Dominica prime minister slams UWP for ‘failing to make time for constituents’

The Prime Minister of Dominica has criticised opposition MPs for failing in their duty to look after constituents.

And Roosevelt Skerrit made clear to the house that despite his roles as minister for finance and premier, he still makes time to attend to the needs of his constituents.

“If you are a member of parliament, paid for by the taxpayers of the country, the least you could do is to seek to represent the interests that make life better for them [constituents],” the prime minister said.

After an interruption by the leader of the opposition Lennox Linton – on which the judge scolded him for incorrectly raising a point of clarification – Skerrit continued after quipping “the truth offends”.

“I believe that if the constituents in those constituencies had representation much more could be done for these people.

“Madam Speaker I believe I may be the one in this parliament that has the most responsibilities. And I suspect I have one of the busiest schedules. But I have never forgotten my primary responsibility. That is the be the member of parliament for the Vieille Case constituency.

“Notwithstanding the fact that I am the prime minister, and not withstanding the fact that I am minister of finance who has to authorise funds. Yet many times I write to my ministerial colleagues about matters effecting my constituency.

‘Passion for job’

The UWP have the time to write “all sorts of foolishness that would not change the price of sugar on the shelves”, the PM added, when instead they should focus on making lives better for the people they represent.

Skerrit’s comments came after referencing Edison James, telling the house that a constituent’s request to the MP for Marigot was met with dismissal, and that the matter should be taken up with a village council instead.

This attitude is the opposite of the “passion with which the members of government do their jobs”, the prime minister said, and adding later that “when we engage them [the UWP] they are not serious about people”.