CABINET NOTES Of Friday, 3 November 2023

HURST REPORTS ON CABINET OF Friday, 3 November 2023

The Cabinet began its weekly session with a prayer by a Minister of Religion who invoked God’s presence and thankfulness for 42 years of independence. Following the priest’s departure, the Cabinet paused for a moment of silence to mark the death of Mr. James Tanny Rose. An official statement had been issued on the day of Mr. Rose’s death.

1. The Cabinet commenced a discussion on the terms of an agreement between WICB (the West Indies Cricket Board) and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda about the number of professional cricket matches to be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and the Coolidge Cricket Grounds in the coming months. Although the terms are still being worked-on, the Lawyer from the Ministry of Legal Affairs was called to the Cabinet meeting and instructed to include the payment amounts which have been agreed, through separate negotiations. An announcement will soon be made about the dates of the matches, the venues and other details. Minister of Sports participated by Zoom since he is away on official business.
2. The Cabinet invited to its meeting two entrepreneurs of Antiguan descent–normally resident in Canada but are to return home–who are planning to build a crematorium for the purpose of making cremations readily available to grieving families. Each year, about 600 persons die in Antigua and Barbuda and are usually buried in one of the cemeteries around the island-nation; very few are cremated, since that requires shipping the cadaver to another Caribbean island where that service is available. The entrepreneurs, both females, who have won many awards for their funereal services in Canada, have determined that a market exists for this alternative form of burial in Antigua and Barbuda. The Attorney General and the Minister of Health will collaborate to ensure that the appropriate legislation is adopted by the Parliament. The Minister of Works reported that the Public Cemetery at Tomlinson’s is being prepared by fencing on the south and west of the acreage. Roadways and plots are being prepared according to plan. The new cemetery is expected to look like a large garden rather than a dreary place full of foreboding.
3. The Cabinet decided that, in keeping with inflationary pressures and the loss in the value of money over time, Government Pensioners are to receive an increase in their monthly payments. The precise amount is subject to negotiations and affordability, given the 14% increase over several years which current government employees are beginning to enjoy. A team at the Ministry of Finance is tasked with determining what is affordable and what revenue stream is likely to be adjusted to ensure that revenues can match the increase in expenditure that would be triggered by an increase in pension payments.
4. The Minister of Works brought to the Cabinet’s attention the backlog in overtime payments owing to security workers employed at the Ministry. The Cabinet agreed to set aside an appropriate sum of money to reduce that backlog and to bring the payments as close as possible to a zero balance.
5. The Cabinet engaged in a review of the proceedings of the 42^nd Anniversary of Independence and, after intense discussions, applauded the Minister Responsible for Festivals, the Festivals Commission and all of those who volunteered their time and talent to make the celebrations a success. The Cabinet applauded all those who received National Honours, and thanked them for their contribution to nation-building. Attention was brought to the drone show in the skies above the stadium which so many found fascinating, and superior to the fireworks display for its creative content. The Gospel Concert also surprised many by its showing, the Cabinet agreed, demonstrating that there is a market for that genre of music. Every aspect of the month-long celebration was examined by the Cabinet, and it was agreed that the stage has been set for more of the same when the 43^rd Anniversary comes around. Two more holiday periods are calendared to include the Sir V.C. Bird Day, to be celebrated on Monday, 11 December 2023; Christmas/Boxing Day holidays, which are less secular and more religious, will no doubt be marked by the generosity and pleasantries that usually mark the period.
6. It was agreed that the Lower House of Parliament will soon be convened, in the first half of November 2023, in order to present the modernized “Landlord and Tenant Act, 2023”. The 1947 law that now controls is seriously antiquated, the Minister of Legal Affairs posited. A draft of the revised law will soon be circulated.

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