Prime Minister Gaston Browne has promised sweeping changes within the Treasury Department, following what he described as a troubling pattern of corruption and manipulation by “captured public servants” who allegedly prioritize payments for certain wealthy businessmen.
Speaking over the weekend, Browne said his government has received credible reports that some high-profile business figures have been paying treasury workers to fast-track the processing of their government checks, leaving ordinary citizens and small contractors at a disadvantage.
According to the Prime Minister, this practice has created a cycle of favoritism and exploitation, where powerful individuals benefit from insider access while “the little man” continues to wait for what is rightfully his.
Browne said the government will initiate major personnel rotations across key financial departments to disrupt these entrenched networks and restore public trust in the system.
Strong words from the PM. Let’s just hope this isn’t another case of talk today, forget tomorrow. The system’s been ‘captured’ for years.
Good to hear the PM taking this seriously. Corruption at any level undermines trust in government.
Time to digitize everything. No more manual processing, no more brown envelopes. Let the computer decide the payment order, not human bias.
Not all Treasury workers bad though. Some of them just following instructions from higher up. The rot might start above, not below.
Good move by the Prime Minister. Too many people in key offices believe they can sell out the public service for a few dollars. If he’s serious about reform, he’ll have the country’s full support.
Every time a big man want he cheque, it move fast. Poor people still waiting from last year. Antigua system too bias, man!
nah man. It seems all government departments have corruption? The businessmen and them maybe frustrated
As a small contractor, I can confirm this! You send invoice after invoice, and they tell you “next week.” But let a big developer call boom, payment ready!