The sharks can smell that Dominica Labour Party blood in the water, and they are circling what remains of Roosevelt Skeritt’s political career.
Just look at what we witnessed the other day, Joseph Isaac stood before the country, begging the youth of Dominica to come home and please help “rebuild the nation.” BEGGING!!!
So now let us talk about what that moment really was about. It was a desperate message being delivered on behalf of Roosevelt Skerrit. The same Roosevelt Skerrit who now hides behind that oversized desk of insecurities, in his office, that desk has become the symbol of everything that is wrong with Roosevelt Skerrit and his Dominica Labour Party today.
- A massive desk.
- A closed office door.
- Hand-pick interviewers.
- And a world leader who is increasingly hiding more every day, from our people whose lives are shaped by the poor decisions made by him, behind his oversized desk.
Instead of standing in front of our people, our nation and explaining why an entire generation felt forced to leave the island, Roosevelt Skerrit now sends others to do the talking. And that is how we ended up with Joseph Isaac standing on a stage, begging Dominica’s youth to return home.
But begging them to come back is not leadership. Leadership would have been making sure they never had left in the first place.
For over two decades, Roosevelt Skerrit has told Dominicans that everything was improving. He speaks about opportunity, prosperity, and growth. Yet the reality tells a different story. Thousands of young Dominicans leave the country each year in search of opportunity elsewhere.
And now the very person and party responsible for that reality are BEGGING those same young people to return home and help fix it. The truth has finally become harder to hide.
And what does Roosevelt Skerrit offer for them to return to?
- Record levels of poverty.
- Record levels of persistent unemployment.
- An economy heavily dependent on foreign loans.
- An education system that he admits has failed under his leadership.
- No universal healthcare, let alone any functioning healthcare system.
- Murders and drugs are taking over our island.
- Taxes that are higher than in North America.
- Cost of living (food and services) is the same as living in North America, yet we make less than 1/10 of their income.
- Fees on everything, because he can not get foreign investors.
- Seniors who try to figure out how to live on minimal social security each month after decades of squandering.
- Unaccounted hundreds of millions in funds from the CBI program that never found its way to our communities.
- Hundreds of millions in foreign aid after Maria, which again never made its way to our communities.
- Accepting a scholarship for their son Demerti, while having 5 government salaries every month, instead of offering it to a child and family that need it.
- Wear lavish and expensive clothing in plain sight without fear, while we struggle to clothe ourselves and our children.
- An annual budget that continues to shrink every year by hundreds of millions.
- Government services like healthcare, garbage pick up, general cleaning and maintenance are constantly lacking.
- Literally no stay-over tourism 50 weeks a year.
- Uses government funds to gift specific individuals things such as fishing boats, housing materials, and Christmas Hams.
- The endless scandals that plague Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration.
- And most devastating of all, a steady exodus of our young people. Those who see more opportunity abroad than at home are not progressing. That is an indictment.
Shall I go on?
For over two decades, our young people of Dominica have been leaving. Not because they wanted to abandon their country, but because they were forced to look elsewhere for opportunity, stability, and a future.
Entire generations packed their bags and left. But instead, Roosevelt Skerrit and the Dominica Labour Party try to convince us that everything is wonderful, while asking why our young people are leaving and not returning.
That is the question nobody on that stage wants to answer.
Instead, we all watched Joseph Isaac, like a beaten dog, deliver a message that sounded less like a vision for the future and more like an admission that something has gone terribly wrong within his own party and leadership.
Because when a government that has been in power for over two decades suddenly starts begging its youth to return, it tells you one thing – the consequences of their policies are finally impossible to ignore. Our people are not blind. Our young people are not stupid; everyone sees what is happening.
The Dominica Labour Party political machine that once looked untouchable is now crumbling. The narrative is cracking. The excuses have run out. The political tide is shifting.
And like it or not, the era of Roosevelt Skerrit is approaching its final chapter. After more than twenty years in power. Dominicans are beginning to demand something different. The sharks can smell the blood in the water, and the days of political invincibility are coming to an end.
