The Road to Progress: Are Village Roads the True Metric of Government Success?

In villages across Dominica, one of the most repeated phrases in public discussions is no longer about healthcare or education; it’s about roads. Whether it’s a fresh layer of asphalt in Dos D’Ane or a newly patched stretch in Petite Savanne, roadworks have become the most visible and celebrated expression of government delivery. At town hall meetings, on radio programs, and in community speeches, citizens and politicians champion the construction and repair of village roads as undeniable proof of effective governance.

Roads as Political Currency

No one disputes that road infrastructure is essential. Roads are lifelines for farmers, students, taxi drivers, and entrepreneurs. They connect markets, shorten travel times, and make services more accessible. And in Dominica, with its challenging terrain and climate vulnerability, these connections matter. The emotional relief in rural communities when a long-neglected feeder road is resurfaced is real. It’s understandable that these visible interventions earn political capital.

The larger issue is this: have we made village roads the central indicator of national progress because they’re politically convenient? Praise is given almost exclusively to physical projects. Yet mention of policy reforms, education outcomes, youth employment data, or healthcare capacity is minimal, if not absent. That silence is troubling.

Roads are easy to measure, easy to photograph, and easy to point to in an election campaign. They are physical, tangible, and completed in timelines that align well with political cycles. A road can be paved, cut a ribbon, and broadcast. But a well-functioning school system, an equitable health care network, or a robust youth employment programme demands long-term investment, deep structural reform, and results that may not be headline-friendly.

And so we end up with a political culture where the laying of pavement becomes synonymous with leadership. Where pothole repairs are seen as a development strategy. Where the number of road projects completed substitutes for a national development scorecard.

Progress Beyond Asphalt

This is not to diminish the significance of infrastructure. But we must begin asking more layered questions: What are the roads leading to? Are they increasing access to functioning clinics? Are they delivering young people to institutions that can actually equip them for modern employment? Are they helping agricultural producers reach viable, well-priced markets?

New infrastructure, gas stations, accommodations, and tourism ventures, suggests development, but it tells only part of the story. The challenges of uneven opportunity, lack of decent jobs, and talent migration remain pressing. Without addressing these core issues, physical upgrades won’t translate into true transformation.

We must be cautious about mistaking motion for progress. New roads do not, by themselves, address the chronic issues that continue to plague Dominica’s human development trajectory. Without corresponding investments in social services, the paving of roads becomes more symbolic than substantive.

Rethinking What Counts

There is a real opportunity here for Dominica to evolve how it talks about success. Roads should be one part of the picture, but we must also demand metrics on school attendance, literacy rates, maternal health outcomes, and job creation. These are not as easy to showcase in a press release, but they’re the real foundation of national strength.

To move forward as a nation, we must expand our understanding of development. Roads matter, but so do the destinations they connect, and the opportunities they make possible. In the next round of national dialogue, let’s make space for the quiet but urgent needs of the people, not just the roar of heavy equipment. Let our measurement of success be informed not only by what is built, but by who benefits, and how.

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