{"id":11970,"date":"2018-01-30T10:25:16","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T14:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=11970"},"modified":"2018-01-30T10:27:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-30T14:27:37","slug":"pm-happy-with-china-vex-with-undp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-happy-with-china-vex-with-undp\/","title":{"rendered":"PM happy with China, vex with UNDP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(PRESS RELEASE)<\/p>

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Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne has commended the People\u2019s Republic of China for making available 2 million US dollars to assist the government in repairing 250 roofs that were damaged by hurricane Irma.<\/p>\n

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Speaking in Barbuda during a ceremony to commence the project which involves the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Prime Minister Browne said that China has been a close ally of Antigua and Barbuda and has assisted in almost every sector of the country\u2019s development.<\/p>

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\u00a0 \u201cThere is no area that China would not have contributed to our development during the last 35 years since we established diplomatic relations.<\/p>

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This relationship is the most important relationship for Antigua and Barbuda.\u00a0 We thank Ambassador Wang, his government and people for this assistance,\u201d Prime Minister Browne stated.<\/p>\n

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Prime Minister Browne also noted that the assistance is very important, because it came during a time of crisis and China was very quick to respond.\u00a0 He also thanked UNDP for their assistance, outlining that the organization comes with certain skills that have been beneficial to the rebuilding process in Barbuda.<\/p>

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The country\u2019s leader, having received a briefing on developments on the island from the technicians on the ground, expressed a number of concerns that he said require immediate action.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are very disappointed that the UNDP had to procure building materials that were shipped out of Barbados.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter where these materials emanated, the fact that they had to go to Barbados suggests that it would have been a more expensive venture.\u00a0 I believe that one of the objectives in any post disaster venture is to ensure that you purchase as much material as possible locally to stimulate the local market,\u201d the country\u2019s leader said.<\/p>

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He requested that the UNDP change this policy and purchase building materials in Antigua.\u00a0 \u201cWe cannot have a situation where entities outside of Antigua and Barbuda are benefitting from the profits while our people are left behind,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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He pointed out that the Antigua and Barbuda government decided to work with the UNDP to accelerate the building process and his government is doing so because of the skills that they bring to the table.\u00a0 \u201cThey too must also take into consideration our domestic requirements.\u00a0 There is a further 1 million US dollars to come from the Indian government and a 5 million Euro grant from the European Union that will be channeled through the UNDP.\u00a0 If Antigua and Barbuda is going to benefit in a token way, that is not acceptable.\u00a0 We want to maximize the benefits for Antiguans and Barbudans, especially\u00a0 Barbudans.\u00a0 There ought to be a labour component also in order for Barbudans to get jobs and benefit from the development,\u201d Prime Minister Browne said.<\/p>\n

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After receiving a briefing from the technicians on the ground and observing a number of homes and buildings that are under repair by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Browne objected to UNDP stickers being plastered on the properties.\u00a0 This he said gave the impression that it was the UNDP that had done the build of the work when it was his government that had done so.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy government will not tolerate any form of opportunistic promotion.\u00a0 You cannot have that type of opportunism during a disaster.\u00a0 I know that the international organisations are looking for a certain amount of promotion, but not at the expense of the people of Barbuda.\u00a0 I was very disappointed when I saw UNDP stickers on buildings that were substantially completed by my government.,\u201d PM Browne stated.<\/p>\n

One of the examples pointed out by Prime Minister Browne was the Hanna Thomas hospital which is being repaired by the government of Antigua and Barbuda, but had UNDP stickers on its walls.\u00a0 Prime Minister said that this is opportunism.\u00a0 \u201cWe do not want a situation where the domestic population gets the impression that the government is not making a contribution but that everything is coming from abroad,\u201d PM Browne said.<\/p>\n

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(PRESS RELEASE) Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne has commended the People\u2019s Republic of China for making available 2 million US dollars to assist the government in repairing 250 roofs that were damaged by hurricane Irma. Speaking in Barbuda during a ceremony to commence the project which involves the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Prime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-2","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPM happy with China, vex with UNDP - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/pm-happy-with-china-vex-with-undp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PM happy with China, vex with UNDP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(PRESS RELEASE) Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne has commended the People\u2019s Republic of China for making available 2 million US dollars to assist the government in repairing 250 roofs that were damaged by hurricane Irma. 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