Even as
Dominica is going through the moment of cleansing and possibly retribution, there
are many still willing to sacrifice social and moral values for material gain.
We are still witnessing religious leaders making public pronouncements that
conveniently pursuit their political objectives or partisan biases. We continue
to witness the sacrificing of rectitude on the altar of greed and selfishness-
men and women of the cloth have sold themselves for the material benefits that come
from singing the praises of Roosevelt Skerrit. The same religious leaders who silently acknowledge the blasphemous
comparisons made between Jesus Christ and Skerrit .
During the 2017
Independence day celebration the Vice President of the Dominica Association of
Evangelical Churches Pastor Arlington Wilson, declared PM Roosevelt Skerrit as”
the world’s greatest beggar.” In
ordinary circumstances the title of the World’s Greatest Beggar” would not be
flattering but Pastor Wilson is no doubt an unapologetic cheer leader of a flagrantly corrupt and amoral prime minister.
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| Pastor Ka Fou Dollar Or Pastor ka fou cletais |
After such a
bold and sycophantic statement by Pastor Wilson, the Ministry Of Education
personnel must now contemplate whether or not they can take hardline decisions against
an absolute cheer leader of PM Skerrit. We are hearing whispers that it may now
be even more difficult for the education personnel to pry Pastor Arlington
Wilson out of the school/shelter in Portsmouth.
We understand
that the Ministry of Education has issued an eviction notice to the occupants of
the Public Schools in Portsmouth- the
Roosevelt Douglas Primary School (RDPS) and the Portsmouth Secondary (PSS).
The truth is ,many of the occupants have nowhere to go and we sincerely hope
that the situation improves for the people at the shelters , sooner than later. We are aware however that some
of the occupants do have the option of returning to their homes but they will
not vacate the shelters because the shelter provides a relative degree of luxury.
Our sources are
telling us that some of the education officers are angered by the fact that in
spite of having his house repaired and fully covered, Pastor Wilson will not to
leave the shelter and it is not because he is trying to convert the people at
the shelter to born again Christianity. We have been told that Pastor Wilson and a few others who are able to
return to their private homes will not leave because they are able to enjoy the
amenities at the school(shelter)- the cooling fans, washing
machines, refrigerators, cell phone charging privileges etc.
The situation
in Portsmouth is obviously a major embarrassment and some people are grumbling
but as expected, people are afraid to speak out on issues that matter. Anyone
who dare speak truth to power will get ostracized and victimized, particularly in
a place like Portsmouth. In fact the people of Portsmouth are conspicuously
silent on the Ross University departure although it is now wide spread
knowledge that Ross University’s withdrawal had more to do with the
incompetence of the Roosevelt Skerrit administration.
We have learned
that the principal of the RDPS has made several attempts to have the school
restored and ready for the returning students but his efforts have failed. We
are now hearing that the government is asking the St Johns Primary School to make
adjustments to their schedule so that they could share their facility with the staff
and students of the RDPS. While this may be a good idea at the moment, it is
inexcusable that the government did not make the situation at PSS and RDPS a
priority. It must be noted that St John’s Primary School facility which is a
private institution was able to repaired their facility and have it ready for the
students. It is also noteworthy that the RDPS was not a designated hurricane
shelter- the assigned shelter for the area is actually the Methodist church in Portsmouth.
In order to
rebuild Dominica and to restore the lives of so many in Dominica to include the
many folks at the shelters in Portsmouth, we must begin with the transformation
of our governance system. We trust that now is the time to question the
wasteful spending and gross misappropriation of public funds and the millions
possibly billions spent on election
campaign, scam hotel construction , expensive trips, lavish travels, and offshore accounts airport naming
party, sousay sel party, bogus small business funding, passport “zazimozaye.” Corruption is not a victimless
crime and the situation at the shelters in Portsmouth is a prime example and measure of how
corruption hurts.
The rebuilding
process must be based on combating corruption and strict adherence to ethical
standards in the public service. A country without good people being consistently good
cannot be a good nation. As we jettison our moral compass just to appease one
man and his minions ,we must bear in mind that with the lack of morality there
are real consequences – consequences capable of pulverizing an entire nation.
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