October 28, 2013
Her Excellency the Governor
Ms. Christina Scott
Government House
Old Ta,
Anguilla
Dear Governor,
One of your most important functions is clearly the maintenance of Good Governance in Anguilla. Against this backdrop, we, the Members of the Opposition, strongly advise you not to sign into law the two pieces of Legislation passed by the House of Assembly on the 25th October 2013, namely, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2013 and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement (Amendment) Act 2013.
We strongly contend that were you to assent to these two bills you would undermine the principle of Good Governance and thereby set a dangerous precedent that could cause structural damage to the democratic foundation of our society. The Members of the Opposition were not properly informed and in one instance, not informed at all. In addition, the House was not properly constituted because there was no quorum as set out in the Constitution of Anguilla.
Section 2(1) is an integral and critical part of the Legislative Assembly (Procedure) Rules, 1976. Its primary function is to ensure the active involvement of all Members in the affairs of the House, including the passage of Legislation. We set it out below for the purposes of clarity and discussion.
The Assembly shall meet on such days as the Speaker shall determine. Not less than seven days before the date of a meeting the Clerk of the Assembly shall post or otherwise dispatch a notice of the Meeting addressed to each Member. Provided that in the case of any emergency, of which the Speaker shall be the sole judge, a meeting may be summoned on such short notice as he may determine and such short notice may be given to Members by such means as the urgency of the case permits.
There must be a powerful and justifiable reason for the Speaker to depart from the seven-day rule of notification because it forms the bedrock for debate in the House. Members must be informed of the meeting and given adequate and reasonable time to prepare for debate by way of research and discussion with their constituents and other interest groups. Knowledge of the Meeting is usually widespread.
We, the Members of the Opposition, are not convinced that the Speaker had good reason to depart from this well-established rule, as we were not furnished with any explanation (in writing or otherwise) prior to the sitting. Unfortunately, the Speaker chose to call the Meeting on the basis of an emergency. What then was the nature or the emergency? There was no national disaster; there was no fiscal crisis; there was no security issue; and there was no budgetary crisis.
Clearly, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2013 did not need an emergency meeting to secure its passage. The Chief Minister, the Hon. Hubert Hughes, actually signed the Agreement on April 5, 2013. Within that time frame the Bill could have been passed in the normal course of events, benefitting considerably from participation by the Opposition Members, especially in light of the fact that it will fundamentally change the way Anguilla is governed.
In respect of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement (Amendment) Act, 2013, we are at a loss to determine why it had to be passed on an emergency basis. Strangely enough, neither the Mover of the Motion, the Honourable Chief Minister, who is also the Minister of Finance, nor any other Member of his Government provided a rationale for its passage. It seeks only to provide a degree of immunity to the ECCB, in relation to certain matters.
The method employed to inform Members of the Opposition of the Meeting was highly questionable. The Speaker informed the Member for Valley North, Hon. Evans McNiel Rogers of the Meeting at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School’s Graduation Ceremony on the evening of Wednesday October 23, 2013. The Clerk of the House informed the Hon. Othlyn Vanterpool, Member for Island Harbour, on the same Wednesday evening to collect his papers at the House for the Meeting. The other Member, the Hon. Edison Baird, Member for Road North was not informed of the Meeting at all, neither was he provided with any papers.
The Speaker admitted that the system of communicating information to Members was broken and that there was no messenger to take the Agenda and other papers to each Member, which is the established practice.
Disturbingly, the two pieces of Legislation were passed without a quorum, that is, the minimum number of Members needed to conduct business in the House. It is our understanding that the Acting Deputy Governor, Mr. Larry Franklin, and the Attorney General, Mr. James Wood, indicated to the Speaker, by the way of a note, the absence of a quorum. And subsequently they left the House.
Mr. Leroy Rogers, The Second Nominated Member, and Deputy Speaker, recognizing the absence of a quorum and its implications for Good Governance, did not take part in the proceedings of the House and left the Legislative Chamber. Also absent from the House were the three Members of the Opposition and the Member for West End.
These pieces of Legislation therefore were passed by three Ministers of Government, namely, the Hon. Hubert Hughes; the Hon. Evan Gumbs; and the Hon. Jerome Roberts, along with the help of the unelected Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Haydn Hughes.
In conclusion, we, the Members of the Opposition, reiterate our position, that in light of the above circumstances, you should not at this time give your assent to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2013 and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agreement (Amendment) Act, 2013.
Sincerely,
Evans McNiel Rogers
Leader of the Opposition & Member for Valley North.
Othlyn O. Vanterpool
Member for Island Harbour
Edison A. Baird
Member for Road North
cc. Media
(Publised without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
