VIDEO: PM Says Some Treasury Staff Paid by Big Business to Fast-Track Large Payments, While Poor People Wait Years

1. It is universally know and widowers that has been going on since the 60’s
   By making this statement, Prime Minister admitting to his own mismanagement? Or culpability?

2. Years this has been happening. Some large players get paid every week, while we small.contractors have to wait extended periods. Many small businesses have folded because of lack of payment. Guess the kickbacks sweeter them more than fair payments. I have personally suffered so I’m talking on facts.

3. How many years it took you to figure this out?

4. All this paints a very sad, damaging and devastating operation of government. Once again instead of making these claims and innuendos, serious investigations ought to be mounted such that the operations of government is no longer being impeded and sabotaged by persons who only have their own interest at heart. The Whorainee and BlakHaded and others have their internal link. They get their cheques no matter what government cash flow is and they boast and brag about it. Internal helpers get their handsome commission. The whole of Antigua knows this. If you only find this out now, it shows just how disjointed you are from reality. I tell you, the system is rotten to the core.

5. Better late than never. I agree with the PM to put an end to this. It is something that has been happening for many years. I will give jack his jacket but when it’s appropriate the jackass will get the harness

6. Anyone who has done business with government has gone through this. You go day after day to collect what’s yours and they drag it on for years, telling you to come back tomorrow. Yet Black Hadeed is there multiple times per week and collects a cheque every time.

7. I really think the pm was one of those contractor’s .. I really don’t believe all of this 🐂 💩…

8. ..lying NF..

9. What a man can chat!!!
   UPP, if Gaston was in opposition he would not let a story like this rest.
   Let me see what the fearless leader of UPP does.
   Everybody in government corrupt except Gaston and his wife. The whole cabinet and public sector. Just Gaston and Maria one a saints.

10. That Radio Station and his mouth are going to do him in. He’s easy picking for any witty investigator and prosecutor, but first, a perjury charge will be laid because he can’t keep his stories straight. Finally, he has failed in all aspects of governance according to what we’re hearing from him. The vehicle matter alone should force his resignation to give way to a criminal investigation. He’s not law enforcement so he should’ve have the authority to determine what happens to the suspects; allow the police to do their work but we already know why he’s trying to thwart any investigation. We’ve lost too much already and we shouldn’t relax and let another $15mil just disappear. Just recently, he imposed an increase on licensing fees and all this time, presiding over a thiefing dynasty. If anyone thinks that he has no deep involvement in all of these scandals; think again.

11. You can’t wriggle out from under your political party own mountain of shit.

12. Daah! The prime minister is who instructed the treasury to pay black hadeed and horarni, that black hadeed just threaten to call the prime minister , one time I went to solid waste accountant office and saw cheques ready for Gaston child mother in villa.
    It’s an exercise he is carrying out to show them he is the boss and that they resubmit themselves as lackeys for the upcoming election.

13. The hatred is real wow , evidence plain for all to see yet gaston gaston gaston smh when u hate u hate even the truth is a lie

