Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, told media representatives that he would be leading a Government’s delegation to London on Friday this week, February 3. He will be accompanied by Mr. Fritz Smith, the Government’s Sherpa.
“We will be having a preliminary meeting on Saturday, February 4, with our representative in the UK, Mrs. Blondel Cluff, and members of her staff, and then on Sunday, we will meet with members of the Anguilla communities in Slough and in London,” he stated. “The discussions with the associations will be centred on what is happening in Anguilla including plans for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Anguilla Revolution. Obviously, they will also want to know about the issues with Cap Juluca as well as the issues with the Governor.
“On Monday, February 6, we will be meeting with the Political and Social Council which comprises all the Governments from the British Overseas Territories who will be in London for the BREXIT meeting. We should receive by that time a discussion paper from the British Government outlining some of the things they will raise at [the BREXIT meeting]; and subsequent to that we will be having our own discussions.
“On Tuesday, February 7, will be the formal meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council. There, we will meet with the Minister for BREXIT Affairs as well as our own Minister, Baroness Anelay.
“On Wednesday, we will be meeting with the Prime Minister and Baroness Anelay on a number of issues. We will have a chance for a bilateral with Baroness Anelay on that day. A number of issues related to Anguilla will be discussed at that time.”
On another point, the Chief Minister disclosed that he had written to Baroness Anelay regarding his advice to Governor Christina Scott on the reshuffling of his Cabinet and her disapproval. He took the opportunity to read the full text of his letter to the Baroness which is published on page 3 of this edition of The Anguillian.
The approval of the Government of Anguilla’s 2017 national budget in the House of Assembly, and its submission to the UK Government for approval, were also spoken about by Chief Minister Banks. He stated that it was up to the British Government to say why its approval was delayed – a question he had answered from the Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Palmavon Webster, in one of her questions at the House of Assembly meeting on Tuesday this week.
Mr. Banks said, however, that “one of the criticisms or comments made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was that we passed the budget before they had the opportunity to get certain technical facts and assumptions in the process.” He said his Government, and the Ministry of Finance, had responded to all the questions which were raised – not with him but with the technical officers in the Ministry.
He went on: “When the Baroness came here on January 9th, she brought with her the officer from the FCO who deals with these issues and had discussions with the Ministry…
“We received some questions day before yesterday to which the Ministry responded. The first question had to do with what impact Cap Juluca’s non-closing would have on the budgetary assumptions that were made; and how this would impact the budget overall. The second question was whether or not the Government would provide the information for the out – turn of the budget for 2016. A number of the predictions were made the year before – towards the end of last year in August and again in October.
“These were predictions and assumptions that were made on the basis of our own estimates so from time to time they will be off. Indeed, the budget was off by a large sum, but the recurrent expenditure was well below that by a million dollars. Basically, although the revenue performed badly, we were able to curtail expenditure…There was also the issue of meeting loan obligations from reserves as well as from overdraft facilities. When you put the capital side and the debt obligations together, the shortfall figure would be somewhere in the region of twenty million dollars – but this is a normal situation.”
Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Curtis Richardson, said that among his Ministry’s goals was the major task of getting the supply of water at a sustainable and vibrant level. There were also efforts for the improvement of renewable energy to support the electricity needs of Anguilla.
One of the matters on which the Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, spoke, was in connection with the amendments to the Immigration and Passport Act… She also spoke on a Ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, February 1, with the Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee. She explained that the committee members would update the Government on their recommendations regarding the constitutional process which started in September 2015. She said the committee had worked hard on the proposals. Once the meeting with the Government officials has satisfactorily taken place, the committee will meet with all the political parties, including independent candidates, on the island. Following that, there will be meetings with the wider community.
The Minister stated that, in terms of the electoral reform, among the recommendations were that a Boundaries Electoral Commission should be created. The aim is to look at increasing the electoral districts seats from seven to nine as well as having four at-large seats.
Minister of Social Development, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, disclosed that a ground-breaking ceremony for the new campus of the Anguilla Community College would be held on Wednesday, February 8, at the construction site in The Farrington off the Long Road.
He spoke of a planned meeting in Anguilla involving the UWI Vice Chancellor and his team and the Board of Directors of the Anguilla Community College. The discussions will explore the possibility for the College to become a member of the University of the West Indies’ Colleges to work collaboratively on syllabuses and examinations for the various training needs in Anguilla.
Minister Rogers also reported on the Government’s urgent plans to set up a National Health Insurance system for the people of Anguilla, to be operated by a selected individual or group of persons. He added that when that system is implemented, the payments under the Interim Stabilisation Levy would be directed to the National Health Insurance system instead.
