Skerrit to Build Personal House with Money Saved For His Children Education
PM Roosevelt Skerrit has vowed to construct his personal family residence with money saved up for his children’s education. The prime minister said he has suffered enough ridicule and embarrassments for his official Morne Daniel residence which costs a monthly rent of EC$32,000, and that the two-year contract for the residence will not be renewed at its expiration.
The Cabinet in June approved a monthly rent of EC$32,000 to pay for the prime minister’s rented residence, but the UWP opposition and a number of other dissidents cried foul over the rent, arguing that the monthly rent could be used for other constructive projects in the country. Opposition Leader Lennox Linton even wrote a personal letter to the prime minister, urging him to quit the residence and use the taxpayers’ money for other developmental projects across the country.
After three months of occupation, PM Skerrit vowed that he would vacate the rented residence when the two-year contract expires. He said he wants to relieve the state of the burden of his rent, and that he did not want his name to be dragged in the mud any further. He said he is currently making plans to construct his own house with his personal money, and that his move will save his government from unreasonable critics.
“I will not allow my dignity to be dragged on the streets of Roseau or anywhere in Dominica, so I will have to use my children money that I was saving for them to go to university at some point to build them a home for now, and we will see what happens when they get to university age,” Skerrit stated. “So I am pushing very fast to get out of this rent and…the government will be able to use the $32,000 as the government wishes to spend the money every month.”
The prime ministers rented residence in Morne Daniel is owned by Mercury Properties Development Ltd.
In a related development, the DLP administration has parnered with Preconco Ltd to construct 51 residential houses in the Kalinago Territory. The new houses will be resilient in terms of resistance to hurricanes and seismic activities. They will be in 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments and suitable for single-parented families and elderly households.
Twenty of these houses have been constructed in Seneku and Concord and the remaining 31 will be built in several places at the Kalinago Territory of Salybia Constituency. The homes will be fitted with all basic amenities, and they will also have enough spaces for backyard gardening and other family activities.
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