“OUR TOURSM PRODUCT”

Undoubtedly the subject of tourism is most important to the future of our island. We’ve structured an economy that is one hundred percent dependent on the movement and investment of the tourist dollar. So it is imperative that Government takes the initiative to ensure that we have robust inter-exchange in the market place, our economic survival revolves around this most essential facet. Government is embarking on preparing a marketing plan, which I guess would indicate more specifically a “Tourism Master Plan" for the island. There is no doubt that to this day we have not gotten our tourism policy right and therefore we have not been able to build a sustainable economy. The word consistently equated with the Anguillan economic situation is “Boom and Burst.”

Every country is unique in its quest for economic growth, and in our case there is no difference. It is believed according to our growth pattern, Anguilla has what it takes naturally to attract and sustain an economy based on the total tourism product. For many years now, we have been championing sustainable economic growth, of course we have been utilizing our vast pool of natural resources; which, when evaluated is nothing more than sun, sea, white sand beaches and of course our friendly people. Compared to our neighboring islands we are able to attract a much smaller number of tourists to our shores, which is said actually, to be a strategic policy of past governments aimed at attracting what is called ‘the high end tourists." we have tapped into the high end tourist brand, which indeed has put us into a more elite category than most of the region. Such a market has helped our image and without doubt we have attracted some of the world’s richest and best superstars to the island. It has been my contention all along, that it is ironic that among the competing destinations we probably have the least attractive airport facility, we have never structured a down town commerce environment and our infrastructure in general is not of any distinct quality to identify with. In spite of such deficiencies for a high end tourist destination, we indeed have been lucky in maintaining our brand in the market place, most destinations invest heavily in tourism accommodation weather that is improving their commercial capital or providing quality facilities for tourist attraction. Blowing, which remains an acceptable port is fast becoming a rat race port with the increasing gypsy ferry traffic there. In the long run this will result in negative attraction for the island, and considering that this type of ferry is banned from French St. Marten, one could expect that with Dutch St. Maarten having recently acquiring country status, this topic would eventually be brought to the forefront in their coexistence with the French which might have negative consequences for us.

Anguilla has been developing a keen reputation for some of the best quality, high priced hotels in the region and worldwide. There has always been great opposition, especially from hoteliers to us entertaining cruise tourism to the island. Cruise tourism is however becoming a most sustainable aspect of the tourism business and has evidently sustained places like St. Thomas and St.Maarten in this period, while Anguilla appears to be one of those islands hardest hit, and to some extent devastated by the ongoing word’s recession. So I contend if Anguilla is serious about tourism being the engine to mobilize our economic growth we must take the business serious and tap those most viable sources with potential to guarantee sustainability, and not that at every negative interval in world affairs we get the undesirable economic backlash. Another area in the tourism business which proves to be also a viable source is “time share” which government is currently strongly campaigning against, but even in very slow periods time share properties attracts visitors which most probably are the owners themselves and in the season, those same owners become marketing agents; which works as a great advantage to the island.

Let’s hope that this effort which government is undertaking would be both comprehensive and strategic. This Government very early on declared that they would not invest in the present airport facility and opted to research a new facility; our airport is our primary port of entry and remains the first and last impression of the island. The Valley is recognized as our commercial capital but lacks in face value and cannot attract no one as a down town concentration. Our general environment is naturally in tack, but in tourism artificial attraction is also very necessary, weather that’ll be various park settings, observation points, more planting of trees, more sidewalks, better illumination, in general a better composed and more attractive down town. Anguilla has always failed to invest in those primary areas of attraction for tourism, so our high priced guests get stuck on location, in the hotel environment. It is imperative that aspects of our marketing strategy be focused on the local environment as well. Activity measurement in capital cities and down town commerce is a primary indicator of economic strength. We must invest in the country to make us competitive and viable in the rivalry throughout the region. The Spanish speaking Caribbean, Dutch and French, and our immediate surrounding neighbors all continually invest in their infrastructure, also adding artificial attraction and accommodation for tourists. In most cases these islands have strategic investment plans, so that tourists coming to the island on an annual or semi-annual basis, there is always new and added attraction. We are extremely hesitant to interfere with our shorelines, our beach fronts and anything to do with our cultural heritage which is completely off limits and we deny accommodation as incentive to foreign investors who wish to bring tourism attraction to the island. We must use these important facets in our marketing strategy to maximize our benefits. A clear example is the Dolphin pool unfinished in Blowing Point bay.

I concur with one of my colleagues in commentary who has raised the stakes in suggesting that it might be time to introduce public action committees and or lobbying groups in our political structure that would stand up and champion support or no support for some public policy issues in the interest of the country, such issues as “good governance, accountability and transparency in government, education reform, constitution reform and perhaps our tourism policy as part of economic diversification” action where the actual voices of the people are heard in policy matters that affect the long term interest of the country." In many cases these matters come before government as House business, when in fact is all the business of the people.

By: ejharrisxm

BARKLEY IS CRYING OUT!

Winston Churchill once said that, "Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." This seems to be the exact approach that the Anguilla United Movement (AUM) adapted throughout its political history.

For the AUM, success is defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy indefinitely; where the will of the people is swept aside and corruption and incompetence paralyze their will-power and ability to think; where standards are diminished, and the fundamental fairness of our society diminishes to benefit a visionless bunch of no-brainers and their influence-peddlers, with years of confusion-of-interest and their convergence of confusional cynical approach to government.

On this doomsday trajectory, maintaining good governance and moral status in the region is personal to all Anguillians. We must take a stand behind a common purpose on behalf of our security and common values, where Anguilla must mean more to us than just politics.

This must be an Anguilla based on freedom, which faced down fascism; an Anguilla which defended democracy through its revolution, and shined a light of hope bright enough to be seen in the darkest corners of the world; An Anguilla leading with principle and pragmatism, where hope triumph over fear.

Mr. Patrick R. Mardenborough, an Ex-Customs Officer turned successful young entrepreneur, said it best a few days ago: “If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it. It’s that simple.”

There are many Barkleys crying out on Anguilla and throughout its diaspora…

Why isn’t our Government listening?

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

Since the ascendance of the present Government to the reigns of authority in Anguilla the airwaves have been inundated with cries for independence. These cries become louder whenever there is a confrontation between the Chief Minister and the Governor --- or when it is perceived that the Government is not getting the desired response from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on its requests. On the Chief Minister’s behalf I have heard him say “we cannot go into independence when the country is divided.” Whatever he means by that statement my interpretation is that he recognizes that independence cannot take place by his decree --- it must be as a result of a referendum. His actions however speak otherwise because he continues to compare himself to Nelson Mandela saying that he is prepared to go to prison for the liberation of “his people”. And in his letter to the Hon. Edison Baird dated September 14, 2010, he states: …“my style cannot change because my political upbringing has been influenced by pure Nationalism.”

Past and recent history, however, bears out that the Chief Minister neither encouraged nor supported Anguilla’s revolutionary movement. But rather than make that admission and indicate that he has had a change of heart he continues to try to rewrite history. In his campaign pamphlet, “My Long Crusade” he states: “When the true story of Anguilla is written it may well be proved that my entry into politics sparked the revolution.” Nevertheless as a “master of inconsistencies” --- on every occasion that he has spoken on Anguilla Day, this year included, he continues to undermine the significance of the Revolution to our national development as well as the contributions of our national heroes and heroines.

The reason I have listed these seemingly unrelated points is to determine the Chief Minister’s motives. He postures himself as the champion of unity; he compares himself to Nelson Mandela; he defines himself as a nationalist; he tries to write himself into the Anguilla Revolution; he undermines the significance of the Anguilla Revolution, and; he claims that the Holy Spirit intervened to make him Chief Minister. Can it be that the Chief Minister is trying to establish himself as the father of Anguilla’s Independence?

