Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, says there are good reasons for concern among the citizenry in Anguilla “because without jobs and economic activity we are not really going anywhere as an island nation.”
He went on: “This is always a matter on the mind of all Governments and in particular the Anguilla Government, given the fact that jobs and business opportunities not only affect individuals and companies, but also our ability to resolve the issues relating to the banking sector. This is a critical issue and, of course, people will be impatient and they have a right to be impatient. When you are out of a job, there is very little in terms of reasoning with people about why it is taking so long for things to happen. But the reality is that we are working very hard to negotiate positive relationships for the people of Anguilla, and I feel that we are making good progress.”
The Chief Minister, who was at the time speaking on the Government’s interactive radio programme on Tuesday evening, continued: “I know there are at least three projects that I am happy with, in terms of the progress being made, and hopefully I will be able to report something in short order.”
When asked to explain what those projects were, by the hosts of the programme, Mr. Mark Romney and Mr. Chris Richardson, Mr. Banks replied: “I am not going to do that [but] I feel we are making good progress. For the last two weeks we have been negotiating, and I feel very positive about what the outcome will be. I think this is going to be a banner year for Anguilla in terms of economic activity – and investor agreements being implemented, and I am very anxious to make those announcements.”
The general public in Anguilla is also anxious to hear about those projects and the impact they will have on job creation and economic and fiscal development.
