Prime Minister Gaston Browne will join several senior government officials at a town hall meeting in St. Philip’s North on Thursday, February 19.
The meeting, organized under the banner of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Glanvilles Community Centre.
Randy Baltimore, the ABLP caretaker for St. Philip’s North, is hosting the event and has invited residents to attend and participate in discussions on key national and community issues.
According to promotional material, the panel will include Browne; ABLP Chairman E.P. Chet Greene; Maria Browne; Attorney General Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin; and Health Minister Molwyn Joseph, alongside Baltimore.
Topics listed for discussion include employment, healthcare, infrastructure, land and housing, as well as safety and crime.
Organizers say the forum is intended to provide residents with an opportunity to engage directly with political leaders and share concerns affecting their communities.
The event is open to the public.
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Will this be screened live so that the watching public can scrutinise the ABLP “selected” audience in attendance to witness if they’re allowed to ask the really tough questions?
Can those not selectively invited put uncomfortable questions to them? If not, why not?
Also, are the Independent investigative journalists like Nikki phoenix and like-minded colleagues allowed in to hold these politicians to account as well?
Remember, how they were virtually silenced when they tried to hold the ABLP panel to account in the past? I do…
If not, what a total waste of time of our taxpayers dollars!!!
I’d rather them use our money to feed the hungry!
BRIXTONIAN is the LONE WOLF crying for His supper. What a waste of time He is. BRIXTONIAN is the BIGGEST Clown in Antigua. He supports Losers. No one take Him serious. DAMN BEGGAR ASS . CHUPTZ CHUPTZ.
Though townhall meetings have become political campaign strategies they should not be.
They are for the entire community.
They must not be the governing parties attempt to fool the constituents.
It is my hope that this political campaign will be overrun by the opposition.
They need to attend in numbers.
The opposition caretaker must be front and center.
He must have his team seated in the front with loaded questions and comments.
They must not allow the government to have its way and promote its candidate.
I am calling on the UPP to be present and in numbers.
They must challenge the government.
Alex, get your team ready.
Be present.
Have your questions ready.
UPP, show up for Alex.
The labour party will be coming with laboRATs from Old Road, Five Islands, and Cedar Grove.
UPP, mobilize,.
@BARGE, I for one am so glad you’ve entered the political arena on these ANR threads. You’ve made my day. Thanks 👍🏾
I now look forward to dismantling anything that you say on here, because I’ve lost count of my ignorant detractors that have long since left these threads. Sad really!
Anyways, now some words of advice to help you take me on in these commentaries:
1) Respond to my comments and refrain from cussing, because I’ll respond in kind; and you won’t even realise I’m doing so 😉
2) try to stay on topic, so that readers won’t think you are stupid and untutored
3) If you are “grammatically” challenged in any which way, please I beg you, do not take on Brixtonian 😉
And 4) this is very important! Many have tried, but have allowed their ignorance and anger to respond to my comments incoherently, and have left ANR in utter shame unfortunately. Remember, I love the cut and thrust of debates – I’m a master at it, not only in writing, but in public as well. It’s a God given gift!
GOOD LUCK BARGY … YOU’LL NEED IT👍🏾
This will be a meeting for the brainwashed supporters who appreciates white supervision. Because the mess robin yearwood leave us in as he squeeze all the resources and enrich himself, no one could dare raise those grievances in an ALP forum, the st Phillips north people just appreciate the white savior complex inculcated in them from their parents who use to work on Robin’s father plantation.
But one thing for sure the Baltimore’s must rise, they have been punished by robin yearwood for too long because some wasn’t educated.
Alex and Randy are both Baltimore’s and call each others grand parent great uncle and aunt, but the Alex situation is a more better way to resolve the grievances because randy is young and is scared of Gaston, and just want power devolve from robin to him and continue to allow the status quo set out by robin of robbing the community of it’s coastal lands for himself and his white people.
One thing I must say about ABLP with all their crookishness and how much they can’t stand each other they understand the importance of putting up a united front to save their political lives. The UPP needs to understand unity is strength. In as much as I can’t stand ABLP and not a PARTY man, ABLP knows how to play the game
@Brixtonian, I’ll respond respectfully but honestly.
First, the idea that these engagements are some kind of secret, hand picked political theatre simply doesn’t hold up under basic logic.
Take the most recent town hall in Golden Grove. It was publicly advertised, openly hosted, and accessible to the entire constituency, not “selected supporters.” There was even a virtual component so persons who couldn’t attend physically could still tune in and participate. If the intention was to curate a controlled audience, why advertise it widely on radio, social media, and community platforms? Why extend it beyond the room through livestream access? That argument collapses under its own weight.
Secondly, on the matter of “tough questions.” Public forums are, by design, spaces for engagement. If someone has a serious question, nothing prevents them from attending and asking it respectfully. Accountability is not achieved by social media speculation, it’s achieved by participation. Democracy requires presence, not paranoia.
As for independent journalists, let’s be factual. Antigua and Barbuda operates in a plural media environment, but we must also acknowledge political realities. Observer Media Group is widely regarded as aligned with the UPP, while Pointe FM is generally seen as aligned with the ABLP. They do not typically prioritize coverage of each other’s political events. That is a political culture issue, not proof of suppression. Meanwhile, ABS Television/Radio, as the state broadcaster, carries official national events and provides broader access to public proceedings. No formal policy bars journalists from attending publicly advertised events. Suggesting otherwise without evidence fuels narrative, not truth.
The repeated claim that journalists were “virtually silenced” is another broad accusation lacking specific proof. Disagreement or pushback in a heated political exchange does not equal suppression. We must be careful not to confuse confrontation with censorship.
Now, on the emotional pivot to “taxpayers’ dollars” and “feeding the hungry.” Public engagement and social assistance are not mutually exclusive. Government budgets are not a single piggy bank where one town hall eliminates a feeding programme. In fact, under the administration of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda has expanded social programmes, housing initiatives, and food support mechanisms, including the Board of Guardians and emergency assistance during COVID 19. One can critique policy specifics, but pretending that engagement replaces social welfare is intellectually dishonest.
What concerns me more is the pattern, assume bad faith, ignore evidence, and then express outrage at the imagined scenario. That’s not scrutiny, that’s bias.
If we truly care about transparency, then attend, ask questions, participate, and report fairly. But repeating recycled talking points about “selected audiences” every time there is public engagement only shows a predetermined conclusion.
Respectfully, your response reads less like genuine concern for democracy and more like politically charged cynicism. We can disagree, that’s healthy. But let’s ground our arguments in observable facts, not assumptions.
Accountability requires evidence. Suspicion alone is not proof.
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