Barbudans urged to stop pushing for separation from Antigua

9

Former Prime Minister and National Hero Sir Lester Bird is of the opinion that Barbuda is unable to stand on its own as an independent nation.

Sir Lester, speaking in parliament, said Hurricane Irma’s wrath on the island last week has demonstrated this.

Ninety-five percent of the island was destroyed, and it has been declared uninhabitable.

Sir Lester said the notion of some Barbudans that Barbuda can sustain itself is a myth. He added that the time has come for Barbudans to stop pushing for separation from Antigua.

“I could not help pondering now what would have happened to the Barbudans if Barbuda had been given independence as a separate state. Where would they have sought refuge; who would have taken them in and who would have financed the rebuilding of the island?” Sir Lester asked.

The former prime minister said a three-month study was done on Barbuda which concluded the island “is not a financially viable entity, and the Barbuda Council could not provide for the island’s inhabitants without the support of the central government”.

Sir Lester added that over the years the central government has paid for the survival of Barbuda and its people.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]

9 COMMENTS

  1. Who should take the blame for the poor development of Barbuda lester bird and the Antigua labour party they one put Barbuda poor development what happen to all the sand they sell and don’t put in the money to help the poor people so when he is talking about stop separation tell Lester now is the time to put back all the money that he did. Get from from the sand

    • Couldn’t have said it better my dear. They use Barbudan for years.He and his family should give back Barbudan all that money they made from selling the ppl them sand.

  2. Wait man…
    Robert Dinero and his Billionaire fren Wil Packer soon buy Barbuda …tben barbudans will need visa to go Barbuda…
    I bet you any money when the price is right Gaston will sell Barbuda….
    Wet you hand and wait for Labor to sell Barbuda

  3. Barbudans jus wait till the smoke clears and this mess is no longer the topic of the day…..
    Gaston sell Barbuda RIGHT under u all noses n give u all more xcuses of better days ahead speeches false hope ….enough monies nah come eenee yet …Wait man Wait

  4. The central government has been supplementing Barbudans for decades. They have not a profitable entity for the central government. This sand issue has been banned about for years. Someone in Barbuda got paid though.
    How could we sustain them without using some of that sand to build hotels in Antigua?
    The political games that are being paying for years contribute to the lack of development on the sister isle. In all our sympathy and empathy for their misfortune, it is imperative that we use this time to do much introspection on the way forward for the island.
    Fighting and cross talk will not accomplished much. It is only a path to futility.

  5. Brothers and sisters of Antigua and Barbuda, PLEASE, stop the politics and finger pointing and let’s show the rest of the world how we could move forward as one, intelligent nation and forget about the past. This may be a sign for us to come as one. Who knows, it may be better for us all. As an Antiguan, I do not like what I’m reading after this devastation that had me up for two nights without sleep. I was not even in the Caribbean when it happened. Pray together and let’s build Antiguaand Barbuda together. You mean to say after all that we still playing tug of war?

  7. Barbuda is too small to be independent, but Antigua is too poor to be a good parent. Barbuda needs a new foster parent. How about Canada, which has no Tropical dependencies. If there was a choice, Barbudans would chose Canada over Britain.

Comments are closed.