Editor’s note:This article was published in the Editorial section of the Chronicle Newspaper on June 19,2009.

One should not believe everything one hears, especially if it is a rumour that Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has assumed unofficial duties on Wednesdays as Dominica’s welfare director.

From his track record, it certainly seems that the P.M. is quite keen on the idea of turning Dominica into a welfare state. But it would be a bizarre expansion of this concept if Prime Minister Skerrit takes personal control of the distribution of the state’s largesse and holds weekly meetings with supplicants to decide who gets state help and who does not.

Most of us know that, in the strictest sense, a welfare state is one in which the government provides for the welfare, or the well-being, of its citizens completely. It is a state in which a government gets involved in citizens’ lives at every level and government provides for physical, material, and social needs rather than the people. The vast majority of the nation’s collective income goes to and is spent by the state, while citizens’ personal income and spending are kept as low as possible.

A welfare state spends expansively on huge state projects under broad headings like security, education, housing, healthcare and the like. It invests heavily in public services like transportation and childcare and social amenities such as public parks and libraries, focusing almost exclusively on goods and services for public consumption. This requires massive state expenditure, some of which is paid for by loans and grants from international donors while a large amount comes from taxes paid by individuals and businesses.

The concept of the welfare state is often closely linked to communist or socialist ideals. It is based on the progressive redistribution of a nation’s wealth by heavily taxing those who a particular government perceives to have too much wealth and income, according to its own subjective criteria; ostensibly to provide goods and services for those persons who the government deems to be underprivileged, according to its own subjective criteria.

The Skerrit administration clearly embraces development plan along the lines of a welfare state that involves the government providing the people with more roads, bridges and other state-funded projects, rather than leaving more disposable income in the hands of individual Dominicans. Maybe too many people have come to depend on Skerrit’s budding welfare state, and in an attempt to provide equitably to all petitioners for state help, the Prime Minister has allegedly appointed himself as the state’s welfare director.

One wonders if some people have come to the conclusion that the best way to improve their lives is to depend on the Skerrit government to provide state largesse directly to them, especially if they line up once a week to appeal to the supposed welfare director himself. If so, it would put the P.M. in a position to usurp the functions of a multitude of state agencies and mechanisms and dole out state funds according to personal criteria.

Ironically, a ‘one-person welfare distribution show’ goes against the grain of the welfare state in which government welfare is indiscriminate. One person should never have sole authority to distinguish between deserving and undeserving petitioners for assistance according to personal criteria. A single individual should never have the power to decide whether or not to provide state funds, and the level of state assistance to be given.

Rumour has it that P.M. Skerrit has turned himself into the state’s welfare director in order to create a personality cult based on some persons’ dependency on his personal distribution of state resources. But one should never believe everything one hears.

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Are Caribbean governments leading by example in these tough economic times?

That’s the question BBC Caribbean is asking in light of Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s decision to cut his salary by 15 per cent.

In Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning says his country is “more difficult to govern now”, and as a consequence, reducing his salary was not being considered. Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, responding to an opposition call, has said he will consider a pay cut by 10 per cent for his government.

But Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson thinks that pay cuts are not an option.

Recently Prime Minister Skerrit made an announcement, saying that his government is cutting down on number of public servants traveling aboard, in an effort to reduce government spending in this global recession. How ironic, when the PM is one the “public servants” who travels the most. But that whole other story by itself.

What do you think? Should Dominican leaders take a pay cut given the current economic circumstances? Have you say in the comments.

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Editors note:This article was published in the Feb 27 issue of The Chronicle Newspaper

In the midst of a global economic downturn, cottage industries in Dominica ought to play a very important role in the economy of the country, and the government needs to do more to facilitate their development and sustainability.

Cottage industries exist where families produce marketable items with simple tools, through the work of family members only. They do not rely on expensive machinery, technical inputs or hired labor. Dominica has enormous potential to expand existing cottage industries – in pottery, leatherwork, woodwork, and various types of handicraft – and develop new ones.

In both rural and urban areas, thriving cottage industries would yield enormous benefits. In country areas, they would help farmers to supplement their main earnings from agriculture. In urban areas, they would provide full-time employment to persons who cannot find jobs, as well as offer part-time employment for those with jobs who want to increase their earnings.

It is not certain whether any accurate data exists regarding the contribution existing cottage industries make to Dominica’s economy, but there is no question that the revenues they generate are vital to the sustenance of many families and are essential to the country’s economic well-being. Moreover, they promote the attainment of marketable skills and create sources of income where none would otherwise exist.
The Roosevelt Skerrit administration has been very resourceful when it comes to raising funds for large capital investment projects like the Windsor Park Stadium, the Melville Hall airport and the “housing revolution”. It is time for government to show equal inventiveness with regard to sourcing funds for setting up cottage industries, as well as ensuring that Dominicans have access to sound advice on how to run small businesses.

It would be a mistake to underestimate the economic power of local cottage industries. Some of the products that these small industries produce have the potential to be world class. The government needs to direct more funds and technical expertise towards the expansion of these cottage industries and help develop the quality and marketing of the products so that there is increasing demand for them within the country and abroad.

It is clear that many of Dominica’s cottage industries need fiscal and tax incentives in order to get off the ground. The government has a responsibility to come up with practical development strategies and appropriate incentives to help them. With correct policy interventions and incentives, there is every reason to expect local cottage industries to develop exponentially, with all the attendant benefits to the economy.
Government has to take up the challenge of revitalising existing cottage industries and creating new ones across the island. To create an enabling environment for cottage industries, Government has to make distinct and affirmative moves. Any restrictions or taxation on cottage industries in Dominica must be reasonable and relevant; and any bureaucratic registration processes must be streamlined or eliminated.

Government can do much more to support this economic sector. Unless Government sends a clear signal of support, cottage industries would tend to shy away from any interaction with officialdom in the fear that this would lead to restrictions, increased taxation and other disincentives.

Government’s role is to create the right business climate for cottage industries by providing a wide range of incentives, and by pro-actively implementing appropriate policies, systems and legislation.

What some other ways you believe government can create the right business climate for the cottage industry in Dominica. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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