By Robert Andre Emmanuel
Minister of Social Transformation, Senator Samantha Marshall, said that President of the Antigua and Barbuda Association for Persons with Disabilities (ABAPD), Bernard Warner, had “miscommunicated” his allegation that the Minister snubbed the association’s vice president during a meeting with Canadian donors.
Over the weekend, Warner told our newsroom that he demanded an apology from the Senator after he claimed that his vice president, Gillian Augustus, was prevented from attending a meeting with Canadian donors without a valid reason.
“I repeatedly requested for the vice president to be in the meeting, not just as a vice president alone, but as a woman with a disability who should be a part of this decision-making, and it was denied.
“And I raised my concern repeatedly in the meeting about what was transpiring, I sat out of respect for the stakeholders, but raised the issue of my concern,” he told our newsroom.
The Disabilities Association president said that he felt it was “demeaning” to be without his vice president during the meeting with the consultants, stating that her perspective as a blind woman would have been invaluable.
However, speaking with Senator Marshall, she said that Warner raised no such concern.
“The Canadian group wished for an introductory meeting to inform them of possibilities to assist with technical support based on projects.
“Based on the Ministry I represent, they indicated specifically whom they would wish to meet with. Accordingly, my office contacted Mr Warner and invited him to attend. He did not request nor advise that it was his wish to have anyone else come along (if he did, we would have asked the group if that was ok),” she wrote in response to our question on the matter.
She added that, on the morning of the meeting, Warner had arrived with other members of his association to which he “quietly asked” to come in on his own.
“The group held their discussions which, we thought went well and Mr Warner, in my view, gave a clear summary of where he felt his association and membership could benefit.
“It was made clear in the meeting that application forms would be forwarded for him to meet with the membership and clearly identify their technical needs for which they could apply.
“Mr Warner willingly participated without expressing any such objection to me or the team that requested the meeting, as a matter of fact, Mr Warner remained after the said meeting to discuss other matters that our Ministry needed to follow-up on to ensure greater support to his association and membership,” she also wrote.
