Prayers for late Dominica PM today

TODAY has been declared a National Day of Prayer in Dominica for the island’s sixth Prime Minister Pierre Charles, who died Tuesday night from a heart attack.

The announcement was made by Dominica’s President Dr Nicholas Liverpool who said a period of national mourning had also been declared from last Wednesday and continuing until the burial of Charles next Saturday. Dominica’s national flag, both on the island and abroad, have been flying at half mast at all public buildings and schools since Charles’ death. In a statement on Thursday, President Liverpool said Dominica had  “lost a good, decent, honest and hardworking citizen, his family has lost a steadfast, caring, faithful and loving individual and I have lost a dear friend”. He said Charles’ death was a “time for sober reflection and deep recognition of the conditions which exist in this country.”

Stressing that “now more than ever, we need to bear in mind the slogan for the 25th anniversary of our Independence, ‘one flag, one people, one nation under one God’,” President Liverpool said citizens needed to  “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, if we are to overcome the current economic difficulties, and for that purpose we need all shoulders to the wheel.” “Let us put aside our differences in these difficult times and think of Dominica, the land we all love. This is an ideal opportunity to make a fresh start in our human relations and understanding of each other.” He said: “Charles gave his last breath to ensure that whatever steps which were necessary to improve the conditions in our country should be taken, and it will be a fitting tribute to his memory if we were henceforth to adopt the same attitude”.

On Thursday the President appointed 31-year-old Roosevelt Skerrit as Dominica’s seventh Prime Minister. As a result of Skerrit taking the Oath of Office, the office of all ministers and parliamentary secretaries became vacant as stated under the Dominican Constitution. Skerrit’s new Cabinet was expected to be sworn in yesterday and a by-election is to be held as soon as possible to fill the vacancy created by Charles’ death. Charles’ funeral service will be held next Saturday from 3 pm at the Grand Bay Room and Roman Catholic Church. Several Caricom leaders are expected to attend the State funeral. Trinidad and Tobago will be represented by Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Charles’ heart problems first became known last February he was in TT attending a Caricom inter-sessional meeting and he underwent angioplasty surgery at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.