Two prominent American universities, Midwestern State University (MSU) and Grambling State University (GSU), have both issued an ultimatum to the government of Dominica, demanding immediate action to address substantial unpaid tuition balances emphasizing the gravity of the situation and the impact on students’ education.
In the respective letters sent to the Dominican students at the learning intuitions, both MSU and GSU note that they have exhibited patience and understanding in the face of financial challenges brought about by external factors such as the pandemic and natural disasters.
However, the mounting unpaid balances, totalling millions of dollars owed by the government of Dominica, have reached a point where the universities can no longer sustain the financial strain. The first letter was issued by the Louisiana-based university, GSU, in which, Dr. Edwin Litolff, Vice President for Finance of Grambling State University, revealed that the government of Dominica has accumulated a balance of over USD$3.1 million.
“Grambling State University values our relationship with Dominica,” he wrote. “Due to our past rapport, Grambling State University has allowed the Dominica student accounts receivable balance to now exceed $3.1 million from Spring Semester 2020 to Spring Semester 2023.”
However, Dr. Litolff explained, “We have provided extensions and payment plans to no avail. We understood the challenges Dominica had with COVID-19 over the last few years, however, GSU can no longer extend credit to Dominican students.”
Consequently, the university issued an ultimatum to the government of Dominica, providing them with “one last opportunity for payment.” If payment is not received, Dominican students will be barred from registering for classes or residing on campus for the Spring Semester 2024.
“We have respectfully asked the Ministry of Education to bring the Dominica student accounts receivable balance current. Contact your government regarding payments on your behalf,” the Vice President for Finance advised the students.
During a press conference on August 14, 2023, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit gave students the assurance that his government will be making payments to GSU.
“[There’re] some comments that I can make about Grambling but I won’t do that publicly,” the nation’s leader stated. “But I want to assure the students of their continuation on the completion of the degree program so their anxieties can be managed.”
However, later that day, another letter surfaced, this time from MSU in which the university took a decisive stand, stipulating that further third-party payment arrangements will not be accepted until all outstanding balances are settled by the government of Dominica. MSU’s Vice President for Administration and Finance, Dr. Beth Reissenweber, and Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs and Chief Strategy Office, Dr. Keith Lamb acknowledged the financial hurdles that Dominica has been faced with by natural disasters thereafter the pandemic, “which have made it more difficult to make promised payments.”
Nevertheless, MSU demands that all Dominican students will be required to individually comply with the standard payment terms in place for MSU students.
“Any balance owed on your student account, including balances that the Commonwealth of Dominica had promised to pay, must be paid in full before you will be able to register for the Spring 2024 semester. This will include fall 2023 charges. Additionally, any student with a past due government and/or student balance will be unable to receive a transcript upon graduation, in accordance with MSU policy,” the letter stated.
It continued, “We are sorry that it is necessary to take these steps. It is our sincere desire that the government resolves the outstanding amount owed to MSU, as has been outlined to them in regular monthly statements and in a letter dated August 11, 2023. You need to be aware of your rights and options, however, if the government is unable to make further payments on your behalf. Those students who make payments that the government had guaranteed to pay, will be refunded when such amounts are remitted by the Commonwealth of Dominica to MSU.”
Amid the growing unease, Dominican students caught in this precarious situation share a similar sentiment. That is, the need for timely and consistent tuition payments, and effective communication between government officials and themselves.
That man needs to step down immediately. That is completely unacceptable and embarrassing. The millions made through cbi. The credit cards that are given to aides to go spend on nonsense, BURNA boy money. Wait till yall get sued. These people aren’t as dumb as the people that support this foolishness. Stop embarrassing people!
I bet you these are some of the same students that were given tickets to come and vote. What a shame
De minister of education not shaking her pampalam enough …….. she need to be more aggressive.
Skerrit should shake his pampalam too because CBI business is changing already.
BS walking with it head high in de sky proudly.
