On Monday night, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit revealed a 13-member Cabinet, less than a week after his Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won the general election, which the country’s major opposition parties boycotted.
The new Cabinet, which will be sworn in on Tuesday, will include nine former cabinet members, including the prime minister’s wife, Melissa Skerrit, who will serve as Minister of Housing and Urban Development, and former National Security Minister Rayburn Blackmoore, who did not run for office.
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Skerrit had called the election for December 6, two years ahead of the constitutional deadline, arguing that it was critical that the nation’s socio-economic policies be reset, while the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) and Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) urged supporters to abstain from the polls in opposition to the absence of electoral reform.
In Salisbury and Marigot, two independent candidates gained seats that have historically been strongholds of the opposition, giving the DLP a 19-2 victory advantage.
In a broadcast on the government-run DBS radio, Skerrit expressed his satisfaction with the preliminary reports from the various international observer teams and missions, saying they had, “given a resounding nod of approval to the open and transparent manner in which these elections were conducted, and the overarching conclusion that the will of the people of Dominica was manifested and determined, fairly.”
“These are not just empty words or a new catchphrase that sounds good when we say it,” he added, adding that the election was called to “trigger a national reset.”
“It is in fact, quite to the contrary. Dominica has great potential and has created plans and policies that will build our resilience and spur greater economic growth and development for our country. However, in order to realize our true potential, we need all Dominicans, despite what our political differences may be, to be working towards the development of Dominica and a better life for our people.
“It is an opportunity therefore for us to pause as a nation and a people, and reflect seriously on what will be required to navigate us successfully through the maze of uncertainty that now envelopes the region and the world, as a result of circumstances not of our making, but with which we are forced to grapple.”
The following is the complete list of the Cabinet:
Roosevelt Skerrit – Prime Minister and Minister for Investment and Governance
Dr. Vince Henderson -Senior Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade, and Energy
Senator Rayburn Blackmore -Minister for National Security and Legal Affairs
Cassani Laville – Minister for Health, Wellness, and Social Services
Melissa Skerrit – Minister for Housing and Urban Development
Roland Royer – Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy
Denise Charles – Minister for Tourism
Fidel Grant – Minister for Public Works, Public Utilities, and Digital Economy
Miriam Blanchard – Minister for Labour, Public Service Reform, Social Partnership, Entrepreneurship, and Small Business Development
Gretta Roberts – Minister for Culture, Youth, Sports, and Community Development
Cozier Frederick – Minister for the Environment, Rural Modernisation, Kalinago Upliftment, and Constituency Empowerment
Octavia Alfred – Minister for Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training, and National Excellence
