标签： Antigua and Barbuda

As the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda enters a busy period of general election campaigning this April, organizers of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) have reaffirmed that all preparations for the November summit will proceed without disruption.

The high-profile international gathering, scheduled to run from November 1 to 4, has already advanced to a critical planning phase that demands consistent, focused attention — even as political activity accelerates across the entire country, summit overseers say. During a recent convening of the national CHOGM Task Force, Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene, who leads the planning effort, outlined a clear arrangement to balance competing demands: he will split his schedule between official election campaign duties and ongoing oversight of the summit’s preparation process. He also emphasized that the full cross-functional team responsible for the event must maintain consistent progress to hit key milestones.

To ensure no gaps in leadership emerge when Greene is occupied with campaign commitments, veteran diplomat Ambassador Anthony Liverpool has been appointed as Special Advisor to guarantee continuity in planning. Liverpool brings substantial relevant experience to the role, having previously played a central part in organizing the 2024 Small Island Developing States Conference, which makes him well-suited to lead Task Force meetings in Greene’s absence.

Day-to-day operational coordination will remain anchored with the permanent CHOGM Secretariat, led by Coordinator Celia Roberts-Morgan. A network of specialized committees is already working in parallel to advance core components of the summit, including logistics arrangements and the design of the official program.

When it convenes in November, CHOGM will be the largest international event ever hosted by Antigua and Barbuda, drawing heads of state, senior government officials, and delegates from all 56 member states of the Commonwealth. Beyond the core formal leadership meetings, the summit will feature a full slate of parallel engagement events, including dedicated forums for youth, women’s leadership, business cooperation, and civil society dialogue, alongside a range of other bilateral and multilateral international engagements.

Organizers project that more than 5,000 participants will travel to Antigua and Barbuda for the four-day gathering. Given the massive scale of the event and the complex work required to deliver a successful summit, officials stress that there is no margin for scheduling delays — even as the national government and political leadership navigate the full demands of a national election season.

As Antigua and Barbuda gears up for an upcoming general election, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has strongly refuted opposition claims that his administration is rolling out targeted government programs as pre-election “treating” to sway voter support.

During an appearance on the *Browne and Browne Show* aired on local radio outlet Pointe FM, Browne made clear that the government’s ongoing social and economic empowerment initiatives are not last-minute campaign tactics. He emphasized that core programs, including land distribution schemes, duty-free concessions for targeted groups, and targeted housing assistance, have been part of his administration’s policy agenda for multiple years, with rollouts scheduled far in advance of the formal election cycle.

These measures, Browne explained, were crafted to advance long-term developmental goals: expanding accessible economic opportunities across the country and raising living standards, with a specific focus on supporting low- and middle-income households that have historically faced greater barriers to property ownership and financial stability. The prime minister stressed that these initiatives align fully with the broader governing vision his administration put forward after taking office, and they should not be misrepresented as short-term bribes designed to win votes.

The controversy comes as political activity intensifies across the nation, with opposition figures increasingly questioning the timing of recent program announcements and launches. Critics have argued that the rollout of visible, voter-focused initiatives immediately ahead of a general election amounts to improper election treating, a practice aimed at buying electoral support through policy handouts.

Browne dismissed these concerns outright, reiterating that the consistent rollout of empowerment programs reflects the government’s commitment to sustained, proactive governance rather than election-motivated decision-making. He added that the administration’s core governing priority has always centered on empowering citizens through expanded access to critical assets like land and housing, a policy direction that has remained consistent long before discussions of the upcoming election entered the national political discourse.

A prominent political figure, Massiah, has publicly questioned the decision of fellow politician Lovell to abandon the City East constituency and seek candidacy in All Saints West, a move that comes immediately after Lovell’s razor-thin six-vote loss in his previous electoral contest.

The surprising party-switch or cross-constituency move has stirred fresh debate across the local political landscape, with observers noting that such a rapid shift just after a narrow electoral defeat is unusual in the country’s political practice. Massiah has pushed for clarity on the motivations behind the change, arguing that constituents of both constituencies deserve transparency about why Lovell opted to relocate rather than continuing to build support in City East, where he came within a handful of votes of securing victory.

Political analysts point out that the six-vote margin is one of the closest electoral results in recent regional memory, making the decision to walk away from the nearly-won seat even more puzzling to many political insiders. Lovell has not yet issued an official public response to Massiah’s questions, leaving local political circles speculating about whether the move is part of a broader party negotiation, a response to internal constituency tensions, or a strategic calculation to improve his chances of winning a parliamentary seat in the next general election.

The controversy comes as parties across the political spectrum continue to adjust their candidate slates ahead of the upcoming electoral cycle, with constituency selection emerging as a key point of internal and public scrutiny for all major political groups.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced an ambitious national initiative to deliver sweeping upgrades to the country’s aging road network, with a clear timeline of 12 to 18 months for substantial progress. Speaking during an appearance on the *Browne and Browne Show* aired on local outlet Pointe FM, the nation’s leader confirmed that the administration has already locked in more than $100 million in committed funding to advance construction and rehabilitation work across communities island-wide.

In a departure from past contracting models, Browne confirmed that the government has made a strategic policy shift to assign major infrastructure projects directly to the country’s Public Works Department (PWD), rather than relying exclusively on external private contractors. The prime minister highlighted that this in-house approach will cut unnecessary administrative and contracting costs, delivering better overall value for public spending on the program. “They’ll be able to do it far cheaper, and I think we’ll get better value for money,” Browne told listeners during the radio interview.

To equip PWD to take on the expanded workload, the government is implementing a series of structural upgrades to the department, including targeted recruitment of additional professional engineers and skilled construction workers. Browne added that salary adjustments are also being rolled out to make positions more competitive, enabling the department to attract higher-caliber skilled personnel to support the accelerated work schedule.

Browne expressed strong confidence that the expanded capacity of PWD will allow the government to tackle decades-long road infrastructure challenges that have long impacted communities across the country. “We believe that well-equipped Public Works will be able to resolve the country’s infrastructure [gap] maybe within the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.

While he acknowledged that the scope of work means it is impossible to rehabilitate every deficient road across the nation at the same time, Browne emphasized that the current pace and scale of the initiative mark a fundamental change from how road projects have been managed in the past. He noted that visible, rapid improvements are already visible across many parts of the island, and asserted that the entire program remains fully under government control. “We can’t fix all the roads at the same time… but we have it under control,” he added.

Notably, the prime minister made clear that the road improvement program will continue moving forward regardless of the outcome of the country’s upcoming general election. He warned against any actions that could disrupt the current momentum in infrastructure development, framing the project as a national priority that should transcend electoral politics.

In recent months, the Browne administration has steadily ramped up road construction activity, with active projects underway in multiple communities as part of a broader national push to modernize Antigua and Barbuda’s core public infrastructure.