Broadcast Address to the Nation
By The Honourable Gaston A. Browne, M.P.
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
On the Occasion of the 44th Anniversary of Independence
November 1, 2025
My fellow citizens and residents of Antigua and Barbuda,
Today, as we stand on the firm foundation of our 44th year of nationhood, we give thanks for the grace of God, for the perseverance of our people, and for the enduring flame of patriotism, that has carried this nation forward from struggle to strength.
Forty-four years ago, the Champions of our independence raised the flag of a new and sovereign nation.
They did so with faith, that their children would walk taller, dream bolder, and live freer than they did.
We are the beneficiaries of that faith, and today we honour it; not with ceremony alone, but with the substance of achievement.
A Nation of Steady Growth and Shared Prosperity
My friends, this has been another successful year for Antigua and Barbuda.
Our country’s economy continues to expand, consolidating one of the strongest recovery records in the Caribbean.
Employment has reached a historic high of 47,000 people – up from 37,000 a decade ago. AND our per-capita income now exceeds sixty thousand dollars — the highest in the OECS and among the highest in the entire CARICOM region.
Over the past eleven years, our administration has virtually doubled the size of this economy, creating greater opportunities, higher living standards, and renewed confidence in the future.
Every major sector – tourism, construction, services, agriculture, and digital enterprise – continues to expand.
Our fiscal accounts are stable, our credit standing improving, and investor confidence is strong.
We have done this not by accident, but by vision, partnership, and hard work.
And growth has become a shared national triumph; because we kept faith with you – the people who turn the wheels of this economy every day.
This progress is not abstract; it is personal to all of us.
It means bread on the table, jobs for our youth, security for families, and confidence in tomorrow.
It is the living proof that when Antiguans and Barbudans work together, we can turn resilience into prosperity.
Investing in Our People
Fellow Citizens, economic progress means little unless it improves lives.
That is why we have made the well-being of our people the cornerstone of every policy, and have invested heavily in our people.
Health and Human Development
Our investments in health care are saving lives and brightening our future.
The new Renal Centre, now nearing completion, will bring expanded dialysis capacity and facilities for routine kidney transplants and other specialized renal care.
It will be a centre of excellence, accessible and equipped to global standards.
Across our country; community clinics have been rebuilt and modernized — in Liberta, Falmouth, Bolans, among others. Work on expanding the All Saints Clinic will commence shortly.
Each of these facilities represents our belief that healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
In a further act of compassion and progress, we have acquired the former Jehovah’s Witness headquarters, valued at approximately $12M. This facility will be converted into a modern Mental Health Facility.
The centre will be fully retrofitted, expanded, equipped and adequately staffed, creating a humane and dignified environment for those among us living with mental-health conditions.
Our goal is to integrate every citizen into productive and fulfilling lives.
No one in our society should be ostracized or cast out.
These investments in healthcare are investments in the human spirit and human development.
They affirm that every life has worth, that every illness deserves care, and that in Antigua and Barbuda, compassion is as important as cure.
Education for the New Generation
Our investment in education per capita, remains among the highest of all small island states, because we know that the surest path to maintaining freedom is knowledge.
Early next year, we will break ground on the two-hundred-million-dollar expansion of the University of the West Indies, Five Islands Campus.
This transformative project will include new student dormitories, lecture theatres, laboratories, and research spaces.
This will be a campus that will stand shoulder to shoulder with any in the region.
We are building a university worthy of the ambition of our youth.
We have also consolidated our post-secondary institutions under one umbrella — the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies (ABCAS).
Each school within this college will benefit from upgraded curricula and internationally accredited faculty.
Our objective is clear: within the next twenty years, at least fifty percent of our population will hold either an academic degree, or a national skills certificate.
That is an achievement we could not have imagined before we won our independence from colonial rule.
We are also upgrading our primary and secondary schools and expanding early-childhood learning so that every child, from the earliest age, has a fair start in life.
Education is the passport to the future — and we are ensuring that every Antiguan and Barbudan holds it.
