UPDATE: Road protest in Petit Coulibri

A sign placed by residents

Dominica News Online (DNO) wishes to correct an error in our reporting of the protest action which occurred on the road leading to Petit Coulibri in Soufriere constituency, on Tuesday morning.

New information reaching DNO indicates that the protest was staged, not to demand better road conditions, but because a land owner from Bois Cutlette blocked the government road, and created a diversion on his private land which he claims he had permission to do.

The residents, most of whom are employees at Petite Coulibri, have been unable to pass safely to get to work, and decided to protest the action of the land owner.

The photos which accompanied the article depicted a sign which read, “We need our road back” and which had apparently been put on the road by the residents and a pile of burning branches and other pieces of wood which it is alleged the land owner had placed there.

DNO further understands that the police later intervened and the villagers were able to gain access to the road.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.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.

33 Comments

  1. SplitTeverse
    December 4, 2023

    Everything. How a man can feel comfortable blocking a public road and expect to do that without impunity, u less the authorities gave him the belief that he could.

  2. grow dominica
    October 31, 2018

    missing from this story is the fact that the protest was not near Bois Cotlette. It was 1 kilometer away. The fire blocking the road, an illegal activity, was ignored by the police. The purpose of the protest was to disrupt the bois cotlett mans tour business and coasters were sent back to port.. grow up Dominica. if no law and order. you have no country. police do your job

    • nahla
      November 1, 2018

      Are you from the community? the end!

  3. Ras
    October 31, 2018

    Some people are so obsessed with being critical of government that they put a spin on any and everything in an effort at making the PM look bad. In this case DNO published a Breaking News story with photos stating that some people in Soufriere were protesting the condition of a public road. In an update of that story DNO admits that it was wrong and now says that a land owner had blocked the road inconveniencing villagers who used that road to get to their workplace..
    now what does that have to do with Skerrit?
    !

    • UKDominican
      October 31, 2018

      The owner of Bois Cotlette, Jonathan Lehrer is a CBI agent, authorised by Skerrit to sell Dominican citizenships. As far as I can recall that business was previously listed as Paradise Citizens. Good luck protesters. I wonder what law will prevail.

  4. Filip
    October 30, 2018

    Skerite boi things not looking good for you nor my brother .. they way i see it you are going to lose that general election.. better you even call it now instead of wasting time… all who I speak to them days are against your government..

  5. Crucial Mi Lion
    October 30, 2018

    How can the paving of a public road be the task of citizens who pay their taxes for that exact reason?? John’s an idiot!!!

    • Dominican
      October 31, 2018

      We have to be careful here. Just because a road is on private land, and the landowner may own the land that is traversed by that road does not mean that he has exclusive use of that road. There may well be a public right of way and if not public certainly a right of way by those who need it to access their properties. The irony is that the onus for maintaining such a road may well fall on the owner of said land. I need not point out that land is a very sensitive subject in Dominica and disputes over ownership, boundaries etc. tend to be passionate affairs. I hope common sense prevails.

  6. dane
    October 30, 2018

    but we never had good road even before maria hit… them people there must be crazy… best they say they want the road fixed instead of saying they want their road back,,, majority of the people standing there doesnt even live there.. the only persons that can say they want the road fixed are the police officer and the white people staying beyond that road.. smdh

    • SMH
      October 31, 2018

      they are not asking for theroad to fix…they are asking for access to the road which is public. This public road was blocked off by the owner of bois cotlette, forcing workers and villagers to seek alternae route.

      • dane
        October 31, 2018

        well the news should have gotten their damn facts straight because i live there and i know that this road has never been good etc

    • nahla
      November 1, 2018

      Dane, I see why the road continues to remain unfixed. We do have a set of ignorant people down there. Yes, i too am from the community, and because you are supportive of the governemnt you get to say what should and shouldn;t be asked for. I would say more but.

  7. Neville
    October 30, 2018

    Well done. Time for people to take to the streets and protest against this useless and corrupt government.

  8. Ibo France
    October 30, 2018

    If it take civil disobedience to bring attention to your suffering, then so be it. No violence is necessary just persistent, peaceful protests. Nothing good comes easily. You have to agitate for your share of the pie. The Skerrit-led administration is delinquent and uncaring. It looks after itself and its loyalists really well. It focuses single-mindedly on hanging on to power by any means necessary. There are too many skeletons in the closet to be unleashed. Jail in it. People, if you carefully assessed the monetary and material assistance that Dominica has received from foreign countries, organizations and from groups and individuals living in the Diaspora in recent times, it amounts to well over a billion EC dollars. Where has all this money gone to? There is absolutely nothing of significance to show for it. Skerrit handpicks party members who do not have the testicular fortitude to question or challenge him. Hence, the sorry state of affairs in the country. Vote Them Out!

  9. John
    October 30, 2018

    So let me get this straight, you all joined together to demonstrate but you all are unable to come together as a community and fix your roads and stop depend on the government? When will black people stop depend on grants and handout to get things done? Fix your roads,jah!

