September 5th, 2009 – On June 2nd, 2009, the people of this country heard from Roosevelt Skerrit, that Andre Dopwell had committed to refund the amount he overcharged on the 2008 supply of garbage bins within 14 working days of June 1st, 2009. In other words, the refund estimated to be in excess of half a million dollars, should have been in the treasury by June 19th, 2009.
June 19th, 2009 was 77 days ago… that is how long now the promised refund has been outstanding.
In terms of the so-called working days here is the calculation:
13 Sundays and 14 Saturdays have gone by since June 1st, 2009… to that we add the 4th of July holiday in the US and August Monday here in Dominica – 13+14+2 – a total of 29 non working days.
The count of working days since June 1st, 2009 is 67 working days + 29 non working days gives you a grand total of 96 days that have come and gone since the famous Dopwell letter of June 1st, 2009 in which the alleged refund was promised.
Now here you have, in the material particulars of the garbage bin transaction, prima facie evidence of blatant fraud… But there is no government action to engage the services of law enforcement either here in Dominica or in the US from where Dopwell operates to secure justice in the public interest
Instead you have a very disgraceful attempt to cover up the fraud, with
1) Nonsensical, non-specific correspondence to Dopwell from a Permanent Secretary who was at the time waiting to cash in on sweetheart deals with the Prime Minister for special assignments and delayed retirement worth over 140 thousand dollars
2) Bogus correspondence from Dopwell volunteering a refund for which Government – the client – made no request
3) Lame excuses that there was no legal requirement to ensure public tender and/or competitive bidding for the supply of 2,700 garbage bins which ended up costing the state more than half a million dollars over the known market value
4) Blatant lies from Roosevelt Skerrit that even though Dopwell is the brother of Government Minister Colin McIntyre, the Roseau Valley Senator was not involved in any arrangements for his brother to supply goods to the government
96 days later there is no refund… Note well that we have done away with this working day confusion… we are simply counting days now… 96 days… gone with the wind and no refund. Still no involvement of the local police… still no involvement of the US FBI
Skerrit, his band of apologists, the chief spin doctors of the Government, the Director of Audit… all agree that the treasury was looted with impunity. This is a country where poor people go to jail for stealing a coconut, a bunch of fig, an apricot aka a mammy apple, a packet of CRIX biscuit, a tin of corned beef… And one man makes off like a bandit with over half a million dollars from the hard pressed tax payers of this country and nobody in government, nobody in law enforcement seems to have even the slightest clue of what needs to be done in the public interest.
In collusion with his benefactors in Skerrit’s government, this Dopwell character stole our fertilizer money as well. Again, without the benefit of public tender and/or competitive bidding, we paid him upfront in November 2007 close to 1.6 million dollars for 1,250 tons of fertilizer to be delivered in full by the second week of February 2008. He then complained in March 2008 about increased world market prices and our government agreed to reduce the 2007 order by 193 tons thereby leaving in his hands 257 thousand dollars from the hard pressed tax payers. Added to that he overcharged us a total of 210 thousand dollars on the fertilizer orders of February and November 2007… The total rip-off was at least, at the very least 467 thousand dollars.
Yet we have a Director of Audit, a loud voice in Skerrit’s how great thou art choir, brazen enough to concoct a story that Dopwell lost 483 thousand dollars on the November 2007 fertilizer order (paid for in advance) because of world market price increases in 2008.
The rest of the civilized world will have none of this foolishness… It is absolute auditing insanity in light of which the President is required to do the honourable thing with respect to the current holder of the post of Director of Audit as required by the constitution… But, only in Dominica
No refund of the loot on the garbage bins… no refund of the loot on the fertilizer… nobody gets fired, nobody is arrested… nobody is brought before the court… nobody goes to jail… and the clock continues to tick in what Skerrit presides over as his very own fool’s paradise
As Spider of blessed memory sang years ago: “That is How we Come”
And we have come to this state of affairs in the governance of Dominica, partly because of our growing expertise in doing nothing about the causes that need assistance and nothing against the wrongs that need resistance
We are the shining global example of anything goes…
Do we even care that we have a Cabinet of ministers with absolutely no moral authority to demand any refund from anybody or any right action from anybody in the public interest?
These days the Cabinet makes a huge song and dance about a 100 million dollar loan from China for infrastructure projects… this is the same China who lured us away from Taiwan in 2004 on what members of this Cabinet told us was a Chinese government commitment of 300 million dollars in grant funding of infrastructure projects in Dominica.
