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| Post Maria Banana Crop going to waste |
In spite of the government’s attempt to
marginalize the contribution of Ross University to the overall economy of Dominica,
the people are well aware that it is important to prepare for the imminent
economic crush and presumably a difficult and prolonged recovery process. Many believe that the real
grind will begin in a few months, when personal reserves have been depleted and
public funds can no longer support the government’s social programs, particularly the overburdened and dysfunctional NEP program. Others believe
that the grinding has already begun and though not publicly displayed or articulated there is
agony among the people.
We take no comfort nor joy in talking about
the struggles of a people who have invested in one way or another around the
Ross University system. We come with sincere empathy and solidarity. Our intension is to elicit or provoke absolute
objection to the continuous attempt by the government operatives to propagate lies and illusions while a
people are hurting and trying to pick up the broken pieces and the endurance of a total let down by a government selected to serve the people's interest.
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| Food Court At Ross -Pre Maria |
As we traverse the areas within the Ross
University’s cone of influence, we are learning that even with the promise by
government to assist there is great consternation among the people. We are learning that
small apartment owners who are indebted to financial institutions are already under pressure and crying out for help. We were also reliably informed that a particular
landlord in the Picard area, one of the most fervent supporter and “sutiwere”
of PM Skerrit and the Dominica Labor Party government has been lamenting and
wondering how is he going to pay the bank over $15000 per month. What is most
intriguing about this particular individual is that two weeks before the
government was forced to tell the people that Ross would no longer operate in
Dominica, this particular gentleman and friend of the prime minister went on a
Skerrit promotional campaign with the plot to convince people on social media
that great things are happening in Dominica. We gather that it was just another Parry
Bellot and Clarence Christian type propaganda and distraction mechanism. The
gentleman tried convincing social media that with the ongoing construction of
the hotel that over 400 hundred jobs were created in Portsmouth and that the
long awaiting Morocco Hotel is about to unfold many more jobs in Portsmouth.All lies. One
has to wonder what did he know at the time since he was so focused on
misrepresenting job statistics in the Portsmouth area. Even in the midst of an
unprecedented economic disaster these Roosevelt Skerrit apologists find the
necessity to peddle fallacies and emptiness.
But this is what
we have come to expect from apologist of this Skerrit regime. Several months
before Hurricane Maria Clarence Christian tried to convince Dominicans that the turnover
in Portland Cement on the island was due to a vibrant economy but at the same time it is
alleged that he was having difficulties paying
his rent even while picking up small accounting contracts from the
government. What Clarence Christian would not mention is that the high turnover
in Portland Cement is because for many years now the government has resorted to
repairing roadways using Portland Cement concrete as opposed to Asphaltic Concrete.
As for Parry “Chemical Ali” Bellot we
will need a separate slot to deal with the mendacity of such a character.
With the exit of Ross University we all know that there are significant losses associated with the physical structures in the Picard area - the apartments, the restaurants, laundromats, pizza parlors, bars,
banking facilities, supermarkets etc. What may be easily underestimated are the micro businesses that have already been hit by the ROSSIT effect. We considered the Juice Man and his family business for example. Although we have not spoken to
him nor any member of his family our understanding is that the hard working juice man was once an
outstanding farmer but because of the calculated destruction of the
agricultural industry the gentleman reinvented himself and started a
successful juice business operating at the food court adjacent to Ross University campus. There is no doubt that the Juice man and his family
business have been severely impacted and we are left to wonder whether the
gentleman will have to go through another self-reinvention process.
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| Banana left for the birds |
A few years ago MiTC published a blogg on a young prolific farmer and businessman affectionately known as Farmer Ras Castle (.www.masinthecemetery.com/2016/09/three-cheers-for-ras-castle-farmer.html?m=1) Farmer Castle operates
a banana farm and a banana ripening facility. Like the juice man Farmer Castle's business
had been heavily dependent on the Ross University economy. He supplied
the supermarkets in and around Ross University with ripe bananas from his farm
and ripening facility. We must also add that although Ras Castle had been a
target of blatant political victimization by the DLP operatives, he remains the ultimate
patriot. Due to government’s neglect of the banana industry and the dismal failure to
secure reliable external markets for bananas produced on the island, Farmer Ras
Castle had been buying the bananas from the government pack house in the Long
House area of Portsmouth. He would ripen the bananas and then sell the fruit to the
local market. Now that Ross is gone Farmer Ras Castle and all the other small
banana farmers who were able to sell their bananas to the Long House pack house facility are already feeling the impact. We were able to visit a few
small farms and just the sight of ripe bananas rotting and falling off the
trees was indeed very difficult.
Our sources have indicated that the rotting
bananas on the trees got the attention of the Minister Of Trade, Ian
Douglas and at a meeting last week Ian asked the agriculture officer that the
news of the rotting bananas should be concealed since that sight of the roting bananas on the trees could “make them look bad.” Too Late Ian MiTC Ka Twavaille.
Is that the lazy, incompetent,mal papaye, toujour sue parlrep. Ian Douglass?? Just asking.
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