LETTER: How will the government pay to build this new prison?

12
HMP

Dear Editor,

I see that the discussion has started again about the need for a new prison. My question is who will pay for it?

To me it is a matter of  priorities. As humans we have basic needs and among other things, we demand roads, security, schools, hospitals, health clinics and water, which in a drought prone island, is expensive to produce. The money to pay for these services has to come from taxes that no one likes to pay.
So now we add a new prison. How will the government pay to build this new prison? Would all of those folks who are demanding a new prison be willing to contribute a 5% or 10% tax on their salary and wages?
Would it be cheaper to invest that money in social programmes to support the eradication of the ills that lead persons to prison? Do we need to address all the single parent families, where many children are growing up with little or no male guidance (absent fathers) and with little interaction with the hard working and stressed out mother. Yes we can continue to turn a blind eye to these ills and take the easy way out. Build a bigger prison. And then a bigger one and a bigger one.
If we do not address the roots of the problems we will never have a large enough prison.
Dino Martin

 

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12 COMMENTS

  1. We don’t need a new prison. There should be nothing about a prison that makes it attractive. Prison should be so undesirable that nobody would ever want to go there. Some say 1735 is the worst prison in the Caribbean. That’s an honour. Some say it’s overcrowded. If the judges would sentence all murders to hang by the neck until dead, there would be lots of empty space.

    • It is not everyone in 1735 is guilty. Some are there on remand for years still waiting to hear their case in court. Prison is not helping our young men it is destroying them. Most of them are in there just for a little spliff and even to mouth off officers of the law. These kind of charges should be community service instead of remanded to prison until their case is call.

    • I would love to hear you got a chance to spend at least six months in the prison see if you change your tune

    • Don’t worry (conrad) No one know’s what tomorrow may bring. I hope no one for you get to be sent to the prison,if that happen you will be singing another tune.

  2. The prison was condemned many years ago and nothing has been done. Do you know why the English prisoner is not held in the Prison? The main reason is that the British representative is entitled to visit him.
    Where is the government getting money to invest in Willoughby Bay and sand mining? Where did the government get money to build a runway on sinkholes in Barbuda? What happened to the millions the government purportedly spent on housing for poor Antiguans? My friend it is priority. Where did the money from the billions of debt go?
    Don’t blame single mothers for the crimes in Antigua. Single mothers have brought up outstanding citizens. It was not many years ago when I would say that fifty percent of the children born in Antigua where to single parents. The fathers for the most part were involved in their children’s life.
    While I agree that there should be PIT in Antigua, I doubt Antiguans would see any benefits from the taxes when we currently have a government that talks only of investments that the people cannot see.
    What Antigua needs is a government that really cares about the country and know the functions of government.

  3. Is Antigua is building a new prison it will obviously be another loan from the Chinese government that no one knows the terms on.

    We are going to wake up one day and the Chinese government knock on our doors and ask us to leave their country!

    All these loans and secret deals and we don’t know the terms .. smh

    • @Ms Mention
      Vote the scamps out of office. With this government, thieving na go done and Antiguans won’t have nothing to show for all the loans.

    • @ MS Mention
      Maybe they should get a loan from China and give the prison as collateral. Then the Chinese can take the prison for non payment.

  4. What I want to know what happened to all them millions of dollars that they get in the past to build a new prison st.kitts got the same amount of money they rennivate the whole prison plus construct a new fence with the same 2 million that they got just like Antigua did where did that money go

  5. Well our P.M And his flocks won’t stop bamboozzle and thief from the people of A&B any yet we are sold out to modern slavery only the super rich has power poor people are taken advantage. Speak about money and borrowing and yet the island is dirty poor infrastructure country sinking while the fail to wake the F^*!! Up!

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