While Skerrit drags his feet paying his bill, I wonder if he has ever been late paying himself his $64,000 monthly allowance?
Considering that Roosevelt told Dominicans in the past that they live better than Americans do; he gave Dominicans the impression that Dominica is the richest island in the Caribbean.
Mr. ds, (dog shi., Lin clown, Man Dog, Gary,) and the rest of the reprobates, scum of the earth people, low life:
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Yes, dem low life no name nobody always making comparisons between Dominica, and America; it is surprising to me that Roosevelt owes two private American educational institutions a matter of US$6, 200,000.00 = approximately $EC16, 740,000.00 dollars and can’t pay such small debt.
Meanwhile this same Roosevelt Skerrit monthly rent and maintenance per month tops more than a million dollars annually.
So, I need to asks Roosevelt defenders of corruption and thievery, how come Roosevelt can build a new international Airport, and lengthen the old one simultaneously, nevertheless, can’t pay the students tuition’s?
No name scumbags: you see anything…
That is so embarassing to some students that are here and can’t return back abroad, because government are behind payments and some of these students i know can’t even get a loan from banks due to financial issues and some even had to take a year off. They even owing UWI as well wi. I wish these outstanding balances are dealt with before the school year start, because this is ridiculous man. That’s a old way to have the future youths, because they will never forget.
I’m not overly annoyed since I can be sure that either the students themselves or at least their parents would be blind supporters of the CM. Maybe know they know what this miserable person is all about.
CORRECTION, supposed to read: maybe now they know…
These auto correction is a pain…
Terrible, Terrible, Terrible. I thought a few years back Roosevelt, PM while in Boston giving his speech said that DA had no debt to pay. How is it the debt is so high? It surely didn’t take just five years to reach that amount. I noticed you are a liar and this confirms it.
And what happen to all the money you are stripping Dominicans on the port. Where is it going? Dominicans can’t buy anything in the US and send to Dominica without being stripped naked to get it out. Paying 3x to 5x the amount the product cost to remove it. And if you can’t remove the items it gets auctioned. If you request your money back after you have paid part of it and you are unable to pay all of the money requested (since you are told to pay one price and then find out you have to pay more). You are told you have to wait for 2 years to get your money. Once in treasury it can’t come out for 2 years. This is the way of a thief. Skerrit people tears will fall on you be careful.
Midwestern and Grambling universities have decided that they won’t take it any more. The “I’m-the-people” leader who likes to brag to the fools in his party about how good a job the cabal is doing, has just proven that he doesn’t know what he’s doing when leading the country. It’s embarrassing to say the least. There was the bus drivers, then civil servants, then dump truck operators , also the Police Welfare Association striking for what was owed to them. And they received their money’s despite empty gravitas. This man spends money like a drunken sailor and can’t keep score. We were told that a certain amount of money from the CBI program would be put into an account each month towards the building of an international airport, only to be told later that there was less than $100.00 in the account. Those who like it so, let them eat crow. Pay MSU and GSU for the sake of the youth and the future of the country, and stop embarrassing Dominica. Talk is cheap.
Thus proving that this government is a complete waste of time. Oh how I wish that all whom the government owes would do like these universities …. make a public declaration …
…meanwhile, amongst other things, discarded pal reps are being paid thousands of dollars, to do what?
In the meantime the Starboy of Stupidity is paying a Trinidadian lawyer and his son handsomely, in a trumped up case against honourable Linton et al.
A few greedy passport selling are raking millions and buying everything in sight. Byron was paid more than half a million $$$$ to do virtually nothing.
TWENTY SIX or more ministers, (arguably the biggest cabinet in the world), are being paid each month…
The profligate waste of money resources continue while education, health and social services suffer!!
Year in year out it’s the same story. Unpaid fees. The CM squanders all our money for all sort of briberies and for his own purposes. No money left for our students…
“The CM squanders all our money”
I’ve read you man times where you noted “cm” are you implying that Roosevelt is chief minister of something else?
