Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that his administration has kicked off the second wave of free building material distribution as part of a national social assistance initiative designed to support low-income and vulnerable households across the country. The announcement was made during an appearance on the local *Browne and Browne* radio talk show, where the leader detailed the logistics of the ongoing rollout of the support program. “I’m also pleased to announce that we have the second set of our building material here, and we are now distributing those,” Browne told listeners during the on-air address. While distribution operations are already active across most communities, rollout has not yet begun in the two districts of Point and Villa. Browne confirmed that delivery of materials to these two areas will officially commence next week, giving local officials time to complete pre-distribution registration and logistics preparations. To streamline access for eligible residents, Browne urged community members who meet the vulnerability criteria and have not yet applied for support to reach out directly to government representatives to register for assistance. He noted that Housing Minister Rawdon Turner will lead on-the-ground coordination, processing applications and overseeing the final delivery of materials to individual residential properties. “Several of you will approach me and I will send your names to Mr. Turner, Minister Turner, [who will] assist me in delivering the material to your respective homes,” Browne explained. This targeted building material program is just one component of a broader suite of social safety net initiatives that the current administration has rolled out to address persistent socioeconomic hardship across the nation. Browne emphasized that the construction material initiative works in tandem with other existing social programs, including a widely used food voucher scheme for low-income families and a recently launched program that provides free prescription eyeglasses to eligible residents. According to the prime minister, the overarching goal of all connected programs is to directly address unmet needs of residents grappling with financial hardship, and to guarantee that no vulnerable individual or family falls through the gaps of the country’s social support system. “We’re a caring administration and we have these little pockets of poverty and need. We’re trying to fill them,” Browne said. He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to inclusive support, adding, “He added: “We don’t want anyone to be left behind.” As of the latest announcement, government officials have not released public data on the total number of households expected to receive support through this second round of building material distribution.
PM Browne Says Second Batch of Building Materials Now Being Distributed
