The Dominica Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods Climate Resilience Project (DEAL-CRP) has perfected plans to provide up to 150 boat engines to fishermen who lost their livelihoods on account of the coronavirus situation in the country.
Project Coordinator Kervin Stephenson said the agency will build 50-75 boats in the next 3-6 months and these will measure 26-30 feet. He noted that a consultant has been engaged to deliver the boat engines and also train fishermen on constructing weather-resilient boats within months.
He added that the coronavirus situation and the resultant travel ban have made it impossible for the consultant to be in Dominica for the task. He said the preparatory work is underway and the consultant will be in the country once travel ban is lifted.
Fishermen are not the only ones impacted with loss of revenues and livelihoods during this time, the situation cuts across the country. The Dominica Freedom Party’s Kent Vital projected that more people will lose their jobs and others suffer salary cuts if there is no significant improvement to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The former economist with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) noted that the government is running on financial deficit and his party would have done things differently had they been in power. He lamented that the current government is not managing the country’s resources efficiently and that more needs to be done in this regard.
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