HURST REPORTS ON CABINET of Wednesday 12 February 2025
The Cabinet sitting began with an invocation by a Minister of Religion who prayed for the members and sought God’s guidance in their decision-making.
1. i. The Cabinet acknowledged the outstanding performance of the Ministry of Tourism and the incredible figures of cruise arrivals in the weeks of January 2025. In order to further the entertainment capabilities to satisfy visiting tourists, the Cabinet reflected on the Fort James Project that was to be constructed by Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL); on account of Covid-19, the project was shelved, New consideration is being given to turning the rocky west-side of the southern end of the beach to build a yachting marina. More than 23 acres of land will be created by dredged material on which buildings will be constructed to serve the moored yachts. The luxury vessels will complement the beauty of the rehabilitated historic Fort.
ii. The second project that Cabinet contemplated, involves Shell Beach, which lies due east of the former U.S Military Base at Coolidge. Luxury homes are to be built on approximately 20 acres of land between the road and the eastern border of the Military Base; the investment will be exclusively for Antiguans and Barbudans, in order to encourage participation in a very profitable sector of the tourism industry.
2. The Cabinet held a discussion on U.S policy-making and its effect on Antigua and Barbuda, especially since the 47th President assumed office last month. The executive order which will likely result in the deportation of 110 nationals of Antigua and Barbuda citizenship requires pre-planning by the government to receive those men and women who have overstayed their time in the USA. There is no indication that any criminals are included in that list. Nevertheless, the Cabinet is of the view that their wholesale return to Antigua will need to be addressed, especially if they are youthful enough to be employed. The Cabinet is aware that other decisions made by the current President of the USA will results in other challenges, especially where USAID is providing assistance. The withdrawal of the USA, the largest contributor to the World Health Organization (WHO), was likely to have affected the pledge of Harvard University to provide reparations to certain families and the State. The owner of the Royalls Estate and several of his descendants were slave-holders in Antigua; they contributed significant sums to Harvard University over many decades. The plan to provide meaningful reparations, and not trinkets, has seemingly been withdrawn by the lay-off of the team which visited Antigua last month.
3. The Cabinet invited a team of Ministry of Finance officials to address it on revenues and expenditures in the month of January 2025. The team comprised the Financial Secretary, the Accountant General, the Debt Manager, the Inland Revenue Department, the Customs and Excise Division and the Chief Statistician.
i. The first presentation was made by the Chief Statistician who addressed the issue of the 2025 Population Census. The Division will hire as many as 600 enumerators so that they can gather the information from households across the country; the enumerators will be identified by photo badges. Eighteen questions are to be put to the householders; the process will be modernized by using electronic tablets to record the data — as opposed to using pen and paper. Accuracy is to be enabled by the utilization of geo-location technology. The collation of the data will subsequently be entered and aggregated by a phalanx of input clerks. The Cabinet proposed that an increase of the number of enumerators and shorter interviews will likely result in the early completion of the Census; the undertaking requires contact with each and every household. It was agreed that a public awareness campaign be undertaken, beginning immediately; that advertisements across new and old media are also to begin immediately; and, that the Statistics Division is not to operate within a silo.
ii. The Cabinet then moved to the issue of economic growth, as measured by the Statistics Division. The Cabinet acknowledged the independence of the Division to measure the performance of the Antigua and Barbuda economy. While other arms of the government undertake the same task, utilizing a barrage of data from multiple sources, the Cabinet noted a difference of outcomes when the Statistics Division presents its findings. A discussion of the methodology employed by the Statistics Division followed; it was agreed that there will be closer coordination among the agencies that are measuring economic performance.
iii. It was reported that many companies whose principals are required to submit data for the Census are often reluctant to share data. The Cabinet reminded that a failure to comply can result in fines and other sanctions, prescribed by law.
The Financial Secretary reported that throughout 2024 salaries and wages were paid on time.
iv. Some outstanding payments were also met – LIAT 1974 Ltd., for example. There was vigorous training of management staff, such that procurement policies were significantly addressed to ensure compliance, and that the Government received value for money. The digitization of E/D cards will allow for greater tax collection from the hospitality sector, since every passenger will declare where they will stay and for how long. Discretionary exemptions of the ABST, Duty, and RRC remain a challenge in 2024 resulting in waivers totaling $117 million dollars. Travel is to be streamlined in order to reduce expenditure. The wholesale purchase of tickets by a central government agency, ought to reduce the cost of airline tickets to the Treasury. Licence fees for cars, trucks, buses and heavy-duty equipment will be adjusted upwards in order to create a special fund for road repairs; tractors will be excluded. Effective 30 March, vehicles that have been marked X will be moved to the dump, in order to reduce the population of rodents and vermin that usually use them for living spaces. The drive to phase out mechanics who operate from the side of roads and whose clients’ vehicles are indiscriminately parked on roadsides for very long periods, was addressed; alternatives are to be provided, in order to make streets more passable.
vi. Tax collection by the IRD is to be modernized, with the use of computer programs that will track delinquent property-taxpayers and move to collect those outstanding amounts. The system will go into effect in four weeks, or on 15 March 2025. The IRD will hire more Valuation Officers, in order to provide the courts with reasonable values for the derelict properties which are to be cleared away on account of their security and health threats to neighbours.
4. The Cabinet received a report on the One Nation Concert held last month at the Antigua Recreation Grounds, over a two day period. Expenditure totaled 1.5 million dollars. For the first time in its ten year history fees were charged for entry, and a sum exceeding $300,000.00 was collected. The Cabinet is proposing a three- day festival in 2026: The first day for calypso and soca; the second day for dancehall and reggae; and, the third day for Gospel. At the most recently-held concert, the largest crowd attended on the Sunday night when gospel was the genre.
5. The Boys Training School will re-open on Monday 24th February. Staff are to be re-hired to ensure the institution returns to its full functionality.
