Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit

Dominica's prime minister wants to extend state-sponsored health care coverage to all inhabitants of this tiny Caribbean country, one of the region's poorest. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told constituents at a late Wednesday meeting that his government — which already provides free medical services to children, pregnant women and people over the age of 60 — hopes to adopt universal health coverage for all 73,000 islanders by 2011. He did not say how his plan would work or how it would be funded. "What we are doing is studying how we will go about achieving universal health care and the issues we will confront ... Read Full Story

In his address at the Roseau Market Day with a Difference this morning he said we should thank God for blessing the country with an abundance of fruits, vegetables and meats, which are available at the Roseau Market for the nutrition of the entire population. “As a Government we are concerned about the increasing incidents of diseases and related non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity and certain cancers among the population. We encourage a higher level of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet of families,” PM Skerrit advised. He asked persons to exercise due diligence in the foods they eat, recognising ... Read Full Story

Top Stories Delicious BY Dominica Corresppondent Dominicanewsonline.com Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has described pronouncements made by United States President Barack Obama at the 5th Summit of the Americas in Trinidad as “a breath of fresh air”. Skerrit has noted a positive tone from Obama and according to him, the meeting has so far gone beyond the expectations of regional heads. A pledge of 30 million dollars to strengthen security in the region is among pronouncements made by Obama, which Skerrit says has been welcomed by Caricom member states. The Dominica leader said Obama has also spoken to the issue of Cuba’s absence from the ... Read Full Story

We were glad to hear the news that Dominica's government has decided to put a temporary halt to their plans to construct an oil refinery on the island. The slated $80-million development, funded by Venezuela, had been met with opposition from the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association, who argued that the refinery would dissuade visitors and hurt the reputation of Dominica as the "Nature Isle" of the Caribbean. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit deferred to the DHTA, saying on a local radio station that he believed "fundamentally that the concerns raised by the DHTA cannot be overlooked" and that an environmental assessment would follow. Intelligent ... Read Full Story

The address is 50 pages long – so here are some of the main topics covered: Governance, Fiscal measures, Economic Performance, Structural measures, Macroeconomic Framework, Dominica in the Global Economy, Sector Interventions and Achievements, Measures to increase agricultural production, Facilitating investments in tourism, Measures to facilitate small and medium size enterprises, and Public Sector Investment Programme... dominica-weekly.com/news/highlights-from-prime-minister-skerrit-20089-budget-address/#more-205 Read Full Story