To the Editor,
I write to express concern regarding the intention of Mr Michael Freeland to contest the upcoming General Election as a candidate for the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party in St Georges. It has taken me a while to develop the courage to pen this letter.
Public office demands not only competence, but unimpeachable integrity and transparency. In this regard, it is difficult to ignore the unresolved questions surrounding the well-known Customs auction funds resulting in his removal from the list of potential Candidates to contest on behalf of the ABLP in St Johns Rural East, this matter ultimately led to Mr. Freeland’s resignation from the Senate on 31st December 2017. While it is acknowledged that the funds in question were eventually repaid, the circumstances giving rise to that situation were never fully clarified to the satisfaction of the public.
The central issue is not merely one of legality, but of public trust. Elections are, at their core, a test of confidence. Voters must be assured that those seeking to represent them are willing and able to provide clear, consistent, and credible explanations when concerns arise. In Mr. Freeland’s case, significant gaps remain in the public narrative, and these gaps continue to raise legitimate questions about accountability.
It is therefore reasonable to ask whether the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, as a governing institution, has sufficiently considered the reputational implications of his candidacy in a constituency surrounded by Christians of whom a majority are Seventh Day Adventist? Political parties bear a responsibility not only to their supporters, but to the broader democratic process and society, to ensure that their candidates reflect the highest standards of public life.
This is not a matter of personal attack, but of principle. If the electorate in St Georges is to maintain confidence in its institutions, there must be a consistent expectation that those who seek public office are held to rigorous standards of disclosure and accountability.
Accordingly, I respectfully submit that, Mr. Freeland owes the public a full and transparent account of the circumstances that led to the funds been stolen which caused his resignation. Only then voters in St Georges can make a properly informed decision when they go out to vote.
Thank you for giving me this space.
Yvonne James
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I like how UPP ramping up and trying to pull out ALL the stops on whatever dirt they think they can dig up. Unfortunately, that won’t work at this time. The horse has bolted from the stable!!!
well if UPP can trust a shooter to run on their ticket…
if P.O.W.A and Giselle can trust BOWEN with gender activism and to talk about GUN and WOMEN…..
JOEL RAYNE is the person who should contest the seat in St. George’s. He is HONEST , INTELLIGENT and a FAMILY MAN. His wife is a prominent FAMILY DOCTOR in Antigua. Her name is Dr.Gisele Rayne.
@FC – so true. Desperate times call for DESPERATE measures! Not even these lame tactics can help revive a comatose UPP.
@FC – so true. Desperate times call for DESPERATE measures! Not even these lame tactics can help revive a comatose UPP from SELF-destruction
Sticky fingers if you ask me..😂😂
He’s not getting my vote for sure ….
not partisan and michael is a good dude but I want to know what happened to the money too
There are several wealthy people in Fitches Creek that are not fans of Dalso or the death spiral of the UPP and have committed to support Freeland.
When a ship has several holes in the bottom, the rudder has fallen off and the engine is on fire, it is beyond saving so why bother?
The people of St. George deserve better than a seething serpent. Good riddance the snake is gone.The snake is a WASTE MAN.
Yvonne James, are you an Antigua? If you are you should know these are the sort of people that are around the ABLP. This party is a magnet for that type. Ask Anthony, Dwayne and the other $$$$$$$$ chasers. An old time Labourite now deceased once said to me “one day the thieves and vagabonds will fall apart and those of us who are honest will get our due”
ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE ALP/ABLP.THEY ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF THEIR COMRADES.AS LONG AS YOU JOIN THEM.YOU COULD NEVER LEAVE THEM.THEY HAVE BEEN OPERATING LIKE A CULT FOR OVER 7 DECADES,PLUS.JIM JONES HAD NOTHING OVER THIS ORGANIZATION.THEY WOULD ALL LINED UP TO DRINK THAT RED KOOL AID.THOSE IN THE BACK OF THE LINES.WOULD SEE THE ONES AT THE FRONT DRINK AND FALL AND THEY WOULD STILL GO UP AND DRINK AND FALL.
@Faithful National #2
you are utterly confused! Careful JOHN ASHE jumby don’t haunt you.
Google JOHN ASHE and UPP’S BALDWIN SPENCER if you think you bad nuh
This same Kleptomaniac has been named just last week in some skulldugery with funds from the Festivals Committee. I think that you are effectively asking all the candidates on the same side to give accounts for all that they have stolen too. Freeland’s take was a mere $100k but the latest is a conservative $15mil in vehicles which pales in comparison to the US$10mil. from the Alfa Nero deal. Has anyone remembered The APUA Funding, which saw millions of dollars being siphoned from the Heritage Market construction funds and lodged in a Trinidadian Bank? The biggest puzzle we would’ve had to unravel would be understanding how the then Attorney General was able to sign a passport form, verifying that the Jumby that stood before him, was, to the best of his knowledge, known to him. He was then paid for his service. If we were a people who truly loved decency, honestly and fairplay, the Antigua Labour Party would be nonexistent.
@ Real Talk
I have googled and came up with the $1,000,000.00 missing from the Barbuda hurricane relief donation; I came up with EURO 3,000,000.00 from Odebrecht; I came up with EC$40,000,000.00 or US$15,000,000.00 from the Vehicle Gate/Bronco scandal; I came up with US$450,000.00 commission on the Alfa Nero re: Hesse; I came across the fraudulent flipping of lands at English Harbour and Long Bay for the PM and his ‘spend money like it’s going out of fashion attitude’, because it was not earned.
I found lots more but I don’t have the time to write it all down.
Please, that Freeland guy is like all the other members of the ABLP, corrupt like hell.
Isn’t it ironic though, that ‘Birds of a feather flock together’?
To the headline question.My answer is a resounding,NO.
NO!! He set up that cash to be stolen..hes nlt a peole personin. He’s an arrogant guy, his woman attitude stinks of shit. END!
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