« 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