Discover Dominica Authority has announced that steady progress is being made to ensure that the most popular natural sites on island are again accessible to the public and visitors.
 
CEO Colin Piper says the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division alongside various local and regional partners, have been working diligently to clear some of the most iconic sites, which include the Trafalgar Falls, the Syndicate Nature Trail, the Emerald Pool, Fort Shirley, Indian River and the Botanic Gardens.
 
While some of the sites are still closed, work is continuing to ensure their readiness to receive more visitors by January 1, 2018. To Date, 22 properties have been opened to provide accommodation services to visitors. Some amenities are available at these properties, but will be limited for the time being.

The properties include the Atlantique View Resort, Caribbean Sea View Apartments, Classique International, Coffee River Cottages, Emerald View Apartments, Hibiscus Valley Inn, Le Petit Paradis, Picard Beach Cottages, Picard Family Guest House, Point Baptiste Guest House, Portsmouth Beach Hotel, Rejens  Hotel, St James Bed & Breakfast, Sweet Pepper Cottages, Sunset Bay Club, Tamarind Tree Hotel & Restaurant, Deschamps, La Flamboyant Hotel, Sea World Guest House, St Aimee's Guest House, Roseau Valley and 3 Rivers Eco Lodge and Rosalie Forest Eco Lodge.
 
Visitors can travel to Dominica via Puerto Rico, St Martin, Barbados, St Croix, St Thomas and Antigua, with connections through LIAT Airlines, Seaborne Coastal Air, TIA and WinAIR.
 
L'Express Des Iles is also offering fast ferry services to Dominica with connections from St Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe. 

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) sub regional headquarters for the Caribbean has established a task force to advance ECLAC’s debt for climate adaptation swap initiative.
 
The debt swap initiative, which was first presented at ECLAC’s Caribbean development roundtable in St Kitts and Nevis early in 2016, is a mechanism intended to address at once the crippling debt of the Caribbean and their need to generate the resources needed to finance resilience building measures.
 
It is an innovative strategy that involves harnessing concessionary flows to transform the debt of the region into a source of investment in resilience, while at the same time re-energizing growth and promoting economic transformation in the economies of the sub region, through investment in adaptation projects and green industries.

Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term as Kenya's president on Tuesday, bringing the protracted electoral saga that has gripped the country in recent months, to a close.
 
Supporters cheered as he made his vows at the ceremony in Nairobi's Kasarani Stadium, while outside Kenyan police fired tear gas at some who tried to force their way in, local media reported.
 
This year's leadership contest has been rife with controversy, amid allegations of vote tampering, an unprecedented high court ruling which nullified the initial vote, and sporadic bouts of violence in opposition strongholds.

​Executive Director of the Dominica Employers Federation (DEF), Achille Joseph, is disappointed in the government’s procrastination to pass into law, draft legislation regarding flexible working hours in Dominica, which Joseph says was presented to the administration some two years ago.
 
The draft bill was intended to replace many of the outdated labour laws and practices in Dominica. The document was developed by a legal team, which made ready for reading in parliament. Joseph says it is crucial that government reviews and enacts this legislation, to build confidence required to attract both domestic and foreign investments. Executive Director of the Dominica Employers Federation (DEF), Achille Joseph, spoke to media at a high level DBF conference, held at the DPSU building in Roseau, recently.

​People who have not left their homes around a rumbling volcano in Bali may be forcibly evicted, Indonesian authorities have said. Tens of thousands of people stayed put near Mount Agung after an alert was raised to its highest level.
 
Some still felt safe, while others did not want to leave their livestock.
 
A spokesman for the country's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said people were checking the exclusion zone for non-evacuees. 

​Leader of the Peoples Party of Dominica Sapphire Carrington says her party is tired of the failed promises announced by the Government of Dominica.
 
Recently Health Minister Dr. Kenneth Darroux announced that construction works on the Marigot Hospital is on the cards’ for the Government of Dominica Post hurricane Maria.
 
Carrington is of the view, this is not the first time the Government has made this announcement, within the last 5 years.

Meanwhile, recently the United Kingdom removed its travel ban from Dominica; however they have left a precautionary warning to British citizens, due to the passage of Hurricane Maria. PPOD Leader Sapphire Carrington is pleased the ban has been lifted, but emphasizes they question why was Dominica even blacklisted in the first place.
 
Carrington again is urging citizens to monitor and hold their leaders accountable whenever they commit acts which enrich themselves at the expense of the state, as careless governing leads to serious implications in the international community
 
The PPOD Leader spoke to Q95 FM over the weekend.

PPOD Leader Sapphire Carrington

​Dominica's Planning Minister Dr Colin McIntyre says people sometimes get upset when the Division of Planning disapproves of some of the building plans, or does not grant permission to certain locations for building purposes, but it is in most cases of national interest.
He says Maria has taught Dominicans several lessons and people need to understand that it is time for the country to build back better than before.

​McIntyre says when 'Planning' approaches certain residents and advises them on the integrity of their structure, they must heed the advice as these people are the experts in such areas.

Dominica's Planning Minister Dr Colin McIntyre

​Leader of the Dominica Freedom Party Kent Vital has expressed appreciation to the EU for its recent donation of $300 Million Euros to the Hurricane Irma and Maria ravaged Countries in the Caribbean.
 
This donation was pledged by the Commissioner for International Development and Cooperation Neven Mimica, at the Caricom High Level Meeting held at UN Headquarters in New York recently.

​Leader of the Dominica Freedom Party Kent Vital

​Meanwhile, Vital says the past performance of the DLP administration is not good, as there are too many suspicious activities which have occurred prior to Hurricane Maria, as it relates to the utilization of state funds.
 
Vital was not pleased at the controversy surrounding the debt forgiveness recently announced by the Foreign Minister of Venezuela under the Petro Caribe Agreement, toward Dominica.
 
It is reported that the Foreign Minister and Dominica’s Prime Minister were asked in Parliament, to give an update on the amount of debt owed to Venezuela, under the Petro Caribe agreement, the Parliamentary Members of the Opposition were earlier told in Parliament; that there was no debt owed to Venezuela, under any such an agreement.

​Senior Property Valuer Bernard Lloyd is calling on citizens to adopt the "Build Back Better" policy.
He says Hurricane Maria has presented an opportunity to rebuild a more modern Dominica.
He says Government is committed to assisting homeowners, however; residents should exercise patience.

​Meantime Lloyd says homeowners should note that the cost may increase in an effort to build back better.

​Senior Property Valuer Bernard Lloyd

​Courtesy CaribbeanNewsNow
Farmfolio, an agriculture finance company that structures projects in order to create direct access for investors while maintaining a focus on the land, family, and heritage that these farms represent, launched last week a sustainable pineapple operation two years in the making.
Panama Golden Pineapple (PGP) is operated by the Vergara family under the Verba Odrec brand. With over 40 years of agriculture experience, PGP is a global gap certified operation comprised of 290 acres of farmland as well as a fully operational pack house.
Dax Cooke, Farmfolio’s CEO, said, “We are very proud to partner up with farmers that have a successful track record for our new pineapple project in Panama, which is located just 40 minutes from the Panama Canal and where the Vergara family’s infrastructure provides a rare opportunity to participate in this high yielding industry.”