PM Skerrit highlights significance of Dominica CBI Programme, calls it 'very resilient'

Dominica: Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit delivered a powerful speech during a recent conference in Dubai highlighting the benefits of the resilient Citizenship by Investment Programme of Dominica. He also expressed his commitment to enhancing the longstanding programme. During his speech, he outlined the several benefits of the programme with the major one being that it is a very resilient source of foreign direct investments. He said that during the time of Hurricane Maria in 2017, all other aspects of the economy came to a halt, but the country was able to continue generating revenues from the programme. Dr Skerrit recounted that in 2015, he devised a national strategy for the country, and part of that national strategy was the payment of the national debt and to be the first developing country in the world to have a zero percent debt-to-GDP ratio. He went on to say that by the time the hurricane hit in 2017, Dominica had about 46% save towards an effort to pay for national debt but because of the hurricane, the government had to use some of those resources to respond to it. The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to go back to this strategy because "it is an extraordinary effort to put this in place, similar to declaring that we would like to be the world's first climate-resilient nation."

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While talking about becoming the world's climate-resilient nation, PM Skerrit said, "We are well on our way towards achieving that objective. And we have become a reference to the entire global community." He further continued and emphasized that when one speaks about resilience, in so far as the response to climate change is concerned, they must mention Dominica in their conversation and people must be referred to Dominica's strategy when they are speaking. "As a matter of fact, I've been thinking that we should have trademarked this phrase, and let me call it the royalties, every time it's mentioned, because everywhere it goes, it's mentioned continuously by so many people," quoted the Prime Minister of Dominica. While recalling the benefits of the CBI Programme for the Caribbean countries, PM Skerrit said that the programme is very significant for the economic and social development of not only Dominica but also Saint Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis. He said that it has helped in growing the economies, reducing the levels of poverty, expanding the economies, creating jobs, creating a better way of life for all people, and allowing for foreign direct investment in the country. "For us, we do not only look at the programme solely from an economic or a financial standpoint; we look at it from the point of view of a small country like Dominica, playing a huge role in allowing so many citizens who otherwise would have been in some kind of difficulty or challenge, to have a document to allow them for greater mobility and the feeling of being part of a country, a member of the United Nations and all international organizations," outlined Dr Skerrit. The Dominican leader also noted that the funds generated from the CBI Programme have also been utilised for housing and to provide resilient homes to the people of the country. He said that the citizens are better off now than they were in 2017 by way of the resilient homes which his administration has constructed in the country.

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Dr Roosevelt Skerrit also mentioned that the funds are also being utilised to develop infrastructure, heath, education, ensuring that the citizens have the facilities available in the country. In addition to this, he said that the funds are also being used to build the international airport and other infrastructural projects. "The international airport is a project that will certainly assist with the transformation of Dominica. There is no other island that has more to offer to a visitor than Dominica. The only challenge we have is accessibility, and once that comes into play, then one understands," he added. [caption id="attachment_70677" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Work at Dominica International Airport progressing swiftly[/caption] While talking about other major investments, the Prime Minister noted that investments are being made in the tourism sector, especially in the construction of a cable car which will be the world's longest upon completion.

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He stated, "And we use the funds from time to time to pay off part of our national debt, you know, to create greater sustainability. So, we don't use it for current expenditure." While highlighting the ongoing work by the government to enhance the Citizenship by Investment Programme, PM, Roosevelt Skerrit said that he aims to enhance the due diligence aspect of the CBI Programme to ensure that only legitimate people can enter the country. "In Dominica's case, we would prefer to get 200 cases less and have ten best people in the world rather than having 200 cases more, and among these 200 cases more, we have people who should not be allowed to even apply if I want to go through the process," he noted. He also added that Dominica will abide by all the laws of the immigration industry to uphold the integrity of the overall CBI Programme. PM Skerrit mentioned that discounting is not in the law and added that citizenship is not a commodity where one can put a resale or discount sale. He further stressed, "But any applicants who want to negotiate the price and I think all of us must tell the person, sorry, go somewhere else." During his address, he also expressed his happiness over going beyond the national borders and entering into a memorandum of agreement among the OECS countries. He said that this MoU will allow the participating nations to work collectively on common terms related to the CBI Programme. He said that the MoU will also assist in the auditing and the review of the programmes to ensure that they are following the good governance principles of transparency and accountability and ensuring that the CBI Units are doing what they need to do as individual programmes, and also for quality standards.

PM Skerrit highlights significance of Dominica CBI Programme, calls it 'very resilient'

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