Can Antigua be the Caribbean’s version of Singapore? This is the question a lot of people were asking in 2014.
The question had arisen at the time because of Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s stated goal of his new government, whose Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party won the country’s mid-June 2014 elections.
Browne said his government’s objective was to turn the country into an “economic powerhouse in the Caribbean, not unlike tiny Singapore in Southeast Asia.”
Six years later, Prime Minister Browne says he’s still working to make that vision a reality.
“We established a vision several years ago to transform Antigua & Barbuda into an economic powerhouse in the Caribbean. Antigua Barbuda & Barbuda, despite its vulnerabilities has consistently ranked among the fastest growing economy in the region for several years, of which we are justifiably proud,” Browne said late Tuesday night.
“It may take several more years, even decades to achieve this vision, but we shall not relent, even amidst all the ridicule and mockery.”
Tourism, which is crucial to any kind of economic renaissance in the country, has grounded to a halt because the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Prime Minister Browne is encouraging islanders, not the lose sight of the vision.
“Covid, climate change and other exogenous and endogenous shocks may slow our progress, but they could never defeat our resilience and our determination to succeed,” Browne said.
“Those without a vision shall perish.”
Hmmmm