For some time now, I have been considering addressing the topic of “independence”. However, during a conversation with a supporter on the way to St Martin earlier this week, he said to me that the Government and some of its supporters are constantly talking about independence, but none of them are explaining to the people what they should expect in an independent Anguilla. While I recognized the validity of his comment it further “dawned on me” that many of us who have the experience and influence are not doing so either. And I am aware of the fact that there is a perception among many persons, especially in this period of challenge, that independence may be the panacea for all our ills.

As a member of the past Government which was involved in a Constitutional and Electoral Reform exercise for many years, I am very much aware of the misconceptions and misunderstandings related to the issue of constitutional advancement, including political independence. And I must admit that there were areas of discussion where we all required expert interpretation and advice. In the end we were firmly convinced that what we should be seeking is full internal self-government. Our views on this were crystallized for the most part by Dame Bernice Lake whose experience on the subject is both extensive and legendary.

Using Dame Lake’s definition in part: “Full Internal Self-Government simply means the right to govern ourselves in relation to all matters that are internal to our community; to shape policy and pass laws which are integral to our unique culture, identity, traditions and institutions; to secure respect to our spiritual relationship to our land and our resources. It means “internal social control” by an elected representative system of government exercised in a manner acceptable to the people of Anguilla and which has built in checks and balances vested in a number of commissions, agencies and institutions which would ensure that public officials whether elected or non-elected exercise their powers in a fair, just and accountable way.” The only difference between this arrangement and independence as a sovereign nation would be that our administering power the British Government would retain powers related to sovereignty and citizenship as well as those relating to defense and external affairs.

While this is the arrangement we sought, we realized that since the Rifkin Letter and the Partnership for Progress and Prosperity Agreement the British Government has maintained that it did not vote in favour of the United Nations (UN) Resolution 1541 (XV) and therefore does not regard itself as being bound by it. That UN Resolution declared that colonialism should be brought to an end by 2010 giving the people three options from which to choose: (a) Independence; (b) free association with an independent state (which in our case would include the United Kingdom), and; (c) Integration with an independent state. Option (b) “free association” is in effect what Anguilla was seeking but it is also the precise option that the UK Government in light of the responsibilities it is expected to retain, does not accept. The UK’s stated position is that it is not prepared to follow the prescription of Resolution 1541(XV) for the exercise of full internal self-government, however, it is prepared to “search for alternative means of expression of self-determination in the context of modern constitutional structures.”

In essence what the British is saying is that we can remain as we are; we can become integrated into another state/country; we can opt for independence, but; once we wish to remain a colony of the UK, it will need to retain a sufficient level of powers to discharge its responsibilities effectively. Our choice of this option is because it falls just short of political independence yet affords Anguillians the opportunity to manage their own internal affairs. The challenge therefore is to find a way in which there is mutual agreement between Anguilla and the British Government that the inalienable right of self-determination can be exercised without the constraints of Orders in Council and other such provisions implanted in our constitution. Such an agreement can only be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual respect that would allow Anguilla to present its case strongly. Such a presentation while it is to be grounded on the solid foundation of Article 1 (1) of the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, should also demonstrate “Anguilla’s competence to assume full responsibility for its internal affairs in keeping with the natural aspirations of mankind.”

I have quoted extensively from the position paper by Dame Bernice Lake because I believe her work includes the most comprehensive and erudite presentation of the case for full internal self-government for Anguilla that exists. It includes a list of the international obligations of the British Government as it relates to its colonies; the history of our colonial relationship with the UK for over forty years, and; the relevant statutes passed in the UK parliament governing that relationship. My preoccupation with this discussion is the fact that all the public consultations on constitutional advancement particularly since the Rifkin Letter in 1997 overwhelming supported a higher degree of internal-self government in an arrangement with the British Government. The present cry for political independence does not reflect the widely held position that we should continue to argue for greater autonomy in an atmosphere of mutual respect, but on the contrary the atmosphere that now exists is characterized by rowdiness, disrespect and incivility that does not allow for fair debate and discussion of this very important issue. One gets the distinct impression that someone or some group wants to ram this idea of “independence now” down our throats.

It seems that this government has moved away from what has been the long standing idea of “full internal self-government” as an interim status --- for the simple reason that they believe that the British Government is impeding their administration’s agenda. They have therefore abandoned pursuit of the case for full internal self-government and do not intend to “pass go!” --- but move directly to independence. It seems to most of us that the Chief Minister does not understand that good governance in an independent Anguilla will still require checks and balances in the form of institutions, boards, agencies and commissions provided for in the constitution and in accordance with the rule of law. So that while he may not be answerable to a British Governor in an independent Anguilla, his shameless abuse of the public service; his wanton disregard for procedures and protocols, and; his apparent ignorance of the concept of separation of powers will have to be overlooked by these independent commissions and agencies which will themselves be ultimately subject to review by the court.

While there are those who believe that if Anguilla goes into independence we will be swamped with financial assistance from a number of international agencies others have pointed to cases from Haiti, the first nation in our region to go into independence as far back as January 1, 1804 to the last St. Kitts-Nevis which went into independence on September 19, 1983. Many of these countries do not qualify for concessionary aid, which because of its scarcity is now directed to the poorest of the poor nations of the world. In other cases, the structural adjustment programs required as preconditions for some international aid far exceeds the harsh experience of higher supervision that many non-independent territories have to endure. Here as some examples of questions I have been asked by a number of discerning Anguillians about going into independence:-

• Who will now be responsible for our defense and external affairs?

• Will this change impact our main industries, namely, Tourism and Financial Services that rely heavily on foreign investors and customers who are sensitive to changes in political arrangements?

• What will be our relationship with regional organizations like OECS and CARICOM?

• What will be the additional costs for regulatory commissions and agencies requisite for ensuring their independence from political control and interest group influence?

• Who will assist us in protecting our vast marine resources and territorial waters?

But perhaps the attitude of the present Government and its supporters is the issue which casts the greatest doubts on persons who would otherwise be inclined to give serious consideration to discussions about independence at this time. After all it is practically inevitable that the people of Anguilla will wish to aspire to such a status at some point in the future. Fortunately for us, Independence for Anguilla does not require a violent national revolution against our Administering Power. The path to independence is clearly set out in our relationship agreements with the British Government. Civil disobedience is not required only civil negotiations. In his speech on 24th April 2006 British Minister for the Overseas Territories made it clear: “the United Kingdom will always be ready to help any territory become independent where this is an option, and is the clear and settled will of the people. The United Kingdom has no desire for any territory to remain British against its people’s wishes. We have no continuing colonial objectives.”

Why then do we get the distinct impression from the Chief Minister’s behaviour and that of his supporters that the independence they seek requires a public uprising? Why is it that some callers and even the hosts of many Radio Talk Shows lose their voices and wax emotional, with tears, against an “oppressor” who has already unshackled the “chains of captivity” just for the asking? Why is it that a radio talk show host should invoke biblical imagery to justify the actions of a Chief Minister who believes that the rules apply to everyone else but him? When will this Government settle down and do the people’s business in accordance with good governance and the rule of law? When will the lies cease?

There are those who believe that because of party loyalty they should be sympathetic to the Government’s call for independence. They have bought in to the conspiracy theories that the AUM propaganda machine is spreading that there is a plan by the AUF and the FCO to destroy Anguilla. As ridiculous as this may sound to reasonable people they are those who genuinely believe that in such a scenario independence is the desired solution --- and that the Chief Minster, described as the “Anguilla’s Moses” and “the Father of Independent Anguilla” will take us all safely to the biblical promised land. A Radio Talk Show Host was praying fervently on Monday for such deliverance. And while his prayer reverberated over the airwaves, a friend of mine, less ostentatiously, remarked: “Be careful what you wish for!”

