The Editor
The Anguillian
Dear Sir:
LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS
There is so much confusion in Anguilla that one does not know which matter to comment on and exactly what to say. We have had some very vicious attacks on the Governor by the Chief Minister – and now the Parliamentary Secretary, Haydn Hughes, has added his voice accusing the Governor of racism and for withdrawing from supporting the Britto marketing contract.
I have read The Anguillian in which the Governor’s reasons for withdrawing from that contractual agreement were fully explained, and I am also hearing that this matter is a source of concern in the Tourist Board. It is my understanding that the Tourist Board has already entered a signed agreement with another agency run – by Cheryl Andrews – and I wonder how there could be another marketing agency in the same United States.
Another matter of grave concern is the Cap Juluca issue in which those having ownership of the property are facing opposite directions and appear to be locked in perpetual disagreement. The sad thing about this whole episode is that the Government is either unable to solve the crisis or is deliberately having a hands-off attitude – while the employees, caught in the middle, are in a state of frustration and agony.
One would have thought that, with all the MOUs that were signed over the past three years that by now some large-scale project, employing many Anguillians, would have come on stream. To my mind, the Government should have had some mechanism in place whereby defaulters, having entered into a signed agreement, cannot easily walk away and thereby create an impression, in the minds, of many that they are just plain speculators.
What I am really concerned about is that these, and other matters, give the impression that Anguilla is experiencing a period of instability. This is destructive to the progress of the island and the functioning of Government itself. I hope that one day soon our complex situation would be remedied for the good of everyone.
Apolitical
