In an unusual arrangement, two civil servants addressed the Annual General Meeting of the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, June 7, at Aleta Restaurant at Four Seasons Resort. One was Mr. Calvin Andre Samuel, Director of the Environment, who spoke on what he called “the green economy”. The other was Ms. Susan Hodge, Programme Officer with the Department of Disaster Management, who spoke on Business Continuity plans particularly in relation to hurricanes affecting Anguilla.
Mr. Samuel took the opportunity to inform the Chamber about a plan, by the Environment Department, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Infrastructure, to save an estimated one million EC dollars per annum in energy consumption across the public service.
He said the matter had already been discussed with the Caribbean Development Bank to conduct an energy audit in all buildings and offices housing Government Ministries and Departments. He explained that the undertaking was linked to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States with the aim of conducting an investment training workshop in energy efficiency.
Mr. Samuel told the meeting: “The green economy is a new way to reduce environmental impacts, improve businesses competitive advantage/profitability and improve or involve more levels of society in a positive way.” He explained that eventually businesses “would write less expenditure cheques, be able to focus on efficiencies, close gaps, minimise weaknesses, and utilise current resources towards a path of a green economy.”
Ms. Hodge, the other civil servant, told the members of the Chamber that her Department was “tasked with preparing the people of Anguilla for all natural hazards that might befall the island, top among them being hurricanes.” She continued: “We know no matter how well our business plans are put together, one hurricane, tropical storm or flood event, can cause all of those plans to be negated.
“As the Preparedness Officer, I would like to urge all of you to take advantage of the four experts we have in our Department in business continuity planning. We have a checklist that we can send out to all of you to start to think about the process of planning for your business.”
The members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry were very appreciative of the useful information imparted to them by the two civil servants.
