The Dominica Labour Party would like you to believe that this year’s national budget is a “positive step forward.” It reflects “fiscal responsibility” and “prudent management of the nation’s resources.” But don’t be fooled, the numbers paint a very different, disturbing picture that no amount of spin or political posturing can cover up.
Let Us Start With the Hard, Undeniable Facts.
- In the previous 2024–2025 fiscal year, the national budget stood at XCD$1.4 billion, which is about USD$514 million.
- For the 2025–2026 fiscal year, the government has tabled a budget of just XCD$1.2 billion, which is approximately USD$441 million.
- That is a staggering decline of over USD$73 million in one year, or over XCD$197 million.
Like it or not that is not growth, that is economic dying. It is irrefutable proof that the Skerrit government is bringing in less money and, as a result, must spend less. This translates directly into reduced services, cuts in public infrastructure projects, delays in healthcare and education spending, and a growing dependence on external loans just to survive.
To make matters worse, Parliament is also silently seeking in the backrooms to again authorization to borrow even more through overdraft arrangements from financial institutions. This is not investment borrowing; this is desperate borrowing, just to keep the basic operations of Dominica’s government afloat. That is like taking a payday loan to buy groceries. It is a sign of financial failure, not progress.
And all of this is happening while Dominica’s GDP for 2024 was estimated at USD$697 million, yet our budget is now operating at only 63% of that GDP. That is a clear indication that the government is no longer able to support the country’s needs through domestic productivity, taxation, or sustainable revenue sources. Instead, we are living off borrowed money and donor aid, while pretending to the world that things are improving.
Some People Misunderstand What Dominica’s GDP Means, So Let Us Quickly Explain.
GDP is the total value of everything produced in the country, but it is not the government’s money. It includes income to the govenremnt from businesses, hotels, farming, services, and even remittances. But the government only controls a small piece of that, through taxes and duties.
So when people ask, “If Dominica’s GDP is $697 million, why can’t the government spend that much?” Here is the truth. Because most of that money in the GDP is in private hands, and too often, the people who earn the most money, pay the least amount in taxes. Hence the saying, The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
While regular hard working Dominicans pay VAT on food and essentials, many elites, foreign developers, and CBI agents are allowed to make money tax-free. Meanwhile, the Skerrit government keeps wasting, losing, or giving away the little money it does collect through bad deals, corruption, and poor planning.
So raising taxes is not the solution, collecting fairly and managing wisely is. The problem is not that Dominicans are not paying enough, it is that a privileged few do not pay their fair share, and the rest of us are left to carry the burden.
So, To The Dominica Labour Party and Its Followers, the NEW Dominica Reform Party (DRP) Ask…
- How can a shrinking budget be considered a win?
- How does cutting over XCD$197 million from the national budget this year help our people in Dominica?
- How does borrowing more money, with nothing to show for it, prove economic growth?
You cannot have a conversation about economic prosperity while at the same time presenting a budget that is smaller, weaker, and more reliant on foreign lenders. You cannot call that success. You cannot pretend that Dominica is on the rise when our financial plan is failing, our services are collapsing, and our young people are fleeing the country in search of opportunities that no longer exist here.
This Is Not About Politics; it is About Basic Arithmetic.
- The government has less money than it did last year.
- It is delivering fewer services than it did last year.
- And it is planning to borrowmore money just to stay afloat.
Any Labour supporter who chooses to ignore these facts is willfully closing their eyes to the truth. This is not about loyalty to the party; this is about loyalty to the country. If you love Dominica, you must be honest about its decline.
We must stop applauding failures dressed up as progress. We must demand transparency, accountability, and real economic leadership, not slogans and self-congratulations in the face of collapse.
Dominica deserves better, and the Dominica Labour Party can no longer hide from the truth. Dominica’s economy is not growing; it is dying a slow death!
Just Look at the Numbers.
While other Caribbean nations are making strides in tourism, foreign investment, and job creation, Dominica continues to stagnate under this government which has no vision, no economic strategy, and no understanding of how to build a modern, self-sustaining economy.
In 2025, Trinidad and Tobago announced a national budget of TT$54.22 billion, over USD$8 billion. Jamaica’s 2025–2026 budget stands at approximately JM$1.26 trillion, or about USD$8.1 billion. The Bahamas? Their 2024/25 budget crossed USD$3.7 billion.
