Browne goes on the offensive against Lewis in defense of Government’s rental of his son’s property

Prime Minister Gaston Browne, once again, is gaslighting in order to
dodge certain questions posed to him by MP Richard Lewis about a
rental agreement between Browne’s son and the Government.

And while the prime minister has sought to downplay the issue and
claimed that the Government has saved significantly on the deal, he
failed to answer many of the pertinent questions posed by Lewis in a
Facebook post.

Rather, in his usual fashion of “getting personal,” Browne sought to
discredit an information technology (IT) textbook authored by
Lewis and other teachers that is used in the school system.

But, ironically, IT is among the subjects most commonly passed by
local students at the CSEC level.

Defending the charge of nepotism leveled at the Browne family, the
prime minister says the Ministry took possession of the buildings,
rent free, in 2021, and that “the Ministry of Works rents from all and
sundry irrespective of their political affiliation.”

Subsequently, the Government undertook leasehold improvements
– paid for by the taxpayers – on the prime minister’s son’s building.

He justifies this by saying the building was rented to the
Government for $1 a month, or $12 a year, adding that the
commercial rent would have been about $70,000 monthly, at $5 per
square foot, which is the standard rental rate the Government pays.

Browne says that, two and a half years later, the Ministry of Works
still enjoys rent-free occupancy that significantly exceeds the cost of
the improvements to the property.

Further, the prime minister claims that the owner, IF Antigua
Company Ltd., had given notice to one of its retail tenants and a
storage tenant to vacate a portion of the building – now occupied by
three departments of the Government – which resulted in the loss of
revenue.

Accordingly, Browne says that his son “evidently has not benefited
from any revenue from the government; but instead lost revenues
from the previous rentals.”

And he asks MP Lewis: “Where is the legal, ethical or moral
violation, Richard?”

A retired civil servant tells REAL News that Browne and his family
“would not recognize an ethical violation even if it were labeled” and
that “the prime minister is on the attack because he has no defense
for his lie.”

Browne had told the Parliament, only weeks ago, that the Friars Hill
property was owned by “an investment group” in which his son has
an interest.

But MP Lewis recently published evidence that Browne’s son,
Gaston Andron Browne, is the sole shareholder and director of IF
Antigua.

Meanwhile Browne’s wife, Maria Browne, presides over the Ministry
of Works, which has leased her stepson’s property.