PM Browne: UPP’s Inaction Doomed Social Security, Our Plan Will Save It
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has launched a stinging critique of the United Progressive Party (UPP), accusing its former finance minister, Harold Lovell, of gross inaction and financial mismanagement that pushed the Social Security Scheme into insolvency.
In a detailed statement outlining the government’s plan to transfer the Jolly Beach Resort to the Social Security Board as a revenue-generating investment, the Prime Minister also revisited the fund’s troubled past. He admitted that previous Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) administrations, like the UPP, had borrowed from the scheme without adequately repaying or investing its assets. But he argued that it was the UPP’s failure to act on urgent reforms that nearly collapsed the system.
“Instead of making the urgent parametric changes, including an increase in premiums and the retirement age to salvage the scheme, the then Finance Minister Harold Lovell did absolutely nothing,” Browne stated, accusing the UPP of “kicking the can down the road.”
He added that under the UPP’s tenure, pensioners were often left waiting in long queues from early morning, only to leave empty-handed due to delayed payments. “Many suffered the indignity of returning home without their pension payments after several hours waiting,” Browne said.
The Prime Minister compared the UPP’s contribution of just $65 million to Social Security over ten years with his administration’s projected total of $300 million over 11 years, including an upcoming $90 million bond payment.
Browne also dismissed Lovell’s credibility on financial matters, asserting that the former minister had no investment experience and oversaw four years of economic contraction during his five-year term. “Would any serious person rely on financial advice from Mr Lovell, with his long list of failures and eight electoral defeats at the polls?” he asked.
In contrast, Browne defended his government’s decision to invest in the Jolly Beach property as a strategic move to generate long-term returns for Social Security. The plan involves selling 315 existing rooms under the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) and constructing 200 new units, with a combined projected return of EC$400 million over ten years.
He also pledged transparency and oversight through regular audits, parliamentary reporting, and strengthened investment committees.
While critics have raised concerns about the risks of using real estate to fund pensions, Browne insists the plan is secure, citing government guarantees to back any shortfalls and asserting that the investment will yield returns far superior to low-interest bank deposits.
“Our bold investment strategy will transform an underutilised national asset into a revenue-generating engine for Social Security,” he said.
The proposal has reignited debate over the management of the nation’s pension fund, with the Prime Minister drawing a firm line between what he calls past negligence and present vision.
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The fact that he said “project” instead of how much have been put in so far during the past 3 terms he had when comparing the past administration that was last in power 11years ago really gives red flags since they are not short of boasting things.
I feel sorry for those followers of the ALP who worship you, Gaston Browne, while you look straight into their eyes and call them fools.
You seem to believe that because ANR is your work that inky the fools of ALP read it.
No. No. No.
Social media is far reaching.
You made statements on your radio station.
Former Finance Minister Harold Lovell debunked your nonsense.
You challenged him to debate the issues at hand.
You never expected him to.
He beat your bluff.
He accepted your challenge.
That shocked you in your liver, kidney, bladder and intestines.
You have gone in hiding.
Instead you are using your radio station where you guve the questions to be asked to you and spewing more stuff to be taken to Cooks Landfill.
Social Security needs liquid cash.
Not assets.
Assets are no good to the retiree at the end of the month.
They cannot take up residence at any of the buildings owned or occupied by Social Security.
If you so truly want to see Social Security managing its affairs why don’t you give the the scheme a five percent share in WIOC.
This is the most profitable investment in Antigua today.
How many of your family members have purchased shares in WIOC?
How many of your cabiNOT members have purchased shares in WIOC?
If the answer is known to those two questions we will see who is putting thier personal interest before state’s interest.
If it is found that any member of your CabiNOT members purchased shares in WIOC the relevant authority should investigate and bring criminal charges against all.
So while you are looking ways to avoid Lovell, you are being closely watched and your day of reckoning will soon come.
@ Young Antiguan Communist, Don’t be a young Antiguan r***!
Gaston Browne, for once in your life speak the damn truth.The Labor Party Administrations to include yours took money from Social Security and no pay back nutten. On top of that, monies were collected from Government Workers and not paid into Social Security. That is a damn shame. You are so lie. If lie were to see you. It would run to Devil’s Bridge jump over and swim across the Atlantic to Europe. Just to get away from your lying arse,Gasman Browne.
3 terms later,and this fool is still blaming UPP, what an idiot.
So if someone is a prostitute, do you blame that person for being a prostitute, or do you blame yourself for dating that prostitute?
You came in with all the promises to make everything better, but 11 years later Gatson Browne is still stuck on those promises.. 😂. What a joker..all this man does is run his mouth. If he came in just humbly and work with the people, it would have been one thing, but this loud mouth joker promised the sky,and here he is 3 terms later blaming the UPP. 😂.
ABLP is a failure, Gatson Browne just admit it. It doesn’t take 3 terms to fix simple things. If you can’t fix the simple things as social security in 3 terms, you are just down right corrupt and stealing the people’s money, or you are an idiot!
Pick one Gatson, because you can’t have both.
This Government do not take accountability for anything, not one damn thing. Shameful!
There goes Gaston trying to demonize UPP as they did with PLM that did all the good buying off two of the prejudice schools in Antigua, antigua grammar school did not take children of unmarried parents, and Antigua girl high school was all for whites and mulatto, PLM ended that prejudice.
