Press Conference with Prime Minister of the Goverment of Dominica Hon Roosevelt Skerrit

Thank you. Morning. It's a wonderful day to be alive. I want to say good morning to the members of the media, my colleagues, senior public officers, fellow Dominicans. This morning I wish to provide an update on several matters of national importance. The construction of the international airport continues to advance; earthworks and culvert construction are about 78% complete, runway and taxiway construction is 60% complete, and progress is being made on the terminal, cargo facility, air traffic control tower, fuel farms, and other infrastructure. All aggregate extraction and processing are within the framework of laws and regulations; approvals have been granted for the Stonefield aggregate site and crushing plant on May 20, 2026. There is no mining operation or plans for copper mining; the quarry is solely for construction aggregate. The airport is one of the most transformative projects in our history, creating employment and stimulating economic activity. Regarding geothermal, the power plant is in commissioning phase. Dominica is the first in the region to bring geothermal onto the national grid. We acknowledge the inconvenience of outages, but they are part of the teething process. Once complete, we will have lower electricity rates and greater reliability. Since generation began in March, technical issues have been identified and resolved. Commissioning is also underway for the substation, transmission line, and battery storage. I want to highlight the Dominica Community Resilience Enhancement Project, Domfric, a $70.2 million investment benefiting over 8,000 people in eight communities, including 520 farmers and agro-processors. The government is also working on two proposals totaling $187 million for slope failures. We held budget consultations for the 2026–2027 national budget; we are preparing it at a time of global uncertainty, balancing prudence with compassion. On the citizenship by investment program, we will require successful applicants to visit Dominica in person to receive their passport. Strengthening CBI is a regional reality. As the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season begins, I encourage every Dominican to prepare. I will now invite the honorable Minister of Health for a presentation. Thank you so much.

Regarding the travel advisory, there is no need to do so at this time. On Cuba, we acknowledge the challenges; our students continue to attend university and we are keeping them there as long as practical. Regarding the visa denial, I cannot comment on specific circumstances; I respect the US national interest. We continue to engage with the US weekly on the review of the ban. The Secretary of State indicated around June there would be a review. We believe there was no justification for the ban and hope for a favorable revisitation. Thank you so much.

The focus should be on confirmation and registration. People must go and confirm. When elections are called, they are called. On electoral observers, we will decide when elections are called. The country should not preoccupy itself with elections. Regarding the grammar school, the developers will be responsible for reconstruction. An independent report was commissioned with recommendations.

Yeah, first question. So, you said it's very responsible the second question. I like that. Your follow-up question to that?

But but when you will... But but where will we serve this government for 15 years? Mr. Jagdeo called election; nobody knew. I can't tell you whether it's in July or August or November. But it will be at some point. On a more serious note, the country should focus on confirmation. Electoral reform is a 15-year debate; parliament unanimously supported the legislation. The grammar school: the developers are responsible; new designs are being formulated. An independent report was done.

We recognize the rise in petroleum prices is due to the Iran conflict. The price increased about 50% in the US. In Dominica, we have a transparent review every three weeks. The price went up after the war but has since decreased slightly. If it reaches a particular level, we will intervene to cushion the impact. We subsidized the pump price during COVID. Since 2009, LPG has no customs or excise tax, so the government subsidizes it. We have also removed VAT and import duties on many items, losing over $12 million in the first six months, extended to July. We are balancing responsiveness with fiscal responsibility. Regarding DASPA, the board will identify a CEO; no permanent replacement yet. Losing Ian Pinard was a loss. On Windsor Park, the lights are up and tested; additional works are needed, and certification should occur later this month.

Official handover. I want to say publicly to the Minister of Sports and the stadium committee, I do not want any telecommunication company placing any equipment on the lights. Okay? Because that's the cause of lights collapsing during the hurricane. They placed some equipment on the lights. The stuff wasn't designed for this, and it affected the balance, and it toppled the antennas. I don't want anybody putting anything on that $13 million lights, my brother. So, I'm making this public so that everyone understands. No one can say they didn't know, they didn't hear. I'm saying it publicly so that every Dominican can hear and can tell them when they see them.

