Skerrit predicts Dominica’s economy will grow

ROSEAU, Dominica, Friday July 25, 2014, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is projecting growth in the country’s economy in the new financial year.

In his presentation of the 2013/2014 budget on Wednesday, Skerrit told Parliament that estimates show the economy will grow by 1.5 percent in 2014
He said the main contributors to growth have been agriculture, construction, manufacturing and tourism.

Concerning the agriculture al sector, Skerrit said the government is concerned that growth is being compromised by new and emerging diseases such as Black Sigatoka and the Citrus Greening disease.

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However, with a combination of methods, including the use of pesticides, cutting down infected fields and obtaining new planting materials Dominica is expected to win the war over these diseases.

Within the construction industry, the Prime Minister said infrastructural works undertaken by the government is likely to boost the construction sector.

He said growth in the sector has been supported by a series of government policies including the housing revolution.

“Whether it was created through special loan facilities at the AID Bank and the government Housing Loan Board or through the Housing and Sanitation Program, the construction sector has been positively impacted.”

Where tourism is concerned, he said the sector has seen “mixed fortunes” in terms of growth from 2009 to 2013, averaging one percent with a high of 8.2 percent in 2011.

“This sector is the one that has been most directly affected by the global crisis which started in 2008, hence the 2009 result is not surprising,” he said. “This along with decrease in cruise arrivals meant the level of growth desired in the tourism sector has not been achieved, however preliminary estimates suggest that despite the 1.6 percent decline in 2012, activity in the sector strengthened during 2013 with estimated growth of 2 percent.”

He said activity in the manufacturing sector has remained positive in the past three years with 3.4 percent growth estimated in 2013 with two percent growth expected in 2014.

“The performance in the various sub sectors change from time to time but the imperative is to always find the measures which will encourage growth,” Skerrit said.
He noted that the record of his government in terms of fiscal management “is well known.”

“There has been challenges created by external shocks, such as the impact of the global financial crisis and weather related events and disasters,” he noted. “Despite these, government continues to maintain fiscal discipline while safeguarding the poor and vulnerable.”

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Skerrit predicts Dominica’s economy will grow

Dominica’s indigenous peoples to elect new Carib chief

ROSEAU, Dominica, Monday July 7, 2014, CMC – Dominica’s indigenous population goes to the polls Monday to elect a new Carib Chief.

The incumbent, Garnet Joseph says he is confident of defeating Charles Williams and Irvince Auguiste, two former Carib Chiefs and newcomer, Jumadine Frederick. The polling stations open at 7:00 am (local time) and closes 11 hours later.

“All of us have our own programme that we have presented to the residents of the Territory and I think that my chances of winning the election are very good”.

“I have a good track record of achievement and it did not start when I got into office, I have been working in the Territory for many years now, in fact, my entire life has been devoted to the development of the Territory so I think my chances on Monday are very good,” said Joseph.

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He said that the issue of access to credit by residents of the Territory will be given priority if he is given another opportunity to head the council.

“Access to credit has been a major problem plaguing the Territory for several years and I think that in our level of development at this time, this cannot be more appropriate”.

The Carib Territory or Carib Reserve is a 3,700-acre district that was established for the Caribs, also known here as the Kalinago.

The Carib Territory was officially formed by British colonial authorities in 1903, in a remote and mountainous area of Dominica’s Atlantic coast. Its population remained largely isolated from the rest of the island throughout most of the 20th century, with only a ceremonial chief and no other formal self-governance.

The Carib Reserve Act, enacted the year of Dominica’s independence in 1978, reaffirmed the Carib Territory’s boundaries, its land management, and institutions of local government. In the last decades of the 20th century, modern utilities and infrastructure were finally introduced to the Carib Territory, which also established contacts with foreign governments and other indigenous peoples in the region.

The present population of the Carib Territory is estimated at 3,000.

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Dominica’s indigenous peoples to elect new Carib chief