Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the government plans to establish strict eligibility rules for its proposed $1 Barbuda land programme, limiting the offer primarily to residents who were living on the island around the time Hurricane Irma struck in 2017.

Speaking on Pointe FM on Saturday, Browne said the administration intends to prevent abuse of the programme by individuals seeking to opportunistically claim access to discounted land despite not being long-term residents of Barbuda.

“We have to put the parameters in place in terms of who may be eligible,” Browne said.

The Prime Minister said the special arrangement is intended for people who were residing in Barbuda during and after Hurricane Irma, which devastated the island in September 2017.

“We talk about those who’ve been living in Barbuda,” Browne said. “Maybe as of the date of the hurricane and coming forward to today.”

Under the proposed programme, qualifying residents would be able to obtain up to one acre of land for a nominal $1 fee as part of the government’s broader land registration and parcelization initiative in Barbuda.

Browne stressed that the policy would not automatically extend to all people of Barbudan descent living overseas or individuals attempting to exploit family connections to gain access to the land arrangement.

“We’re not catering for people who weren’t even born in Barbuda for that matter, but may have been born to Barbudan parentage thinking that they can get a land for one dollar,” Browne said.

“This is for those who are resident in Barbuda,” he added.

The Prime Minister said naturalized Antiguans and Barbudans who meet the residency requirements could also potentially qualify for the special dispensation.

The government has said the initiative forms part of wider efforts to modernize land administration in Barbuda through the creation of a formal land registry system and the parcelization of designated areas such as Louis Hill.

Browne has argued that the programme is designed to empower residents by providing formal legal title documents while still allowing those opposed to freehold ownership to retain existing arrangements.