By Makeda Mikael
For many years I have wanted to go public with my love and gratitude to APUA but scared to say it because APUA is a most controversial subject. Each morning as I wash my face and cup the water in my hands to my mouth I think how much we all trust our Water Department without even thinking.
I know some persons are thinking about the rusty pipe water in the old areas of mostly St.John’s where pipe replacement is a consideration, but the majority of the island gets good balanced water and we do not say thanks, we remember the old pipes.
Electricity and telephone service may not be as good as we expect at times, but when we consider the ancient systems which the colonial masters left in place as they departed with the moneybags, we are indeed industrious to have maintained them usable to date.
APUA has managed to operate and increase service to the sophisticated expectations demanded by Tourism, a dependent industry where visitors presume that the basics of Electricity, Water, Telephone and Internet as as good as global services.
The risk which those men and a few brave women of APUA endure in the horrors of electricity gone wrong is a constant, in order for all of us to be able to switch on and off without thinking. The serious accidents which they avoid in post hurricane and disaster is overlooked as we irritably drop our words on them about the length of time it takes to get reconnected. How many of us even look up as a young man hangs precariously on the top of a lamppost with hundreds of volts of electricity just beyond his fingers? It is is human to whisper a prayer for his safety as we pass.
We need to lay the blame for any failures of the APUA where it truly lies. The foundation of utility operations in Antigua were laid out very simply as it was the colonies and they were phasing out sugar and leaving, so the Brits did not leave anything in place which has any futuristic importance.
Everything was of the old order. It therefore is a compliment to the hard work of hundreds of Antiguan men under the order of V.C. Bird to extend electricity and water to villages and the two main poor and black areas in St. John’s. Under a politically independent government, the Authority was established with a mission which allowed it to operate under statutory law which has led to its growth.
The management of APUA has been silently offering a very high level of industry to Antigua & Barbuda when we consider the size of the Authority, the numbers they employ, and their competence as we race towards a digitized economy. APUA is using its own entity as a model for digitization and its Customer Service is clearly the best currently offered by any government office.
Yet, APUA is one of the more reviled statutory operations on the island, yet it is one of the strongest male organizations skilled in the dangerous business of electricity and water, daily working in keeping this island a float in good and bad times, while people speak badly about them most of the times. But then Antigua is not known to see its everyday heroes, rather importing them from anywhere in the Caribbean or the world, but if we are serious about those who are there for us in disaster, we would all love APUA!
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Yep add to that the fibre. We have moved from the days of 56K modems to now as high as Up to 500Mbps download for homes. The water infrasture is being improved by replacing those old pipes (saw them at work yesterday during my bike ride). APUA is rechable unlike the foreign providers. Work in clearly being done to improve things. Writer thanks for the free shelter from rain (my bike and I), a few sundays ago
Must agree. The support persons are extremely pleasant whenever I call, and the field techs that I have had to deal with are cool as well.
This article puts me to shame because I even have family at APUA and don’t think twice to cuss them. The truth is, these past 2 years have shown us that we should be grateful for what we have because things can always get worse. It must be said that they do at least provide a predictable level of service. Water is a major problem but remember we’re not like some other islands where it springs out of the ground and flows through your backyard. I remember how we used to criticize LIAT but were surprised to find that several others companies together could not fill the void left when they ceased operations early in the pandemic. After Irma Anguilla was in shambles for months. APUA usually has us back up after hurricanes in weeks, if not days. The old Antiguan saying applies here, “You know wha you have, you na know wha you go get”
One last thing APUA, Stop dig up de rooad…I’m sorry, I just had to throw that one in…couldn’t resist
God bless
you guys/gals talking as if the services we receive are free. If the company gave us CREDIT for the services we DON’T RECEIVE,
it would probably go bankrupt.
APUA is moving on and leaving the workers behind??we have staff in water department an electricity doing 24 years of service to the company without getting a raise for over 16yrs……..What kind of work is the HR department doing??help me here
This is actually ridiculous. The cost of living has risen drastically in the past 10yrs much less in the past 16yrs
Oh dear god. What is this? Treat them mean to keep them keen? If I didn’t have a cistern I would go without a shower on many occasions. And let’s not even mention constant power cuts, which basically fa&£@ up our appliances. They ARE not doing us a favour, we are paying for so called ‘service’ through our noses. Please stop whoever you are with this nonsense.
Encouraging mediocrity and rewarding poor performance!
Good Lord…. Who paid you to write this?????
Makeda,which one of Antigua’s do you live in? Are you really applauding APUA for mediocrity in services. Perhaps you are one of those one percenters. Who could afford to have private water trucks delivering to your home and or place of business.There are two Antiguas,one for the rich and one for the poor.Once you become rich one seems to forget their poor days.When they could not afford to even buy bread.I liked and respected you as a human being since your were Valerie.I still do respect you as Makeda.However,I do not agree with your assessments of APUA.
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