They say that if you live long enough, you’ll see just about everything, but one thing we hadn’t counted on was democracy at gunpoint in Anguilla. This all came about when the newly-elected government of one Victor F. Banks tried to ram through a banking resolution without any debate. The behavior of Anguillians, usually a peace loving people, was in response to the draconian measures of the said Bill. The bill’s first reading was ultimately postponed, and the CM tried to have meetings in which he treated the people with utter contempt. The Bill was later passed despite the objections of the opposition and the people.
What was really sad to see was the way in which we the people were treated.We were kept at bay by the Royal Police with guns, attack dogs, and no doubt, tear gas.
This was democracy in action, AUF style. But we were not out of the woods just as yet, for we would have to endure more of the same when said government rammed the Asset Management Act down our throats just as they’d done with the Banking Act. So let us remember those two dates, November 12th and November 26th as two dates that will long live in the Anguillian psyche for as long as we live.
At the meeting of the Monetary Council earlier this year when all of the ministers from the other seven countries, met here in Anguilla, at which time the Chairmanship was passed on to our own Minister of Finance, the Honorable Victor F. Banks, it was assumed that there was no better time to discuss our indigenous banks, and how to move forward with their rehab. When Mr. Banks got up to make his presentation, he took painstaking efforts to enlighten the other member countries, that the region does in fact face many challenges, but that there wasn’t a one size fits all solution. With that being said, I was under the impression that Mr. Banks finally understood that our situation was not the same as everyone else’s.
Well, several months have passed, and we seem to be in worse shape now than we’ve ever been before. To strengthen our indigenous banks, which was the cornerstone of the AUF platform all appears now to have been nothing more than a ruse, one used to get elected. It appears that a man’s word no longer carries any weight. This is the same party that we depended on to get us back to solvency. This is the same party whose slogan was “it’s all about you.” One can safely conclude that Mr. Banks has made his last campaign speech, and therefore he can do whatever he pleases, this time out.
It appears that Mr. Banks has joined the ranks of his fellow Caribbean leaders, the Douglasses and the Birds, who despite the objections of their people, routinely passed legislation anyway. You’ll recall, Dr. Douglas of St. Kitts sat on a no confidence vote for over two years. We are not there yet, but we have a Speaker who allegedly seems to be consistently flaunting parliamentary procedures, and who allegedly defers to the government more often than not. I was under the impression that after the last government, we would clean up our act and do things the right way. It is embarrassing to listen to the current speaker behave in the manner that he does.
Once again we find ourselves in a place that pales by comparison to Statehood and Robert Bradshaw. Our government under the leadership of Victor Banks, is yet to level with the Anguillian people as to what his economic plan for going forward is. The arrogance with which this government operates is unbelievable. All of a sudden every-
thing needs to be rushed through, because time is of the essence, and so because the previous government wasted almost two years and did nothing, this one who wasted another seven months, is now trying to push through, without any debate, the bidding of the ECCB.
We cannot continue on this trajectory, for if we do, we are riddling our body with self inflicted wounds. We are now faced with the distinct possibility of losing our homeland, for if Mr. Banks is allowed to continue unfettered with his asset trust legislation and the way in which it is written, we might as well, those of us, who can, start using our EU passports, and head for good old mother England, for that is all that we will have left. Victor, and his one percent cronies, who seem so anxious, to close our indigenous banks and sell off their assets, and form another bank, will have succeeded in creating his so-
called class structure, which he was allegedly overheard talking about.
They say that it’s usually your own are the ones who will do you in. In the preamble to the Mayor Show, the Willy Lynch method by Deborah Anderson is discussed. One of the points it makes, is that Jewish people will look out for each other in spite of dislike of one another, but black people on the other hand, will rat on each other and try to pull down each other to get ahead. Now I don’t know what Victor’s plan is, and neither does Anguilla, but maybe his government knows.
So far what has he done to get us back on track? Our economy is in a free fall and instead of tackling the issue of jobs, he’s become preoccupied with the indigenous banks. Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory and as such, operates under strict guidelines of the British. We have really never adhered to guidelines as such as they were imposed by the British. We can’t do anything without their say so. We have aligned ourselves, with the exception of Montserrat, with six independent countries, all of whom are plantocracies. They do not have Anguilla’s resources, and are very much in need of an infusion of cold hard cash to fund their governments. Farfetched? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Let us bone up on our history, because it’s a very good chance that history will repeat itself. This is nothing more than a back door attempt to strip us of our sovereignty, an attempt to re-colonize us. We fought that battle already.
It is amazing then that our government, led by the Honorable Victor F. Banks, a man who campaigned on saving the banks as the basis of their mandate, is now more than eager to obliterate them. Was the CM taking liberties with the truth when he said that, or has something happened along the way that would cause such a drastic deviation off course? None of this makes sense. Victor knows that we’re a British Territory and we can’t do anything without their OK. He knows this. He likes to brag about his political acumen and, that being said, he knows that this stuff that he’s trying to pull off will never sit well with the Brits. Our constitution is such that it spells out exactly everyone’s power.
Anguilla is the last bastion of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. We are in possession of that which they want. Land! Land! And more Land. We are about to be colonized once more now by the Little Eight, the only problem is that they have no wealth. That’s where we come in. They will foreclose on our properties, because we are being led by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who cannot see what’s going on, or maybe he does see. We were not part of the plantocracy. We own what we have because of the two indigenous banks. Why don’t we fix the two banks, rather than getting our Government involved in banking. We already know that route is a recipe for disaster, which the CM has been made aware of.
We are right now at the mercy of a government which shows no sign of relenting in its drive to change the face of Anguilla. We have in our Chief Minister, a man, who is also the Minister of Finance, and the Chairman of the Monetary Council of the ECCB. It is hard to see how the Chairman of the Monetary Council, can make decisions concerning our indigenous banks, without being in conflict.
Last year, the Scots held a referendum as to whether or not they wanted to go independent or remain a part of the British Commonwealth. Prior to the election, the Scots had almost five years in which to make their case. They debated both the negatives and the positives and at the end of the day they made a decision to stay. As a British Overseas Territory, weren’t we entitled to the same rights? As the EU and UK representative, Ms Dorothea Hodge, stated in her letter of resignation to the Chief Minister: “Had the sort of thing that she witnessed happening in Anguilla, happened in any other Western democracy-France, UK or Canada, there would be uproar.”
So here it is, more than 400 years ago the British parliament attempted to govern after its term had expired. They were kicked out by the actions and words of Oliver Cromwell. He told them: “You have sat for far too long for any good you have been doing lately.” He told them , as we are telling you, CM Banks and your cabinet now: “Depart I say and let us have done with you. In the name of God…Go!” Or in the words of fellow West Indian, the Mighty Sparrow: “Take your Georgie bundle and leave and go, don’t come back no more.” Whether this government will heed the words of Oliver Cromwell or Sparrow, remains to be seen.
We deserve better, .We are not animals to be herded off to the side, because we are sticking up for our rights. If not us, then who, and if not now, when and if not here, then where? Those are the questions that we as a people must ask and have answered. We really cannot let this government get away with what they’re trying to do. Guns, attack dogs and tear gas? Did you ever think that the word Anguilla would be associated with the others. Well, like I said, the longer one lives, the more one will see. Till next time may God continue to bless us all and may He bless Anguilla.
