A Strategic Imperative By Prime Minister Gaston Browne
Government of Antigua and Barbuda – August 2025
In 2014, our Administration embarked on a bold journey: to rebuild Antigua and Barbuda by harnessing our people’s talents, skills, and goodwill.
We envisioned not mere recovery but transformation, turning our unitary state into a Caribbean economic powerhouse. From day one, we knew transformation wasn’t instant or inherited.
It would demand our generation’s sweat, intellect, perseverance, and a dramatic break with the old colonial extractive model.
We coined a new paradigm— “Entrepreneurial Socialism” or “Empowerment Capitalism—a system under which the State partners with the private sector to generate profits that are then socialized through taxes and dividends, fueling social and economic development.
In this model, the government must be entrepreneurial: seeking strategic investments, aligning public and private incentives, and ensuring that every dollar of profit enriches our people rather than departing abroad.
Architecting our development means crafting a destiny of creativity, ownership, and self-reliance.
It demands that each citizen embrace hard work, strategic thinking, and an entrepreneurial spirit—whether at the micro level of individual enterprise or the macro scale of national infrastructure.
Accordingly, we have invested heavily in education and skills training so that all Antiguans and Barbudans can be qualified to participate at the highest levels of our nation’s advancement.
We have already demonstrated the power of this approach. Where once significant assets belonged to foreign owners, they now belong to our people.
For instance, WIOC, formerly foreign-controlled, is now majority-owned by the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda. Its retained profits and dividend payments—over EC$160 million in the past decade—have been invested to drive further growth.
Another example is that, benefiting from the Government’s policies to ensure Canadian bank branches could only be sold to domestic banks, our domestic banks posted combined profits of EC$110 million last year.
These profits remain in our economy rather than being repatriated abroad.
The next logical step in our national blueprint is focused on the Jolly Beach Hotel and how it can be utilized to maximize the returns on investment through our Social Security Scheme.
By transferring ownership of this tourism resort to the Social Security Scheme, renovating and expanding it under Empowerment Capitalism, we will generate sustainable profits for our people and fortify the pension scheme that safeguards their livelihoods in retirement.
When some in the Opposition insisted on selling to foreign interests, I was flabbergasted. Such an action would not only fail to “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery,” but it would also send the profits from our people’s investment abroad.
This is why we opted to exchange this irreplaceable real-estate asset for a portion of our delinquent bond, thus reducing our debt while earning a higher yield from the investment in the Social Security Scheme’s investment assets—a clear win for Antigua and Barbuda.
To suggest that only a foreign godfather could make Jolly Beach succeed is to cling to the dependency and risk-aversion syndrome we have spent a decade overturning.
We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in educating thousands of our citizens. We possess the intellectual capital, creativity, and resilience to make the Jolly Beach Hotel and every other project a triumphant testament to our nation’s capacity and great potential.
No country advances by standing still or waiting for validation from abroad. We must be both the sponsors and the architects of our development.
As your elected Prime Minister, I stand ready to build alongside you, leveraging our broad talents, indomitable spirit, and unified strength to realize our vision of a vibrant nation.
In the following pages, you will find the detailed plan for transferring the Jolly Beach Hotel to our Social Security Scheme. Under this plan, the Social Security Scheme converts a non-performing EC$330 million government bond into a performing asset transferred at a set-off value of EC$137.7 million (US$51.0 million). ‘
Based on the ten-year sales plan in this booklet, the project delivers net receipts of EC$392.75 million (US$145.46 million) into a dedicated, third-party escrow account over ten years.
That is more than twice the EC$192.3 million residual on the original bond.
At the same time, the value of the asset will increase exponentially. This strategic initiative will:
– Strengthen the Social Security Scheme with a reliable, above-inflation revenue stream—transforming a dormant liability into an engine of prosperity for every pensioner;
– Expand national ownership of productive enterprises, ensuring that profits remain in Antigua and Barbuda to be reinvested in schools, hospitals, and infrastructure;
– Empower our homegrown managers, giving Antiguans and Barbudans trained in hotel and corporate management the opportunity to lead, innovate, and grow their careers and our economy.