14. No staff in the treasury has the authority to pay no one without the accountant general permission. The large payment are done directly by the AG . Yes the staff in the treasury can assist people to get paid. What they do is to push certain individuals they are working with or for vouchers ahead for payments. So if you don’t give them something your voucher never gets to make it to the payment file. Similarly at the ministries and in this case ministry of works- there are people preparing the vouchers after they are approved by the relevant authority. Take for example past directors were in bed with the Serian names the PM called. These black selfish idiots would sign and make sure the Serian businessmen vouchers are prepared and sent to the treasury. They would even call the accountant general to ensure that their people gets paid. The past two corrupt directors kept locals, poor small contractors invoices on their desks for years. They even seemingly threw them away. Many small contractors invoices and vouchers get lost or misplaced. One cannot get paid at the treasury if your voucher does not make it . Again these wealthy businessmen bribe the voucher writers and even the messengers that transfer the vouchers to the treasury. However all payments goes through the accountant general.
    If you are the head accountant of an organization, don’t you look at your payment sheet. If you are signing checks don’t you look at them. Don’t you look at your financial statements and balances. These Vechicle payments are very large payments, so the accountant general must, I say must be aware of these payments Mr. PM. This is not the doing of any line staff. Again we know that line staff assist certain individuals by pushing through their vouchers. They do not determine who gets paid or when anyone gets paid.
    Blackhadeed many years ago was the messenger for the whitehadeeds. He use to go to the treasury and collect their checks. Government owes the Hadeeds millions and still do. So this is how he learnt the ropes and ensure that the vouchers are prepared by the relevant ministry, taken to the treasury. At the treasury he goes directly to the account generals to collect Hadeed millions and now his and who is in it with him. The account general reports to the minister of finance.
    Audley Phillip- Blackhadeed is now the nation biggest contractor. Without any connection experience he get these top government contracts. He renovated the All Saints police station- no tender board ( millions) over priced , he renovated St. John’s police station ( same), he built Bolands police station ( same), he is contracted to build the new Five islands primary school ( same), the new university is already in his pocket.
    Audley Phillip- Blackhadeed is building the PM multi million dollar mansion, he built the account general a mansion. He is the chairman of St.John’s Development and the retired comptroller of customs his deputy. The Ps involved in the mess is still the chairman of Tenders Board – he was one that I had respected. Years of experience at the ministry of finance. I warned him on this media to be careful with public works corruption. He fell in Blackhadeed trap.
    Hear this laughter- Black Hadeed now owns a restaurant- every weekend he has Billy – tall Billy goat delivering goat water to the homes of public officials. Police in your investigation just get Billy’s delivery list and you will get the names of the chain gang members.
    Blackhadeed- don’t only corrupt them, he feeds them as well.
    Again Mr.PM this needs a public inquiry. I believe Hon.Mariah Browne is clean on this issue. This is the only truth that I believed from your Saturday program.
    You created a Monster in Blackhadeed , he as grown , completely out of control. Clermont is a small fry and a rubber stamp in the entire corruption scandal , although not innocent because he kept his boss in the dark. Hd should be fired not transferred- Check his account.
    So the this system of government, the legal arm suppose to act independently. The legal arm of government needs to take control of this mess and clean it up legally.
    You cannot send out a message that petty thieves are jailed and the million dollar thieves or not allowed to be investigated.
    Again I stress it is not the role of the Administrative arm of government to decide which set of criminal are brought before the court.

15. This has been going on since the 80s. As someone posted, we like to believe that we are a country of angels, when in fact 95% of us are corrupt. We have been taught from birth by the politicians that we are entitled to the good life and we do not need to work for it. Just check your Minister. So when our Minister cannot or will not provide, then we have to find other ways to maintain our life style. Neither UPP nor ABLP governments have been prepared to lose votes by dealing with corruption in the government. If Gaston is finally serious, he will go down in history as the man who cleaned up the soul of Antigua.

16. @TDavis
    “If Gaston is finally serious, he will go down in history as the man who cleaned up the soul of Antigua.”
    All I know you are a very funny man.
    Did you put in that sentence to try to nice up to him? Either that or you just came here to live, or you ‘jest coom beck.’

17. Strong words from the PM. Let’s just hope this isn’t another case of talk today, forget tomorrow. The system’s been ‘captured’ for years.

18. Good to hear the PM taking this seriously. Corruption at any level undermines trust in government.

19. Time to digitize everything. No more manual processing, no more brown envelopes. Let the computer decide the payment order, not human bias.

20. Not all Treasury workers bad though. Some of them just following instructions from higher up. The rot might start above, not below.

21. Dictatorial and narcissistic man. He’s all squeaky 🫧🪥 and everyone else is dirty and corrupt. It is soo sad that Antigua has gone to the lowest low. Why blame the good folks at treasury? They have their work to do…. you’re always MIA ✈️. You’re a dirty mouthed ” wannabe” dictator! Your rhetorics are disgusting and insultive and, as a prime minister of a small country, your behaviour is waay out of character.

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