After the devastation of Hurricane Irma, the government is contemplating widespread privatization, which critics say will benefit big commercial landholders. “Barbudan activists say their misery is being exploited in an opportunistic land grab.” IRIN reports, “The central government of the twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is proposing a form of land privatization. Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the minority population of Barbuda can’t properly rebuild and develop without introducing private land ownership. Speaking to IRIN, veteran Barbudan politician and activist Hilbourne Frank said the Antiguan-dominated government is using underhand methods ‘to compel’ privatization in the wake of the hurricane. This means ‘serious trouble,’ he said, and will threaten the cultural heritage of the island as well as Barbuda’s long-standing autonomy. ‘In the end, we are going to be controlled by other people,’ he argued.”