    • Karl Orndem
      October 30, 2018

      these people are poor farmers. there are 2 hotel developments up that road. One has already concreted a majority of it previously but was destroyed. now they are back to square one. The repair of public facilities like ROADS is the responsibility of the Government. for example the people of goodwill came together to renovate Lindo park on their own. they got all their funding and plans etc. Guess what? the government stopped the project saying it is the government’s responsibility to undertake upgrades and repairs to public facilities and utilities. These men are not engineers i wouldnt encourage them to take it upon themselves without proper guidance either.

      • John
        October 30, 2018

        This is the very reason why not many youths are going into farming with your stupid labeling of farmers as being “poor”. I am very much aware of the area in this picture and where the path leads more than you know. The government on a whole CANNOT fulfill the needs of all its citizens(Not just speaking of Dominica but on a whole); it is up to the PEOPLE to join together to keep a country running….the government is just the outer shell, but we are the gears.

        Even if as you say, they do not have the skills but they can at least do a fundraiser around the area to help themselves, and I am sure the government and the hotels would be willing to provide whatever lacking resources when we show them that we are willing to fend for ourselves.

        The problem is the dependency we have, we depend on them to do x,y, & z even though we could do it provided with no other options. The road up there is not fully damaged but there is some guy who cut a new road and is forcing ppl to use it.

      • A. George
        October 31, 2018

        i have been up that road. there are two homes along the way (owned by very wealthy persons if I understand correctly). If I am in government, fixing that road would not be a priority for me, sorry, not when there are three villages in the other direction with hundreds of residents. But then again the story is not really about fixing the road now is it?

      • Karl Orndem
        October 31, 2018

        John, i never said farmers are poor. I said these people being affected are poor farmers the majority of them. You and i both know farming and agriculture is a very lucrative industry, especially if done properly and if some processing is included.

      • dane
        October 31, 2018

        do you leave in that area padna. i know and even if that road is fixed to the best and the rain tell you it coming down that ravine etc and wash it away…. dont talk about a place that u have no clue about.

    • Jonathan Y St Jean
      October 30, 2018

      @john, then the government should not tax those residents. Turn the question on it’s head, how can a government tax and take money from citizens and not provide them with the necessary services for which those taxes were taken in the first place. You make absolutely no sense, John

      • A. George
        November 1, 2018

        What tax? The only tax govt has a good chance of getting is income tax

    • %
      October 30, 2018

      Go fix it for them. Such an asinine comment.Then Go to all other villages and do the same.Use your mouth and teeth to help you do the back hoe work for the drainage.
      Skerrit Must Go
      Skerrit Must Go
      LAZY Skerrit Must Go Now

      • Karl Orndem
        October 31, 2018

        this is the comment of ignorance. the problem is not skerrit in the end. the problem seems to be the people who keep electing his party to ensure he returns. these people must be reasoned with and persuaded to see things differently, justly and intelligently. Many of these people ate like Donald Trump supporters. That goes for both labor and uwp. We have to stop put politics before what is right and expected of a government.

      • Preacher
        October 31, 2018

        This man is just a fool every thing is SMG
        But go where
        Will Linton. One in when he go

    • Miel
      October 31, 2018

      If i was sure DNO would post the comment i would tell you exactly where they gonna get the money to pave the road but DNO would block me.

    • Ibo France
      October 31, 2018

      Nothing politicians love more than to exploit ignorance. John is one of those people who asks,
      “Where the sun goes at nights?”
      “Where to put the stamp on an e-mail?”
      It’s very sad and even frightening to know, that, in this era of information and awareness, there are some persons who are still so daft.
      John, go educate yourself before commenting and turning thyself into a laughingstock.

  10. CONCERN PERSON
    October 30, 2018

    eggleston road need more than just patching of pot holes. it need a total surfacing of asphalt.
    get serious ppl….

    get serious government. fix the ppl roads.

    god bless all

  11. October 30, 2018

    Why do not you all wait until the resort is built and roads leading to Petite Coulibri are redone and resurfaced by the Government. Stop all this nonsense.

    • Jonathan Y St Jean
      October 30, 2018

      @ds, you don’t live there so it’s easy for you to run your mouth, eh fingers😄,and opine that they should be patient and wait. He who is in the kitchen feels the heat.

    • RandyX
      October 31, 2018

      Why do not you butt out when sensible people have a sensible discussion. We aren’t interested in you constant DLP propaganda and apologising for your corrupt and incompetent master.

      • dane
        October 31, 2018

        shut all u damn trap… skerrit has nothing to do with that.. that road has been like this for ever.. even though it fixed it gets damaged again cause water chooses no path

      • ??????????????
        October 31, 2018

        Randyx tell Jonathan that again. Johnathan, Johnathan, Oh Jonathan please please simmer down and forget the DLP hatred thing. Make some meaningful contribution. Bois Cotlette and Petit Coulibri is not PM Skerrit and DLP.

        You will grow old before time because of your obsession.

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