The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda has denied a request from the United Progressive Party (UPP) to hold a planned motorcade through St. John’s, citing manpower constraints.
The motorcade, which was intended to raise public awareness and call for an independent inquiry into the ongoing government vehicle scandal, was scheduled to take place today Sunday.
Instead, UPP supporters are now being asked to assemble at Rising Ground at 1 p.m. for a public discussion on the issue.
Opposition Leader Hon. Jamale Pringle confirmed the development to Antigua.News, expressing disappointment over the police decision but vowing to press on with the party’s campaign for transparency and accountability.
“The police denied our request, saying there isn’t enough manpower to manage the event safely,” Pringle said. “Nonetheless, our fight will continue. We will not be silenced in our call for a full inquiry into this matter. We are urging citizens to still turn out at Rising Ground at 1 p.m. to discuss the scandal and demand answers.”
Pringle said the event was intended to be a peaceful demonstration urging the government to authorize an independent investigation into the alleged misuse and unauthorized sale of government vehicles, now widely referred to as “Vehicle-Gate.”
Despite the police’s refusal to grant permission for the procession, Pringle emphasized that the UPP remains undeterred in its mission to seek truth and accountability.
“Whether it’s by motorcade or by meeting, the people deserve to be heard,” he said. “We will continue to organize, mobilize, and demand justice on behalf of the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda.”
I’m not surprised. Before publicizing the motorcade you should have gotten permission first. Or this could have been your strategy to say the government influenced the police
I thought they would have said they have no VEHICLES because all we sent back to the dealers. Now thats a more PLAUSIBLE excuse. Policemen have no work to do in ANtigua. If they did all these crimes wont be unsolved. So nice excuse Mr GODLY commissioner. God and time!
Good on Pringle for keeping it peaceful and still going ahead with the meeting. The people have a right to demand answers
UPP must keep pushing to rid Antigua of those corrupt labour party politicians and their co-conspirators!
I expect nothing more from the commissioner of police, one of those officers’ is allegidly involved in this massive fraud.
So now even peaceful protests can’t happen? This doesn’t look good for democracy at all.
The people can’t be silenced. Accountability must come Vehicle-Gate must be investigated
Our policemen need to understand they dont work for the government but the state. They need to stop the politics tho
Another deliberate bungling of their widely publicized nocade. You guys are way below desperate and laughable. And now, you expect sensible people to just realize at this eleventh hour “Oops, we didn’t get permission! OK, let’s just have a meeting instead. Our damn-fool supporters will swallow all the blue poison we give them!”
And these are the punks aspiring to govern my country!!!!????? Heaven forbid!!!
.
This is why politics in Antigua and Barbuda is so polarized…everyone has a right to their opinionated views but everyone doesn’t understand what is being viewed.
As I understand, there are a few related issues are at hand in this verbal bacchanal, which the UPP is handling very poorly as an opposition party.
Anyway, there are people who have been found guilty of purchasing excess amounts of vehicles through the Ministry of Works. This is a breach of policy which was discovered by the minister we were told. The government moves swiftly to regularize the breach by sending back an inordinate amount of cars to the dealers while trying to auction some as well…bear in mind that the minister is being blamed for a corrupt system SHE discovered after it was active throughout the previous administrations, including the Baldwin Spencer’s UPP administration. So in essence members of UPP should or would be questioned if an Inquiry were to be held. There is no need for a public inquiry. This is where the poor handling of the issue by the Opposition comes in….it is a weak call from the opposition because it is a breach of procedure, it is one of non-compliance. It is not a criminal act, their is no evidence of misuse of public funds. As a matter of fact, where is the evidence that the UPP should be presenting to solidify their position of calling for an inquiry.
The evidence on the government’s part is that they sent back the excess amounts to the dealers who were siphoning millions of dollars out of this scheme that was aided by one little Indian. 10 million dollars was given back to the people of Antigua and Barbuda and the UPP marching against that? Make that Make sense!!!
Pringle’s company, Wadadli Events was named and implicated. Again, instead of coming with evidence to prove otherwise he talks about an Inquiry. A breach in administrative procedure does not constitute a crime or criminal wrong doing. This is grounded in the fact that Government’s policy on administratve matters are distinguished clearly through the delineation of noncompliance and what is criminal.
The UPP needs political guidance, advice, and most of all relevance. Unless they can project themselves as useful, without the rhetoric and meaningless call for poorly attended marches you are bound to fail in your mission.
I may be wrong but if they simply cannot understand the difference between procedural irregularities and what is criminal, and to be able to showcase the evidence of criminality then they really need help.
Antiguans and Barbudans the 10 million dollars given back to you means a better Christmas for many of your people.
The UPP marching against that??!?!?!
People have a right to assemble! Silencing the opposition never looks good , let them march
Peaceful demonstrations are part of a healthy democracy.
My comment isnt a poltical one at all but listen up…Some people feel that this kind of decision by the police, even if it’s legitimate, sends the wrong message. It can look like the system is being used to frustrate dissent, and that’s not good for democracy. So is like this, on the other hand, there are those who think the police were right to prioritize safety first, we’ve seen events get out of hand before, and managing a moving motorcade through the city does take a lot of coordination.
In the end, the real issue isn’t just about the motorcade being denied, it’s about how we handle accountability in public office and how open the system is to criticism. The people just want to know that the truth will come out and that everyone, no matter their position, will be held to the same standard.
So, while the UPP didn’t get the green light for their motorcade, this story is far from over. The call for answers about “Vehicle-Gate” isn’t going away anytime soon, and the public will definitely be watching what happens next.
Waste of gas their never going to investigate anything about themselves. File a request for the documentation on the vehicles. Do the math and expose them. Stop calling it vehicle gate. That’s a reference to a crime at the Watergate building. Just get copies of where cars are be at. Follow the money.
Manpower constraints or political pressure? You decide