Under-provision of water is Cabinet’s fault, Tabor says, since APUA is short of needed resources

The Gaston Browne Administration continues to neglect its
obligation to provide the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA)
with the resources and equipment to provide a constant supply of
potable water, says Damani Tabor, the United Progressive Party
(UPP) public relations officer.

Again, last Wednesday, September 6, the water problem was
discussed by the Cabinet; but no meaningful solution seemed to
have been found. Rather, the promises of more Reverse Osmosis
(RO) Plants were regurgitated.
   
Tabor recalls, however, that the Administration had blamed the
water shortage on leaky pipes, and had considered engaging the
services of a Barbadian company – INNOTECH –to address this
issue.
 
He says this is yet to be done, and the APUA workers are not being
supplied with the tools to do their jobs and to address the leaking
pipes.
 
And while the Cabinet continues to make promises about the
construction of more desalination plants, Tabor says that just
making such pronouncements is not enough, given that these things
have been said several times already.
 
Instead, he wants to know how soon this will be done and how long
it will take for the work to be completed.

In the meantime, some residents around the island are saying that
for two weeks they have not had pipe-borne water for five
consecutive days.

If the UPP had been elected to office, Tabor says this water problem
would have been seriously addressed. He points out that the Party’s
manifesto had offered several solutions to deal with the decades-old
issue — which, almost 10 years ago, Prime Minister Gaston Browne
had promised would be fixed within 14 days.

APUA reportedly produces a little more than seven million gallons of
water daily, while demand exceeds 11 million gallons a day.
 
The Authority says that making up this shortfall will be achieved
through the construction of a 3.5 million-gallon plant at Bethesda, in
addition to adding several smaller plants at Fort James and Ffryes.