Part 4

Antigua and Barbuda Crisis: Social and Economic Dilemma

By Kwame Nkosi Romeo

Control over land and the behavior of governments are naturally a matter of national sovereignty, but the account must be taken of the people who use the land that is sold or leased. Have those who depend on the land been able to influence developments, or are they losing their sources of livelihood? 

Magnus Kindbom, Chair of the Swedish FAO Committee 

-Foreign Land Investments in Developing Countries -– Contribution or Threat to Sustainable Development?

Part IV

COVID-19 Economic and Social Consequences

The facts are known, but it is worth mentioning that Antigua & Barbuda's unequal society was as clear as daylight before COVID-19. COVID-19 exposed the Gini coefficient skewed income distribution. What is the Gini coefficient?

The Gini coefficient measures the distribution of incomes across income percentiles. The coefficient ranges from 0 (0%) to 1 (100%), with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality.

Antigua and Barbuda's economy of inequality resulted in the erosion of living standards, corroborated by The Global Wealth Databook 2019- Credit Suisse reporting Antigua and Barbuda's Gini coefficient as 82.3%, far worse than Haiti's 80.1%. 

Antigua and Barbuda ranks second in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and third in CARICOM as an unequal society. Antigua and Barbuda's Gini coefficient increased by as much as 41.68%.  (The Global Wealth Databook 2019- Credit Suisse -Table 3-1: Wealth pattern within countries, 2019, page 117)

In addition to this, a global hunger pandemic triggered by COVID-19 economic impact could potentially kill more people than the virus itself, according to the Chief of the World Food Program (WFP):

 

"There is a grave danger that many more people will die from the broader economic and social consequences of COVID-19 than from the virus itself" (WFP Chief warns of grave danger of economic of Coronavirus as millions are pushed further into hunger September 17, 2020).

Livelihood Sources at a Disadvantage

Now, the looming threat of SARS-COVID-19 mutation is more troubling. After a crucial meeting of 1,750 experts from 124 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the rapid transformation of SARS-COVID-19, stressing the need for testing: 

"....the importance of national data platforms to document critical clinical, epidemiological and virus data that facilitates the detection and assessment of new SARS-CoV-2 variants." -Global scientists double down on SARS-CoV-2 variants research at WHO hosted forum -January 12, 2021.

2021 will not be better, mainly because the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) government of PM Gaston Browne abused power and destruction of the environment added to:

• Land dispossession
• Climate change
• A failed economy
• Brazenly ignoring fundamental human rights

That Antigua and Barbuda's land has less to do with agriculture is a fact. Growing healthy, organic, nutritious food is one of the keys to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) Agenda 2030. Still, ALP's corruptible act is glaring, with neither well-governed robust land laws nor emphasis on agriculture hindering Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2). This procedure is incompatible with SDG2's aims to achieve zero hunger and promote sustainable agriculture. Today, agriculture is more urgent, considering countries are facing the world's worst recession since the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939, alluded to on the IMF Blog under the caption - The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Recession Since the Great Depression - April 14, 2020.

The world economy has tumbled, and our inability to feed ourselves is more pronounced. Likewise, this makes it challenging to fulfill UN SDG8 -"decent work and economic growth."

-SDG Good Practices - A compilation of success stories and lessons learned in SDG implementation (First Edition) Publication Year: 2020

No surprise, ALP stymies the twin-island nation's continuous development by misappropriating the land to generate massive wealth from construction and other real estate sources. Giving rise to ALP decades of ruthless enterprise are the extreme consequences of climate change along with the country falling farther behind the SDG13 2030 target date: "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts." The Goal has targets to be completed by 2030. Wikipedia

According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Index 2020: "Climate change left unchecked threatens everyone and will leave whole regions uninhabitable. Extreme weather events with lasting devastation are already destroying jobs and livelihoods." Simultaneously, people can challenge financial institutions and investors that threaten the livelihood source when development harms people's lives. 

This ruin is evident in The World Bank's Broken Promise to the Poor article series by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) publicizing the World Bank's (WB) deceit affecting the poor's livelihood. The information calls attention to WB undermining millions of indigenous people's lives and sustainable subsistence due to the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) iniquitous financial backing that reached the United States Supreme Court (USSC).

In turn, the USSC stripped the WB of absolute immunity by a majority decision: "The court's majority decision overturned a 74-year-old presumption that international financial institutions could not be sued when their development projects hurt local communities." -No Longer Above The Law, The World Bank Faces Fight Of Its Life.

