On Thursday 30th August, the Government of Anguilla, under the leadership of the Honorable Chief Minister Victor Banks, held a press conference to update the general public on pertinent issues of national interest. Prior to the conference proper, the Chief took time out to reflect with thanksgiving upon the recent rains that had been falling, bringing a welcome relief to a problematic state of drought on the island.
Chief Minister Banks then began the conference in earnest, focusing on the subject of Residency by Investment: “Over the past week, the Government of Anguilla held a public consultation at the Teachers Resource Center on the subject of Economic Residency. This was a very engaging consultation in which a number of persons made their interventions on the issue. Residency by Investment is a work in progress, and it is something that the Government of Anguilla has included in its Medium Term Economic and Fiscal Plan for 2018-2020. I mentioned this matter in the budget address, earlier this year, as one of the initiatives that Government was going to embark on.”
In commenting about the public’s concern on the matter, the Chief Minister acknowledged: “Of course, we do recognize and appreciate the many comments that were made on the matter in that public meeting. Many remarks were made regarding some negative aspects of the program. However, I assure you that the Government has considered all of these issues, and we are indeed grateful to the wider public for reminding us of those concerns and putting them on the table. We have taken every measure to ensure that we can monitor and control the Residency by Investment program in the best interest of Anguilla.
“The Citizenship by Investment program that obtains in other parts of the region is different to what we are proposing. Our program does not involve the granting of a passport. It merely involves residency – giving persons who have invested a considerable sum of money within our economy the benefit of having a more liberal immigration status which allows them to come to Anguilla as frequently as they want, and live here for as long as they wish, without the need to go through the normal immigration protocol. The Residency by Investment privilege is basically an appreciation for the investment quality that persons who are non-Anguillians would have made.”
The Chief Minister went on: “In addition, the Residency by Investment program provides an opportunity for foreign direct investment which is critical to a small-island community, like Anguilla, with such a small population. We have the same needs that every other island has, whether they have a hundred thousand people, or a quarter of a million people. We all need airports, schools, port facilities, roads, hospitals and a whole range of facilities. With a population of 15,000 persons, it is difficult to generate the kind of revenue that government requires to meet all these needs without some foreign direct investment involved. This incentive program is being put in place for such purposes.”
In clarifying his points on the need for revenues and justifying the case for the Residency by Investment initiative, Mr. Banks made mention of the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma: “The devastation that Irma caused was estimated to be some EC$850,000,000.00 in damage requiring repairs to our economy. In the public sector, though, it was considerably more than that. In fact, the restoration of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School alone is due to cost somewhere in the region of EC$100,000,000. Certainly, there are some good aspects to these disasters, since they cause people to begin paying attention to what our needs are. If we had to go and dig deep in our budget to find ways and means for financing such a facility, as this school, it would be quite difficult to so.
“However, the British Government and the British citizens have come forward to provide us with £60,000,000.00 for recovery. We don’t need to pay this back, since it is a contribution from the UK government and the UK tax-payers; but, if we had to provide such funding from our population, it would have been a very difficult thing to do. That is the reason why it is essential to have programs like Residency by Investment that allow investments into our economy.”
Mr. Banks went on to give clarity on the kinds of individuals to whom residency would be awarded: “In the consultation meeting, focus was placed on who will be coming in for residency and what they represent. The category of such persons is those who would want to establish residency — and the only qualification they require is that they are non-Anguillian. We then would have to proceed with the due diligence process to verify that they are the ‘right people’. The due diligence approach has been improved throughout the region and, in fact, a number of persons who have been involved in the Citizenship by Investment Program have been subject to due diligence programs with internationally recognized bodies by which they have been accepted.
“One of the other points of discussion in the consultation had to do with what kind of investment will be required to qualify for Residency by Investment. There has been much talk about people coming in to the island to invest in businesses. However, the kind of investment for residency will mainly be in the accommodation sector, such as villa development, villa purchases and sales, etc. Monies will be put directly into the Anguillian economy via the Capital Development Fund. We have estimated that contributions made by those investing in these kinds of developmental projects should be in the region of US$150,000.00 per person.
“It is obvious that we will have further consultations on this issue to develop a firmer Residency by Investment policy. It must be noted that this program is about attracting investment in Anguilla for the benefit of all Anguillians. Our duty as a government is to create jobs and business opportunities for our people. This has been the mantra of this Government from the time we came into office.”
The Chief Minister then went on to another subject relative to the presentation of a Medium Term Economic and Fiscal Plan 2018-2020: “Based on the financial sustainability for development, an agreement which the past government signed in 2013, the Medium Term Economic and Fiscal Plan, is intended to deliver Government’s commitment to a prosperous and stable future for the people of Anguilla, based on the implementation of sound economic and financial principles which support economic development.
“The requirements of the Framework for Fiscal Sustainability and Development (FFSD) were captured in an agreement signed in April 2013 and were legislated in October 2013. This is called the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2013. Government is meeting its obligation under this agreement by putting in place a Medium Term Economic and Fiscal Plan. This is currently in the public domain and it outlines the areas of performance sectors such as: hotel and restaurant sector, retail and business, financial intermediation, public administration, construction, etc. And, under all these subheads, there are certain initiatives that the Government has taken.”
