By Kieron Murdoch | Opinion Contributor

We cannot be the only ones who drive up and down this country and ask ourselves whether Antigua and Barbuda is honestly and truly moving forward the way it ought to be. Sometimes, the sight of things makes you wonder if we are stuck in time, or perhaps moving in slow motion. Worryingly, there seems to be little to no recognition of this reality at the very top.

In 2025, we would like to see better governance when it coems to urban renewal and the physical development and regulation of our national space. At present, we are suffering from what we would consider weak governance in this area. We touched on this topic earlier in the year, but it seems fitting that we revisit it.

When we say weak governance as regards urban renewal, we are referring to our failure to properly plan and regulate redevelopment, to enforce good laws that we already have, and to be responsive and adaptive when policies are clearly failing. Weak governance can retard development endlessly if left unaddressed.

You can see it when you look around. We have not had serious comprehensive enforcement of a national urban renewal plan in this country since its inception. People build as they like, where they like, and how they like. People erect whatever they want in what ought to be residential areas. There is little to no zoning of anything.

Lands in different areas are overgrown and unsightly with no means of enforcing any control. Derelict structures remain eyesores and fire hazards for decades upon decades. Gutters and sanitation are a huge problem. Everywhere, there are undesigned makeshift trenches and ditches meant to be “drains” and “gutters” that rapidly and regularly become choked with bush and garbage, and slimy green moss. It’s no one’s responsibility. Weak governance.

A much greater effort is needed when it comes to garbage collection and sanitation and combatting littering. As citizens, we are chiefly responsible for the littering and filth that persists in this country. That must be said. However, a government must respond by ensuring that there is greater capacity in the system to collect waste.

We need far more public bins and designated dropoff areas to alleviate the accumulation of trash next to bins, especially in St. John’s. We need to have a system for easy bulk waste collection, removal of landscaping waste, and removal of dead animals. Charge whatever fees are necessary. We need serious enforcement of litter prevention.

Our Public Works Department often fails to respond effectively to the regular needs of communities and build up areas for timely repairs to infrastructure, or they execute subpar works in various parts of the country. Is there no inspectorate that examines and advises on the quality of works done at the public’s expense? Whose job is it to inspect and ensure the quality of the work executed by Public Works or by contractors being paid by the public purse? Weak governance.

St. John’s is a wholly unholy place. Zero governance. No plan. No one in charge of anything. But people with title and position collecting the people’s money. For what? Their farts? Te city is congested, rundown, disorderly and filthy, with no sense of leadership, direction or change – not even incrementally. So much of the housing in and around St. John’s is still depressed.

There are areas which have become deplorable. Factory Road is totally disgusting at this point. The road itself is a mess. The guttering has dissolved into a crumble of stone, stagnant water, bush and rubbish. There is filth and dirt on the wall of every home or business along the way. It i a deeply troubling sight. Why should any area of the country look like this? What is the national response? Whose problem is it?

The public cemetary is full. Community and church cementaries ae full. This has been the case for years. Since 2016, Sir Molwyn has been harping about a new cemetery. How does it take 8 years to open to a cemetery? People’s graves being smashed up and redug to bury new people for lack of space. And the wheel just keeps turning. Weak governance.

Everywhere you look, you see disorganised unsanitary roadside vending. There are examples of people selling food over the gutter with flies attending every transaction. Where is the plan for the creating of vending spaces at intervals across the country? Is that a pipe dream? Why can it happen elsewhere but not here? When are we going to realise that these things matter? Weak governance.

Every year, residents complain about incremental alterations and reduction to public access to beaches in Antigua and Barbuda where private land is being developed. Somehow, amazingly, it has not occurred to lawmakers that the solution to this problem is to legislatively create a new national park to include beaches and coastal areas and pass a comprehensive rulebook on how developers can build in these zones and what access must be afforded. Weak governance.

Weak governance is one of the least costly things to correct. It doesn’t always require that more resources be used, just that existing reseoucres be used more wisely and that effectiveness be prioritized. It requires leaders to display the moral courage to insist that things be done the right way all the time, with no excuses

About the writer:

Kieron Murdoch is an opinion contributor at antigua.news. He worked as a journalist and later as a radio presenter in Antigua and Barbuda for eight years, covering politics and governance especially. If you have an opinion on the issues raised in this editorial and you would like to submit a response by email to be considered for publication, please email staff@antigua.news.