Yeah, before the end of this month. I've been told by June, but you know, sometimes June can be July. So, I have to be careful to say a precise date. But certainly the lights are up and functioning properly. And I think by and large people are satisfied with the quality. This is what I've heard from independent people.

This is Skerrit. Yeah. Well, on the track and field, since you last spoke, a broad-based committee was appointed to oversee the implementation of this project. The Minister of Sports continues to be in touch with the Athletics Association and its international associate with regards to their part of the financing of the athletic track, because they're financing a limited portion of it. So, that has been understood, and they're working out the final details of that understanding with the Minister of Sports. Obviously, it is not the Minister of Sports who will contract, it is the entity that will contract with contractors. They've already identified a contractor to supply and install this facility. Our responsibility is to level the area. We have identified some 11 plus acres of land, and the cabinet has in fact taken a decision on the acquisition of this land where this track will be placed at Point Round. So, with the master plan, there was a first conceptual drawing, the presentation was made to the cabinet, and my hope is that the committee that has been recently appointed can engage the other stakeholders and share with them the perspective and get some feedback towards the finalization of that master plan. We've also gotten some very good advice from the aquatic association in Dominica, who have given us some very good advice and we've taken that on board, which would certainly even reduce the cost of the facility for the streamers and so on. So, there's very good advice coming around, all of which have been incorporated in the design master plan. And of course we will need to go back to them to show them what has been developed to see whether it reflects that which they have suggested in the consultative process. Okay? I'm hoping that the Minister of Sport can have a public engagement on this so that the country knows where we are, what's outstanding, how we proceed in this situation.

If you guys are CARICOM delegates, we'll see. I'll be at CARICOM to let you know what happened. What can I say? You know, sometimes you realize that there's some things better said in a closed room. So, I would prefer to approach this thing that way. So we'll see how it goes. The chairman and incoming chairman will advise the Caribbean community on what the discussions and conclusions will be, but we'll look forward to this meeting. I think the reality is there are so many things confronting this world and CARICOM. And I think CARICOM needs to assign some time to discuss the things that really matter to the people of the region. There are so many challenges we are experiencing with the health of the Caribbean, the impact of climate change, the geopolitics of the world and how it's affecting every single person in our society. The need to have systems in place to create more jobs and more opportunities for people in our region. Education reform within the region, skills development. There are so many things that we trade among ourselves. How can we enhance trade? How can our fishermen sell fish in the other Caribbean countries? How can our farmers sell more produce to our region and import less from outside the region? There are a lot of things that Caribbean people would like us to deal with. I'm hoping that with the time we have, we can focus on this, and when we come out of this meeting and we have a press conference, the content doesn't sound like it's two different Caribbeans we're living in. The content must reflect the realities of our people. I'm hoping that we can focus our attention and our skills and talents and commitment to these crucial issues confronting the region. So, we look forward to the discussions. We've had more contentious issues at CARICOM and we have come out of this. So, I would caution us in the region against focusing too much on that. That's a secondary issue if you ask me. There are more crucial and critical issues confronting us. I think it's better for the Caribbean to give us advice as to what are the things that they want us to discuss in St. Lucia, and what are they looking forward to coming out of St. Lucia? I think this is where the question is better placed, so that we go discuss the people's issues, the real issues confronting people.

So, the question, the reality is that when it comes to summertime, there's always a view by hotels and airlines that that's time to repair the hotels or make improvements to the properties. The hotels in the Caribbean, some of them close for the entire month of September or August because you shift from one period to another, preparing for the winter season. That's the reality of it. So, it is left to us now to better position ourselves to get more people coming in and to be more welcoming and ensure that we can sustain these things going forward. So, you'll see the Americans sometimes they have daily flights, sometimes they have two flights per day, depending on the period of the year. But what I believe we need to share with the world a little more is that we are an all-season tourism destination. All-season tourism destination. But the people in New York, the beaches are warm, they want to go to Long Island and go to the beach rather than come to the Caribbean. In Canada, they'll go to the lakes because it's one month of sun. So, you have those realities. Going forward, the airlines will take decisions based on their economic or financial numbers. What I will say to you is that some of the existing airlines are meeting with us and discussing with us how they can partner with us even more to fill those gaps. So, we are having discussions with them so that existing airlines can do more routes for us. Those discussions are a fluid situation. United Airlines is a very important connection for us. We thank them for their service; they've been exceptional. But there are some things that we have to address too, even the issue of the cost of fuel to the airlines. These are just a few things that the government has to look forward to addressing, especially going into the new international airport, and how we can reduce the cost of them coming to Dominica so that it can increase their profitability. And of course, we need more hotel rooms, yes.

