Prime Minister Gaston Browne has launched a stinging critique of the United Progressive Party (UPP), accusing its former finance minister, Harold Lovell, of gross inaction and financial mismanagement that pushed the Social Security Scheme into insolvency.
In a detailed statement outlining the government’s plan to transfer the Jolly Beach Resort to the Social Security Board as a revenue-generating investment, the Prime Minister also revisited the fund’s troubled past. He admitted that previous Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) administrations, like the UPP, had borrowed from the scheme without adequately repaying or investing its assets. But he argued that it was the UPP’s failure to act on urgent reforms that nearly collapsed the system.
“Instead of making the urgent parametric changes, including an increase in premiums and the retirement age to salvage the scheme, the then Finance Minister Harold Lovell did absolutely nothing,” Browne stated, accusing the UPP of “kicking the can down the road.”
He added that under the UPP’s tenure, pensioners were often left waiting in long queues from early morning, only to leave empty-handed due to delayed payments. “Many suffered the indignity of returning home without their pension payments after several hours waiting,” Browne said.
The Prime Minister compared the UPP’s contribution of just $65 million to Social Security over ten years with his administration’s projected total of $300 million over 11 years, including an upcoming $90 million bond payment.
Browne also dismissed Lovell’s credibility on financial matters, asserting that the former minister had no investment experience and oversaw four years of economic contraction during his five-year term. “Would any serious person rely on financial advice from Mr Lovell, with his long list of failures and eight electoral defeats at the polls?” he asked.
In contrast, Browne defended his government’s decision to invest in the Jolly Beach property as a strategic move to generate long-term returns for Social Security. The plan involves selling 315 existing rooms under the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) and constructing 200 new units, with a combined projected return of EC$400 million over ten years.
He also pledged transparency and oversight through regular audits, parliamentary reporting, and strengthened investment committees.
While critics have raised concerns about the risks of using real estate to fund pensions, Browne insists the plan is secure, citing government guarantees to back any shortfalls and asserting that the investment will yield returns far superior to low-interest bank deposits.
“Our bold investment strategy will transform an underutilised national asset into a revenue-generating engine for Social Security,” he said.
The proposal has reignited debate over the management of the nation’s pension fund, with the Prime Minister drawing a firm line between what he calls past negligence and present vision.