Dominica vows zero tolerance on crime; Joins CARICOM free movement on Oct 1

Dominica will officially join Barbados, Belize and St Vincent and the Grenadines in implementing full free movement of CARICOM nationals from October 1, 2025. This was announced by Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit during a press conference which also addressed national security, regional integration as well as public sector pay.

Apart from this, he also talked about the establishment of a regional Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority.

Full Free Movement: Dominica Opens Doors to Greater Regional Cooperation

Dominica is set to make history on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, as it joins Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize in taking a decisive step forward on a matter that has been on the regional agenda for decades. These countries are implementing the free movement of CARICOM nationals, confirmed the Prime Minister during the press conference.

According to him, this move will grant nationals of the participating states the right to move freely, reside, work, and access essential services across borders. This will also allow the nationals to remain indefinitely in the four member states without the need for a residency or work permit.

Dr Roosevelt Skerrit highlighted that the nationals of the four member states will have the right to access public, primary as well as secondary education along with emergency and primary healthcare services. This will come after required legislative security and administrative measures to support this free movement will be implemented in the participating member states.

“Free movement allows us to fill gaps in critical areas, while giving our own citizens greater access to opportunities across the region. It is a win-win for all.”

Addressing concerns over security and the impact on jobs that the new free movement will have, Prime Minister Skerrit assured that systems of cooperation, vetting and regional security will remain strong throughout.

“We're not lowering our guard. What we are doing is removing unnecessary barriers that have for too long held back our collective progress.I am hopeful that our Caricom member states that other Caricom member states will soon join us in this historic step, so that we can realize the full promise of a true Caribbean community.”

Prime Minister Skerrit encouraged citizens to welcome this change with an open mind, urging them to educate themselves on the benefits and opportunities that free movement can bring to their personal lives and families.

He further also dispelled concerns about a mass migration of people between islands, stating that this notion is unfounded since free movement has not been implemented in the region before. He emphasized the importance of free movement for regional integration, solidarity, and unity and further expressed hope that other CARICOM member states would follow suit to achieve seamless mobility within the Caribbean community.

Zero Tolerance Towards Crime: Dr Skerrit

PM Skerrit began his address by expressing his government’s commitment and dedication towards tackling crime and violence across the island nation.

“Violence has no place in our society. I call on every citizen to join in building a culture of peace and tolerance,” he said and condemned the acts of violence within the community that bring pain and fear to the communities. He noted that his administration still remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of every Dominican.

The Dominican leader highlighted that in recent months, his government has taken significant steps to strengthen law enforcement's ability to curb violent crime. These include measures to address the illegal use of firearms and improve the resources that are available to the police force.

Dr. Skerrit expressed the Government's commitment to continuing support for the police, providing them with the necessary training, tools, and technology to detect and prevent crime, and bring offenders to justice. He emphasized that protecting Dominica's citizens and preserving peace in the communities will remain a top priority for the government.

He further urged the citizens to play their individual roles in tackling crime in the society and said, “Although this is not solely a Skerrit matter or a government matter. It is the responsibility of every Dominican to play their part in protecting our communities. Parents, churches, schools, civil society and the community leaders and the business leaders all have an important role to play in shaping values, guiding our young people and rejecting the culture of violence”

While reiterating his government’s commitment, Prime Minister Skerrit stressed that the government will continue to take a zero tolerance approach to violent crime and acknowledged that it requires a collective effort from the entire society, not just the government, to address this challenge.

He further assured that the government will do everything within its power to ensure that they do not have an escalation of the situation in the country and they they rid the streets and homes of illegal firearms in Dominica.

Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority

Prime Minister Skerrit also informed the nation that the OECS member states with CBI programmes including Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada have signed the agreement this month to establish the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Regulatory Authority - an initiative designed to safeguard the integrity, transparency, and sustainability of Caribbean’s Citizenship By Investment programmes.

The Dominican leader said that the establishment of the regulatory authority will ensure that the programmes remain credible, secure and globally respected.

PM Skerrit highlighted that the authority will function as an independent regulatory body which will develop and enforce uniform standards and procedures governing the operation of all programmes across participating states.