Every classroom we open, every young mind we empower, is a celebration of freedom itself.
For knowledge is the truest inheritance of independence.
It makes us sovereign not only as a nation, but as individuals.
Housing and Social Empowerment
My brothers and sisters: every family deserves a safe, decent home.
Yet public-sector housing has slowed—largely because we lack enough skilled workers.
We are tackling this head-on, by contracting skilled tradespeople from abroad, to scale up construction and deliver homes faster.
But I appeal to our young men and women: seize the training on offer and claim these jobs.
With skills in hand, the next wave of homes can be built not partially, but exclusively by you—putting money in your pockets and your feet firmly on the ladder of security.
We are also continuing to rebuild and upgrade homes for the most vulnerable in our society under our Home Advancement Programme for the Poor and Indigent (HAPPI).
This is social justice in action, not rhetoric.
The Booby Alley Social Housing Project, funded by the People’s Republic of China, is well advanced.
It will deliver 150 two-bedroom condominium homes, primarily to the former residents, transforming one of the oldest communities in our capital, into a model of modern living.
This project stands as one of the most socially impactful undertakings in our history — a symbol of our compassion and commitment to empowerment.
A further 100 condominium homes will be constructed in Bolans & Barbuda.
Private-sector home construction also remains strong, a sign of confidence in the economy and in the future.
More of our citizens are becoming homeowners, building security and generational wealth.
Each home we build is more than concrete and timber; it is a monument to dignity and belonging.
It says to every Antiguan and Barbudan: you have a place, you have a stake, you have a future in our beautiful country.
Feeding Ourselves — Strengthening Food Security
We continue to reduce our dependence on imported food and to strengthen domestic agriculture.
Our government has invested millions in heavy equipment for the Ministry of Agriculture — to build feeder roads, ponds, and dams, and to clear and plough farmlands across the island.
Two new abattoirs — including a dedicated poultry processing facility — will be established, to support farmers and improve national food supply.
We have also purchased the former Ken’s Club property at Cassada Gardens for 9.3 million dollars. This property comprises over five acres of land and it will be converted into a retail and wholesale hub for the Central Marketing Corporation.
This facility will include cold storage and agro-processing facilities, allowing our farmers to preserve, package, and market their products more effectively.
CMC has been instructed to prioritise domestic purchasing, ensuring that local farmers always have a guaranteed market.
Our goal is clear and achievable: food sovereignty within this generation.
It is also to create entrepreneurial opportunities for young men and women — another avenue to earn, to grow, and to build an empowered future.
By feeding ourselves, we are feeding our pride and preserving our sovereignty.
We are proving that a small island can sustain itself by the strength of its people’s hands and the products of its own soil.
Infrastructure, Water, and Connectivity
Infrastructure is the backbone of development, and we have made unprecedented progress.
By the end of next month, an additional two million gallons of water per day, will be added to the national supply, bringing us closer than ever to resolving a problem that has plagued our people for generations.
We are determined to ensure that every household and every business enjoys reliable, clean, potable water.
Similarly, our road-rebuilding programme continues vigorously.
The major arteries have been restored, with the exception of the All Saints Road reconstruction, which will begin as soon as APUA completes the re-piping.
Dozens of community roads are being resurfaced nationwide — from Potters to Parham, Bolans to Bethesda — bringing real relief to residents.
At the same time, we are modernising our airports.
The VC Bird International Airport is being upgraded at a cost of one hundred and fifty million dollars, while the Barbuda Airport expansion will commence next year.
These projects secure our position as a premier destination and as a gateway to the Caribbean and the world.
Every road we pave, every pipe we lay, every watt of electricity we deliver — strengthens the modern nation we are building.
This is what independence looks like in motion: progress that reaches every home, every parish, every life.
We are not waiting for others to validate us, or to build our future — we are building it ourselves.
Tourism and Economic Diversification
Tourism remains our main driver.
The 2025-2026 season is projected to be yet another record-breaking year — with one million cruise arrivals and about four hundred thousand stay-over visitors expected.
