Promising snap elections amid growing public unrest against his governance, Prime Minister Gaston Browne tells parliament that he will finally crack down on incompetent public employees.
“I can’t say that the ministers are not following; they’re following, but within this sector, there’s a lot of lethargy. And let me say, you know, from now on, heads are going to roll. We have had 10 years protecting incompetence in this country,” Browne said, according to the Antigua Observer.
Browne has been prime minister for 11 years.
“It’s finished,” he said. “You can continue your duplicity because you better be careful of what you wish for because at some point, the UPP [opposition United Progressive Party] will govern this country.”
Browne made the remarkable admission, a second time, that he has been protecting the incompetent employees during his full decade in office.
“And if we don’t push public sector members to perform, then you’re going to get all this treatment. But the reality is, I have gone the extra mile of protecting them. Up to yesterday, you know, one of my colleagues in cabinet chided me. He said, ‘you don’t want to fire anybody. You keep saying, protect them, protect them, protect their jobs. But what happen? They don’t have an obligation to protect their jobs too by performing? So, I’m saying here, that kind of benevolence, done, finished,’” said Browne.
