The government of Dominica has pledged one hundred thousand US dollars in assistance to the government and people of the Bahamas which has been battered by category five Hurricane Dorian.
The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Reginald Austrie who said at a Cabinet media briefing this morning, that the money will be transferred immediately to assist the Bahamas after the passage of Hurricane Dorian.
Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahamas, Darren Henfield revealed earlier, in a distressing video, that there has been catastrophic damage and unconfirmed reports of deaths in Abaco, Bahamas, following the passage of the hurricane.
The slow-moving Dorian – the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record – started inflicting a severe pounding on the Bahamas yesterday, packing sustained winds of up to 220 mph.
“This morning the cabinet met to assess the information and to indicate what possible assistance that the government can render to the people of the Bahamas immediately,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. “While we await further word from the Bahamas to the full extent of the damage, we have to recognize that information flow is not as smoothly as we would expect … but the cabinet has taken a decision to immediately transfer a hundred thousand US dollar to the government and we’re also indicating if it’s possible to assist the children of the Bahamas in their education.”
He said the cabinet would meet at 12 o’clock with the chairpersons of the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), the security services, head of the utility companies and the representatives of the private sector, to discuss a more comprehensive package of assistance that can be rendered to the people of the Bahamas in “these very difficult and trying times.”
Austrie recalled that the Bahamas was one of the first countries to assist Dominica after Hurricane Maria and stated that the Dominican government stands firmly behind the people of the Bahamas.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has been in touch with Bahamas Prime Minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, to express his solidarity and support during these trying times, Austrie revealed.
I will take this opportunity to say thanks to the two commenters who express their thanks base on my comment. To the persons who gave me thumbs down thank to you. This is not the first time I spoke about this subject and I have received thumb down for my statement on the subject of relief effort to Dominica. I do hope the persons who are telling me what I did does not or is of no concern, I do hope that you or your family is not on the list that have received supplies via my effort. It’s a shame to see and hear how Dominicans will praise and exalt the Prime Minister and the Government for what they do in the country, which is their duty. This is what there are paid to do by tax payers. The sum that is quoted in my previous comment is direct payments, it does not include the waiver of port fees or import duty on the 350 water filtration jerrycans that was ordered from the UK and then ship to Dominica.
I was about to make a point some one call me brother but Mr Francisco, beat me to it the very words i was about to write! In short I am no ones brother on this forum thanks.
Good, now get a life, and an English class while you’re at it.
Fellow Dominicans let’s put aside politics for once and recognize the enormity of the damage that Hurricane Dorian caused in the northern Bahamas. let’s, each of us, show our Caribbean brothers and sisters from the Bahamas that we care about them in their time of need.
The pledge of support offered by the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica is noteworthy and timely.
I recall the tremendous outpouring of love and support Dominica received after the passage of Tropical Storm Erica in 2015 and again after the passage of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Bahamians were very supportive in our time of need. let’s not forget that.
Since everything is political, even in church you find politics, I don’t see in this case how you are going to set politics aside.
Here is my politics about this!
Right after Maria devastated Dominica, Ross University School of Medicine pulled out of Dominica, the Roosevelt Klan, and puppets used Maria to justify Ross leaving Dominica.
There are many foreign business in the Bahamas, lots of foreign own hotels, and other industrial business; so I would like to see how many business will pull out of the Bahamas because of the devastation left behind by hurricane Dorian.
I am going to rub it in and reiterate that the reason Ross left Dominica is because we do not have an International Airport!
More Politics: Antigua now boast a campus of the University of The West Indies; was Dominica ever considered as a venue?I am sure the thought never occurred to the directors of the UWI.
Progress breaths, attract progress: Antigua is almost fully developed, Dominica in twelfth/thirteenth…
………… And the politics have begun.. You people are truly unbelievable.
How is this unbelievable and how is this political???? The Govt of Bahamas was one of the first to come to our aid..it is only right that we should be among the first to offer our support. If anything more can be done. The Dominican people should come forward and pool supplies together no matter how small. If 48 people gave one can of milk, that is a whole carton!! We as a community should come together for the Bahamian people and leave politics out of it!!
