Top of the agenda for the Anguilla Government’s press conference on Tuesday this week, November 24, was the forthcoming attendance of a delegation at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council meetings in London commencing next week.
The delegation, leaving the island on Friday, November 27, comprises Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks; Minister of Social Development, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers; Permanent Secretary, Dr. Aidan Harrigan and Mr. Fritz Smith. It is an annual meeting where the Ministers of the Overseas Territories discuss issues affecting their territories with UK Ministers.
“We will also be meeting with our colleagues in the Overseas Territories,” Mr. Banks reported. “That meeting will happen prior to the Joint Ministerial Council where we will again have an opportunity to discuss common issues among ourselves relating to the Overseas Territories in general. A number of us have issues relating to the financial services sector and the Company Management Beneficial Registry…We will be talking directly with our counterparts in the FCO who have been dealing with us with the banking situation. That issue is far advanced and we are looking for a resolution that is up for consideration between the ECCB, IMF, World Bank, CDB and now the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They are again having a look at the viability/affordability of it [the resolution], the concerns that they have and the contingent liability factor. We are hoping to bring some conclusions to those concerns and also come up with some amendments or adjustments so that we can make to it [the resolution] more palatable to our administering power.”
Mr. Banks said that in the margins of the Joint Ministerial Council meetings he and his delegation would be meeting with a number of potential investors in Anguilla. Meetings will also be held with members of the Anguillian community in Slough where the delegation will be staying.
Minister of Social Development, Mr. Rogers, said he would be discussing, with appropriate UK officials, the funding of an athletic track in Anguilla. He will base his request on the fact that Anguillian athletes, Shara Proctor and Zharnel Hughes, are record holders for Great Britain’s Sports and that, accordingly, Anguilla should be assisted with an athletic track. He will also be part of the discussion on the establishment and funding of a Sports Council for the Overseas Territories.
Mr. Rogers also spoke about working towards healthcare initiatives in UK, as well as in Canada and the United States, where either through the Governments there and Anguillians in those countries, Anguilla can receive assistance with its health services. He also spoke about the urgent need for a 540 CT Scan Machine, valued at between US$500,000 and US$550,000, for the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla. He was pleased to announce that so far he had been able to obtain commitments of $150,000 from Social Security and $100,000 from ANGLEC. He has also approached a number of hotels and other business places in Anguilla for assistance.
Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor, said Tourism Week in Anguilla, from November 28 to December 5, was an important event for the further promotion of the hospitality industry. “This year, the theme of ‘One sea, one voice and one Caribbean’ is key to what the CTO is all about,” he stated. “It tells us that it is not that the islands are in isolation, but collectively we need the support of each other. There is no secret that here in Anguilla, throughout the Caribbean and throughout the world, for that matter, everybody needs to understand the importance [of] tourism… to every country or island. Here in Anguilla it is important that everyone who works in the tourism industry, and sells that special part of us that is promoted in the outside world, [highlights the fact] that we are some of the most friendly people in the Caribbean.”
Mr. Connor disclosed that he will be travelling to Vancouver, Canada, this week to attend a Global Forum of Parliamentary Champions of Diabetes. He will be representing Minister of Social Development, Mr.Rogers. “Diabetes is a big killer of us here in the Caribbean and Anguilla,” he stressed. “It is something that is affecting the majority of families or households. I am going to see exactly what I can learn. I will make a presentation on the effects of diabetes in Anguilla, the challenges we face, the way forward, and will also see what ideas I can bring back.”
Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Curtis Richardson, spoke on various matters in which his Ministry is involved. He was pleased with the progress in such areas as fisheries and marine resources, agriculture, the supply of water, plans for road and port development and the restoration of the late night ferry between St. Maarten and Anguilla.
Replying to a question about the development of the airport, he said: “The airport expansion and development is a major undertaking. It therefore involves a lot of money – millions of dollars. When people invest their money they have to be very certain, and a lot of studies must be done. We are having a conversation all the time, narrowing down exactly what we want. I have to work with the Airport Manager, align the thinking of the Board and other Government officials. That in itself is a big job but I am doing the necessary groundwork, and I am about ninety percent on a path I would like to take – and then I have to sell it to everybody else, get the support of all the players and then move forward.”
He pointed out, however, that the procurement process and the British Government’s restrictions regarding contingent liabilities were matters to take into account in moving forward.
Ministerial Assistant in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mrs. Evalie Bradley, said the Labour Code had now reached a stage where the Ministry of Home Affairs was in a position to bring the matter to the attention of the public. “During the first week in December we will begin our public consultations relating to the Labour Code. We are encouraging persons to come out to those consultations and make their input,” she stated.
