The Chairman of the Barbuda Council, Devon Warner, has voiced concerns about development projects and tax increases affecting Barbudans as the sister island prepares for Council Elections on March 26.
Speaking outside Parliament last week where legislators were expected to discuss a proposed 40% increase in vehicle licensing fees, Warner outlined several issues facing the island community.
He noted that any tax increase in Antigua directly impacts Barbuda residents, who already face additional challenges.
“Any kind of taxes, any hike in taxes in Antigua affects Barbuda directly. We must take into consideration that the roads in Barbuda are even worse than the road systems in Antigua,” Warner said.
“Barbudans have the extra or the added expenses … most of the things they have to do in regards to licensing or processing of a vehicle will be even more heavily hit if this actual increase is facilitated … by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.”
He expressed particular concern about the government’s development plans in the Katel Hill area, which he described as vital for agriculture on the island.
“The government insists on continuing with that development in the area, even [though] the Barbuda Council and the people of Barbuda indicate to them the importance of that area to the agricultural development of Barbuda,” he said.
According to Warner, this development would “seriously hamper food security in Barbuda going forward”.
He also criticized the lack of consultation with locals, stating: “What is important and what did not happen … is that we did not rely on the local knowledge of what areas would be suitable for one another. There were no consultations with the Barbuda Council or the people of Barbuda. There is no needs assessment that we are aware of to show that the Barbudans are buying into that development. So, the question then is, who is this development for?”
The Council Chairman strongly contested government’s assertions about infrastructure development on Barbuda under the current administration.
“We have not seen any infrastructural development. The development that is touted by the Gaston Browne administration is a private real estate selling off of the lands.
“With the PLH agreement, absolutely no taxes are remitted to the Treasury into the consolidated fund,” resulting in limited benefits for public services, Warner said.
He also noted that despite claims of progress, “there are still some areas in Barbuda [that] are still without electricity, seven years on post-Hurricane Irma.”
He described what he called “the greatest piece of disaster capitalism I have ever witnessed” following Hurricane Irma, alleging deliberate attempts to hinder the Council’s operations.
“When we took back Council in 2018, we went back to Barbuda. Our Council cut budget was exhausted. What happened right after, was our caring and loving government … nothing more necessary to do at the time but cut the budget of the Barbudan council in half during the post-disaster, going through the greatest trauma, he said.
“And I think that it was an intentional plan to force submission of the people of Barbuda to accept what was happening,” Warner added.
Despite these challenges, he expressed determination that the Council would continue to work in Barbudans’ interest.
“The Barbuda Council, what we are doing, is truly generating good timing. We are taking Barbuda forward, step by step. Baby steps, yes, but with every step of a child, eventually that child will walk. The people of Barbuda and the Barbuda Council will walk eventually,” the councilman said.
With Council Elections set for later this month, Warner urged voters to focus on substantive issues rather than political divisions.
“We are asking people not to look at the individuals, the parties, the divisions, but to look at what is happening in Barbuda — the destruction, the developments that are necessary to benefit the people of Barbuda,” he said. “I think it’s important that the government do not impose what they consider to be cultural genocide on the people of Barbuda. And it’s heading that way.”
