Differing Views on Barbuda Port Loan

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Friday, 22 February 2013 02:30

By Donna-Marie McIntosh

Antigua St. John's - Antigua Trades & Labour Union (AT&LU) rep Peter Leonard has said the $2.9 million loan secured to repair Barbuda’s port needs review, since the underlying issues cannot be fixed by “patching up the dock”.

Leonard said a letter was sent last August to the minister of Finance, along with Chairman Greg Walter and the Labour Department about the health and safety issues posed by the dilapidated compound. So far, there has seemingly been no response. Another letter was sent in February.

Workers at the dock, he said, are suffering under some extremely poor conditions.

A representative from the Antigua Workers Union would not comment on the situation, but told Caribarena they are aware of the situation.

Fabian Jones, chairman of the Barbuda Council, confirmed that he was a member of the team that presented the cost of labour and materials for the project. He said, “Dr Hanley of Public Works oversaw.

After the port is complete, six months from that date, the proceedings will begin to pay back. I am grateful for that (funding) that has been made available for Barbuda.”

But a source at Antigua’s port said there is no way the Barbuda port can generate enough money to offset the cost. He noted that Antigua’s port is a bigger earner, but is in the worst state it has been in over the last two decades, under bad organisation and poor management.

According to this source, out of 12 forklifts, only two are in operation, and employees have been promised changes for the past two years. It was alleged that the port is overstaffed.

The source said, “Antigua’s port needs to be fixed, so why take a loan to repair Barbuda when your own port needs attention? If Antigua takes out a loan to fix the port in Barbuda, then Barbuda should take a loan to fix the port in Antigua.”

General Manager of the Antigua Port Authority, Agatha Dublin, refused to comment.

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