The newly-appointed Honourable Minister of Trade and Commerce, Mr. Kyle Hodge, has told Anguillian business persons that, with his election to office, they “have a friend” in the Anguilla Progressive Movement Government.
He was at the time delivering a statement in the Anguilla House of Assembly during the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, July 17. A young and passionate businessman, owner of “Tropical Treats”, a popular ice-cream manufacturing company in Anguilla, Mr. Hodge holds a Degree in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He focused on Entrepreneurship and did a Minor in Leadership. He is the grandson of the late Revolutionary Hero, Mr. Collins Oliver Hodge, and was elected as an Island-wide APM Candidate. He received 3,557 votes. This was the highest number of votes obtained by any island-wide candidate in the June 29 general elections.
Mr. Hodge told the House of Assembly: “The Anguillian entrepreneur’s spirit must be revived. With honesty and respect, dignity, grace, love, innovation and God, you can be anything in this world. I am a perfect example of that. I prayed for signs for God to show me that this is what He wanted me to do. He sent a sign at the very end. When the votes were tallied, the total I received was 3,557, my office number.”
He continued: “Madam Speaker, I left two functioning businesses behind on the 29th of June 2020 for my wife to run. This afternoon, in this Honourable House, I want to assure the business people of Anguilla, and entrepreneurs in Anguilla, that you have a friend in this Government…The way forward for us, as a people, innovators, creators, thinkers, problem solvers and this team of diverse Honourable Ministers, is to make Anguilla a better place for all of us. We have to do it together.”
He reported having met with some egg farmers, fisher-folk and other persons. He said that as bleak as it appeared in this Covid-19 era, he felt a sense of hope for the development of industries on the island – and the building of skills among the people for their survival. He promised that the APM Government would facilitate the establishment of locally-owned businesses.
Following the House of Assembly meeting, Mr. Hodge spoke to The Anguillian newspaper, in a brief interview, in connection with business development. “As a local businessman, our focus should really be on being able to produce. My background is in manufacturing so I see great potential in the manufacturing sector. I see great potential in the fishing industry. I believe that every country, every viable nation, should be able to produce for the domestic market foremost, but there should be something for export – whether it is farming, fishing and small products. Light manufacturing is something that we can do here as well. It can provide jobs and keep money circulating in the economy. As a small country, we import every single thing and our import bill is a very high one. We need to look at it and find ways and means of reducing the amount of money that leaves the economy which, in turn, weakens the economy.”
Asked to comment on other possible industries like garment manufacturing and electronic devices, Mr. Hodge stated: “As it relates to producing garments, many countries manufacture uniforms, wedding gowns and other types of clothing. We, here in Anguilla, have so many talented seamstresses and tailors. But what we need to do is to look seriously at the tariffs because it is cheaper to import a complete uniform than it is to import the bare, plain fabric. To produce that uniform, it is taxed higher than the complete product. So we have to look at the tariffs and make a lot of adjustments as it relates to how we charge duties to our local industrious people.
“The manufacturing of light products, and light gadgets, is something that we can look into as well. I know that St. Kitts has small components that are manufactured for electrical companies. Those are areas in which we can also investigate further, down the road, and see the potential and the possibilities of having those companies come to Anguilla.”
Asked about his meeting with egg farmers and whether he saw that type of farming as something to consider in terms of reducing imports, he replied: “I see that happening in the near future. I spoke to the egg farmers this morning, and they were reassured that they have a Government that will put in place legislation that would bolster, protect and allow them to expand their farms. Once you have a Government that is going to create certain policies that would encourage this growth in industry, it would encourage young people to look into farming. Young people, graduating from high school, can be our own business persons and entrepreneurs in the near future.
“The problem is that we import a lot of cheap products that are not even good for our health. When eggs come to Anguilla they are almost expired. There is no date on the cartons. The date is on the box and not on the cartons – so we don’t even know what we are eating. So food security is a serious thing that I will address – along with the rest of this APM Administration.
“The egg farmers are just one industry, but what we do will be replicated in all areas. We will have to look at certain key crops – whether it is five, six or seven key crops that we can guarantee to the public can be grown right here in Anguilla, and will sustain the local production levels that are necessary for our consumption.”
