St. Thomas residents with roots in Dominica crowded into Palm Court Wednesday night to listen to Dominica Prime Minister Edison C. James and other officials talk about the future of the island nation.
In a press conference immediately before the meeting, James said his government encourages its people to contribute to the community in which they live, wherever that may be, but "they must always remember that they are Dominicans."
Among the things he said are "happening back home":
– Efforts to move from a one-crop banana economy to a multi-produce agricultural base and to diversify the economy further by encouraging tourism, manufacturing and financial services.
– Getting more people into secondary education.
– Improving the infrastructure by adding capital projects, including a sports arena and an international airport.
James said his administration’s goal is to provide universal secondary education. When he took office four and a half years ago, only 30 percent of children made it into high school. Now 60 percent do.
The amount of government subsidy for post-secondary education also has jumped in the same period, he said, from $800,000 to $3 million, in EC dollars.
Groundbreaking for an international airport is set for early next year, he said.
Earl M. Williams, minister of Communications, Works and Housing, put the target date for completion at mid-2002. At this point, the island is simply in the discussion stage with airlines. He mentioned in particular Air Jamaica.
The sports stadium the administration wants to build in Roseau would accommodate 10,000 spectators and host cricket, football and other games.
Williams said that last year, for the first time, manufacturing outstripped agriculture as the leading component of Dominica’s economy.
The island has an industrial incentive program that Williams and Sheridan G. Gregoire, general manager of the National Development Corp., said is aimed primarily at manufacturing and tourism-related industries. Under the program, companies may receive a 100 percent exemption on income taxes for up to 20 years as duty-free status for goods they import.