A Tale of Two Resolutions…and Other Doublespeak

Eleven months after the prime minister began talks with the United States Government about accepting third-country-nationals as deportees – and one day before the matter was tabled in the House of Representatives – the people of Antigua and Barbuda, including the Opposition Members of Parliament, were finally allowed to see the [unsigned] Memorandum of Understanding.  

What the people didn’t know, however, was that, only the day before, the Government had issued a brand-new Resolution for debate: a sanitized, proactive document that lulled the Nation into believing the Browne Administration had always been fighting for us.  

Well, as a certain Anthony Smith, Jr. once said to me in other deceptive circumstances: “It’s not true.”  

The document that was debated on Tuesday, July 14, reflected a “change of heart” from the Resolution that was distributed to Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle on Friday, July 10, and to Barbuda MP Trevor Walker on Saturday, July 11.  After listing eight points of the Administration’s counter-proposal, the following was given as the parameters for the debate: 

“Whether, in the circumstances, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda should maintain its position or accept the proposal by the Government of the United States of America … in accordance with the standing operating procedures advanced in the proposal by the Government of the United States.”

The Government choir tried to convince the public that the prime minister is all-wise, all-good, and people-centered, and that these delicate negotiations were aimed at preserving our friendship with the USA and our own sovereignty.  But, up to Monday, this Administration was prepared to accept the US-centered deal “in the circumstances.”  What, exactly, those circumstances were we have not been told; but the capitulation was right there in black and white.

Yes, the prime minister, up to the day before, had been prepared to fold, because, as MP Trevor Walker declared, he held “no cards” and “not even the box the cards came in.”  His negotiating position, as I wrote last week, was on his knees.  Accordingly, I reject the Administration’s boast that it was its commitment to openness and accountability that made it “the first country to disclose” the terms proposed by the United States of America.  Eh? After 11 months, openness kicks in one day before the sitting. 

No, it was the pressure brought to bear by members of the public and the criticism voiced during last week’s Town Hall Meeting, hosted by the United Progressive Party (UPP), that forced the Administration to change its position on the United States’ unilateral proposal.

So, no Government MP’s attempt to red-wash the opposition leader’s calls for transparency – which dates back to January 4 this year – is going to work.  Especially when the prime minister’s own colleagues have conveniently side-stepped his lie, on Saturday, July 4, that he had shared the MoU since last year.

But take note: Although the Administration has now received parliamentary approval for its counter-proposal and authority to continue negotiations with the United States, the new Resolution did not include any mechanism for reporting to the public.  So, legally, the Administration has no obligation to consult and collaborate with the people before it ultimately decides on this deportee deal. Be aware … . 

Now, let’s look at Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s more recent declaration that he will not phase out the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) by June 2028, despite the ultimatum issued by the European Union (EU).  He shook his fist at Brussels and vowed to continue running the money-maker, because it represents hundreds of millions in non-tax revenues and has built this, that, and the other in our country – although nothing was specifically named. 

Eh-eh!  Then, on Parliament day, the same strongman told the people that his Administration may have to suspend the CIP, after all, in order to afford its citizens unrestricted travel and other privileges in the places they need to go.  

Did MP Jamale Pringle not warn the country that it was coming to this “or-else” moment?  And if he knew, don’t you know that the prime minister and his cabal also knew – hence the hurried and ultra-expensive must-win snap election?

Worse – or is it just plain “funny” – before the OECS delegation can even trot off to Brussels to see if or how the EU can help us replace the forfeited income, the Browne Administration is already looking to see how it can revise the local tax structure.  Looking to see how it can filch more out of the pockets of local businesses and, ultimately, the people. 

I said “local businesses” deliberately, acknowledging that this Administration has generously granted decades of tax exemptions to some foreign companies and lifelong exemptions to others, who will never, ever, shoulder the burden of running Antigua and Barbuda.  

And I said “filch” deliberately, too, in light of the fact that, 15 months after we began paying 40% more on vehicle-licensing fees, not even the All Saints Road has been fixed, and the $100 million the hike was supposed to repay appears not to have materialized.

But can you imagine, my dear good people, that the CIP could be on its way out – after having brought in more than $2 billion, according to the Throne Speech – and we can’t point to a single structure it has built: not a hospital wing; not a new school; not an athletic stadium; not even paved the grounds of the library in 12 years?  (I have to wonder how much money the passports illegally manufactured in St. Vincent & The Grenadines brought in; how many there were; where those proceeds went; and how this eight-year-old case will eventually end… .)

And for all who now say the USA and the EU are bullying the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and holding us over a barrel unfairly on our CIP/passport issue, I encourage you to be honest and put the blame where it is deserved:  

The prime minister admitted, on Tuesday, that he does not know when the Citizenship by Investment Unit was last audited.  You will remember that the first irregularity was flagged early by Chisanga Chekwe, former chief executive officer of the Unit, who warned that the funds were not being used in accordance with the legislation.  

In response, the offended Cabinet reminded him that it is the Executive who run tings here, not the CIU.  And it was not long after his departure that the Government of Canada canceled visa-free access for Antiguans and Barbudans.  It has been downhill from there.

So, to all those who, hypocritically, are pointing the finger of blame at the Baldwin Spencer Administration, which introduced the CIP:  What we have now under the Browne Administration is a distant cousin of the 2013-14 programme – an undressed and under-regulated set-up that allowed international rogues to buy and even sell our passports … to the current detriment of every navel-string Antiguan and Barbudan. 

… Despite the amended Resolution, on Saturday, July 3, the prime minister has already told the Nation that the third-country-national deportees will, in fact, be coming here.  Now, it remains for us to hear from him – as it appears that Parliament is merely his rubber-stamp – what is to become of the CIP and just how much you and I will have to pay to replace it.