Good effort by the one-man corrupt rogue regime, but more could be given from the missing$1.2 billion! This can’t and should not stop us from asking about the missing money! My thoughts and prayers goes out to the people of The Bahamas.
Yall that love to play politics REALLY does get me sick!! Now is not d time with politics talk!! Yall know what Dominica faces and Bahamas was THERE FOR US!! politics aside! This is great news!!
The Bahamas needs all the assistance as they can get at this moment. Hope all who are in a position to lend a helping hand do just that. The plight of the Bahamian people should be given preference over everything else at present. Skerrit will get the attention that he has brought on himself later.
Wonder what you Ibo Malaprop France gonna do when Skerrit wins the up coming election ?
Are you going to continue another 5 YEARS of campaigning till 2025?
But by then there will be no more a UWP. Lennox will be outdated and expired. So what are you going to do.. punchie nella…punchie nell?
Now isn’t the time to bring negative comments about money or where the money is. This is hurricane season none of the Islands are free from it including Dominica so if the government is helping let it, DD can experience another hurricane and hope it will not be another Maria. Pray for DA and the rest of the Caribbean Islands. God bless all of you.
No reason why we should not do both. Of course we should help the Bahamas but this should not distract us from asking Roosevelt Skerrit to account for all the money from our CBI programme. Is not his own, is al ours.
United States one hundred ($US 100,000.00) is equivalent to East Caribbean Currency of $270, 000.00 dollars.
Question is can our treasury afford that amount?
And if it can, what is the source of such revenue?
During our last hurricane, I remember, how much the wealthy, and powerful U.S gave to Roosevelt: (I know the amount but I doh talking eh)!
I know it did not come close to five hundred thousand EC dollars; in any event the master of corruption have to strip the treasury dry to make belief that we can afford anything!
The Bahamas has its own currency called Bahamian dollars whose value is pegged against the US dollar at 1:1.
This means that the US dollars are valued the same as Bahamian dollars. So when we say for example that an item costs B$8.00, that item will cost US$8.00. US dollars are accepted in The Bahamas as currency.
Roosevelt is poor boasting Dominica!
Are you for real?? The article said an initial donation among other efforts. Why must it all be political? Can we just say good move and be done with it? If anything more can be done. The Bahamas needs our help, desperately. The situation there is probably worse than we had with Maria and all we can think about now is politics??? Please, for the sake of the Bahamian people, please let’s just forget about the politics, just this time and let’s help our brother and sisters as they so quickly came to our aid when we were in a similar situation just two years ago.
When people react with such negative comments for an article that relates to a sensitive situation, like that hurricane in the Bahamas, knowing that they suffered the same fate through the wrath of Hurricane Maria, it is right to suggest that those people have nothing of substance in their minds, why should we take note of what they have to say?
I believe that sometimes when we have nothing positive to say about a certain situation, we should just keep our mouth shut; but the followers of the United Workers Party do have that kind of etiquette–they have no class; they don’t even know that they are making it worse for their political party–good Lord!
With that said, I am glad that Dominica was able to help; little as it may be, the people of the Bahamas need it right now. Dominica may God continue to bless you!
I have said it before and I will say it again. It is a good thing to see and hear when our country helps another in time of need. Our government and people recognized and remember outsiders quickly than our very own citizens that is in the diaspora. After hurricane Maria in September , I as a Dominican contribute d over US $380,000 in relief to Dominica. I work tirelessly for 39 days consecutively. I fell ill on the 40th day. I have never been given recognition by my Government or the public at large. Give seazer what is due to seazer. Now don’t come here and tell me what I did I should not look for praise. I am no looking for praise period.
@Manyways
Thank you on behalf of myself and my family. Your effort should have been recognized by those in authority, I am trying to imagine the sting you must have felt. They have never seen the need to tabulate exactly how much money was received after Maria and we have no idea how those funds were spent. Perhaps you are in a better position than I to ask that question.
