In a striking parliamentary confrontation during the 2026 Budget Debate, Opposition Member of Parliament Sherfield Bowen delivered a scathing critique of the government’s fiscal narrative, presenting evidence that Antigua and Barbuda’s national debt has dramatically increased rather than decreased under current administration.
Bowen challenged the administration’s frequent claims of successful debt management, revealing that while the government emphasizes debt-to-GDP ratios showing improvement from over 100% to approximately 61%, the actual dollar value of national liabilities tells a different story. According to the MP’s analysis, the national debt has ballooned from EC$2.6 billion in 2014 to approximately EC$4 billion in the current budget—representing a substantial increase in real terms.
The parliamentarian referenced the 2014 Director of Audit’s Report as his baseline, highlighting that when the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party assumed office, the debt stood at EC$2.6 billion. He systematically deconstructed the government’s percentage-based presentations, arguing that focusing solely on GDP ratios creates a misleading perception that obscures the true scale of borrowing.
Bowen enhanced his argument with per-capita calculations, demonstrating that each citizen’s share of the national debt has effectively doubled from approximately EC$24,000 in 2014 to about EC$50,000 currently. This tangible metric, he contended, more accurately reflects the actual burden on the population than abstract percentage comparisons.
The opposition MP attributed this debt accumulation to years of sustained budgetary deficits and continued borrowing, directly contradicting government assertions of improved public finances. His critique formed part of a broader examination of the budget’s presentation methods, which he accused of masking structural economic weaknesses behind favorably framed headline figures.
