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The United Progressive Party | Pre-Budget Press Conference

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Overview

The United Progressive Party (UPP) held a pre-budget press conference arguing that Dominica’s next national budget should change direction—especially away from what they describe as an overly “repressive” and non-transformative use of public funds, and away from heavy reliance on the Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) model.

1) UPP’s health, social support, and governance priorities (UPP leader’s theme)

UPP’s presentation emphasized that the budget must:

  • Increase investment in hospitals, health centers, and frontline health workers, including modern equipment, supplies, technology, ongoing training, and safe working conditions.
  • Strengthen primary health care and disease prevention, including community clinics, health education, early screening, maternal/child health, and preventative care.
  • Provide stronger support for the elderly through accessible services, community outreach, home-based care where appropriate, and assistance to families/caregivers.
  • Treat mental health as a national priority with real funding for counseling, crisis intervention, and public education to reduce stigma.
  • Strengthen emergency medical services, including reliable ambulances, faster response, properly equipped emergency departments, and resilient facilities.
  • Be transparent and fiscally responsible, focused on measurable results and accountability.
  • Center governance around outcomes, not only spending (e.g., lives saved, reduced disease rates, improved agricultural productivity, measurable results of green/energy initiatives).

2) Independent governance contributor: “repressive” budgeting and weak transformation

An independent contributor (working with multiple parties on good governance) framed the existing budget as:

  • Top-heavy on government operations, with a large share supporting the state itself while less goes to productive sectors.
  • Containing unclear or “fuzzy” large line items, including a cited $75 million item for CBI operations that they claim exceeds combined spending on healthcare, education, and agriculture.
  • Highly dependent on CBI proceeds (described as funded up to ~70%), creating a “divorce” between government spending and the real economy—reducing accountability and incentives to grow the tax base through productive sectors.
  • Including capital “hidden” programming, claiming an NEP-related allocation is buried under capital expenditures and arguing such spending does not deliver real national transformation.
  • Conservative and insufficiently future-oriented, with UPP-style criticism that the budget does not meaningfully plan for global shifts such as AI/digitization, green energy exports, hydrogen production, or serious upskilling for the digital economy—beyond small pilots and “buzzwords.”

They also argued accountability should require public reporting of results (outcomes) rather than just disclosure of budget allocations.

3) CBI program critique (Antigua/CBI impacts and integrity)

Another contributor focused on Antigua’s experience with CBI, arguing that:

  • CBI in Antigua began around 2013 and has lasted roughly 13 years.
  • Even opponents of CBI initially supported promises that it would drive development, but the contributor claims similar funding problems persist after expansion.
  • Despite large CBI revenue claims (they cited figures such as EC$2 billion), Antigua continues to face major issues, including roads and concerns about how money was used.
  • The National Development Fund is criticized as being politically controlled, with limited oversight and unclear budgeting/auditing transparency.
  • CBI cannot be sustained indefinitely, and reliance on it is dangerous given external pressures.
  • CBI has harmed the region’s reputation (referencing broader allegations and reputation concerns), which they argue affects tourism appeal and regional credibility.

4) UPP leader Joshua Francis: Dominica’s budget reality—CBI risk, economic stagnation, and governance failures

Joshua Francis presented the central economic analysis and recommendations, asserting that Dominica faces serious constraints:

  • The world is becoming more unstable (including wars and cited U.S. decisions), so budget choices must reflect current national weaknesses.
  • Over recent decades, the ruling approach is criticized for:
    • Expanding public service/NEP influence rather than enabling private sector growth.
    • Employing large numbers of NEP workers and creating conditions where the economy does not expand through productive sectors.
    • Allowing CBI proceeds to be influenced by foreign-controlled entities (claiming foreign shareholders hold substantial power and that parliament oversight/audits are lacking).

Core vulnerability: CBI reliance

He argued that reliance on CBI is a key weakness:

  • The European Union is described as pushing Eastern Caribbean states to phase out CBI by June 1, 2028.
  • Dominica is described as overly reliant on CBI, with CBI revenue making up a large portion of national income and recurring expenditure—so a CBI collapse could be “fatal” economically.
  • Past CBI proceeds were not invested enough into diversification, productive sectors, or people (including agriculture, entrepreneurs, and farmers).

Governance and social/economic symptoms

He claimed governance has failed to deliver “promises vs deliverance,” with gaps between allocations and actual spending. He highlighted outcomes such as:

  • Rising cost of living
  • Weak job prospects
  • Dismantling of rural economic activity
  • Brain drain
  • Declining agriculture contribution
  • Underperforming infrastructure and public program implementation

He also raised fiscal and structural concerns, including:

  • Debt-to-GDP around 103%
  • Modest IMF growth projections
  • Worries about public service efficiency

Finally, he criticized the size of the cabinet and advisers, arguing the public service is bloated and wastes resources on underperforming political appointments.

5) UPP recommendations: agriculture, private sector growth, incentives, and reduced waste

UPP’s recommendations included:

  • More resources to agriculture, focused on both quantity and quality:
    • organic/green farming opportunities (they claim chemical use correlates with cancers),
    • financial and technical support for farmers,
    • improved roads and farm support aimed at reaching outcomes,
    • a long-term vision of making Dominica a food basket / stronger food producer.
  • Agro-processing and agri-entrepreneurship to reduce the trade deficit and shift Dominica from importing mostly consumption goods toward producing goods and value-added products.
  • Strengthen technical support and financial literacy for entrepreneurs (not only loans).
  • Incentives for business and foreign direct investment, including:
    • reducing corporate taxes and adjusting income tax thresholds (they referenced the current structure and proposed raising the threshold),
    • removing custom duties on producer inputs for small businesses using inputs for production,
    • revisiting VAT and essential goods support (while warning about revenue tradeoffs).
  • Green/clean energy investments, arguing geothermal alone has not reduced electricity costs as promised, and calling for support for solar and other clean energy options (including duty removals on solar panels).
  • More support for cultural and community development, including sports and Buya culture.
  • Environmental protection as a real priority (not lip service), citing protected land and ecosystem degradation linked to development projects.
  • Reduce bloating in the public service (fewer ministers/advisers) and redirect savings toward growth sectors.

6) Q&A: “tax-free budget” questioned

During media questions:

  • A journalist asked whether UPP would recommend a tax-free budget, given expected revenue decline from CBI.
  • Joshua Francis/UPP rejected a truly tax-free budget, stating:
    • taxes are needed to service the public,
    • the likely approach would be restructuring the tax system for better collection and targeted relief for cost-of-living pressures,
    • and government would still need to replace reduced CBI revenue—making removal of all taxes “not feasible.”

Presenters / contributors

  • Joshua Francis (UPP leader)
  • Mrs./host “Lofty” (conference moderator/host)
  • Brother Bernard (chairperson of the “Effective Governance Council,” speaking as an independent contributor)
  • Brother Ver (via technology) (Antigua/CBI experience contributor—speaking from Antigua)
  • Junior (Antigua-related participant; asked/appeared in the Q&A segment as “Junior”)

Original video