My Dearest Possie As the country approaches the end of a campaign season and the eve before the general elections, I ponder on the past year, and assess the strides made within that period. Never had I gotten so deeply involved in an election process since having been away from Dominica. My decision to become active on FB came about because of my sisters death last year. A decision that I am most grateful for because it gave me the opportunity to be involved in decisions regarding the continued development of my country. Needless to say, not every experience has been pleasant, however for the most part, most of the experiences have turned out to be positive. Today, I consider the both parties vying for the opportunity to lead Dominica forward, and I ask myself, is Portsmouth really on the agenda of both parties list of priorities? I will make this appeal loudly to both parties that whichever one carries the torch of victory come Monday 8th, that Portsmouths development must be pivotal to the continued success of Dominica. While both parties have outlined their plans for Dominicas development for the next 5 years, capitalizing on Portsmouths ability to bring a quick turnaround to the economy is paramount. There is one major reason for this. Portsmouths proximity and access to the sea in the form of a natural habor and the access to a vast amount of flat land. I foresee the real investments in a mega yacht marina, a state of the art port facility, and an advanced cruise ship facility. Capitalizing on our access to the sea will give Dominica a competitive advantage. Additionally, these are projects although costly, would provide a relatively quick return on investment. Say we focus on just one of these projects for now, an advanced yacht marina, consider the level of development that this will bring to the town. A booming tourist market that will reenergize areas such as: agriculture - replenishment of food products and water; construction - facilities needed for new businesses to service clients, hotels, guest houses, service oriented businesses such as banks, restaurants, laundromats; Manufacturing - an opportunity to attract businesses involved in the manufacturing of products to service the yachts, canvas, welding services etc..., by now, you get the picture. Although it may take some time to accomplish, it is quite doable within 5 years. Now, I am not saying that Portsmouth must be the sole focus of development to advance Dominica; however, it is crucial. This brings me to my next gripe that I have had for a long time. When I look at the make up of this present cabinet, I cant help but notice the number of influential persons who hail from the town of Portsmouth or even the North. It is just a sad reality that given all these men with so much clout, Portsmouth continues to be the ghost town of Dominica. You have the PM who is from Viellecase, Reginald Austrie, Cottage, and off course, Ian Douglas, Portsmouth. They are all parliamentary representatives from the North and have enjoyed a winning streak in their respective constituencies for the past 3 election cycles -15 years. We continue with Alick Lawrence, PMs advisor and legal counsel, Lennox Lawrence, close advisor to PM and counsel, Emmanuel Nanthan, advisor to PM and ambassador, Atlie Aaron, another advisor to PM and ambassador, Levi Peter, attorney general. These men are all sons of the soil of Portsmouth. There are those who may not have been born in Portsmouth itself but are also closely affiliated with the town, Eddie Lambert, Mervin Paul, all of whom hold very high positions in this administration. My appeal to these sons of the soil is to exert more of your power and clout to make firm decisions to build Portsmouth and the North and Dominica by extension. With the level of power that all of you have, combined, and can hand out, I say, use it to build the town that made you who you are today. If those of you who have the ability and have been given the opportunity to build Portsmouth, dont do it, then who will? In the event that your administration wins this election on Monday, and you get another opportunity to serve, please I am urging you to dedicate some of your influence to help this dying town. And if the United Workers Party does emerge the winner, then Portsmouth, unfortunately, missed excellent opportunities for growth under the DLP administration. Off course, I will sincerely hope and have no doubt that Team Dominicas zeal for change, will see Portsmouths potential for development and embark on the arduous but satisfying journey of change for Portsmouth that will take it to bold new heights which will benefit the North and Dominica by extension. Now everyone, go out and VOTE!!!
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 11:51:45 +0000