Government strategy: Sustaining growth while awaiting a fair wind
Interview with Rosamund Edwards, Financial Secretary of the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit
Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica greetings kids, 2009.
© Hegel Goutier
How is Dominica facing the present world economic crisis, following its own turbulent economic times a few years back?
We experienced some difficulties in our economy but the government took strong action. It was assisted by the donor community, the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). By 2004-2005, we started seeing some growth in the economy. Like the rest of the world, and particularly in the case of small open economies, we are affected by what happens in the large countries. Our economy is very closely related to those of the US and Europe because many of our people migrated to these countries and send remittances back to their families. If their employment is affected in those countries, it will affect remittances. We are also concerned about the present uncertainty in the oil market.
The government has indicated that it will continue to push for economic growth and has tried to use the government investment programme to stimulate activity in the country. It is pushing implementation of a number of road and housing projects, either directly or by facilitating cheaper financing. It is making investments in agriculture and fisheries, all of which, we hope, will increase what we produce internally so as to minimise the impact. We are also seeing how we can improve exports, particularly within the region because of the investments we have made in agriculture. We are having discussions with major cruise lines and believe there might be as much as a 40 per cent increase in cruise tourism arrivals next season.
The opposition says you do not put enough resources into agriculture.
Investment in agriculture in a place like Dominica may never be enough because Dominica is largely an agricultural country and in fact, most of the region looks to Dominica to provide food, particularly Antigua, St Kitts, St Martin and the British and US Virgin Islands. In this sense, there is always room for additional investment. The government will continue to make those investments but you can only invest according to resources available. In 2007, Hurricane Dean affected our agriculture, particularly bananas. The government had to reinvest in agriculture, so instead of value added, we simply replaced what we had lost. Then, in 2008 Hurricane Omar affected our fishing industry. The Government had to make an investment of close to US$5M for fisheries.
What about measures taken at regional level, through CARICOM, to tackle the crisis?
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) matters are dealt with by different ministries: Trade, Foreign Affairs, and CARICOM Affairs. What I am aware of is that CARICOM and the heads of government are attempting to take joint positions on certain issues. They work together, for example, to resolve financial issues such as that which has arisen over some instability in the insurance sector. And the governments of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and those of Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago have worked very closely in an effort to resolve the matter. So I cannot say that CARICOM is not doing enough.
Is the government’s current development strategy on course in the wake of the global economic crisis?
Agriculture will always be part of Dominica. It will probably not be as it was in the 1970s, but it will continue to be a major sector. We are focusing on tourism and investing in the upgrade of our airport which will enable us to receive more visitors and make access easier for Dominicans and even Dominicans who reside overseas. Tourism will continue to be a major sector. Government has articulated its interest in the offshore sector. We have also been focusing on development of Information and Communication Technology. But in the immediate future, we have to think of what can keep the country afloat in spite of what is happening. The government is expected to move along more public sector investment programmes much faster than in the past because it is important to combat slow growth.
