Dominica PM promotes party on Latin American TV

Education, the economy and healthcare have all improved in Dominica under the Labour Party, the prime minister has said.

And he believes that the country's stature in the world has improved greatly due to the party's work.

Roosevelt Skerrit, whose Dominica Labour Party (DLP) has been in power since 2000, was speaking on teleSUR English, a pan-Latin America television network.

Skerrit has been the island's prime minister since 2004.

Speaking about the upheaval across sectors, he said: "We’ve had an education revolution, for example, created tremendous access to education for all our children at all levels.

“The infrastructure has improved dramatically, our health services have improved dramatically, access to health care, access to free health care,” he noted.

Skerrit also said the island’s economy has grown and expanded.

“We’ve seen the economy grow, we’ve seen the economy expanded, there is greater people’s participation in the process of the development of our country,” he said.

“So we’ve really elevated the country’s profile, not only regionally but internationally.”

Although Skerrit didn't aim any barbs at his predecessors or the current opposition, he made it clear that under his party's stewardship Dominica had established and improved international diplomatic relations with a number of countries.

“We have been in the forefront of integration processes like Petrocaribe, ALBA, CELAC. We have been part of the discussions from day one.

“Dominica, though a small country, we are not afraid to speak our minds and to represent the interest of our country.

“For example, when we decided to become a member of ALBA, we were the first English speaking country to become a member of ALBA. That brought tremendous international attention to Dominica but also international impression but we recognise that there was an important step in the interest of the region and the interest of Dominica.”

He added, “So Dominica’s profile in the world has been enhanced since my party became the government in this country.”