DCA says STOP!

Chairman of the Barbuda Council, Wade Burton, said the Development Control Authority (DCA), issued a stop order on the construction which was taking place at the Holy Trinity School in Barbuda.
“There has been a stop order issued by the DCA. We are working to fix that and get that resolved because we recognise that school is important to the island. We don’t want to see all the parents and children leaving again because there is no school,” Burton said in an interview with OBSERVER media, yesterday.
He added that he was not sure just how important the government sees the rebuilding of the school for the upcoming academic year but Barbudans recognise how vital it is to have the school ready. He said that he received notice of the stop order after the close of the business day on Thursday afternoon.
According to Burton, the stop order is effective from the September 3 which is also the first day of the 2018-2019 academic year. The council chairman highlighted a number of factors that he believed to be responsible for the issuance of the stop order.
He said that the council has been receiving requests from the National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) for workmen to aid in the construction of other properties. Burton said that this was an attempt, in his opinion, to take bodies away from the school construction and have the work on the school slowed down.
He also pointed to the stop order issued by the High Court of Antigua and Barbuda that halted construction on the international airport on Barbuda as a reason that this stop order may have been issued. The council chairman said that the order may be some type of retaliation on the part of the government. He also mentioned that the prime minister has been making false claims in the media that the council has not been active in the recovery efforts on the sister island. He stated that he sees this as an effort to discredit the council.
He said that the fixing of the school disproved the prime minister’s claims and showed the general public that the council is not only willing to talk about the needs of the Barbudan community but to play an active role of leadership in getting the necessary work done in the interest of the people of the Barbuda community.
Burton labelled the actions of the government as being politically motivated. He said that it is about time that the government recognises that the council has a job to do and it is obligated to the people of Barbuda to get things done.
And, he stressed that the government must stop the childish games or the council will take matters into its own hands to get what needs to be done, done.
Just last week Chief of Staff, Lionel “Max” Hurst, revealed that cabinet had been informed that the strength of the walls of the school building had been compromised when the roof of the building that is being repaired was blown away by Hurricane Irma. Cabinet advised that even after replacing the roof, the building will still be unsafe for occupancy by children.
However, Burton immediately pointed out that the DCA had in fact visited the construction site and given an all clear for the project.