Last Updated on October 11, 2019, 5:42 AM AST by Chris Matthew
The Dominica Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme is a valuable national asset of which we should all be proud, declares Dominican national Euigene Dwight.
Born and raised in Dominica, Dwight built a career at home in administration, before travelling internationally and developing his career overseas, eventually residing and working in the United Kingdom (UK) for the past three decades. Due to his experience working and living in multiple nations, Dwight can attest with authority to the international reputation of Dominica’s CBI Programme. “It is widely known that there are several CBI jurisdictions worldwide, yet Dominica is held in very high regard.”
As a son of the soil, Dwight says he is “extremely proud of Dominica,” in particular “that we have managed to not only get back up off our feet after such damaging natural disasters like Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria, but then produce such a strong Programme and use these funds for the good of everyone.”
He expresses disappointment that, within Dominica, debate where the Programme is used indiscriminately as a political tool without regard for its economic and developmental significance still exists. “The Programme has received wide respect from the international community – for example, from international bodies EY, the Financial Times, and PwC – yet there continues to be a stark lack of understanding of it on the island. We, citizens, are sometime not encouraged to see its true value, yet in reality, the Programme has done so much for us. It’s time we stopped this internal bickering, and respected the professionalism of the reputable institutions who support it, and of the international agents who work for it.”
He highlights that of all the Caribbean CBI programmes, it is the Dominican one that has funded over 6,000 climate-resilient homes for families. “We’ve built over 500 homes and 1,068 will be finished in the next few months – that’s EC$555 million worth of Government stock that’s being given to the people. When the 6,680 target is reached, it’ll be EC$2.3 billion. This is ultimately our, the people’s, housing, yet we don’t realise it, due to this political squabbling.”
He also highlights the new eco-tourism industry which will support an estimated 1,900 jobs, the entire communities who have been successfully relocated, the repaired roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and health centres which were damaged by Hurricane Maria, and the financial support that has helped 4,500 business owners and enabled 16 Dominican children to receive complex medical treatment in 2017/18. All have been funded by CBI. “We must wake up and acknowledge the Programme’s well-deserved reputation, and take pride in it,” Dwight urges.
Indeed, the impact the Programme has had on local citizens is all laid out in PwC’s report, which examines how the CBI funds are accounted for by the Government. As an independent body comprised of financial and auditing experts, PwC is best placed to evaluate the Programme, its national impact, and the financial figures behind it. PwC travelled to Dominica, where it had full reign to ascertain the facts for itself. “Such transparency as that provided by the Government is notable, and even more credible than if it published the figures itself,” asserts Dwight. “It not only proves the transparency and legitimacy of the Programme, but demonstrates the responsibility of those that govern it and their commitment to providing full accountability.”
Overall, Dwight says, the Programme has brought impressive international acclaim to the nation, which has, in turn, brought vast and consistent influxes of FDI (foreign direct investment), greatly increased the country’s fiscal power, and brought huge benefits to residents. It is reliably managed and “has generated tangible impacts on almost every aspect of life in Dominica” – a chief conclusion of PwC’s report. Why then, posits Dwight, when the international community respects it so, do we continue to debate it ourselves?
Dominica has received recognition from, alongside PwC, the Financial Times’ CBI Index, which in August 2019 named Dominica as the best CBI programme in the world for the third year in a row.
Chris Matthew is a well-seasoned expert in feature writing, with a strong focus on covering international updates.. He blends his creative thinking with a journalistic mindset to report on events and issues across the world with precision and accuracy.
