This response is prompted by the most recent publication of The Chronicle in Dominica, which reports on Roosevelt Skerrit’s address regarding visa‑free travel for Dominican Republic and Haitian nationals, and what his administration describes as a “worker shortage” strategy for Dominica.
I am writing to set the record straight and to expose the continued and deliberate falsehoods being advanced by Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration. These claims areno’t supported by facts, data, or lived reality. Instead, they form part of a broader pattern of misrepresentation designed to mislead our people, deflect responsibility for policy failures, and manipulate the political environment ahead of elections.
This will be a multi‑part series. There is far too much to unpack in a single piece – from unemployment data, to real‑world hiring experiences, to immigration and labour policy, and the broader implications for democracy and electoral integrity in Dominica.
Each part will focus on facts, evidence, and accountability, because the truth matters and Dominicans deserve nothing less.
Let me begin..
Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration state “The government of Dominica has taken its first concrete step towards addressing the country’s population decline and labor shortage,” and..
“In the hotel sector, they are saying they cannot get workers. Construction people are saying they cannot get construction workers. Every employer I meet in Dominica always tells me of a difficulty in getting workers.”
These statements are nothing more than outright, bald-faced lies. Dominica isn’t suffering from a lack of people willing to work; it is suffering from a lack of available jobs. This reality is clearly reflected in the unemployment data – data that Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration deliberately avoid discussing because it directly contradicts their narrative.
Dominica’s overall unemployment rate sits at approximately 15%, an alarmingly high figure for a small island economy with a limited population. Youth unemployment is even more severe, with estimates approaching a staggering 36%.
When compared regionally, the situation in Dominica becomes even more troubling:
- Jamaica: Unemployment Data States 3.3%
- Barbados: Unemployment Data States 7.5%
- Trinidad and Tobago: Unemployment Data States 4.8%
- Saint Lucia: Unemployment Data States 10.9%
Dominica’s unemployment rate is significantly higher than that of its regional peers, yet Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration continue to claim that employers “cannot find workers.” The numbers tell a very different and far more truthful story. There are plenty of people willing and able to work, but Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration have failed to create enough jobs to go around.
This situation is even more alarming given Dominica’s extremely small population. In a country with such a small labour force, an unemployment rate of 15% isn’t just high, it is economically devastating.
Every unemployed person represents a measurable loss in productivity, tax revenue, household stability, and long-term growth. In a small island state like Dominica, unemployment is felt far more intensely than in larger economies.
There is no buffer. There is no scale to absorb prolonged unemployment. High unemployment in our small population has accelerated emigration, deepens poverty, and hollows out entire sectors as our skilled and educated people are forced to leave simply to survive.
Real-life examples further expose the falsehood of Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration’s so-called “labour shortage” narrative. When the Ocean Oasis Hotel in Castle Comfort opened its hiring process, it reportedly received between 4,000 and 5,000 applications. That isn’t evidence of a labour shortage; it is undeniable proof of high unemployment and overwhelming demand for jobs.
Another example involves an individual highly educated in hospitality and tourism, with extensive industry experience. They have spent more than a year actively seeking employment, yet despite being qualified for multiple positions across hotels, restaurants, and even outside the broader tourism sector, they have been overlooked for countless roles – even positions far below the level their education and experience would warrant. They have not received a single job offer. Their résumé is repeatedly submitted and routinely ignored.
Similarly, a diaspora spouse with a diploma in Business Management and many years of hands-on experience running hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs has spent the better part of this year trying to secure employment in Dominica’s hotel and tourism sector – without success. Their formal education provided a strong foundation in business operations, financial management, and strategic planning, while their practical experience includes overseeing daily operations, managing staff, ensuring customer satisfaction, and handling all aspects of hospitality management.
Despite being highly qualified and capable of contributing immediately to the sector, they have not received a single offer. Not because they lack skills, education, or experience, but simply because they are a foreigner – highlighting how restrictive hiring practices continue to block competent and experienced talent from contributing to Dominica’s workforce.
When the hotel and tourism industry is willing to cast aside highly qualified, experienced talent in this way, it isn’t suffering from a worker shortage. Instead, it is facing an overabundance of people seeking employment, as Dominica’s high unemployment numbers clearly demonstrate.
This makes Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration’s claims of widespread labour shortages not just implausible, but entirely false. If Dominica truly lacked workers, the country’s unemployment numbers would be incredibly low – not alarmingly high, as the data clearly show. If there were a genuine shortage of workers, there would be an overabundance of jobs and no one to fill them. But that isn’t what a 15% unemployment rate indicates. What it actually shows is that a large portion of our population is actively seeking work, and there simply is no work to be found
This glaring contradiction is impossible to reconcile with reality and can only be explained by deliberate misrepresentation and political posturing. For over two decades, Roosevelt Skerrit has portrayed Dominica as begin desperate for workers while simultaneously failing to create meaningful employment opportunities for our people of this island. He has ignored qualified locals, overlooked skilled diaspora talent, and allowed restrictive hiring practices to persist – all while perpetuating a false narrative that designed to distract from his administration’s failures.
Roosevelt Skerrit is a compulsive liar and an opportunistic political predator—deliberately, repeatedly, and publicly spreading knowingly misleading information to protect his reputation and conceal the failures of his administration. He knows full well that Dominica’s unemployment numbers tell a very different story from the one he presents. Yet he continues to claim that employers “cannot find workers,” as if repeating the lie often enough will somehow make it true. This isn’t accidental miscommunication. This is Roosevelt Skerrit staging political theatre, designed to shield himself from accountability and distract the public from an administration that has consistently failed to create meaningful employment opportunities for Dominicans.
Roosevelt Skerrit’s claims are contradicted not only by the statistics 15% overall unemployment, 36% youth unemployment, and thousands of applications for single hotel positions – but also by lived reality. Highly qualified professionals, both local and diaspora, are systematically ignored, not because they lack skill or experience, but because they don’t fit the narrow corridors of favour and access maintained by his administration.
This is the pattern of a politician more concerned with optics than substance. He will stand before a few onlookers and tell stories that sound convincing – if you don’t fact-check him. He invokes “labour shortages” to justify policies that bring in foreign workers, while turning a blind eye to the skilled, qualified, and willing workers already living in Dominica.
Make no mistake: this is deliberate deception. Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration are attempting to rewrite reality for political gain, using fabricated narratives to justify policy failures, mismanagement, and nepotistic practices. Every time Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration speak about a “lack of workers,” he ignores the thousands of Dominicans and diaspora spouses who want to work, are ready to work, and are systematically prevented from working.
The numbers are undeniable. The experiences are undeniable. Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration’s version of the story is entirely fabricated. He has built a political career on repeating falsehoods, avoiding accountability, and manipulating public perception. His claims of worker shortages are merely the latest chapter in a long history of lies, misrepresentation, and failed leadership.
Dominicans deserve the truth. They deserve leaders who confront reality, not invent it. Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration may hope the public does not fact-check – but the facts are clear, unambiguous, and damning. The numbers don’t lie. Roosevelt Skerrit and his administration do.
continue…
