The Anguilla National Cricket Team made us all proud on Sunday by winning the Tenth Nagico Insurance One-Day Championship Trophy in a most exciting manner from the defending Champions,Antigua. They did so by making Antigua’s impressive score of 273 runs with two wickets in hand. It was a “nail biting” finish in which Kelbert Walters and Asharn Hodge in a ninth wicket stand erased the 62 runs deficit required to win the match. While these two youngsters brought the game home, tribute must be given to the performance of the entire team with several centuries and excellent bowling and fielding performances throughout the entire tournament. The victory was particularly sweet given the fact that Antigua had beaten Anguilla two years ago by one run in a similar squeaker. Kudos must also be extended to the team and its management for a job well done. It was not very often that we got something to cheer about when Anguilla competed in the early days. In fact, our team Anguilla seldom had the opportunity to participate in the finals of any cricket tournament. And the last time in the history of the sport that such pride was evoked was when Omari (Banks) made the West Indies Cricket Team.
Speaking about the West Indies Cricket Team (Windies), it is noteworthy that despite our several differences as a region it is the singular thing that has united us over the years. The “Windies” is a subject on which pundits from every island comment — some disparagingly others with ready suggestions for its improvement. They just came back from winning the International Champions League 20/20 Trophy and in the present series withBangladeshthey have started off with a bang. At the time of writing, the “Windies” were piling up a score of well over 500 on the second day of play with six wickets still in hand. Could this be signaling a return to the “Glory days” when they dominated the sport internationally — or perhaps just a temporary respite fromthe disappointments of loyal “Windies” fans?
The promise of better days ahead is always an incentive to keep the faith — but constant disappointments can “whittle away” at the most loyal supporters. This is especially so when a team continues to make foolish mistakes; fails to perform as a united group; and its individual players seem only concerned about their personal aggrandizement. Inevitably, chaos reigns among the strongest supporters, as well as the team members, and they begin to “play-out” their disagreements openly in full view of the fans and the public at large. This seems to be the place where the AUM Government Team is headed today.
The recent fiasco in the Hon. Atlin Ronaldo Harrigan Parliamentary Building by the Elected Representatives on the Government side of the House of Assembly is a clear manifestation of such chaos among the AUM team members. And strong supporters of the Government have been expressing outrage at this behaviour, and are complaining that this has never happened in the House of Assembly except when a vote of “No Confidence” motion has been moved.
While many listeners would have heard the hostile exchange between Hon. Edison Baird and Hon. Jerome Roberts as well as the “lame attempts” by the Leader of Government Business to make apology for the fiasco — they may have missed the other more subdued rumblings taking place in that very meeting. What transpired showed a clear disconnect between the functioning of the House and the functioning of Executive Council. The Chief Minister who is supposed to bring his motions to the House, having first had them discussed and approved in Executive Council, seemed to be totally unaware of the contents of the motions and unable to defend them. Also of major concern is the fact that the Education Bill was yet another time withdrawn from the House after having been through the legislative process for over two years.
But what occurred on October 31, 2012 in the House of Assembly is the culmination of more than two and a half years of bad governance; vindictive politics; and incompetent leadership by the present AUM administration. They appear to be “stumbling from error to error” since they ascended to Office such that every decision or action becomes a controversy. And today, as the situation in the economy continues to worsen, its seems that our elected representatives have nothing better to do than to quibble on a simple motion dealing with “flies”. As I have been saying, time and time again, many of these situations stem from the tendency by the entire Government to apply a political solution to every issue that confronts them rather than dealing with each issue on its own merit. For as Mr. Baird seemed to suggest the problem with the “fly infestation” at the landfill site came as a result of Government intervention into the tendering process – to the extent that one of the Ministers tried to bring the contractor of his choice into Executive Council to make his case.
Another interesting outcome of the same meeting was a call made by the Speaker of the House to a Radio Talk Show to explain her position on the withdrawal of Bills from the House. She did so quite boastfully and without regard for her authority as laid out in the Rules and Procedures of the Anguilla House of Assembly and other relevant Acts. It should be made clear that the Speaker is elected by Members of the House to ensure proper management of the debates, discussions and presentations made by the members on both sides of the House. She has no part to play in ruling on the content of any motions to be brought before the House once they have been approved by Executive Council and meet the legal requirements for inclusion on the Agenda/Order Paper. Once the Leader of Government Business, who is elected by the people, determines that a particular piece of legislation should be brought to the House (with EXCO approval) she has absolutely no authority to prevent it.
Unfortunately, the Speaker said on Radio that even if the Chief Minister/Leader of Government Business brings a motion or bill to the House that SHE feels is not in the best interests of the people ofAnguilla, and he refuses to withdraw it, she would not allow it to be debated in the House. Clearly, the Speaker is not elected by the people — yet she feels that she has the authority to overrule what the elected representatives of the people put forward, rightly or wrongly. Truth be told, in doing so she is exercising authority which actually exceeds the authority of an Order in Council which, though having similar effect, is not the action of a single individual in his/her sole discretion — it involves a clear process. Indeed if one follows her argument to its logical conclusion it could mean that she can also prevent an Order in Council being brought to the House.
I must admit that I believe that the Speaker of the House means well. However, she does not appear to understand her role in the House and seems to be taking advice from persons who either do not understand her role either or are being blinded by raw politics. In fact, based on the statement she made on that Radio program, she should be called to account by the Chief Minister on the political level and by the Attorney General on the legal interpretation of her position. She must be made to understand that her views cannot override the views of the people’s elected representatives and, in fact, that the process by which she removed the Leader of Opposition from the House on two occasions is completely wrong.
Again coming out of the incidents in the House on October 31, 2012, the Chief Minister also tried to fool the people by suggesting that the Property Tax Bill was being brought to the House in a manner that was not approved by him. In other words, he gave the impression that he was strongly opposed to the presentation of the Bill because it would be detrimental to Anguillians. This is another example of the Chief Minister not accepting responsibility. I must point out that every bill brought to the House of Assembly gets there by the same procedure, namely, it is discussed and approved in Executive Council by all the Ministers of Government including the Chief Minister; it is then published in the Gazette for a required period of time; and it is then placed on the Order Paper of the House for debate. In the case of any bill having to do with financial or tax measures, it is brought by the Minister of Finance who is, in this case, the Chief Minister. Either the Chief Minister does not know what he is doing or he is being deliberately dishonest. The new Property Tax Bill could not have been brought to the House of Assembly without the Chief Minister’s approval.
So while we wrestle with the uncertainties in the economy, and the real challenges facing our people who are losing jobs, business opportunities, property and assets, we have a team that is completely dysfunctional managing our affairs. The Captain would be well advised to change course or we will all perish. Unfortunately, unlike the Anguilla Cricket Team and the “Windies” — this is not a game!
