Prime Minister the Rt Hon Gaston Browne has described a US$1 million donation intended to help rebuild Barbuda after Hurricane Irma as “dead” money, signaling that the funds may not be recovered from the Global Bank of Commerce (GBC), which is currently under administration.

Browne made the statement in Parliament after being questioned by Barbuda MP Trevor Walker about the status of the donation from the UK-based Steve Morgan Foundation.

The prime minister reiterated that the money was deposited at GBC but the government never received it. “We never got it, we never got a cent,” he stressed. 

He also said he would not continue what he considered an unnecessary question by the Barbuda MP. “I hope that this will be the last occasion that I’ll have to answer you on this issue. And I want to put you on notice that if you bring any such superfluous question to me again, I’ll refuse to answer you.”

But Walker said Browne’s response was unacceptable, arguing that the government has a responsibility to provide answers about money that was donated specifically to assist Barbudans after Hurricane Irma. 

“One million US dollars. It’s dead?  That’s how you treat people’s money? Dead? Unacceptable, Mr. Speaker.”

The US$1 million donation (XCD$2.7 million) was provided in 2017 by the Steve Morgan Foundation to support the rebuilding of homes destroyed when Hurricane Irma devastated Barbuda.

Morgan, a UK philanthropist who owns a home in Jumby Bay and island off Antigua, has previously raised concerns about the handling of the funds and said the money never reached its intended purpose.

Morgan previously said he was instructed by “various members of the government,” including then Financial Secretary Whitfield Harris, to transfer the funds to the Global Bank of Commerce in 2017. 

In September 2017, Morgan said Cabinet Secretary Konata Lee informed Morgan that the government had taken steps to establish a special account to receive relief contributions.

Lee also said measures would be put in place to ensure Barbuda relief donations were managed with “the highest degree of accountability.”

At the time, the government held some accounts at the bank, including funds linked to the Citizenship by Investment Programme and other public-private revenues.

Walker and former Barbuda Council Chairman Devon Warner had warned that the handling of the funds could affect donor confidence and make it more difficult for Antigua and Barbuda to secure international support following future emergencies.

Administration is a legal process where an appointed administrator takes control of a bank to assess its financial position and determine whether it can be restructured, sold or otherwise stabilized. It does not mean the bank has been permanently closed, but the process can leave depositors uncertain about when, or whether, they will regain access to their funds.