Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, has defended the public funds spent on a delegation from Antigua and Barbuda to attend the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6.
Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams, his wife, Lady Williams, along with the Prime Minister and his wife, Public Works Minister, Maria Browne, headed the official delegation to London, while officials from the defence and police forces also travelled, albeit apparently at the cost of a sponsor, rather than the Treasury.
The PM was questioned on the matter by Member of Parliament for Barbuda, Trevor Walker, after concerns were raised by the opposition about the monies spent on that trip, during a time when the government has pledged to adopt a cost-effective approach to public spending.
Browne confirmed that US$10K was spent on tickets and EC$7K was spent on per diems for him and his wife to attend the coronation.
“So, Mr Speaker, the official delegation comprising myself and the Governor General, the government of Antigua and Barbuda paid for our accommodation and tickets” saying that the other delegation may have been sponsored…
“And you would be aware, too, that there was an attempt by the palace to ensure that there was broad-based Commonwealth participation in this very significant and historic event. And again, for me to say precisely the source of the funding, I do not know. What I do know is that they were sponsored, and as a consequence, there was not any significant financial burden on the government of Antigua and Barbuda,” Finance Minister Browne, said.
During the ‘Questions to Prime Minister’ segment of the sitting, Browne took umbrage with Walker’s query about the absence of the Leader of the Opposition from the official delegation to the coronation.
“I made it abundantly clear that the palace was responsible for the issuing of the invitations, and they did not provide an invitation to the Leader of the Opposition, and there is no such precedent in prior coronations or the last one that took place the coronation of King Charles, in which any Opposition leader in any Commonwealth country was given a direct invitation.
“So, when you come here to try and deceive and to suggest that my administration may have deliberately omitted the Leader of the Opposition, the reality is he was not given an invitation. And if he was not given an invitation, what do you want us to do? Do you think we control the affairs of the palace? Do you think we control the affairs of the King? Get your facts right” Browne said in Parliament.
Residents expressed concerns that Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle was not part of the very huge delegation that traveled to England to witness the coronation of King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.
The grand ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6.
Apart from Browne and his wife Maria, and the Governor General Sir Rodney Williams and Lady Sandra Williams, a team from the Police and Defence Forces and a contingent comprising NGOs and civil servants also attended the coronation.
Franz deFreitas, the United Progressive Party caretaker for St John’s City South, said at the time that it was “a shame that the Leader of the Opposition is being treated in this way.”