“A BUSY, BUSY MAN”

Not that the economy is doing well or the boom is back, not even sure that there is positive prospects or a future outlook that can build hope; what we have is perhaps a steady disintegration of our economic infrastructure and a steady unfavorable situation on the island that seems to be consistently getting worse. When Malliouhana closed its doors there were much speculation as to the real issues that caused the owners to pack up and leave or abandon a property that was indeed the flagship of Anguilla because it was the first major tourism facility to embark on the island and had a steady hand in the growth of our tourism. In the early nineties I recall reading about Malliouhana in an Architectural Digest as one of the world’s best architectural designs, on the shores of Anguilla. That was amazing to me; the magazine was given to me by a Canadian architect who was very popular with modern designs. This distinguished property did the island well and put Anguilla and its people on the map endeavoring to succeed in tourism on the world’s stage.

Again we find ourselves, perhaps in less than one year trying hard to maintain the service and patronage of another world rated hotel on our shores struggling to survive, now having to deal with the encounter of such a controversy between owners which the people of Anguilla are unable to accept, or simply not willing to entertain. More so, this hotel “Ca juluca” has been a matter of intervention quickly after this government took office hoping to preserve a better outlook for the facility and maintain its status in our tourism and improve its benefits to the people of Anguilla. Such conflicts, rising to national prominence always reflect presumptive inclinations, apart from the depth of the financial situation we read about, apparently there is some political meddling. Presumption being, that it is said that one party is being influenced by the closeness, and affiliation with the powers that be, that being “his Excellency the Governor, while the other side seems to enjoy the cooperation and association of the other distinguished partner in our government framework “the honorable Chief Minister and his government. At this juncture it brings to the surface the standing stale mate between the Governor and the Chief Minister which has implications, it also highlights the need for a balance approach in dealing with such problems, laying equal blame in this regard. The Cap Juluca problem has re energized the Chief Minister and made him a Busy, Busy Man in recent weeks, which he seems to be enjoying. It has spotlighted him as a man in action, reinforcing his mantra of working in the interest of “the small man.

Another project of great interest emerging in recent weeks is that of Scrub Island and the prospect it holds to contribute positively to the general economy and at best make a marked difference for the eastern end of the island. With the prospect of such major investments in this area it is bound to raise our anticipation with the hope that indeed such a project would take shape, taking note that this is not the first prospect for Scrub Island, similar investments were already made on Scrub during the seventies I believe, notwithstanding the scope and dimension of this one. When we put all of this together it seem to indicate some degree of prospect for the island, being hopeful that Cap Jaluca would resolve it’s impasses and normalcy would return quickly considering that we are right now entering the peak Tourism season. 

While there appear to be some economic movement on the island we are now learning that a major political storm is brewing inside AUM. If we are to give any credence to the World Wide Web, we know that news travel very quickly via the much desired social media and in particular for us the blogs we visit ever so often. What might appear to be somewhat amusing to some should be of grave concern if what is being reported is true. The report suggests the formation of an internal plot within AUM to diminish the honorable Chief Minister for what appears to be a softening of his hard line stance against the Governor and FCO. A radical arm now emerging is gearing up to eliminate Eddie and restructure the government from the interior, which consequently would call for major reshuffling and new appointments. Usually when such reports are preempted there is some “pull back” just to minimize the alarm but this story is worth keeping a very careful eye on.

In a previous writing I called, and advocated the distinguishable need for a real national leader to emerge to provide leadership to “the country,” not with any disdain for the party structure, but leadership of the future must rise above party allegiance and loyalty providing a vision for the country, one that would give light and the people would follow rather than the emerging of strong-armed political groups wishing to absorb power and distribute that power to uncharacteristic loyalists, some whom have already declared their will to lead a new revolution. Such moves must be anticipated with the diminishing “Authority and Will” of our present Chief Minister considering human and physical dynamics. Chatter from the inside seems to indicate that time is of the essence and imminent change is necessary. The country needs adequate future leadership which must be distinguished from the radical elements that would easily usurp the good will of society under an umbrella of deception. We must be able to read between these lines written in fine print so that under no condition a vacuum is created because of the lack of appropriate leadership and vigilance, throwing the country into utter chaos.

By Elliot J. Harrigan