@ Manyways I feel your pain but don’t confuse politics with a good heart. Skerrit did not pledge money because of his good heart but rather, he wanted to use the hurricane in Bahamas to blow away his domestic politics because he knew his friend Brenda Smith was arrested and jailed in NJ three days ago and he was hoping Dorian would blow it away from us.. I mean DNO reported this article today @ 12:13 PM, by which time Dorian was still pounding Bahamas. Why would a one man government just take a d decision to pledge US$100, 000 to Bahamas without even knowing the extend of damage? What if their immediate need was water or food? Skerrit just likes the spotlight and truly he didn’t want people to talk about Brenda Smith and her Dominican passport that was used to run her scam. No wonder he ran out and had poor Reggie to make the announcement for him first thing in the morning, before Matt came on the hot seat.
Government of Dominica pledges US$100,000 to hurricane-battered Bahamas.
Where on earth that scale of money came from? I would rather see, that has been done before, is go through CARICOM, OAS, UN etc, that we send a resource team, to assist in the recovery, security etc as the Bahamas recover. For example; Fire Officers, Police officers, Nurses, team from the Ministry of communication & Works etc…and then the government, should request funding from the WHO, OAS, UN etc to assist financially to meet this gesture.
The issue I have is that Skerrit is not a thinker, but visionless and too spontaneous without any sound analysis to comprehend the bigger picture and how best do we intervene. What is the strategy? Skerrit is this so called “Pappyshow”, who loves to be seen and heard and creates this flamboyant behaviour to attain fame and publicity. What we need to do, is plan well that we aim for the outcome. This Outrageous behaviour must Go. Many advisors in the Government, use us.
My error
$1 200 000 000- $270 000
=$1 199 730 000.00
We want our money!
Get a job %, that’s how you get money. Lazy people like you should not wait for handouts. Stop seating on your rear end waiting to cretize for cretizing sake, novice %. Are you going to man up by helping the people?
Don’t bring politics into this. Its not the time neither place for it. None of us would feel good if other citizens acted this way when we were affected
@Blue, you too fool of it. In fact you are a hater of blue so stop you foolishness. But since you so expected today to be a day of prayer on behalf of the Bahamian people, knowing what we ourselves endured, do you know that today Dr. Sam Raphael was dragged before the court by the evil and ungodly regime? So it’s alright to forget about the people of Bahamas today as long as it benefits Skerrit and his gang but it is a crime for us to ask Skerrit to tell us where our money gone? Damn hypocrite you are
That’s good lazy Skerrit .
$1 ,000,200 000 – $ 270 000 =$999,930 000.
Skerrit where is the money?
Where is the money?
Where is the money?
Where is the money?
Wicked leader!
Just another detestable %. Can you read or comprehend the topic %. As a leader express your empathy to the people of the Bahamas, whose lives were devastated by act of nature. Inducing your political biases is low and distasteful. Is that the embarrassment that you want us to live with! You don’t have what it takes to be a leader.
Some of you look really foolish. I expected to see prayers going out to the Bahamas not comments about politics. Knowing what we ourselves endured politics should be the the last thing anyone wants to hear in a time like this. And if you guys were genuinely happy for our contributions you all wouldn’t ask about that same money.
@ blue some of us might be foolish but some of you are too damn hypocrite. Politics is an every day thing. While I sympathize with the people of Bahamas did you and Skerrit expect Dorian to blow away the question of where our money gone? When Skerrit and Reggie quickly went to pledge the US $US$100,000 , I bet you is because they were motivated by politics. They knew the arrest and jail of another criminal would be the talk and they knew we would continue to ask for our money. So they went to pledge the same amount that Venezuela forgave us for just to try to change the conversation. But I will continue to ask and expose the evils of Skerrit, the Evil one
@Blue, you too fool of it. In fact you are a hater of blue so stop you foolishness. But since you so expected today to be a day of prayer on behalf of the Bahamian people, knowing what we ourselves endured, do you know that today Dr. Sam Raphael was dragged before the court by the evil and ungodly regime? So it’s alright to forget about the people of Bahamas today as long as it benefits Skerrit and his gang but it is a crime for us to ask Skerrit to tell us where our money gone? Damn hypocrite you are!!!
