The signing of the long-delayed Framework for Fiscal Sustainability and Development (FFSD) policy by Chief Minister Hubert Hughes on April 5, and the signing of Anguilla’s 2013 budget by Governor Alistair Harrison on April 22, were two positive and crowning aspects of moving forward on those issues at last.
The remaining matter to be undertaken is the drafting and enactment of the enabling legislation to bring the above policy between the Anguilla and British Governments into actual effect. The Governor has expressed the hope that this legislation could be enacted by the end of June, and has offered Chief Minister Hughes assistance from his office to take the pressure off the Attorney General’s Chambers, and to speed up the process. The Governor did not qualify that offer which he mentioned to the media, but the Chief Minister may well be advised to take up that proposition – whatever it may be – in the same mutual spirit of cooperation and quickly too.
Both the budget and the policy are important considerations when it comes to the availability of money and spending and are therefore inter-related – if not inseparable – as the conditions for their approvals indicated. The demand for the Anguilla Government’s adherence to certain financial systems and regulations is not only closely guarded by the British Government, but by the European Union as well which is Anguilla’s main donor of grant aid. It means that if we are to receive this year’s tranche of EU money, we must have our financial house in order as was made plain by Mikael Barfod, Head of the EU Delegation,during his visit to the island in March when the Medium Term Economic Strategy 2013 was being reviewed. Both the approval of the budget and the signing of the Framework for Fiscal Sustainability and Development are key factors to Anguilla receiving that aid. The legislation to bring the FFSD into operation is another important factor.
With the above matters now virtually closed, there is an urgent need for the Government to turn its attention to other pressing issues which undermine and militate against the social and economic wellbeing of our island and people. The Chief Minister has identified complete internal self-government and complete independence as being frontline matters of importance at this time. The context in which he speaks about complete self-internal government is not clear for obvious reasons when he also mentions independence, but not even that needs to be debated at this time.
A prime matter to be dealt with, and with all possible haste, is finding a solution to the vexing and elusive Cap Juluca issue. It is certainly not enough, when asked about that issue, for the Chief Minister to have shouted to the media, that “Cap Juluca is a mess!” and then walked away. His further claim, as mentioned elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian, is that the solution is the responsibility of the Governor and the British Government.
What about the people who work at Cap Juluca, many of whom either left their jobs in search of better pay, after the reduction of working days and pay, or were sent home by the owners of the property unable to meet operating costs?Whatever is the Government’s personal, or otherwise unfortunate, attitude to the Hickox family, the livelihood of the workers must be protected.
The problems at the property appear to be exceedingly complex and daunting. But one wonders how it can survive if a MOU has not been granted by Government; work permits for expatriate executive personnel are denied; the payment of licences for the hotel, restaurants and other facilities are allegedly not accepted by the relevant Government departments presumably on instructions from above; and the resort has been obliged to outsource its boat and water sports equipment and services to find additional money for some of its operations including to pay staff. All of this gives the impression that Cap Juluca is sadly being allowed to helplessly die. Commentators are of the view that the efforts by the owners to refurbish some of the villas and other facilities,at a reported cost of US$15 million, is an indication of their willingness not only to keep the resort open, but to restore it to its former glory as the flagship of Anguilla’s tourism.
The fact that the hotel sits on land owned by the Anguilla Government and its people, should be a prime motivator to solve the Cap Juluca issue. There is an urgent need for Government, and all the parties involved in the ownership of the resort – those whose villas are functioning and those whose villas are closed in an ownership dispute – to see if they can come to the table and produce a workable and lasting solution. The Opposition Anguilla United Front has offered to act as an arbiter as well. No stone must remain unturned to solve what is a gross national problem.
If the Chief Minister can claim to have successfully intervened and settled the sale of the Malliouhana Hotel issue, in which another interested party came forward, something may also be achievable regarding the thorny Cap Juluca issue. Apart from the courts, let us give it a try. In all areas relative to the forward movement of Anguilla, there is a need for more speed, less complacency and unhelpful attitudes and careless talk while we all suffer.
