Fellow Anguillians, in light of recent developments surrounding my dismissal from government, I take this opportunity to address you on certain matters.
It is necessary for me to do so because of the untrue statements that have been made about me by some members of government, some AUM supporters, and some radio talk-show hosts who continue to use the airwaves to spread propaganda. For clearly, their intention is to collectively mislead the public that I had not been rendering proper service to you, the people of Anguilla, in my capacity as the then Minister of Health and Social Development. For the purpose of setting the record straight, I therefore provide clarity in respect of my attendance to Executive Council Meetings.
Many people have come to believe that Executive Council meetings are the same as what have been so carelessly described by others as ‘cabinet meetings’. I cannot help but re-emphasize that this misunderstanding has been brought about by the loose statements from certain members of government and talk show hosts who claim that I have not attended Cabinet meetings since August 22nd, 2010.
Let me make it abundantly clear that my attendance and punctuality to Executive Council meetings were excellent! I also demonstrated a high degree of professional behavior at all times during such meetings.Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about other Ministers who normally arrived late – sometimes as much as 15-20 minutes late, without any apology or explanation for such. On those occasions, however, I exercised a great deal of patience and waited on them.
The records will also show that I have only missed Executive Council meetings in the following instances:
1) When I have had to leave island to attend to government business in my capacity as Minister of Health and Social Development.
2) When I had to leave the island for the purpose of receiving medical treatment
3) When I was at home on medical leave
It is true, however, that I have not attended any pre-Executive Council meetings since August 22nd, 2010. These meetings, which they have described as cabinet meetings, were usually held several days before the actual Executive Council meetings. At these pre-Executive Council meetings, the following persons were in attendance: the four Ministers of Government; the Parliamentary Secretary; the Special Assistant, and other AUM party members.
Fellow Anguillians, it is important for you to know that I stopped attending these meetings for the following reasons, which I made clear to all the Ministers of Government; the Parliamentary Secretary; the Special Assistant, and other AUM party members. I did so in the interest of transparency and good governance, and therefore my notice to them was upfront and above board. Here are my reasons:
1. The meetings were NOT chaired by the Chief Minister, BUT by a lawyer.
2. Confidential matters were discussed at these meetings, such as potential investment by foreign businessmen.
3. This placed the persons present in an unfair and advantageous position vis-à-vis other lawyers and professionals on Anguilla.
4. It also raised the issue of potential conflict of interest.
5. The potential for leakage of information in this large grouping was an ever present danger.
6. I was constantly accused of holding up government business because I argued that we MUST NOT put the cart before the horse, in terms of decision making.
7. Any view expressed by me that did not fall in line with that of the Chief Minister was shouted down, especially by party members.
8. No sensible course of action for the steering of government business was ever reached at any of these meetings.
9. These meetings typically ended in confusion. They lacked order and it appeared to me as though it were a group of children somewhere on a playing field kicking ball and hollering at each other. I also sensed that people wanted to be loose about decision making and did not care to put the proper machinery into place that would allow for us to do the people’s business in the right way.
Fellow Anguillians, this atmosphere of sheer confusion was an insult to me, and by extension to the people of Anguilla. Given my over 19 years of experience as an elected representative I could not encourage such. My good conscience did not allow me to! I therefore made sure to indicate to the Chief Minister that this style of decision-making was unworkable and that there was a need to change it in the interest of moving the country forward.
I emphasized that in the new arrangement he should chair the meetings. After all, he was the leader of government business. He was elected to bring about positive change in this country. I also recommended that because of the confidential nature of these meetings, only the Ministers, the Parliamentary Secretary and the Special Assistant should attend. This, however, did not mean that government should cease seeking input from the party and the general public. Indeed, government was under an obligation to do so, but in the final analysis, it was the government, which was answerable to the people, that must make the final decisions.
I made it clear that I would only return to these pre-Executive Council meetings if these necessary changes were made to bring about stability for the furtherance of good governance.
• Fellow Anguillians, I was above board with my position. I, however, continued to attend Executive Council meetings as scheduled, except on those occasions that I earlier mentioned. This was my bounden duty to do so. Why then, must they mislead the public into believing that I did not? How much longer will they look for scapegoats to explain their grave mistakes that arise due to inexperience, poor judgment, lack of analysis, and short-sightedness?
Fellow Anguillians, I will not be put off by the lies and propraganda machine of this AUM government. They have blamed me for blocking projects when all that I have attempted to do was to simply advise them to make decisions in a manner that was consistent with the necessary rules and regulations. Unfortunately, they saw this as an impediment. I, however, sought to avoid potential law suits to the government. And by doing so, I sought to protect your interest in the long run.
I am no longer part of the government and therefore can no longer be wrongfully accused of holding up government projects. You, the people of Anguilla, therefore have a right to expect project after project after project to come on stream on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, judging by the conduct of the Chief Minister and his public statements, it appears to me that he is of the view that he was elected to supervise the closure of Anguilla’s tourism industry, in particular, and its wider economy in general.
Clearly, action is needed to stem the rising tide of unemployment that is threatening to inundate our economic system. The Chief Minister needs to pull out his plan for turning the economy around, as he promised in the 2010 general elections.
I quote without prejudice, words which have appeared on a billboard on the airport road. “Now that Eddie is gone, what’s next Mr. C.M.?”
Thank you for listening and may God continue to bless you.
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
