Dominica: Residents of Bagatelle and its surroundings will benefit from a 2.3 million dollar Bailey Bridge, allowing better road access to residents of that area.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit stated that his government is looking forward to the completion of the bridge.
“This bridge we are constructing, it’s a Bailey Bridge that has cost the government $2.3 million,” he said. “It was a massive investment in the small village.”
According to him, the bridge’s completeness was a central sore point for the vast majority of the residents of Bagatelle.
“I know there are people who have felt that the monies could have been spent otherwise, because there are very few homes beyond this bridge and many people felt that we could have relocated these residents across the bridge, therefore the cost of investment would be much lower than we are investing now,” Prime Minister Skerrit stated.
The prime minister said he understands that people have become accustomed to their homes for so many decades.
“That’s where they have their holding; that’s where they have their homes, and we respect that, so we decided to proceed with the construction,” Skerrit stated.
Apart from this, in this challenging time of coronavirus, many big hands come out to help; Dominican businessman Emile Depooter donated over sixteen thousand dollars in 2020 to assist COVID-related efforts and support charitable organizations in Dominica despite the challenges he faced. Mr. Depooter also had noteworthy changes to his businesses, DEPEX Color Lab Ltd. and WeForward.
Mr. Depooter transformed his businesses during the pandemic. His customer base at WeForward grew from under one thousand to over four thousand, while at DEPEX, the customer base remained the same. The significant growth and other factors influenced an online presence, increased employment, staff retention with no salary cuts, and plans for a larger warehouse and retail shops.
