Weird case of the Antiguan ‘Worl Boss’
Some Jamaicans living in Antigua are wondering if Prime Minister Gaston Browne will publicly distance himself from the name “Worl’ Boss” which many of his supporters and political colleagues affectionately call him.
The Jamaicans believe that the dubious title of World Boss — the street name adoring fans have given to the convicted Jamaican dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel — is unbecoming of a country’s leader, and that Browne should disavow it publicly.
Ordinarily, Browne doesn’t appear to have any love for Jamaicans or things Jamaican, as he has no qualms about showing his disdain, including attacks on Jamaicans, in his eastern Caribbean island.
The latest target of Brown’s attacks has been Jamaican hotel mogul Gordon “Butch” Stewart, Antigua’s biggest investor, whose Sandals Grande Antigua resort is the single largest employer, bringing in the most foreign exchange and airlift to the country.
The Jamaicans there clearly do not approve of the sustained year-long attacks by Browne on a Jamaican icon whose investments in Antigua represent the biggest contribution to tourism accounting for a whopping 75 per cent of the island’s gross domestic product.
On the face of it, Browne accuses Sandals of not paying over some EC$101 million in Antigua-Barbuda Sales Tax under an agreement with a previous Administration, which he described as illegal.
Browne unilaterally threw the agreement in the waste paper bin. But he has defied consistent calls to provide evidence of illegality in a contract signed by an earlier Government, after Sandals honoured its part of the deal by building an additional 100 rooms and voluntarily surpassing that with a further 80 rooms.
Sandals dismissed the claims, maintaining throughout that the alleged $101 million is an illusion that has been proven by top private auditors and Antiguan Government agencies. The resort says it has fulfilled all the terms of the concession agreement and that Browne has defamed Stewart and damaged the Caribbean’s most successful hotel brand.
The Opposition United Progressive Party, which had been in power when the agreement was signed by then Finance Minister Errol Cort, said Browne’s actions against Sandals had scared off foreign investors, evidenced by the signing of several memoranda of understanding — none of which had come to fruition.
Backers of Sandals have called out Browne for his double standard in defaming Stewart while attacking the local media for insisting he should provide proof that he was exonerated in the bribery case involving disgraced Brazilian construction giant, Odebrecht.
The Antiguan leader maintains his innocence after allegations in the Spanish newspaper El Pais, quoting a former Odebrecht lawyer, that he received three million euros from the company which bribed several Latin American and Caribbean leaders to cover up or facilitate its money-laundering activities.
Critics of Browne also suggest that the relentless attack on Sandals was payback for Stewart’s refusal to make a big donation to building his party’s new headquarters.
Some also wonder if the use of the Worl’ Boss by supporters was a ploy to get the votes of Antiguan-Jamaicans ahead of elections which analysts predict he will call next month.