Last Friday, October 25, 2013, an event took place in the Anguilla House of Assembly that has made it very clear how this Anguilla United Movement Government intends to complete its term of office and campaign for re-election. I happened to have been off-island on personal business — yet I was swamped by calls from Anguilla from persons who were expressing their outrage at the manner in which the Parliamentary Secretary, Haydn Hughes, was using “parliamentary immunity” to scandalize and defame his political opponents. I sincerely hope that Cable & Wireless/LIME will be merciful with their roaming charges.
It was just two days after the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) Graduation Ceremony was conducted under the theme: “Embracing Opportunities with Enlightened Minds”, that Haydn Hughes put on this performance clearly showing his lack of enlightenment as well as his disdain for the opportunity and privilege afforded him, as a Nominated Member, to make a positive contribution to good governance and justice in the Anguilla House of Assembly. While Haydn may never have had the privilege of graduating in an ALHCS ceremony nor of being elected to the Anguilla House of Assembly — that is certainly no excuse for the shameful and disgraceful conduct that he exhibited in those hallowed halls.
My sources and the tapes confirm that he lied; that he used the opportunity in a cowardly manner while the Opposition was not in the House; and that he bullied the Speaker by disregarding the rules of procedure that require him to be relevant in his presentation. Someone remarked that all it showed was that he is a liar, a coward and a bully. The 157 graduates from the ALHCS would not have been impressed by Haydn’s behaviour after that inspiring and motivating address they received from their Principal, Mrs. Ingrid Lake, on that important milestone event in their lives. It certainly was not the kind of conduct that was in sync with her admonition to “Think big! Think positive and be the best that you can ever be at whatever you decide to do!” Haydn’s behaviour in the House has been widely characterized as despicable!
It must be noted that the House of Assembly was not properly constituted. It did not have the required quorum, that is, the minimum number of Members present to carry on Government business in accordance with the Constitution. This situation came about as a result of the fact that the AUM Government continues to call emergency meetings of the House without giving elected members in the Opposition the required seven days to prepare themselves for the debate. The Opposition Members insist that if they are to be expected to make a proper contribution to important legislation brought before the House they must be given time to do their research and study. They also recognize that there will be times when legislation may be urgent and, in such circumstances, especially if it is straightforward, they have been extremely cooperative with the Government. However, on this particular occasion they were asked to meet in less than two days and did not receive their papers until hours before the meeting. One member did not receive his papers at all. As a consequence the Opposition Members decided that, based on the items on the Agenda, if they were not given more time to study the papers they would not feel justified in going to the House. Having not received a favourable response the Opposition then boycotted the sitting of the House. The Elected Member for West End, the Hon Walcott Richardson was also absent for other reasons which left the House without the required quorum needed to transact business.
In the circumstances of a lack of quorum being pointed out to the Speaker, she/he is obliged to adjourn the House. The Speaker may also do so on his/her own account if he/she determines that there is no quorum. This happened in 1999 in the landmark case of Speaker Hon. Leroy C. Rogers against Chief Minister Hon. Hubert B. Hughes. The Court ruled that Speaker Rogers was within his right not to conduct a sitting of the House without the required quorum. This ruling also led to the fall of the AUM Government in 2000 because the Chief Minister (Hubert Hughes) was unable to call a meeting of the House to transact Government business.
But to further exacerbate the situation last Friday, three other members of the House, namely, the Deputy Speaker Hon. Leroy C. Rogers; the Attorney General Hon. James Wood; and the Acting Deputy Governor Larry Franklin also left the House reportedly because there was a lack of quorum. It was therefore clear that the House was never properly constituted and as a consequence may have been adjourned. Conceivably, the Chief Minister may have prevailed on the Speaker to carry on the meeting of the House in the face of a clear lack of a quorum. The Speaker did not adjourn the House; the bills before the House were passed in the absence of a quorum; and the Government exploited the opportunity to put forward its agenda and defame and scandalize its political opponents in that sheltered environment without the possibility of rebuttal by the Opposition. It was indeed a coward’s, a liar’s and bully’s paradise!
