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Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that the government will implement rigorous eligibility regulations for its ambitious $1 land initiative on the island of Barbuda, restricting access largely to individuals who maintained residency on the island around the arrival of Hurricane Irma in 2017. In an address delivered to local radio station Pointe FM this past Saturday, Browne outlined that the strict parameters are a proactive measure designed to block opportunistic exploitation of the program by non-residents seeking to secure discounted land parcels without historical ties to the community.

“We have to put the parameters in place in terms of who may be eligible,” Browne emphasized during the interview. The priority of this special land scheme, he explained, is to serve communities that weathered Hurricane Irma and remained on the island in the years following the catastrophic storm that leveled large swathes of Barbuda in September 2017. Eligible participants will be drawn from the population that has continuously resided in Barbuda from the date of the hurricane through the present day, Browne clarified.

Under the terms of the proposed initiative, qualifying residents can acquire plots of land up to one acre in size for a token $1 fee. The program is integrated into a larger government project to overhaul land governance in Barbuda, which includes rolling out formalized land registration and dividing communal land into individual titled parcels across targeted zones like Louis Hill.

Browne made clear that the benefit will not be automatically extended to people of Barbudan descent who live outside the country, nor to outsiders who attempt to leverage distant family connections to qualify for the discounted land. “We’re not catering for people who weren’t even born in Barbuda for that matter, but may have been born to Barbudan parentage thinking that they can get a land for one dollar,” Browne stated, adding, “This is for those who are resident in Barbuda.”

The Prime Minister did note that the eligibility window remains open to naturalized Antiguans and Barbudans, provided they meet the outlined residency requirements. He further explained that the overarching goal of the initiative is to economically and legally empower local residents by granting them formal legal title to their land, while preserving existing occupancy arrangements for any community members who oppose the transition to freehold ownership.

On a somber Friday evening, hundreds of political allies, family members, and loved ones gathered under flickering candlelight to celebrate the life and legacy of Mary-Clare Hurst, a former state minister and lifelong devotee of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP). In a moving address to the assembled crowd, Prime Minister Gaston Browne delivered a heartfelt tribute to the figure affectionately known to the community as “Tanty.”

Opening his remarks, Browne acknowledged the mixed mood of the memorial, noting that while the gathering was marked by deep grief over the loss of a beloved public servant, it was also a moment to give thanks for Hurst’s decades of unwavering contribution to the nation and the ABLP. “We are gathered here this evening, with heavy hearts and profound sadness, but also with profound gratitude as we pay tribute to our fallen comrade,” Browne told the assembly.

Browne remembered Hurst as a rock for the Labour movement, one whose loyalty never wavered across more than half a century of political engagement. He described her as a leader defined by unshakable conviction and quiet courage, who consistently showed up for the party and its values through every shift in the political landscape. The prime minister reflected on his own decades-long political partnership with Hurst, recalling the critical support she offered during the party’s 2005 leadership convention and other moments that tested the ABLP’s resilience.

He specifically highlighted Hurst’s steadfastness in challenging political seasons, including the period after the 2023 general election, when uncertainty put party unity to the test. “True comrades reveal themselves during difficult periods,” Browne told the crowd of mourners. “Comrade Mary-Clare Hurst stood firm.”

Throughout the evening, attendees passed along personal stories and warm memories of Hurst, joining in collective prayer to honor her decades of public service to Antigua and Barbuda. The vigil closed with a final round of tributes, as attendees reaffirmed the lasting impact of her legacy of loyalty, dedication, and service to the country she served.

At a celebratory thanksgiving service held by the United Progressive Party (UPP) All Saints East and St. Luke branch for Jamale Pringle’s recent electoral victory, senior party figure Senator Malaka Parker framed the win as far more than a simple retention of a single parliamentary seat — instead, she positioned it as a symbol of enduring hope and unbroken resilience for the island nation’s main opposition movement.

Parker opened her address by urging attendees not to dismiss the importance of holding just one seat in Antigua and Barbuda’s legislative body, drawing on personal childhood memories to ground her argument. Growing up in the Grace Farm community during the era when former Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer served as the only opposition parliamentarian in the chamber, Parker said she witnessed firsthand the unyielding determination of Spencer and his grassroots supporters through years of political adversity. That small, persistent presence, she argued, was the initial flicker that would eventually grow into the larger opposition movement the UPP represents today.

Popularly dubbed the “Single Pringle” campaign in reference to Pringle holding the party’s only parliamentary seat, Parker said the victory carries a far deeper ideological meaning rooted in the power of unified purpose. “Oneness is powerful,” she emphasized. “You are representing again this movement — a profound movement of resilient people.” Parker grew visibly emotional throughout her speech as she recognized long-time UPP backers in the crowd, many of whom she has known since her early childhood.

Parker made clear that the win sends a clear message about the political consciousness of Antiguans and Barbudans, stating: “I want to say that Jamal, your election represents hope. It is a testament to the fact that Antiguans and Barbudans are still awake.” She also alleged that organized efforts have been underway across the country to destabilize the opposition’s core mission, vision, and collective spirit, but struck a defiant tone in response. Echoing longstanding opposition rhetoric, she repeatedly vowed: “We will not retreat, and we will not surrender.” Looking ahead, she said the party would leverage Pringle’s victory as a starting point for broader change, noting “We’re going to use this spark that is the Honorable Jamal represents, and we will light the flame.”

Turning to the UPP’s strategic path forward, Parker argued that the party must immediately shift into a phase of rebuilding and outreach, rather than limiting its discourse to closed internal conversations with loyal supporters. “We cannot be a church talking to ourselves,” she said, urging members to tear down barriers and expand their base by connecting with new voters across the country.

To illustrate the party’s ongoing educational mission, Parker invoked the legacy of 19th-century American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, framing her as a historic symbol of resistance and political consciousness-building. She referenced Tubman’s famous quote that she “could have freed more people if they knew they were slaves,” using the analogy to argue that the UPP’s core responsibility is to educate and re-educate voters across Antigua and Barbuda. “We are on a mission to free people, build the awareness, to re-educate,” she said. “The mission continues.”

Closing her remarks, Parker extended formal congratulations to Pringle on his re-election, and highlighted a young party supporter named Jonathan as an example of the next generation of UPP leadership, calling him “the future of the UPP.”