"Climate Change affected countries will have a challenge unless they get resources"

“Dominica has been severely battered by natural disasters and we have seen an increased frequency and velocity of these storms,” PM Skerrit

Monday, 25th October 2021

Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit

Roseau: “Dominica has been severely battered by natural disasters and we have seen an increased frequency and velocity of these storms,” Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit said that Dominica has been on the frontline of climate change effects while citing the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference (Glasgow) which will be hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy. During his special show, Annou Pale PM Skerrit said that this Conference is for the developed world to not just talk about climate change and talk about what they intend to do, there must be tangible actions and Prime Minister commended the government of the UK as it is leading the way in terms of institutionalizing the county’s policies in respect to what needs to be done to address the issue of climate change. Prime Minister also added that the Conference has been going for a very long time for over 30-years, and there have not been any tangible actions on the part of the developed world. “There are plenties of money, but they’re not getting to us. Unless these resources get to us as the countries that are affected by climate change, we are gonna have a challenge.” “The majority of our death have been in response to natural disasters, one can imagine how much money we spent after hurricane Maria and after tropical storm Erika. What we could have done with these monies is the dredging of rivers, cleaning of debris, reconstruction of public buildings and private properties. It costs millions of dollars in this response,” PM asserted. Citing the effects of Climate Change, Prime Minister said that 20 years ago, if there was rain in the country, there would not be any situation of flooding. But now, with the slightest rain, countries like Dominica get flooded and also witness soil erosion. He said, “You can see places like California, where the community is getting smaller because the sea is coming in and that is the case of many of the developing countries see draught, you have flooding and one can not appreciate the impact on the way of life this is survival ability of our people.” Re-election of Grand Bay Constituency The constitution of Dominica now calls for a by-election to be held before the expiration of 90 days since the passing of Edward Registe and the announcement would be made in the coming week for the re-election of the Grand Bay constituency. COVID-19 Prime Minister said that the country is observing a decline in COVID-19 positive cases and commanded healthcare workers who have put in efforts in this fight with non-stop efforts. “It is no time to let down our guard and I continue to encourage you to take the necessary precautions to safeguard your health and that of your families. Continue to practice all the safety protocols which should be second nature to you by now. I also reiterate my call to get tested regularly to ascertain your status so that you do not put the health of your loved ones, friends and colleagues at risk. It is even more important that you get vaccinated, this has shown will reduce your chances of severe illness and death if you do become infected, so let’s get vaccinated,” PM asserted. This week government will also announce a further lifting of the restrictions which have been implemented to curb the spread of the virus. Among the measures that will be lifted are the 11 PM closure of businesses and an increase in the number of people who can attend church services. Dominica to continue with online classes PM Skerrit, while replying to a question posted about offline classes said that it is safer now to keep the classes online for the time being and “I would like to suggest that we may very well have to keep online for the rest of the term and look to January,” for resumption of offline classes. The Ministry of Education keeps assessing and evaluating things; PM expressed that he will be happy if schools can open in November.