Opposition Leader and Parliamentary Representative for the Salisbury constituency, Jesma Paul-Victor believes that a funding agency needs to be put in place to determine who benefits under the government’s Housing Recovery Project.
She was speaking during the first sitting of parliament this week.
According to the supplementary estimates over $2.3 million was spent on the reconstruction of homes for the families who were affected by Hurricane Maria. This was funded by the World Bank.
“Mr. Speaker, I would really like to know how does one really qualify to get housing from the government and who decides or who selects who gets the house?” she asked. “I believe that a funding agency needs to be put in place for these types of projects instead of the government being involved.”
She continued, “There are village councils, disaster preparedness committees; there are stakeholders.”
Paul-Victor said these groups or committees should be the ones selecting and making a proper evaluation of those who are most affected.
In that way, she believes that there will be transparency, “not only accepting and giving those that support and neglecting the others that don’t.”
Furthermore, Paul-Victor stated that residents of Coulibistrie and Lagoon Bay which forms part of the Salisbury Constituency, a community that has seen its worse during the passing of Tropical Storm Erika in 2015 and Hurricane Maria in 2017 have not benefited from the housing program.
In 2015 the village of Coulibistrie was declared a disaster area.
However, Paul-Victor argued that up to this present date nothing has been done to assist the residents there.
“Promises were made to the residents who have suffered loss of property, promises of a home and to relocate them to Morne Rachette or to Salisbury and it has been years,” she remarked. “There isn’t any sign of any homes being built.”
She pointed out that there is no hurricane shelter in Coulibistrie.
“In case of a flash flood they have to run all the way up to Morne Rachette, yet we are seeing the supplementary estimates that millions were spent, but the residents of Coulibistrie and Lagoon Bay did not benefit under this program,” Paul-Victor argued.
She said the residents of Coulibistrie and Lagoon Bay are citizens of the Commonwealth of Dominica and they deserve better.
Paul-Victor also wants to see improvement of the farm access roads in Salisbury, Coulibistrie, and Morne Rachette, the building of a river wall in Coulibistrie as well as benefits for fisherfolks in Salisbury.
She congratulated the recipients who were given a dwelling home under the Dominica Housing Recovery Project.
In May 2021, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit reiterated government’s commitment to relocate residents of Coulibistrie and Campbell.
In 2018, the Prime Minister, in his capacity as housing minister, announced that 18 acres of land were being acquired at Macoucherie to create a new development for residents of Coulibistrie.
At the time, he stated that upon completion of the conceptual designs for this new housing development, the government would meet with the residents of Coulibistrie to share the plans with them, solicit their feedback, and incorporate some of the recommendations into the final design.
The Prime Minister also reported that the conceptual drawing for this new housing development is “about eighty percent complete”.
Is jesma paul naive, doesn’t she realize by now that this government controls everything…I mean everybody…
Transparency has never been a part of the CMs dictionary.
That is the high level of stupidity injected into the mind of a jacka.For 23 years these bumbs has been talking corruption,the majority of Dominicans has not been believing their LIES.Yet for all these 23 years they have been behaving like an ostrich,their head buried in a pit toilet and their butt exposed.These UWP supporters are the ones who support and encourage violence against women.Melissa is a successful business woman,unlike the UWP bums who doesn’t know how to win and election.The truth hurts,what is the truth?The truth is the majority of Dominicans kicked out and buried UWP(in 2000) because of corruption,victimization,lying and greed.Anybody who does not know is a cursed mentally deranged idiot posting comments from a mental institution.Please Mr Putin let DNO post the Jacka IBO comments,everytime they do we get a chance to expose UWP corruption like the bugging,the Terry Baron,the attempted coup,the GON fire bomb,the backstabbing and the Aljazeera money laundering issues.
Well done my lady. Call them out on their nonsense.
After Maria the government offered Hector Spraggs,Melonhead,John a blank cheque.The lazy UWP supporters said they did not want anything from Skerrit.Where was Jesma Paul- Victor? Her first speach after winning the Salisbury seat was “I will work closely with my predecessor”Mrs Victor listening to those negative and idiotic commentators is going to get you and Salisbury nowhere.DLP is not going to lose an election before the next 15 years.
Madam Opposition Leader,
This is NOT ma boyd kitchen. All housing programs are very transparent! Also, no international agency can operate any program whether housing or not, without government’s involving!!!
Looking at this first seating of paliament, i NEVER believe I would has miss Lennox Linton [ painfully as it sounds], but I did!!!
