Fellow Anguillans! My People!
Just about two years ago, you bestowed on our party the honor and privilege of leading our nation. It is an awesome responsibility, one that as Leader of the Anguilla United Front Party I do not take lightly.
Two years ago our country was at a crossroads. The 2015 elections was a hard fought contest, and at the end of it, you the People of Anguilla entrusted us with a mandate to lead our country in the direction we articulated in our campaign and outlined in our Manifesto.
We of the AUF were humbled by this tremendous vote of confidence. You placed your trust in our administration, and we pledged that we would work every day to make a difference in your lives, to right the ship and to ensure a brighter future for our children.
We recognized that by the mandate you gave us you had high expectations for us to deliver on our plans. We have committed ourselves to doing so over the five year period for which we were elected to govern.
We have spent these first two years working diligently to chart a new path for our nation, and to lay the foundation for the years to come. In spite of our hard work and dedication there is no quick fix to some of the complex challenges we face in these times as a developing community and evolving nation. As a consequence of that reality some of the key successes we are working to achieve will not happen overnight. However, with your continued support and with the resilience and creativity characteristic of our people, we are well on course to creating a new and prosperous future for our island. YES WE WILL MAKE IT! YES WE MUST WORK HARD! AND YES WE WILL HAVE WORK EVEN HARDER AS WE GO FORWARD!
My people! Our two years in office were extremely tough ones for all of us, the Government, Public Servants, the private sector, civil society and the entire community alike. So let me at this juncture express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to you the people for your thoughtful understanding and your quiet and calm patience with the decisions we have had to make. Your actions show that you continue to have the confidence in your elected government to bring our Anguilla back on track again. I ask you to remain focused and unshaken in this confidence.
You will recall our first year was dominated by the need to implement a banking resolution that protected and defended the interest of you, the depositors of our two indigenous banks that had succumbed to the powerful negative forces of the Great Recession going back to 2009. While there continues to be some nagging issues within the banking sector, I am pleased to announce that the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla (NCBA) your bank, has made great progress in the first year since it began operations on April 25, 2016 and is on the launch path to be the leading provider of banking services to the people of Anguilla as it has been in the past. We continue to face delay with the repatriation of the funds from Bank of America to the NCBA. The amount now stands at $40M. Similarly, when this and the loan amount of $59M from the CDB is placed in the bank, the NCBA will be even in a stronger position to serve the needs of the people of Anguilla.
Fellow Anguillans, I submit that progress has been slower than we expected and desired on the delivery of our promise of JOBS and BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. So at this juncture I want to thank you the people for your understanding and your patience with your government in this enterprise. Your actions show that you continue to have the confidence that we will bring our Anguilla back on track again. We are also well aware that your patience is running thin. You can be assured that we have been focused and working tirelessly to attract the correct mix of investment to our nation, to create a sustainable job market especially for the construction and construction related sectors.
As your Government, we have been approached by many developers and we are considering various proposals for investment in the private sector. We spent almost a year working on closing a deal for the sale of Cap Juluca Hotel. Eventually, the deal we worked so hard on, failed. Despite this your Government did not give up on Cap Juluca. Even as I address you today, we continue to work on bringing the best solution to the Cap Juluca issue — a solution, that will be in the best interest of all concerned and one that will result in the full unification of Cap Juluca and well poised to return to its former glory.
The Altamer project is well advanced towards the commencement of construction work on its first phase barring some last minute challenges. Much progress has also been made on the negotiation of a development agreement for the Conch Bay Project. And with other projects are various stages of negotiations — we realistically calculate that from the second half of this year and onwards, things should be brighter for us here in Anguilla.
In the public sector we anticipate that both the ANGLEC Headquarters Building and the Anguilla Community College Project will commence construction this year.
As your government we are working closely with the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority (AASPA) and with the support of Her Majesty’s Government, we are preparing to undertake a detailed analysis of the business case to be followed in depth project design and planning for the expansion and development of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport to provide the capacity to handle commercial passenger jets direct from the USA and Europe.
You will recall that eight months ago on 21 August 2016, our civil aviation regulator, Air Safety Support International (ASSI) placed restrictions on the operations of the Airport. That was a severe setback and a serious wakeup call. Instead of making a huge public outcry about it, the Board of AASPA with the strong support and efforts of AASPA’s management and staff, in particular the management of the Airport led a successful turnaround process that is still ongoing. We breathed a huge sigh of relief when ASSI lifted the restrictions on November 1st, 2016 for a period of six months in the first instance, with a review of the progress of the operations at the end of the period. I am extremely heartened that the Airport is experiencing a significant uptick in activity since the restrictions were lifted on November 1st.
