An unidentified man has been shot in close quarters during an altercation with police in the ongoing bus drivers protest in Dominica. A police source said the man was shot with a rubber bullet, but may still suffer grave injury given the shot distance at which the shot was fired. The injured man has been taken to the Dominica China Friendship Hospital (DCFH) for medical treatment.
The incident occurred at Auto Trade in Canefield when police officers attempted to clear the road when bus drivers took over the roads to protest neglect by the government. The drivers said the government ignored them during the COVID-19 pandemic and that they suffered significant loss as a result of the lockdown. The transport workers said they require a stimulus package to get back to their feet.
The drivers began their protest by occupying the roads in Massacre and driving very slowly at about 1 km/h to cause massive traffic jam. The traffic holdup extended to Jimmit and early morning commuters were unable to reach their destinations for half the day. The drivers also caused a gridlock in Roseau and urged other drivers in other parts of the country to block the roads with their vehicles.
The protesters contended that they lost money by carrying only three passengers during the pandemic, and they also suffered a fuel hike from $11.34 to $12.17 which forced many of them to park their vehicles without any other means of family sustenance. They also argued that the $15 million the Skerrit-led administration deposited at the Dominica Social Security (DSS) and the $5 million loan facility placed at the AID Bank is inaccessible for many of them.
“Many of us who have tried receiving those funds are told that we do not qualify,” one of the drivers complained. “It’s only a selected few who are receiving those monies and that’s not right.”
The leaders of the bus drivers association confirmed that they had a meeting with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit over their plight and that the DLP leader promised to provide them with a befitting stimulus package. But the prime minister has not done anything since the meeting held many months back, and their strike action is calculated to bring their plight to the attention of the government leader.
The protesting drivers insist that they are not agitating for increment in bus fares since they know that things are hard for everyone. But all they want is to have PM Skerrit provide them with stimulus packages; not necessarily loan facility since many of them are already in debts, and accessing any further loans is only a pipe dream.
This article is copyright © 2021 DOM767
