Last Updated on July 20, 2025, 8:54 PM AST by Anthony Morris
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Terrance Drew talked to the people of the Cayon Community for their experience with the water crisis. The Prime Minister organizes a live podcast where he sits with the people of the community to discuss their concerns directly.
In the fourth episode of the podcast, the history of Cayon’s water crisis and the steps that the Drew government has taken to address them were in focus. Notably, Cayon Community is a part of his parliamentary constituency and the people in this community had been struggling with water shortages for decades.
Julie Williams, a resident of Cayon and guest of the Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew in the fourth episode of his podcast informed the Prime Minister of these struggles. According to her, the people in the community had to wake up early in the morning for get their water in buckets from outside the community.
This is from the time when the community did not have access to 24/7 water before the commissioning of the Cayon Freshwater well. Williams shed light on the domestic aspect of the water crisis and how they had to get water from the river to do basic things such as washing up.
The resident of Cayon informed Prime Minster Dr Terrance Drew that it took them several hours to go to the alternative water sources to get the water. The other resident of Cayon, Geraldo (BraBread) Herbert who runs a business, spoke about the economic aspect of water supply.
BraBread said that the water is crucial for the economic growth of any nation; it is crucial for agriculture, energy production and more. The resident said that back in the 80s, the government did not understand the importance of water.
The supply of water in Cayon never came under focus for several decades. Another aspect that delayed the addressing of the water supply issue in Cayon was that the water had to be tested for safety.
After years, the problem has been addressed under the administration led by PM Terrance Drew and his team, which has ensured 24/7 water supply to Cayon. The residents of the community who were discussing the history and issues of water supply in Cayon across decades acknowledged that the things are different.
The availability of 24/7 water has changed the lives of the people in Cayon and people are now able to work without having to worry about shortages. For the businesses, the water availability is welcoming in terms of sanitation and ease of use by food handlers.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew acknowledged that uninterrupted water supply to the community has changed the lives of the people. He said that what has been done in Cayon, the government wants to replicate in the whole of St Kitts and Nevis.
The Prime Minister took the platform to inform the people that there is a desalination plant, which works on solar energy and supplies 60,000 Gallons of water.
He also talked about the Basseterre Desalination Plant under construction in Industrial Site which will supply 2 Million Gallons of water every day.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
