By Robert A Emmanuel
Tuesday’s press conference by Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph was billed as offering the public transparency on various health matters. However, in relation to talks on the crematorium, the government and three Canadian women desirous of building a facility on island continue to offer contrasting versions of events.
Sir Molwyn, responding to Observer media’s questions on the matter, said he was still awaiting a detailed proposal from the Canadian trio outlining their specific plans.
Initial confusion arose after the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Lionel Hurst told reporters during a recent post-Cabinet press conference that talks between the parties had stalled due to the women expressing greater interest in managing the facility than investing their own capital in its construction.
However, CYW International — the group that met with Cabinet in November 2023 to discuss the crematorium – subsequently told Observer that was not the case.
They said that they were committed to spending whatever resources were required to see crematory services offered to Antiguans and Barbudans.
However, Sir Molwyn on Tuesday claimed that the women had only engaged with the Cabinet on a verbal basis in relation to their expressed interest, suggesting there had been no documented proposal submitted to the administration.
“If the proposal was documented, that would have answered the issue of confusion,” he said.
“What has happened, most of the investment proposal appeared to have been done verbally…what is material for me is that they have now said publicly, in the newspaper, that they are willing to invest and have people standing by,” he said.
The Health Minister said that he directed his office to communicate with the female investors to “state specifically what it is they would wish to invest and develop in Antigua”.
“If they wish to build a crematorium and provide that service in Antigua and Barbuda, we would welcome it … if they have the money and they make the proposal, we would welcome it,” he said.
Observer media reached out once again to the entrepreneurs — Shelley Challenger, Minnelle Williams and Shari Yearwood – to find out whether or not they had submitted any documented proposal to the government.
“Regarding the recent press [statement] on February 6 2024, we’ve diligently addressed concerns about inaccurate press information regarding our commitment to the crematorium project,” they responded.
“On November 3 2023, we participated in an in-person meeting with the Cabinet, presenting an official proposal to the government that resulted in positive and productive outcomes.
“It’s crucial to emphasise that our commitment and intent have been clearly presented and communicated to all relevant government parties.”
The ruling administration has long viewed cremation services as an inevitable step to address the overcrowding at cemeteries across the island, especially at the St John’s Public Cemetery which has been operating beyond capacity for years.
Originally, the government approached the local funeral homes to establish a facility and although one funeral home reportedly indicated interest in doing so in 2022, to date it apparently has not followed through with those plans.
The Minister of Health is encouraging members of the public who are interested in investing in a crematorium to submit their proposals to the government.
“The government will extend all the concessions under the statute and provide whatever additional support that individual, or group of individuals, would wish to get,” the minister said.