Watts implies that $2 million price tag for ‘free’ One Nation Concert is inflated and reminds residents that they will pay
If the Antigua Labour Party wins the upcoming elections, citizens and residents may face more taxes in order to pay for the “One Nation Concert” slated for this weekend.
It has been revealed that the staging of this concert – advertised as a free event for patrons – will cost taxpayers $2 million, with one international artiste being paid as much as US$100,000.
The United Progressive Party (UPP) Candidate for St. George, Algernon “Serpent” Watts, says that headliners such as Jamaican reggae superstar Beres Hammond and Haitian-born music icon Wycliffe Jean are being heavily compensated – while the poor people of this country continue to suffer and struggle.
Watts also alleges that, for a previous concert, another scheduled performer – Trinidad soca star Machel Montano – was paid US$50,000.
The UPP Candidate implied that the bills for the artistes who will perform on Saturday night, January 7, have been inflated.
Watts notes that the back pay promised to public-sector workers has been reduced by the Government to one month’s salary. He adds that pay increases promised by Prime Minister Gaston Browne by December 2022 have not yet materialized, and Social Security pensioners continue to complain about the late payment of their benefits.
However, he observes, the Brown Administration can find $2 million to pull off a “free” concert – a bill that will be footed by the taxpayers of this country.
