Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has rubbished statements made by members of the public through some local talk shows and via Facebook posts on “rushing” the issuance of the new ePassport due to fraudulent activities.
He was delivering remarks at a press conference held on Wednesday.
“This notion I am hearing in the public domain that we are advancing the ePassport because of fraudulent activities and we are rushing, there is no rush,” he argued.
The Prime Minister continued, “The issue of the ePassport I don’t think there is any urgency. We all know of our articulated position on moving towards ePassport.”
As a matter of fact, he said this is an international requirement.
“European countries and the United States, they have delayed the mandating of citizens coming to their countries only with ePassports, because they recognize some of the challenges countries are having in transitioning from what they currently have, the machine-readable passports to ePassports,” Prime Minister Skerrit explained. “We invested in the ePassports and we had the system in place [for] more than a year.”
He explained that the uptake was slow because people could still use their machine-readable passport to travel, so they didn’t feel the need to have it replaced, “and that was setting us behind in terms of our timetable to get it going.”
“And therefore we felt as a government that we need to bring the guillotine down,” he noted.
The Prime Minister further explained that the government recognized that the six-month period was too short, “and we had to run a 24-hour shift system to get the backlog going and we’ve tried to make the application process accessible, so we went to some countries, St Thomas, St Croix, etc. to get this going.”
“We went to different villages in Dominica to allow people to apply rather than come to town to get it going and we extended by another six months,” he stated. “And we felt that if we keep extending this then people will not move to get it going, and so we had to say look, as of this day you can maybe come into Dominica as a citizen with your machine-readable passport, but for you to leave you will need to get your passport.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Skerrit made it clear to the public that it is very difficult to fraudulently manipulate the ePassport.
“When you have a Dominican passport you have to ensure as far as possible it has as many security features as possible, so there is a dramatic increase in the security features from the machine-readable passport to the ePassports and to have it fraudulently manipulated is very difficult,” he explained.
Effective January 31, 2023 Dominicans will not be allowed to travel out of the country using their machine-readable passport.
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Rampant racketeering is only in the mind of an IDIOT.There is no country in the where a Dominican was refused entry with a legal Dominican passport.In some a visa is required.And the majority of Dominicans believe IDIOTS are liars.The reason Skerrit is in power for so long,it is because the opposition has proven over and over again to be LIARS.
Boy shut your stupid mouth, you ignorant bat!
I was in Canada, a few years ago when two passenger Aircraft arrived with more than two hundred Chines citizens traveled to Canada with Dominica passports; not a single one of them spoke a word in English.
Not one knew the geographic location of Dominica; hence not a single one of them was accepted into Canada, they were returned from whence they came on the same aircrafts which brought them the same day!
And don’t forget the criminal somewhere in Italy with a Diplomatic passport said he represents Dominica, ended up in jail as he was a criminal on the run!
There must be other incidences we don’t know about.
The more you write and talk nonsense is the more I discover how dumb you are.
Remember also the Canadian event can be verified even if it occurred more than ten years ago.
Shut up you nasty ignorant upholder of corruption and thievery!
Joke you making? Go check the facts and find out for yourself which government was in power when this incident occurred. Also revisit your source … Hint about 1999
If your response is in reference to my factual comment, you need to shut up; because it happened in Roosevelt Skerrit time; it happened in labor party time.
You nasty, liar, and upholder of Roosevelt corruption, next thing you will claim is that it never happened!
…you are Mister Know-it-all? Jack of ll trades, Master of NONE!
Francisco,, these Rottweilers that gave you 8 thumbs up must be gullible and free thinkers as you are .
Roosevelt has probably decided to blindfold himself to the truth that Dominica passports are being sold on the black market or too ashamed to accept the truth that he just doesn’t know what his subordinates, he has authorized to peddle the nation’s passport has done.
Since the kid Roosevelt like to fly like a sukuyant in the night, perhaps he should fly to Azban where he will discover his passports are displayed and sold on the side of street corners.
That boy Roosevelt is so crooked and lie, he cannot accept the truth when he can see for himself that there are places where Dominica passports are sold on the street.
Be they genuine or fake, it’s been done!
One day Middle Eastern criminals will seige Dominica, and Roosevelt and his Chinese trained goons will be powerless to defend against their power.
A “democratically” elected Government is voted in to do the work of the people… If the ppl are telling you its too later, your job as the leader of the elected government is to abide by the voice of the people.. not to “rubbish” their calls of concern… Typical Skerrit!
Whenever Roosevelt speaks on any issue of national concern there are many more doubters than believers. Why so many skeptics? This precisely what happens when an perpetual liar speaks.
Whenever this guy opens his mouth it reminds of the Amazon River. However, instead of water it’s a gush of lies that flows. No rational person believes him because of his unenviable record of falsehoods and deceptions.
A LIAR is not believed even when he tells the truth. “The trust of the innocent is a liar’s most useful tool.” More and more innocent people are wising up even if slowly. Roosevelt’ s best tool is getting dull.
The government has been asking Dominicans go get the ePassports for a long time.Anybody who say otherwise is a member of the group of UWP aholes.
DLP ahole, what do you class as a long time? 2 month, 2 weeks, 2 hours? The correct answer is one of the three, so please choose and be more specific, ahole.
This may be so but to be honest for a Dominican with a UK or EU passport, never mind a US passport it is becoming troubling to use the document from our own country. There are too many questions and interrogations now when you present your Dominica passport at immigration. So why bother to renew it at all if it only raises suspicion. I am sorry about that mr. Skerrit, I love my country but when the passport becomes a handicap its another thing.
UkDominican, your comments is a lot of crazy crap and also if arrogant was a picture the lots of you so-called workers useless followers would be at the forefront, my God what a bunch of backwards disgusting Aholes.
You are absolutely right, nowadays I only use my Dominican passport upon entering and leaving Dominica. Too many questions asked otherwise. It’s shameful.
I wonder if they made a stop at Azaban supermarket to issue e-passports?
Very good question. I understand these passports were sold to Uranian Kurds, who were flown to the U.K. were they disappeared in the local Kurdish community and if they overstay their time And get caught they simply own up and ask for asylum. It’s a business my boy.
I knew something was up, when Skerrit started this sudden charm offensive and even participating in so called press briefings. I mean we all know that they are staged and have got absolutely nothing to do with him accounting for anything. As it turns out, he only raised the usual smoke screens mixed with a good dose of propaganda and an even bigger sack full of lies and deceit. Unfortunately for him, this time he was caught again with his pants down and this time it could turn out that it was the straw that broke the camels back. Let’s wait and see and find out what BS he will try to sell us tomorrow. I for one have stopped long time ago buying any stale fish of Mister.
It is hard to imagine that any Dominican seeing these videos and reading those articles and not being repulsed by the callous desecration of our sovereign identity. It also inconceivable that any government witnessing such desecration of its country’s passport would remain totally silent, not even promising its citizens a swift response. Surely,it is fair game to relate the devaluation of our passports to a Citizen by Investment program charged with 20 plus years of rampant racketeering, copious greed and corruption. Everybody See’s Everybody knows yet the Skerrit administration cabal will take no responsibility for our passports being in the hands of passport dealers in shady corners of the globe. The EU and the US have been leaning heavily on Skerrit to get the situation under control. But rather being upfront with the citizens, he chooses to lie to them and tells them they need to ensure that their passports have as many security features as possible. Hence the rushed new issuance!!