Victor F. Banks
Sachasses Estate
October 26, 2010

"WHEN POLITICS FAIL"

In a democratic society, politics must be viewed as the means through which our civil recourse is preserved. While politics is as simple as a competition between interested groups or individuals for power or leadership in a government or other groups, it is much more a science or art in governing. It probably remains a sport until the polls are closed. On Anguilla, we are very clear about the competitive nature of our politics, and as a small but intensely political society, anyone is able to contest an election and win; the virtue of the game changes when one is entrusted with governing. The Science or art of politics is a requirement in the function of government (quote) “Politics is a science or art of guiding or influencing government policy, the science or art of winning and holding control over a government.” This definition is clearly more challenging than that of a competition between groups. We have heard the term over and over just in the past few months, “the election is over it time to govern.” It’s an absolute must for any political group competing for power at the polls to understand that when the election is over, when the election is won, the game changes. The governing process must begin irrespective to how your opponent feels or acts, you now have the responsibility to govern.

A crisis is now brewing with the elected AUM government, consistently engaged in the competitive sense. They have won the election and beaten their competitors at the polls, and there is no need to carry on the rivalry, “game over” time to get scientific. AUM went into office with very bitter emotions over the performance of the previous AUF government. Their intentions were to enforce the excessive rhetoric of the campaign, accusing the former government of every evil under the sun, and clearly lost the focus of the task at hand, ignoring the mandate the people had given them and the reason why they entrusted government in their hands. It is now closing in on one year and all we got from this government is a steady stream of controversies with every department of government and now the Governor’s office as well. What is the real objective of this kind of meddling, especially with entities that are functioning exceptionally well? One would have to conclude that the objective is to undo the work that was done by AUF in the interest of the people of Anguilla.

Sometimes it appears that the people of Anguilla are somewhat abstract from the day to day functioning of government, but the people expect their government to perform after they have done their part. In all fairness, the Anguillian electorate is a very excited people around election time; they cast their vote with determination to get a winner; precious time is being lost, and the country suffers because of the status core. Our government must minimize the blunders and get on with a steady agenda, be more tactical and artful. Apply more conventional wisdom and a more scientific approach to influence the policies they want enacted. Apply more art and science in your politics this is necessary to hold on to the control of government. In the absence of a more tactical strategy, it is inevitable that you will lose influence and in turn lose the reins of power that you hold. To summarize, attention must be paid to the excessive levels of frustration in the process of governing. Good politics maintains a level of influence that will guide the policies of government and must be always in tune with the science or the art of winning and holding control over government, because when politics fail, there is a breakdown of law and order in society. It is usually, when politics fail that’s when groups riot and make their point by force. When politics fail nations go to war as a result.

By: ejharrisxm

“CAN A LEOPARD CHANGE ITS SPOTS?”

I was extremely happy to read the press release from the Office of the Chief Minister on page three of the latest issue of The Anguillian Newspaper beneath a very cheerful picture of the Parliamentary Secretary. The release sought to dispel the rumours that were inundating the airwaves and the Anguilla “gossip mill” for almost a week claiming that there were “intentions on the part of the U.K. Government to declare Anguilla a failed state.” It went on to report that: “the Government of Anguilla …… through its UK representatives made enquiries of the Foreign Office who have confirmed that there is no truth to the story”. The remainder of the release presented positive reports from the various Ministers and Ministries of the Government. I decline to make any comments as to the accuracy of those reports, but I will say that it appeared as if, at long last, the Government was settling down and focusing on doing its work rather than creating “smoke screens”. It was quite refreshing to read a release from Government that was, for the most part, balanced.

My coziness, however, was short lived because by late Saturday morning the Chief Minister in a series of exchanges with a number of co-hosts on a local Talk Show --- put on a shameful display of arrogance and rudeness. There are those who would claim that there might have been some provocation, however, a politician of his experience and in the position of Chief Minister should exhibit a level of decorum expected from persons of such standing. And whereas others involved in the exchanges were gracious enough to apologize for any remarks that could have been considered discourteous or insulting --- the Chief Minister expressed no such contrition. In fact, he went so far as to challenge one of the co-hosts to a debate.

What this all points to is the fact that --- despite the advice of the more moderate AUM supporters who in recent times have been asking the Government to “simmer down”; to forget about the AUF and its perceived obstructionism; to stop blaming everything on the former Minister of Finance; to stop attacking the Public Service; to lay off the Governor and the British Government; to stop victimizing persons who you believe do not support you, and; to focus on running the country --- the Chief Minister and his colleagues continue to believe that attack is the best defense against criticism from any quarter. As a consequence, that “well-composed” release that showed promise for a new image of the Chief Minister and his colleagues, now seems but a vain hope. In fact, many supporters of the AUM who were listening to the program expressed extreme disappointment and at least one of his more vocal supporter threatened not to call the show again once the CM is on.

The unfortunate release that triggered the reaction by the Office of the Chief Minister is believed by many of us to be a retraction rather than a reaction. Because it is widely believed that the “hoax news flash” which the Senior Reporter/Journalist used as a source, was probably the handiwork of the AUM propaganda machine. I also noted with interest that the Government press release did not even try to spare the Radio Station any notoriety --- they named the station clearly in capital letters and emphatically within inverted commas: “UPBEAT”. Obviously, Upbeat Radio has been forced, because of the confidence and trust they placed in their sources within the AUM, to take the full blame and the consequential disgrace for their unswerving loyalty to an organization that thrives on lies, misinformation and innuendoes. It is my hope that they would have learned some useful lessons from that very embarrassing fiasco.

But underpinning this behaviour by the Chief Minister and many of his supporters is their lack of understanding of at least four important concepts that they verbally espouse but truly do not understand, namely, democracy, good governance, transparency and integrity. I will leave other equally important concepts for the time being and restrict myself to a very brief explanation of how their misunderstanding of these four concepts impact the manner in which things are happening in our island at this time as follows:

(1) DEMOCRACY. Amongst, the CM and many of his supporters, there is an obvious lack of appreciation for the fact that there are two sides to the democratic process. As a consequence of this gap in their thinking, they do not accept the role that the Opposition has to play even in these challenging times. Statements made by supporters of the Government would suggest that any opposing viewpoint is deemed to be an attempt to obstruct the Government in carrying out its function. They believe that there is a discretionary period during which they should be allowed to operate without critical comments from anyone ---in other words a “honeymoon period” during which apparently they expect democracy to be put on hold.

Many of us would have heard the Chief Minister speak about national government. His concept of a national government is one in which there is no opposition. It was very obvious on the talk show on Saturday that he has no tolerance for criticism --- even from his own supporters. This fact will become more and more evident as his term progresses.

To sum it up democracy for many AUM supporters seems to be a one-way street. In a true democracy the traffic of conversation, dialogue and debate must travel in both directions to ensure the most efficacious circulation of ideas, interests and proposals. The interpretation of democracy that seems to be adopted by AUM supporters and their sympathizers allows them to rationalize their violent disapproval of the opinions of others with a strong sense of legitimacy. In other words: “This is our time to run things our way! We earned that right at the polls!” Any dissenting voices are seeking to usurp those rights we have justly earned and perhaps in the words of one of the AUM clerics: “Will be punished!”

