UPP calls for consultation on APUA water challenges instead of unilateral decision to outsource

1. UPP please stay away from anything that have to do with water 💧in antigua & barbuda, please jack!!

   • @Independent Thinker. What is this reverse psychology? Wasn’t it Gaston Browne who said he would fix the water problem in 14 days? It’s been almost 10 years and this is the best Gaston can do? A suggestion that is going to take forever. Labour has invested in all these RO plans and they anre out of ideas. Don’t try and put this one on UPP.

     • Your comment tells me you’re not being honest. We all know the PM did not! make that statements. The priminister did mentioned to improved the volume of water by adding more gallons to what existed at the time, within two weeks. If we to be honest Gaston Browne administration invested more in water than any other administration that run this twin island state. You all with these half truth. Need to stop it.

       • @Independent Thinker you are a liar. Gaston Browne said he would fix the water problem in 12 days. Maybe you have your own interpretation of what he meant. Let’s be truthful about what he said!

   • @Independent Thinker
     Why should UPP stay away from the water issue. This affects everybody. Who is going to get richer at poor People’s expense by the privatization of water? Will the water be getting to people by delivery trucks? It certainly won’t be delivered through rusted and leaking pipes. My question to you is why are you so political? This is why nothing gets done in Antigua because some people can only see in red and blue. Gaston knows this and that is why he is politicizing the water issue to fool his blind supporters. Come on. Demand that Gaston spend the money to fix the infrastructural problems.

     • …am not being political, you all to one sided in this country!!! I have never see you all so angry when UPP had all these issue with water. I lived it, so i iknow it. This water issue should never been a political one. If you think am political, hey! that’s on you.

       • So explain @ Independent Thinker – as you are so Independent -, how come the ABLP had 40 years to implement a nationwide water supply system in Antigua, and couldn’t?

         Your response as a “non political” person would be much appreciated. Enlighten us?

2. One debacle after another, that’s all this administration can provide, much less water for the people of Antigua. I would say it’s a “Pipe Dream” if you’ll waiting on this administration to provide water.
   Many have given them good suggestions,but they are too stubborn to listen, so why even ask for a sit down with these jokers?

3. What kind of government can’t provide basic necessity for their citizens and they say this country is doing so gd and such a power house of the Caribbean…..When the lunatic done with antigua it will be the poor house of the Caribbean……….Cheering on the world boss like a fool an our future slip away from us while he build his future in front of us as a nation……………

4. There is no quick fix or easy solution to the perennial water woes that we face day in day out. While we all expect our government to address and fix these issues, it is not an easy feat. Antigua suffers from a water storage and distribution problem. We have desalination plants, but not enough storage facilities to store the desalination water. On top of that, the entire network of distribution pipes needs to be upgraded and replaced. This requires millions of dollars which frankly neither APUA nor the Government can afford. Our domestic water has been heavily subsidized over the years and the government has bourne the cost of production and upgrades and more just so that the commodity can be made available and affordable to everyone. The government simply do not have the capacity to continue doing this when other important productive sectors require urgent financing as well. The best way is to privatize the water division and use their roll as regulators to keep the cost and price in check to the consumers.

   • I have no issue with privatization but that will bring the problem of the real cost of water to the fore. And who will pay the bill. Antiguans are already spoiled for year by getting cheap water. In Barbados the IMF have demanded that the increase cost be passed through to the consumers.
     https://barbadostoday.bb/2023/07/04/water-woes-2/
     I remember when we had a similar situation with cooking gas. For years we paid $20.00 and then came the IMF and demanded from the UPP that the cost should not be subsidized but passed through. And the price went from $20.00 to $32.00 for a 20lb cylinder. The people quarreled ofcourse but todate people have already forgotten about the ridiculous increase that took place. We adapt quickly to our cost of living. That is one of the economic phenomons that economist study all the time. How long does it takes people to adjust to new prices. You always here about price hikes, but seldon when they come down. But we all can talk about the good old days when we paid $0.05 for a sweety. and the same sweety is now $0.50.

