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The government says the delay in constructing Antigua and Barbuda’s aquatic centre stems from the national swimming association’s insistence on using a single, high-cost external consultant for the project.
Education, Sports and Creative Industries Minister Daryll Matthew said the government remains committed to building a certified swimming facility and is prepared to fund its construction, but not under the current terms proposed by the association.
“We have said to them that we know what is required, what we are prepared to pay for, and we’re committed to paying for is the construction of a properly certified pool,” the minister stated during an interview on ABS’s First Look.
Matthew explained that while the government supports building international-standard swimming and warm-up pools, it does not see the need to pay for bundled consultancy services that include design, feasibility studies, and construction.
“We don’t need to pay any high-cost consultant to come in to tell us that you need a gym, you need an office, you need a concession area, you need stands,” he said.
The minister revealed that discussions within Cabinet have now turned to potentially moving ahead with the project without the association’s agreement.
“One of my senior cabinet colleagues has said to me, ‘let’s just move on… and if it is that they are dissatisfied with it, then we’ll just have to deal with that,’” Matthew said.
He acknowledged his preference for consensus but argued the government could not allow progress to be stalled indefinitely.
“Every time our swimmers do well, no one says the Swimming Association is a hold-up.
They say, ‘what is the government doing about it?’ And perhaps rightfully so.
And what we’ll do is do something about it,” he added.
Calls for an aquatic centre have intensified in recent years, particularly in light of strong performances by local swimmers at regional competitions.
The government has faced repeated public pressure to provide modern facilities for athletes.
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Smh the only reason the swimming facility nah done yet is because UPP Treasurer & candidate for rural north Kem Warner using the swimming association to play politics to jump start political career, after he made the branch run Pearl out of rural north. #FACTS
If this place ever get built it would be also a friend and company thing just like the powells playing field … ANTIGUA is a joke with and lot of jokers and I’m not laughing, well! MAYBE just a little because the lies a so see through…
And while the Minister and the Association squabble about such a trivial thing our young swimmer are being deprived of a proper training facility. One that would aid them in their training and improve their performance in gegtting better results at swim meets. Please put the children first in everything you do. Let your egoes home. Or perhaps your politics. It seem that everywhere were the UPP have their followers they will try to frustrate the government. if the association wants their own independent consultant they should fund it themselves. You think when the government is getting a gift from the Chinese they can go and tell the chinese that they want their own consultant and have the chinese pay for it? Some people wear their politics on their sleaves. Do you think when the government was building YASCO that the Atlethic Association could demand for their own consultant. Do you think when Stanford was building the Basket Ball complex at Simon Boulevard that the Basket Ball Association could tell him they want to have their own consultant. This is so foolish and shows up the member making up the board of the Swimming Federation. Of which one is certainly now running on the UPP ticket.
I think this would be a good fit for the former director or public works. He’s excellent at building pools. Our roads are full of them.
They refuse to just pay the money and get it right one time instead of using political appointees who have never built such a facility