(2) GOOD GOVERNANCE. Over the last seven months there has been widespread disregard for good governance within the AUM administration. The “first-time Ministers” of Government may be forgiven for their lack of knowledge with regards to certain procedures and protocols in carrying out of their duties, after all, like in every other job there is a learning curve. However, the Chief Minister who has been in Government sporadically for at least eight years should be able to give them some direction and support in dealing with the issues of their Ministries. It has become obvious, however, that rather than giving them the proper advice he has in fact contributed to their total disregard for these important aspects of governance. In fact, the new Ministers and the Parliamentary Secretary ascended to office with the philosophy that first and foremost they are required to be administrators rather than principally policy and decision makers.

It is the same philosophy that pervades the attitude of their supporters who believe that these Ministers can circumvent procedures on their behalf. From this frame of reference they do not believe that they have an obligation to seek the advice and support of their Permanent Secretaries and other Senior Technical Staff; they do not understand that certain decisions must have the approval of Executive Council and/or the House of Assembly, and; that the Accounting Officers in the various ministries and departments are responsible for managing expenditure as allocated in the budget. Many of these procedures in the governance process are for the protection of the politician, the public servant as well as the general citizenry. In fact if these procedures were followed there would be no need for elected officials to be concerned about accusations within the public domain or even on the political platform. Good governance promotes fairness and equity in the system. It is not about the politics of personality --- or authoritarianism. It is about ensuring that the interests of all the people are taken into account in the decision making process.

(3) TRANSPARENCY. In an earlier column I made the point that this Government speaks loosely about “openness and transparency” as values they espouse in their approach to governance --- but that the reality suggests otherwise. I said then that: “Members of this Government seem to believe that character assassination under the “shelter” of parliamentary privilege (that is, cowardly saying things in the House of Assembly to avoid being sued) constitute openness and transparency; that they seem to believe that unfounded accusations without the benefit of evidence constitute openness and transparency; that they seem to believe that the shameless bullying of public officers on fora where they cannot defend themselves constitute openness and transparency; and that they seem to believe that circulating confidential interim reports before they have been properly approved; and that promoting the spread of “half truths” and whole lies to distort the facts, constitute openness and transparency”.

I then coined the term “selective transparency” to describe this kind of transparency which is not constrained by certain core values like integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Values found in almost every code of ethics applicable to the civil service, parliamentarians, lawyers, accountants and other professions alike. It is a form of transparency that this government seems to invoke only when the ultimate objective is political victimization or when they want to circumvent good governance protocols and procedures to achieve their politically motivated objectives.

The most recent examples of such “selective transparency” and by extrapolation bad governance is the signing of the Viceroy/Starwood Capital Group MOU without the requisite approvals and perhaps one of the most serious, the CM’s authorization of US$ 200 million in borrowing without regard for the appropriate guidelines, the legal requirements, and; the public consultations with the wider community required to explain the use of the Social Security Fund as security against that loan. To speak of transparency in the face of such overt disdain for established protocols and procedures is tantamount to redefining the universally accepted meaning of this concept, as it has evolved in modern democratic societies. To sum it up, it is farcical to boast about transparency that is only selectively applied.

(4) INTEGRITY. Perhaps this concept is the most convoluted of the qualities that the members of the AUM Government boast. Again they seem to associate integrity with not being accused or caught in the act of committing a financial or business fraud or some corrupt dealings. They seldom realize that integrity includes being honest in all aspects of your duties as an elected or selected official; being just and equitable in dealing with supporters and non-supporters; being objective and impartial in making decisions for the common good; being truthful in all circumstances, and; being respectful of the laws which are created for the proper ordering of society.

There is an attitude by the CM and his colleagues that as far as integrity is concerned the ends justify the means. That you may trample over the rights of others; you may circumvent agreed procedures and protocols; you may exhibit a blatant disregard for authority; you may engage in discourteous behaviour and so on… provided you make progress towards achieving what you consider to be your goal. That is why the CM does not believe he did anything wrong in 1999 by lying about the existence of Grace Medical University on Anguilla to International Agencies and the outside world. Or signing documents giving retroactive authorization one of his Ministers to execute documents for the hostile takeover of ANGLEC that did not receive the requisite Executive Council approvals.

These are at least four of the many areas of misconception that characterize the approach of the AUM administration to carrying its functions as a Government. And that is why, while we strive to remain hopeful that the CM and his colleagues will settle down and do what they were elected to do --- indeed what they promised they would do during their campaign --- we continue to be plagued by the haunting question: “Can a leopard change its spots?”

Victor F. Banks
Sachasses Estate
October 19, 2010

The British – Anguillian Saga

In looking at the plight of Anguilla and Britain it is understandable how Anguilla did not receive the necessary oversight or coaching needed to develop a sustainable economy. It’s easy to argue that the British never cared from the beginning but that would be a rather simplistic view. Britain probably did the best it could but lacked the political and intellectual competence to do a better job. Anguilla on the other hand continues to play a game it doesn’t fully understand. It remains convinced that some foreign entity has its interest at heart and owes it an obligation or rite of passage. Britain on the other hand "faces a sober decade of saving more and spending less after the easy excesses of the past 10 years" warns Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England. Over the past 10 years both Britain and Anguilla experienced similar scorched earth economic policies, by populist leaders who believed they alone had the answers while they intentionally turned their heads from distasteful issues or even issues of principle. That undoubtedly led to mismanagement, unethical behaviour and corruption. We all know the Anguilla saga so here is the British version.

The Governor of the Bank of England called the last decade NICE, "Non-Inflationary Consistently Expansionary" but warned that the next decade will be anything but nice, it will be sober. "A decade of saving, orderly budgets and equitable rebalancing." In order to service a national debt of 935 billion and a structural deficit of 109 billion, the country is forced to cut spending by 83 billion. It is felt that both the previous Government and the people overextended themselves without taking into consideration that the counterpart to high consumption is low saving.

Anguilla and Britain became addicted to consumption and the importation of luxury goods without feeling obligated to produce either goods or services. In the final analysis Britain will be forced to cut 500,000 public sector jobs in an effort to save 80 billion pounds over the next four years. Public Sector workers will also be forced to accept a two year pay freeze, along with increased pension contributions. Welfare payments will be cut by 13 billion this year and 25 billion over the next four years. Housing benefits will be cut by five billion. Anguilla is hoping it won’t have to feel too much pain, bear any burden or take responsibility for its past because it’s the responsibility of the British to bail it out. Britain on the other hand is currently unable to preserve or maintain the lifestyle of its people. A lifestyle built on colonial exploitation and military/economic coercion.

The British saga continues with the scrapping of all transportation projects including the widening of roads. All branches of Government except Health and International Development are expected to cut budgets by 40 percent. Jobs in the defense department are targeted for a 42000 cut, the end result is that the once proud Great Britain will no longer be able to go to war alone. It won’t even have an operational aircraft carrier until 2020 as the Navy’s Harrier jets will be scrapped immediately. The Royal Marines will be integrated with the Parachute Regiment. The position of Britain in the world will be drastically altered. This will be the first time in over 300 years that Britain who traditionally punched above its weight will be forced punch in its class. Experts believe that if for political considerations the Coalition Government fails to achieve the above mentioned cuts, it will be forced to increase taxes by as much as 1200 per worker over five years or increase income taxes to 2% of GDP.

Anguillians need to pause for a moment, and take control of their future. When the Governor and other visiting dignitaries visit the island or make pronouncements from abroad about unethical behaviour, a lack of democracy, poor economic planning or failed states, they are speaking with the guilt an authority of personal experience.


