Work permit cost slashed for farm workers

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The cost of work permits for non-nationals who choose to engage in farming has been halved to $1,500, the Cabinet has decided.

Other measures are also being adopted to boost the agriculture sector.

The government reported that leases are also being granted to all farmers, and plots as large as 25 acres are being included in the leaseholds.

“The object is to increase the output of agricultural products and its contribution to the GDP,” said Lionel Max Hurst, the government’s Chief of Staff.

He reported that a desalting plant producing 4,000 gallons of water daily will be completed in the first quarter, in the Bethesda area not too far from Potworks Dam.

A team of eleven Chinese agricultural experts will also be entering Antigua, this month, to teach greenhouse and open-field farming techniques to farmers in Antigua.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. FUCK ME. AGAIN???? NON NATIONALS AGAIN. I SWEAR I AM GOING TO GET A JAMAICAN PASSPORT SO I CAN LIVE HIGH ON THE HOG IN ANTIGUA.

    WHAT ABOUT ANTIGUANS.
    JESUS FUCKING CRIST MAN.

    • Antiguan nationals can take these jobs and not have to pay $3000 a year for the right.
      All these jobs are offered to nationals first.
      But they choose not to so , the work goes to non nationals who will.
      I advertised a job last month for a labourer for 6 weeks work.
      There where over 30 applicants , there was only one Antigan national and he only wanted to work 4 days a week!
      Im sorry this time its not the governments fault!

  2. Respect the Lord bro ….but on the other side i feel your pain .yep non nationals getting alot so if you all don’t notice elections are gonna be in the next few months .so they have to butter them up…..votes is what it is !

  3. Aloenso
    That was exactly what i said. Read the first line…….
    But the fact is that we Antiguans don’t seem to want the jobs.
    1 national out of 30 applicants is not a good ratio .
    I hired a non national and had no choice.
    There is work there it just seems we don’t want to do it.
    Just saying from my experience …………would love to be wrong.

    • Let’s be honest we Antiguan don’t want these types of jobs
      We would prefer to work in an office from 8-4 to include our 2 hour lunch break and when we leave by 3pm on friday the boss don’t see our face till 8:30 am on Monday

    • Mr. Bing, my comment was not for you it was for Lastone. Please note that all the comments, including yours, that are indented under Lastone were directed at him or her.

  4. Gaston is looking out for the non national because he realize more non national in antigua than antiguan am waiting for them labour party people come at my home when them going on them campaign

  5. Government should first of all indicate and come up with it’s policy what the purpose is of paying for a work permit. Over the years it has more been seen as a kind of income for the country’s low revenue earning capacity. The 1% on foreign exchange use to bring in more money that work permits every did, but they saw the wisdom to remove it. I do not mind you charge processing fees, but if you decide to give a person the permit to work and than you charge them in some cases fees up to one month of their salary that is unfair. So in fact they work for twelve months but the state gets one month of the salary. And this only hurts those on the lower end of the stick. Because expatriates at top positions get everything paid by their employer. But a maid or a construction worker and in this case a farmer they have to come up with the money by themselves. I have paid my housekeepers work permits over the years until she got naturalized. Not everyone is doing so. They already now have to pay their taxes, Social Security Education Levy and Medical Benefit, so why should they pay these high fees and what is the reason for this. Please minister minister rethink of this government policy. We do not need this as a revenue stream. If so charge the employer for employing a foreigner. Ultimately he or she will benefit from the labour.

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