Dominicans and Investors wait with baited breath after Prime  Minister Skerrit called a snap election for Friday 18th of December.

Meanwhile Mr. Sam Raphael proprietor of  Jungle Bay Spa Resort  has declared himself as an Independent candidate in the  Eastern Petite Savanne Constituency .

Today Dominicans demonstrated to let Government know they want their country to stay green and clean.

Emile Ghadarkhan, a  contractor from Guadeloupe, is purported to have commenced  preparing the ground for the building of an asphalt plant on land  near the estuary of the Layou river in the scenic Layou Valley. This is without planning permission or an environmental impact assessment.

Not only would  such  development have a  detrimental impact on the river and wildlife in the area, it would also have a very negative effect on Wacky Rollers,  a tourist operation which has built an adventure park  on  a family owned, old cocoa estate  alongside the river and which offers river tubing and kayaking  to visitors and locals alike. Wacky Rollers, which has invested heavily in both money and commitment, provides many jobs for local youngsters in Layou .

The Layou area  is also home to the recently established Titiwi Festival which takes place in October. Titiwi, a miniscule  fish,  are a local delicacy and visitors come from all over the island to partake in the festival.

Being ‘green’ does not mean no development, as some detractors wish to pretend. It does however require responsible development in keeping with the  Nature Isle concept which Government promotes.

Minister Austrie , who was present at the demonstration,  stated that Government had  now served  a STOP  NOTICE. We applaud  the Government for  taking this action and  hope this is a step towards sound environmental stewardship which is surely in the interests of all.

CABRITS

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being.

 It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life. The index was developed in 1990 by  Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian economist Amartya Sen.

The United Nations Human Development Program Report was released on the 5th of October  2009and is based on surveys from 2007. Many will be surprised to see Dominica ranked at 73rd in the list up  4 places from 1995. The report covers 180 United Nations Countries plus Hong Kong and Pakistani Governed Territories.

 

Announcing the launching of Eco Helpline – www.ecohelpline.com

The Ecohelpline.com will be the first of it’s kind to offer a Free Eco Best Practices Course to help people and businesses go green. The course is online and free.   The  primary focus is hotel management and staff, however the free training lessons are useful for everyone.

As global warming, energy crisis, and endangered species are becoming more of a reality there is a need for training to help everyone become involved in these issues.  With a free online course, there is no reason why everybody can’t get more informed and involved.  The  main goal is to promote environmental best practices in the tourism industry and beyond.

Green Leaf certification can be of strength to all the workers in the industry, by becoming an important addition to their c.v., to carry with them and enhance, in the long term, the tourist industry. The Eco Best Practices Course leads to the Eco Helpline Green Leaf Certification, giving recognition to hotel  employees for their eco commitment; a first for the Industry.

The Eco Best Practices Course consists of 5 modules, Water, Energy, Waste & Recycling, Nature Conservation and Community Development. By taking the course hotel executive and staff will have a better understanding of environmental issues. The green ideas suggested in this course, will help hotel executives and staff implement green ideas, reducing the environmental impact of their hotel property.

www.ecohelpline.com   is an all new international partnership of experienced industry leaders from a range of areas across the tourism spectrum. The three partners are: Hemant Thite, Renewable energy expert, Lise Tyrrell, Eco lodge, hotel and resort specialist, and Jem Winston, of 3 Rivers and Rosalie Forest Eco Lodge in Dominica, and Education Director, SLIC Dominica, offering community workshops in renewable energy and assisting participants with funding to purchase their own systems.

They  have formed a global partnership to help people and businesses go “green”, starting with hotels.

For more information visit www.ecohelpline.com or write to info@ecohelpline.com

An Agent asked me today whether a  foreigner could purchase any amount of land by forming an onshore company. According to this Agent she had a client who had already done so notwithstanding that the Company was solely owned  by him.

In our  opinion the answer is an emphatic  NO !. The company, if it is not controlled by a  Dominican or citizen of an OECS State, is an Alien Company within the definition of the  legislation and clearly will require a License to hold land above the acreages specified in the legislation of one  acre for residential and three acres for business.

A magnificent 51.63 acres built heritage estate established by French settlers from Martinique in the early 18th century which is considered to be the best-preserved example of plantation architecture existing in Dominica today. This site is ripe for further development.

