Vote DOMINICA FREEDOM PARTY

More documents

Recommendations

Info

STATEMENT OF THE POLITICAL LEADER Fellow Dominicans, The 2009 General Elections is an extremely important event in our history, not to be taken lightly. The results will determine whether we continue on the slippery slope towards becoming a failed State or we take back our country and build a society that is free, prosperous, is at peace, where the rule of law is observed and where everyone has a stake. When you go to the polls on December 18 to vote, send a loud and clear message to those who seek public office that you will not tolerate corruption any more and that the public trust is sacred. Use your vote to reject the mendicancy and political patronage that have been offered to us as a substitute for a well-thought out development strategy for the last five years. Conversely, by voting for the Dominica Freedom Party, you will be voting for accountability and integrity in public office, honest leadership, the application of the rule of law, economic renewal and people empowerment. In short, your vote for change will give Dominica a breath of fresh air and restore our health as a Nation State. While the Labour Party Government makes pronouncements on road infrastructure works, it has been unable or incapable of completing these projects on schedule and within original budgets. No other government has been so scandalous with public funds. The netball stadium at Stock Farm now stands as a testimony to the folly of the Labour Party. Recall the millions that were expended on constructing the foundation of the original Windsor Stadium project, which was laid to waste when the Chinese took over the project. We have had the most recent experience of the garbage bin and fertilizer "bobols". According to the Government’s own statistics, four out of every ten Dominicans live in poverty. The poverty situation is considerably worse in the Carib Territory where 70 per cent of the indigenous population lives in poverty and almost half are indigent. The number of banana farmers has fallen dramatically. Those who have remained in the industry are struggling. Their income has declined by more than half and continues to fall beyond belief since the Labour Party came into government in 2000. It is not surprising therefore that unemployment is high at 25 per cent with the rate for youth more than three times higher. Instead of focusing on the job at hand - creating employment, improving the quality of education and health care and arresting the upward trend in major crimes - the Government is busily engaged in corrupt practices. The quality of governance has sharply deteriorated. We have witnessed the undermining of the Parliamentary system. Public procurement and public financial administration have broken down. The Integrity in Public Office Commission 2
and the Community Development and Village Council systems have been disempowered. At the same time the Treasury has been swindled. We have chosen to present our plans for restoring health to Dominica in the format of the listing of specific, concrete actions we will implement when we assume office. This is deliberate. We want to communicate our thrust for various sectors to you in clear and simple language so that our vision and actions are well understood and can be easily assessed. A fundamental goal of the Dominica Freedom Party is to restore and strengthen good governance in Dominica. It is absolutely imperative that we do so to ensure that our development is not retarded by corruption and to protect the reputation of our nation. We will achieve this through Constitutional and legislative reforms, and, more importantly, by our approach to governance. We therefore pledge that in governing this country we will: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Seek the participation of the people of Dominica in decisions that will affect us all as we move forward together; observe the rule of law in all our affairs; Govern free of abuse and corruption; Govern with transparency so that the people of Dominica will always know what we are doing and why we are doing it; (v) Be responsive to the needs of the people, responding as quickly as (vi) possible to demands and crises; and Be accountable to the people who put us in power – that is, take the blame when we fall short in our governing, be not afraid of criticism, and not be vindictive to those who criticize us. Our economic development policy objective is to build a diversified, competitive and resilient economy that will provide for higher income and employment opportunities. We intend to achieve these results by targeting investments in sectors with high growth potential such as agriculture, ecotourism, energy and the creative industries. Our initiatives in this regard are described in the Manifesto and our Economic Revitalization Plan. We are committed to giving everyone a stake in society; we will leave no one behind in the development process. This commitment underlines our deliberate policy intention to give special focus to: The Kalinago people to lift them out of poverty by guaranteeing funds for entrepreneurial activities; 3
Page 1 and 2: Vote DOMINICA FREEDOM PARTY MICHAEL
Page 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of the
Page 7 and 8: JUDITH PESTAINA POLITICAL LEADER &
Page 9 and 10: FELITA PAUL THOMAS CANDIDATE FOR TH
Page 11 and 12: HENRY DYER CANDIDATE FOR THE ROSEAU
Page 13 and 14: culture must remain paramount at al
Page 15 and 16: Given the record of poor governance
Page 17 and 18: 9. Introduction of Community Parent
Page 19 and 20: Introduce a pilot organic farming s
Page 21 and 22: Eco-tourism Challenge - to increase
Page 23 and 24: Maintain our relationship with othe
Page 25 and 26: Partner with private sector employe
Page 27 and 28: ENVIRONMENTAL AND DISASTER MANAGEME
Page 29 and 30: WOMEN AND GENDER DEVELOPMENT In Gov
Page 31 and 32: FOREIGN POLICY The on-going challen
Page 33 and 34: THE CHOICE TO BE MADE We are presen
Page 35 and 36: Notes

Vote DOMINICA FREEDOM PARTY

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?