BREAKING: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2021 Article IV Consultation with Antigua and Barbuda

1. Where did IMF get their information our borders were locked down? Either world dictator traitor tyrant liar thief HT Gaston Browne lied to them or they got their facts wrong.

   All Bullshit Lying Politicians (ABLP) never closed our borders. All the planes stopped flying here. Our borders remained opened through all of this.

   And All Bullshit Lying Politicians (ABLP) have been stealing from us. Add the current situation and that’s why we are here. Our nation bigger than St. Kitts, Barbados and another island were all able to provide unemployment funds for at least a month. To no surprise not here in Antigua. Why? Look at All Bullshit Lying Politicians (ABLP).

   All political members who are in power and never represented the people of our nation need to be removed from office. Those who have committed murders and kidnappings and human trafficking need to be brought to justice. I don’t care which party they belong to. Enough of stealing from us and selling us out.

   No representation, no taxes.

   • You are such a dumb it is pointless explaining this article to you. This is the problem we have in this country, everybody is a pundit.

2. Why is this news, when just like in all previous years the report will be hidden from the public?

   • Boss not surprising that you don’t even recognize the report’s related press release, though its right in front of you. Pay attention, they have provided an opinion and no one has stopped them. This is just all further evidence that you argue for argument sake

3. The important point to not from the review of our economic performance by the IMF, while the IMF is predicting a further downturn in economic performance by 1% Prime Minister Gaston Browne predicted a few weeks ago that our economy will grow by 10% next year. I hope the Prime Minister gave the IMF a serious tongue lashing for their ridiculous and unrealistic growth prediction.

   • Guy next year is 2022, they are predicting 8.5% real growth, and 10.% percent nominal growth. Keep telling you stop make an ar* of yourself. What Lovell doing to you that you thinking this is election year 2022?

     • Tenman, Go back and listen to what Gaston said. Great job stating what’s on the report though. The tape is readily available.

   • Charles hasn’t the IMF been wrong before with its prediction for Antigua and Barbuda under this government. Shall I state the year they did. And they had to come back on their prediction. The IMF does what it has to do. They are very conservative when making economic predictions. The ECCB is more progressive as they are closer to the reality of these economies. And ECLAC also has a more progressive outlook. Therefore, in my opinion, the IMF gives you a worst-case scenario and ECLAC give you the best-case scenario and ECCB is right in the middle. Together with the CDB. You have to note that Antigua has being growing every year by at least 5% since 2014 and were it not for Covid 2020 would have been a record year. When you have a project like PLH pumping hundreds of millions into your economy it will show economic growth. And coupled with the government borrowing for Capital investment, that is what the UPP should have done. They borrowed for recurrent expenditure. That doesn’t grow the economy. Economics 101.

4. * important point to note

5. What social programs did the ABLP introduced during the pandemic? Somebody please tell me because all they have been doing since they got in power in 2014 concerning social programs is piggy back on the social programs the UPP administration implemented and executed before they were voted out of office in 2014.

   • it would be good if you go back to sleep. You missed an entire year. And let me make this clear. The UPP introduced social programs like; Senior Citizens Subsidy program, and People’s Benefit program. This two program had to be funded by the investments of the monies that they with-held from the sale of fuel from Venezuela to WIOC. 50% of these funds are to be repaid over a period of 25 years with an interest rate of 2%. No PDV Caribe Antigua who manages this was to invest these millions of dollars against a higher interest rate and use the difference to fund these programs. What do you think happened? These inept cannot count UPP people to include Harold Lovell who was the minister of Finance and had oversight over this company, lead the company to bankruptcy. What that meant is that the company on the books had a negative equity. Where it not for this government to go to Maduro and ask for a write off, of 250 million dollars. The next program they introduce was the school uniform and school meal. And here also they did not put measures in place as to how it would be funded. So, each year the government must find millions of taxpayers’ dollars to fund these programs. And especially in these hard covid times it is a wonder that the government can still find the money to do so. The government since Covid has introduced even more program. Many via the Social Transformation Department. Some are cash programs; others are food baskets. But no one has to go hungry in this country. Cause there is always a basket of food available, or some vouchers. What the UPP would want is that the government go and overburden itself with loans and gives people cash. But everyone knows that is unsustainable. You would only be able to do so for a couple of months. Which is what we have seen in St. Lucia. After three months Chastanet said the country is broke. I hate social programs. It makes beggars out of people. It is better to teach a man how to fish then to give him food every day. And like you, you do not sit down and stretch out your hand for a hand-out. You are a very entrepreneurial woman and do what it takes to make a living. That I admire from you. I have followed the many business adventures you have started. And I applaud you for that. Wish many more were like you.

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