Let me refresh your memory… this is a direct quote from Roosevelt Skerrit’s address to the nation on May 29th, 2004 about the benefits of the switch over to China:
“Dominica is receiving more than EC$300 million in project grant financing and approximately EC$30 million in cash grants over a five year period”
If we have in fact received this money, as far as the public is aware, we have not come even close to using up 20% of those grant funds but five years later we are contracting debts with the Chinese for infrastructure projects… and not one member of Cabinet has the moral integrity to utter a single word in the public interest.
This Cabinet is also jumping up and down about 13-point-5 million dollars from the IMF’s exogenous shocks fund, which will be used for adding new hotel rooms. 13-point-5 million from the I-M-F… the latest big thing to smile about on government’s tourism development agenda… At the same time you have one member of the same Cabinet who has been able to find for himself and his business interests (from God knows where) over 20 million dollars since 2005 for private real estate developments in Picard and Savanne Paille… and not one Cabinet member has the moral integrity to utter a single word in the public interest
No wonder Julius Timothy could have accused these Cabinet members of the worst kind of integrity only to be embraced by them later as the very same Julie ou pa las Marti, whose lies and corrupt behaviour have been cleansed by membership in Massa’s how great thou art choir
Some of these members of Cabinet abuse the privilege of state financed overseas travel to feather their nests – they claim money for food and out of pocket expenses on the backs of tax payers even when they are invited by other governments and outside agencies that pick up their expenses in full…They retire advances with no bills just personal certification that the amounts claimed are correct. There is the October 2007 example of an overseas trip by a member of Cabinet which is said to have lasted (according to the retired advance) 7.3125 days… yes 7.3125 days to be exact… and which in hotel, meals and out of pocket expenses alone (airfares excluded) cost the treasury $13,934.23. There is talk of cutting the overseas travel budget… but for the privileged few enjoying a feeding frenzy from the public’s travel purse, the trips just keep coming. The level of thievery is astounding… and not one Cabinet member has the moral authority to utter a single word in the public interest
Then you have the very vexing matter of those members of Cabinet who dishonestly pick up every month a travel allowance of $1,337 even though they are not entitled to it because they are driving government vehicles. It has been happening for years and years under the watch of this Cabinet. As a result, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been improperly pocketed by certain members of Cabinet, who are now duty bound to refund those monies into the treasury… and not one Cabinet member has the moral integrity to utter a single word in the public interest.
Cabinet members tell lies… they deceive the public… no problem
Cabinet members hold unaccounted property in breach of section 47 (1) of the Integrity in Public office Act … no problem
Cabinet members evade taxes on private land transfer transactions… no problem
Cabinet members accept non-trivial gifts in breach of section 35 (5) of the Integrity in Public Office Act … no problem
Cabinet members bite the outstretched hands of friendship from fellow Cabinet colleagues and stab them in the back at the same time… no problem
Cabinet members anoint themselves terrorists… no problem
Cabinet members use public funds for personal political gain through blatant vote buying… no problem
Where then will these, Cabinet members get the moral authority to demand any refund from Andre Dopwell and ensure that he pays it in the public interest? Can the rebel all of a sudden become honourable? Passa work… Passa Twavaye!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The only answer to resolve this situation is via the ballot box none other, every single person in Dominica the diaspora and those further afield comprehend fully the deep seated rot that has overtaken this administration without doubt.
These men in ivory towers are actually protected by the police, the government ensure invalid promotions, they send them of to FBI training centres, and as a result those students know the law but they dare not enforce it and that is a crime within itself so the rot has spread it 's evillity even there.
It is ploitically unsound to become too involved with Chavez yet they do, Why MONEY no other reason, we witness today demonstrations against him, we also witness the rocky ground he stands politically on, but as birds of a feather flock together, they also fall together
As I wrote in the other article it is logistically too risky for Dopwell to be reimbursed by the perpetraitors, for Dopwell to send a red cent to the government for it would expose too many banking paper trails, and just in case a police authority or individual either in Dominica ( HIGHLY UNLIKELY) or in the USA decides that by the very tenure of his employment he or she has to stand by the oath they have solemly sworn, to uphold the law without fear or favour, may actually decide to do something, the peretrators can not take that risk of any reimbursement to Dopwell ever.
The ballot box is the only solution the only one, politics has had men like this in power for centuries, for there lies the true mafia, Papa Doc Duvalier, Nicoli Chauchesku, Marcos, to name but a few, History has shown that they dont last for ever, and neither will will this administration, As election time nears with every passing moment I can guarantee that the paper shredders will be on overtime destoying evidence it happens in every case.
