Prime Minister Gaston Browne has given a date of December 15, 2018 for the settlement of outstanding back pay to public servants.
He made the announcement while speaking in parliament this morning.
Browne who is also Finance Minister said the government is serious about keeping its word to the Antigua and Barbuda people.
Public Servants are owed a total of about $50 million dating back to the year 2002.
Some received part payment earlier this month.
“Even though we did not know where the monies would have come from, the reality is we are delivering.”
“By the 15 of December, the public servants can be assured that they will be paid in full. In fact, I will go further that we have the money in the bank already,” the prime minister announced.
“It is really the bureaucratic procedure that we have to prepare all the vouchers that really precluded us from paying immediately,” he added.
“My government is a can do government,” Browne said.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
Hey is an election happening on this day or something…..well u know if he gets upset that change ……can some one answer me back pay is from which year?
2004
Packpay is for all civil servants in the system from 2002.
2002. Stop making up your facts.
PM Browne is doing a great job on fixing many long term problems that we have had. Whether you like him or not, you have to admit he is at least cleaning up the finances of the country the best he can.
I really think that if we updated our CIP law to make it more attractive like St Kitts, we would get a lot more money into the country. By the way, the Antigua CIP website still only has old information on it.
Sad to say but the Lady in charge is not doing a good job when it comes to promoting the program. She may be a good administrator, but she cannot sell the passport. It is a competitive world out there and you have to be out there like a salesman/woman selling your product, wining and dining with people and making deals. And you must always pay attention to detail. When you need to the PM to seal a deal I am sure he will be there. And you are so right the website is outdated in many ways. The technique that they use and it is not interactive at all. Even the St. Kitts website is better. You need marketing people that know what they are doing. That understand the industry that they have to market the product on. I have had many queries from potential clients and have directed them to the office. So far with little or no result. When the PM was directly involved in the program was when the program flourished. But he cannot constantly be that involved. I compare this with the moving trend in hiring a GM for a bank or a hotel. You need people that can get clients to place their money with the bank because without that you have no capital to give loans. And a hotel needs a GM that can be a good hosts. He needs to make sure each guest has a great time while staying at the hotel and really feel like they have been treated special. GM are not technical people any longer. They are persons that can ensure customer’s satisfaction. And that can grow the company’s customer’s base. The technical people can remain behind the scene. Like with the bank. You do not want the bank manager to be the decision maker when it comes to granting loans. Because he can get into conflicts of interests. So you take him out of that equation and let a committee with strict guidelines handle that. He can have a deciding vote in some instances. Anyway your point in well taken. We can do much more. Update the website at least daily and follow each visitor. Why is it that some website remember me when I return and also send me information long after I have visited. And believe me. One client will also know another potential client so let him earn some sort of commission for bringing his friends or some token of appreciation from the country. Like a free stay in a hotel.
Wait a pompey brother this???
Good. The program should be shut down.
Stop blaming the lady.
Like with everything else this country only attracts crooks and jailbirds under ABLP government so all the bonofide passport buyers go to St Kitts. The reputation of Antigua under ALP is legendary so no one wants to be tarnished with that alp brush.
Sideline, thank for the information and reply to my post is actually really good and useful. I appreciate you giving the information and background on Antigua’s CIP program. I agree, the program was better when PM Browne ran it. We need really smart and aggressive people in charge of Antigua’s CIP program, there is so much opportunity to really use it to power Antigua’s economy and global connections further.
Yes, Antigua’s CIP website needs to be updated ASAP. My favorite CIP website is Dominica’s. Take a look at it – it is clean, modern, and updated all the time. Why can’t Antigua have a good website like Dominica’s? At least the current Antigua CIP website can be updated!
Thank you Sideline for the good information.
I am a retiree who have worked for the Government for 42 years and retired in 2009 and I have not gotten any back pay as yet and November 6th has passed two weeks ago. I cannot get an answer as to when I will. Now The PM made this statement, I do hope it will come through.
I think PM Browne cares about the civil servants that are owed money and he is trying to fix it the best way he can. Hopefully the people that are owed money can appreciate PM’s efforts, because he is truly solving a problem he didn’t create.
Some of us had begun working in the early 70’s. Retired after 2004, but was never given any upgrade or extra month’s payment when shared.. So, why am I understanding that we pensioners are only entitled to ONE PAYMENT OF GOVERNMENT’S PENSION MONEY?
IF TRUE, HOW FAIR IS THAT? WHERE IS OUR REAL BACKPAY?
Comments are closed.