Sorry I meant Dr. Sam Christian. He was the one dragged before the court today by the same Skerrit supporters that want people to use today praying for Bahamas. Sacwe hypocite!!!
Well done to the Government of Dominica 🇩🇲 scratch my back and I will scratch your back as the saying goes. Linton and his loonys supporters may not like it! 😂 But who are they to tell my superior government what to do. “One love Dominica and Labour administration” kick that wicked good for nothing Linton out, out, out now!!!
“Linton and his loonys supporters may not like it”? Rubbish!
You just running your mouth, talking crap. All of Dominica 🇩🇲 UWP, DFP, DLP, everyone, sympathizes and empathizes with the people of the Bahamas 🇧🇸 in this thier time of need and of sorrow. We will do everything possible to support them.
@love 4 Bahamas, Are you awhere Linton and his clowns didn’t contributed or move a muscle during and after the last two major storm +hurricane in Dominica are you? Linton is an embarrassment to his self and his loonys supporters how could this guy help anyone inside or outside Dominica when he cannot even help himself, All hypocrite rubbish from you Linton!!
My opponent; you must remember Lennox Linton, and the UWP are in the opposition in the parliament; they do not have any power to spend the nation money.
The do not have any say in the revenue in the treasury, they can only oppose measures detrimental to our people and country ; they have no power to use government money and give house sugar and salt fish to people.
The only way the UWP could have moved their muscle is if they went out and with their hands and feet move fallen trees, and other debris left behind in the aftermath of Maria.
And if your memory is in tact, you might remember Skerrit made a fat tub of lard, a beer guzzling woman from Castle Bruce representing Roosevelt in the UN to tell the members of the UWP to get out of way!
I don’t understand what gives that woman Barnes the right to tell anybody what to do where it pertains to contributing to the development of Dominica.
Linton and his loons supporters may not like it! But who are they to tell my superior government what to do. “
A serious act of violence, shame, and an act of great violence towards someone who is doing their best to aid The Bahamian people. We need the police to apprehend this coward and illiterate blind loyalist to Skerrit t be cautioned and receive a serious warning.
There we go again, an act of violence It appears that Skerrit has no control of his weird, feared, harassing and threatening labour scouts out there who knows not the decency of politics but of threats, harassment and weird innuendos. I strongly request that the police intervenes and please caution this immature and ignorant loose labour thugs. They must be stopped and the labour Party has that right to stop that behaviour and must not be condoned.
Now, my point, read the stained thoughts of an ignorant Labourite, to the Leader of Opposition! Hon Linton is that Threat & labourites are scared. Skerrit has failed.
I am glad we are able to assist them at this time. We will also do whatever we can as citizens.
That’s good but it will not stop us from asking where our money gone. Seems like this 100, 000 was probably hiding under a stone somewhere. Where our $1.2 billion dollars gone Skerrit?
Now is not the time for this… Seriously!
When is the time Eve?
@Eve, why is today not the time to ask Skerrit for our money? In like mann did you tell Skerrit that today was not the day to drag Dr. Sam Christian before the court? We must stop that foolishness man; we too damn hypocrite in this country
I know a certain Ali Baba who have all of that $1.2 billion in his pocket eh; but I doh talking eh!
I doh can call name eh!
I know but I doh talking eh!
If I call him name the day I set foot in Dominica him Internet Patrol will arrest me on site; I hear they have my and others name on list to be arrested as soon as we land at Melville Hall.
They do not want me for the petty stuff I write on DNO, but there is another forum in which I slaughter Medusa, she have too many snake head; whosoever face her/him turn stone!
I tell them what; I would open plenty head oui!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
The late Calypsonian Shadow; said in one of his calypso in the 1970’s ” I go bus-up you face, ah go open you head!”