Now when Gaston was installed by the one percenters in 2014 election, due to the fallout this Syrian family had with UPP who refused to give them that lofty power generation contract to become antigua lone billionaire family of different ethnicity and persuasion, the hon. Baldwin Spencer administration saw that as a national security risk, where there will be a state capture, with this one Syrian family deciding for the country how things must go.
The $75 million dollars that Gaston wants to take from social security is a facade to white empowerment, the will be using the poor people monies to build condominiums for white ethno supremacists mafia’s, they ask him to devise a way for them to have their beach front property. But from their ethno supremacists ideology they must get on a golden platter from the black monkey politicians acting as their predecessor, the colonial white planters and politicians, and the black people work and build it and then work as maids and gardeners.
The white people never get their wealth unless it’s by violence, it’s as though there is a program of white reparations wherever they go wealth is bequeathed to them by force.
This set of black Antiguan who worked hard and build the social security funds will empower a next generation of white people to rule over our third generation to come, because they will be socially and economically position to a higher status of living than us.
Our prime minister or politicians and the institution of government are marionette to white monopoly capital domination, and they are elated to be validated by white people, a stroke on the head, after all the ethno supremacists ideology express god as white in paintings to us, so the black politicians pass all the wealth to them.
Do you think these same politicians will think of you and ardent fanatic ALP supporter that call to the radio station daily to show your live for Gaston, be ever given jolly beach white sand to live on in condominiums as they are proposing for white people?
There goes Gaston trying to demonize UPP as they did with PLM that did all the good buying off two of the prejudice schools in Antigua, antigua grammar school did not take children of unmarried parents, and Antigua girl high school was all for whites and mulatto, PLM ended that prejudice.
Now when Gaston was installed by the one percenters in 2014 election, due to the fallout this Syrian family had with UPP who refused to give them that lofty power generation contract to become antigua lone billionaire family of different ethnicity and persuasion, the hon. Baldwin Spencer administration saw that as a national security risk, where there will be a state capture, with this one Syrian family deciding for the country how things must go.
The $75 million dollars that Gaston wants to take from social security is a facade to white empowerment, they will be using the poor people monies to build condominiums for white ethno supremacists mafia’s, they ask him to devise a way for them to have their beach front property. But from their ethno supremacists ideology they must get on a golden platter from the black monkey politicians acting as their predecessor, the colonial white planters and politicians, and the black people work and build it and then work as maids and gardeners.
The white people never get their wealth unless it’s by violence, it’s as though there is a program of white reparations wherever they go wealth is bequeathed to them by force.
This set of black Antiguan who worked hard and build the social security funds will empower a next generation of white people to rule over our third generation to come, because they will be socially and economically position to a higher status of living than us.
Our prime minister or politicians and the institution of government are marionette to white monopoly capital domination, and they are elated to be validated by white people, a stroke on the head, after all the ethno supremacists ideology express god as white in paintings to us, so the black politicians pass all the wealth to them.
Do you think these same politicians will think of you and ardent fanatic ALP supporter that call to the radio station daily to show your love for Gaston, be ever given jolly beach white sand to live on in condominiums as they are proposing for white people?
Gaston Browne as we already know runs two high profile and very important positions that he’s already struggling with, but having read his continuous diatribes against the UPP, many critical thinkers like myself would suggest that he’d be more suited to telling jokes.
Here’s 5 reasons why he should become a great comedian?
1), When Browne messed up big time with his poaching of the super yacht Alpha Nero he tried to implicate the UPP. 🤣
2), The Prime Minister still tries to blame his economic woes on the UPP, even though the ABLP has governed us for over 10 years now. 🤣🤣
3), yes, taxes went up under Spencer’s tutelage (which wasn’t hidden), but the ABLP have increased our taxes by stealth, indirect taxation, and the ever rising ABST. 🤣🤣🤣
4), The carpark in St John’s is still a problem that Browne and the ABLP rightly accused the UPP of messing up in the first instance, but after 11 years of mismanaging the carpark repairs/and refurbishments it now looks worse than ever. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
5), And look at how Browne is now accusing the UPP of previous inaction on our Social Security scheme, even though he’s the one behind this vast and risky $75 million retirement investment venture. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
MAYBE ONE DAY BROWNE WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS OWN SHORTCOMINGS
As I said earlier, he’s a born comedian, and his comic timing is on point …
You have been using the same meds for far too long so they are ineffective except for the side effects. You are hallucinating. What did you do with our money at Social Security? Max said that when YOU attained power, there was ‘so much money all over the place’, like Social Security didn’t know what to do and ‘we went in and borrowed because there was so much to do and to be honest, we never paid back’. You never refuted that claim but chastised him privately for talking out of turn. Your handlers and bag carriers don’t believe you this time because they haven’t come out, spewing ignorance to support you. Presently, you are desperate and confused; let’s see what you are going to propose next.
Its telling when personal gripes bear logic. The Social Security actuarial report, done in 2009 (see https://socialsecurity.gov.ag/9th-actuarial-review/) says: “However, given Government’s past experience of not meeting most of its obligations in cash, having more than half of the investments in Government securities has already created cash flow challenges for the Fund. “. The current government now proposes that a portion of a bond held by government be converted into a investment, where SS will now have ownership of Jolly Beach. The critics essentially argue a government bond is better. Does not matter to them that the stated yield on the bond for at least the first 10 years is 0. The fact that principial payments are on paper required in 2030 does not even matter to the critics. I gather for them its more important to defend the bond because its was implemented by the UPP in 2010. SS cannot sell that bond, but they can sell Jolly Beach, but this fact does not matter to the critics.
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