Roosevelt Skerrit is nevertheless the prime minister of Dominica, he is a damn dunce and a corrupted crook!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
At lease give the louse the credit it due!
Call a spade a spade.
He is prime minister, and a damn corrupted balled-head crook eh!
This is nothing new for this government. They owe Dominican companies millions and they ignore the terms of trade. Now they have to deal with schools that do not depend on a few Dominican students to survive.
I am surprised they extended that privilege for such a long time. I can tell you this, our credit terms are net 30 days. We will extend it to 90 on very rare occasion. There is no way in hell we would allow any company to extend our terms to 6 months, let alone 2 years.
Skerrit goes about making his supporters believe everything is OK, yet he is not paying the bills that are due.
In my view, this guy is totally useless.
Well, in America when students tuition’s are not paid, the penalty is to deny the students entering into and attending lectures, and at the end of the semester, no grade: Or GPA is granted or recorded!
Eventually the students are dropped from the class.
They do that in Cuba, and any place Dominica students are studying; once when I question why the students in Cuba tuition’s are not paid on time and the siphon they receive I was told be a satisfied student “that’s the way it always been.”
So, I had a nephew studying in Cuba, whom I would send money to via Canada; but you see most Dominicans and clown like Roosevelt Skerrit believe that the world will always feel sorry for him and Dominica, be sympathetic while he fleece the damn country.
It is the same way all of his ambassadors suffers wherever they are posted; they live like hungry dogs while someone is paid more than a million dollars per year for his rent.
Could the rent be going to himself!
I need to find out…
Looks like you were never a debtor. Always paid for everything cash. Never took a loan. Never paid interest. You never owed anybody. The good thing is at least they are getting their higher education paid for with assurance from this government. Something that never happened 40, 50, 60 years ago. They wasted their time back then working as senior clerks and junior clerks within the civil service.
@ds, oh how politically blind you are to say that civil servants wasted their time working as senior clerks and junior clerks. Those whom you say wasted their time had a conscience and were honest people who made their contributions to the development of Dominica. These days we have a culture of corruption where it’s about what’s in it for me and my bank account. You should be ashamed of yourself for disparaging patriots of the past who ensured the country adhered to the tenets of good governance and were honest civil servants. These days you aren’t ashamed of espousing ” all for me, myself and I”. No wonder you hide behind a fictitious name. Kudos the honest senior clerks and junior clerks of yesterday.
Mr. Dog Feces; (ds,) I’ve owed mortgage companies on some proprieties, however; that’s in my interest to owe; because at the end of the year I have the opportunity to write-off all my mortgage interest, when I file my income tax return; along with other operating expenses; such as maintenance, gardening , and any financial gifts I gave, even to a Church!
When I owe someone ds, it is by choice, and not because I must owe. That is different to a government not able to pay its debt; especially when the the Prime Minister boast that he is the richest prime minister in the Caribbean.
Dominica is so rich it has a resilient building technology that not even the strongest world economy, the United States has. Roosevelt claim he was going to take Dominica to the next level, and on another occasion he was going to transform Dominica, but rather than rising the level, all we have is a nation spiraling downwards.
Dominica is bankrupt ds, no sale of passports means total collapses.
That is a silly argument to make. No one said anything about not being a debtor. Debt in and of itself in not a bad thing. But debtors have to pay their bills on time, particularly when they can find money to splurge on other things, like paying themselves exorbitant amounts as a monthly allowance.
We have grown up in a culture where as long as we get something we do not care about our fellow men. The Dominican youth were used in election gimic and this is the height of irresponsibility. The program was never sustainable and used only as a visual to pretend they care about youth, and to hold them and family hostage to gain votes. At one point there were over 120 dominican students at MSU and these folks are so divided like the country they do not see the need to form a board to fight for the general Dominican students population. If one is denied scholarship all should turn against gov. Instead they are OK to be used. 90% of them will not return and this government has orchestrated the biggest intellectual flight in the history of the country. When a placed is ran by deception and we accept all we are doing is participating in our own demise. We eem to love it.
