DeFreitas calls ‘right-thinking’ residents to join picket against fuel-price hikes and for fire trucks and regular running water

Momentum is building for the protest action dubbed “The People’s Picket,” set for Tuesday, March 22, between 7 and 10 a.m.

The event has been organized by a group of concerned citizens who are protesting the fuel-price hike and calling for the Government to roll back the cost to $12.50 per gallon.

Additionally, a call will also be made, on Tuesday, for the Gaston Browne Administration to provide resources – including tenders –

for firemen to do their work, and not water cannons to disperse protesters, as has been suggested by Attorney-General Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin.

There will also be a demand for the persistent water problem to be fixed, as promised since 2014 by Sir Robin Yearwood, the Minister responsible for the Antigua Public Utilities Authority.

Franz deFreitas, the United Progressive Party (UPP) Candidate for St. John’s City South, is inviting “every right-thinking” Antiguan and Barbudan to join the picket of the Prime Minister’s Office on Queen Elizabeth Highway.

DeFreitas says that residents have to send a strong message to the Administration: that a 25 percent increase at the pumps is too much at this time, given the existing economic hardship.

While it is commendable that some relief has been granted to public-transportation operators and fishermen, he says, there is a knock-on effect that will be felt by everyone, with the price of food continuing to increase.