Governor Scott at Question and Answer meeting
Anguilla was the only one of the British Overseas Territories which the London-based Director, Dr Peter Hayes, visited on his whirlwind trip to the Caribbean this week Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday evening he attended a one-hour question and answer session with a cross-section of the Anguillian community at the Teachers’ Resource Centre, as an important segment of his programme.
He spoke to The Anguilllian earlier in the day while on a visit to the Saint James School of Medicine, following which he also visited the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.
Dr Hayes was asked the purpose of his visit to Anguilla. “When I am sitting in London and I am reading about Anguilla and the challenges and problems that the territory has, I feel a sense of inadequacy that I have got to visit and meet the people,” he replied. “There is no substitute for coming here, sniffing the air, meeting the people and seeing for yourself the sort of issues that exist… I speak to the Governor, the Chief Minister and other Ministers regularly, but you also need to speak to the people, to listen to the people. That’s what I want to do.”
The Overseas Territories Director stressed that he did not come to Anguilla to impose any particular view on the people on any matter. “My primary reason is to come and listen rather than to tell,” he reiterated. “This is my first visit. I read and heard a lot about Anguilla, but I wanted to hear from the Anguillian people first hand: what are their concerns, what are the issues that they are worried about. But the first message from me is that we are interested in Anguilla. We are not ignoring what is happening in Anguilla or any of the Overseas Territories. We want to know what is going on. We want to help where we can help. We want to support the territory to grow, to develop and to manage its own affairs and we want prosperity to come.
“We don’t want to sit in London saying here is how it should happen. We need to come out here – of course the Governor’s Office is here in order to really understand the issues and the people. But I want to use this visit to get my own understanding of the issues.”
Dr Hayes was asked to comment on how important the Overseas Territories were to Britain. “It is an important part of our shared history,” he responded.“The relationship between the UK and a number of the territories goes back 300 or 400 years, so there are huge personal links, family links, business links and, of course, the Overseas Territories citizens having British citizenship. There is a whole range of links in the fabric of the society. So it is not a mathematical exercise…You are a part of us and we are a part of you whether we like it or not, because of history…
He was questioned about how long Britain might want to hold on to the territories as non-independent islands. “The defining characteristic of the relationship is that it has to be a voluntary one on both sides,” Dr Haynes explained. “The White Paper that we published last year reaffirms that if you decide or, indeed, if we decide, we want to have a different relationship, then we are not closing the door. We are happy to talk about it and work through it. That has been the consistent position of the UK. It is a voluntary arrangement. We think there are benefits to both sides, but if you decide you want to do something different, and if it is properly the will of the people, to change the relationship, then we are very happy to accept that and to work with you to change it.”
Dr Haynes was questioned about the possibility of financial aid to Anguilla in these difficult economic times. “Indeed it is happening now,” he stated. “We have agreed a contribution to capital development – three million pounds, about twelve million EC dollars – to help with some of the infrastructure development. But, of course, we are also helping in lots of other ways – with training, and support of the public service; with the police and the prison and lots of other activity.
“Of crucial importance also, is the Joint Ministerial Council at the end of this year where all the Chief Ministers from all the territories come together and meet with our Prime Minister and other Ministers, focusing on economic development. We are working together. As you will appreciate, economic development cannot just be summoned up. Governments around the world, including the UK, are trying to lift their economies and to generate growth. But at the end of the day, it is the private sector which generates the growth and creates jobs. And that is what we want to work with Anguilla to make happen.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hubert Hughes, who met Dr Hayes during his visits to London, expressed delight over his visit to Anguilla, describing him as “a nice man”. He further commented: “I was looking forward to Dr Hayes coming to Anguilla for a long time because he is new. I met him some time ago with the Governor and I was very impressed with him and so I wanted him to come to Anguilla, but when it was arranged for him to come, I was not going to be in Anguilla so his coming was delayed. At last we have him, but it is too short for me. He is a nice man. I don’t think I will be disappointed.”
