Pringle celebrates the opening of Morris Bay rest stop and beach park – the Nation’s first such facility

Calling it a great occasion for himself, for the people of Old Road,
and for Antigua and Barbuda, MP Jamale Pringle celebrated the
completion and handover of the Morris Bay Beach Park and Rest
Stop on Easter Sunday afternoon, April 1, in Old Road.

“What we have here today is a first,” Pringle told his audience,
noting that another such facility “does not exist anywhere else on
Antigua.”

The All Ssints East and St. Luke MP recalled the plans of the
United Progressive Party to transform Long Bay into a public
beach park with all the amenities.

“We lost government,” Pringle said, “and that dream was killed by
the current Administration’s lack of vision and its creative-
enrichment schemes.”

However, he continued, “what we have here today is the closest
version of what our Party promised to do. And with the help of my
constituents, my business partners, and my family, I have
achieved it while in Opposition.”

Quoting reggae singer Buju Banton, the MP admitted that the
journey to Sunday’s celebration had had no glitz or glamour, and
had been no bed of roses.

All along the way, he said, there were challenges, especially from
the Browne Administration by way of the Development Control
Authority (DCA); the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; and the
shortage of funds.

However, he credited his constituents and his business partners
for keeping faith in the bad times and putting their shoulders to
the wheel with him in the good times. his rest stop is intended to
serve not just the Round South community, but every resident
who comes to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of Morris Bay.

Pringle reminded the crowd that the rest stop is intended “to
accommodate every tourist who needs its services,” adding that it
will also “offer relief and dignity to every taxi driver or tour
operator on this route.”

Just as important, he said, is that the facility provides an
opportunity for empowering the entrepreneurs on site – “by
bringing customers to patronize their business and buyers for
their products.

“This is how you support small businesses and facilitate economic
independence. With a hand up, and not a hand-out,” Pringle
declared.

The event saw the management of the rest stop formally handed
over to the Old Road Community Group, which the representative
described as “not only capable hands but proud hands, which will
not allow its standards to fall.”

The bathroom facility caters for males and females, the able-
bodied and the disabled, with modern and attractive finishes, and
will be supported by a small user fee and donations from patrons
for its maintenance.

The event concluded in a festive atmosphere of food, drink, and
musical entertainment.