‘Shameful’ council must take the leader on Barbuda rebuilding

Last updated: October 17, 2017 at 13:20 pm

A former MP for Barbuda has suggested that the island’s council should order hundreds of employees displaced by Hurricane Irma to return and clean up their home.

Trevor Walker, who is now a member of Barbuda Council, said that the authority can force “at least 200 of the 600 able-bodies” to leave their temporary residences in Antigua and provide the much-needed man-power.

“The Barbuda Council needs to instruct the workers,” Walker told listens of the Big Issues programme on Observer Radio.

“If you don’t go, we are not going to pay you, as simple as that, you will see a major difference.”

He explained that if this harsh ultimatum is given council workers who are still being paid their wages without doing work, will think twice about remaining in Antigua.

‘Unacceptable’

The Council should be taking the lead, Walker believes, and he pointed out that he spends between five and seven days in Barbuda – returning to Antigua only when supplies are low.

The fact that the Council has no permanent presence on Barbuda is “shameful”, he added.

One issue faced with those who do want to build is the difficulty travelling between the two islands, which has slowed the reverie effort.

But Walker stressed that the notion of going to Barbuda in the morning and returning to Antigua at the end of the day is not the way forward.

“If a council worker’s home is damaged, tarpaulin is available and there are tents provided by the United Nations for them to sleep under,” he added.

“You have a two-by-four country, Codrington, that should have been cleaned up in one week, two weeks maximum, taking you over a month. That is unacceptable.”