Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, has responded sternly to repeated suggestions by his Vincentian counterpart, Ralph Gonsalves, that citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes, also called CIP, are inherently corrupt.
Browne, speaking on the radio in St. John’s, rejected Gonsalves’ suggestion that CBI could result in visa restrictions for countries that operate the programmes.
He said that Gonsalves was peddling the arguments of the same people who are opposed to any innovation that developing countries devise to carve out a space for themselves.
The Antiguan leader said that if Gonsalves is facing political pressure at home because of support for CBI, he should not suggest that such programmes are inherently corrupt.
“I don’t know why Ralph believes that the CIP countries will lose visa-free access, and that St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be able to retain visa-free access,” Browne said on his weekly radio show.
“At the end of the day, we’re operating within the same space, and as I said before, the same stick that beats the wild goat is the same one that going beat the tame.
“To the best of my knowledge, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has no visa-free access into Canada, but you no have no CIP programme. And why do you think that if the European Union were to revoke the visa-free access of the CIP OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) countries, … that St. Vincent and the Grenadines will continue into perpetuity?”
Browne said that OECS countries should be supporting each other.
“… they may use CIP to stop our visa-free access, but they’ll use some other reason to stop visa-free access to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. So, it is not appropriate for Ralph to be trashing us with the hope that we lose our visa-free access.”
Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia each has a CBI programme. SVG had a CBI programme, which Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party administration rescinded after it came to office in 2001.
Since then, Gonsalves has remained firmly opposed to CBI, likening it to selling passports. However, the opposition New Democratic Party remains supportive of CBI and has repeatedly said it would reimplement such a programme if re-elected to office.
CBI is centre stage again in SVG, ahead of the next general election, widely expected by November, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.
Browne said that CBI helps Caribbean countries to meet their developmental needs amidst a hostile global environment.
“… these international institutions and these large countries don’t care about us. We’re on the fringes of global development. And if we don’t try and have a little carve out somewhere in order to protect the living standards of our people, we’re going to see a denigration in the living standards.”
He said he found that Gonsalves “went too hard” on countries with CBI, adding that he hoped that they could remain friends after responding to the Vincentian prime minister’s comments.
“… Ralph is somebody I respect. I love Ralph as a Caribbean statesman, but Ralph has to expect that whenever he makes those statements, they’re not going to go unchallenged, certainly not in my case…”
Browne said it was up to his other OECS colleagues if they wanted “to sit down and take the blows and the characterisation in which Ralph characterised our CIPs.
“I’m going to respond and not because I want to be disrespectful, to have any contretemps with Ralph or any public disagreement.
“But if Ralph is brazen enough to say what he said, then I should be courageous enough to respond with the truth. And by standing on the truth and telling the people of Antigua and Barbuda that CIP will raise the necessary revenues to help us to literally salvage our financial situation.”
‘it pays to stand on the truth’
Browne said he supported CBI even when he was in opposition, and it was not a popular policy.
“And by standing on the truth and telling the people of Antigua and Barbuda that CIP will raise the necessary revenues to help us to literally salvage our financial situation, who you think benefited the most from it?” he said, adding that St. John’s CBI programme is now into its 11th year.
“… it pays to stand on the truth. And I’ll say this to you: any country in the Caribbean who feel that they want to raise additional revenue and they want to engage in any immigration investment programme, investment immigration programmes are not legitimately corrupt.”
Browne said he did not want his comments to become “a Ralph bashing”, saying he would “speak constructively to what Ralph said.
“First of all, I felt that Ralph’s statement was unfortunate, and for somebody who I admire, especially his language skills when it comes to good language, Ralph is not short of good language, and I think this was a deliberate and provocative attack on member states within the OECS, his colleagues.
“And, as small, vulnerable countries, we always encourage leaders to stand in solidarity with each other, recognising that the same stick that beats the wild goat is the same one that will beat the tame.”
The Antiguan prime minister said he was shocked that Gonsalves “could be so reckless with his language to treat all of us with the same broad brush”.
He said he could not admit or deny any corruption in any other CBI programme.
“And I want to say to Ralph definitively that the accusations that he made of corruption in these programmes, which would have included Antigua and Barbuda, they certainly don’t apply to our country.”
Browne said St. John’s runs a legitimate investment immigration programme that is no different than the EB-5 visa program in the United States, under which people who invest can become permanent residents, a pathway to citizenship.
