VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWN #0166/01 0711844
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 121844Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7221
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000166 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM PREL INRB XL
SUBJECT: DOMINICA POLECON ROUNDUP 
 
Classified By: CDA D. Brent Hardt for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) The Government of Dominica continues to suffer from 
small-time leadership, a perception that corruption is out of 
hand, and a lack of momentum in developing infrastructure for 
growth.  The newly formed Integrity in Public Office 
Commission is operational, but hamstrung by lack of 
resources, while even some in government complain that 
inefficiency and a lack of vision is squandering scarce 
resources on unsuitable projects while missing significant 
opportunities in developing geothermal, water, and 
eco-tourism projects.  End summary. 
 
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Public Integrity Commission off to Rocky Start 
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¶2.  (SBU) The Integrity in Public Office Commission (PIC) was 
formed in September of 2008, after a long delay following 
passage of the Act in April, 2003.  The Commission consists 
of the chair plus six commissioners, and has the statutory 
authority to investigate the financial affairs of public 
officials.  According to Commission Chairman Julian Johnson, 
the body is understaffed, short of resources, and is off to a 
rocky start despite dedicated leadership and good intentions. 
 Johnson said the Commission has just faced its first set of 
complaints, brought by investigative journalist and radio 
personality Lenox Linton.  Linton made a number of 
allegations about Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, including 
questioning the financing of the PM's US$375,000 house on a 
public salary of US$2250 per month.  Johnson said the 
Commission was unable to hear this or other complaints raised 
by Linton due to the timing of the alleged acts, which 
occurred before the commission had been formed.  This lack of 
retroactive authority, Johnson lamented, has already 
seriously eroded public confidence in the Commission and its 
work. 
 
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Early Elections? 
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¶3.  (SBU) Ron Green, head of the opposition United Workers 
Party, speculated that the global economic slowdown had not 
yet caught up to Dominica, and that the government would 
probably be wise to call early elections before conditions 
worsen.  Green also trotted out the party's standard list of 
government abuses, including the US$26-30 million that 
disappeared in the Layou river project and the firing of the 
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructural Development 
Ambrose George for allegedly receiving a 100,000 US dollar 
bribe for granting a offshore banking license to a convicted 
money launderer.  Green said former UWP head Earl Williams, 
who absconded with millions of dollars in client funds and is 
thought to be living in the US or the UK, is unlikely to 
return to contest a seat in the next election, despite rumors 
that PM Skerrit would cover Williams' debts as long as he 
runs on the government ticket (a highly unlikely prospect, 
said Green).  Green said a focus of his party would be to 
push for renewable energy, but was otherwise vague on the 
specific party platform. 
 
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Transport, Airport Woes Continue 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Minister for Economic Development and Urban Renewal 
Julius Timothy renewed to emboffs his longstanding concern 
that the nation's development is not on the right path and 
that some large-scale projects have not been well vetted.  In 
particular, he complained about the project to improve 
Melville Hall Airport, claiming that, when finished it would 
still be inadequate for widebody international arrivals, and 
hoped that there would be funding for a new airport not far 
from that current site.  Timothy lamented the position of the 
airport, as the runway leads from the Caribbean straight into 
the mountainous interior.  This prevents planes from landing 
directly from the water as they would not be able to abort a 
landing without risking a crash into the mountains.  These 
conditions prevent anything but small regional planes from 
landing, keeping Dominica from being able to accept U.S., 
Canadian or UK widebody flights.  Timothy was concerned that 
the Venezuelan-funded and constructed extension of the runway 
into the sea, and the EU-funded addition of night lights, 
would not fix these problems and was thus wasted money. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶5.  (C) Dominica's government continues to be plagued by 
inefficiency, perceptions of corruption, and a lack of public 
confidence.  The current leadership crop has few bright 
spots, starting with a Prime Minister who often appears out 
of his depth with regional colleagues and easily susceptible 
to influence by neighbors with strong personalities (such as 
PM Gonsalves in St. Vincent) or big checkbooks (notably, 
Venezuela).  Underdeveloped transportation infrastructure 
that keeps the island nation relatively isolated, an economy 
still driven mostly by small-scale agriculture, and a bad run 
of luck recently with hurricanes have also been drags on 
development and have left the poorest of the OECS countries 
vulnerable to a growing drug trade and outside political 
influence.  That said, the country has real potential as a 
tourism destination, and there are some in the country that 
have a vision and a good marketing plan to develop Dominica 
as the Green center of the Caribbean through strong support 
for alternative energy generation and eco-tourism products. 
 
¶6.  (U) Post is following up on PIC Chairman Johnson's 
request for assistance for his commission with a request for 
a volunteer visitor program to bring the commission members 
to Washington, DC to meet with public corruption offices and 
agencies, such as OMB, GAO, White House Counsel, FBI and 
various OIG offices.  Providing such training and assistance 
to the fledgling commission could go a long way towards 
improving rule of law and anti-corruption efforts in 
Dominica, and thus remove at least one of the development 
hurdles facing the country. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Bio note:  Ron Green became the head of the UWP 
when Eric Williams resigned at the end of July 2008.  Green 
was a former Minister of Education and Sports and has also 
worked in the NGO community with the Dominica Christian 
Council.  Green has taken an increasingly confrontational 
stance against the government over corruption issues.  The 
UWP under his leadership has issued mass protests and has 
promised to be uncooperative with government.  With the 
worsening economy and continuing probes into corruption, 
Green believes that they have a legitimate chance to win the 
next election and prefers to take a hard line against the 
government in order to make a clear distinction for voters. 
End Comment. 
HARDT