Is Dominica experiencing difficulties accessing CBI funds? Last week we were very reliably informed that the Kempinski Hotel project had not paid its workers for two consecutive fortnights. We spoke to several employees to include a few Haitians who were quite upset when their employers were asking them to come to work even after not being paid for an entire month.
We cannot confirm that the problem at the Kempinski is related to a bottleneck in the flow of the CBI funds however we became even more concerned when yesterday Thursday, May 16, the Anichi Hotel project laid off most of its employees on the construction site. We understand that the laid off employees were told that the reason for the layoffs is because their was a budget overun
The sudden layoff of the project employees at the Anichi Hotel construction site is cause for concern. We spoke to a few employees and they are very distraught particularly because none of them saw the layoffs coming. Many of the employees depended on this income to help with the hardship created by the massive loss of jobs since the Ross Departure
The sudden mass layoff at the Anichi construction site certainly does not suggest that the project has overrun its budget. On a project of this sort the project management should have had advance knowledge of the cost trends and would have taken mitigating action for cost control. Although the cost cutting measures could include a reduction in manpower the sudden mass layoff of the labor force suggest that at this point there is no money to cover the labor cost and without the entire labor force ultimately the project is forced to a halt.
It is now the responsibility of the official media to find out from the government whether the sudden layoff at the Anichi Hotel site and the nonpayment of salaries at the Kempinski Hotel is merely coincidental or is it that Dominica is still having difficulties accessing the CBI funds.
The layoff at the Anichi construction site will definitely exacerbate the mass unemployment and the dire economic situation created by the departure of Ross University from the Portsmouth area. The only question is - how much more are the people of Portsmouth willing to endure ?
I believe you should have gotten your facts first before printing anything and lnow we have to wait for you to get the facts, research facts then print. Thank you. Blessings
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