It would be a fair question to ask: “Why did the Opposition Members refuse to go to the House on short notice on this occasion, even though they have done so in the past?” Firstly, the business being brought before the House was not urgent. Both Bills could have waited the required seven days. Secondly, the Bill having to do with an Amendment of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement is controversial because it impacts the present situation with regard to the takeover of our indigenous banks. The Opposition needed more time to research its impacts. And finally, the Opposition members have been trying to put a number of motions on the Agenda for some time and this AUM Government, by calling emergency meetings, can prevent them from doing so. In other words, the Government has been stifling proper debate on Bills before the House and obstructing the processing of motions coming from the Opposition.
Questions are being asked, in the wider community, regarding the validity of the legislation passed in the House during the last sitting – as well as whether Haydn Hughes is still protected from prosecution on the comments he made about his political opponents — since the House was not properly constituted. In fact, the Opposition is seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General and other experts on the matter. And other persons who are aware that Haydn and his father use the House of Assembly to tell lies without the possibility of being prosecuted – and to make comments cowardly from a place where their opponents cannot defend themselves – are asking the question: Is Haydn still protected in such a House?
I do not intend to comment here on Haydn’s rant in the House last Friday — not even on those comments he made about me in particular. Like his father, he has long decided that he will use the shelter of “parliamentary privilege”, in the House, to attack his opponents where he has been convinced he can tell lies without fear of prosecution. And, in keeping with this cowardly attitude, he also has a preference for using the blogs and the Internet where he can hide his identity and make similarly false statements and half-truths. Nothing has changed. This is the strategy that worked for him in the last election and he is hoping that he can successfully employ it once more to defend a failed record in Government. For four years the AUM Government leadership has been using the “blame game”, without shame to account for its lack of success. It now appears that its members’ intend to use it once more to seek a further five years. Unfortunately, they seem to be using the same old excuses whereas people are looking for solutions. Will those lies and false promises work again?
I have not had the privilege of sitting in the Anguilla House of Assembly for the last four years, but the people of Valley North and Valley South afforded me that privilege for a total of twenty-eight years of my life. It was a privilege which I cherished and which I never exploited by slandering, maligning, defaming or abusing my opponents or any other citizen. I used that privilege to advance the wellbeing of the people of Anguilla — not to demean them. I have not sat in the House of Assembly for four years, but during my absence my name has rung out in those Chambers as if I had never left. I have never been the Chief Minister of Anguilla, yet few Chief Ministers have gotten more attention than me in the last four years. There is therefore no question that I have made an impact whether positively or negatively. It means that I have not been twiddling my thumbs. Nor fiddling with my blackberry!
I am proud of my contribution, despite the views of my detractors, and challenge anyone of the unelected upstarts, like Haydn Hughes, to question my record of service to the people of Anguilla. Haydn Hughes should appreciate the privilege of being allowed to sit as a Nominated Member in the House of Assembly and seek to earn the respect of the citizens of this country — thereby assuring the privilege of being elected sometime in the future. To carry on the same system of lies and abuse perfected by his father, over the years, is not in keeping with this new age of information of which he is a product. The 157 new graduates of ALHCS deserve a more enlightened leadership style than that.
But even though I have mentioned Haydn’s name a number of times in this article — it is really not about him. It is about a style of politics and an approach to power that, if left unchecked, will destroy Anguilla. Haydn is really like a child with a new toy. He seems to believe this is a game. A game you can win by finding a way to outwit your opponent with tricks and schemes — and after it is all over you can all have a nice laugh about it. I want to admonish Haydn, and others like him, that despite the fact that he is having a great time and much fun — people are hurting and suffering. I want him to know that it is not a child’s joke to make other people believe that someone else is responsible for their demise — when you know it is not so. You are playing games with peoples lives and perhaps your own. Grow up! Get serious! And stop playing! Stop being a liar; a coward; and a bully! Ah me say so!
