ONE YEAR LATER: IRREVERSIBLE DILEMMA????

The country is in a somber mood. No one can actually believe the difficulty we’ve found ourselves in. Who can we trust to give us clear and decisive direction to our quest for the truth? This Island has not responded well to the thunderous campaign of 2010 which brought to power a man who many of his supporters thought is the only one they trusted to lead us out of the peril of this time. One year later there are no signs of any dimension of success for AUM and The Honorable Hubert Hughes in making matters any better for the people of Anguilla. This is a great disappointment to a very large number of Anguillians who had their hopes set very high and a confidence level that gave rise to serious optimism that things would be better under the present government instead, One Year Later we find ourselves in what appears to be an “Irreversible Dilemma”

In a very brief talk with the honorable Chief Minister Mr. Hughes just days ago, clearly not a happy man at this time. He has expressed regret that his good intentions to lead this country out of the present dilemma has been met with such brutal resistance from his number one rival The Governor which appears to be opposing his every move to advance his agenda which he feels would make the difference. I passed up a great opportunity granted to me by the Chief to accompany him to his office so I could be informed in more detail of some of the actual facts he is faced with, time was my main culprit. But no doubt The Chief minister feels that he is forced into a period of gridlock over a massive difference of opinion going forward. Mr. Hughes was very quick to point out to me that there is actually no pun intended here, but he sees the British Government and The Governor simply madly in love with Anguilla and views it as a primary piece of real estate in the North Eastern Caribbean having residence of extraordinary ambition. Mr. Hughes declares that The Governor and his British Colleagues marvel how simple people like us could own and develop our very own property into such interesting and beautiful dwellings, which actually have given this island its great advantage in the mind of the British. Mr. Hughes feels that the British is simply not willing to allow us the right to manage our very own high valued destiny and clearly sees this as his primary obstacle to implementing a progressive plan of action that would put the island back on track.

I was actually impressed with the passion and real deep concern show by the Chief Minister in my very brief conversation, which is in sharp contrast to the account given by another passionate representative just days ago, the Honorable Eddie Baird who gave a stinging rebuke of the current situation in government. One would notice that in Baird speech he was extremely careful not to criticize the Chief Minister direct, when he identified and expressed his reason for descent in this administration, but called on Mr. Hughes to restore order in his government. Baird describes the situation as a major conflict of interest between the radicals and the moderates in the AUM camp, he did not associate Mr. Hughes with those radicals but clearly insinuated that much of the radical agenda with in AUM is being instigated by the parliament secretary (unelected) and other appointed elements within the party whom Mr. Baird categorized as the unelected and unelectable. Mr. Baird has placed the critical situation the country finds itself in squarely on an ocean of disagreement between him and these unelectable operatives influencing the government and failing to agree on anything in the interest of the country. Mr. Baird asked a poignant question, “where is the Chief Minister in all of this.” Eddie seems to be putting the onus squarely on the Chief to choose between having a functional government or a radical group not interested in the well being of the country.

One year later after electing this government to office there is a very serious state of disbelief that none of the indicators of advancement are showing positive trends, now twelve months in the governing process and AUM in control of the government. Instead we find ourselves in what appears to be a very serious dilemma, with very high anticipation that unless Mr. Hughes responds very quickly to the circumstances of this country he will face a revolt from the people who will seek to take back the country and entrust our future to a government with perspective and one willing to meet the requirements that would ensure progress and stability. In my talk with Chief Minister I felt passion and detected a strong and distinct determination, what I did not fell is that this man has any intentions to back down or surrender. Mr. Hughes, in his wisdom has not responded to Mr. Baird’s speech in any form so far. He should not be ill advised either, to respond in any way that would further destabilize the current situation. It would be a very wise move on the part of Chief Minister to engage in a very private and deliberate conversation t with Eddie Baird and begin to set new perimeters to stabilize his government. There is actually nothing going very well for this government at this point in time and it would show some responsibility of the Chief Minister’s part, taking in account his terrible relationship with the Governor, as we speak the British has just about embarrassed the country by subjecting our best and brightest to some degree of incapability in dealing with the current crisis. Mr. Hughes must show some understanding of the situation by a careful reshuffle of his government’s portfolios, change his talking points and bring some degree of order to his administration; he must turn this page. Having four more years ahead there is nothing to lose by making the necessary corrective measures right now. In the absence of quick and decisive action we might indeed be faced with an “IRREVERSIBLE DILEMMA” one year later?

By:  Elliot J. Harri