Good morning my brothers and sisters of Dominica, Let me speak the truth, and I will not sugarcoat it. For decades, Dominicans have built our country with our own hands. We have raised homes, schools, and communities from the ground up. Our masons, carpenters, electricians, and engineers have worked with sweat, skill, and pride. We did not need anyone from abroad to “discover” how to build our own nation.
And yet today, here we are. Twenty-three massive housing projects, from Bellevue Chopin to Pointe Michel, handed over to a single foreign company, MMC Development at the expense of Dominican workers and families. Billions, and I mean Billions of our tax dollars, shipped straight to Canada, while our electricians, masons, carpenters, and engineers are forced to scrape by or leave the country to survive.
Let me be crystal clear: MMC Development did not come here to help Dominica. They came here to profit, just like Christopher Columbus came here to take gold.
- Columbus claimed lands that were already ours. MMC claims contracts that should have been ours.
- Columbus sent wealth back to Spain. MMC sends billions out of Dominica, back to Canada.
- Columbus enslaved, displaced, and exploited our people. MMC underpays, sidelines, and exploits Dominican workers. The method has changed. The victims are the same.
And who allowed this to happen? Roosevelt Skerrit and his Labour government. This is not incompetence. This is corruption. This is national betrayal at the highest level. Backroom deals. Hidden contracts. Billions given away without transparency. Billions leaving our economy. Twenty-three major projects, and yet the people of Dominica never got a say. Not a vote. Not a hearing. Not even a notice.
Think about it: while MMC Development pockets our foreign dollars, Dominicans are unemployed, underpaid, and undervalued in their own country. Our youth leave. Our families struggle. Our communities miss out on the wealth they helped create. And every time another cheque goes abroad, another opportunity is stolen from a Dominican worker. This is theft. This is exploitation. This is modern-day colonization disguised as “development.”
But let me be clear: we will not accept it any longer. Under my leadership and the Dominica Reform Party government:
- No foreign company will build what Dominicans can build.
- All public projects will be awarded first to Dominican professionals.
- Every contract will be fully transparent, open to public scrutiny, and accountable to the people.
- Our money will stay in Dominica, circulating through our businesses, our banks, and our communities.
We never were, and are not a country that needs to be “discovered” by MMC Development. Dominica has always been alive with talent, skill, and vision. MMC Development did not discover it. Columbus did not discover it. And Roosevelt Skerrit did not build it. They came here to take what we already created.
To MMC Development, hear this: you did not build Dominica. You stole from Dominica. You line your pockets at the expense of our people, our families, and our future.
To Roosevelt Skerrit, hear this: your government’s legacy is not development – it is betrayal. You have allowed foreign interests to profit while Dominicans suffer. You have exported our wealth, ignored our professionals, and sold our country out from under our feet.
But we are awake now. Dominicans are awake. History is awake. And this time, I will take my seat at head of the table, and we will take our country back. Dominica will be built by Dominicans, for Dominicans, with Dominican talent.
- No more foreign exploitation.
- No more Columbus-style theft.
- No more Billions leaving our shores.
Our homes. Our jobs. Our money. Our future.
Dominica belongs to Dominicans. And we will build it ourselves – stronger, prouder, and free from foreign plunder. Enough is enough. The era of extraction is over. The era of Dominican pride begins today.