Reading this, one is inclined to “gravitate outwards” to that famous comment recently made in parliament to the effect that Dominicans are not “brokes” and then ask: What happened?
How embarrassing. This government is not only corrupt, it’s also incompetent.
Please students, boys and girls, go and shake your pampalams as previously suggested by our gracious Minister of Education
Or be prepared to transfer to Venezuela, Russia, China, North Korea.
You all have options you know
Honorable Pampalam
Truly, truly disgraceful! The negative press and ruination of Dominica’s reputation are all being committed by the ruling government in power, and then they want to turn around and say it is “the opposition” that is spoiling Dominica’s name. These kleptocratic, self-indulging, avaricious people who make up this government, are determined to take as much as they can for themselves, and leave their dotish worshippers living a beggar’s life.
PRAY FOR DOMINICA, for we are lost in the wilderness.
Imagine that a foreigner has control of billions of dollars belonging to the State of Dominica. Yet, our young sons and daughters of the soil are traumatised by the threat of being expelled from the colleges they are presently attending. This is no fault of theirs but the stubborn refusal of star boy of stupidity to pay their tuition.
Roosevelt acts as though the country’s treasury is his personal piggybank. He spends it on his frequent overseas trips; for his family stay in the monthly $64K posh hotel; on the most luxurious fleet of vehicle he drives; etc.
Roosevelt is consistent. He continues to consistently soils the name and image of Dominica all over the world. Because of Roosevelt, Dominica is a poster child for roguery, thievery, chicanery and stupidity.
Come on man! This money is pittance to what you spend casually on yourself, family and Arab and Chinese friends and cronies.
whole weekend Asa singing shake your pampalam. All you thought it was a joke?
Instead of giving this Pm 64 thousand a month for his rent, how about giving it to the universities to pay the students tuition?
What castle in Dominica is worth $64k a month. Not even King Charles pays that.
Wow!!!
How could he when it was given to him? Having said that, all outstanding tuition fees will be satisfied before the new school year commences.
Are you the chief treasurer now? More like the Chief Bull Sh…..!
I am just an Independent Auditor working for a solvent Government.
Dunce Soul, if they would make YOU the ‘independent auditor’ would be the same as making the goat the chief gardener. Corruption is tattooed on your forehead.
Shut up dog feces; if the institutions are complains that this thing is ongoing, Roosevelt Skerrit (Government Skerrit) has not paid the tuition’s long prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, where the heck is the corrupted one-man government going to get the sixteen plus million dollars to pay the American equivalent of six million two hundred thousand dollars?
Then again I doh know eh; rich-man ds, Gary, Man-dog the dirt rat Lin Clown, and all the scum of the earth supporting thievery, and corruption in Dominica will give that amount to the master thief to pay his debt!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
The master corrupted thief has billions of dollars dem thief from de treasury, but ain’t gat no money; honest money to pay student institution.
Lin clown and dog feces, (ds), Gary and company, you waste of time nobody, how do you like to see this inept scoundrel the Dominica corrupted pathetic kleptomaniac dirty lining exposed nuh?
Alyou doh want me to slaughter alyou, him must pay de…
While this wicked Labour party government handing out millions of dollars in cool-out and political campaign money for votes! Real wicked evil government! And the Dominicans, Labour party supporters who will defend this government wickedness are even more wicked and evil than the Prime Minister and his government of blood suckers!
Dominica hasn’t got a Labour Party anymore. What we have is a Skerrit Party. The sooner all members of the traditional Labour Party acknowledge that, the better for our poor country.
You are so correct. What we have now is a winning party. They don’t refer to us anymore as the Labour party but as the winning party. That party name sounds more appropriate. It reflects our true name. I hope you know the difference between accounting on the cash basis and accounting under the accrual basis. If you did Financial Accounting 1 and 2, you should have no problems unless you are a wannabe Accountant.