Author: Anonymous

Roseau, Dominica – December 28, 2007……… A flotilla of canoes depicting the first inhabitants of Dominica, the Kalinago, will leave the southern tip of Dominica and travel to the Roseau Cruise Ship Berth at just before 5am on Tuesday, January 1, 2008. A Reunion torch will be handed to Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit to signal the start of Reunion Wivé- a grand and spectacular extravaganza to launch the commencement of activities to mark Dominica’s 30^th year as an Independent Nation.

The Dame Eugenia Charles Boulevard in the Capital City of Roseau will be the venue for Reunion Wivé, (Reunion has arrived). It will include Prayer and Praise, Cultural and Artistic Performances and musical interludes.

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Roseau, Dominica – December 27, 2007……… In the keynote address at a National Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases in Dominica, Prime Minister, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit highlighted the incidence of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) in the country.

As a follow-up to the CARICOM Heads of Government Summit on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases held in Trinidad in July, 2007 and on the initiative of Dominica’s Prime Minister, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, the Government of Dominica, through the Ministry of Health and the Environment convened a National Summit on the epidemic recently at the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau.

According to Hon. Skerrit, the main causes of CNCDs in Dominica  include an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol abuse. Diseases of the circulatory system and cancers are the leading causes of death among Dominicans.

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Roseau, Dominica – December 24, 2007………… Minister for Economic Development and Urban Renewal, Hon. Julius Timothy has unveiled aspects of Government’s plans to transform the Capital City of Roseau as part of its Roseau Development Plan.

 

The Minister made the remarks at the Ninth Inaugural Meeting of the Roseau City Council held recently at the Arawak House of Culture.

 

According to the Minister, the Plan seeks generally to address the improvement the physical environment of the Roseau Area, overall development of the City, particularly housing and improvement of the Tourism assets in Roseau.

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Roseau, Dominica – December 20, 2007………… Minister with responsibility for the Public Service, Hon. Charles Savarin has highlighted the reforms now underway in Dominica’s judicial system.

 

Hon. Savarin who is the Minister for Public Utilities, Energy, Ports and the Public Service made the disclosure at a Presentation Forum on Reform of the Systems and Institutions relating to the Administration of Justice in Dominica which took place recently.

 

According to the Minister, reform of the judicial system in Dominica is also supported by the World Bank. This programme provides technical assistance to the Government to implement key components of its public sector modernization strategy, focused on streamlining the public sector to increase the efficiency of service delivery while at the same time, lowering costs.

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Roseau, Dominica – December 19, 2007………… Dominica has become the first country out of sixteen in the Caribbean to benefit from its participation in the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) following the presentation of a cheque for US$279,338.14, which represents 50% of the estimated full pay-out.

Dominica was struck by an earthquake which measured 7.3 on the richter scale on Thursday, November 29th 2007.

At a ceremony at the Financial Centre last week, Dr. Simon Young of CCRIF presented the cheque to Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit. 

According to Prime Minister Skerrit, the issue of an insurance which would assist Caribbean countries to respond to disaster situations, “has been discussed for a very long time”. After the passage of Hurricane Ivan in Grenada in 2004, Caribbean countries again made a call to the donor community, more particularly the World Bank for assistance to develop such a facility.

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Roseau, Dominica – December 13, 2007……… The Government’s Programme for economic growth and private sector development received a significant boost with the signing of the financing agreement between the Government of Dominica and the European Commission last week.

 

The assistance will be provided as direct non-targeted budget support and disbursed in three tranches with the first being $15.7 million and the other two EC$10.3 million each.

 

Expected results from the project are the strengthening of customs services to include modernisation and automation of port and customs information and payment systems; strengthening of the investment environment and establishment of an investment promotion agency.

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Roseau, Dominica – December 4, 2007…… The Commonwealth of Dominica is seeking to deepen and broaden areas of cooperation with the People’s Republic of China as a fifteen member delegation from Guangdong Province in China continues a four-day visit to Dominica. The delegation which is led by Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Province, Mr. Fu Lang,  arrived on island on Sunday.

 

The purpose of the visit is three-fold:

 

· Promote the bilateral economic and trade relationship between Dominica and China as a follow-up to the visit by Prime Minister, Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit in April, 2007;

· Gain better knowledge and understanding  of Dominica’s economic, trade, cultural and tourism development;

· Source possibilities for cooperation in the areas of trade, culture, and tourism between Dominica and China.

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