Parliamentary Representative for St Paul E.P Chet Greene says he is several thousands of dollars poorer today, because of the incompetence of the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA).
Greene received 1,244 votes in the January 18 elections while his UPP opponent Dr. Cleon Athill received 1101.
Greene said the water issues faced around the country, especially in his community of St Paul almost cost him his seat in Parliament and the government the entire elections
“I am so disappointed in APUA. The plant is Pigeon Point works and it is self-servicing in other areas, yet still, the people cannot get water and the people protested in their numbers with their votes about that situation. So, I am not the prime minister but I am saying to APUA to shape up or shape out,” Greene said
He said this time around, he is in a “no-nonsense mode for this term because this is affecting the people and their quality of life and this is unacceptable. Why should I pay the price for their incompetence or for their failure to perform what they are being paid to do? APUA failed the people of St Paul…” he said.
Greene said he has had to truck water to several parts of his community, causing him to lose thousands of dollars because of the ineffectiveness of APUA.
“I am several thousands of dollars poorer today because, in Liberta, during the height of the drought, I had to truck water to the community” he lamented
He said the government instructed APUA to build a pumping station in Liberta but that has not been done.
“I was almost outdone by APUA. Sorry, the joke ends here,” Greene added.
He who claimed that he has done more for his constituents than any of his other colleagues, also claimed that other government agencies including Public Works and the Ministry of Health also “failed”
“As a result, who paid the consequence? It almost came down to me. It can’t be business as usual”, Greene said.
Well
Said cus am with you on that this APUA. Is a joke thing
Agreed!
You know how long we have this water problem!! But is only now you realize because you nearly loose
There is no bad Soldier only bad generals!!!
Blane it on the rain…nonsense! People just fed up with labour painssss
You all did well. This time around should be a no nonsense approach.
They need to maximize their resources. If they are engaged in sabotaging. They need to stop
There are people working in those agencies, not necessarily directed by the opposition. They’re simply enthusiasts desirous of seeing the party they support return to government. There has to be some shifts made to allow for efficiency in the process. We’re not short of water. We’re short of honesty. At the expense of the people, staff use their power to compromise the system. I make no apologies for this.
All due respect Dave, that is not so…at least not on any scale that would cause major outages. The problem we face on Antigua is that the distribution pipes, most of which are those heavy metal pipes are old and rusty and the vast majority of them are falling apart and in need of replacement with with longer lasting and more durable PVC pipes. This is an island wide issue. We are suffering badly because of failures in the distribution channel. When the pumping starts, there are always major leakages due to burst pipes etc, then they have to be replaced. The other issue we have regularly, have to do with the upkeep and maintenance of the plants with by their very nature is desirable and important but we often falls flat when it comes to adhering to proper maintenance schedule. I spent considerable time in Aruba many years ago. The entire island is provided by water via desalination plants because like Antigua, their annual rainfall totals are very low. Yet, in the 1 full year I spent there, the water was never off…not even once. In this day and age we must do better and this has nothing to do with politics. We must get this aggrieved situation right one and for all. It’s been a sour point for all Antiguans for many years dating back to when I was born in English Harbout.
The proof is in the pudding I have only heard accusations of sabotage but no evidence of how it’s has been done. It’s easy to cast blame on people without a voice especially when you know if they break protocol and come to the public to refute claims it would mean the end of their careers.
This situation didn’t start yesterday. This has been a perennial problem not just in St. Paul’s but throughout Antigua and Barbuda. HELLO! This is 2023 and the water situation is still unacceptable with little or no water as a regular feature. If nothing else, the government MUST make it a priority to improve the water situation throughout the entire island. There can be no excuses for this situation. Whilst the Minister can afford to truck water, the vast majority of St. Paul’s residence cannot themselves afford such luxury. Water is an essential service and to be still pouring water into basins to bathe or pouring water into the toilet bowl after use is undesirable and distasteful in this day and age. We deserve better! People must hold their Parliamentary representative to account for these occurrences.
Did you not hear the water situation was improved so people could get water. APUA big guns sabotaged it to hel UPP win. I would have demoted all of them involved and put my own people there.
Just accept that Dr Athil and her team did a dam good job. You should have said we voted against the Incompetent government. That sounds so much better than you blaming APUA.
Esworth Martin was always a square peg in a round hole. He literally could not have run a sweetie shop; he failed at even that. Why then did Robin have him there? Why did UPP maintain him?
We need to stop seeing red and blue and all other color. Water is clear. People , we have a problem and the sooner we fix it the better off we’ll all be.
Our government is planning a big come back for tourism. But if there is no water how are we to keep them coming back. We need to deal with the issue and not pointing fingers.
Many are calling for the heads of departments. Can you do the job when they are fired. Make suggestions that will help not ones that qill hurt. Wa all have to live here and we all have the same problem.
The election is over and as the observers said its time to rebuild. ABLP said ‘next level’ let’s us get there.