HURST REPORTS ON CABINET of Wednesday 30 April 2025
The customary prayers were rendered by a Methodist Minister who quoted from the Book of Niemeyer on leadership and collaboration. The rebuilding of the destroyed city wall required effective governance which emphasizes fairness, and the Minister prayed the same for the Cabinet.
1. The Cabinet held a discussion about the re-purposing of the Deluxe Cinema building on High Street. It was agreed that the work will begin immediately and completion is anticipated in late 2026, when the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will take place in Antigua. There is a tenant in the building at this time and Notice has to be given for the tenant to vacate. The Deluxe Cinema building is to be turned into a National Performing Arts Center – where the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra (ABYSO) will have its home, and a Theatre for the Performing Arts will also be housed. It is now anticipated that many schools, whose students engaged in Theatre Arts and Drama competitions, will be able to utilize the re-purposed building when completed.
2. The Cabinet called on the APUA management to account for the provision of water to homes, hotels, government institutions and other consumers. The Potworks Dam, from which 900,000 gallons were being withdrawn daily, is not now supplying any; the Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plants must therefore step into the breach to produce more potable water for consumer consumption. The Cabinet also provided the APUA with some cash injection, in order to ensure that it has sufficient parts in stock to keep the RO plants running. More rain is expected to fall in the coming days to resupply the dams, reservoirs and aquifers.
3. The Commissioner of Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and a Tax Enforcement Officer made a visit to the Cabinet at the request of the Chairman. They had been required to report to the Cabinet on abandoned buildings within the commercial sector of St. John’s City; the IRD presented photographs of more than 20 abandoned/unoccupied buildings within the area marked by the Vivian Richards Street, along Market Street, all of Newgate Street and across Independence Avenue. Property taxes exceeding $1 million dollars are owed, and the buildings are an eyesore; they have become a place where rodents and rubbish are to be found. The Legislature recently adopted a law that would allow the government to seek the permission of the Court, following Notice to the last-known owners; to remove the threat to safety and good sanitation which they pose to neighbouring properties and the City in general. Failure to so act would allow the government to forcibly acquire the properties, to remove buildings, rubbish, rodents and unwanted vegetation from the sites and to dispose of the properties with any overage paid to the owner of record.
4. i. Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), was invited to Cabinet to discuss issues relating to aviation and transatlantic connections between the Caribbean and West Africa. He pointed out that all the countries of the Eastern Caribbean, inclusive of Guadeloupe and Martinique, utilize a radar system that is managed by Trinidad and Tobago; therefore, all fees which air carriers pay for the freedom to fly in the airspace of these countries are paid over to Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Jules is of the view that Antigua and Barbuda could in fact sell those same services to the countries of the Northern Leeward Islands with the implementation of such a radar system.
ii. Dr. Jules successfully persuaded the Cabinet to accept that flights from many West African countries have a shorter distance to fly to Antigua than to any other Eastern Caribbean country. He therefore encouraged the Cabinet members to continue to pursue the development of links between West Africa and Antigua and Barbuda. The Cabinet successfully enabled Air Peace to invest in putting LIAT (2020) back in the air for more than one year at this time, allowing Caribbean nationals to experience the enhanced connectivity that once was common. Many small airlines began operating along routes that LIAT (1974) used to service, and the routes have become very competitive though the prices of airline tickets have become very high, Dr. Jules indicated.
5. i.  The Cabinet approved the purchase of 4 police dogs for the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda. They will be trained to sniff out explosives, guns, cadavers, and a variety of evidence that may be found at crime scenes.
ii. 27 workers from the Ministry of Works are headed to China for training in road construction and other engineering lessons, lasting 3 weeks.
iii. The unfinished bathroom facility at YASCO, constructed during the previous administration, costing more than $600,000, is to be completed before the end of the year for public use. A separate change facility is to be arranged for the athletes in the south-east corner of the YASCO grounds.
iv. The Cabinet took note of the fact that Labour Day 2025 marks 74 consecutive years since the holiday was first celebrated in 1951. A queen show, a church service, the customary rally at the V.C. Bird bust, and the celebration at Fort James will mark the historic event. An alternate rally at the T.N. Kirnon Grounds and a beach picnic at  Ffryes Bay will also take place.
