The Peoples Democratic Movement, Commonwealth of Dominica (PDM)

PDM Press Statements

Opening Remarks delivered at Press Conference held on the 14th day of May 2009 at the Garraway Hotel on the occasion of the opening of the Party’s Headquarters on 42 Upper Lane, Roseau.

Let me as Leader of the P.D.M also welcome you, the media, to this inaugural, the first Press Conference to be held by our Party, the newest political movement to occupy its own space on the political and electoral horizon of our country. We thank you for coming. Let me welcome listeners on Kiari radio to this event. We thank you for listening. We would have liked to also carry the event live on Q95, but that was not possible. It is our hope that the event will be re-broadcast there very soon.

Sisters and brothers, we could have called a Press Conference a long time ago. We could have done so in April 2007 when we launched the Movement at our first Delegates Congress in Colihaut. But we did not want to proceed in the same old way. We did not want to simply collect a group called founding members; elect an Executive from among them; choose a Party name, a motto and a symbol; write up a constitution; and then quickly call a Press Conference to announce the existence of a new political party.

We didn’t want to do it that way. Instead, we wanted to do some deep thinking and analysis about the economic and social situation facing the country; impart political education among the electorate; build some party structures on the ground; and interact with various sections of the population so as to get a clearer picture of what needs to be done now and in the immediate future to put our country on a path of sustainable growth and development. Now that these things have been done, we believe the time to be right to talk with you about our Party’s vision for the forward movement of our country and our people.

Sisters and brothers, after 9 years of rule by the Labour Party, including more than 5 years of rule by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, things are not good at all for our people. Some time ago we said this. And we say it again. Our country has not recovered from the recession in which the economy has been gripped since 2001. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may have climbed to 3% in 2007-2008, but the quality of our peoples’ lives has not improved. Unemployment may be more than 35% for the nation as a whole and much higher among the youth. Almost 4 in every 10 of our people live below the poverty line and 7 out of 10 Kalinagoes live that way. Cost of living is unbearably high especially in terms of basic items of food, utility bills and medicines. And wages are comparatively low, the minimum wage being just $4.25 an hour. The number of indigent people, that is to say, those who just cannot help themselves increases from day to day. Our working people are under attack. VAT is taking a toll on everyone.

Small businesses are either closing their doors or selling out to Chinese economic citizens. Big businesses are downsizing and laying off people. Agriculture is in crisis; and our small farmers are threatened. Despite the potential it has, the fishing industry exists in name only. The youth of our country, including State College graduates, continue to swell the ranks of the unemployed; they have no direction and are increasingly becoming restless. Crime is on the rise. Family values fall by the wayside.

The morals and principles that held our people together over the years are being sacrificed for the worst aspects of the American way of life. Respect of our elders is disappearing. Love of one another is becoming a thing of the past. And we are no longer our brother’s keeper. Our people are losing hope and are leaving by the hundreds. The present is dismal. And the future seems uncertain.

But, sisters and brothers, it does not have to be so. Our small nation State is blessed with resources envied by our Caribbean neighbors. Our fertile soil. Our agro-manufacturing potential. Our water. Our possibilities for hydro, geothermal, and wind energy. Our rain forests. Our eco-tourism resources. Our underwater dive potential. Our stone and tarrish.

Further, in our people at home and overseas we have a human resource that is capable, disciplined and patriotic as any. And we are known for a resilience that was tested after Hurricane David. We firmly believe that if these resources are properly exploited and managed. If the wealth generated by them is equitably distributed. If these things are done, Dominica can within a short period of time become the paradise it has all the potential to be.

We said it before. And we say it again: the underlying problem is leadership. Our country has for 9 years been under the management of persons who are incapable of taking us forward. Our leaders in government are unable to understand why our country is in the crisis it is now in and they, therefore, cannot prescribe remedies that can get us out of that crisis. Overseas begging has replaced sound economic planning. And handouts take the place of providing jobs. Our natural and human resources go unused, or are mortgaged to foreign firms which drain wealth out of our country. And our enormous potential remains untapped. Government is unable to deal with constructive criticism and responds to it by victimization, open threats, and enticing persons in opposition to join their ranks. Development for the Government means setting up projects here, there and everywhere instead of raising the quality of life of the people. It has no confidence in the people’s ability to achieve. And it claims to know the people’s needs and aspirations better than the people themselves. There is no meaningful consultation with the people. Corruption has become a way of life. Our political democracy is, in fact, on the line.

Management of the country’s resources in that way and governing the people along these lines will not, in our view, put an end to our country’s economic misery nor improve the quality of life of our people.

PDM proposes a different vision. It has four main elements:

Adopt a philosophy and practice of governance that puts people first and calls for their participation at all levels of decision-making.
Abandon the traditional “fais-kashoy-tout-partout” approach taken by governments in the past and present and formulate a comprehensive plan for National Development supported on appropriate sector plans.
Unite all our people at home and overseas, not through hollow calls for unity unsupported by a process, but on the basis of that plan for National Development.
Put the management of this plan in the charge of a team of knowledgeable, experienced, committed, caring and honest servants of the people. Those of us before you today represent a small segment of that team.

Sisters and brothers. The details of these elements will come out in our answers to your questions.

Thank you once again.
14th May 2009

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