Part 7 

Antigua and Barbuda Crisis: Social and Economic Dilemma

By Kwame Nkosi Romeo

Without transparency and accountability, trust will be lacking between a government and those whom it governs. The result would be social instability and an environment that is less than conducive to economic growth. -The Role of Transparency and Accountability for Economic Development in Resource-rich Countries

Address by Agustín Carstens -Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund - January 27, 2005.

Environmental Degradation and Social Injustice:

This episode continues with economic enslavement and a cursory glance at the 2021 budget. Many people turned a deaf ear to PM Gaston Browne's unfortunate Antigua and Barbuda budget speech on January 28, 2021. 

No relevancy originated from that modus operandi since Browne's Antigua Labour Party (ALP) government proceeded with misleading economic growth statistics that quickly conveyed the budget's grim reality: 

They are swapping debt for public land to benefit politicians and cronies, increasing taxes that grind down the lowest and low income, and disregarding the pressing challenges confronting people. In addition, the ongoing environmental devastation issues and the sad state of affairs are typical examples of a government in crisis, the failure of leadership, and justice.

On January 20, 2021, Justice Marissa Robertson lifted the Barbuda Council injunction against PLH, empowering the guileful developers to carry on with the unsustainable project on Barbuda, then again undermining the Barbudan Council environmental vigilance with a suspicious interim injunction:

 "... to restrain the defendant, its servants and/or agents from entering upon the land demised to the applicant.." 

-George, Elesha - Injunction against Barbuda's PLH development lifted - The Daily Observer, January 27, 2021, page 3.

Such terrible injustice coming 28 years and three months later lessens Honorable Mr. Justice Albert Redhead's court order against Sandco's ecological degradation on September 30, 1992. The Honorable Mr. Justice Albert Redhead understood the human rights of a healthy environment and agreed to the sustainable living enshrined in international law and Barbudan's solemn obligation to conserve and improve the environment for present and future generations against buccaneer capitalism. 

By contrast, Justice Robertson's unwise ruling strengthened Browne's well-timed budget speech concerning PLH's US$2.5 billion Barbuda Ocean Club investment and expressed apathy towards the Barbuda Council. 

The recent Cabinet Secretariat release ignores the surge in COVID-19 on Barbuda by authorizing the continuation of PLH development and construction projects to restate " that the Barbuda Council has no lawful authority to impose any measures articulated in its press release of 31st January 2021." (Letter- Secretary, Barbuda Council -January 31, 2021, Ref. No. CS 44)

Similarly, Robertson's flawed judgment loses sight of the PLH environmental devastation of a Ramsar designated Wetlands of International Importance on Barbuda: one of 15 listed Ramsar sites in CARICOM. The role of wetlands for freshwater security connects to achieving United Nations SDG 6 to ensure water availability. In addition, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared, "2021 is a critical year for climate and biodiversity."  

However, ecological destruction without justice persists in Greencastle's vicinity, Antigua, by a secreted group of investors. 

Seemingly, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) got five acres of public land at US$3.70 per square foot to build a cement factory and office complex. 

CCECC is now surveying the Greencastle area for the available source of stones needed in the construction industry, and this enterprise is destructive to the community. 

There is a glaring association between private interest and political favor, and to break that link, Civil Society Organizations (CSO) must continue to expose the reward for treachery. 

For example, John Mussington, a marine biologist and environmental activist involved in the International Civil Society Network and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), brings to light PLH's severe infringement. - Environmental and Economic - Global Legal Action Network - GLAN BLOG

What constituted Honorable Mr. Justice Albert Redhead's court order against Sandco's ecological degradation on September 30, 1992?

The story involves two politically connected companies, Antigua Aggregates (AA) and Sandco, owned by former PM Lester Bryant Bird. Both companies continued mining sand, violating the Court decree on September 30, 1992. 

This injunction was cited in the Antigua & Barbuda Cabinet Decision of January 27, 1993, culminating in the deployment of the Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (ABDF) soldiers:

"Cabinet considered the serious shortage from the sand mining operations in Barbuda which have been seriously restricted as a result of an interim Court injunction against SANDCO limited." 

Bird sent heavily armed ABDF soldiers on April 19, 1993, to protect politicians' mining interests and economic benefits under the pretense of suppressing civil unrest. The observation of the learned Judge, The Honorable Mr. Justice Albert Redhead, termed ALP's action reckless and sabotaging the rule of law, an affront to fairness, decency, and dignity of the law's Supremacy. ( Compendium of Judicial Decisions on Matters Related to Environment National Decisions Volume 111 October 2001-ISBN: 92-807-2096-1 page 202) 

Bird and major sand importer Devcon International knew about the temporary court order concerning sand mining that limited Barbuda's sand availability. 

