A View of The Point Round Location |
Since 2004 Dominicans
have been bombarded with lies on matters related to the construction of an
international airport. As recently as April of 2017 the Prime Minister
Roosevelt Skerrit told a town hall gathering in Cottage that he has seen the recent
reports for the international airport and that he is comforted that the
government will deliver on its promise. We are still wondering whether the
congenital liar is referring to the report that was presented on July 31, 2017 for the improvement of Meleville Hall or was he alluding to the report that was promised in 2013, prior to the general elections.
We are also
surprised by the fact that with this elevated rhetoric on the international
airport, the Prime Minister will not provide any details on his latest plans
for the international airport. The people have been trying to figure out the
location for the DLP airport proposal and whether or not the DLP government will
swallow its foolish pride and continue with the plans that the UWP administration
had in place for the construction of the new airport? If the PM is happy with
the report that he has seen why not inform the nation of the location/site that is
under consideration. After all It is the
people’s right to be part of the planning process. But then again we are dealing with da government that rule by demagoguery.
It is also perplexing
that Roosevelt Skerrit the self-proclaimed master negotiator now wants to build
Dominica’s international airport facility out of a piggy bank,even after 17
years of promises and billions of dollars made in passport revenues. In the 2017/2018
budget presentation, the PM announced that every month $5 Million dollars will
be placed in the piggy bank for the funding of the airport construction. That
$5 Million is expected to come from the CBI revenues. In reality the
government of Dominica will have to sell more than 3000 passports in order to completely
fund the construction of the international airport.
After seventeen
years of wasted opportunities, the misuse and abuse of the passport revenues, the
people of Dominica must now question their government’s priorities and motives.
Thousands of passports are given to private entities to build hotels and the
government is now proposing that it will build Dominica's most critical transportation facility from a “cash
Pan/ piggy bank" type arrangement. What is even more disturbing is the fact that
the Airport Piggy Bank enterprise is being implemented just when the passport
glory days are done; passport sales are beginning to dwindle and banks are
becoming increasingly leery of dealing with passport selling transactions.
Melville Hall Upgrade Presentation |
It is also worth
noting that for the first time in 15 years, an international airport is
promised outside the euphoric environment of an election campaign. In fact most people
were convinced that the new round of airport rhetoric was an indication of an
upcoming snap election -a plan that may have emanated from the diplomatic passport
embarrassment. Now that the snap election seems like a ruse, the question is- why are we hearing about an international
airport with such urgency and desperation when (1) just a few years ago Night
Landing was the only vehicle to the promise land and (2) the government is currently
spending a few million dollars renovating Melleville Hall/Douglas Charles
airport?
Our sources
have told us that the reason Roosevelt Skerrit has elevated his antics on the
international airport proposal is that one of the hotel developers has been
expressing outrage and consternation regarding the government’s failure to honor an
agreement to have an international airport to compliment the major hotel operation.
We understand that the hotel developer agreed to venture into the hotel development based on the promise that an international airport would be constructed in the Point Round area of Portsmouth. Needless to say the hotel is in construction and there is no sign of an international airport in Point Round or anywhere else in Dominica.
We understand that the hotel developer agreed to venture into the hotel development based on the promise that an international airport would be constructed in the Point Round area of Portsmouth. Needless to say the hotel is in construction and there is no sign of an international airport in Point Round or anywhere else in Dominica.
Is the Point Round commitment turning
out to be an embarrassment to PM Roosevelt Skerrit or did he just blow smoke up
the developer’s rectum? We are not sure but previous aviation and engineering
studies had concluded that the Point
Round site is unsuitable for the development of an international airport. In
fact during the Freedom Party administration the Compton site was selected and
during the UWP administration, the professionals recommended the Londonderry
estate area as the next suitable site.
So, is PM
Skerrit’s antsy international airport plans just an attempt to appease the
vexed hotel developer or is it just another one of the conman’s attempt to
repair the damages done by his international diplomatic passport racketeering
operation?
The Point Round embarrassment may not be the only reason for the international airport chatter.There is no doubt that while PM Roosevelt Skerrit and his cronies have become overnight multimillionaires, his government has failed to provide a viable economic environment for the people-the people were severely impoverished. The Roosevelt Skerrit government is beginning to sense the growing anger of a people fed up with the lies, the ineptness and the reprobation conduct of Roosevelt Skerrit and his cronies and the international airport rhetoric in the absence of an election campaign may be just another attempt to quell the rising storm.
The Point Round embarrassment may not be the only reason for the international airport chatter.There is no doubt that while PM Roosevelt Skerrit and his cronies have become overnight multimillionaires, his government has failed to provide a viable economic environment for the people-the people were severely impoverished. The Roosevelt Skerrit government is beginning to sense the growing anger of a people fed up with the lies, the ineptness and the reprobation conduct of Roosevelt Skerrit and his cronies and the international airport rhetoric in the absence of an election campaign may be just another attempt to quell the rising storm.
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