At a government press conference held on Tuesday, 13th March, CM Victor Banks reported that: “The process for the disbursement of the funds in the amount of £60,000,000 to be received from the British Government is on-going. In terms of the preparation of projects to be worked on, we have a British officer who is here until the end of the week, and he will be replaced by another British officer who will be overseeing the project development and business cases for these funds. He has expressed to me that he is very satisfied with the progress that is taking place.
“Just last week, the government authorized the appointment of up to ten project officers to be in charge of the several projects that will benefit from these funds. The request has been made by the UK, to the Ministry of Finance, to put in place a number of things. Among these they have requested that we have a Financial Advisor. I had said to the British Government that the Government of Anguilla does not need a Financial Advisor because we already have a number of our own Financial Advisors. But the British Government feels that it is important to have one. So they are free to appoint a Financial Advisor, or somebody of that kind, to work with them to get things off the ground. However, any advice for the Government of Anguilla will naturally come from the staff of officials that we have employed and who have worked with us for a number of years.
“In terms of an accommodation, the British Government has subsequently responded and has re-named that person not a ‘Financial Advisor’ but a ‘Financial Specialist’ who is ‘on-tap’ rather than ‘on-top’ of the situation here in Anguilla. That person is working with us in the Ministry of Finance, and we refer to him because he is a good conduit back to the UK. He is Mr. Steven Turnbull, and he has much experience, having worked in Montserrat and the Turks & Caicos Islands in the past. All in all, we are, however, grateful to British Government for providing this opportunity that we can have a direct link to the FCO on issues that impact us.
“We have got to respond to all of the requirements that the British Government has raised. We are progressing with that on pace. We are now busy putting the budget in place so that we can have it agreed on. There are a number of steps that we must take on our own initiative, but there are a number of steps that the UK wants to see us taking as well. We have to discuss those steps with them in the context of the funds that are made available.
“We have made the point very clearly that, since this is humanitarian assistance, it should not depend on the critical concerns that they have for governance before they can respond to our needs. While we understand the importance of putting in place certain systems that the British Government would like us to have, still the receipt of critical financial aid is urgent, and if it is not provided, in a timely manner, then the situation can become even worse.”
On another note, Mr. Banks mentioned that during the upcoming week-end two investment teams will be coming to the island to assist with certain projects. He explained: “One investor group is coming in from Trinidad and will be here for a couple days. They will have a film crew accompanying them, and they will be looking at a number of projects with the view of determining what kind of assistance they can provide for re-development. Negotiations with this team for their coming have been done through the kind support of Mrs. Jasmine Garraway who led a mission to Trinidad and was able to put together packages of assistance for the people of Anguilla.
“These investors will be assisting with the re-development of the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Rodney McAuthur Rey Auditorium. There will also be another team coming in from the Dominican Republic and Mexico. They are a part of the ICA Group which is involved in Conch Bay Development and they are interested in the airport expansion project.”
The Hon. Cora Richardson-Hodge then addressed the matter of education. She stressed that out of the £60,000,000 pounds provided, funds are being allocated for the re-development of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School as well as the Morris Vanterpool Primary School in its entirety.
Mrs. Richardson-Hodge noted: “Many of the schools have had buildings that had to be demolished, and the best way forward is to move on those plans, which have already been approved, in phases. The idea is that when the funds arrive, we would have some projects that are ‘shovel ready’ so that we can move forward on re-construction quickly. Two of the schools, Valley Primary and Orealia Kelly Primary, are indeed in ‘shovel ready’ conditions, so we can move forward on these projects quickly.
“Work has already commenced on the Rodney McArthur Rey Auditorium at Campus B. We were able to apply for, and obtain additional, funding prior to the receipt of the £60,000,000 to be able to re-develop Campus B. Due to the fact that the auditorium is used for exams, and that there is nowhere else on the island large enough to accommodate these exams, we requested, through the Department of Education, advance funds which were approved for the auditorium’s re-development. Similarly, funds were received for the refurbishing of the Teachers’ Resource Centre which also accommodates exams.
“On February 26th, my Permanent Secretary Chanelle Petty-Barrett and I attended the 3rd OECS Council of Ministers of Education summit in Martinique. I chaired the meeting over a two-day period. One of the overarching concerns, at that meeting, was the need to create resiliency in our education and, in particular, in relation to our schools. Coming out of the meeting, we came up with action plans which are to be implemented in the building of resiliency in education, to create a closer working relation with the member states, and to be able to improve the quality of education generally in our region.
“In terms of Labour, we have had meetings with various sectors of society on the Labour Code, and those meetings continue. We do have a couple more meetings to undergo. We also indicated to employee groups that we are interested in meeting with them as well, as long as they are interested in meeting with us.
“Once we finalize our meetings, we will review and update the draft Code based on the concerns that have been raised. There are some valid concerns, and we will be going through the Code with those concerns in mind. The idea, at the end of the day, is to come back out with a Labour Code that is fit for the purpose. It would spell out the greater obligations and rights for both employers and employees. We realize that this is the ultimate intention for updating our Labour Code from a 30-year-old piece of labour legislation that exists now, and that has lived past its time.
Next, the Minister spoke concerning unemployment benefits: “We are looking at extending the Temporary Unemployment Benefits Program. This is as a result of discussions that the Ministers have been engaged in. We realize that all of the funds that have been allocated for that program have not been utilized. So we thought that is fitting for us to re-visit that program and extend it from an end of March deadline to the end of April.
“We met with the Malliouhana employees this morning. The majority of the workers were present. We met with management and staff, and we want to highlight the fact that we appreciate the staff for being so loyal and committed to the property. They continue to work, notwithstanding that they have not been receiving any payment. Malliouhana is going through some difficulties as it relates to the owner, the lender, and the operator. We sought to ensure the employees that we highly value the fact that they continue to work without pay.
“We understand the difficult circumstances that they are in and we are committed to ensure that any arrangements or negotiations include full payment of the outstanding wages that they have been working without. We are definitely going to ensure, as soon as possible, that the employees are compensated.”
Hon. Curtis Richardson, Minister of Infrastructure, made note of the fact that his work was spiritually assisted by Almighty God, for even when there was no money, when he mobilized himself intelligently, people would ask where the money will come from. He said: “I have come to recognize that God goes before me, and he has demonstrated his might and power. So I am satisfied with the wisdom he gave me, shortly after the hurricane, to oversee a quick and proper cleanup exercise.
“I do look forward to the next two months, or so, when we would be ready to roll-out, in a comprehensive manner, much of the work that we anticipate doing. This work cannot be done, however, without the Minister of Finance working with his team. So I would like to thank my colleagues for all the work they have done and the work they continue to do. I put all my weight behind them.”
Hon. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for Tourism, Sports and Culture, gave notice of the opening of a few properties. He mentioned: “Four Seasons is due to open on March 23rd; Cusinart is scheduled to open on April 1st; Cap Juluca is off the market, but they are taking reservations for November; and Blanchards Restaurant is due to open in early May.”
Switching to sports, Mr. Connor said: “The Commonwealth Games in Austrailia will start on April 4th and run to April 15th. Anguilla, in our preparation for the games, is getting our boxers ready. They have been working out in Trinidad for the past week. Our cyclists are currently in Guadeloupe, and they will head to Australia well ahead of the games due to the fact that they must get over jet-lag. Meanwhile, the majority of our track and field athletes are training in the US. Most of us will be travelling to Australia on March 30th and will return seventeen days later.”
Questions were asked of the Ministers – by the media – which were answered quite amicably and comprehensively.
