WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?
A QUESTION THE NATION DESERVES ANSWERED
On 6 December 2025, the Honourable Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, publicly stated that over EC$4 million was provided for police training. This announcement should have reassured the nation that our law enforcement recruits are being prepared in conditions that reflect professionalism, dignity, and respect.
Unfortunately, the reality on the ground tells a very different story.
New police recruits are reportedly being tasked to clean and prepare training facilities that are visibly mold-infested, rather than focusing on training. They are housed on old, bed-bug-infested beds, provided with used sheets and blankets, and expected to endure living conditions that fall well below acceptable health and safety standards.
At the same time, these recruits receive a reduced monthly pay of approximately EC$900, an amount that already places financial strain on young men and women who have chosen to serve their country. To then subject them to unsafe and unsanitary living conditions raises serious concerns — not just about management, but about priorities.
This situation forces an unavoidable and legitimate question:
If over EC$4 million was allocated for police training, where exactly is that money going?
Training does not exist in theory alone. It includes facilities, accommodation, equipment, hygiene, nutrition, and basic human dignity. Mold exposure is a known health risk. Bed bugs are a public health concern. These are not minor inconveniences — they are unacceptable conditions for anyone, much less for individuals preparing to uphold law, order, and national security.
The public deserves transparency.
Police recruits deserve respect.
And the nation deserves assurance that funds allocated in their name are being used for their intended purpose.
This letter is not an attack on policing, nor on governance. It is a call for accountability. It is a demand for answers, oversight, and immediate corrective action. If the conditions described are accurate, then they represent a failure that must be acknowledged and urgently addressed.
Those who are being trained to protect the people of Antigua and Barbuda should not be treated as expendable. You cannot build discipline, morale, or integrity in an environment of neglect.
The question remains — and it will not go away:
Where is the money going?
Concerned citizens call for transparency, accountability, and immediate improvement of police training conditions.
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Here, here, l very much concur with this writer.
Prime Minister Browne continually tells the country that our economy is doing well, and according to he, we are an “economic powerhouse”. Yet, we see no tangible evidence of this in our infrastructures or the reduction in the cost of living.
Who he fooling?
However, the Lord our God gave us eyes to see; and when Antiguans look around for evidence of the country’s wellbeing there’s not much to witness unless there’s a General Election on the horizon, as many of my friends and family believe.
Furthermore, our police officers shouldn’t be cleaning mold-ridden premises … THEY SHOULD BE CLEARING CRIMES OFF OUR STREETS!!!
Gaston Browne has so much to account for as Antigua’s Finance Minister (a position that is seen as a conflict of interest); and also, we’ve no idea why his Cabinet Members do not intervene on behalf the voting public as to how our money is being misused and abused!
Browne must be CHALLENGED on the usage of the taxpayers purse, or better still, CHALLENGED within the ABLP for Leadership.