Dominica cannot keep spending money it does not have. For years now, Roosevelt Skerrit and his government have been draining our treasury, spending Dominica’s money recklessly, and trying to buy support ahead of every election. This year’s national budget is $200 million less than last year’s – and this is not new. For nearly a decade, the budget has been shrinking, year after year. Every Dominican should be alarmed by this.
So now people are asking: Why do we have a garbage crisis again? The answer is simple: Money is being pulled from essential services. Garbage collection, healthcare, education, and other basic public services are underfunded so that Skerrit can spend on flashy projects that benefit only a few. We are right back to the same garbage problems that existed months ago, problems that were only cleaned up temporarily before Independence celebrations or Diaspora visits. Today, in many communities, garbage goes uncollected for weeks. That is not an accident. That is a budget decision.
Millions are being spent on vanity projects that serve as political favours: expensive fisheries facilities, fishing boats handed out in select constituencies, and $14 million poured into Independence weekend celebrations – celebrations the public still had to pay to attend!
And when Melissa Skerrit brags that Salisbury received “close to $2 million for housing,” every Dominican should ask: Where did that money come from? What was cut to fund it? There is no free money in the national budget. Every dollar spent in one place is taken from another. That $2 million came from the same pot that funds garbage pickup, hospitals, schools, and social services. That is why garbage goes uncollected for a month. That is why hospitals struggle. That is why basic services continue to decline.
And let’s pause here – eight years after Hurricane Maria, claiming there is still a housing crisis in Salisbury as justification for spending billions in select constituencies does not make sense. It is a convenient excuse to cover up mismanagement.
Meanwhile, Labour supporters continue to chant “success after success,” while everyday Dominicans struggle just to pay rent, put food on the table, and access basic services. Families are barely surviving. And yet Skerrit and his government carry on as if nothing is wrong.
- Enough is enough.
- It is time for a change.
- It is time to organize.
- It is time to unite.
Join me. Join the Dominica Reform Party. Together, we can build something better. Together, we can and will end this reckless spending, this clown show, and put Dominica’s future back into the hands of our people – where it belongs.
