Caption: Maria Browne
ST JOHN’S, ANTIGUA – Embattled Housing and Works Minister Maria Browne has defended her role in the so-called “vehicle-gate” scandal insisting that it was her actions that brought the issue to the public attention.
Speaking during the budget debate on Monday, Browne, the wife of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, told legislators that in recent weeks, she had become the target of attacks from the opposition over the vehicle procurement issue.
The issue surfaced in October after reports indicated that several government vehicles were procured for various ministries without full Cabinet or ministerial approval, prompting questions about procurement oversight and the handling of public assets.
Browne has insisted that her ministry’s role has been misrepresented, and during the debate, called on the opposition to “raise the level of the debate.”
The main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) has staged protests, motorcades, and public meetings calling for her resignation in the EC$15 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) controversy and during his contribution to the debate, Opposition Leader, Jamale Pringle urged local banks not to support the government’s request for a multi-million dollar loan, saying at one stage “we have seen the lack of transparency. Look at the vehicle-gate scandal”.
But a “prepared” Browne told legislators that Pringle’s presentation was all over the place and that she wanted to “address some of his lies.”
She said, “Mr Speaker, it was I who saw the vehicles. It was I who asked about the vehicles. It was I who asked in October 2023 for a centralised approach for the procurement of vehicles. How could it be then that I would have interest outside of the policy.”
Browne told Parliament that when she saw the vehicles, she asked questions and got answers that led to corrective actions by the government.
She said that the vehicles were recorded by the Ministry of Works and sent back to the dealers because they were previously informed by letter
“They (the dealers) took them back and this has not resulted in a cost to the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” she said, accusing the opposition of leading the people of Antigua and Barbuda “down the wrong road” with the vehicle situation. (CMC)
