Two Ministers of the Anguilla Government, who were not on the island for the first meeting of the House of Assembly on January 4, took the opportunity to do so on Wednesday, January 9, during the next sitting of the House.
They were the Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, who was off island for a short time and the Minister of Health and Social Development, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers who had been on an extended leave of absence in the United States. They both commenced their remarks by expressing New Year’s greetings to their constituents and to the people of Anguilla in general.
Mrs. Richardson -Hodge spoke at length about her busy ministry this year saying that there were many ongoing issues in home affairs, education, labour, immigration and constitutional affairs. She said the much-talked about Labour Code had now been signed by Governor Tim Foy, OBE and she thanked all members of the Government for their wholehearted support. While mentioning that there were certain challenges still to be overcome, she observed that: “The most important issue is that the working environment and the issues that are affecting our people in Anguilla will now be addressed in a much better way than in the past.”
In relation to education, she noted that there were many projects being worked on in her ministry and in other ministries. These include the refurbishing and rebuilding of schools across the island with funding from the sixty million pounds provided by the UK Government and several other projects including health facilities and the Blowing Point Port.
The Minister went on: “So Mr. Speaker, what it means for us this year, certainly in my Ministry, is that there is a lot of work; and I don’t want to sit without speaking quickly on constitutional reform. We have received word that the provisions of the draft Order in Council are acceptable and that we are moving forward with that at the Privy Council. We will immediately begin to work also on the larger constitutional reform…and we appreciate the work of the Constitutional Committee which was established under this Government. We will be moving forward with discussions and negotiations with the UK Government throughout this year in terms of bringing on board a full wholesale constitution for the people of Anguilla.”
Minister Richardson-Hodge was proud of the work of her staff including the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Chanelle Petty Barrett, and the Ministerial Assistant, Mrs. Evalie Bradley, as well as the support of all her colleagues in Government.
Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers also prefaced his remarks by extending season greetings to his constituents and all the people of Anguilla. He was pleased to be back in Anguilla and to report that he is in good health. He spoke about some of the medical tests he had undertaken which showed normal PSA and other readings.
Mr. Rogers took the opportunity to advise all men in Anguilla to do their prostate tests to avoid health issues later on. “I would say to the men that you need to have your prostate checked,” he stressed. “I am appealing to the men in this country: please go and have your prostate checked regularly. You can avoid the pain and expense.”
It was reported that Mr. Rogers was preoccupied with an illness in his family while in the United States. “Mr. Speaker, my daughter has gone through some issues and I had to be there for her …but [her situation] is under control,” he reported. He stated that her wellbeing was a priority for him and that, as a result, he had missed out in extending Christmas and New Year’s greetings to the people of Anguilla. He added that he was now conveying those sentiments to all and that it was better late to do so than never.