Safe Haven has just sold another Great Estate  comprising 20 acres of beautiful ocean view land  also in the South west of the island.  This area will undoubtedly  become increasingly bouyant with Petit Coulibri and a proposed new development on the land sold.       Bois Cotlette   is situated at the head of the Soufriere Valley where there are some wonderful attractions such as hot springs, sulphur deposits and lush tropical evergreen forest. The perfect setting for a spa.  The buildings and ruins on the estate are still identifiable (it has the ruins of the only remaining windmill tower on the island) that were once used for the processing and export of coffee beans, sugar and rum, cocoa beans, lime oil and lime juice as well as the “Maison de Maitre”, the stables, outhouses & the remains of an aqueduct . Most of the buildings are in ruins now, however the circular coffee mill and most of the outhouses have been restored. The walls of the planters “Maison de Maitre” are still in good condition, but some work would be needed to restore the house to its earlier grandeur. The grounds around the main residence are well maintained with a rolling lawn. There is road access all of the way and utilites are approximately a mile and 1/2 away. This property is ripe for Eco Tourist Development, residential or hertiage tourism. Read up on the history of this beautiful estate with an article by historian Dr. Lennox Honychurch . Google Coordinates for Bois Cotlette: 150 13′ 21.24″ N 610 20′ 34.56″ W Visit  www.safehavenrealestate ref. no. 485

 The Prime Minister kept his promise from last year’s budget and did not impose any new taxes. In fact the last phase of a three year programme is due to be introduced from 1st January 2010 to reduce personal taxes. Legislation will  be needed to bring this into effect. 

Personal Income Tax

The tax bands  will be as follows:-

 $ 20,000 -  $40,000  – 15% tax

  $40,000 – %70,000.00 -25% tax

  above  70,000.00  -35% tax

 

Personal Allowance 

$20,00.00

Doing Businesss In Dominica

Last year the Prime Minister promised to make it easier to do business in Dominica .   He identified an important aspect of this was  to  improve efficiency in Customs and Inland Revenue.

 CUSTOMS

•  The Prime Minister  promised a reduction in the processing time at Cusoms.The purpose is to reduce the time and cost of doing business in Dominica

 

•   The  Customs Divisionwill be restructeed so that customs activities are consolidated and the public will only have to go to one location to conduct their business

CONCESSIONS

Duty Free concessions approval process  is to be simplified

From 1st September 2009processing of duty free applications will be done at customs. Cutoms will apply relief as directed by Government

Watch this space for publication of guidelines issued by Cabinet

 Extension of Free Hospital Care for the Elderly

 People will now be able to benefit from free health care from the age of 60 instead of 65

PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT PROGRAMME

he Capital Budget for 2009/10  is projected to be 16% of GDP or $168,275,089 funded 65% from grant funding ,21% from loans  AND 15% from local resources.

 

I will not go into detail here about capital projects as my objective is to let persons coming to reside in Dominica  know in a nutshell how they will be affected.

35%  of the Public Sector Investment programme has been allocated to infrastructural development

THe Air Access Improvement Project for Melville Hall continues.

I think it unlikely that Dominica will get an International airport. Once built it has to be funded and Antiguas, St Lucia and Barbados are already big hubs in the Eastern Caribbean.

The Prime Minister stated that the West Coast Road was expected to come on stream this year.

Safe Haven Real Estate is pleased to announce that it is working in collaboration with Mr. Chris Van Den  Vonder to list jointly  a number of properties in and around the Calibishie area.

Many of you will know Chris as the  owner of Calibishie Lodges. His web site is www.dominicasrealestate.com

Excitement is mounting in Dominica as the country gets ready to host its first one day  Cricket International in the newly built Windsor Park Stadium.

The West Indies  Cricket team also known colloquially as the Windies will play Bangladesh on Sunday the  26th of July. The second one day match will be held on  Tuesday 28th of July which has been declared a National Holiday.

Although selected Windies players have  boycotted the match over contract disputes this has not dampened enthusiasm locally for the match.

We are all looking forward to some great cricket.

Dominica’s Prime Minister the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit was appointed as the new Chairman of the Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

Prime Minister Skerrit accepted the post at  the 65th Annual Meeting of the Organisation at Fort Young on the 10th of July 2009.

The  Monetary Council is the final decision making body of the ECCB whose objective is to ensure the stability of the Eastern Caribbean Dollar and of the Banking system in the region.