-Pay off the residual amount of EC$192.3 million on the original bond of EC$330 million.
Together, we will secure tomorrow’s pension checks and forge a broader culture of ownership and professional excellence.
Let us move forward confidently, knowing that by building the Jolly Beach Hotel into a world-class, citizen-owned enterprise – owned by the Social Security Scheme – we are advancing the interests of all Antiguans and Barbudans, and laying another firm cornerstone of our economic powerhouse.
Your faithful servant.
Gaston A. Browne MP
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Empowerment
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Mr. PM, there are things in Antigua that the government have done with Barbuda and so forth that I do not agree with, but this move I do agree.
Antiguans should try to own something in our country and the government should make some effort to take some risks for the benefit of the people of Antigua and Barbuda.
With the proper research and checks and balances, I agree with keeping some of the assets in Antigua for the benefit and Antiguans and maintaining a sustainable investment of our assets after investing in education of the people in hospitality etc. Hire our people and keep our assets. We don’t need to always foreigners coming and sucking our resources and profits out and taking it overseas.
We manage this properly and it will be positive all around.
Hotels are capital intensive investments constantly requiring renovations and capital expenditure. Beyond this, there must be property insurance in place in the event of hurricanes or earthquakes or fire. The insurance premiums will be phenomenal for a property of this size. If the hotel consistently makes guaranteed profits then all is well but if not, then it will be for the shareholder to bear the brunt of these costs. Can Social Security do this? I don’t know. I guess we shall see.
This is one of the best move this administration made in a positive way. Which don’t want to admit it. They are slow thinkers, or just spiteful in there thinking. I am proud of this priminister. This move will only benifit the masses in the long run. Priminister you’re on the rite track.
What again can be said that has not yet been said? Let me see if anything comes out of the debate on Monday. I want to hear the varying opposition vies on that matter even if i know it wouldnt impact the outcome
Nothing ventured nothing gained… I am with you on this my beloved Prime Minister since it is imperative that Antiguans have ownership and benefit from enterprises that exist in our island home. Always remember to take care of the people and the people will take care of you.
Numbers look good on paper, but we’ve heard promises before. Will the execution really deliver?
After reading it doesn’t seems bad if all goes well. From my understanding the government will give a bond so investment are from a separate account so social is not founding it. The rooms will be sold through CIP but they will not have sole right to the rooms so the building will technically Be ran and owned by Antigua/SS.
I am concerned that investors would feel being allowed to reserve a room for 2 weeks per year but the room is rented out is not enough (it’s possible I missed if they are given a percentage during my skimming) what will be done if CIP investments are not performing it’s expectations. What are the results? Can Social gain profit of CIP fails expected performance?
The concept of Empowerment Capitalism is appealing, but the real test is whether the profits actually reach ordinary citizens.
I hope that there is some sort of legal caveat in the contract that ensures that in this particular financial investment venture by Gaston Browne, he’s held to some sort of financial account whether he’s in office or not.
He would NEVER take this same said risk with his own finances. Tarl!
My second home is in Florida, same volatile hurricane season as the nearby Caribbean, and I can tell you that the biggest risk to any tourism business like the hotel industry in Florida, is hurricanes and the massive insurance cost that comes with said business.
This is a huge risk to put on the peoples money, huge. There is a reason that Jolly Beach failed in the first place, and I’m sure it’s partly because of those same massive cost to upkeep the resort and the hefty insurance premiums that comes with such a structure.
Great words on paper Browney, but this is a 75/25% in the pros and cons scale of things, with 75% going to cons.
I just SMH, because I see where this is going. One of the biggest issues with this investment, is not only those cost I mentioned, but the very volatile CIP that is facing so much backlash from the US government. For me, to depend on this assumed revenue as part of the major revenue stream for this hotel, is a shot in the dark at best.
This decision is the most ignorant decision made and you will see in a few years. This should not have been a government investment but a public investment, from the public directly, and perhaps, a part investment by the government.
I predict in 2 to 5 years, bankrupt or some other financial crisis.
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