John Mussington, principal of the Mc Chesney George High School, while expressing some satisfaction with the introduction of the new ferry service to be introduced by mid-December does not think that it goes far enough to solve the transportation problems Barbudans are experiencing.
“In so far as we’re having a ferry service which can somewhat relieve our transport situation I am okay with that. I am happy for that, because what we have right now with our only transport being provided by Winair is not satisfactory at all,” Mussington said.
The principal highlighted some of the transportation woes that Barbudans are presently experiencing. These he said include “the cost, the manner in which the operations are conducted; the fact that you have to make reservations and the cost of changing reservations; the limitations in terms of baggage, the whole check-in process … you feel as if you are going on an international flight rather than an internal flight.”
Mussington said he could not give the venture 100 per cent support because there are some issues that still need to be ironed out.
“There are some fine points we have to work out about the cost of it, the ownership of it, because from the information that we were given in the meeting, I don’t think sufficient details were there.
“There are certain things which have to happen to make it a reality. For example, the dock down at River here in Barbuda needs some amount of improvement,” Mussington told The Daily OBSERVER.
He said the onus is being put on the Barbuda Council to get that in place and there is no guarantee how soon the council is going to do that especially with the money crisis.
Mussington said what he would prefer is a solution targeted at eliminating the disadvantages that Barbudans experience in moving from one part of the nation to another.
Instead, he contended, the whole venture is designed to be a profitable one that incorporates having trips to Montserrat and targeting the cruise tourism industry to make it viable.
The principal suggested that government, as the administrator of the state, must not look at the profitability in terms of direct earnings in private enterprise’s pockets, but rather as an obligation to ensure that its people are able to move easily within the state.
The principal continued that government is making an investment, even if it has to subsidise the whole venture, when its citizenry is able to move freely.
He cited a few examples of the social and economic benefits that would accrue from this kind of investment.
“A Barbudan (who) fall sick will be able to get medical attention,” he said, adding, “persons who wish to attend the State College or the Technical Vocational Centre could do so by getting on that transport in the morning and returning in the evening.”
Other islands like Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis have seen the benefits of investing in that manner, Mussington said.
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FULL TIME WE GET A PROPER FERRY SERVICE……………ONE THAT IS AFFORDABLE……………………..IT IS A BURNING SHAME THAT WE ARE A TWIN ISLAND STATE AND THERE ARE SO MUCH PEOPLE HERE IN ANTIGUA WHO DONT KNOW WHAT BARBUDA LOOK LIKE….NOT BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO GO, BUT BECAUSE THEY CANT AFFORD THE RIDICULOUS PRICES FOR AIR FARE AND FERRY SERVICE.
I think Barbudans can help themselves too. There is enough money / resources in barbuda for the people to band together (form a cooperative maybe?) and get their own ferry, but when you sit down and wait for people to do everything for you this is what you get – dissatisfaction!