Prime Minister Gaston Browne says Antigua and Barbuda’s economic progress has fundamentally changed how the country should be viewed internationally, arguing that it can no longer be described as a poor state on the global stage.
Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show on Pointe FM on Saturday, Browne linked rising incomes and economic performance to international perception, travel treatment and diplomatic respect.
“On the basis that we get up to about $30,000 per head, those developed countries cannot look at us and say that we’re like a poor black country,” Browne said. “They have to start to respect us as a significant, wealthy country within the Caribbean.”
He said Antigua and Barbuda’s per-capita income currently stands at about $22,000 and is on a trajectory to rise further within the next several years, strengthening the country’s standing abroad.
Browne said economic strength directly affects how citizens are treated internationally, particularly when travelling. He argued that higher incomes demonstrate that Antiguans and Barbudans are not a burden on other countries’ public resources.
“Our people don’t represent any risk when they travel to their countries,” he said. “They have enough money to take care of their expenses and there are not going to be any charge on public resources.”
The prime minister said this shift in economic status should also change national self-perception, urging citizens to recognise the advantages of living at home rather than assuming opportunities exist only overseas.
He pointed to improvements in education, healthcare and access to goods as evidence that Antigua and Barbuda now offers opportunities that once required migration. Browne noted that university education and advanced medical procedures, including kidney transplants, are now available locally.
He also said global changes in commerce, particularly e-commerce, have reduced the need for physical travel to conduct business or purchase goods, weakening one of the traditional drivers of migration.
Browne said appreciating the country’s natural environment and quality of life is essential to building confidence and retaining talent, warning that continued outward migration could weaken national development.
The prime minister said economic growth must be accompanied by a shift in mindset, with citizens recognising Antigua and Barbuda as a country capable of sustaining prosperity and commanding respect internationally.
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No one said Antigua is a poor country, in fact people like me has contended for years that Antigua should be 15-25 years ahead of where it is today in terms of infrastructure and the looks of the island.
The amount of revenue that came into this small island in the way of investment and tourism in the last 15 years is mind bugging.
And don’t mention all the ill-gotten gains from the billions from the CIP.
What people are asking, is where all that government generated revenue from duties and tourism taxes went?
Antigua should have had major highways and proper drainage infrastructure to tap the water runoff. It should also have serious access to readily available health care with a trauma center and all that. It should have had a much cleaner and attractive city, and way better transportation system.
It should have had a much better banking and financial system. And it should certainly have a better security system for crime prevention and drug and gun trafficking.
And don’t talk about the immigration system.
All these things should have been way ahead of other islands, given the amount of revenues that should have been collected over the past 15 years.
So talk the thing straight and raise your standards for your country please.
You failed GB, failed, and your little wave of prosperity you speak of is marginal at best.
You and your cronies have build massive houses and lived good, and that’s all Antigua has to show for it. A few big houses on the hills, but still with some of the worst infrastructure among the neighboring islands.
Nothing to really brag about.
Numbers can be displayed anyway Antigua got a lot of wealthy people and wealthy passport holders but they that wealth is distributed is more important than how high that number is.
Looking around I wouldn’t really call Antigua poor but it’s not wealthy in most areas especially with how dirty and street cleaning that use to be often is now only around before elections.
Not to mention we have lost a lot of our self efficiency in many industries.