By: statchel Warner

« BALANCE OF POWER »

The Honorable Chief Minister of Anguilla must be commended for his indubitable charm and exquisite smile. He wares this smile consistently which has probably become a marketing tool for the AUM government. I grabbed a popular weekly Anguillian paper “The light” and couldn’t help but absorb the attraction of the front page. Here he was again, same smile, same look of pleasantry except for the fact that behind this great smile, which often look photo shopped, is a man of great strength and persistence. Mr. Hughes is well known for his tough talk to the British which has not brought him any comfort as far as we know. It is not clear at this point how the British in general views him since his reelection to office because; in these corridors of power there is probably no loose talk. Unlike us, and specifically our Honorable Chief, there is no shortage of words in his vocabulary and they are often let go like missiles intended to do no harm, “just a shout out,” but certainly, if we continue along our ways of irresponsible chatter and antagonizing behavior as a government which should exhibit prudence in the exercise of power at all times, we indeed will here some talk which would probably come at a more profound time and probably accompanied by consequence for us all as a people.

So, as I recall, last week ended with major concern, where authorization was given for a bank loan of 200 Million US, against Social Security Funds. This alarmed everyone and caused a reverberation throughout the island; I am not sure that the Chief Minister has explained this proposed transaction to the Anguillian public very well; clearly an error in judgment and a lack of due diligence according to our form of government. Most people seem to like Mr. Hughes’s posture of standing up to the British even though we know that much of his eccentrics at times are for local consumption and never reach the chambers of power in Britain. It must be asked though, is this government on a suicide mission or heading towards a deliberate premature disintegration of our territorial authority. I noticed that the conversation quickly changed as this week began to the topic of “Independence” damage control? Or another attempt of framing a diversion issue to distract the people from the real business of the country. Lose talk or a strategy going forward? If one reads the Light we are lead to believe that our independence is imminent. Just prior to all of this, we had a shootout between the Governor and the Honorable Chief Minister which appeared to have been another attempt by our Chief Minister to assert his authority, mostly to diminish the profile of the Minister of Health Mr. Baird instead, came in direct contention with the Governor, who obviously felt that the chief Minister wants to grab “the balance of power.” More over the Governor clearly took the opportunity to chastise the Chief for the stunt he tried to pull off in the presence of the Minister of State visiting the island for the very first time. It seems like our government is lacking good advice, or behind this great smile of the honorable Chief Minister are disturbing characteristics of disorder and the clear lack of understanding how the territory works.

Judging from a statement in the light in response to an erroneous statement declaring that the British was preparing to impose direct rule for Anguilla The Chief Minister again shot off another loose cannon “no way, before that happens I will take Anguilla into independence by 2015.” That’s the next election cycle! Talk like this is irresponsible and reckless, because there are people who are so emotionally attached to this government who would actually lock on to such talk as if the process is in motion. This government enjoys the opportunity of power, and has a full five years to adequately plan an effective governing process which could include anything of substance that would benefit the country, even independence, but the continued inappropriate language within the frame work of the order of government is causing unnecessary panic on the island. I concur with the honorable Victor Banks, as quoted; “this government need to operate within the guidelines set out in our constitution and keep within the perimeters of the partnership agreement with the British.” I must interject that the past government functioned under said rules and guidelines for two successful terms. Banks continued, “the British are not coming, they are here, and this government needs to settle down and operate within the boundaries of a constitutional arrangement that has not yet been amended and while you progress steadily towards achieving that objective, we cannot expect to operate like an independent country having not yet achieved that status.” The balance of power does not lie with your humble servant with that great smile “Hubert Hughes,” “THE BALANCE OF POWER LIES WITH US THE PEOPLE OF ANGUIULLA.”

ejharrisxm

“By the way! - Who asked you anyway?”

This week Anguilla is beset by rumours that Anguilla is a “failed state” and that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) intends to suspend the Constitution by Order in Council and put Anguilla under higher supervision. Simply put, to take over the country and run it as now obtains in the Turks and Caicos Islands. A senior “reporter/journalist” from one of the leading Radio Stations on the island has been credited with releasing a statement to that effect which was picked up by one of the many “AUM sympathetic” talk shows and was spread around the island like wild fire. The big talk was that Anguilla was a “failed state” and in their usual style the host on this occasion tried to spin this particular term to suggest that all this was the past government’s fault. All of a sudden a host of economists sprang up speaking about “failed states”. It was reminiscent of the large number of “overnight” airport engineers who started to speak about “the PCN” during the extension of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport.

Having been approached by a number of supporters who were stunned by this release --- particularly the suggestion that the British were planning to suspend the constitution because Anguilla was a “failed state”--- I decided to do some research. First, I checked the international media to find out the source of these statements and found none. I then checked whether any such information was broadcast from the Radio Anguilla, our national radio station --- it was certainly not in their local news segment. And by the time I picked up the phone to check the newspaper, radio and television reporters --- they were in fact calling me for a comment. By that time some of them had gone on to check the Governor’s Office --- where they were also unable to get any verification of such a news item.

It then occurred to me that last Thursday, October 7th, on the Axareality Blog there was a clearly bogus posting entitled “Breaking News”. The posting was headed: “London: October 5th, 2010 is a date that will go down in the annals of Anguillian history as the British Government mobilizes their forces at the tiny island of Anguilla.” The author of the posting was someone calling himself/herself “I.D.M.” Based on the obvious lack of professional journalistic skills and the ruthless disregard for syntax, spelling and grammar --- I read the sarcastic comments of the other bloggers with amusement and immediately dismissed the posting as another “circus master hoax”. Being myself the target of similar postings during the election campaign I quickly recognized the AUM propaganda machine at work. Could it be that the news item was based on this nonsensical “breaking news” item from the blog? Well let’s check it out!

The subject of the talk show on Monday night was based on the same conspiracy theory that the Chief Minister has been propagating since he has been unable to successful apply his “Chavez style” governance over the last seven months. The fact is that whenever he cannot get his way to victimize persons who he believes did not support his government; whenever he is caught circumventing good governance procedures; whenever he cannot bully the public service; whenever he cannot find a proper response to questions raised about his misconduct in office; whenever he has a difficulty finding a way to deal with the affairs of his office --- he shouts like the American patriot Paul Revere: “The British are coming! The British are coming!”

In keeping with this the same posting from which the release seems to have been sourced states: “ the Constitution that was used in 1976 provided the people with immense powers but over the years and subsequent constitutional reforms, all those powers were “divulged” from the people to the Secretary of State, who is represented on the island by the Governor”. Again the implication being that the Chief Minister cannot do his job because the British Government has taken away his powers. The same point the AUM politicos are making: “We are unable to get the country going because of the Constitution!” And their answer is: “We need to go into independent!”

The second part of the theory is a direct attack on the present Governor in particular. Besides claiming the Governor “left the island last week to make his case to the FCO on Anguilla” --- the bogus press release states: “it was with keen curiosity when long time MI6 agent, with a history of diplomatic service and one who has been suspected with destabilizing governments in Africa, Mr. William A. Harrison was appointed Governor of Anguilla. This served to put the island on notice.” And then the bogus release goes on to say: “In 2009, Sir Michael Foot produced a report on the island, calling it and Montserrat, potential failed states.” Here is the source of the “failed state” comment referred to in the rumours. The significant difference here is that they neglected to include the qualifying word “potential” leaving Anguillians to assume that their island has been in fact characterized as a “failed state” --- whatever that means only “Alan “Alkins” Greenspan can tell us! So what does this mean: “If the Hubert fails it was always in the plan! The British sent a Governor with a view to destabilizing Anguilla”.

