HURST REPORTS ON CABINET of Wednesday 26 March 2025
The Cabinet began its weekly meeting with the customary prayers and blessings from a Methodist Priest.
1. The Cabinet received a report on the dredging being undertaken in the Crabbes Channel intended to allow vessels bearing cement to be of a deeper draught than is currently the case. Cabinet learned that the additional support brought in to supplement Blue Ocean Dredging is not as nearly well-equipped as Blue Ocean; hence, the Cabinet is requesting daily totals of the dredged materials removed from the Crabbes Channel in order to determine if the amounts contracted-for are in fact being dredged. There is thick limestone and sedimentary rocks which must be broken up in order to widen and deepen the Channel.
2. The barrage of misinformation and disinformation regarding the Alfa Nero sale continue to be spread around, to the detriment of Antigua and Barbuda’s image. Following the service of a subpoena issued by a US Federal Court, the Cabinet selected a US law firm to plead before the US Court on behalf of all the defendants in this frivolous and fictitious lawsuit that was initiated by Yullia Gureyev. The plaintiff claimed ownership of the vessel two years after it sat in an Antigua harbour, sanctioned by the United States Government. The Antigua and Barbuda Government is asserting that the US Federal Court has no jurisdiction in this matter; therefore, a single lawyer is defending all those named in the lawsuit. It is the obligation of the Government to meet the expenses of the lawsuit, since it acted in the best interest of the Government and People in the disposition of the Alfa Nero.
3. Cabinet invited the Assistant Principal of the UWI Five Island Campus, Professor Curtis Charles, to address the issue of the Second Annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Since the OAS General Assembly will take place in late June 2025, the annual conference on AI will precede the OAS General Assembly by two days. UWI Five Islands Campus has shown an abiding interest in teaching AI to new students, and the OAS members have indicated their interest in adopting AI for a host of solutions.
It was suggested that UWI expertise in AI could be effectively deployed to further professionalize the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda and to serve Criminal Justice. Antigua and Barbuda will provide fifty scholarships to the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda annually, for its members to earn Bachelor of Science Degrees in the application of Artificial Intelligence to Criminology. The UWI Professor indicated that UWI is keen to apply AI Solutions to three Cs of governance: Crime, Climate Change, and Non- Communicable Diseases. UWI will also apply AI solutions to FIN-TECH banking, sports management, and public health.
4. i. Cabinet invited a team of six lawyers to report on the adjudication process taking place in Barbuda over the assignment and lease of lands. The Cabinet immediately informed several businesses that have already received leases to register their lease with the Adjudication Officers in Barbuda. Many homeowners who have shown an interest in securing land—either by lease or in fee simple—are to be provided with the necessary forms for the processing of their lease or ownership of land in Barbuda.
ii. An act to establish The University of Antigua and Barbuda- College of Advanced Studies is to be brought to the Parliament when the body next meets on April 8 2025. It will bring together all the tertiary institutions that now have separate boards and management structures, to include the Antigua State College, Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology, Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute and the Harrison Center.
5. The Cabinet invited a Japanese Firm called WATO Water Treatment that appeared before its members a little more than a month ago; the firm manufacturers waste water treatment plants that will take foul smelling water from kitchens and bathrooms and turn that waste into water good enough for landscaping and other outdoor uses. The Cabinet was informed by the WATO Representatives that financing to purchase one hundred units had been secured from several sources. The Cabinet however reserved its decision on whether to proceed with the purchase of the units, until the terms of the financing had been fully examined by Ministry of Finance Officials who will advise the Cabinet.
6. The Cabinet held a discussion on the evident threat to the Citizenship by Investment Programme that several OECS Countries are successfully pursuing. A recent claim by the Secretary of State of the United States suggests that the US is concluding that CIPs are a threat to its security. This position was once made by the European Union Commission and was successfully debunked. The same will happen, the Cabinet believes, when the USA enters such a claim against the OECS countries. The Ministry of Legal Affairs, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Citizenship by Investment Unit(CIU) are already armed with legal briefs and other published data which would prove the US Secretary of State to be wrong. The Prime Minister of Barbados, who was meeting with the US Secretary of State at the same time the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda was convened, holds responsibility as Chairman of CARICOM to argue on behalf of the OECS countries with CIP against the US findings. The Barbados Prime Minister is a Queens’ Counsel (QC).
7. The Minister of Public Safety congratulated the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda for its outstanding work in securing criminals and bringing them before the courts in a timely manner. There are several sensitive investigations that are of special interest to the people of Antigua and Barbuda; like the Police, the Cabinet asks the nation to be patient while the investigations are being carried out.
8. The Minister of Health expressed his thankfulness to the Cabinet for securing the funding to repair and upgrade the Browne’s Avenue Clinic which serves dense populations in Ottos, Browne’s Avenue, Cashew Hill and surrounding areas. The repairs will commence almost immediately.
9. The Minister of Foreign Affairs reported on his recent visit to India with other Foreign Ministers, where he promoted the best interests of Antigua and Barbuda. The Indian Government has shown a willingness to open Institutes and Universities to Antiguan scholars and to train specialists in Information Technology—an area in which India has a strong presence globally.
