“You’re a Liar!” Union Hits Back at Browne Over ONDCP Claims

By Algernon Watts

That was the fiery response from The People’s Union to Prime Minister Gaston Browne after he accused employees of the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy of underperforming and threatened to disband the agency.

In a blistering six-page statement, the union accused both Browne and ONDCP Director Lieutenant Colonel Edward Croft of lying about the circumstances surrounding the agency’s operations and the medical status of its employees.

“The Prime Minister and Edward Croft are both liars,” the union declared.

Browne recently described the ONDCP as an institution that was becoming “irrelevant” and accused its intelligence officers of failing to identify criminal suspects or provide meaningful assistance to other law-enforcement agencies.

He also criticised what he described as a half-day working arrangement at the agency.

“Your team at ONDCP, they need to step up,” Browne told Croft. “This idea that they’re working half a day, that is totally inappropriate for a law-enforcement entity.”

“If you do not get your act together, I’m going to disband the ONDCP,” the Prime Minister warned.

The People’s Union has now countered that the reduced hours were not the result of laziness, indiscipline or a refusal by employees to perform their duties.

According to the union, workers returned to the ONDCP building under an agreement allowing them to work from 8 a.m. to noon while awaiting the completion of medical testing arising from longstanding health and safety concerns.

The union alleges that employees had complained for years about mould, poor air quality, inadequate ventilation and excessive moisture inside the building. Some workers reportedly experienced respiratory problems, fatigue and skin rashes.

It said subsequent inspections also uncovered mould growing beneath chairs and desks, while a rat infestation created an additional health hazard.

The union therefore rejected Browne’s attempt to portray the reduced working hours as evidence of underperformance, arguing that the arrangement was introduced in response to conditions that management and the Government had failed to address adequately.

It also accused the Prime Minister of falsely telling the public that ONDCP employees had completed their medical testing and had been cleared to return to normal duties.

“The medical testing process has not been completed,” the union stated.

According to the release, the final phase of testing remains outstanding, while some employees have not received all their results. The union said it is still awaiting coordination between the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre and the Office of the Permanent Secretary.

It is also demanding answers about the source of the Prime Minister’s information.

“How does the Prime Minister know this?” the union asked. “Was he provided with medical reports that the employees themselves have not received? And if so, by whom and under what authority?”

The union said Browne had never visited the ONDCP building, met with the affected employees or engaged their representatives before publicly criticising the workers and threatening the future of the agency.

It has now challenged Browne and Croft to produce the reports, agreements, medical-testing records and other evidence upon which their public claims were based.

The confrontation presents two sharply different explanations for the ONDCP’s reported underperformance.

Browne portrays an agency that is failing to demonstrate its relevance at a time when Antigua and Barbuda is confronting serious concerns about crime, drugs and financial offences.

The union portrays employees whose effectiveness has been compromised by years of unresolved health and safety problems, incomplete medical testing and management’s failure to provide an acceptable working environment.

The union declared that workers will not return to full hours until the final stage of medical testing is completed and a proper report is issued by the Chief Medical Officer.

“No employee should have to choose between protecting their health and protecting their livelihood,” it said.