HURST REPORTS ON CABINET of Wednesday 16 April 2025

The Cabinet meeting commenced with prayers from a religious minister who prayed for continued good governance in the land, and invoked the need for care and love to be the basis of policy-making.

1. i. The Cabinet invited the Head of the United Taxi Association and his Deputy to address some misunderstanding regarding payments to the Transport Board. The Association was of the view that they were exempt from the new user-fee that is being imposed on all cars operating on the streets of Antigua and Barbuda. The Cabinet confirmed what the Association had been told by the Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board, that each vehicle is required to pay the equivalent of $2.00 per week ($100 per year) which will go into a separate fund to repay a $100 million dollar loan from the banks, for road repairs. There was agreement on moving forward on this point. The taxi drivers reminded the Cabinet that roads leading to certain identified hotels are in need of urgent repairs. The Cabinet took note of the proposed repairs and indicated its willingness to share with the Ministry of Works.

1.ii. The United Taxi Association operates from the V.C. Bird International Airport and notes the influx of drivers who pick-up and discharge passengers driving cars with “A” and “C” plates. The visitors to Cabinet sought the intervention of the Cabinet to eliminate this practice, which hurts the airport taxi drivers’ income and dilutes the security which a registered taxi-driver provides. The Cabinet gave a promise to work with the authorities at the Airport to provide stricter controls. Many solo travelers, the Cabinet was informed, are female; ensuring their greater security on their way to and from the V.C. Bird International Airport is critical to the success of tourism, the United Taxi Association informed.

2. The Cabinet held a discussion with two officials from the St. John’s Development Corporation (SJDC) who have oversight responsibility for vendors within the City of St. John’s. It was agreed that vending along the roadsides near the Public Market gives the City an untidy look and cause traffic to slow to a crawl since pedestrians are forced to walk in the roads. The Minister with responsibility for the SJDC, acting on the instructions from Cabinet, caused the statutory body to publish a Notice indicating that the vendors are to vacate the sidewalks, except on Saturdays when many farmers sell their produce to housewives and others. Following lengthy discussions, it was agreed that the vendors are allowed to extend their presence by one day –Thursday 17 April 2025— but that they move indoors and to other designated places, away from the sidewalks, before the business day commences on Tuesday 22 April 2025. Friday and Monday are religious holidays in Antigua and Barbuda.

3. The Cabinet celebrated and applauded the Federal Judge sitting in New York following his decision to halt the unjustified and overbroad subpoenas seeking bank records and electronic transfer documentation, dating back more than 5 years. The controversy arose following the sale of the superyacht Alfa Nero a little more than one year ago; the claimant, claiming ownership of the vessel, in the motion filed, made a request of the Federal Court to compel the release of a slew of unrelated financial statements and documents. The law firm representing the Prime Minister and several other individuals and businesses, pointed to the overbroad demand of the subpoenaed documents that have no bearing on the sale of the yacht. There is evidence that the opposition political party provided an American investigator with misleading information, when he visited Antigua; those fictitious and untruthful remarks formed the basis of a 68-page report upon which the Claimant relied. The Russian Claimant has until 21 April to respond to the Judge’s order.

4. Cabinet received a report on the activities surrounding Labour Day 2025. Monday, 5 May 2025, will mark 74 years since 1951 when the first Labour Day was celebrated without the benefit of the law. Workers in that year lost their fear of the Plantocracy and were encouraged to take the day off without pay in celebration of Labour Day. Lucy Ishmael, a domestic worker, was fired for taking the day off. That sparked a revolution, in law and practice, that transformed Antigua. The Union will hold a church service, on Sunday 4 May 2025 at Grace Hall Moravian Church; and the Miss Labour Queen contest will be held on the Friday night preceding. A celebration will take place on Monday 5 May at the V.C. Bird bust.

5. Cabinet learned that a Chinese worker at the Booby Alley project was electrocuted and died at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center today, about two hours after receiving the electric shock. The worker and his colleague were erecting a scaffold that came in touch with the high tension wires; the electricity also harmed the second worker. The Prime Minister has expressed his condolences to the family and colleagues of the worker, and to the Embassy of China for the loss of life. The Minister of Health who relayed the tragedy to Cabinet, held discussions with Ambassador Zhang of the Chinese Embassy, expressing the sympathies of the entire Cabinet.