Browne Fires Back at Pringle Land Proposal, Cites Existing $3-Per-Square-Foot Programme

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has dismissed a land reform proposal by opposition leader Jamale Pringle, arguing that the government already offers Crown land at prices lower than what Pringle is promising. According to Antigua News Room, Browne made his position known in a social media post, challenging Pringle's figures directly.

In the post, Browne wrote: "Can someone tell the moron, Jamale Pringle that my administration sells land as low as $3.00 per square foot and $4-5 on average?"

Pringle, leader of the United Progressive Party, had unveiled the proposal during a rally in St Mary's North on Tuesday. He outlined plans to allocate roughly 8,000-square-foot plots to Antiguans and Barbudans aged 35 and under at no more than $5 per square foot. He said a UPP administration would audit remaining Crown lands, zone them for residential use, and distribute approximately 2,000 plots over five years.

"We will not allow deep pockets to take advantage and buy up acres and acres of Crown land," Pringle told supporters at the rally.

However, questions have been raised about how the proposal differs from the government's existing Land Empowerment Programme, administered through the Central Housing and Planning Authority. Under that programme, plots averaging approximately 6,000 square feet are already sold at around $3 per square foot. Housing Minister Maria Browne previously told Parliament that the programme removed its age cap in 2023, expanding access to applicants beyond those under 35.

Pringle also pledged that a UPP government would end the current practice of requiring new homeowners to bear the cost of utility infrastructure — such as poles and pipelines installed by the Antigua Public Utilities Authority — in developing communities.

Beyond housing, Pringle announced plans to extend the legal stay for CARICOM nationals from three months to six months and to introduce work permits described as "unrestricted within the industry," framing these as part of broader immigration reforms. The proposals come ahead of the April 30 general election.