“It’s no different than the one in Canada. It’s no different than those in the European Union,” Browne said.
“I also want to say to Ralph that we have not published a single application without appropriate due diligence, which includes international due diligence agencies and regional institutions, global institutions, including Interpol and IMPACS here within the Caribbean region, or JRCC (The Joint Regional Communications Centre) for that matter.”
He said that certainly in the case of Antigua and Barbuda, it is not true that CBI applications are processed without due diligence and so on.
“And even if, Ralph, you are speculating that there may be corruption in other programmes, I do not appreciate you literally treating us with a broad brush and to implicate one of the best-run investment immigration programmes in the world — the Antiguan and Barbudan programme– with the type of adjectives and mismanagement and corruption that you’re talking about,” Browne said.
Ralph should be the last person to talk about corruption, ah wonder if he think we forget David Ames! Or if he think we forget the 95 million! Or if he think we forget the statement he made when he said “yo have to come back to papa” or if he think we forget when he said “I may lie about certain things”… Ralph we na forget and while he can fool the little hand to mouth people them in his constituency or them over the river he can’t fool the rest of us
Ralph Gonsalves alway want to dictate to people what he sees as the truth as if people are stupid and they need him to explain facts to them. Well, Gonsalves your days in power are done. Go rest yourself.
The main difference between Gaston and Ralph can be seen in their stance on covid. One made taking the vaccine mandatory in order to keep working with the government and the other said he couldn’t with a clear conscience, take bread out of his people’s mouths if they refused to take a vaccine.
The one man who’s talking about the corruption in the CBI program is blaming the high murder rates in his country on high maintenance women,which is utter nonsense and shows the unconcerned attitude he has regarding the loss of mainly our young men, to gun violence. I’m sure other Caribbean leaders realize that this man in Vincy only cares about holding on to power and the contemptuous way he treats his people is enough proof. Mr PM, your bad mouthing of the CBI programs in the other islands, which are prosperous because of the program, has brought your leadership style under closer scrutiny . After all these yrs of leading a nation ,the people are still among the poorest in the region. You’ve lost all credibility. Stop your stupid utterances.
Antigua PM is a joke……
Tell Ralph, Gaston, tell SVG how it is done.
It bothers me when ‘so called progressives’ fall for the “big stick deplomacy” from the powers that be.
An example for years people bank in the off shore banks in Swiss banks and it was never a problem, but as soon as these off shore banks move to smaller nations it became a problem. This is because the powers that be so not want smaller states to have any financial prowess. It’s a means to keep them under control.
This is the same thing with the CBI programme.
If the USA and other states have problems all they need is a policy that says no visa would be issued to any person who got citizen ship through CBI but that’s not the problem it about controll and IRS disappointing that some persons are not conscious or for petit political reasons ignore it.
THANK YOU GASTON BROWNE, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda for responding to Ralph Gonsalves, the eighty-year-old, almost, deluded Wanna-Be-dictator who is nightmarishly terrified of losing power, quote:
“… Ralph is somebody I respect. I love Ralph as a Caribbean statesman, but Ralph has to expect that whenever he makes those statements, they’re not going to go unchallenged, certainly not in my case…”
“It is up to my other OECS colleagues if they want to sit down and take the blows and the characterisation in which Ralph characterised our CIPs.”
“I’m going to respond and not because I want to be disrespectful, to have any contretemps with Ralph or any public disagreement.”
“But if Ralph is brazen enough to say what he said, then I should be courageous enough to respond with the truth. And by standing on the truth and telling the people of Antigua and Barbuda that CIP will raise the necessary revenues to help us to literally salvage our financial situation.”
“And even if, Ralph, you are speculating that there may be corruption in other programmes, I do not appreciate you literally treating us with a broad brush and to implicate one of the best-run investment immigration programmes in the world — the Antiguan and Barbuda programme– with the type of adjectives and mismanagement and corruption that you’re talking about.”
Prime Minister Gonsalves, have you read your colleague’s piece in response to your scaremongering deceptive tactics and bad minded diatribes? If not, have one of your permanent secretaries do that for you. And don’t forget to take your meds!
Ms Sue , all de mouth all yo get, sue him,,,, , ar yo ah sue others , well sue him to. and call him the lowest common denominator,