Hurst reports on cabinet of Wednesday 4 September 2024

The Cabinet began its meeting with a prayer by a minister of religion, who was the first priest to pray with the Cabinet in June 2014 when the Gaston Browne government took office.

She remembered reading from the book of Ecclesiastes, in which God was asked to guide the ruler’s decision-making. The prime minister replied that God had been faithful in his guidance for the past ten years.

The cabinet has held a discussion about the billing period of the APUA, which has gone from twenty-eight days to forty days. As a result, customers receive a higher bill than usual.

The Cabinet has invited the APUA General Manager, the Electricity Manager, the Financial Controller and the Chief Accountant to discuss the matter and reassure customers who have filed complaints.

The APUA team agreed that there would be more press releases and other forms of communication with the customer base, in which they continue to assure the public that the billing cycle for the next period will be only twenty days; their next APUA electricity bill will reflect an even lower amount than what is normally charged each month. The APUA managers reminded that they will be installing smart meters (in phases) that will allow them to monitor usage without entering the premises, to track the daily consumption of all 40,000 customers from the head office.

The Cabinet invited the Principal of Ottos Comprehensive School (and one of the Past Students Association Board members) to join him in recognising the 50^and OCS anniversary celebration. Since its inception in 1975, there have been eleven Principals in 45 of those years; three have passed away and eight are still there. A program will soon be held to celebrate their leadership and contribution to nation building.

The OCS celebrates its 50th anniversary^and anniversary with a grand event and is looking for resources to make a worthy event possible. The cabinet has agreed to a significant contribution. The principal made it clear that the school has a duty to rescue children from disadvantaged communities and low income families. The school is trying to raise additional funds to fund the OCS Steelband and other activities that will stimulate other uplifting outcomes.

Six officials from the Ministry of Social Transformation, including the Minister of State, the Hon. Samantha Marshall, were invited to Cabinet to assist in providing information and data on the challenges facing Antigua as a result of youth violence and criminal activities.

The Prime Minister shared his experience after meeting with two gangs and the challenges their members face. Due to the retaliation gang members take against each other, several reported not going to school and not traveling alone when they leave their neighborhood.

It was also noted that parents should be held responsible for the behavior of their children, although it seems that many parents are relatively young and therefore do not have the parenting skills to bring up their children properly. Poverty, it was agreed, will always be a challenge for families, especially single-parent families; nevertheless, in an earlier era, extended families played an important supporting role.

An official from the Ministry of Social Transformation reported thatSexually transmitted infections (STIs) are ravaging young girls, which poses other challenges because the diseases are often untreated. When these diseases are left untreated, young mothers give birth to children with autism, mental health issues and are even more difficult to raise. The Cabinet agreed that more public education is needed to discourage predatory behavior. The Cabinet agreed that there needs to be more collaboration between Social Transformation and Health; more early childhood education, special education and more resources to fund programs are all needed.

The Cabinet invited the Barbuda Council to engage in dialogue on a number of issues on which all could make progress, as common solutions had been identified.

The Barbuda parliamentary representative led the delegation of 7 officials. He commended the Prime Minister for improving the involvement of the Council, overcoming a bitter relationship that began many years ago. In the year 2000, with the assistance of the Commonwealth, a Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) was established; it consisted of three members of the Barbuda Council and three members of the Government. That proposal was accepted by the Cabinet and the Prime Minister will be the Chairman (with a casting vote). An agreement was reached to make payments of arrears of up to $500,000. The Cabinet also agreed to provide up to ECD$10 million for road works. At present, Palmetto Point is only accessible via the beach or the sea as the road is now within leased properties; the Cabinet gave assurances that roads perpendicular to the sea would provide access to the beach as required by law in Antigua and Barbuda. The issue of land allocation is now before the High Court and the Barbuda Council’s lawyer was not present; therefore the issue was not discussed. The development of a golf course on the north side of Barbuda was also brought forward. Until a map of the area to be used for this purpose was available, the councillors felt they could not address the issue.

The Chairman and new CEO of the Antigua Barbuda Airport Authority (ABBA) came to Cabinet to report on the closure of the old airport on Barbuda at sunset on October 2^nd 2024. They reported that the permission to open the new airport will take effect at sunrise on October 3^rd 2024.

The long-awaited communication giving permission to start flights to and from Barbuda International Airport was confirmed by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCA). The new CEO, in collaboration with Cabinet, is planning a grand opening with flights from Antigua, with government officials, private operators and many Barbudans on the day of the opening.

The new CEO spoke about establishing an aviation academy here in Antiguamost likely affiliated with the Five Islands Campus of the University of the West Indies. It would teach subjects related to airport management, safety regulations and other subjects related to running an airport such as security, crowd management within the aviation sector.

The Development Commissioner, with the approval of the Cabinet, has invited a group of investors known as the BVI Investment Clubb, which has existed for 30 years, to address the executive body. The club started with an investment of $1,000 from each member and immediately purchased a cell phone company that was sold.

Currently, the investment club’s assets exceed $50 million and the club pays out annual dividends that exceed the original investment amount.

The model used by the investment club was shared with the government and private sector organisations in Antigua, in the hope of duplicating its success with others. The investment club has successfully invested in a hotel, a marina, water desalination and storage, and land.