5. Since when Trinidadians are experts in water production and distribution? We need to go outside the region to a more Internacional organization to handle not only water but a more holistic development of Antigua and it’s resources. Surface water/ Dams , distribution, Roads , electricity, Communication, land use, sea shore development ( putting desalination plants on every beach will be damaging the environment, garbage collection and distribution- – We need a complete development plans. No quick fix . This government has been reactive rather the proactive.

6. So Pringle declined the invitation to meet the Cabinet and discus the water issues, but he now wants to tell the government what to do. When they were in government they promised many townhall meetings to hear from the citizens, but none of them came of the ground. When I vote for someone to do the job, I expect them to do the job and do not come and ask me every time for my opinion. Otherwise why are you there for. If you don’t make good decisions I will vote you out simple as that. I have my own life to live with all it’s problem. Don’t need to be bothered with the country’s problems. But that the different between real leaders and followers.

   • The Honourable Jamale Pringle is being very smart with Gaston Browne, because he knows with the ongoing situation with implementing the nation-wide water system; the Prime minister wants to drag the UPP into his MESS as well. Clever Mr Pringle!

     Seems like you are using the same STRATEGIC moves as the Honourable Kelvin Shugy Simon did in winning St Mary’s South recently. Smart indeed sir!!!

7. Pringle only objective is name and shame…want to use parliament as a circus..an amusement park. Our legislative arm of government which the opposition is an integral part is not to be use for laughter.
   Imagine the government invited the leader of the opposition and his technical team along with APUA to cabinet to hold bipartisan discussions on our water situation and he refused…his alternative solution is bring APUA TO PARLIAMENT…to answer questions. Leadership really matters.
   Most Caribbean countries are facing water distribution problems…ask Jamaica…even Barbados. UPP had their 10 years of fame…did they bring relief…no, they made worse…privatization was the order of the day..brought Hardee’s in the cabinet..both water and electricity production was privatized…even an old used chinese plant that never worked…where there any consultations..NONE! how we forget…ask Wilmoth Daniel…he objected.
   This is a National crisis…the British left us with lead and cast iron pipes which I assumed some are still in used…the changing of these have started..lead pipes to homes have been removed.
   The water situation is not an easy fix and Politicians must stop using it to win elections…come with real solutions and not empty promises…So Pringle and your experts….Government and its powers to implement let’s put aside the politics to solve this colonial aged problem. Antiguans and Barbudans we need to break the shackles of political division….and blindness…we are used and abused
   UPP is not going to score no political points on our water situation….enough said. So wheel and come again.

   • It interesting that ABLP has held the reins of power for more than 50 years and have been in charge of this country for the past 10 years. Yet you still find a way to blame UPP for the water crisis? You are even more deranged than you actually look. You are a scary looking man, but to read the bile that you spew just because of your hatred for the UPP, that’s the scary part. You look and smell of it. Get packing!

   • Poor Poor Dexter Pelle, on the one hand he highlights the 10 years of UPP governance of not implementing the water system, yet TOTALLY ignores the UNPRODUCTIVE 40-odd years of Birdism and Browneism.

     The real definition of an ABLP acolyte or Gastonite.

     🎧🎶”Wheeeeeel ..”🎤 Mr Dexter Pelle, Mi ah tell you boss … 😁

8. Someone refresh my memory. When the UPP was in power did we had consultations on everything they did. And especially since we talk about water, did they had consultation when they closed Tango and outsourced the water production to Sembcorp? It is sad that they now want to tell this government how to run things. And since they were so good in running the APUA water unit how come they left a bill of over $23million at Sembcorp, with Sembcorp threatening to shutdown the plant if they didn’t pay. Luckily the elections came right on time and we voted them out because of their incompetence. not them again.

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