It has been a little over a year since the Anguilla United Front (AUF) party won the General Elections and formed the Government. The anniversary was celebrated with members worshipping together at the St Mary’s Anglican Church, radio addresses and a grand public meeting at the Landsome Bowl Cultural Centre where members gave an account of their year in office. It has been a difficult year for the AUF. According to the Honourable Evans McNiel Rogers, Minister of Health and Social Development, it has been the most difficult year he has experienced in his political career because of the many critical economic issues the Government had to address.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Anguilla United Movement (AUM) party, Dr Ellis Webster, has made it clear that he gives the AUF a failing grade on its first year in office. According to him, the AUF has not accomplished anything meaningful for the people of Anguilla but, rather, has placed a bigger tax burden on the public, agreed an unaffordable banking resolution that will cripple generations, and left behind a trail of broken promises – chief of which is the promise to repeal the Interim Stabilisation Levy. Indeed, as regards the Interim Stabilisation Levy, Dr Webster is correct. Both during the campaign and after taking office, the AUF was very vocal about its commitment to repealing the levy. However, on coming to office, and assessing the implications of the proposed repeal, the Honourable Chief Minister, Victor Banks, had to eat his words and inform the public that the levy would not be repealed at this time. While the Chief Minister must be commended for being man enough to admit that he was wrong, given his previous pronouncements on the issue, the decision to retain the levy has affected the credibility of the AUF’s platform.
Both this issue and the banking resolution have provided rich fodder for the political parties and their supporters to attack the AUF. It is clear that, even though elections are over, the political campaigns continue. Parties are by no means relying on the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Ms Palmavon Webster, to raise their concerns and bring their position to the House. Rather, they are doing it themselves via radio and social media. The smear and innuendo campaign is relentless. The problem is, it is difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is fabricated among all the rants and postings out there. Every move the AUF Government makes seems to result in some suggestion of disingenuousness or corruption. Now, please don’t get me wrong. There is always a place in every democracy for constructive criticism and debate. But, in this case, as the old people would say it is: “Tit for tat, butter for fat”. To what end, I am not sure.
Based on each individual’s expectations of this Government, you will have to judge its first year in office for yourself. Have the issues that were most critical to you been addressed? If not, has there been any progress? If not, why not? Are you satisfied with the efforts being made by the AUF Government to address Anguilla’s economic woes? These are some of the many questions you must ask and answer for yourselves before deciding whether you will give the AUF Government a passing or failing grade. From my vantage point, I am grateful that at least it has made significant progress on a resolution for the banking crisis. There is still much work to be done on this. However, I believe the position taken is better than not taking a position at all – and simply allowing the situation to continue ad infinitum. For that, at least, its leaders must be commended. Whatever the grade awarded, the AUF is our duly elected Government and all our efforts should be pooled in ensuring that its tenure in office results in an improved quality of life for all residents of Anguilla.
