HURST REPORTS ON CABINET OF Wednesday 2 April 2025
The Cabinet meeting commenced with prayers from a Methodist minister who addressed the issue of “honour”, and sought God’s blessings on the meeting and the members.
1. The Cabinet invited the 10-person team from the Ministry of Finance—to include the Financial Secretary, the Accountant General, the Minister of State in the Ministry, the Deputy Head of the Inland Revenue Department, the Budget Director and others—to provide a picture of the country’s finances during the month just ended and for the first quarter of 2025. The state of Government’s finances is improving and clearly shows that the economy continues to expand, despite the threats emanating from many quarters including the United States. The uncertain policy decisions, regarding tariffs, have proven to be harmful to the stock markets within the Western Hemisphere. Other pronouncements have caused uncertainty about the future.
ii. The Budget Director pointed out that overtime payments owed to Government workers is now classified as ‘salaries’, as ordered by the Cabinet, causing overtime to be paid simultaneously with salaries. In the month just ended, overtime payments exceeded $500,000 dollars. Payments of gratuities is also high on the agenda of the Treasury, almost $10 million dollars of gratuities have been paid, in the month of January; $20 million dollars are still outstanding. Corporation Tax, ABST, Education Levy, Customs Duty, and other revenue sources have been expanding. The Tourism Guest Levy is still being under-reported by hotels with 100% occupancy. The Inland Revenue Department is set to prepare a guestimate of amounts that have not been collected, and to pursue those taxpayers who have failed to reach the estimated amounts.
2. The Cabinet took a decision to have the Prime Minister, at the next sitting of Parliament, to place all documents relating to the sale of the Alfa Nero Yacht in that public domain. Although the documents have been published in the newspaper as of Wednesday 2nd April 2025, and on the Government website, there are still political operatives who continue to pedal the fictitious and false claim of a Russian citizen, seeking to harm Government officials in Antigua; they have cruelly propagated lies, by filings in a US Federal Court.
3. The Cabinet today decided that in furtherance of building strong families, it will cause “Paternity Leave” to become a feature of all labour agreements for male Government employees.
ii. The Cabinet has also been informed by the Ministry of Legal Affairs that old equipment, in the Cancer Center, is to be removed by the permission of the Court. The order granting permission to remove will now allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to participate lawfully in the dismantling of the radioactive equipment, which was utilized to destroy cancer cells in the human body. Once the removal takes place, the new owners will be free to complete the purchase of more modern equipment to be installed in the Center. A new roof, improved engineering designs to channel water away from the building, newly-painted walls, and other improvements, have already been undertaken at the Cancer Center.
4. The Cabinet invited the principals of Blue Ocean to address the scale of the dredging that is taking place at Crabbes and in the St. John’s Harbour. Blue Ocean’s principals reported that the firm hired to supplement their dredging efforts at Crabbes, has not been able to remove the rocky material that has proven to be a challenge to deepening the channel. Larger cement-carrying vessels and liquid natural gas (LNG) vessels require a deeper draught than now exists. The ability to remove the rock requires some bigger equipment, Blue Ocean reported, to crack and rip the rock from its foundation. Blue Ocean also reported that its equipment can remove three times as much material as the other company’s ocean excavator. It requires payments that will allow it to purchase spare parts, repair damaged equipment, purchase fuel, and to pay its employees.
5. The draft legislation that will allow for the imposition of a user fee for vehicles being registered in Antigua and Barbuda, has been presented to the Cabinet. The draft is likely to be presented to the Parliament at its next sitting in late April 2025.
A National Bureau of Statistics Board is to be instituted by law at the next sitting of Parliament. Following its creation under law, the Board will approach the Caribbean Development Bank to help to build capacity of both staff and Bureau, and to assist with experts to establish appropriate guiding principles and procedures in accord with the law.
