CBI Dominica: Leading with Transparency

19 August 2019, Since 1993, Dominica has been at the forefront of the citizenship by investment (CBI) industry, setting high standards in due diligence, processing times, and most recently, transparency. Indeed, this month the nation liaised with prominent international professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to release a report clarifying the role CBI plays in its extensive public expenditure programme.

Dominica is the only CBI nation to have fully collaborated with an independent, non-governmental party to create a study that is publicly available and that highlights use of programme funds. PwC specifically credits Ms Gloria Joseph, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, for her assistance, and further notes that it gathered data in Dominica during an on-the-ground trip in July 2019. The report comes at a time when other nations are being criticised for not being transparent enough with their CBI funds, and establishes Dominica as a positive trendsetter for the entire industry, inspiring confidence in those hopeful that other CBI countries will soon follow suit.

PwC’s report, titled ‘Assessment of the Commonwealth of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme,’ reveals that between 2013/14 and 2018/19, EC$582.6 million (circa US$215.5 million) were redirected from the CBI Programme into sectors of the Dominican economy, with significant effects being felt in the short-term recovery effort following Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria, and predicted in the long-run. Among these are the building of hurricane-resilient homes for 6,680 households, reparations to 15 sections of damaged roads and 19 bridges, investment in water sources and river dredging, reparations to three hospitals and six health centres, repair work to 15 schools, sponsorship of 32 agricultural and fisheries projects, and the funding of 3,896 intern placements through the National Employment Programme.

The report also examines the impact of the real estate arm of the CBI Programme, noting that carefully selected hotels and eco-lodges will bring a total of 628 rooms to Dominica, more than 1,000 jobs in construction and 900 jobs in hospitality, and indirectly benefit tour operators, farmers, fishers, and the many others whose jobs are connected to tourism. Focusing on tourism, the report highlights that Dominica’s investment of CBI funds in the sector should generate between EC$90 and 140 million (circa US$33 and 52 million) each year, as well as fiscal benefits valued at between EC$20 and 40 million (circa US$7.4 and 15 million).

PwC draws a positive and enthusiastic picture of Dominica’s CBI Programme not merely because of how ‘traceable’ funds are, but also because of the very nature of the CBI-sponsored developments chosen by the Government. These will, in PwC’s opinion, “provide a strong base from which to develop a prosperous and vibrant economy.” PwC’s July visit to Dominica can have done nothing but reinforce this conclusion, as Dominica showcases concrete improvements derived from CBI. The Bellevue-Chopin model of climate-resilient housing is one such example, as are the hotels and ecolodges dotted across the island, some of whose managers were interviewed directly by PwC. Unsurprisingly, it is with one of these direct experiences with Dominicans that PwC chooses to conclude its report, quoting a Government stakeholders’ statement that: “the Citizenship by Investment Programme has given Dominica the means to become independent.”

This is not the first time Dominica has benefitted from reports made by objective, third-party specialist firms. Ernst & Young and Smith & Williamson, in March and April 2019 respectively, both released studies indicating that Dominica’s CBI Programme did not adversely affect accurate tax reporting under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard. This was followed by an opinion issued by barrister Balraj Bhatia, a Queen's Counsel, which evaluated and confirmed the findings of the two reports.

Dominica has also been recognised, for the third year in a row, as the world’s best CBI Programme by the CBI Index, a publication by the Financial Times’ PWM Magazine. In its latest release, dating to August 2019, the CBI Index awarded Dominica a score of 91% - the highest ever overall score in the history of the Index, having attained full point in five out of seven possible indicators.