Residents question move of Ministry of Housing and Lands to Friars Hill location and ask who owns that property

The Ministry of Housing, Lands and Urban Renewal will be relocating to new premises, with some members of the public asking “why” and “who is the owner of the building” to which it is moving.

In a public notice, the Ministry announced that its headquarters will no longer be located in the Ministry of Agriculture building on Queen Elizabeth Highway.

It notes that the relocation will be effected on Monday, February 6, and both the Ministry and the Lands Division will occupy the Friars Hill Road building that is immediately north of the Antigua Public Utilities Authority Power Station.

However, some residents want to know whether a prominent family within the Cabinet has any association with the ownership of the building, and why the agencies are moving from a government-owned property.

Some allege that this reeks of the self-enrichment schemes for which members of the ruling Administration are known.

One man is asking whether this is the “Next Level” that the Antigua Labour Party promised leading up to the General Election, since members of the Browne Administration are getting very rich by the second, while the majority of the citizenry are “as poor as dirt.”

However, the man speculates that, based on the results of the past elections, Antiguans and Barbudans enjoy being treated in this manner.

Others are asking why the move was not made prior to the General Election.

A woman is predicting that the promised water increase will take place next, in addition to the raise that Cabinet members wanted.