Not transparent at all. I have heard stories of people applying over and over and not one phone call. My own security guard at my job i advise him to go to Melissa when they were handing out the river side apartments by the stadium. He came back and told that that they said they they were told that he doesnt support them, so what he can do for them? Long and short he wasnt successful. There was a website asking people of middle income to register for middle income housing, that was last year, to this date not one email or phone call, but i keep hearing people getting apartment, getting house getting this and that. If you aint red you DEAD! Transparency by posterior. They picking and choosing who they want. The ones in Bathestate is labor supporters ALONE, Rolle, the lady with the 1 foot, Ericson and the rest. Laborites alone that getting. Another thing is that is money laundering. Building but dont know how many people in country, or how many homeless ?Just building to say you build?
River Street, let’s be brutally honest here. What is Me!idea’s academic qualification? Can she represent the country in any international forum about the weighty issues of the day?
The answer is a resounding ‘NO’. The only legal certificate the goodly lady has in her possession is a birth certificate. She brings nothing of value to any debate inside and outside the House of Parliament. All she takes to the House are her funny looking hats, her make-up kit, and her rotten attitude.
You seem to be toofaying on hate and jealousy. It is so bad with you that you cannot see past them. You promote the likes of a school drop out to be PM of Dominica (thankfully no one paid attention) but you seek to debase a woman who proves to be well qualified for her role? Your comments are putrid and laced with nothing but jealousy and hatred. You are prolly so grateful for DNO, your therapy vehicle!
That person Ibo France, Women/Man whichever has lots of hate in their body so much so it is corrupt with jealousy that is what I called a victim of life and loser Dno, is his or her only friend for sure.
Good question but this is and has been housing socialism a la Skerrit. Others may call it election bribery on a massive scale. And here is uncle Skerrit trying to apeace us with ‘voter modernisation’. Don’t allow the man to sell you a donkey again making out its an Arabian thoroughbred. You see the cunningness of this gangster.
I don’t believe you skerrit
You are so boastful
Not one hint of what to expect
2 bedroom houses?
Will the residents/beneficiaries own the house?
Will they actually receive a title for the property?
No pumping of his chest……..don’t take mister seriously
More power to You, Ms. Jesma Paul-Victor. I applaud and commend you for both your courage, vision, and commitment, in standing up as a representative of your constituents, in an arena where truth, integrity and honesty are foreign concepts. I urge you to stand valiantly in parliament and boldly, courageously undertake the people’s business; not just that of those who voted for you, but for all Dominicans who lack a voice under this current dubious regime. May you be blessed as you continue to serve in your current capacity.
TRANSPARENCY is the best disinfectant of corruption. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough manufactured bottles of disinfectant to sanitize the scandal stained Roosevelt’s faltering House of dirty linens.
Transparency in government is equivalent to light in a tunnel. Light drives out darkness in a tunnel, transparency drives out corruption in government.
Government should be all outside and no inside as malfeasance blooms in administrations that are secretive. This twenty old (23) year old DLP government is the epitome of CORRUPTION.
Because of the lethargy of the people, Roosevelt and his functionally illiterate wife, who can’t even pass a test for waiting tables, use Dominica like a lactating mother, sucking every drop of milk from her tender breasts enriching themselves beyond imagination.
It’s all good to comment and vent, this is social media. To attempt to debase the Prime minister’s wife is nothing more than hate mongering.
Just as doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result is insanity, so does the continuous ranting not change anything. Go do some charitable / community service or address the issue in a civil way. Disrespecting a woman is not right.
Oh, you eh seen nothing yet. The hatred and jealousy of the character behind this handle, “Ibo France,” knows no limits and DNO seems inclined to help him/her express it.
@River Street
If speaking the truth and exposing a corrupt system is hate mongering, then it should be continued…The truth is always a bitter pill to swallow by corrupt and polluted leaders and their lazy acolytes.
When will it dawn on you guys that the narrative of a corrupt Labour has no political value in Dominica? This is an old abused narrative that wins no vote and that robs Labour and Skerrit of nothing. Can you imagine, the same cry for 20 plus years yet, today, Dominica is ranked highly as one of the least corrupt countries. On the other hand, see what that Aljazeera bomb that exposed the former Leader of the Opposition has done for that former leader.
Real comedians you guys are!
To you and other acolytes of Roosevelt, TRUTH is the new hate speech.
Point out the lies from these:
*Melissa is educationally challenged (dunce).
*Roosevelt is a pathological LIAR.
*Roosevelt engages in self enrichment practices
*The Roosevelt’s regime is the most corrupt administration in the post colonial era of Dominica.
*Poverty and crimes have reached unprecedented heights under this present Roosevelt led administration.
*Dominica is the poorest country in the OECS but has the richest prime minister in the Caribbean.
*Most families in Dominica CANNOT afford a proper breakfast, !inch and dinner per day.
Are these not the hard, cold, incontrovertible facts? I will always prefer the hard truth over sweet sounding lies.