ROSEAU, Dominica – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says Dominica will soon sign a US$75 million agreement with a foreign investor for the construction of a new cruise village in the country.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit speaking at public meeting of the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) on Tuesday night (CMC Photo)Speaking at a public meeting of the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) on Tuesday night ahead of the September 7 Roseau North by-election, Skerrit said that the investment will present opportunities for residents in Roseau North constituency.
“Very soon we will sign an agreement for the construction of a cruise village in the Roseau North constituency. The investors coming to invest some 75 million US dollars bringing in money from overseas into Dominican economy.
“That’s 75 million dollars which will be circulating in the economy of Dominica. But just see how much we are making out of cruise tourism and many people in Roseau North are direct beneficiaries of the cruise industry because they are vendors.”
Skerrit said that as a result of the investment, many more cruise ships and many more cruise passengers will come to Dominica providing for economic benefits for vendors “because more people will come and more people will buy from our vendors, more taxi operators will go out on tours, more tour guides will be there…”
Skerrit told supporters that a new school facility is also being constructed in the constituency will also advance skills training in the area.
“And of course as you know we are building a new school, a massive school, the Goodwill Secondary School. And what we have said we want to do in addition to housing the Goodwill Primary School, we want to transform the Goodwill Secondary School into a centre of excellence for technical vocational education to provide more for young men and women with skills that the economy needs.
The by-election follows the resignation on June 12 of former labour minister and parliamentary representative Miriam Blanchard over health issues.
The ruling party has named business executive Ashma McDougal as its candidate, while the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) is hoping that two-time parliamentary representative for the constituency, Daniel Lugay, will reverse the results of the last general election.
Sherman Boston is contesting the by-election as an independent candidate.
In the last general election held on December 6, 2019, Skerrit led the DLP to an 18-3 victory for a fifth consecutive victory after the opposition parties boycotted the polls in support of demands for electoral reform.
The by-election will be the first since the Dominica Parliament passed measures aimed at modernising the country’s electoral system.
