{"id":1845,"date":"2017-05-15T02:17:34","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T02:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=1845"},"modified":"2017-07-23T17:36:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T17:36:09","slug":"upp-critical-of-gun-factory-talks-pm-says-it-was-never-approved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-critical-of-gun-factory-talks-pm-says-it-was-never-approved\/","title":{"rendered":"UPP critical of gun factory talks, PM says it was never approved"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The United Progressive Party (UPP) said today that Prime Minister Gaston Browne showed \u201cscant regard\u201d for the safety of the residents through the proposal to establish a gun assembly plant in Antigua and Barbuda.<\/p>

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The UPP said the Prime Minister \u201cbeat a hasty retreat\u201d by indicating that he will withdraw the proposal on account of the overwhelming objections to the project.<\/p>\n

Browne said on a radio station that he was not on island when the talks surrounding the gun issue were held.<\/p>

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But the country\u2019s main opposition says \u201cIf the Prime Minister was aware, it shows gross recklessness and poor judgement on his part. If he was not aware, then he is guilty of gross negligence and incompetence.\u201d<\/p>

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The UPP said in any properly run government, no discussion about the manufacturing of guns within a country\u2019s borders can take place by any government minister, or any Cabinet, without the approval of the Prime Minister. It is interesting that PM Browne seems to be always out of the country whenever these dubious deals are discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a radio interview on Saturday night, the Prime Minister cited the maxim: \u201cThe voice of the people is the voice of God\u201d.<\/p>

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The United Progressive Party \u00a0wants him to apply that saying to other areas by opening the Five Islands Secondary School; by lowering the gas prices, and by calling an Inquiry into the Oderbrecht scandal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In a statement of his own, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said there was no formal decision of the Cabinet to establish a gun factory. \u00a0He admitted however, an \u201cinformal\u201d undertaking was given to an Italian hand gun manufacturer to establish a hand gun factory in the special economic zone.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cThis occurred on an occasion while I was off island. I subsequently heard about it and indicated to the agent of the investor that it was a bad idea,\u201d Browne reiterated.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Browne said although he was told the guys were for export, \u201cI maintained for various reasons that we should not proceed with the proposed investment.\u201d
\nEarlier he announced that the undertaking would be scuttled.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United Progressive Party (UPP) said today that Prime Minister Gaston Browne showed \u201cscant regard\u201d for the safety of the residents through the proposal to establish a gun assembly plant in Antigua and Barbuda. The UPP said the Prime Minister \u201cbeat a hasty retreat\u201d by indicating that he will withdraw the proposal on account of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"yoast_head":"\nUPP critical of gun factory talks, PM says it was never approved - 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\/upp-critical-of-gun-factory-talks-pm-says-it-was-never-approved\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPP critical of gun factory talks, PM says it was never approved\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The United Progressive Party (UPP) said today that Prime Minister Gaston Browne showed \u201cscant regard\u201d for the safety of the residents through the proposal to establish a gun assembly plant in Antigua and Barbuda. 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