Will gov’t have to clean Barbuda homes?

A time may come when the government will have to consider taking the reins on cleaning up the homes in Barbuda as costs mount almost two months after Hurricane Irma devastated the island.
Melford Nicholas, information minister, said they were not yet at that point in response to a question on the matter at Monday’s post-Cabinet media briefing.
The government has bemoaned the sloth in the clean-up efforts in the private homes while Barbudans have complained about limited transportation arrangements to travel to and fro.
“It’s a matter that has to be given consideration. I think, as the clock ticks, the cost for the existing standby arrangements that we have in Antigua with the two shelters and the other two facilities that have been repaired, these were always intended to be temporary facilities,” Nicholas said.
He noted that it was the government’s responsibility to help those affected, but they also had to look at the most efficient use of available resources.
“The question is, which cost does the government continue to pay? Do we continue to pay for the cost of accommodating Barbudans in the manner that we have had to, which is our obligation and responsibility, or do we initiate a process to ensure that we can create the arrangements to accelerate the resumption of habitation in Barbuda?”
(More in today’s Daily Observer)