Martin is out

The General Manager of Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) Esworth
Martin is leaving the post earlier than previously announced.
Cabinet spokesman Ambassador Lionel Hurst revealed that Cabinet has now asked
Martin to take pre-retirement leave and to proceed immediately.
Last Saturday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, announced that Martin was leaving
at the end of the year on retirement. He explained that the general manager was
leaving voluntarily on December 31.
However, Hurst reported that at its weekly meeting on Wednesday, the Cabinet
decided that Martin should leave immediately on pre-retirement leave, but he
should also make himself available ‘should the need arise.’
“We have been having great difficulty in providing sufficient water to consumers.
The Cabinet is of the view that the same high standards to which elected members
are held, and to which the Cabinet is also held, ought to apply to the managers at
APUA. Therefore, the Cabinet has instructed the Cabinet Secretary to write to the
general manager instructing him to take pre-retirement leave immediately, while
making himself available should the need arise,” Hurst explained.
He further explained that the same high standards to which the politicians are held
now must apply to senior public servants, such as managers and permanent
secretaries. “The prime minister and the Cabinet will not relent on this matter,”
Hurst declared.
As frustration mounts regarding the absence of water in the homes of some
consumers for up to two weeks, even PM Browne has publicly expressed his
frustration with APUA, especially against the backdrop that the government has
spent over US$100 million in acquiring reverse osmosis plants to boost water
availability to consumers.
Hurst said an executive search is now taking place to find a replacement for
Martin.