Moreover, the authoritative body will oversee the activities of agents, developers, promoters, and due diligence service providers, ensuring compliance with both regional regulations and international best practices.

The body is also set to conduct independent audits, carry out ongoing monitoring, and issue clear guidelines, directives, and recommendations to maintain consistency and fairness.

The Prime Minister explained that one of the authority’s important functions will be to set minimum due diligence standards and ensure their rigorous application. The agreement also provides for the creation of a centralized regional database to be managed by impacts. This database will consolidate all relevant data on applicants and their dependence across participating states. Its purpose is to strengthen regional and international security, enhance intelligence sharing, and ensure that Dominica’s systems and of other countries involved remain in full compliance with the standards and recommendations of the financial action task force and the OECD and other international bodies.

“The agreement, I believe, will be made available in full for our citizens to read. But it is my view that it is  comprehensive in its scope and reflects the collective resolve of our governments to continue to maintain high standards.”

Prime Minister Skerrit stressed that for Dominica, the step is entirely consistent with our long-standing commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity in the management of its program.

“We are proud to be of the we are proud of the contribution that the CBI has made to our country's development but we have always maintained that the success of the program depends on its credibility and its alignment with global best practices. We therefore welcome this regional approach. It is an important safeguard for the conduct of our programs and an indication of our willingness to act responsibly as sovereign states.”

Dr Skerrit noted that Dominica is pleased with the agreement and is in full support of the work of the new authority. He assured that Dominica will continue to manage its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme with diligence, transparency, and fairness, exceeding international standards and ensuring the program's ongoing benefits for the country's citizens.

Salary Increase of Public Officers, Teachers in Dominica

Prime Minister Skerrit further announced the implementation of new salary measures for public officers, teachers, and police officers in Dominica. He said that after successful negotiations with respective unions, the government has agreed on salary increases and allowances which came into effect this September.

 “As I end, I mentioned last month that the government had concluded salary negotiations with the Dominica Public Service Union and the Dominica Association of Teachers and the Police Welfare Association for the period 2021 to 2024 and 2024 to 2027. The agreed upon salary measures have come into effect starting this September."

Prime Minister Skerrit announced that public officers in Dominica will receive an 8% salary increase over the period of 2024-2027 and it will be broken down into 3%in 2024-2025, 2% in 2025- 2026 and 3% in 2026-2027.

He further noted that effective this month, teachers will receive salary increases on the same schedules along with a new resource allowance to support their work, as part of the government's commitment to enhancing their welfare.

He emphasized that every teacher will receive a resource allowance that would allow them to purchase essential materials such as paper, markers, and glue, which they often have to buy out of pocket. He further expressed his optimism that this initiative will yield positive outcomes and teachers will also receive back pay and the resource allowance.

“During the months of October and November, both teachers and public officers, because they're represented by two different unions but we could say public officers will receive in excess of $4 million in back pay, so that's good news for me,” said Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

Moreover, he highlighted the fact that police officers are enjoying an 8 percent salary increase since July 2025 as agreed upon with the Police Welfare Association. Additionally, police officers have already received their back pay in May of this year, he added.

“You know our public officers, our teachers, our police officers, you know are really the backbone of national development, and we are happy to have rich disagreement with both parties and and and I think sometimes the rest of the country has to appreciate the role that public officers play and police officers play in national development.”

He went on to note that the government will be taking the taxes directly from its public officers as the government is the tax man and the government is the employee of these public officers, therefore their taxes are deducted from the salaries so that there's no escaping.

The Prime Minister further emphasised that public officers are the backbone of the income tax base which is why the government prioritizes improving their working conditions to enhance their performance and productivity.

He said that this is why they have the 2% government housing loan facility for the police and public officers. “This is why we have reduced the price of land so that we can facilitate the purchase and so it makes it easier for them to first buy land and secondly to be able to build a house and fill part of the efforts of national development,” added Skerrit.

The Dominican leader concluded his address by saluting all public officers and thanking them for their leadership of the Dominica Public Service Union, the DAT and the Police Welfare Association for their constructive engagement through the process before allowing questions.