And Dominica? Our 2024/25 national budget is just EC$1.213 billion, or about US$441 million. That is not just low, it is absurd.
This is significantly lower than countries like Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, which have invested over decades strategically to attract tourism, foreign investment, and create jobs, fueling economic growth and expanding government capacity. This glaring disparity is not due to Dominica’s geography or population. It is due to the Skerrit government’s failurem PERIOD, END OF SENTENCE!
Other Caribbean governments actively court foreign direct investment, build vibrant tourism sectors, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. Dominica, under the Skerrit regime, is instead focused on pet projects, secretive deals, and massive spending on personal luxury vehicles, overseas travel, and real estate, all while our people struggle.
The Skerrit administration has repeatedly boasted that “Dominica is doing well.” But if Dominica were truly doing well, why are we failing to reach even the basic economic benchmarks that our neighbours have surpassed? The answer is simple, Dominica is being stolen from and mismanaged.
We lack real investment incentives. We are not building robust tourism infrastructure. We do not have any meaningful job creation plan. And worst of all, we have a government that sees its people both at home and abroad not as citizens to uplift, but as wallets to exploit. This Is A National Embarrassment!
A country with our beauty, our talent, and our resourcefulness should be doing far better afer more than two decades. Dominicans in the diaspora send millions of dollars back home each year. Our people are our greatest asset. Yet this government continues to squander every opportunity to grow the nation, choosing instead to enrich the political elite and bleed the economy dry.
The Shiny New 2% Housing Loan.
We believe in creating a government that understands how to build an economy, not just collect taxes. Dominica can no longer afford Skerrit’s incompetence. The world is moving forward, and we are being left behind. It is time for a new direction. It is time to build a modern Dominica that works for everyone, not just a few at the top.
Police officers are quitting in record numbers, not because they are lazy. Not because they are disloyal. But because they simply cannot afford to live on the salaries this government offers. These men and women put their lives on the line to serve our country, and yet they are being forced out of service by sheer financial necessity. They are already taking out loans, just to live and eat in Dominica, trying to hold onto their jobs.
And what does Skerrit’s government do in response? His government rolls out a shiny new 2% housing loan as if that is the solution. They might as well have offered them a yacht; it is just as useless.
The same applies to our teachers, our nurses, our civil servants, the backbone of our society.
They, too, are struggling to survive. Some are working two jobs, taking loans to pay rent, and skipping meals to keep the lights on. And now, this government stands in front of them and says:
“Yes, we know you can not afford to live on what you already make. But here is a great idea, take on more debt. Take out another loan, get deeper into the hole, because this loan is only at 2%, so that makes it okay.”
This Governmentis Not Okay, it is Delusional!
You can not lift people out of poverty by encouraging them to take on more debt when they are already buried. You do not build a nation by pushing your police and public servants closer to personal bankruptcy. And you certainly do not fix an economic crisis with a loan disguised as compassion.
This is the Labour Government’s idea of a solution: offer a drowning man a glass of water.
This Is The legacy of the Dominica Labour Government:
- A country where people can not afford to live.
- A country where young people see no future.
- A country where politicians smile in front of cameras while offering empty gestures disguised as policy.
Enough is enough!
While the Dominica Labour Party plays dress-up with fake housing plans and imaginary solutions, the NEW Dominica Reform Party (DRP) is offering something real, tangible, and usable:
- Free ownership of unused government land for Dominicans.
- Land to build. Land to farm. Land to live.
- No debt. No loans. No gimmicks. Just the dignity of ownership.
This is not a photo op. It is not a “loan you will never qualify for.” It is a real solution to a real crisis.
The Dominica Labour Party Government has made it clear: they do not intend to help — they intend to look like they’re helping. They have crafted a programthey know hat no Dominican can or will beable to use, because the people simply can not afford to participate. This is not ignorance, it is deliberate!
The Dominica Labour Party Government loves the idea of you having to beg them for help, to come to their offices, their ministers, their agents. Because when you depend on them, they feel powerful. It is not about helping the people, it is about controlling them.
They offer these schemes not to improve lives, but to create the illusion of action, while in reality doing absolutely nothing of value for the people who need help the most. This is not incompetence. It is deception!
And Dominicans must stop applauding their exploitation. The time for blind loyalty is over. The time for falling for cheap tricks is over. The time for real leadership is now.
The Dominica Labour Party has played its game for too long. And under the NEW Dominica Reform Party, the game ends, and real nation-building begins.
Team DRP