Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is expected to attend the Inter-Sessional Conference of Heads of Governments of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Bridgetown, Barbados, this week. Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baronness Patricia Scotland, is also expected to be in attendance as a special guest.
Former Attorney-General Bernard Wiltshire has however criticised Skerrit for keeping Dominican-born Scotland in office against the seeming wishes of CARICOM leaders. He blamed Skerrit for supporting Scotland to bring shame to the commonwealth and engage in corrupt practices that are rubbing off against the region. He said Ron Sanders is the better option for Commonwealth Secretary-General and not Scotland.
“The whole thing was a corrupt practice from the start,” Wiltshire said. “The prime minister of Dominica was used to steal from the Caribbean and have Scotland appointed. It appears she was bulldozed into the position…I believe her tenure is not one we can be proud of. I think her tenure has been reflecting poorly on Dominica. I have been following her and I am amazed at the number of scandals she has been involved in.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson suspended the UK’s £4.7 million annual grant to the CARICOM secretariat after allegations of corruptions were made against Scotland. Australia and New Zealand equally withdrew their discretionary fundings over claims of corruption against Scotland. Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne also accused Scotland of embezzling over $1 million for her residence.
Despite all these, Scotland will attend the CARICOM meeting between February 18 and 19 to discuss climate change and economic growth for the region. She will meet with government leaders, high commissioners, and envoys of the international community during the conference. There are 15 member-countries in CARICOM, and 12 of them are in the Commonwealth.
This article is copyright © 2020 DOM767