The budget consultation takes a very broad engagement of different groups and individuals across the country. The reality is the record will show that it is under this government that there has ever been consultation on the budget. As a matter of fact, before I became Prime Minister of the country, not even the cabinet knew about the budget. The Minister of Finance would go to Parliament and read the budget, and the first time ministers would be hearing it. From all governments in the history of Dominica. We've not only been engaging the whole public service and the parliamentary group, but we also engage the public on a consistent basis to solicit ideas and suggestions. One doesn't have to be invited to a consultation to make a contribution. If someone has a genuine concern and genuine interest, there's nothing wrong in writing to the Minister of Finance and saying, 'Sir, I know the budget's coming up. We have some ideas, suggestions.' What do we really want in Dominica? Do we want a situation where we appear to be always in an acrimonious relationship? That once we see people who may not be otherwise supporters of the government, there's something untoward, something fishy. Are those who are raising those questions genuine about contributing to Dominica and working for Dominica? Was Mr. Linton your hero when he articulated a particular view? Now that he's come to a consultation, we have an issue with this. We have to be careful that we don't preach one thing, and when that which we're preaching is being practiced, then we have a problem with the practicing of it. This is a small country. I consult people every single day. I meet different groups of people from across Dominica every single day in my office, at restaurants, at the residence, at my home in Vegas, in the villages, by telephone, a wide cross-section of people across the political spectrum, the economic spectrum, the religious spectrum. We've been engaging people. If somebody felt that they should have been invited, going around and bellyaching about not being invited is not a solution. If you feel you have something substantial to say, nothing prevents you from making a call and saying, 'Boss, I wasn't invited, but I have some ideas from my organization or myself personally. Here's what I'm recommending.' This is how we need to approach the situation. The issue of electoral reform and all this talk about political interference, I'm not sure if I want to get involved in that kind of discussion at this time. My advice to people is that all energies and all resources should be focused on getting the electoral reform done. Trying to undermine the process by all kinds of surreptitious and blatant means is not going to help the process, my brother. This is 15 years of talking about electoral reform. Let's move on. There's nobody I am aware of who has gone to any confirmation center who has been denied an application. The commission is going out on Sundays to communities. They were there yesterday. Give some people money to pay the buses to come and get the birth certificate in town, or go for it for them yourself. Let's transport people. Let's give our staff the day off, half a day, like we do at election time. Go and confirm. All the private sectors should be giving people 2 hours, 3 hours to go to the villages to confirm. That's what we should be doing. To talk about confidence and decent confidence in that, to me it is a smokescreen to other things. I don't have the time to get involved in those things, to be honest with you. We've done our part. We have provided the resources to the commission. We passed the legislation in parliament. It's out of my hands. We have to advance the process and get people to confirm. That will be my response to your question.

Well, who does not have confidence in the system? Who? People must be able to speak on behalf of themselves. Who? I represent more people than anybody else. So, speaking for who? Go and confirm. What I do as a responsible leader of my party, I coordinate the party efforts to get them confirmed. I haven't delegated that responsibility. My members of parliament and the agents of the party, we go there, lots of volunteers out there who are working and moving on, speaking to people and encouraging people. For me, I encourage everybody irrespective of who you are, who you've supported, who you've not supported in this country. Yeah, sure. Go right ahead.

