HURST REPORTS ON CABINET of Wednesday, August 28, 2024

The cabinet began its meeting with prayer, as has been customary since 2014.

• The Cabinet has been studying three bills dealing with gangs and youth which will be discussed in Parliament next week. These include: i. the Anti-Gang Bill; ii. the Child Justice (Amendment) Bill; and iii. the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill. The new and amended laws are intended to address the recent surge in juvenile criminal activity. Much has been made of the likely impact of higher minimum sentences, although the government has acknowledged that stripping magistrates and judges (who hear criminal cases) of the discretion they currently enjoy may not be constitutional. However, while the minimum prison sentence for firearms violence appears to be two years, the government has agreed to a minimum of five years for firearms violence, leaving the discretion to magistrates and judges to determine the length of the prison sentence.

• The Cabinet has agreed to consult with stakeholders who have a specific interest in deterring crime. These stakeholders include judges and magistrates dealing with criminal law, the police, the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, the Bar Association, the Church, the business community, the DPP, a representative of private sector organisations and NGOs. One of their main roles will be to Criminal Law Council whose main task will be to review bills relating to crime submitted to Parliament; bills will henceforth reflect the broad input and not just the considered thinking of the members of the First and Second Chambers of Parliament.

• The Cabinet invited the West Indies Cricket Board, the manager of the Antigua Falcons and the CEO of the Caribbean Premier League to its meeting to bid farewell to the CEO of Cricket West Indies who is stepping down after seven years in the role. The Prime Minister, Attorney General and Minister of Sports congratulated him for his highly regarded leadership of West Indies cricket during his tenure. He was invited to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda as he has been a resident of Antigua for over seven years. The Cabinet further praised the outgoing CEO for his work in reviving the Caribbean Premier League, for improving the status of cricket among male and female players under 19 and 14. The Antigua Falcons manager has promised to build the team into an excellent team that will make the nation proud; and the CPL CEO indicated that there will be even more interest in cricket as a result of the league playing more professional cricket in our Caribbean region.

1. i. The Cabinet was informed by the Attorney General that the Land Adjudication Board commenced its work in Barbuda today, Wednesday. In order to complete an accurate cadastral survey, the Land Adjudication Board will invite those who have historically used Crown land to stake their claim to certain parcels of land. That work will continue for as long as it takes to complete the mapping within a reasonable time. Sir Clare K Roberts has been appointed Chairman. All land in Barbuda is owned by the Crown; the law now allows Crown land to be sold in freehold to those who have occupied that land and built houses there. Residents of Barbuda can buy their plots for $1.00 in exchange.
2. Cabinet was informed that the training of firefighters at Barbuda International Airport has been completed and that all systems are in place for approval, following simulations next week. The authority to ensure that approval is granted will come from the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority within two weeks or mid-September, the cabinet was told.
3. Ottos Comprehensive School (OCS) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. The government praises the planners who are taking measures to recall the important role the institution has played in the lives of its many former pupils. The OCS was built to fill the void left by the St. John’s Girls School that burned to the ground in 1968. The OCS became a CO-ED school for multiple communities in the southern part of the city of St. John’s.
4. The cabinet announced on Thursday 12and from September 2024, a day of prayer for the nation. The Church Commission will announce a program befitting a day when the people continually seek God’s blessings.
5. The Cabinet has approved an official funeral for the Honourable Keith Forde, former Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda who served nearly three terms in the VC Bird Cabinet. He returned to private practice in 1994. 7.i. Parliament will sit on Thursday 5and September 2024. Various bills and amendments to existing legislation will be submitted to the body.