This will be yet another milestone in our history.
At the luxury end of the tourism market, Antigua and Barbuda continues to shine.
The Peace, Love and Happiness (PLH) Resort in Barbuda is now our flagship property, with over 350 rooms and a world-class Tom Fazio golf course completed to date.
So far, over one billion US dollars has been invested in this development.
The Robert De Niro Nobu Resort, construction is significantly advanced and the resort will open to guests by next October.
The Rosewood Hotel project will proceed in 2026 after relocation of the cargo port in Barbuda.
On Antigua, the Marriott Resort at Yeptons has started construction, and two more ultra-luxury properties — the One & Only at Half Moon Bay and Nikki Beach by Calvin Ayre — will begin in early 2026.
Tourism is evolving — moving upmarket, diversifying, and extending benefits across our economy.
More jobs, more training, and more business opportunities for our people, are the dividends of this progress.
We are showing the world that the people of a small state, through their creativity and hard-work, can deliver a destination of world-class proportions.
But it is important to note, that we are reducing our dependence on tourism, while continuing to bolster its contribution to our economy.
We have already reduced tourism dependency from seventy percent a decade ago, to fifty-five percent today.
We are fulfilling our promise to diversify the economy.
Economic diversification is now a reality in motion.
Governance, Accountability, and Justice
Fellow Citizens, my administration remains unwavering in its commitment to clean, transparent, and accountable governance.
Our government’s entrenched policy – adopted and enforced by Cabinet – precludes me and anyone in my household, from engaging in any form of government contracting or procurement.
This is to remove any opportunity for theft, or abuse of public resources.
That safeguard exists precisely to ensure that the Office of the Prime Minister remains beyond reproach — and I have always respected it.
Recently, when irregularities were uncovered in unauthorised government transactions regarding motor vehicles, we acted immediately and decisively, without fear or favour.
An analysis was commissioned through high officials of the Ministry of Finance; corrective measures were applied; and restitution to the Treasury was enforced.
No favour was shown, no cover was given.
We are also tightening oversight across customs and procurement, to close every door to abuse including under-invoicing.
Let this be understood: my government will never defend wrongdoing; we will correct it – any repeat will be pursued criminally in a Court of Law.
When offences occur, penalties will be heavy — and the proceeds will go directly into the treasury, highlighted as “Monetary Restitution”, ensuring that anything taken from the public is returned to the public in an accountable and visible manner.
This is how accountability must work — swiftly, fairly, and in the public’s interest.
Corruption must never become a norm.
Good governance is not a slogan.
It is the standard by which a nation protects its integrity and earns the confidence of its people.
My administration, the Gaston Browne administration, belongs to the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda — not to privilege, not to partisanship, but to all, especially the working class.
Integrity remains the true currency of good governance and our national prosperity and we will continue to govern with integrity.
A Clean and Beautiful Nation
My friends, the same discipline we demand in public finance, we must show in our public spaces.
Our vision is not only for a wealthy nation, but for a clean and beautiful one. Progress cannot coexist with neglect, disrespect and abuse of the environment.
That is why the National Solid Waste Management Authority was mandated to launch a vigorous island-wide clean-up campaign — to remove derelict cars, abandoned homes, and bulk waste from every community.
But this task cannot be left to government alone.
Every citizen, every resident, every visitor must take responsibility for their surroundings.
Let us restore the pride of place — in our villages, our streets, and our beaches.
Those who continue to dump garbage illegally will be prosecuted – and we will enforce it.
This is a new era of cleanliness, environmental protection and beautification.
Cleanliness is godliness; its patriotism in action and discipline made visible.
Let’s increase our ambition and resolve that Antigua and Barbuda will not only be prosperous, but also pristine — the cleanest small island state in the world.
The beauty of our land must be mirrored in the quality of our character.
When we keep our country clean, we honour ourselves and declare to the world, that Antigua and Barbuda takes pride in what we are and what you see.
Security and Social Order
My brothers and sisters, no nation can prosper amid chaos, confusion and violence.
