The Editor, The Anguillian March 13,2014
Dear Sir,
We are writing in response to a column written by Victor Banks in The AnguillIan of 7 March 2014.
To begin, this letter is not about politics. Its purpose is to address some misconceptions and rumours regarding CeBlue that were cited in the column and have been circulating amongst the public.
CeBlue was built exclusively with Anguillian contractors and workers using local material to the greatest extent possible, with a building design and landscaping expressing maximum respect for the island’s heritage. We were not granted any duty-free concessions at the outset of the project. The concessions we received were not until late 2012 when the construction was in its final stages and they were supported unanimously by Anguilla’s Parliament.
The entire hospitality management staff of CeBlue is Anguillian. We have only one work permit for a non-belonger.
We have striven to give the utmost respect to the Crocus Bay community, in the planning, construction and maintenance of public facilities and restroom situated at the beach. We have landscaped and upgraded the area and are developing and maintaining public park facilities on public lands in the area.
Our recent donation of a fire truck fulfilled a long-discussed (years!) commitment that was finalized during the negotiation of our MOU, which was completed in August, 2013. This is one of many contributions that have been made to important community activities.
Other rumours concern our involvement with the building once occupied by the Department of Fisheries. We must remind the public that the Fisheries Department vacated the building long before our project began. Their departure was due to the assessment by the Government’s Engineering Department that the building was damaged beyond repair, posed a serious occupational hazard, and should be demolished.
We were granted permission to use the building in May, 2009, on the condition that we install stabilization measures that allowed the building to be utilized as a temporary construction headquarters. We assumed all liability for the building by formally indemnifying the Government against any potential claims arising from the building’s condition.
Crocus Bay has become a cherished destination and is now a significant asset to Anguilla’s economy. It is a fact that we are interested in expanding the project to include up to thirty additional hotel rooms. We have expressed this desire quite openly over the years and with the closure of the water plant, we again reiterated to Government our desire to achieve the same provided that all matters regarding the water situation are finalized. The Government has indicated its interest in our expansion plans once the infrastructure for the delivery of water is secured and all matters regarding the water department and the former provider are worked out.
Water is the most precious resource on our planet, life itself is dependent on it. Sadly, money isn’t far behind. Substantive discussions aimed at accommodating the need for water and public space, increasing economic activity, revenue generation and employment can surely arrive at a solution that will benefit Anguilla to the fullest and we have always supported this.
We are willing to meet and discuss with anyone or any entity mutual concerns regarding the project. In doing so are hopeful, indeed confident, that we can continue to develop our relationship with Anguilla and its people.
Sincerely
The Partners of CeBlue
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
Letter to The Editor
The Editor, The Anguillian newspaper
Dear Sir,
HEAVEN HELP US
I don’t understand what is really going on in this country. It looks as though it is going to the dogs. Take for example, electricity. Almost daily electricity goes off three to four times. It’s disgraceful and nobody in our so called government seems to care about it. Apart from its effects on the business sector, even government’s offices are severely affected with civil servants having to go home early or spend the day at home instead of at work. The electricity system is unreliable and it appears that some people don’t know what they are doing.
One of the causes of the 1967 Anguilla Revolution was the lack of electricity, and 47 years later we still lack electricity because it is more off than on. Apart from those who do get electricity, now and again, there are those who don’t get it all. They can’t afford it because the price is too high. Some 800 or so households, it has been alleged, cannot afford to pay their electricity bills because it is costing them an arm and a leg. Yes. They went to war 47 years ago because of the lack of electricity and they are still without it because the price is unaffordable and then the distribution system is most unreliable. Outages three to four times a day are unacceptable in the 21st century Anguilla.
Another thing for which we went to war, 47 years ago, was water. We got the water but over the past three years or so the system has collapsed. Yes, there was water 24 hours a day. Then, later, for whatever reason, it had to be rationed like: today for the east, tomorrow for the west. Now it looks as though it is: this week for north, and next week for the south. And when you get water, it’s more air than water. It is shameful that this is happening in 21st century Anguilla whose economy is dependent on tourism to drive it. I have heard of visitors who can’t use the toilet facilities as our seaports and airport because of the lack of water – because the water run out. Shame on Anguilla and on a government which promised to put things right but can’t put its own self right. It is incompetent – an outright failure.
CM Hubert Hughes, I voted for the AUM in 2010 but I will not do so in 2015. I will not make the same mistake twice. I have learnt my lesson. You and your government have been a huge disappointment. And while things are falling apart, you are travelling all across the Caribbean, from meeting to meeting from which we can see no tangible results – except, of course, the rapid depletion of government revenue. Sometimes the island is left with one Minister: the Acting Chief Minister Evan Gumbs. Imagine that happening in 21st century Anguilla. Heaven help us.
A disappointed AUM supporter
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
Letter to the Editor
The Editor, The Anguillian newspaper
Dear Sir,
RISEN FROM THE DEAD
Women of Anguilla, AWAKE! Rise up! You are needed once again. Over 40 years ago you got rid of the man who wanted to deny you your freedom; the man who wanted to put bones in your rice and pepper in your soup.
You remember him, BRADSHAW? Well he has risen from the dead and, what is worse, he has SOUTHWELL with him. These two men are here in Anguilla trampling on the freedoms of Anguillian women: their freedom to educate themselves, their freedom to speak their minds, their freedom to associate, their freedom to become what they want to be – to realize their dreams – and their freedom to PRAY. Yes, they are trampling on women’s freedom and right to PRAY.
Yes, ladies, your freedoms are being violated by the vicious attacks on women by these two deads. They just want our women to have bones in their rice and pepper in their soup. Indeed, Bradshaw and Southwell are here again. They have no respect for our women. They refuse to treat them with dignity.
Anguillian women, you cannot stay quiet. Rise up and do what you are famous and well-known for. Show these two deads what women, whom they have recklessly and indecently described as THINGS, can do.
Remember that your pen/pencil is mightier than the sword. Send Bradshaw and Southwell back where they belong: in their graves. In 2015, make sure that you bury them for good. Their ghosts are a curse to Anguilla. If they ever rise again, you sure bet Anguilla dead. Actually, Anguilla is close to death’s door right now.
A concerned Anguillian woman
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