Well, you should ask your lawyer what it is. The government gives money to your house. I didn't have to pay for. All right? In most countries, this would remain the property of the state until the person dies and it's passed on to somebody else. This government has taken an extraordinary decision to facilitate Dominican citizens who have received a home at no charge to them a title. We have gone further and brought in an attorney to specifically give attention to this process. There has been good diligence. The cabinet has approved a number of them. Just this week in cabinet, we approved a lot of 15 or 16 processes. Progress is being made. It's interesting, you know, Mark. The same lawyers who were the ones who were saying the government gave you a house and no title, now that the people are getting their title, they're telling the same people do not sign the document to receive the title. All of them were going around saying we fooled the people. Same thing they were saying when I said to people up in the Savannah and Jubic that we will build homes for them. People questioned the truthfulness of my commitment. Then when we started building the homes, they said, 'Oh, where are you getting the money? You won't finish. The money is going to stop. You can't finish that. It's too big a project.' It was completed by the grace of God. And then we said to them in all parts of the country that we will grant you titles. All this scary line that never happened. And then every time they get an opportunity to speak political nonsense, they say, 'Oh, no titles for them. Where is your title? They give you a house. It's not yours. They're going to put you outside.' Now that the people are getting their titles, which you have to sign as an acknowledgement to the government system so the process is completed, it has gone through the process in law. And then you sign acknowledging the documentation. Once you sign, it brings to an end the government's responsibility. The title now belongs to you in an undisputed manner, protected by the provisions of the constitution. That is your property that you can bequeath to your children. Now the government is keeping to its promise to the people of Dominica. And some stupid lawyer telling them, 'Don't sign.' Come on. 'Don't sign what?' Have you seen the document that you would not sign? The document says, 'I receive from the government of Dominica a title in my name.' Don't sign that? Why don't they sign it? Anybody is free to go and consult a lawyer if they wish. But if you are giving somebody advice, you must have the documentation before you to know whether or not the advice you are giving makes legal sense or even common sense. We must stop using political gimmicks in this country to confuse the people and deny them of opportunities. This is something happening with the electoral reform. Instead of political leaders and people in the community encouraging people to go and confirm, they are creating confusion in their minds and dissuading them from going to confirm. And then they will say the system was wrong, political interference, they have no confidence in this, no confidence in that. Let us move forward in this country. Everything that we do, we have something to do. You build an airport, they want to stop it. You build a marina, they want to stop it. You build a hotel, they want to stop it. You build a road, they want to stop it. You build a country in the garden, they want to stop it. You build a library and a recording studio and a place where children can go and dance ballet and local dances, they stop it. Everything that we want to do, they want to stop it. And then we go somewhere and say, 'Well, Dominica should have that. Dominica should have this.' But talk about things we deny.

And by the way, my response is not directed at you, eh? Okay, so I just wanted to...

Yeah.

On the question of the Arawak and culture. As promised, I met with the group of individuals who wrote to me: Mrs. Anita Bully, Mr. Raymond Lawrence, Mr. Jackson, and Miss Augustus. I met with them and we had some very constructive discussions, a very useful engagement. It has brought the government's perspective to a better appreciation of what we need to do where that aspect of culture is concerned. It was a very passionate engagement. What we have agreed is that that group, along with others, will serve as an oversight working group to oversee the implementation of certain actions and policies of the government in respect to culture. We have agreed that we will proceed with the refurbishment and renovations of the Arawak, while we also look at the construction of additional facilities. Of course, the Chinese government has made a commitment to build a cultural center for Dominica. So, we will proceed with that. I intend to pay a visit to the site with them so that we can have an appreciation of how we're going to move forward. We proceeded with the renovation and refurbishment based on the advice of these highly experienced and trained persons, the foremost people in the country on culture. So, if they tell me that, I can't do otherwise. I agree with them on that position. I want to thank them publicly for their sincerity. I think this is how we have to operate. We see a problem in society, something that the government is not doing that it should be doing, or something that the government is doing that you're happy about, write to us. We'll respond. We'll meet with you. We'll hear from you. We will not always agree, but at least we can have a conversation. At least you can get an opportunity to express yourself. Government does not have to agree or disagree with you, but you reach out, we will meet. I'm happy that we met with them, and I think we all left the meeting in a better frame of mind than when we came. The country is better off for that. The administrative building in Portsmouth, I met with the mayor earlier this year, and we discussed this. They have indicated that this continues to be a priority for them and for Portsmouth. We in the government will have to discuss the financing of it. At the time, we were going to do it under the CDB program. It is an absolutely important project. There's no question about it. I think that we have to move ahead. I asked my advisors on the financing, and they'll discuss it with the Minister of Finance in the cabinet room. We have to move ahead with this administrative building. We can't have all government services scattered all over Portsmouth. In the second decade of the 21st century, that has to be addressed in an effective manner. I'm disappointed that it was not done back then. We had developed a wonderful plan. The architecture was fitting for our Portsmouth. But with different things happening, COVID, and not a conclusive agreement on what the design should look like, we lost a lot of time. Some people say you want a modern building, others say classical, some say Mediterranean. We wasted a lot of time on that consultative period, and we missed the boat, unfortunately. But we are back on it, and certainly it is a project that you will see coming on stream. I ask a question on... interesting that you guys mentioned Lennox Linton's name. You've never mentioned Thompson Fontaine's name.

