One can hardly believe that 2012 has passed so quickly and that we have been ushered into a new year. Standing on the threshold of 2013 is a good point at which to glance back at the old year, and to look with hope, though with a measure of trepidation and uncertainty, at the coming twelve months.
It is a pity that we have started 2013 with a budget passed in the Anguilla House of Assembly, last month, but without the certainty of its immediate approval by the British Government. Up to this point, in time, word is being awaited fromthe Governor, now back from a period of leave, that he has been authorised to assent to the budget.
The fear is that the Anguilla Government having not agreed to, and signed the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) believed to be a condition for approval of the budget by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, may have a hurdle to cross. The FFR is a new policy document replacing the Borrowing Guidelines and requires agreement between the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories. It is of interest to note that Anguilla, is today, the only territory that has not complied with its provisions. The Chief Minister has described the FFR policy as “blackmail”. The latest statements from him are that he will not sign the document “without conditions” and that “we are still in the process of negotiating”.It is not known how intense the negotiations are and just what the ultimate situation will be. The budget is not only to finance the public services for the year, but is an indication of financial stability on the island and probably a means to ensure the survival of the Government itself.
Another matter of much concern in Anguilla, is the slow pace of economic development and job creation. The latest report is that the Government has just entered into a MOU with a developer for a proposed new hotel at Shoal Bay. While this is welcome news, one cannot ignore the fact that there is a string of signed MOUs over a period of almost three years which still, today, remains only on paper and with no positive indications of fulfilment. Some call the agonising delay “speculation” by the would-be developers and a failure of the Government to enforce the requirements of the MOUs. Others blame the Government for frightening off investors by the Chief Minister’s relentless attacks on the British Government and the Governor, as well as calls for a revolution and independence – all of which are said to create an assumption of instability on the island. Then there is the question of crime which has its own negative and damaging effects.
As all of us stand on the threshold of 2013, aside from any other consideration nothing is more important than effective leadership, a spirit of mutual cooperation, understanding and, not least, humility. These are important attributes that any leader, like our Chief Minister, should not only aspire to, but demonstrate. Anguilla cannot endure the constant stream of acrimony and abuse that finds its way into the Chief Minister’s public utterings and his apparent fixation on doing so without impunity. His fiery and painful Christmas Message was no exception despite the peace and goodwill of the season. It is unfortunate that a number of persons were led to describe his message as “diatribe” and a source for scaring off visitors. While it is claimed that the Chief Minister follows his own mind, and may not be listening to anyone else, the persons who surround him, and are known to be his advisers, must impress on him the importance of good statesmanship and leadership.
We cannot have our leader going “over the cliff”, in an apparent break-neck fashion, and fail to help him to right himself. To accomplish this will be to rescue Anguilla, and all of us, from falling over the cliff as well. Had he spent a little time condemning the crime and violence on the island, his message would have at least shown on one hand that, in a way, he had taken into account the Christmas season of love, peace and goodwill. On the other hand, the tone of his message would have also taken into consideration the need to refine his expressions in the context of the yuletide.
A matter that bothers many on the island is the extension of the Interim Stabilisation Levy – a tool conceived to bolster the budget while businesses and employees, paying the tax, struggle to exist. This is not to say that our people must not pay to run the island, but taxation becomes burdensome when there is a dead economy, limited employment and low salaries and wages. Add this levy to the other existing levies and taxes, and those to come, and the high cost of living, and Anguillians, though a proud people, are in the poverty line. The fact that the Government has failed to address the Stabilisation Levy by ending it on December 31, 2012, as the Chief Minister said would be the case, has left many businesses and employees disappointed to say the least. Rather than Government being able to find a way out, blame has been apportioned to “the people in the Department of Inland Revenue” thus making them a sort of scapegoat.
Still another matter of concern is the almost thirty million dollars owed to civil servants in salary deductions – again to boost the budget. The Government has been slow in arriving at a cut-off date for the discontinuation of the deductions, thus unnecessarily contributing to the growth of the debt and the difficult to repay. The situation was made even more vexing by a promise by the Chief Minister to “give civil servants something for Christmas”, or before the end of the year – even if it came to dipping into the Government’s reserves. Like the above matter, good leadership requires a leader to say what he means and to do what he promises.
While the talk of independence is yet another matter, especially with November 2014 said to be the proposed date for achievement, the lack of support from the populace for such a status, and the economic un-readiness of Anguilla, make it a subject hardly worth comment.
There is an urgent need for Government, and all of us, to identify what are the real challenges and needs confronting our island, and to come together to address and resolve them. An important aspect in all of this, however, is good leadership and this will be a prime requirement as a way forward into 2013 for Anguilla.
