By Caribbean News Global contributor
ROSEAU, Dominica – Prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit is confident that the EU decision to add Dominica to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions last year, will be rectified in the upcoming peer review, for 2022; meantime, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts, “GDP is projected to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023, averaging 5 percent growth per year through 2022-26, tourism recovery would be supported by the ongoing construction of new hotels and the inauguration of direct flights from the United States from December 2021.”
Dominica was included in the EU list as it received a ‘partially compliant’ rating from the Global Forum and has not yet resolved this issue, noted the EU February 2021.
In an interview on state-owned DBS Radio, prime minister Skerrit, said:
“We’ve been through tremendous progress and I want to thank the technical staff in the ministry of finance for their diligence. We submitted our documents and in the next peer review, this year, 2022 – we will certainly get out of these so-called compliances,” he stated, with confidence.
“In the next peer review, I am satisfied that Dominica will be removed from this list of jurisdictions that are partially compliant to being fully compliant,”. Skerrit added. “We are taking actions and as you know, we’ve always maintained that we take our responsibility as a nation very seriously and the security of other nations is one of our priorities.”
According to the EU press release resulting in last years decision:
“The changes to the list take into consideration the ratings recently released by OECD Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information (Global Forum) as regards exchange of information on request. For the purposes of the list, the EU requires jurisdictions to be at least ‘largely compliant’ with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR).”
Prime minister Skerrit noted that Dominica is keen to uphold a “secured international space” and will continue to work and cooperate with the EU, evident by the EU technical support to Dominica.
Last week, prime minister Skerrit affirmed that developments in Dominica to continue in 2022, noting that various sectors will continue to see investments as Dominica continues to fight the pandemic and revive its economy.
IMF predicts five percent growth for Dominica 2022-2026
IMF staff concluding statement of the 2021 Article IV Mission on Dominica, reads:
“Recovery in the medium term is promising, underpinned by a large public investment program to build resilience to natural disasters, largely financed by buoyant Citizenship by Investment (CBI) revenue. On the fiscal front, near term policies should prioritize expenditure efficiency, while avoiding additional taxes and fees that hamper the recovery of the private sector and the business climate.”
Since building back from scratch after the devastation of hurricane Maria in 2017, Dominica is adamant about using CBI funds to construct climate-resilient infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters, while creating lasting jobs in construction and hospitality. Established in 1993, Dominica’s CBI programme has helped vetted individuals and their families in becoming citizens of the nation once they either invest in a government fund or purchase pre-approved real estate properties. The programme is one of the longest-standing options on the market and continues to be ranked as the world’s best by the annual CBI Index report conducted by experts at the Financial Times’ PWM magazine. Revenue from the programme is allocated to the island’s national development projects.
“The growth outlook is promising,” the IMF statement reads, “supported by the large public investment program and the projected gradual recovery in tourism with added hotel capacity. The government plans to maintain high levels of public investment into the medium term financed mainly by CBI revenue.”
“Key projects include a new international airport, housing resilient to natural disasters, roads improvement, a resilient water and sewage network, improvements in the hospital capacity (including a new hospital financed by the People’s Republic of China), and a geothermal electricity plant.”
“These projects will accelerate growth in the near term during the construction phase and will also increase potential output in the long term – including spillovers in tourism and reduction of fossil fuel dependency, all of which improve Dominica’s external sustainability and competitiveness.”
