HURST REPORTS ON CABINET of Wednesday 9 April 2025
The Cabinet meeting began with prayers offered by a minister of religion. He invoked the example of a king who relied upon God to guide him in his decision-making.
1. The Cabinet expressed disbelief that operatives of the UPP, who collaborated with a Russian citizen to spread falsehoods, are also expressing surprise that the defense of the sale of the Alpha Nero vessel shows that it was correctly carried out. All the documents pertaining to the lawful sale of the vessel have been published in the newspaper, have been distributed on the worldwide web, and have been made available to the courts—in Antigua and Barbuda, and to the US Court that issued the order for subpoenaed documents. It was explained to the Cabinet that the UPP operatives were engaging in “willful suspension of disbelief”—a psychological condition which plagues those who engage in dissembling and wish not to be found out, even when evidence subsequently demonstrates that their statements were false. Every effort to prove the falsity of their claims to private investigators continues to be made. The Cabinet agreed that a two-hour program is to be aired on ABS-TV on Thursday night, 10 April 2025, at 8:00 pm to fully acquaint viewers. That broadcast is to be followed by a public meeting on Friday evening, 11 April 2025 beginning at 7:00 pm; the event will further bury the fictitious and false claims which the UPP operatives made in flagrant disregard of the truth. The image of Antigua and Barbuda and of several government officials has been badly tainted by the false claims.
2. Antigua and Barbuda will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGOM) in 2026, at a date to be announced and theme to be agreed upon. Ten members of a visiting delegation from the Commonwealth Office, the Metropolitan Police, the Palace Security, and experts in various fields including cyber security, were invited to Cabinet. Since the visiting team has had experience with previous Commonwealth Heads Meetings, they provided assurances to the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda that every aspect of the meeting will be planned. The visiting Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and other Heads will be among 6,000 to 7,000 delegates who will descend upon Antigua for the CHOGOM. There will be several fora including a Business Forum, a Women’s Forum, a Youth Forum and a People’s Forum, each attracting three to four hundred people from across the Commonwealth. Buckingham Palace will dispatch its special police who will spend two weeks this month pre-planning for the inclusion of King Charles and his Queen in the events that have been scheduled. There will be a Spouses’ Programme to be led by Minister Maria Browne; it will include a trip to Barbuda. The King may also visit Barbuda. There are a number of activities planned including i. a concert featuring global artistes; and, ii. a T-10 cricket match.
3. The Boys Training School is now in full operation although only seven boys are housed there at the moment. A budget of $100,000 is agreed for the purchase of food and other supplies necessary for the successful operation of the rehabilitation center.
4. The North Sound Drag Racing Track east of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is continually attracting thousands of youth and racing enthusiasts on a regular basis. The Cabinet recognizes that despite investing heavily in the track over the years, the facility currently requires several upgrades in order to bring the facility to international standards, especially from the standpoint of safety. Consequently, work will commence immediately to resurface the track, and to install safety barriers to keep careening cars safely on the track. This will ensure that a higher level of safety and security are achieved. Cabinet members were of the view that given the growing popularity of the sport in Antigua and Barbuda, and its ability to provide a safe venue for racing enthusiasts to operate, every effort must be made to ensure the people’s safety, the Cabinet concluded.
5. The Cabinet spent considerable time discussing the roadways that are to be repaired by the Public Works and private contractors, utilizing the $100 million loan that will be repaid utilizing the new user-fee, recently imposed. A list of roadways will be published by the Ministry of Works with expected dates of commencement and completion; it will list their order of priority as agreed by the Cabinet. The Cabinet agreed that not all roads can be repaired with the $100 million; hence, as more contributions from the user fee are collected, additional roads will be added for upgrades and repairs. The works are to be coordinated with the APUA Water and Electricity Divisions so that new pipes can be laid where old pipes are leaking and are wasting the precious commodity, which is very costly to produce.
6. The Minister of Creative Industries presented to Cabinet a proposal to change the parade route on Carnival Tuesday afternoon. It was represented to the Cabinet that with increasing numbers of participants taking part in the Carnival parades, and given the need to provide a safe environment for spectators and participants, a change in the Carnival Tuesday parade route was necessary. The proposed route would be identical to that of T-shirt Mas which starts on Old Parham Road, right onto Simon Bolivar Boulevard, west onto Sir Sydney Walling Highway, south onto Parliament Drive, west onto Queen Elizabeth Highway, north onto Independence Drive, west onto Redcliffe Street, north onto Thames Street, east onto High Street, north onto Independence Drive, enter Carnival City at the Cenotaph entrance. The Cabinet supported the proposal to the change in parade route.
7. The Cabinet held discussions on the policies announced by the US President on “Liberation Day” last Monday, with great fanfare. On Wednesday, however, the Cabinet learned that an agreement to suspend the implementation of the US Tariffs has been agreed for a period of ninety days. Meanwhile, finance markets all over the world in response to the increase in tariffs have begun shedding stocks and losing trillions of dollars. Antigua and Barbuda and other Caribbean countries were to have a ten percent tariff placed on the minuscule quantum of exports to the US; that too has been put on hold for ninety days. There is great chaos and confusion as a result of the uncertainty generated by the announcement on Monday, although many nations began planning defensive actions in order to limit the harm to their industries that export to the United States. No new word yet on the further tightening of sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba. But several programmes utilizing credit from Venezuela on the purchase of petroleum are likely to be adversely affected by the new US trade embargo against Venezuela.
8. The Cabinet invited the Barbuda Council to meet the Prime Minister and the Cabinet as a consequence of a decision relating to the current dock. The Cabinet Secretary has been tasked with approaching the new Chairman of the Council to fix a date in the very near future, when select members of the Council can meet with the Cabinet.
