Walker: No Barbuda Council workers on the ground, accuses body of poor leadership

Trevor Walker, former MP for Barbuda, who is a currently a member of the Barbuda Council is adamant that the Council should order hundreds of Barbudans to return and clean up the sister-isle.
According to him, the body has the power to force “at least 200 of the 600 able-bodies” to leave hotels and other comfortable holdings in Antigua and provide the much-needed man-power.
“The Barbuda Council needs to instruct the workers,” Walker harshly reiterated when he appeared as a guest on the Big Issues programme on OBSERVER RADIO yesterday as he stressed, “If you don’t go, we are not going to pay you, as simple as that, you will see a major difference.”
He explained that if this harsh ultimatum is given council workers who are still being paid their wages without doing work, will think twice about remaining in Antigua.
The Council should be taking the lead, Walker said as he pointed out that he presently spends five to seven days in Barbuda and returns only when supplies are low. According to him, the Council has no permanent presence on Barbuda and that is “shameful”.
Many have argued that the difficulty of travelling between the two islands has been a deterrent for those who want to reconstruct buildings – and has ultimately slowed their effort to do so.
Walker, however, contended that the whole notion of going over in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, which some residents are leaning towards, is counterproductive. “If a council worker’s home is damaged, tarpaulin is available and there are tents provided by the United Nations for them to sleep under,” he added.
“You have a two-by-four country, Codrington, that should have been cleaned up in one week, two weeks maximum, taking you over a month. That is unacceptable.”
(More in today’s Daily Observer)