Prime Minister Gaston Browne is calling for a concerted national effort to help to advance the development of the country through the CBI programme, warning that peddling disinformation and misinformation will only harm the programme and the country by extension.
PM Browne made the call during his welcome address to delegates attending the Caribbean Investment Summit 25 that is being held at the American University of Antigua Conference Centre at Jabberwock.
He told the gathering that investment migration is not a threat to national integrity, for when properly governed, it is a strategic pathway to economic resilience and sustainable prosperity. However, he warned some of the biggest threats to the CBI programme do not come from external sources, but are homegrown.
“One of the most significant endogenous threats is the peddling of misinformation and disinformation about our programmes by political operatives who are seeking to undermine our programmes for political gain.
“I wish to caution our political opponents who have sought to mire our respective programmes in unjustifiable propaganda in their ill-advised attempt to destroy our programmes to create hardships for our people. The misinformation and disinformation that have been peddled about our programmes have created certain anxieties among our regional and international partners, subjecting our programmes to unjustifiable ridicule. This type of behavior is destructive and served no useful purpose,” he emphasised.
PM Browne observed that the sub-regional Citizenship By Investment programmes are so important to nation building and the advancement of their people, that they should not be the subject of battleground partisan politics.
“We however, need the assistance of the agents and other industry practitioners to assist with the public information and awareness advocacy to keep our CIP programmes above this destructive partisan fray,” he urged. Responsible opposition, he suggested, prepares opposition parties for governance responsibilities.
The prime minister is reassuring all stakeholders that Antigua and Barbuda will continue to lead by example.
“We believe that good governance is good business; and we will continue to uphold the values of integrity, stability, and sustainability, not only in our CBI program, but in every aspect of national development,” he declared.