I t is vital for the future of Dominica to use the ballot box and rid this cancer from our midst, for cancer spreads if left untreated and as a result you wither and die, and so will Dominica if radical surgery is not performed urgently, at present Dominica is hailed as the get away with anything country if you are under the protection of the present administration, and have the money to grease the palms of the permanently outstretched hands of those in power.
But they have one failing they are not very clever in a criminal way, they talk to people when they should not, there are too many who know what is going on, and that is only the first major major mistake, for if ever there is a fallout situation between them tongues once tied by the power of money become loosened, then they have a problem, and this is ocurring right now. wait and see.
So in fine Dominicans use the ballot box let your voices be heard and do what is right, and you will prosper.
With all that been said, do you expect this government to deal with the issue of electorial reform? They will at all cost, like desperate criminals do all in their powers to maintain the status quo. Those of us who think that this gvernment is going to be removed by the ballot, had better think again. The illegallities which took place in the 2005 elections which caused this corrupt government to be in office will pale in comparison to what will be taking place during the next general election. Dominica is indeed on auto pilot while the ruling DLP gangsters continue to mismanage the economy and steal from the treasury. If Dominican are not prepared to rise up against this merciless government in masses, then we will most certainly become the next Haiti of the World. Shame on you Nicholas Liverpool, Shame on you Sir. You and Skerrit are disgrace to our country. You are both evil men.
powerfully put, and I agree that there will be corruption at ballot time as we are experiencing now in Iraq, I also agree that the masses have to stand up and be counted for or the Dominica we know will be lost, and nothing decent will remain, so it is up to the masses to stop once and for all this horible state of affairs that has been created by greed, avarice, profusion without any mental reservation whatsoever by those who are alledgedly our servants.
But those in power do not see themselves as servants, they imagine themselves to be above the law, beyond reproach, the masters and engineers of our fate, The French revolution taught us that the masses ate cake whilst those in power enjoy champagne and caviar, money and power but look what happened there, they all lost their heads, Dominicans must keep their heads and do the right thing and rid Dominica permananly of these unjust individuals who smile at us whilst stabbing us all in the back.
if dominicans can listen to anthony astaphan [an as] for short,then we know we have no money getting back the questions are,mr.skeritt do u have interest in a speed boat and other commodities, mr.james answer was no about the hotel.no one was asked to declare their assets,we must get serious in this country and do the right thing donot aloud [an as]to get fat in the pasture while the multitute starve we want our country back [with our money.
DOMINICANS!!! WAKE UP PLEASE EH!! this is madness!! only in dominica that happening this is what happens when they force u to beg them. DOMINICANS !! DOMINICANS wake up and let these mad men pay the money back to the country please please please. Lennox dont back down u have the power to let ppl know. let them know and hear. thank you
Dominicans dont be surprised if Tony Astaphan and PM Sherrit comes up with a refund cheque for the BINS before election just to win votes, we as a people is educated enough not to be taken for granted by any one
There was a time when I thought that the Patrick John administration had perpetuated the worst crime against our Country, the current dealings of the Skerrit-led administration, makes the 1979 saga look like a "Sunday Picnic". Never in our history have we seen such OUTRIGHT THEFT of the STATE'S RESOURCES !!, the only difference between what is happening in Dominica,and what has happened in Haiti is that this current band of THIEVES, have not yet unleashed their local "TOUTON MACOUTES" against the populace as yet !!. DOMINICANS !, it is only a matter of time b4 this happens, remember there is a lot at stake, and they say DESPERATE MEN WILL DO DESPERATE THINGS !!.
The time is now for every PATRIOTIC DOMINICAN, UWPites. FREEDOMites, PAPPYites, PDMites, and REALLABORites to mobilise enmasse and reclaim our BIRTHRITE, unfortunately it won't be done at Election time, the FRUAD WILL BE MASSIVE !!, for every day you wait hoping that ELECTIONS WILL BE FAIR, is extra time you afford these GANSTERS to SOLIDIFY THEIR POSITION and then it will be "TOO LATE",
DOMINICANS ! ACTION CURES FEAR !!!!
What seems to be very evident is the ability of the politicians and its citizens, to undermined,destroy and render people's livelihood almost defunct by all these political meanderings. Look at Patrick John, Edison, Prevost, Gregoire,Timothy et al . On the other side of this coin is those disgruntled educated professionals filled with angry and envy, if these are their ramblings against the government why on God's earth would I/you elect them to office for? imagine if you will what type of defense/offense these guys are capable of presenting if the shoe was on the other foot.
The diaspora had a strong hand to play in saddling me with these megalomaniacs. So I can safely say that there is nothing wrong with out water. I am therefore left to conclude that greed and cowardice is spreading like wildfire.