By Caribbean News Global contributor
ROSEAU, Dominica – Citizenship by Investment (CBI) has been a lifeline for Dominica and continues to change lives, a sentiment that prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit re-accentuate, in the face of conspirators seeking to derail the achievements of the country, heading into the December 6, general elections.
‘ The small Caribbean island’s remarkable recovery after hurricane Maria in 2017 would not have been possible’ and that “had it not been for the CBI programme, which demonstrated its resilience because, […] within 90 days after the hurricane, we were back in business in respect to the CBI programme,” he said.
In a previous interview on Dominica’s Broadcasting Service (DBS), prime minister Skerrit revealed how Dominica’s CBI programme has supported Dominican children to study abroad, from an allocation of $26 million distributed for education, entirely from CBI, for students studying overseas in countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Prime minister Skerrit emphasised how CBI had helped the island recover following hurricane Maria in 2017. This included rebuilding thousands of homes, as well as the ‘Housing Revolution’ initiative which aims to build 5,000 [now 6,000] new climate-resistant home, whose construction created jobs along the way.
CBI also helped Dominica establish and expand its eco-tourism sector and improve employment prospects with long-term effect.
Since 1993, Dominica’s CBI programme has been enabling carefully vetted global individuals and their immediate relatives to acquire second citizenship through either a one-time non-refundable contribution into the government’s economic diversification fund or buying into selected real estate, currently counting seven unique hotels.
The government-legislated programme is one of the oldest in existence and has been internationally recognised by experts at the Financial Times’ PWM magazine for its high efficiency, affordability, and due diligence standards. A special independent report, titled the CBI Index, ranked Dominica as the world’s best offering for economic citizenship for the last two consecutive years.
Funds generated from the programme are channelled into the socio-economic advancement of the island including job creation, healthcare, education, climate change, ecotourism, and infrastructural development.
Importantly, Dominica’s government transparency of usage of CBI receipts is often referred to as a model of how a CBI programme should be managed. For over two decades, Dominica has had a stellar reputation within the economic citizenship industry, as foreign investors choose the island’s CBI programme for its longevity, efficiency, and integrity.
I hope the CBI think again about dealing with this regime. It would be better they wait at least until after the elections