Mr. Neil Holder Political Leader of the Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM), a political party in Barbados, recently asked Dominicans to work with Mr. Skerrit to realize his plans for Dominica after Hurricane Maria. He referred to Mr. Skerrit as "visionary". Does Mr. Holder have any idea who he's talking about? It is quite easy to mistake an Opportunist for a Visionary. Mr. Skerrit is nothing more than an Opportunist. Hurricane Maria has given him an opportunity and he is going to maximize this unfortunate situation to gain advantage for himself. All these ideas for Dominica, post-Maria, are just fantasy concocted by Skerrit's speechwriters; he has no idea how he is going to execute them. Putting ideas on paper without a plan for how you are going to execute them towards completion is not "visionary". You may listen to Neil Holder on Q95 News Stories by clicking the link.
Dominicans have been living through many of Mr. Skerrit's fantastical promises. Every election cycle, they are promised many projects, that he never fulfills. Mr. Skerrit has been in office 18 years and has yet to fulfill many of his fantastic promises. You can take a look at his party's manifesto for the last few elections and many of the promises that he made have not been kept. An opportunist will say anything to remain in power. He tells the Dominican people what they want to hear.
Mr. Skerrit now states that he aims to make Dominica the first "climate resilient country in the Caribbean". When did he think of that? On the day after the storm? All his prior actions were contrary. If Mr. Skerrit had any idea of what he was reading, then the concept would be excellent but he doesn't. Just imagine, at the Press Briefing with the UN Secretary General on October 8,2017 he was not able to answer a basic question posed to him by a journalist from the Miami Herald. Here's the question: "What would a green climate resilient Dominica look like and what will it require?" A visionary would have been able to answer this question without any difficulty. Instead, Mr. Skerrit was unable to give a coherent answer for several minutes. It was plain to see that Mr. Skerrit had no idea what a climate resilient Dominica would look like because he didn't even grasp the concept.
How visionary can one be if you are the Prime Minister of the Nature Island of the Caribbean but choose to explore for geothermal energy, without a thorough environmental assessment, in one of the most tectonic islands in the Caribbean? Geothermal exploration in areas, similar to Dominica, has been known to trigger earthquakes and landslides. How can Mr. Skerrit say he cares about the environment at all and decide to explore in a sensitive area in Dominica? In addition, how could the Skerrit-led Administration permit hotel development in the Cabrits National Park on Marshland that serves as a nesting place for migratory birds and also functions to protect the coastline from flooding during high tide and tropical weather disturbances, including hurricanes? Is this visionary?
It could be that Mr. Holder and his Party are new to the political fray. Therefore, if he wants to become the next Prime Minister of Barbados, he should do some research before he showers accolades on persons like Mr. Skerrit. It seems that Mr. Holder was captivated by Mr. Skerrit's Speech to the UN on September 23, 2017. Standing in front of the UN in New York reading out a prepared speech about making Dominica the "World's first climate resilient nation" sounds 'fresh'. According to him "Eden is broken" . What Mr. Skerrit didn't say in that speech was that over the years his actions and inaction helped to break Eden. Over the 18 years that Mr. Skerrit has been in office he has basically ignored the UN. They did not fit into his itinerary. So, Mr. Skerrit's speech at the UN rings hollow to those who know different.
Mr. Holder joins a line of Caribbean politicians who share a symbiotic relationship with each other while parasitizing their people. Mr. Holder is either woefully uninformed, pitifully ignorant or deliberately mischievous. Whatever the case, Barbados deserve better.
