Nicholas warns low standards pose greatest risk at APUA
Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas said Friday that the greatest threat facing the Antigua Public Utilities Authority is not ambition, but complacency, as he outlined a leadership philosophy centered on discipline, accountability and higher institutional standards.
“The greatest danger is not that the standards are too high, but that the standards are too low and we achieve them,” Nicholas said during remarks at the commissioning of the Barnacle Point reverse osmosis water plant .
Nicholas said his approach since assuming responsibility for public utilities has been deliberately demanding, particularly at the Antigua Public Utilities Authority, where he said leadership must resist settling for minimal performance.
“I don’t want to lead an APUA that achieves low standards. I want to achieve high standards,” he said .
The minister described himself as intentionally hands-on, citing frequent calls with APUA’s senior management to monitor operations and progress.
“I will remain the unreasonable minister that pushes the utility in the direction of its highest ideals,” Nicholas said, adding that sustained pressure is necessary to reform systems that have long underperformed .
Nicholas linked the emphasis on standards to public accountability, noting that failures in essential services such as water supply quickly become political flashpoints.
“When people don’t get water, they’re not concerned with the details,” he said. “They’re just concerned that they have a punching bag to beat upon” .
He said that reality requires utility leadership to be prepared with answers, data and solutions rather than excuses, particularly as production capacity expands through new infrastructure.
The Barnacle Point plant, developed through a partnership between APUA and Seven Seas Water Group, adds two million imperial gallons of water per day to the national system and forms part of a broader effort to stabilize water supply across Antigua .
Nicholas said higher standards must now guide the next phase of reform, including transmission upgrades, automation and institutional culture change.
“I don’t want to lead by aspiration alone,” he said. “I want to lead by standards” .
He said the objective is not simply to deliver water, but to build a utility capable of sustaining performance under pressure while meeting the expectations of the public it serves.
