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Prime Minister, at your Labour Party Executive meeting you referred to a 60-year-old who had never voted, to a man who went from having four villas to 46, money that man borrowed from the AID Bank, and so on, and then you asked, “Who are you, boy, to talk down to me?” If these references, which occupied so much of your speech, were directed at me, then name me. If you have questions about me, my businesses, any loan I have received, or anything I have said or done, be specific and ask me directly. I am here. Give me a name, share your concerns, give me your questions. That is what respect requires.
And that is exactly what I have done with you: I have named you, usually “Honourable Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit”. I have put specific questions to you, and asked for answers.
Questions not about your personal affairs or business, but about the affairs of the country. It is unfortunate that you deem asking such questions as disrespect. It is the democratic and civic right of every citizen to ask such questions of their leaders.
Which brings me back to the larger issue: what happened to the questions? Where are the answers?
On CBI, I wrote to you repeatedly and respectfully: fourteen letters over seven years. In those letters, I pleaded with you to address what I believed, and documented, to be illegal activity and serious irregularities within the CBI programme. I warned about discounting, the loss of potentially billions in revenue to the Treasury, the damage being done to legitimate developments, and the growing risks to Dominica’s international reputation, particularly with the UK, EU and US.
Those warnings were not mine alone. The concerns were raised repeatedly, by different people, over many years. Yet the practices continued. We have since lost visa-free access to the United Kingdom, faced an ultimatum regarding visa-free access from the European Union, and now face visa restrictions from the United States. So my question remains a very simple one: you were repeatedly put on notice. Why did you allow the mismanagement of our CBI programme to continue? Why did you allow the illegal discounting to go on, year after year, for more than seven years, despite the warnings and the damage being done to the country?
I have asked you about agreements involving billions of dollars that raise serious questions as to whether they serve Dominica’s national interest or principally the interests of third-party foreign developers. You have not answered. Why not?
I have asked why the largest infrastructure projects in the history of Dominica were allowed to proceed without the planning approvals required by law. You have not explained it. Why?
On electoral matters, I have written eight letters over the past six months raising concerns about the implementation of electoral reform. I have questioned the readiness of the Electoral Commission and Office following the passage of the electoral legislation in March 2025. Continuous voter registration was then suspended for almost a full year. And as far as I have been able to determine, Dominica may be the only democracy in the world in which continuous voter registration was suspended without an express legal framework authorising such a suspension. If that is incorrect, then tell us. Show us the law that authorised it. Explain to the Dominican people on what legal basis their right to register was suspended for nearly a year.
During that period, local elections were held while citizens who had become eligible to vote were unable to register and participate. When registration finally resumed, the systems required to implement the new laws were still not ready. Why were these laws rushed through Parliament before the institutions responsible for implementing them were ready?
For many Dominicans, what was promised as reform increasingly feels like restriction, confusion and, ultimately, voter suppression. Despite this I have encouraged every eligible Dominican to overwhelm the disarray with legitimacy, participation and passion for our democratic process. If you are already registered, confirm. If you are not, register. Get approved. Be ready to vote. That has been my message.
You can continue to refer to me as “boy”. Or you can call me by my name. Gregor Nassief. I am right here. Name me, state the facts as you understand them, and put your questions to me directly. I will answer them.
I am simply asking you to do the same.
And one more thing, Prime Minister. I live a relatively simple life in Trafalgar. I do not have one mansion, far less two. I do not live behind the walls of a fortress, surrounded by bodyguards and chauffeurs.
So perhaps you are right. Compared with you, maybe I am just a boy.
But a boy with questions. Questions pertaining to the affairs of the country.
Fourteen letters over seven years on CBI. Eight more letters over the past six months raising electoral concerns. And still, the fundamental questions remain unanswered.
Prime Minister, what happened to the questions and when will you answer them?
Gregor Nassief
