The Chairman of the Barbuda Council, Devon Warner, initially requested an apology for the subpar accommodations provided for the visiting high school students participating in the inter-schools athletics competition in Antigua.
“The accommodations that were put in place for the students was of the poorest possible quality,” shared Warner.
He is now focusing on ensuring that that this never happens again, and that “the students and young people of Barbuda are treated better.”
The inter-schools athletics competition is a three-day event that ends on Sunday.
The students were housed at the old police training school in Langfords which is currently under repair.
Warner says the students, particularly the young females, should not have been placed in a building without proper functioning bathrooms and among male construction workers who are on site for ongoing construction.
Clare Browne, the Director of Education, and Sports Director, Heather Daley, are distancing the ministry from the accommodation arrangements.
They are asserting that their responsibility was limited to organising transportation, which they successfully executed.
Browne said that while he is sorry that the situation occurred, he cannot take responsibility.
Observer understands that arrangements were made between the principal of the Sir McChesney George High School and the police commissioner.
It remains unclear whether any prior assessment of the facility was conducted before selecting it for housing.
Warner says that while the school has used the building in the past, it has not been livable since 2021.
Alternate arrangements have been made by the Barbuda Council, and the students have been relocated to the Heritage Hotel.