Planning is also being advanced rapidly on infrastructure and facilities improvements at the seaports, the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and in other areas of government infrastructure development. My colleagues will no doubt update you on these and other developments as the week progresses. In short I will say that through the hard work and dedication of your elected Government with strong support from the Civil Service, Anguilla is lining up on the launch path, for sustainable take-off in the immediate future.
The outlook for our two leading sectors for long term sustained growth, our tourism and financial services sectors is positive. We achieved a healthy increase by over 8% in the number of stay over visitors. This accounts for the largest portion of tourist expenditure that is the mainstay of our economy. All the indications point to the continuation of this trend in 2017. And we expect that the number of day trippers, which saw a decline in 2016 will grow again in 2017.
The efforts of the Tourist Board, the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, individual hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the tourism sector along with the support and efforts of your Government are bearing fruit. And I am quietly optimistic that we will achieve the targets we have included in our manifesto for the growth in our tourist numbers during our term in office.
I am extremely proud to tell you that Anguilla has made a notable achievement in the financial services industry in terms of our international profile from a governance and transparency standpoint, as a financial services jurisdiction. We placed number 20 out of 219 countries in an international survey by an independent organization that monitors standards in the industry. We placed number 20 in the list ahead of most of the much more well known financial services jurisdictions such as the BVI and Cayman Inlans , Bermuda and the Channel Islands as well as the USA and UK. We have an opportunity to leverage this highly positive showing to help in attracting new and substantial international financial and business services to our shores.
Fellow Anguillians, I wish at this point to draw our attention to Brexit and the implications for us. On March 29 2017, the UK Prime Minster Mrs. Theresa May invoked Clause 50 of the EU Agreement, setting the stage for the eventual exit of the UK from the EU in two years. Anguilla is unique among the UKOTs in that it is heavily dependent upon Saint Martin and Saint Maarten for international access, medical services, imports, exports, mail, and a myriad of other goods and services. The two islands have an entwined heritage that spans centuries with many Anguillians having close family ties with their French and Dutch neighbours. This situation is similar to that of Northern and Southern Ireland. The desire to avoid a ‘hard’ border between the two sections of Ireland is strong enough that it is likely to be a UK priority. Both Northern and Southern Ireland are highly likely to work together to seek this outcome. In the case of Anguilla and St. Martin/St. Maarten the intentions of the member states France and the Netherlands for St. Martin/St. Maarten are unclear. Arguments for why Anguilla and Saint Martin should continue their close collaboration are being prepared and personal experiences of the people of both islands are being solicited.
Fellow Anguillians, I ask that as a people in Anguilla, we start to think about how Brexit will affect us and our families and neighbours (both in Anguilla and neighbouring islands). It may seem far off, but, with the triggering of Article 50, Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union (EU) within two years. Some people believe that the UK may ‘crash’ out of the EU within 6 to 9 months if relations sour and negotiations go badly. With this prospect in mind, the Government of Anguilla and its UK/EU Representative office have been ensuring that the UK Government, and in particular the Foreign Office, and other UK Government departments are fully briefed on the possible effects of Brexit on Anguilla. As a result, the UK now has a clear picture of how Brexit may affect Anguilla, what may be required to rectify any foreseeable problems, and what potential opportunities also exist for Anguilla as a result of the UK leaving the EU. This is a work in progress and entails identifying issues and presenting solutions that are mutually beneficial for those members of the EU with whom Anguilla must coexist; the UK; and Anguilla itself. And as if to complicate the issue even further it is today breaking news that the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, has called a general election for June 8th —- less than two months away.
As your Government we ask that we all give serious thought to Brexit and provide any feedback you may have on Brexit, and how it may affect you and your family .
Here are a list of some questions you may want to ask yourself and others:
• How will Brexit affect Anguilla’s relationships with Saint Martin (French) and
Sint Maarten (Dutch)?
• Does Brexit present any opportunities in the Saint Martin and Sint Maarten relationships with Anguilla?
• Does Brexit present any potential problems for Anguilla’s relationship with both Saint Martin and Sint Maarten? If so, how can these potential problems be rectified?
• Does Brexit present opportunities for improved relations with other neighbouring islands?
