Comic Relief

Just received my daily dose of comic relief in the form of Dominican Television News - today's authority figures discuss up-coming disasters expected as a result of category 3-5 hurricanes.

One spokesperson even said that they look forward to landslides on the hill at Elmshall due to a lack of reconstruction since Storm Erika (almost a year ago). I think they meant to say that disasters are expected as nothing has been done for almost a year. Elmshall has two routes into Roseau - the hill and a bridge. My understanding is that the latter collapsed during Storm Erika and remains in that condition today.

Moving on to matters economic; without a strong flow of immigrants into the Dominican workforce the development of the economy is unlikely to proceed at an ambitious pace. Dominica needs more skilled labour and a huge injection of capital, which an advanced professional sector might attract.

The latest on Monsanto's weed-killer called ROUNDUP is that the European Union may ban it over cancer concerns (www.rt.com/business/345659-monsanto-weedkiller-glysophate-eu). Also toxic commercial fertilizers seep into rivers however, daily testing of the public water system (sealed off and accessible to authorised personnel only) should guarantee its safe use for public consumption.

JJ