Anguilla’s Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, and other members of his Cabinet, speaking to representatives of media houses at the Government’s press conference on Tuesday, February 9, indicated that the Government is anxious to move forward with urgent economic and financial matters facing the island. They indicated that the hold-up, in many cases, was due to the long delay of the British Government to approve the 2016 National Budget, the Banking Act and the Asset Management Corporation Act passed in the House of Assembly – all of which provide separate, but intertwined, elements aimed at resolving the protracted banking sector problems.
The position of the British Government on the above issues was set out in a recently updated statement by Governor Christina Scott, circulated to the Government, the media and, by extension, the public. Mr. Banks discounted the views expressed by talk show hosts, pundits and commentators that her comments were negative for Anguilla – and he charged that such views were representative of their own political interests.
“In terms of the presentation made by the Governor, in her response to the Budget [embodied in the Appropriation Act 2015] and the passage of the Banking Act [and the Asset Management Corporation Act], I thought it (the Governor’s statement) was a very useful representation of the issues that were taking place over the last couple of weeks,” he stated. “There is absolutely nothing negative about it except, as I have always been saying, that this process has taken too long unnecessarily. But in terms of her presentation of the issues, we are having discussions and, as she said at the end of her statement, [there] will be some resolution within the coming fortnight. Of course that means that, by the end of next week, we should all be hearing something positive about those two issues: the assent to the budget as well as the assent to the banking legislation which affects the resolution of the banking sector. In terms of the resolution of the banking sector, I have always said that it is an urgent matter and that, in terms of moving forward, perfection should not be the enemy of good. In other words, as we linger-on trying to resolve this issue, the situation will continue to deteriorate and probably do more damage than good as we wait to get the process right.”
The Chief Minister continued: “Although there may be some important matters the British Government may be concerned about, I think it is important that they be moved forward very speedily. As the Governor pointed out…the Government of Anguilla and the UK Government are continuing to discuss a number of important detailed elements of the resolution plans [for the bank] to ensure that they are both affordable to the Government of Anguilla and sustainable. The Government of Anguilla has already made the determination that this budget we put together is affordable and that it is sustainable. Certainly, the British Government has the right – as the administering power to have contingent liability for what happens in Anguilla – to want to go a step further that it is comfortable with the resolution, the Banking Acts as well as the Budget. We are of course concerned that it is taking too long.”
He pointed to one of a number of matters, which are being affected by the stalemate of the banking issue, which he described as one of the most important the Government has to face going forward. “We had at least two meetings with investors this morning – and, on every occasion, the significance of getting the banking situation resolved was one of the key considerations of their making an investment in Anguilla,” he disclosed.
Mr. Banks was pleased that, according to the Governor’s statement, the British Government had expressed an interest in considering how best to support the growth of the Anguillian economy alongside the plans of the island’s Government. “That is a good thing,” he remarked. “The British Government has now come to the recognition that it is not only about balancing the budget. It is also about the supply side where you put money in the economy to enable us to get to that point.”
One of the matters on which he gave some additional information was the composition of the Board to govern the “Bridge Bank” – the single bank proposed to result from the amalgamation and restructuring of NBA and CCB. He said that in addition to the three directors from Anguilla, and the other two from the region, put forward by his Government, it was proposed by the British Government that two more directors should be appointed: one by the Caribbean Development Bank and the other by the Governor of Anguilla. He had no issue with that, stating that the Government wants to have a team that serves the interest of the people of Anguilla and to ensure that “there is an arms-length transparent governing process in place.”
Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, Minister of Social Development, also made reference to the Governor’s statement in relation to the economic and financial situation in Anguilla including the need to resolve the banking issue. He joined in criticising a number of persons for “gloating over what is a very unfortunate and unnecessary delay” relating to the assent to the Budget and the Banking Acts. He referred to “an ambitious list of economic reforms” and projects which the Anguilla Government is working towards in consultation with the British Government and to which the IMF has agreed. He quoted the Governor’s statement about the likelihood that UK Ministers may consider making available UK taxpayers’ money to be invested in Anguilla if they (the Ministers) are persuaded that such money will be effectively used. Mr. Rogers had no objection (like Mr. Banks) to the appointment of a Financial Adviser to support the Anguilla Government in delivering its reform programmes within the fiscal framework agreed to with the UK. “I just wish to say that any assistance with UK taxpayers’ money being invested in Anguilla would be welcome. To that end, it is a long list [of projects to finance] especially in the social services area.”
Mr. Rogers spoke about the need to introduce a National Health Insurance System and the provision of a modern medical facility – the latter of which he is already working towards. He also mentioned the need for a new secondary school building to which he suggested that successful past students of The Valley Secondary School, and the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, can contribute.
Mr. Curtis Richardson, Minister of Infrastructure, said there were some overtures to his Ministry by the British Government as regards the airport project. “One of the things we have been asked to do, to move forward, is to form an Airport Project Management Team and that is something I will be doing this month for certain,” he revealed. “I will be getting a number of persons within government agencies to form a small project steering committee so that we can move ahead as quickly as possible. Of course the expansion and development of the airport is a very large and elaborate undertaking.”
The Minister also spoke about a number of other projects including a Ferryboat Terminal Enhancement Project at Blowing Point in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the plan for which should be unveiled shortly; and repairs to the Road Bay Jetty later this year.
Earlier, Mr. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, spoke about a number of matters with respect to sports tourism. His comments in that area are contained in a separate article elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian.
The information gleaned at the Government’s press conference was not altogether related to the budget and other financial and economic matters. However, the approval of the budget and the resolution of the banking situation will determine, to a great extent, the way forward in Anguilla.
