ROSEAU, Dominica, Sept 30, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Monday said that his administration will defend the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI) in the law courts even as he warned of the projects being affected by the pending legal action initiated by the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP).
“We will go to court and defend the programme, we will defend the country, but when you talk about transparency there is no time in the history of this programme that this programme has been more accountable and transparent than it is now,” Skerrit told a news conference.
“The facts are there in an undisputed manner,” he said, adding “We love when people ask questions it gives up the opportunity to respond and explain, but the reality is, all the explanations we have given, all the responses we have given, the opposition refuses to accept it”.
Under the CBI, foreign investors are provided with citizenship of the island in return for making substantial investments in the socio-economic development of Dominica.
Apart from Dominica, the other islands with a similar CBI programme are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts-Nevis, and St. Lucia.
Currently, the programme requires a minimum donation of US$250,000 or a minimum investment of US$400,000.
But in recent years, concerns have been raised about the administration of the programme before the recent reforms, including issues of underselling citizenships, transparency, and financial accountability.
Last week, the UWP, which is being represented by former Trinidad and Tobago attorney general, Anand Ramlogan, said it was taking legal action against the government over the CBI indicating that the intention is to ask the Skerrit administration to disclose a copy of the agreement for the CBI programme between the government and its agents.
“…we intend to ask to see the terms and conditions of that contract because the case is constructed based on the Dominican constitution and on the principle that all monies and revenues earned by the government are meant to be paid into the Consolidated Fund, which is subject to parliamentary scrutiny and approval for any form of expenditure,” Ramlogan added.
UWP leader Lennox Linton said then that the decision to pursue the legal action was not an easy undertaking.
“Deciding to take legal action against the government of the state is never easy, especially for patriotic organizations driven first and foremost, by the best interest of the state,” said Linton, a former opposition leader.
But Skerrit reminded reporters that Linton who had served in Parliament as opposition leader and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee for eight years, “asked questions in Parliament, and all of those questions were responded to.
“If you go to the estimates of all of his years, you will see where the projected revenue is indicated and in the previous year, the actual revenue indicated. Of yu go on the ground you will see the projects we say that are being financed by the CBI,” Skerrit said, noting that funds had also been provided to the Agricultural and Industrial Development (AID) bank for on lending to hoteliers, manufacturers, and agro-processors among others including farmers and small business owners.
Skerrit said that it was only when his administration came into office, there was accountability regarding the CBI programme, telling reporters “You can’t tell me of any project that you know off that is CBI funded between 1993 and 2000, except the Layou River hotel.
“You never knew how much money we raised and how it was spent. But if you go to the highest authority in the country, which is the Parliament, you will see in the estimates of revenue and expenditure, very transparently reporting.
“On top of that we have had numerous occasions in the public domain to respond to issues of accountability and transparency,” he said, adding that he had invited the United States Treasury Department to come to Dominica to get a first-hand look at the CBI programme when Washington had expressed concerns about the programme.
Since then the US government and the five countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) with CBI programmes, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts-Nevis, have agreed to a six-point plan that was further discussed at a meeting in Grenada this month.
A statement issued following the third United States-Caribbean Round Table on the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI) in Grenada, noted that delegates had discussed the principles geared toward strengthening the governance of the programme and mitigating money laundering and terrorist financing risks..
The statement said the meeting discussed progress made and challenges remaining to address the Six CBI Principles agreed to by Caribbean Heads of Government in February 2023.
The statement said these Principles are the collective agreement on the treatment of denials in not processing applications from persons whose applications have been denied in any of the other five CBI jurisdictions, conducting interviews with applicants as well as running checks on each applicant with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the relevant country.
Skerrit said that he is not afraid of any disclosure to be made during the court case, saying “Everything that has to be disclosed has been disclosed in the Parliament and anywhere in the world.
“There is nothing for this government to hide. Absolutely nothing. I am not concerned about having to disclose anything. The court is an independent entity. My concern is that there could be a strong possibility that there might be a stay on the programme. I don’t know.
“The point is what if there is a stay on the programme? What are the implications of a stay on the programme? So I am not here questioning accountability and transparency. No, I am questioning the motivation of the opposition in their relentless attacks because every question they have asked we have responded to.
“But they are not satisfied with the response that we are giving and so if you are genuine about the programme then you should be comprehensive of your critique of the programme,” said Skerrit, adding that the CBI has provided employment for hundreds of Dominicans and “touched every household in Dominica”.
CMC/pr/ir/2024