Speaking next was the Minister of Health, the Honourable Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, who began by giving an update on the structural work at the Princess Alexandra Hospital: “There were some delays in terms of protocols and procedures which are finally sorted out and under control. Moving forward, there is a company out of Puerto Rico that is actually working on the flooring of that portion where the roof was replaced. There was recently an extension on the neonatal section, and also a new maternity wing was put into place.
“In addition, new bathrooms were installed, as well as a new call bell system. We are also looking at the possibility of facilitating piped oxygen as well as the potential of manufacturing our own oxygen. The electrical upgrade is almost completed where we have moved from a single phase to a triple phase system. We did get our new CT Scanner sometime lately, but we saw where it made no sense to install it until the electrical system was properly upgraded.”
Minister Rogers then thanked the West India Committee, and Mrs. Blondell Cluff and her team, for raising the funds for the new maternity wing. He mentioned that it is his intention to open that entirely new rehabilitated section by mid-November. Further, he mentioned that he thanks the proprietors of Health Care Logistics for their continued support and assistance in the various projects that were undertaken.
Minister Rogers then went on the congratulate Mrs. Maeza Demis-Adams for her appointment to the post of Chief Executive Officer of the Health Authority of Anguilla. He said: “Maeza is a product of the health system here. She was trained outside of Anguilla but has worked in the system here for quite some time. She has taken over at a time when things are rather difficult, but I have no doubt that she has the wherewithal to get the work done – as she has the ability and the support to forge ahead in delivering a better healthcare service for the people of Anguilla.”
Minister Rogers was followed by the Honourable Cora Richardson-Hodge, Minister of Education and Home Affairs. After commenting on the preparations that personnel of the Department of Education were making for “back to school”, she stated: “Coming out of the last school year, evidently we have seen that our school children have done a wonderful job despite the challenges posed by last year’s hurricane. I want to commend not only the children, but the parents and teachers as well in ensuring that the year was such a success as it was.
“The shift system at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School has been in place since the disruption caused by last year’s hurricane. There are two shifts: one that starts at 7:00 a.m. and one that begins at 12:30. From all reports, the early morning shift seems to be preferable to both parents and teachers, as they would go home by 11:00 a.m. This allows for more flexibility for the students to get their work done. For this year, and for the next school year, we anticipate that the shift system will be continuing. The reason for this is that the school has to be rebuilt to accommodate everyone at the same time, in one full school day.”
The Minister then turned her attention to labour: “ In terms of labour, provisions are being made for a revised Labour Code, and such revisions are being published. We have had a number of consultations between 2016-2017. We took the first reading of the draft to the House after those consultations, and we realized that there were additional concerns that surfaced after the first reading.
“So we held additional meetings and we addressed the pertinent concerns that came out of those meetings. We have now incorporated the best possibilities. The new draft is currently with the Attorney General’s Chambers for revision, and amendments are being made. As these amendments are made, they are published in the local newspaper, The Anguillian, for public review.”
Minister Richardson-Hodge then addressed the matter of electoral reform. She noted: “As the general public may be aware, we want to move towards island-wide elections. As opposed to having seven seats for elections, we will have seven seats plus four at-large seats. We want to put this out in sufficient time [for consultations] so that the education process can take place.
“There is a voter ID registration that is ongoing. This has been in place for a couple of months through the Central Electoral Office, and I would like to encourage persons to visit the Elections Office and have their pictures taken to produce their voter ID card. At the polls then, when you go to vote and you swipe your card, your name would automatically appear in the system. This would decrease the length of time that persons stand in line.”
The last Minister to speak was the Minister of Infrastucture, the Honourable Mr. Curtis Richardson. He began: “The George Hill Bypass is now on the table, and the Chief Minister and Minister of Finance is tasked with dealing with it. The renovation of the Strip is in the stage of procurement, and bids for the work are being submitted.
“We anticipate that we will soon have three brand new fire trucks. I want to say that when we came to office we had challenges with the fire hall, but we have been pushing through for much needed improvement. I wish to thank the Chief Minister and his staff for the work they have been doing to make these improvements a realty. I also want to thank Sandra York and my Permanent Secretary, Larry Franklin, who have helped to make changes at the fire hall.”
Mr. Richardson then turned his attention to water: “We are also working very hard on the water,” he said. “I want to thank the people for their patience. At the same time I want to thank God for the rain.
“As far as the ferry terminal in Blowing Point is concerned, we expect to start with actual building in January 2019. We met with the Governor and we had a discussion relative to the drawings. We are now forging ahead to get that project started.”
Minister Richardson commented on a plan that he had proposed, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, regarding the moving of customs and immigration at the Blowing Point Ferry Terminal from the Police Station Building to the “Big Jim’s” facility. He said: “This will provide much more space and aesthetics.” He mentioned that the current building being used as the Police Station, from where customs and immigration function, will be eventually demolished.
The conference was quite extensive and many questions were posed by the media. These were aptly addressed and answered by the respective Ministers.
