Dominica to Establish a National Sports Trust Fund with Citizenship by Investment Funds
LONDON, Aug. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — During the announcement of the fiscal budget of 2021-2022, the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica revealed the creation of a National Sports Council to oversee a new fund for sports clubs and athletes. The news comes as two athletes from Dominica, Thea Lafond, who represented her country in the Women’s Triple Jump, and Dennick Luke, who participated in the Men’s 800-meter event, participated at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. While Dominica did not medal at the games, Lafond set a new national record and placed 12th in the finals.
The National Sports Trust Fund will support more athletic initiatives using revenues from the country’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. CBI is a process in which reputable foreigners invest in a country’s economy or real estate and receive second citizenship in return. Dominica has been running its CBI Programme since 1993 and has established itself as the best in the investment migration arena, according to the Financial Times’ annual CBI Index.
“One of the tasks that we expect the [National Sports] Council to oversee is the establishment by Government of a National Sports Trust Fund, which will be capitalised with revenues from the CBI Programme, with the hope that private sector entities will also contribute,” said Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt.
“One of the objectives of the Fund will be to better facilitate local sports clubs and athletes to participate in regional and international sporting tournaments and events. All things considered, I would like for the National Sports Council to be fully operational by January 2022.”
Overall, for the fiscal year of 2021-2022, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Community Development will receive EC$7.3 million. “To complement the investments that we are making in the development of sporting facilities, Government will expand the Sports Division, with the appointment of coaches who will serve as mentors and coaching assistants to community-based clubs,” the Prime Minister added.
After a challenging year for many sectors of the financial system, the CBI Programme has again proven itself to be an asset to Dominica. During the pandemic, CBI funds enabled construction to continue of climate-resilient housing and a state-of-the-art hospital, among other projects. Supporting sports for recreation, health and revenue are part of the social and economic features of what the current leadership calls a “Dynamic Dominica.”
SOURCE CS Global Partners