And the final segment of the conspiracy is in the penultimate paragraph of the bogus press release and I quote: “It is now coming to a head and the FCO is sending a joint delegation of FCO and DFID technocrats to deal with budgets for 2011 and increase and broaden the tax base of Anguilla. A source in the FCO has said that they intend to suspend the constitution by order in Council and put Anguilla under higher supervision. While there will be no elected government, reports claim that elections in Anguilla can be held as soon as 2012 and far away as 2014.” These are the same kind of “lies and fabrications” which catapulted the AUM to Office and they now believe that in this difficult period when they just can’t seem to get anything right --- they must now revert to their usual ways. You must not forget, however, that it was the Chief Minister himself who requested technocrats from the FCO and further he thanked the Minister for the Overseas Territories profusely when he made the announcement that the technocrats were coming in time for the budget. However, this bogus press release is making sure it is the FCO technocrats who will be “increasing and broadening the tax base of Anguilla and put Anguilla under higher supervision not --- not Hubert!

It is important to highlight these three parts of the “bogus press release” because it shows that all that was said on the talk show and all that was contained in the news item initiated by that senior journalist/reporter appear to be identical. Three probable theories have been advanced to explain this similarity as follows: a) The senior journalist/reporter received the bogus release from a third party who he assumed was creditable. b) The senior journalist/reporter assumed that the author I.D.M was indeed former Justice Ian Donaldson Mitchell, Q. C. c) The senior journalist/reporter is part of the AUM propaganda machine. I have no position on either of these theories except to make the point that there is need to raise the level of professionalism and responsibility in the quality of journalism on Anguilla. The content of the news item created a state of frustration and panic around Anguilla and it was further exacerbated by the talk show host who appeared to have a clear agenda to cast aspersions on the past Government as having full responsibility for creating a failed state and triggering higher supervision. There is no plausible excuse for the deliberate manipulation of the public through the fabrication of false information and sources. I believe that one of the bloggers who responded to the posting of the bogus news release had it right when he/she wrote: “I. D. M is (stands for) Idiot Doing Mischief!”

There are two diametrically opposed groups of responses to the unfounded rumours that the British are coming in to impose higher supervision. One group comprises some supporters of the Government who feel they are being defrauded and the other comprises some supporters of the Opposition who feel that there are being vindicated. I have made the point to many persons in the latter grouping (supporters of the Opposition) that were it the case that the FCO did in deed suspend the Constitution it would not be power being taken away from the AUM --- it would be power taken away from Anguilla. On the other side (supporters of the Government) I have said to them that were it the case that the FCO took action --- it would not be on account of the conduct of the past Government but of the present Government’s performance and approach to governance. This Government needs to settle down and operate within the boundaries of a constitutional arrangement that has not yet been amended --- and while they progress steadily towards achieving that objective they cannot expect to operate like an independent country --- having not yet achieved such status.

So the Chief Minister and his supporters can continue to shout out “the British are coming” time and time again whenever they are under pressure. But they must face the cold hard facts the British are not coming they are in fact already here! They have always been here! Every single Government has had to deal with that presence by operating within the guidelines set out in our constitution and in keeping with the parameters of our partnership agreement. Independence cannot be a viable option if we do not first educate our people to the importance of respect for laws by which we are governed and the procedures we are obliged to follow to advance the cause of good governance. The past government insisted on constitutional reform within the context of full internal self-government --- so in essence your aspirations and those of the past government are the same. The difference is that the past government recognized that coming from a colonial arrangement this can only be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual respect --- at least one in which civility prevails. No military revolt is necessary to achieve independence if that is what the people want --- our relationship with the British Government has given us a clear path in that regard. Where negotiations are necessary is when we seek devolution of powers. We all know that there will always be points of difference that demand objective discussion. We need experienced and qualified constitutional advisors to help us to navigate these unfamiliar and even unchartered waters --- not a war of words and insolent exchanges.

My position is clear --- I have only criticized the Government for the wrong things they have done over the last seven months. A honeymoon period does not give the groom or the bride license to begin a relationship without regard for the rules that must govern the marriage thereafter. Likewise this period should not allow the Government to neglect its responsibility to deliver good governance without facing criticism. I continue to hear from supporters of the Government that my comments are dividing the country --- I was most surprised, however, to read in the “letter to the editor” section of the Anguillian Newspaper last week a letter from an expatriate Anguillian homeowner criticizing my views in one of my articles. His name is Mr. Suresh Bhalla. I have never met the gentleman but based on my limited research I understand that he was granted an Alien Landholding Licence some four years ago and now owns a home on the north coast of Anguilla in the Black Garden/Brimegin area. I do appreciate the fact that he has taken the time to read my articles.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Suresh Bhalla for his interest in Anguilla and the fact he has made a considerable investment here. He has certainly contributed to the employment and business opportunities for a number of Anguillians. The comments he made however, on the basis of his limited stay on our island over the last four years seem to be somewhat presumptuous given the fact that such a short sojourn among us does not qualify him to understand the intricacies of politics in Anguilla and the frame of reference for my criticism of the Chief Minister and his son. And furthermore by his own admission he expressed ignorance of a number of issues on which he based his comments. Mr. Bhalla’s opinion on my article quite frankly is of no importance to me --- he never was a part of my audience. It only shows that Haydn found a fan, because the entire letter is in his defense and the defense of the Chief Minister in a way that seems somewhat contrived. In fact if I were a gambling man I would wager that he (Haydn) at least edited it.

A number of expatriates have made considerable investments in this country --- many of them have moved on to acquire Anguillian status but until that time I have never met one of them who have found it necessary to involve themselves in Anguillian politics in this way. I know that Mr Bhalla was born in India the largest democracy on earth and that he acquired Canadian citizenship one of the most modern democracies on earth --- so I would have expected that he understood the dynamics of the democratic process as it pertains to non-nationals. I hope that I will soon meet Mr Bhalla and have the chance to be frank and say: “By the way! Who asked you anyway?”

Victor F. Banks
Sachasses Estate
October 12, 2010

“THE ANGUILLA UNITED FRONT LEFT US IN THIS MESS”

Anguillians have fully embraced their choice, and by now realise that choice and change are not necessarily one and the same, but that both are inevitable. The choice of change is always yours... but not necessarily the change of choice. This choice of change has seen Anguillians’ patience twinkled away as their burdens continue to be overwhelming under an irresponsible Circus Parade.

Anguilla face with huge economic challenges and unemployment has opt for political uncertainty, diminish investor’s confidence, tourist decline, racial tension and insecurity, victimisation and open corruption, disrespect, a serious void on intellectual clarity … in fact a total disregard to good governance - a change to empty promises and failed policies from a confuse and incompetent lame duck Hubert Hughes’s administration - diminishing Anguilla’s status and real chances to create something stronger - a foundation that has served as the rock on which dreams have been founded.

Sadly this circus of animals unleashing madness (AUM) and its scary clowns focuses not on strengthening the fundamental elements every community needs to thrive: maintaining local law and order, precedents and conventions - bringing the best medical practitioners to provide reliable healthcare - and attracting top educators to build on our educational system that will give our children the best chance to succeed… a chance they deserve most.

Over 200 days of circus games and these failures left no doubt and exposed an arrogance in our current brain-dead circus-master - a detachment from the lives of real people they claimed to champion, and an indifference to the consequences for the least fortunate… an end result of visionlessness which can only erode our nation’s foundation and weaken our tenacity to advance – a recommitment to Anguilla’s most cherished ideals.

We cannot afford to wait until “half-time” if we are to rebuild as a nation in the wake of the global worst economic crisis and get Anguilla back on course, as there will be no living spectator left for these steroid clowns to entertain.

The game result is inevitable… Anguilla stands to lose.

