Authorized Agent Sam Raphael wants Government to put a marketing component in the CBI program

​Authorized Agent Sam Raphael wants the DLP government to include a marketing component in its current economic citizenship and CBI programs. Raphael is advising Dominica and other governments in the region, where these programs are operated, to become collaborative competitors, in terms of marketing the program.
 
Sam Raphael is the proprietor of Jungle Bay Resort & Spa which was destroyed by Tropical Storm Erika, as well as Hummingbird Airlines. He is authorized to sell passports under the CBI program, to raise funds for rebuilding his hotel.
 
Raphael contends that Dominica’s programs are being operated transparently, but there is need for public education about the programs. He added, “Because if we don’t begin to get people on board, and if we don’t begin to get our local populations behind the program, then it’s going to be hard to defend it in the international community”.
 
Raphael said there are certain things about the programs which cannot be divulged due to privacy restrictions; “you cannot publicize a list of all the names of the people who have been granted citizenship, that goes against privacy and so on and so forth”, but there are certain other things about which people have questions, such as how many people have been granted citizenship, and how much the revenue was generated.
 
He says “That type of information is there,” and added that “maybe it can be made more available to the people, so that we can at least feel more comfortable to defend the program”.