Sales of Dominica’s passports under the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program has exceeded the $80-million projection made in the 2015-2016 budget, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
“In the budget of this year, we projected we would have raised about $80-million dollars. I can say to you that we have surpassed that projection in the budget of $80-million,” the Prime Minister said, on Monday, at a meeting outlining plans for the new Jungle Bay Resort, to be built in Soufriere, under the CBI.
He did not give a figure of the amount of money that was actually earned under the program. The funds are being used to respond to Tropical Storm Erika, the Prime Minister said.
Skerrit also revealed that for the past three years, the National Employment Program (NEP) which has provided employment for thousands of Dominicans, has been “fully funded” by the CBI.
“So, the $7-million which I, as Minister of Finance, make available to the Ministry of Employment, that $7-million comes straight from the economic citizenship program,” he stated.
In January 2016, Dominica’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Dr. Vince Henderson said the economic citizenship program had raised about $124-million in six months.