St. John’s, Antigua: The opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) and unnamed sections of the local media are bent on derailing Antigua & Barbuda’s very beneficial relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), according to Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, the Antigua Observer reported.
Spencer spoke during a ceremony to mark the official handing over and opening of a new community centre that was funded and built by the Chinese as part of Beijing’s continuing development assistance to this country. He said, “I’m sure you are familiar with the recent attacks as they relate to the 30-megawatt power plant at Crabbs. With the operation of the said power plant, APUA stands to save approximately $2.7 million per month. Sometimes I wonder if that is not the real issue here.”
The Prime Minister assured his audience that “the 30-megawatt power plant, if fully functional and providing reliable power . . . I can guarantee you that the government’s agenda will not be derailed by our detractors, particularly those within the Antigua Labour Party who are vigorously doing the bidding of others at the expense of the people of Antigua & Barbuda”. He described “the attack on the relationship between Antigua & Barbuda and the People’s Republic of China in some quarters of the opposition and the media” as “unpatriotic and dangerous.”
The Opposition MP for St Mary’s North and former finance minister, Molwyn Joseph, was part of an opposition party that toured the Crabbs facility last month, copiously photographing the dubious generators and associated equipment in the process. The Caribarena.com website published those pictures which sparked an avalanche of questions over the true age of the machinery.
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