Utilities Minister Nicholas Fires Back at Walker Over APUA Road Repair Plan

Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas has pushed back sharply against criticism from Barbuda MP Trevor Walker over a proposal for the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) to establish its own road repair crew, accusing the former works minister of ignoring his own record on a long-standing problem.

In a social media post responding to an Observer Radio report and comments by Walker, Nicholas questioned why Walker’s time as minister of public works was not being referenced in the debate over road cuts and delayed restorations.

“So the media is going to keep on pretending that the Hon Trevor Walker wasn’t the Min of PWD for at least 5 years in the last administration and that the chronic problem of APUA and PWD wasn’t existing since then?” Nicholas wrote. “How does he get away with aiming such a criticism at my proposed plan of action without reference to what he had done in his time to solve the problem. YOU HAVE SOME BRASS GONADS MP WALKER.”

Walker, speaking on Observer Radio’s Big Issues, criticised the plan to have APUA set up an internal “public works”-type unit, arguing it could duplicate responsibilities and weaken the role of the Ministry of Works. He said the problem of roads being cut and poorly restored has been visible for years but questioned whether shifting restoration capacity to APUA was the right fix.

“To now suggest that you’re going to have your own Public Works unit in APUA to me is not the best solution,” Walker said, pointing to what he described as existing technical expertise within the Ministry of Works.

He said his concern centred on who would control standards, supervision and accountability, noting that the public had not been told whether the proposed crew would be supervised by Public Works or managed entirely by APUA.

“I am not clear on exactly what is meant by having their own repair team,” Walker said. “Is it that they’re saying that the team will be based in APUA… but managed and supervised by the technical people at the Ministry of Works. Or are they saying that APUA will possess that team and that team will be responsible to APUA and supervised by APUA.”

Walker warned that placing the unit fully under APUA could strip Public Works of a core responsibility. “I’m not one that would support the whole idea of stripping the Ministry of Works of its responsibilities to the state,” he said.

He instead proposed a dedicated road restoration team housed within the Ministry of Works, mandated to respond to APUA cuts and coordinate closely with the utility while remaining under Public Works’ technical oversight.

“If it is that you need to establish a team, then that team should be established within the ministry that is so charged to dispatch that type of work,” Walker said.

Nicholas has framed the APUA proposal as an effort to end repeated cycles in which newly rehabilitated roads are cut for emergency mains repairs or pipeline upgrades and left poorly restored. He has said an internal APUA team would allow utility upgrades to be better aligned with road projects, reducing damage to finished surfaces, and has signalled that equipment and staffing investments would be required.

Public frustration has mounted over roads being excavated shortly after repairs, with motorists and residents complaining about uneven patches and prolonged restoration delays.

Walker said those frustrations are understandable, noting that even after pipes are fixed, road repairs can lag for days. “When you have a busted pipe, it does get repaired, but it gets repaired sometimes two days, three days a week after and so on, which is not acceptable,” he said.

He attributed delays to limited dedicated resources during his tenure, including the need to reassign trucks and crews and the absence of a standing rapid-response unit.

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