So, when they put me in jail at Stock Farm, even while up there I go open de head snake head oui!
Much appreciated gesture. We received a lot of support after the passage of Hurricane Maria! My heart and prayers goes out to the people of Bahamas.
Yes, we received a lot of support. But most of the ‘support’ unfortunately ended up in the wrong hands!
You receive plenty of support; however, where is the money?
One ($1.2 billion) dollars are missing; and just in case you are not mathematically inclined, and don’t know figures i’ll write it out in words hopefully you will understand:
One billion two hundred million dollars is missing out of the government treasury.
A billion dollars is equivalent to ten hundred million dollars.
Talking fart is one thing; nevertheless to know what is happening in the country, and how much these corrupted thieves are filling their pockets getting rich, and many of you who are poor sits back and give them love intern for nothing more than the red bit of cloth they give to you all is pitiful!
The government of Mexico gave the people of Dominica $US 15,000,000.00 which amounts to $EC 40,500,000.00 ask Roosevelt and the rest of his friends in his party where is that forty million, five hundred thousand dollars?
Ask why the hospital is not built in Marigot as of yet?
So the announcement was made by Reginald Austrie, who is not PM or Finance Minister? So am I to conclude that PM Skerrit is out of state? If so am I to conclude that he went out to withdraw the monies in a foreign bank that maybe does not exist like the bank a former Skerrit minister was looking for?
No doubt he is in Dubai to meet Haiden for them to work out the revised accounts of the CBI. He will be back soon with a cock and bull story. All I have to say, Dominicans don’t allow him to fool you any longer!
That’s great and I give thumbs up to the government! However, I wished they had told us from what funds this amount will be coming form so we could know if it’s from the $1.2 that missing, or if it’s from the passport they sold to Brenda Smith before she was arrested and jailed in NJ last weekend or if it was a collection from each of the 16 cabinet ministers and the eight new candidates that became millionaires for contesting. I just wish Austrie had told us the means. Also DNO why Austrie and not Skerrit? Just asking because its I want to know
Thank you Mr “I want to know” for this script. I am repeating what you said in your piece that our people read and understand those specific points. It is worth knowing. Thanks “I want to know”. …”what funds this amount will be coming form so we could know if it’s from the $1.2 that missing, or if it’s from the passport they sold to Brenda Smith before she was arrested and jailed in NJ last weekend or if it was a collection from each of the 16 cabinet ministers and the eight new candidates that became millionaires for contesting.”
Nothing but ❤️..they looked out during Maria we gonna look out during Dorian.#onepeople#love#family
That’s good and I applaud Skerrit for that. However, as I read the stories of how so many Bahamians ran to schools, churches and other shelters I couldn’t help but thank God that Dominica was not in Dorian’s path because clearly, many of us are still under tapolines and cannot face a heavy rain let alone a hurricane. But as a villager of the neighboring village Thibaud, my heart bleeds even more for them because with us still in the hurricane season, I remembered how the former Thibaud government school was the shelter many of my friends turned to after David in 1979 and somehow today, the people are without a school or shelter, thanks to PM Skerrit who demolished their school and shelter because of political hate and otherwise and put their children in plywood house like rabbits though he got monies twice to build their school. Yet you bloggers like Thibaud 1 and Thibaud 2 hiding in NY, posting their foolishness in support of the evils of Skerrit against their people. How sort!
That is what I call nasty a and no imagination coming from a so-called Workers supporter without any real knowledge of Dominica or could it be another snow flake miserable, depressed blue melancholy and gloomy. Ha ha ha.
If you biting dogs is not me you will not try to bite. But I will continue to speak the truth and you and others won’t stop me. As a villager of Vieille-case, I know every single person in Thibaud and I know most of them by name. I even have some relatives in Thibaud. While I continue to pray for Bahamas, I do not know anyone from Bahamas. Jesus taught me to love our neighbors like myself and I don’t see why you would not want me to be very concerned about the people of Thibaud who had their school and hurricane shelter taken from them and demolished by their Parlrep and PM. We are in August which means the hurricane season is in it’s hot stage and yet, should a hurricane or storm hit Dominica the people of Thibaud have no where to run for shelter. Is that not concerning to you and the rest of bloggers such Thibaud 1 and Thibaud 2?
