Every New Year many people become very philosophical in their sentiments about the uncertainty of the next twelve months, and what that period may portend for all of us both nationally and across the rest of the world. We here in Anguilla, like others, have our fears and doubts, but we can take comfort in that when there appears to be doom and gloom, there may in fact be ‘a cloud with a silver lining’ just ahead of us – a metaphor for optimism. The former Chief Minister of Anguilla, Mr. Osbourne Fleming, had as his favourite saying that ‘there is a light at the end of the tunnel’ and he is often quoted to that effect.
When we reflected on this time in 2017, there was an expectation that it would have been a reasonably good year for Anguilla with some growth in the economy, spurred on by the realization of a few development projects and a fair amount of job opportunities. Unfortunately, nine months later, Hurricane Irma blew all that away in one of the worst Atlantic season storms recorded in the Caribbean, virtually leaving Anguilla and its economy in ruins.
The dreadful hurricane crippled the tourism industry, the lifeblood of our economy. But, thankfully, we are now on track again and there are local predictions, from the increased number of bookings in advance, that our travel industry will produce some good yields. This, of course, would be even better if access to Anguilla is significantly improved if we can depend on reports of some possible direct regular flights to the island from the US mainland anytime soon.
Aside from tourism, 2019 has been dubbed as ‘the year of pouring concrete’. It is a reference to a number of planned public sector construction projects funded from the sixty million pounds under the UK Government’s grant for Anguilla. The projects include the rebuilding of schools, port development at Blowing Point, healthcare facilities and a range of work on other public infrastructure. All of these projects, and the expenditure of 32 of the 60 million pounds, will contribute to a significantly booming construction industry and increased well-paying jobs for persons in that sector of the economy.
It is usually the case that the global economic situation impacts small island states and economies like Anguilla – particularly when the United States of America experiences recession problems. The news coming from financial institutions, and analysts abroad, seems to indicate that there may be some cloudiness in 2019 with respect to the global economy with a likely slowdown in growth in the United States as well as in China, the UK and Europe. If in fact there is sluggishness in those bigger economies, one can only imagine the vulnerability of the smaller economies in places like Anguilla and the rest of the Caribbean region. But, as a resilient people of faith, we simply have to hope for the best and work towards our own betterment.
Every year many of us tend to seek comfort in the promises of the Almighty, or in the words of some influential person in our world. On this threshold of 2019 the poetic words of Minnie Louise are most appropriate for all of us. She wrote:
I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown”
And he replied, “Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.”
