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Member of the United Progressive Party (UPP) Attorney Joshua Francis has said that, if elected to government, the party would phase out the Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programme.<\/p>\n
He made the disclosure while addressing supporters at a meeting held in Mahaut River in the Kalinago Territory on the weekend.<\/p>\n
Launched in 1993, the CBI Programme in Dominica stands out as one of the most enduring and sought-after CBI options globally. Individuals may acquire Dominican citizenship by making a substantial financial investment aimed at enhancing the nation\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Its primary objective\u00a0is to attract foreign investments, thereby stimulating economic growth and addressing the needs of today\u2019s competitive international market.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0programme\u00a0offers two pathways for individuals to obtain citizenship: donating to the Economic Diversification Fund or investing at least US$200,000 in approved real estate, followed by a thorough due diligence process. Upon approval, investors fulfil their investment obligations and receive citizenship, typically within a few months, while contributing to the country\u2019s economic growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UPP will phase out the Citizenship By Investment Programme,\u201d Francis said. \u201c That cannot be the answer for Dominica.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cThat reminds us of what happened in the 80s when we were producing bananas. We were depending on bananas and it took Rosie Douglas, God bless his soul, to keep telling Dominicans that we need to diversify, and \u00a0by the time the banana industry collapsed the only answer we had was to sell passports.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Francis, it is now 25 years that the current government has been in office and, to this date, has not been able to develop any other means of creating jobs for the people of Dominica.<\/p>\n
Francis pointed out that part of\u00a0 his party\u2019s plans includes the creation of factories, making Dominica more friendly to foreign investors, \u00a0to develop the financial sector, \u201c our external companies registry will improve because we will get investors, \u00a0we will create a situation where investors will come to Dominica to build more hotels, get involved in production.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes that Dominica needs environmentally friendly factories.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Francis said under the UPP students will be presented with scholarships to study abroad, however, they will be bonded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is how it was in the past and it worked,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Francis explained that he is a government scholar and following his studies at law school abroad he returned to Dominica to serve for two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, over the past 20 years we have had a government giving scholarships and children just go and they do not return,\u201d he remarked. \u00a0\u201cSome of them are not even sending a barrel to their parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francis noted that under the UPP education will continue to be a priority, but he emphasized that this comes with responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cUPP will ensure that more people will get scholarships, but everybody who gets a national scholarship has to return to serve the country,\u201d he reiterated. \u201cAnd if you do not want to come back, you give the country back the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cWe must do that because we have a serious brain drain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Member of the United Progressive Party (UPP) Attorney Joshua Francis has said that, if elected to government, the party would phase out the Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programme. He made the disclosure while addressing supporters at a meeting held in…","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":336776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[235,9,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-336774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage-carousel","category-news","category-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n