« MADERATES OR EXTREMISTS »

As we watch this government in action it reflects a period in our history when we looked through a glass darkly. The distinct difference in command and attitude raises the question of territorial preeminence, where one group wants absolute Jurisdiction over territory gained. The election of 2010 brought a clear distinction in the characteristics of two governments which must be defined in the interest of the electoral landscape of the island. What we have here is a new government structuring a philosophy in governance to bring distinction of character in the performance between them and us, a work in progress which must be defined quickly with due process otherwise this experiment will plunge our island into utter chaos.

With due respect, and tolerance of the electorate, we all are quite in favor of allowing The Honorable Chief Minister Mr. Hubert Hughes the time necessary to gather his focus with the understanding that he is poised to execute adequate leadership for the island. But patience is running out even with stanch supporters of his government. There is no time for experimental exercises, nor the practice of default democracy. Government must begin to execute the will of the electorate; and that is to govern the country well for the good of the people. Time is actually running out very quickly for this government to bring clarity to the business of governing. Lame excuses on a weekly basis while having a repeat of some memorable lines and figure of speech is not enough, people want action. Since I mentioned action this word might have been misconstrued and taken out of context by recent actions of government when the order of business between the Governor and the Chief minister was miss interpreted with a willful attempt to call to arms militia elements, including those with in the prison system to intimidate, bringing the island back into a moment in history.

There is clearly a radical disposition here, weather it is a lack of wisdom or simply a very care free attitude how the rule of law is applied or how this government interprets the law in the performance of government. If guided by the latter, it must be understood that loose cannons are with out target and strikes anywhere at anytime but with collateral damage and if radicalism is the root cause of this disorder, we must be advised that as much as there are a some who wants to re in-act the events of 1967 for the thrill, we must be reminded that Anguilla has already passed that stage in our history and is governed by the rule of law. But clearly, recent events have brought a clear distinction in characteristics in governments, and the people of Anguilla must chose between radicals and moderates. Recent actions have shown disdain for law, order and rule poisoning the political landscape and clearly jeopardizing the future outlook of the country, while imposing on the electorate that clear choice,” moderates and extremists.”

ejharrisxm

“OUR CONSTITUTION” our rights, our privileges

A significant portion of our Constitution is taken up with protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of Anguilla. We would never know this, if we are listening to the public debate on the matter. Every time reference is made to this most valuable document it is in opposition to aspects that have to do with the execution of authority or aspect s of the power structure it endorses. Fortunately or unfortunately we as a very small society still lives under the reigns of a monarchy. Unlike the Americans who actually live by their constitution; even the President, indeed being a powerful figure, on a normal day is just another ordinary man of that society because under their constitution all men are created equal. As a people, we have entrenched rights and freedoms bestowed upon us by the provisions in our constitution as we know it. It is so structured that much of the authority is left in the hands of the Governor indeed, who is actually not a figure head but an actual person embracing all the function and royalty of the monarchy. The exercise of these powers by the Governor is only symbolic; Her Majesty reserves these powers to herself, in our interest. We must become more acquainted with these fundamental rights and freedoms; we must embrace our constitution with better purpose understanding our rights, privileges, and protections provided in the document.

Provision for the effective functioning of a government elected by the people for the people of Anguilla is also a primary focus of the document. One would quickly notice the limitations which is the bone of contention today. To use the struggle to attain more power simply to enforce desire and influence is to create an uneven society especially to embolden radical concepts; in its self is a danger to the country. It is a futile argument to state that the civil service is not subdued and not compliant and makes that a reason sufficient for reform, which does not command broad support. Neither is it plausible to want to minimize oversight and allow a free hand of selfish rule! An attempt by the previous government claimed that they were constrained in their executions of good governance due to the rapid rate of economic growth, and they were limited by the lack of sufficient ministerial power to assist in the execution of effective government, seemingly a more rational argument. The division of powers is crucial for maintaining our democracy. We must view the civil service as the technicians as they are. In other countries the civil service is so manipulated it encourages corruption and they cannot service the country with the technical expertise that is required and technical assistance is regularly provided from outside. In Anguilla it appears that our civil service core is highly educated and qualified to administrate the country, unless if you are listening to our government who makes it appear as though we have an uncooperative thug group still feels loyal to the previous government.

Amendments to the constitution must not be motivation by party interest; but by concerns of the people as an extension of their rights and freedoms. Amendment is necessary to ensure empowerment and advancement of the country, weather that’ll be for full internal self government towards independence or advancing our administrative powers to ensure that the people are more secured politically, socially and economically. Empowering our leaders to demonstrate arrogance and stupidity in the name of democracy is not in the best interest of the people. The people must be the pioneers of their own future, and a majority of the population must speak to this. So far, there is no out cry, and if the process can be done by political empowerment it should still require the full and unequivocal support of a majority of the people of Anguilla, who up to this point have not shown any enthusiasm for the subject.

ejharrisxm

“PHYSICIAN! --- HEAL THYSELF!”

On January 1, 2000, the Hon. Chief Minister, Hubert B. Hughes delivered his New Year’s Address to the people of Anguilla at a time when his Government was struggling to maintain power confronted by the absence of a clear majority in the House of Assembly. As usual whenever he is in a time of crisis he waxes biblical and invokes every vestige of his early Christian training to the cause. And as he did in his pamphlet “My Long Crusade” he again refers to his divine calling. Listen to a direct quote from that New Year’s Day Address:

“It can only be divine intervention that God in his infinite wisdom brought pressure on those otherwise would-be tyrants to make me Chief Minister of Anguilla in 1994. Today, since the resignation of the former Minister of Finance in May, the majority of the electorate see me as a fortress standing in the gates between the treasury and the barbarians who otherwise would have our taxpayers’ blood and sweat for easy prey. These cultured American boys are not only highly qualified to do just that, but to put all ill-gotten gain in a smoking pipe all the way to the banks.

We are here to ensure that Anguilla remains a democracy. We are to guard ourselves against those who would desire a banana republic in establishing their family dynasties only for their friends, colleagues, and associates.”

I have quoted this section of the address to illustrate that the rhetoric and the approach has not changed over the last ten years particularly when the Chief Minister is under pressure. And as he did in 2000 last week he again called in the Christian Council to cloak his actions in a shroud of piety, reminiscent of medieval monarchy. The AUM clerics may be well advised to read the “Fall of Cardinal Wolsey”, as movingly captured by Shakespeare, and not serve, “with such zeal”, a man who will abandon them as quickly as he sought their counsel.

The pressures that the Chief Minister now faces --- being called upon to respond to a number of questions to which truthful answers will be damaging to his “self-proclaimed” integrity --- will result in the blame being thrown on key advisers and supporters. Heads will roll! (It wasn’t me!) The Chief Minister does not take the blame for anything. And as the week progresses his speeches and his actions will bear out these predictions.

In my column last week I promised that I would speak to the very serious issues that I believe were deliberately hidden behind the “smoke screen” which the “circus master” orchestrated last week. I expected that when the “smoke” dissipated the “issue with the Chief Minister”, which the Minister for the Overseas Territories asked the Governor to raise, would be exposed. In addition, the Chief Minister’s rant in the House of Assembly last Tuesday when he mentioned having received a letter from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister and commented that he was being condemned before he was tried, was a clear indication that these issues had come to a head. The core issue being that the Chief Minister without reference to or approval from Executive Council or the House of Assembly authorized the Chairman of the Social Security Board to borrow Two Hundred million United States Dollars. For the purposes of authenticity I have inserted the entire letter of authorization as follows:

“Dear Sir, The Anguilla Social Security Board is hereby authorized to enter into a loan agreement with the United Investment Limited of 11700 Preston Forest Center, Suite 660-388, Dallas Texas, TX 5230, to borrow up to united states currency two hundred million dollars (US$200,000,000) at a rate of 1.5% per annum simple interest for a period of 25 years. The same loan should be secured against the Anguilla Social Security Fund. Yours sincerely, Hubert B. Hughes Chief Minister and Minister of Finance.”