Thankfully, Antigua and Barbuda continues to record the lowest level of crime and violence in our region.
So far this year, there are nine homicides — two fewer than last year, but nine too many.
However, we will remain vigilant, recognizing that there were a recent spate of robberies necessitating a renewed focus.
Law enforcement will intensify their operations, supported by technology and intelligence.
We are determined to keep our communities safe and our streets secure.
To those who flirt with criminality, let me be clear: “Gun shot can’t run this town.”
And let me remind you that Crime does not pay — and those who persist with crime and violence will surely pay the price.
On this our 44th Independence Day, I call upon our youth to put down their guns.
Again, to our youth – quick money sweet, but bitter in the end.
So I call upon each of you to Level up; dream bigger, aim far – be a productive youth and invest in knowledge and skill and seize the numerous opportunities for employment and advancement.
Distinguished country men and country women,
My government will remain relentless in ensuring that safety and justice prevail.
Our freedom endures because our society respects the rule of law, and frowns on those among us who do not.
Security is not only the work of police officers — it is the responsibility of every citizen who chooses peace over violence and respect over lawlessness.
Global Leadership, National Pride
Fellow Citizens,
Our small nation continues to make a large impact on the global stage.
We are active and respected voices in the great debates of our time — on climate change, reparations, reform of the international system, including the global financial system, debt sustainability, mental health, and youth empowerment.
We have successfully hosted major international conferences and are preparing to welcome the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2026 — the first time in our history, and the first time a microstate of under 100,000 people has been entrusted with such a role.
This follows the UN SIDS4 Conference in 2024 and the OAS General Assembly earlier this year — each represents a vote of confidence in our leadership and in our capacity to deliver.
Antigua and Barbuda now ranks #1 in the Caribbean on the United Nations Human Development Index.
This is an extraordinary achievement — proof that size does not determine significance, and that small states, when well governed, can be global models.
We are small, but substantial; modest in geography, but consequential in influence.
Our voice is heard and respected, because we stand on the principles of love, truth and justice and speak with principle, purpose and passion.
Our global standing is not a gift; it is the earned respect of a country that is determined to stand up for principle and for justice, not only for ourselves, but for all those who are threatened or disadvantaged.
A Call to Responsibility and Renewal
My brothers and sisters, we are blessed — but to be blessed carries responsibility.
As we celebrate this 44th anniversary, let us remember that independence is not only a right we sought; it is a duty we must uphold.
Let us care for our communities, respect the law, honour our elders, and guide our youth.
Let us reject the culture of idleness and entitlement; embrace the ethic of hard-work, and the principles of discipline, and excellence.
Parents — teach your children respect, discipline, responsibility and moral strength.
Young people — seize the opportunities before you.
Your government has provided the tools: UWI, ABCAS, YEEP, scholarships, and thousands of opportunities to train abroad.
Utilizing those tools rests in your hands.
We have come far, but we can go farther still.
Let us commit to building a nation that is prosperous, disciplined, and united — a nation that will never betray the sacrifices of those who raised our flag in 1981.
Forty-four years of freedom — of democracy, of human rights, of the rule of law — have not come without trials.
We have endured hurricanes that destroyed; pandemics that tested, and global systems that often worked against us.
Yet through every trial, Antigua and Barbuda has endured and advanced.
We have turned adversity into experience and progress—to make our people property owners, to increase our people’s earnings and not to overtax them; to raise our nation’s standard of living, and to vow never to rest, while any in our society lives in poverty or distress.
That is the meaning of our independence — not success for some, but progress for all.
Closing Reflection
My fellow citizens, this 44th anniversary is not only a celebration of our past but a summons to our future.
Let us march on in unity — disciplined, confident, and compassionate — knowing that no hurricane, no pandemic, no power on earth can still the heartbeat of a free and resilient people.
We are the masters of our destiny; the architects of a nation whose best days are yet to come.
May God continue to guide us, and may Antigua and Barbuda continue to soar to new heights, with stability and solid determination; proud and forever free.
Happy 44th Independence Day to all.
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