Because of this, the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were wrong to assert, "Today, the work of the Bank is currently framed by its twin goals, established in 2013: "eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity." - brettonwoodsproject.org

The WB shared prosperity is perennial debt to the country and endless wealth to foreign investors. Like a WB-contracted law firm, Hunton Andrew Kurth (HAK), one of ExxonMobil's top lobbyists for over 40 years, was paid $1.2 million (m) by the WB to draft Guyana's new petroleum laws. The Germany-based civil society organization (CSO) Ugewald exposed this conflict of interest (COI) due to Ugewald's disclosure of HAK; the scheming endeavor was canceled, according to the law firm. But doubt lingers since neither the WB nor the Guyana government gave any statement on the case. -CSO raises concerns about conflict of interest related to the World Bank's technical assistance loan in Guyana.

Oppressive Power and the Old Slave Mill 

Nor are there shared benefits in Antigua and Barbuda; the benefits end up in politicians' offshore accounts. PM Gaston Browne uses oppressive power to crush people's democratic rights; Browne opposes people's hard-fought fundamental freedoms treaties as mentioned in the United Nations Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: 

"It is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights treaties, the Millennium Declaration, and the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. It is informed by other instruments such as the Declaration on the Right to Development."

A call for radical action is necessary against the ALP small elite of conspiring heisters of the public treasury, investors, and developers accountable for economic plunder, odious land deals, and rising poverty still grinding like the song the old slave mill by Damian Marley: 

Sad to see the old slave mill

Is grinding slow, but grinding still!

Indeed, remnants of the old plantocracy have again come alive while the people scratch the earth for survival in this bankrupt economy. We must continue to oppose this neo-colonialism terror; the battle continues after centuries of struggle and sacrifice. Today, the fight against neo-colonialism must be for true economic liberation and genuine independence! In doing so, we must consign to the grave the failure of development associated with the old slave mill and black leaders crushing us to the bone. Many assumed November 01, 1981, was the beginning of Antigua and Barbuda's independence. It was not! Colonial values, racial stratification, and profiteers are in the government's sphere of influence.

Foreign Beneficiary of Local Resources:

Who benefited from the K-Club operation, Palmetto Beach Property (PBH)-CCI lease agreement, the 510-acre Barbuda lease land, 350 acres Corbkinnons Project, and Sand Mining? 

 CCI used 90 acres as collateral and got a $10.5 m loan on July 29, 2004, from the Laurus Master Fund Ltd based in the Cayman Islands; US$ 4.5 m was paid off the leasehold rights and the balance towards CCI Group expenditure. Without this capital injection, the Beach House would have closed. Before opening in April 2004, the writing was on the wall with CCI net loss amounting to $4,081,972 m in 2003 and 2002: "Fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, 2002 we had net losses of $3,482,120 and $599,852 respectively." 

In light of CCI Group Inc.'s ongoing financial losses and a complaint filed on September 01, 2004, by Independent Financial Services, Inc.(IFSI) in the US District Court of Rhode Island, that concerns an alleged breach of contract fraud by CCI. According to CCI, the action ".relates to the transaction with Laurus Master Fund, Ltd. We agreed with the plaintiff in which they agreed to assist us in arranging investment capital to acquire additional resort properties."

Less than a year later, the CCI Group entered into a STOCK PURCHASE CONTRACT WITH KEENS WORLDWIDE CORPORATION & LEDI RESOURCES CORPORATION (collectively referred to as the "companies"). 

Robert Allen Barrett owned the companies registered in the Republic of Panama and was in line to collect. On June 02, 2005, CCI signed the agreement to purchase the 10,000 common shares of ST. JAMES'S CLUB ANTIGUA LIMITED (SJCAL) is valued at US$31 m with the stipulation of an initial US$250,000 downpayment:

"The Purchaser shall pay to the Vendor an initial deposit of US$250,000.00 within five (5) days after the signing of this Agreement by the Purchaser. The initial deposit is non-refundable..."

There was suspicion regarding this transaction since CCI stated that other resorts targeted for purchase would be luxury, boutique-style resorts with less than 50 rooms; SJCAL had 280 rooms. CCI lost its deposit, continuing the company's financial woes. These losses continued up until Laurus issued a Notice Of Default (NOD) to CCI and BPBL on November 07, 2006, stating that:

"BPBL was in default of its obligations under a promissory note made by BPBL to Laurus Master Fund, Ltd. ("Laurus Master Fund") on December 30, 2005, in the principal amount of $6,127,616 m payable in three years and bearing interest at the rate of prime (as published in the Wall Street Journal) plus two percent (the "Note") and various other related agreements including a Loan Agreement.."

To be continued.....