is insulting. A Business ( for profit company ) isnt just going to give free service – An area of chaos – Dominica after the storms , is the perfect place for opportunity , these people know what they are doing kamem.

  21. PRO
    August 14, 2019

    “…you won’t have to go anywhere but the China hospital.”

    You sound very DUMB, Skerrit! You sound like a man they grab by his balls and will say anything to make them release it.. The 1 major hopistal in the entire country and you HONESTLY and TRULY calling it China hospital …. SMH – you let Dominicans down.

    • August 15, 2019

      It was called Princess Margaret Hospital because they built it, so what is your point? China spent their own money to build it, why not name it after them.

      …………………

  22. MR Hector Marie
    August 14, 2019

    yes but what about the marigot hospital which served the communities from calibishie to what was called the reservs which the present gorvernment allowed to fall apart and for years are making promises and without shame continue to show their faces asking for votes ? to quote one commercial I know a thing or two because I have seen a thing or two about that hospital because for years i was the ambulance driver with a five ton Bedford from wesley and woodfordhill to marigot and sometimes turn around and rush to Portsmouth SHAME ON DLP

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available