UPP pledges land to youth at $5 per square foot, six-month work permits for Caribbean nationals

United Progressive Party (UPP) Political Leader Jamale Pringle pledged that his party would allocate Crown land plots of approximately 8,000 square feet to Antiguans and Barbudans up to 35 years of age at a cost of no more than five dollars per square foot.

The announcement was made at a UPP rally in St Mary’s North on Tuesday, where Pringle outlined a suite of proposals on land, immigration and infrastructure ahead of the April 30 general election.

Pringle said a UPP government would first conduct an audit of remaining Crown land before zoning and pricing residential plots, setting a target of 2,000 allocations over five years.

We will not allow deep pockets to take advantage and buy up acres and acres of Crown land,” he told supporters.

Pringle said his party would also stop APUA from requiring new residents to pay for Antigua Public Utilities Authority electricity poles and water pipes in new neighbourhoods.

It is unclear how this proposal would be different from the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s Land Empowerment Programme.
Under the existing programme, plots averaging 6,000 square feet are sold at three dollars per square foot.

Housing, Lands and Urban Renewal Minister Maria Browne told Parliament in 2023 that the age cap was removed because it excluded applicants over 35.

Meanwhile, Pringle also announced that a UPP administration would extend the legal stay for Caribbean Community nationals from three months to six months and would make work permits “unrestricted within the industry.”

He framed the announcement as a response to what he described as hardship faced by non-nationals following the United States visa restrictions that took effect on January 1.

“Instead of having to run to immigration every three months for an extension, we will extend the duration of your legal time to six months,” Pringle said.

Meanwhile, St John’s Rural West incumbent MP Richard Lewis, outlined proposed education reforms including expanded free public education from kindergarten through A-levels, curriculum changes to include national history and civics, a performance-based reward system for teachers, and the reinstatement of a two-uniform annual grant.

On health care, St Mary’s North candidate Johnathan Joseph said a UPP administration would reopen the Cancer Centre Eastern Caribbean “in the shortest period of time.”

The facility has been closed since April 2023 and was acquired by a US-based investment group for EC$13 million in 2024.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne confirmed in late March that the centre was now scheduled to reopen in June 2026.

The June target is the third publicly committed deadline since investors had previously aimed for first-quarter 2026.