Barbuda's Politicians Square Off

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Politics

Saturday, 28 August 2010 06:55

Barbuda's politicians disagree on the direction and pace of development for the 62-sq-mile sister island located 25 miles north of Antigua.

The opening salvo came from the Antigua Labour Party's candidate, Senator Arthur Nibbs, who said the island’s development is being impeded by "a crisis of leadership," and pointed the finger at his rival, the representative for the island, Trevor Walker, the current minister of Works.

Speaking on the Fire and Steel radio programme Wednesday night, Nibbs gave three examples of issues facing the people of Barbuda that demonstrate a lack of vision by Walker and the Barbuda Council.

He says the island is getting a community centre, and while it is an important facility, greater priority should be placed on getting proper docking facilities for the island to allow cargo vessels and even small cruise ships to dock.

“This project will do much for providing meaningful employment and help to stimulate the Barbuda economy,” he said.

Nibbs’ second peeve is the current upgrade of the Codrington Airport that includes re-surfacing the runway and refurbishing the terminal. He said the engineers have suggested that there is not much difference, as far as cost, between the upgrade and a relocation, which is in the long-term interest of the island since the current site is not conducive to further development and expansion.

Thirdly, Nibbs said the Barbuda Council, headed by Kelvin Punter, has been having trouble paying its staff on time, yet the BPM-led Council has not used this crisis to reach across for a co-ordinated approach to solving the problem.

Deputy Chairman of the Council Fabian Jones spoke with Caribarena.com in the absence of Walter, who is currently off-island dealing with family matters, and he gave a different perspective on the issues raised by Nibbs.

He said the community centre is a gift from the People’s Republic of China, and came about because the Chinese realised that after nearly 30 years of diplomatic relations with Antigua and Barbuda, there was no physical structure in Barbuda, built by the Chinese, for the people of the island. He added that the new venue will serve multiple purposes, similar to the Multi-Purpose Centre at Perry Bay, another gift from the Chinese government.

Jones said he agrees that there is an urgent need for proper port facilities, but admits that it has been quite a challenge to secure financing for the project. He said the Chinese have agreed to finance the project, but there were a number of issues that needed to be clarified.

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