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Dominica Defends ALBA Guidelines
(Prensa Latina) Roseau, March 4, 2008:
Dominica's Parliament spokesman Alix Boyd-Knights defended
the opportunities and advantages that have opened to his
country after joining the Bolivarian Alternative for the
Peoples of Our America (ALBA).
That cooperation project will support the island's
infrastructural and economic development, especially the
recovery from havoc caused by recent natural disasters, he
noted.
Dominica became the fifth member of the regional initiative
on January 25, during the Sixth ALBA Summit in Venezuela.
In statements to the Caribbean Media Corporation,
Boyd-Knights lauded the creation of the ALBA Bank, which has
a fund of one billion dollars.
"Dominica needs an injection of capital. Dominica has
suffered the consequences of recent disasters such as
Hurricane Dean," he explained.
He mentioned landslides, new rivers and devastation of the
country's infrastructure, as phenomena affecting the country
frequently.
He added that the government was backed by the Chamber of
Commerce to join the ALBA, an integration mechanism that
also includes Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela.
Dominica also joined the energy cooperation project
Petrocaribe, created by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in
2005.
An 890-million-dollar oil refinery will be built here in
conjunction with the Venezuelan government to distribute
fuel in the Eastern Caribbean region.
As part of the agreement, Dominica can pay 40 percent of oil
imports - about 900 barrels a day - with its major export,
banana.
