Anguilla’s Medium Term Economic Strategy Review for 2010-2014, presented this week by technocrats in the various Ministries, particularly those in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, was a very useful undertaking by the very hard working public servants, and therefore a commendation to them. While there is a Government in office, to direct policy and programmes, it is really the technocrats who bear the brunt of the work and the stress and headaches it brings. The bad thing is that too often they are accorded very little recognition leading to discouragement and frustration.
The annual review is a good yardstick to measure the economic growth of the island and to plan the way forward for the financial and economic wellbeing of Anguilla. It would be foolhardy just to continue to run the island in a haphazard fashion without establishing a real premise on which to build a viable foundation for fiscal and economic stability and public sector development.
The review showed that while some marginal successes may have been sporadically made in a few instances in 2010 and 2011, as indicated by Dr. Aidan Harrigan, Permanent Secretary for Finance, the island is experiencing a grim situation due to the continued economic decline. The well-respected Economist made the point that these were worrying times for Anguilla and he referred to such negatives as high unemployment, business failures, home foreclosures and hunger.He went as far as to pronounce that Anguillians were fearful of the future. His only sobering message was his Scriptural references that God will take care of the suffering – an expression hardly heard from an economist speaking in reality terms. These are indeed very discomforting factors in a small island like Anguilla – painfully impacted by a continuing global recession – where everybody is jostling to eke out a living.
What is also a matter of disconsolation is the fact that the tourism industry, which is Anguilla’s main engine of economic growth, is showingmuch decline from a reasonably high position in recent years. This is cause for concern when one considers the dependency of the public and private sectors on the industry and the fact that it is really the source of much of the food on our tables.One of the reports presented at the review also indicated that there was an almost negative growth in the economy. If this is lower than the figure of 0.1% growth given in the 2012 review, we are certainly in a very bad shapeboth now in 2013 and in the foreseeable future.
It appears that Anguilla is caught on the horns of a dilemma with nowhere to turn for assistance. The UK Government is said to be in no position to help Anguilla and its other Overseas Territories having itself suffered the loss of its triple-A economic rating and therefore experiencing its own decline.
The European Union’s representative at the review appeared to have felt a sense of compassion when he remarked that the EU was the island’s only source of grant-aid and the main stakeholder in its development. Clearly, Anguilla needs to find a way out, but it may be a gamble to think that ‘independence to facilitate begging’, as some put it, or to be able to obtain funding from other sources outside of the United Kingdom’s scope of oversight, an option.
Anguilla needs to find a way ‘to lift up itself by its own bootstraps’ as a common expression states. In declaring open the Agricultural Exhibition on March 9, the Minister of Home Affairs, Jerome Roberts, said in part: Agriculture is now seen as a real contributor to the diversification of our economy. The agricultural sector represents a viable career option for our population particularly the youth. Increased local agricultural production means retention of valuable foreign exchange which can directly impact our food bill…We must strengthen our agriculture sector. Agriculture’s contribution to GDP is just over 2.1%. This means that we rely heavily on external sources for most of our food. This must be significantly reduced as a matter of urgency.
While that is all true and pertinent, one farmer described the Minister’s statement as “hot air” citing, among other claims, that Government had done very little for the community’s farmers in terms of appreciably recognising their efforts by assisting them with marketing their produce, and halting certain imports to protect their sales.Agriculture is but one small way ofdeveloping Anguilla and putting food on our tables. There is need for Government to be more innovative in providing economic opportunities for our people –- although it is generally acknowledged that this is a very difficult matter in these times of global hardship.
As Minister of Finance and Economic Development, the Chief Minister has the task ofworking towards developing Anguilla and exploring new avenues to do so. It is something that he must continue to pursue relentlessly and to use the helpful expertise he has available to him, within his own Ministry, the wider community, and in the halls of several regional and international funding agencies, to work on a blueprint for Anguilla’s development. The British Government, notwithstanding Britain’s own economic decline, can be a substantial contributing partner in this respect as well. Sometimes it is only a matter of collective attitude, cooperation and responsibility, besides compassion, that is necessary.
Whatever it takes, there is an urgent need to reverse the grim situation in Anguilla with all haste lest, according to the Chief Minister, the island descends in abject poverty.