You know what I call nasty? People like yourself and your political friends!
Mr. Man Bites Dogs, it appears that your brain does not function properly due those poor dogs that you keep biting, the same way that failed Skerrit and his corrupted Labour Governemnt keep biting everything of value of the resources of our Nature Isle.
And according to “Man Bites Dogs”, ..and it is there I concur with “Failed Man Bites Dogs”. My People read, below this “Man Bites Dogs” within his failed corrupted Labour clang: Please read below:
“That is what I call nasty and no imagination coming from a so-called Workers supporter without any real knowledge of Dominica.?
Based on that assessment of Skerrit, and his failed highly corrupted Labour government, Man Bites Dogs has concluded that “Skerrit and worthless, corruoted Labour Bobol Governemnt must Go” Get out, Get lost Go away as we make way for: Hon. Lennox Linton as Prime Minister and his highly trusted in coming Professional UWP Team to govern professionally our Dominica and protect our states resources…
Man bite dog, I highly suggest that you change your name to MAN GETS UNDER LINTON SKIN? Keep it up my hero.
A significant sign of support would be to send DOMLEC linesmen to the Bahamas. They have been devastated. Our support and assistance is needed. God bless them in their recovery efforts.
Volney, if DOMLEC lines men cannot repair and find problems since it last rained from this same passing storm, is to the Bahamas they will go and help resolve issues when they doh know how to resolve their electrical faults in the country?
If you send them they will only be an obstacle in the way of progress, and the Bahamians will laugh at them; you know how our people a joke all over the world nah.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Half a passport, still the gesture is appreciated like we did when we got all the foreign aid and assistance including our Caribbean neighbours. Where is Roosevelt Skerrit. Not a state secret I hope.
That just an initial offer. Some of you people heads are so deep in the UWP nasty politics that you can’t see anything good that’s done by this government. Much more to assistance to come.
Tell your master we want to see audited CBI and PetroCaribe accounts. We don’t buy any of his BS anymore.
Tell your fake leader to follow Parliament procedure and write the proper authorities instead of going in largohn for a street meeting. Tell him also he can have a question standing in his name in Parliament.
At this stage with his street attitude I think everyone will think of him as a waste of time .
Parliamentary procedure or not the point is as very serious question must be answered. If I choose to jump the line at FLOW or follow it, in the end I have to pay my bill.
If the procedure must be followed then it must. The question is what will happen between the first time the question was asked and after the procedure is followed.
We need to stop this dam nonsense of selective accountability!
joseph john; how wicked and evil can you be! Didn’t you read and heard the Honourable Parliamentary Opposition Leader raised the question of the$1.2 billion in parliament
You and your master is no different. Your hearts are made of stone. No sympathy and regard for others in the time of a disaster like this! You surely need prayers.
Is that another promise?
You must be a real donkey..either is good or bad and leave it there. Now not the time for that crap.
One billion dollars is a lot of gold plated crap DA girl, you must admit.
Even with something as innocent and positive like this, you still found the time to play negative politics? Seriously?
We know where our Dr Dr Skero is. The question is where is Lennox Linton and his gang. Can someone tell him that he can come out from hiding as he did for Maria. Tell him we are safe from Dorian, that he can come out and have a press conference. He can call CNN and Q to explain how he saved us from Dorian.
May the Good Lord Help YOU pipo! For you know what you are doing, for you to find it fit to bring your POLITICS in a time like this!
Wicked!
Oh my gosh. How could he say such a thing? He’s right! All you too hypocrite in Dominica. If our CBI money was in our TREASURY like it should be, we would be able to give the Bahamian people more. That’s a fact! Now dislike 👎 my comment.