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In a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne pushed back against opposition claims that the Antiguan government has laid off hundreds of workers hired through the Public Works Department’s employment initiative, reframing the narrative to center on widespread voluntary absenteeism instead.

Addressing questions raised by Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle, Browne stressed that circulating reports of mass staff terminations do not reflect official government policy. The core issue, he told assembled lawmakers, is not mass layoffs but widespread reluctance among many hired workers to show up for their assigned shifts. “We have a problem. A number of them don’t want to work,” the prime minister stated plainly during the debate.

The government-led employment program was specifically crafted to bring jobless Antiguans back into the workforce, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups and young people deemed at high risk of falling into criminal activity. Workers hired through the initiative were assigned a range of public-facing tasks, from routine road maintenance and roadside trash clearance to municipal beautification projects and repainting of state-owned public buildings. Browne emphasized that the administration deliberately reached out to these marginalized groups with the explicit goal of giving them a stable path to earning income. “We sought them out. We wanted to provide them an opportunity to work,” he added.

According to Browne, consistent attendance has emerged as a major systemic challenge for the program. Some hired workers only show up for shifts occasionally, while others have abandoned their positions entirely without formal notice. He also alleged that a portion of participants attempted to hold down separate private employment while collecting pay from the government program, failing to meet the basic commitments required of their public roles.

Despite the attendance struggles, the prime minister reaffirmed the government’s ongoing commitment to the program and the workers it was designed to support. “We’re not going to give up on them,” he said. Browne went on to restate the core policy goal of the initiative: providing steady formal work remains a central pillar of the government’s strategy to keep young people engaged in productive, legal activity and steer them away from cycles of crime and disengagement.

Recent weeks have seen growing public speculation and debate surrounding a major planned development near the city’s flagship stadium, with many local residents and community groups raising alarms that the project would convert public green space into a heavy industrial zone. To put these widespread concerns to rest, the country’s prime minister has stepped forward to issue an official clarification, correcting the misinformation that has circulated across social media and local community forums.

In a press briefing held at government house on Wednesday, the prime minister emphasized that the proposed development project adjacent to the stadium is focused exclusively on enhancing public recreational and community infrastructure, rather than establishing an industrial park. The initiative, first announced earlier this year, is designed to upgrade parking facilities, add new pedestrian walkways, build community sports facilities, and attract small-scale retail and food service outlets that will serve visitors to the stadium and surrounding residential areas.

The confusion over the project’s scope emerged earlier this month when a draft planning document was leaked to local media, with an incorrect labeling of the development zone that sparked immediate pushback from local residents concerned about increased traffic, air pollution, and declining property values. Community organizations had organized several public meetings to oppose the project, calling on the government to abandon plans for industrial construction in the high-traffic stadium area.

The prime minister’s clarification comes as a response to this groundswell of public concern, reinforcing the government’s commitment to transparent urban planning that centers community needs. Officials noted that the project will undergo a new round of public consultation in the coming month to ensure all local residents have the opportunity to review the finalized plans and share feedback before construction begins. Government spokespeople also confirmed that no industrial zoning permits have been applied for or approved in the stadium development area, and there are no long-term plans to rezone the land for industrial use.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that nationwide road repair and rehabilitation projects are advancing at a consistent pace, with major improvements to key corridors projected to be nearly finished within just a few months. Speaking in response to a parliamentary query about the current status of infrastructure upgrades, Browne addressed the long-term nature of overhauling the country’s entire road network, while updating lawmakers on tangible progress already delivered.

The prime minister stressed the sheer scale of the undertaking: with thousands of miles of public roads spanning Antigua and Barbuda, fully resolving longstanding infrastructure issues will require multiple years of sustained investment and work. Even so, he emphasized that ongoing projects on two critical routes, All Saints Road and the Sir Sydney Walling Highway, are already delivering visible results for residents and motorists.

A key strategic decision that has driven successful outcomes on these projects, Browne explained, was the government’s choice to assign work to the local Public Works Department rather than outsourcing the contract to an outside private firm. The prime minister praised the department’s performance, noting that its work has not only met quality standards but also delivered major cost savings for public coffers.

For the 13-mile stretch of road leading to English Harbour, for example, Browne revealed that the Public Works Department is completing the rehabilitation for less than half of the price quoted by a Canadian contracting firm that initially bid on the project. This cost-effective model has allowed the government to stretch infrastructure funding further and advance more repairs than would have been possible under an external contract.

While Browne declined to share a precise final completion date for the ongoing key projects, he told Parliament that current progress puts the work on track to see substantial, near-completion gains within the next two to three months. Road network rehabilitation remains a top infrastructure priority for the Browne administration, which continues to allocate funding and resources to upgrade roads across both islands of the nation.

In a recent address to the country’s national parliament this week, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has delivered a key update on the financing of a critical national infrastructure initiative, confirming that the government has yet to access any funds from the $100 million loan facility specifically allocated to the National Road Project.

When fielding questions from parliamentary representatives about the current status of the planned financing, Browne clarified that no proceeds from the earmarked credit have been drawn down or received by the administration to date. The full $100 million facility remains entirely untouched, with no disbursements having been processed since the facility was approved for the infrastructure scheme.

“We have not received any proceeds from the loan as yet. It remains undrawn, but we hope to commence accessing the facility from later this month,” the prime minister told legislative members during the question-and-answer session.

The multi-million dollar loan is designated exclusively to support the National Road Project, one of the government’s flagship public works programs. The core goal of this large-scale initiative is to upgrade and expand the Caribbean nation’s existing domestic road network, addressing longstanding infrastructure gaps, improving connectivity between communities, reducing travel times, and supporting long-term economic growth across the country.