Corruption is rife in the country’s national prison with allegations of abuse, bribery and contraband smuggling – by the institution’s own staff. That’s according to claims from several inmates and even two prison workers.

The Customs Department has clamped down on a long-standing practice in an effort to prevent possible corruption and collusion.

Former minister of Public Works (PWD) Willmoth Daniel, whose portfolio once included the Antigua Public Utilities Authorities (APUA), said he’d welcome any probe into the running of the two during his time in those positions.

Similar predictions of imminent civil war in, for example, early 1990s South Africa during apartheid’s collapse proved unfounded, in part because that transition happened in a public fashion, and efforts were made to ensure that the post-apartheid South African state truly had the capacity to govern the country.