There is no plausible explanation for the Chief Minister’s wrongful action in this matter. He continually puts on discourses in the House of Assembly about borrowing, breaching borrowing guidelines, borrowing without the approval of Executive Council and the House of Assembly, borrowing without the approval of the Secretary of State, deficit financing, transparency in financial matters and on and on. He knows all the rules!

But there is an explanation for his actions, one that I continue to raise, that is, “the Chief Minister believes that the rules apply to everyone else but him!” So that while he chastises the “conduct” of the past Government and the former Minister of Finance --- he believes that he is above the need for such scrutiny and oversight because he is after all “Hubert Hughes”. “I am clean!”

Neither is the Chief Minister’s action on this occasion an isolated case --- it is a persistent pattern of behaviour. He wrote a letter ten years ago as Chief Minister suggesting that Grace University was established on Anguilla and that a number of students were graduating. In June 2010, he wrote a letter giving retroactive approval to his Minister of Utilities, Hon. Evan Gumbs, to vote Government’s shares in ANGLEC without EXCO approval. And to seal it all he went in the House of Assembly last week and boasted that the reason why he did not seek the approval of the borrowing was because he knew it would not be granted. In fact, contradicting the very claim in his New Year’s Address in 2000 that he was a “fortress standing in the gates between the treasury and the barbarians” --- and perhaps so indicating that he may actually be a “barbarian” himself.

But beyond these governance issues there are the issues within the letter that must concern all of us. First of all the letter authorizes the Anguilla Social Security Board to enter into a loan agreement with the company to borrow up to US$200 million at a given rate for a total period of twenty five years, but no where in the letter does it indicate for what purpose the monies are being borrowed. It must be noted that whatever loan agreement the Social Security Board enters into the Government of Anguilla has a contingent liability to the extent that in Section 14 (1) of the Act it states: “Any temporary insufficiency in the assets of the Fund to meet the liabilities of the Fund shall be advanced out of the (Government) Consolidated Fund”. Further in Section 15(7) of the Act requires that the Audited Accounts of the Board must be forwarded to the Minister for Social Security to be laid before the House of Assembly on an annual basis. It therefore follows that in granting an authorization which affects the Social Security Fund there must be clear instructions as to what purposes the funds may be applied --- not just a open check to borrow and spend.

Secondly, the letter authorizes the Social Security Board to borrow from a particular institution, in this case United Investment Limited. Authorizations from the House of Assembly do not refer to a particular institution it refers to “financial institutions” generally, unless it is a regional institution like the Caribbean Development Bank or any similar institutions with which the Government has an approved agreement. This is to ensure that the arrangements are “arms length”, transparent, competitive and secure. To name a lending agency in such an authorization presupposes that the necessary due diligence has already been done and the Executive Council and the House of Assembly have signed off on it. There has been no evidence that the Chief Minister did any such investigations regarding this company in fact at the time of writing I have been informed that the Financial Services Commission has requested that he retracts a statement in which he claimed that it did due diligence on United Investment Limited. Another Hubert inaccuracy!

Finally, and perhaps the most dangerous, the letter authorizes that the “loan be secured against the Anguilla Social Security Fund.” We all are aware that at present the Social Security Fund stands at roughly EC$250 million. The letter of authorization allows borrowing up to US$200 million. That figure is more than double the assets of the Fund. It therefore means that not only is the Chief Minister authorizing that the present Fund be used as security for the loan --- but future contributions to the Fund as well. Is this the same Chief Minister who criticized the past Government for investing in national education by leveraging the Fund for the acquisition of property for an institution of higher learning? Is this the same Chief Minister who does not believe in borrowing --- yet now intends to more than double the present debt commitments of the Government and People of Anguilla? Is this the same Chief Minister who believes in transparency --- yet is willing to mortgage the Social Security Fund (present and future) without having any consultations with the Anguillian contributors and beneficiaries to the fund?

The Chief Minister in the Anguilla House of Assembly in an effort to rationalize his actions before the contents of the FCO Minister’s letter were revealed --- tried to buy new friends. He suggested that he was doing this borrowing to stimulate the indigenous banks. You can imagine my shock having being so strongly criticized in his presentation in the House on the state of Social Security for assisting the indigenous banks. I quote: “During these times the Social Security Board and its investment Committee decided to (a) deposit all of the Social Security funds in NBA and CCB, and (b) to invest Social Security funds through Smith Barney, a company which does investments from Anguilla in conjunction with NBA which receives a financial benefit from all such investments. …. Sadly, the former Minister, now called the Journalist, defended this practice…” After having criticized the former Minister of Finance for his support of the indigenous banks --- why is the Chief Minister now so anxious to be helpful to them after agreeing with Chairman Tommy’s plan to curtail critical deposits? Could it be that only at this late hour that he has come to realize that these banks have almost four thousand Anguillian shareholders --- not only the Director and his family?

The very “inconvenient truths” contained in the worrisome questions which the Minister for the Overseas Territories has posed for the Chief Minister’s response are unsettling. Indeed, the large sum that is being contemplated and the low interest rate being applied provoke the verbal reaction: “This is too good to be true!” In this world of international finance beset by myriad schemes with untoward intentions --- if something seems too good to be true --- chances are it is too good to be true!

These kinds of transactions have been circulating in Anguilla for over two years now, as schemers try to entice struggling businesses to apply for much needed financing. The schemers usually have a local representative who is promised a significant fee if a deal is arranged. A large up-front fee is usually requested from the borrower. A number of local businesses have been duped as no loan has ever been disbursed despite the fact that large up-front fees have been paid to the schemers. When the transaction has been supposedly closed however, there are usually statements of the funds being “approved” and claims that the funds are “on the way”. Can this be one of those transactions? Has Hubert been duped? Who is the local representative for this transaction?

You can be assured that for every question that the FCO Minister has asked the Chief Minister he already knows the answer. It therefore means that the Chief Minister’s “smoke screen” has only been temporarily effective. The time of reckoning has come --- so his only recourse must be to find someone to blame. Can it be Chairman Tommy?

Finally let me make this strong point! What the Chief Minister has done shows his lack of understanding of proper conduct in the governance of this island’s affairs and in the professional management of the Ministry of Finance. I am certain that none of his technical officers in the Ministry of Finance were involved in this matter. In his paranoia he has been led to depend on advice from outside Government from persons who have their own agenda. The past Government that he criticizes, incessantly, has never had such issues as to the propriety of its borrowing arrangements. And in fact the British Government approved every cent of borrowing the past Government had undertaken.

The past Government’s response to the need to service its growing loan portfolio was to pursue the Policy Based Loan from the Caribbean Development Bank, an institution in which we are qualified members. It never risked Anguilla’s future on spurious companies without an established track record. It put in place the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility to mitigate the financial and economic impact of natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes. All these are initiatives the present Government has benefitted from, including the EC$ fifteen million in virtual reserves from the ninth European Development Fund. Never has a British Minister questioned our adherence to good governance in executing any of these arrangements.

By what moral or imperious authority then, can the Chief Minister now continue his “holier than thou” tirades about the past Government or the former Minister of Finance on the several media? Can he speak about unsustainable borrowing? Can he speak about lack of transparency? Can he speak about bad governance? Can he speak about honesty and integrity? Can he even tell the truth?

I can think of no more appropriate a response --- should the Chief Minister persist along his usual condescending vein, than: “Physician! --- Heal thyself!”

Victor F. Banks
Sachasses Estate
October 5, 2010