• How may Brexit affect imports and exports to and from Anguilla?
• How may Brexit affect tourism?
• How may Brexit affect Anguilla’s postal service?
• How may Brexit affect the movement of goods, services and people between neighbouring islands?
• How may Brexit affect Anguilla’s relationship with the UK?
To date, we have put it to the UK Government that Anguilla needs to be put in a position where its reliance on St. Maarten/St. Martin is greatly reduced. This we argue can be achieved by providing us with extended and upgraded airport facilities and upgraded port facilities. In the furtherance of this objective, an infrastructural adviser funded by the UK, has been contracted for the next two years.
Fellow Anguillians, permit me to turn for a few minutes to the local fake news, that seems to inundate the social media and other news outlets in our island. No doubt many times over the past two years you may have become confused by what you have heard on the many talk shows; through the vicious whispering campaigns; or on social media by those whose sole motive is to plant fear in our minds with the hope of creating instability in our country and ultimately the downfall of your duly elected Government. Thanks again to you my fellow countrymen and all people of the Anguillian community. You have refused to allow yourself to be misguided by the lies and half truths.
Your Government welcomes a healthy debate on all issues, but such debate must be adorned with the truth and aimed at informing us accurately of all situations that affect our lives. It is surely not enough to criticize without offering any alternatives to that which is criticized. This is what we have all heard constantly over the past two years, criticism after criticism on every issue, but with no alternatives offered. I want to thank you again for continuing to ignore the many postings on the blogs, facebook, whatsapp and other social media by cowards who refuse to put their names to their writing. As a people we truly recognize fact from fabrications of the truth.
Just yesterday I had to dispel the rumour among a number of concerned Anguillans that the NBA/CCB Receiver had over 600 hundred Anguillian properties on auction. Later that figure was stretched to over 1000. That is the misleading rumour! Fake news! Wilful Lies! The facts are that the NBA/CCB Receiver has only placed two new properties on auction in the last few months and it now has a total of 12 owned by 10 persons. Surprisingly the fact that the other international banks have many more properties on auction has not made it to this fake news rumour factory. Regretably this is the level to which a number of “so-called journalists” and well-known “media terrorists” have taken the airwaves. Creating their own facts and news items to spread fear and terror in a very fragile and frustrated community. Their main objective being and it has been for some time: “speaking lies to power!” I encourage all Anguillans to remain vigilant.
Thank you my people! Continue to be firm in your confidence in your government as you reject those who seek to destabilize our nation for their own gain. I want to remind all of us of the words of Bishop Brooks in a recent homily: “our motives should be based on love for our fellow man”. And may I add to that: “Not on hatred and division!”
I wish to thank my Colleagues in Government for the continued confidence in and strong support for my leadership. My people your Ministers and elected representatives continue to go the extra mile every day to ensure that things are done to improve the wellbeing of the residents of Anguilla. I ask you to continue to pray for us, for wisdom; compassion; understanding; courage; and His protection as we continue to lead the recovery of our island, Anguilla.
My people! I ask of you to continue to support Team AUF. We remain a team of workers who are not shaken or derailed by those whose motives are not based on love for you but on the advancement of their own agenda. I implore you to continue to reject their lies and evil motives. Remember anything written that is not attributed to anyone is most likely a LIE and Propaganda aimed at misleading you the people. This we all must continue to reject.
On May 30th this year we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution, a time to reflect on our history, and all that has transpired.
As we approach this milestone, it is time for us to set aside the infighting and uncivil discourse that has divided us. We are a small and special nation, one that has endured and triumphed over adversity. Unity is strength, and when we come together there is no limit to what we can achieve.
My fellow Anguillians, we are blessed with spectacular natural resources – our pristine beaches and azure seas. But above all we are blessed with supremely talented people – Anguillians who have demonstrated time and time again that we have what it takes to succeed.
I ask you to continue with my colleagues and I and your AUF Party on this journey, to fulfill Anguilla’s destiny — the Anguillian Dream. It is what we will make of it. And I believe we are destined for greatness.
Thank you for listening and I invite everyone to the Landsome Bowl on Saturday night, April 22nd, when we intend in addition to further updating you, to expose evil and set the record straight at our grand public meeting. We will not be dropping bombs — such as fizzle away like firecrackers after scrutiny — but rather the truth and the facts that will always set us free!
Thank you, and May God bless our island nation, and all her people.
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
