The leadership of the UWP is accusing Roseau Central MP and wife of PM Roosevelt Skerrit of acquiring a prime land undervalued by $73,000. UWP’s Leader Lennox Linton said Ms. Mellissa Popone Skerrit purchased the land contrary to the provisions of law in the country.
Linton went on to state that the land purchase resulted in a reduced payment into government coffers, adding that the police must investigate the matter for justice to be done. The opposition leader stated that land is currently valued at about $20 per square foot at the region of sale, but Ms. Skerrit’s parents transferred it to her for $6 per square foot, $14 short of its current value in the open market.
Citing Section 1 (69) of the Title by Registration Act, Linton said such fraudulent purchase of land at the given area is deserving of 2 years imprisonment or a $15,000 fine.
Just recently, the UWP in a letter signed by Linton also wrote to PM Skerrit, demanding that the Cabinet’s proposal to spend $32,000 per month on a Morne Daniel residence for the prime minister be revoked in its entirety. The opposition said the prime minister already has an official residence at Morne Bruce and that any proposal to rent the Morne Daniel is a waste of public resources and would be resisted at the courts.
“The Parliamentary Opposition strongly condemns this morally and legally indefensible abuse of the authority of Cabinet,” the UWP’s letter reads. “EC$32,000 is more than three times the monthly salary of the Prime Minister and more than the annual income of the vast majority of Dominicans. As Prime Minister for more than 16 years, you are well aware that the Cabinet has no lawful authority for wasteful, uneconomical, bad value-for-money spending of public funds.”
This article is copyright © 2020 DOM767
