Antigua and Barbuda has taken another key step forward in its government-backed housing support initiative, with a second batch of critical construction materials successfully arriving at its shores, according to government spokesperson Maurice Merchant. Merchant, the nation’s Director General of Communications, made the announcement during an official post-Cabinet media briefing held Thursday, addressing lingering public uncertainty over whether the post-general election supplementary shipment had reached the country.
Public questions had been circulating for days about the status of the additional materials, which were promised ahead of the recent general election. In clear, direct response to those queries, Merchant confirmed that the shipment is now on-island and ready for deployment.
Cabinet members were updated this week that a formal distribution timeline is currently being finalized by government officials, with the explicit goal of ensuring the building supplies reach the communities and individuals that need them most. “The honourable minister reported to Cabinet yesterday that he is putting the final touches on a delivery schedule that will get these materials directly to vulnerable and low-income households across both islands,” Merchant told reporters.
This distribution effort is a core component of a national housing assistance program launched by the current Gaston Browne-led administration, designed to directly support households that lack the resources to access necessary construction and home repair materials on their own. Merchant also emphasized that senior government leadership is actively engaged in the on-the-ground execution of the initiative, singling out Rawdon Turner, Minister of Urban and Social Transformation, for his hands-on involvement.
Merchant told the briefing that Turner has personally joined distribution teams to deliver materials to qualifying residents on weekends, demonstrating the administration’s commitment to moving the program forward at pace. “Even on Saturdays and Sundays, Minister Turner is out in communities personally overseeing the delivery of materials to families that need them, to keep this administration’s promise alive,” Merchant said.
To date, government officials have not released details on the total volume of construction materials included in this second shipment, nor have they publicly identified which priority communities will receive supplies first once the distribution schedule is announced.