The Following address was delivered by the Hon. Oppostion Leader, Ms. Pam Webster, in the Anguilla House of Assembly on Monday, November 16, 2015.
Mr. Speaker
Our island nation faces one of the darkest hours in its history. What I have to say will please noone who continues to support either of our main political parties, nor will it bring me popularity with many, but it has to said. Our politicians have ALL failed us.
The problem of the two indigenous banks did not just pop up out of the woodwork in recent weeks. The ECCB conservatorship was imposed in August 2013. The AUM government of the day had nearly two years to devise a workable solution. Instead they devoted much of their energy to seeking to whip up enthusiasm for Anguilla to become independent, instead of recognising that although Anguilla is an island, to prosper it must also subscribe to the world order, whether we like that world order or not. In pursuit of their mistaken priorities, they, like the present government, concealed the true nature and problems of our banking crisis from the electorate.
Our current AUF government have had more than six months to come to grips with what, by the time they were elected in April 2015, had become a festering problem. Since 1st June I have urged them to create a committee and consult with the people of Anguilla on the issues facing them, but although a Select Committee of the whole House has been established, it has met only once last Friday for an hour and a half and has not been provided with any information to enable it to reach informed conclusions. To this day the government have declined to give a full explanation as to why they consider it expedient to pass the Banking Bill, and especially why they consider it necessary to do so at break neck speed and under a cloak of secrecy as to their real objectives.
Under intense pressure from the electorate they have engaged, in recent days, in a pretense of consultation, but they have done so with no sense of humility for having failed to do so sooner, and with grotesque arrogance in their criticisms of others. At Saturday’s quote unquote “consultation” in Island Harbour, the Chief Minister scathingly criticised the Chairman of the Anguilla Financial Services Commission, for her reasoned and fully justified letter dated 12th November 2015, pointing out that although her well qualified team could have played a valuable part in assessing the options, they had not been consulted at all, much less consulted in time to do so. The CM disclosed at the Island Harbour meeting on Friday that it was an accident that the Clerk of the Court’s letter went to the Financial Services Commission. This is a perfect example of the CM’s ineptitude. We pay the FSC vast sums of money to help with our development. They are one of the main stakeholders in Anguilla’s financial services industry and their input is not just vital it would have been invaluable. Governments all over the world tap into the expertise of this body, and yet the CM has been dithering and incapable of reaching decisions on the issue without even talking to them. The CM’s arrogant and very troubling refusal to share all the facts and issues (seemingly with anyone, including his own ministers) is the root cause of the difficulties Anguilla now faces, and one way or another it must stop.
Mr Speaker. The government’s position on this issue stumbles from one public relations disaster to another and instils no confidence in their competence to deal with it. Having said that, we Anguillians must, if we care for the future of our beloved country, follow our reason rather than our emotions. For better or for worse we have elected a government. We may not like – indeed we do not like – what it is doing or failing to do. I, for one, object most strongly to the contempt with which the government – and especially the Chief Minister – have treated us all, and continue to treat us all. But the hard fact we have to face is that they will pass the Banking Bill whether we like it or not, and our interests and the interests of Anguilla as a whole will therefore be better served, i suggest, by seeking to influence them in the next steps that will follow, by insisting upon full and proper consultation, both within the Select Committee of the Whole House, on the issue, and in the public arena, than by attempting to obstruct the passage of the Bill at this time.
Attractive as it may seem to invoke the spirit of 1967 to oppose the Bill on the grounds that it needs amendment, that option is simply not available to us in the short term, as the conditions of the treaty do not permit it without regional consent. So what are our options? They are EITHER to wage war with the government and render it impossible for them to deliver us from the jaws of total catastrophe – not a very intelligent option to put it mildly – OR to allow them to take the next crucial step of passing the Bill but seek a better understanding with them so that they are less unwilling to consult with us going forward. Isaiah 1 verses 18-20 is very apt: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”.
But let me turn now, Mr Speaker, in the direction towards which the government must aim, if it is to rescue not only its own reputation but also, and far more importantly in my view, the future of Anguilla. From now on the government’s aim must be to build a consensus of the people. I repeat what I said in my radio address the other day: “United we stand, divided we fall”.
I believe Anguilla now needs political leadership every bit as much as it did in 1967. I pray that leadership will emerge and will prevail. I reach no conclusion as to what is the right solution for Anguilla in this crisis, because we have not yet been given many of the relevant facts. But what I say now to the Chief Minister and his government is that if you are given the benefit of the doubt now, and the people tolerate, under sufferance, the passage of the Banking Act, you MUST consult the people properly on the way forward for the banks from there onwards before deciding on your preferred solution. And while I appreciate that no solution can satisfy everyone’s interests, hopefully the decision you reach in consultation with the people will serve the best interests of Anguilla as a whole.
The arguments of some seek a solution that would isolate Anguilla from the mainstream of banking regulation and would lead to Anguilla’s characterisation as a pariah in terms of international financial services. It goes without saying that that would not strengthen Anguilla as a nation. That would not support the aspirations of our youth. That would render Anguilla unable to attract investment or business upon which to rebuild its prosperity.
I am sure I shall be accused of having my cake and eating it, by objecting to the Bill and finally conceding that its First Reading is inevitable. I make no apology in this respect. That is entirely consistent with my objective that Anguillians should unite for the common good.
Whatever the future holds – and I pray for the sake of Anguilla and Anguillians that it will be a brighter future than we can see at present – I cannot emphasise too strongly, Mr Speaker, the importance of the Anguillian people being given the opportunity, through FULL, RATIONAL and RESPONSIVE consultation, to form a considered view of the options, based on reason rather than on pressurised emotion. Anything less will in my view be a recipe for a divided nation, potential attrition for many many years to come and a failed AUF government.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
