PM Roosevelt Skerrit recalls Hurricane Maria, rebuilding efforts in town hall meeting

Roseau, Dominica: Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit launched a series of town hall meeting and pointed out his government’s efforts in rebuilding the country amid pessimism after the deadly Hurricane Maria in 2017. He said the government was working on a strategy when the natural disaster happened, and it was about paying off all the national debt.

The town hall was held at the Trafalgar Community Centre in Roseau Valley. PM Skerrit, who said the town hall meetings are designed to improve the connectivity between the people of Dominica welcomed communities. 

“All of what we are doing as a government is for the people of Dominica and therefore, it is important for us to engage ourselves,” he said, explaining the reason for holding the town hall meetings. 

Talking about Hurricane Maria and rebuilding efforts, PM Skerrit said the government had been saving money in a special account from the Citizenship by Investment funds over the years and when Maria happened, it had EC$389 million in its accounts. 

But the money was used for recovery efforts post Maria through helping the private sector and promoting economic diversity and development. 

He added after Maria, Dominica was challenged by a more serious adversity – the COVID-19 pandemic. The PM said there were zero revenues, but expenses continued, and the Dominican government even helped the private sector pay its employees’ salaries because the country believes in the dignity of human rights. 

PM Skerrit then took a dig at critics saying they try to project as if Dominica was a developed nation earlier, and added that his government has taken serious initiatives to make the country better.

Airport 

Emphasizing the significance of the upcoming international airport in Dominica, PM Roosevelt Skerrit said for the country to remain open for economic growth, its airport has to remain open. He pointed out that the significance of Dominica was growing as American Airlines planes were landing on its soil and United Airlines was set to begin operations in February. 

He said talks were underway to start direct services with Canada and New York’s JFK International Airport. PM Skerrit said the airlines are coming to Dominica because they are sensing opportunities to make money, and the host nation must also be aware of the opportunities it has and take advantage of it. 

The PM said tourism is one way of increasing the country’s consumption by bringing in more people. He said Dominica succeeded in building its international airport and it is expected to give its economy a major push. 

Energy

Talking about Dominica’s high energy bills and the burden that both households and businesses face because of high dependence on fossil fuels, PM Skerrit said the country is tapping into geothermal energy. He said by utilizing the natural resource, Dominica will not only bring down its power costs but also make its energy usage environment-friendly. 

The prime minister reminded that it is the government which has to invest in such a venture since no private sector will engage in initial exploration. He said many countries in the world refuse to do such exploration because of the high expenses involved and prioritize other infrastructural projects with the same funds but Dominica has gone forward with it. “Now we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. 

Road

PM Skerrit said building roads has been a major challenge for his government since they involve a lot of money, but his government is committed to making people’s lives better, personal and professional. 

The PM cited examples of some roads, like the one that passes through Castle Bruce and Kalinago Territory or the one in Cochrane, which involved millions of dollars. The budget for the road through Castle Bruce and Kalinago Territory had to be increased from the initial EC$127 million to EC$230 million because of adjustments in designs and other factors. 

Cruise village

PM Skerrit said the cruise village is another major project which is coming up in Dominica. Mentioning it as a foreign direct investment (FDI) project, the PM said the work will be done in two phases. The first one will see extension of the pier at Dame Eugenia Charles Boulevard for bigger ships to dock. World-class facilities will be constructed and later, a new cruise village will be constructed.

PM Skerrit said during his visit to Miami in 2024, he met owners and top executives of cruise lines about Dominica’s work on the cruise village and they were impressed by the development.

He said they immediately asked their staff members to make additional calls to Dominica and one cruise line even made a 10-year deal to commit to Dominica and bring a minimum number of tourists to the Caribbean nation every year.