By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The government has announced a number of social welfare initiatives aimed at supporting families and protecting children, including a new mandate that no additional casino sites will be permitted in Antigua and Barbuda.
This comes in response to growing concerns about the impact of gambling on family finances, particularly affecting single mother households.
Lionel Hurst, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, explained that the government listened mostly to “the women, housewives, and those connected to men, and have learned that some men, on a Friday afternoon, instead of proceeding home with their earned income, stop off at a casino”.
He added that while they can’t stop people from engaging in gambling, they can reduce the opportunities to do so.
The proliferation of slot machines has been a particular concern, according to Hurst.
“What we’re finding is that there’s a proliferation of these casinos, mostly these ‘one-armed bandits’ … [where] you are robbed of the opportunity of taking that [money] home to buy milk and cheese and butter and bread,” he added.
The Gaming Authority will receive instructions from the Cabinet to implement this new policy.
Additionally, as part of this policy to ensure that fathers, particularly young men, are providing for their household, the Cabinet has also announced plans to support unemployed fathers in getting jobs in “beautification groups and other forms of employment”.
“We believe that the acquisition of skills will enable them to earn throughout their working life, sufficient that they will not have to turn to criminal activity in order to bring money into the household.
“Some of the important skills are being taught at ABICE or the Harrison Centre at no cost… also for those who are interested in establishing small businesses, the entrepreneurial development programme with funding at two percent is really another one of those methodologies that the government is employing in order to ensure that they have the necessary means by which they can earn an income,” Hurst said.
The Cabinet also agreed to provide prenatal vitamins to pregnant mothers and child supplements to nursing mothers and infant children at no cost to the recipients, authorising the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) to make the necessary arrangements.