These circumstances diminish Devcon's subsidiaries' operation and politicians' earning power, as disclosed in Devcon US SEC filing:

"Our operations are highly dependent upon our ability to acquire adequate supplies of cement, concrete block, and Barbuda sand. We have experienced, in the past, and could experience in the future short-term shortages of both cement and Barbuda sand which, temporarily, adversely affected our operations." 

According to US import data of sand shipments from Antigua and Barbuda to the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) during 1989 - 2003, 13 shipments total 473,834 Metric Tons (MT), valuing US$26 million. There was no shipment of sand to the USVI from 1994 to 1995. 

Barbuda people never benefited from their exploited resources. Even worse, during the above period, no other exporting records exist. (Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division, Trade Data..received via fax March 18, 2004)

To put the difficulty of Barbuda into context, let us again examine Devcon's wealth accumulation and Barbuda's life of debt with neither reparation nor justice. Devcon total sales from 1996 to 2005 were US$642,606,629 million, and of that amount, Foreign Sales were US$430,650.529, and US and territories sales were US$211,956.100 million. 

Antigua & Barbuda's inclusive total sales of US$119,284,170m represents 27.70% of foreign and 18.56% of total sales. Devcon- the US and its Territories represent 32.98% of total sales. 

According to Devcon SEC filing, outside of the US & its Territories, Antigua & Barbuda consistently ranked No.1 in sales. 

 What about sand mining's effects on the environment? 

 

Climate Change and Ecological Damage:

ALP's risky actions contributed to climate change and environmental degradation. However, sand mining significantly benefited Devcon, as related in Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1996. "The Company's revenues in 1996 were $69.5 million compared to $56.2 million in 1995. 

"This 23.7 percent increase was primarily due to increases in the Company's substantial and related products division revenues, offset by decreases in the land development contracting division revenues."  

Along with other tax preferences explicitly relating to a construction contract in Jolly Harbor, Antigua, Devcon's offshore revenue increased. The foreign banks became the purveyors of their income. Devcon was no exception; there was as much as $35.8 million of un-repatriated earnings destined for their offshore coffers: 

"We have $35.8 million of un-repatriated earnings in our foreign subsidiaries." 

The Sell-Off of Barbuda Communal Land:

Without any accountability to the past, more than four decades later, the arbitrary sell-off of Barbuda land begins again, handing over the 198-year lease of 555 acres to Robert DeNiro along with endless tax benefits. No doubt, Barbuda is closer to Browne's pocket than his heart but falsely touts in the budget speech, "... always a subject dear to my heart." :

"Months before the Barbudan approval process could even begin, the prime minister signed a memorandum of agreement with the actor, promising a 198-year lease of 555 acres for just $6.2 million, plus an array of tax benefits. He went further, dubbing De Niro an official "economic envoy" of Antigua and Barbuda." (Robert DeNiro accused of exploiting Hurricane Irma to build a resort in Barbuda -The Intercept by Naomi Klein and Aleen Brown January 23, 2018)

DeNiro's Nobu Beach Inn, expected to open in 2023, is another of Browne's electioneering ideas to continue these worthless projects while holding back millions in payment for the Barbudan Council. 

Do these so-called projects create wealth for the masses or plunge people deeper into poverty?

The amount of land the ALP has given investors and grabbed for themselves is excessive for such a small country compared to US President Abraham Lincoln's Homestead Act signed on May 20, 1862. This act gave citizens or future citizens up to 162 acres of the 270 million (m) acres: 270m acres represent 11.74% of the total land area of the United States. 

The US government allocated this theft of Indian land to populate the American West. 162 of 270 m acres represents 0.00%, whereas five hundred fifty-five acres of Barbuda's 39,680 acres is equivalent to 1.40%. 

This unpardonable act says a lot about ALP leadership based on racial preferences that 1,000 acres of Barbuda land leased amounts to 2.52%. This land scheme outrightly dispossesses Barbudan people of their communal land, handing it to the ultra-wealthy white investors. In contrast, US President Lincoln assigned the lands stolen from the Indians to the white settlers. In both examples, the benefits go to the privileged few, but neither is right!

Browne followed the disastrous policy of his mentor, Lester Bird. The ALP practice of intergenerational poverty and poor leadership connects to the Fort James Beach (FJB) giveaway to the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) for a mess of pottage. Significant port giveaway to Global Ports continues to create social and economic difficulty. 

This disastrous custom began with Bird's acquisition of multiple acres of land. One example is the 350-acre Corbkinnons Project highlighted under the Citizen by Investment Unit (CIU). Thirty-five years after, the touted Corbkinnons Project is now under the CIU, seeking investments. What started as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of the people's land ended up under the elite few's control.

Who owns the 350 acres?

To be continued...