You mentioned his name?

But in passing? Oh, why was he not invited? But there was no substantive question. Okay, I take that. The reality is, Curtis, I tell people, I got into politics, my brother, with no axe to grind. There's nobody my age who has made more sacrifices in politics than I have. I came to serve the country. I didn't come to be a minister, I didn't come to be a prime minister. I came to serve the country. I came to make a contribution to my constituency, to the people in Vegas, Penville, and Tibo, and to Dominica. I went to school. I didn't get any money from the government. I came back, I went to teach at PSS and then State College. So, I have no political axe to grind. I don't hold any grudge or ill feeling towards anybody. In politics, you realize my politics, I never attack people. I will always respond. But when I respond, and as soon as I respond, only once, my brother, it can be hard-hitting. I am not averse to anybody expressing their displeasure with the government or what they do or don't like. People have a right to express themselves. It may be the wrong way, the wrong language. This is why I've always maintained that this thing called different political parties in these small countries confuses people as well. If I had my way in Dominica, I would have embedded in the constitution that the country should always maintain a government of national unity. From a national unity that goes to parliament and approves a national development plan for the country, and it becomes an act of parliament. For it to be changed, you have to go back to parliament. So, we utilize the skills and talents available to us for the greater good of the country. But with an important caveat, that those who are coming forward to offer themselves must do so sincerely and with the national interest of Dominica, not selfish reasons. With the greater good of the country. If we are to really achieve our desired objectives, what do you want Dominica to be like? We cannot continue fighting ourselves. We'll fight among ourselves as indigenous Dominicans, and others will come and take the bone from us, and we'll all be left hungry because we're fighting ourselves. Rather than working together to build this country, to expand its economic fortunes, and everybody will benefit from what's happening in the country. Anybody can fit into that rubric. It is left for the individual to make a determination. If Mr. Linton or anybody has a suggestion or idea and they want to put it forward to the country, and it makes sense, why should we say no to it? If it makes sense and is presented in good faith. Trying to get me and the little party out of government is not the solution to anybody's challenge. It is for us to unite the country. That will be to the benefit of everybody. We're all working together for the greater good of the country. Each of us must understand that we cannot always get our way, because this is a country that belongs to everybody. I think that we have to be careful that we don't continue to give our children and succeeding generations the impression that we cannot work together or we cannot agree to disagree. You've seen my style of politics in Dominica, where we embrace everybody. We've had the leader of the Freedom Party join the Labour Party. We've had the deputy leader of the Dominica Workers Party join the Labour Party. We've had strident opposition characters come and be candidates for the party. This is not about me or about the Labour Party. It's about the country. I've always maintained publicly that the Labour Party doesn't have a monopoly on ideas. We don't believe that we are the only ones to know what Dominica needs and what we need to do to solve Dominica's problems. This is why we've always adopted a very engaging consultative process. 90% to 95% of the consultations I do are not visible to the Dominican public. It's not about a show. No cameras, no video recording. I have a conversation, and I write what everybody says myself, because I want to process what people are saying and reflect on it. I can tell you that the consultations we've been having the last few days and weeks, a number of very progressive policy suggestions have come up. They will find themselves in the budget address. They must find themselves in the budget address. Not in the language that the people suggested, but they have to find themselves in the budget address. The budget has to reflect the aspirations of the people of Dominica. At the next election, after the next election, you will certainly see a government of national unity.

Thank you. So, we take note of all those points. Of course, you may say some are right, but I want to thank you very much. The date for the budget will be set soon, and we'll inform the country of that. But just to say, my final point is... Please go ahead.

Same to you, my friend.

Thank you, everybody.