With the beginning of July 2019, Anguilla’s Governor, Mr. Tim Foy, OBE, did two public relations things. The first is that he went on Radio Anguilla, in particular, and later to The Anguillian newspaper, to speak freely on a number of current wide-ranging issues starting with rescue operations relating to three fishermen lost at sea – two of whom were fortunately been found but, sadly, the other unaccounted for.
The second thing is that he began a candid radio programme called, in journalistic language, “No Holds Barred, No Calls Barred” to be broadcast fortnightly – every other Wednesday – from July 3 at 10 am. The aim of the interactive radio programme, with noted journalist and broadcaster, Keithstone Greaves, is to lay open himself to searching questions from, and honest explanations to, the public on any given matter without reservation, for the enlightenment of the people of the island, and as part of his responsibilities as Governor of Anguilla.
It was in that spirit of enlightenment and openness that he spoke in an interview with The Anguillian newspaper on Tuesday, July 2. The topic was mainly the UK Government’s humanitarian grant of 60 million pounds to Anguilla following the destruction to public sector facilities by Hurricane Irma.
A former official, with a good deal of financial experience, having served with the Department for International Development (DFID), the Governor indicated that he was recently involved in discussions with British Government officials to secure additional funding under the Anguilla Programme. He made the point, however, that the already approved funds must be spent first within the required time period. He was of the view that the work needed to be speeded up but noted that, in most cases, there were genuine reasons for the delay.
“Am I happy with the speed at which things are happening?” he asked, and continued: “If I am honest, the answer to that is no. I am not. I had hoped that we would be much further ahead than we are. I understand the reasons why it takes time to do things, and I think it is very important that I say this: It is not a bureaucratic requirement of the UK Government. What we are doing is quite rightly going through the process of designing projects very carefully, with our partners in the Government of Anguilla, to get the designs and the drawings that the people want us to meet. And then it is quite a complicated process – and I don’t think I fully appreciate how long it takes to go from concept through to design, and actually to the next step which is meeting the building regulations including fire and environmental health and the requirements of the Planning Department.
“What we have seen is that, as we engage a design and a structure, it doesn’t quite meet the standards – and it is quite right that Anguilla says no. Some things need to change a little bit. For example, at The Valley Primary School we discovered that there was a well 20 meters from the building which is due to go there, so we have to take account of that. I think that the bit that takes time is all the things that people don’t see, but you need when you build a house. You design one – get the approvals through the Government of Anguilla in terms of planning, building, entering into tender and all the rest of it.”
Questioned whether the procurement process was a factor in the delaying of the projects, Governor Foy replied: “Every project we have on the list is procured through the Anguillian procurement system. That determination is to make sure that there is open and fair competition that gives the best and most open transparent result for the people of Anguilla. If it takes a little bit longer to get it right, and to be sure that we have a proper tender process that is accountable to the people of Anguilla, then I don’t have a problem with that. Of course, I would, but that is just my impatience rather my judgment in the way things are done. All procurement takes time.”
The Governor indicated, however, that the delays were now coming to an end. “I think we are at a bit of a tipping point where people will start to see a lot more action over the next couple of months,” he promised. “I think the important thing for me is just looking at the projects. In terms of education, the work at the Vivien Vanterpool School is ongoing and I expect that to be completed within a month or so.
“The tender for the Morris Vanterpool School will be issued on the 10th of July; the Adrian T. Hazell School has been tendered and the tenders will be opened on the 18th of July. The tender for the Orealia Kelly School will be opened on the 12th of July. So we have a lot of tender processes that are due to come to fruition.
“We have always worked with, and taken directions, from the Ministry of Education with the very dynamic dual of Chanelle Petty Barrett and Dawn Reid. There is a very close relationship. They tell us what they want and we work in partnership with them. We are hoping to start seeing contracts issued, and work beginning on schools, so that we don’t miss the important period of the summer break because we need to get as much of the work done.
“Work on the Secondary School is progressing very well. We only have one such school in Anguilla and we need to get it right. There is an opportunity now to move away from not just a split shift, but a split site. I will be working very closely with the team to finalise ways in which we can make that happen.”
The Governor went on: “Work continues on the next phase of the Princess Alexandra Hospital. This includes new storage buildings and to put in place a new operating theatre – and that takes time.
“That is because we have to build and, at the same time, with great respect to the staff of the Princess Alexandra and the Health Authority, they have to provide services. That work is the next series of tenders, perhaps in two weeks’ time, and it also involves the expansion of the accident and emergency [section]. All of that work is directed by the Committee that is led by Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, the Health Rehabilitation Committee which includes the Minister, Maeza, the CEO of the Health Authority and Fritz Smith, the Chairman.”
Governor Foy commented on the Blowing Port Development which includes the proposed new Ferry Terminal, now a topic of much public discussion – mainly relating to criticism about the design of the facility. “Blowing Point has been an interesting experience,” he told the newspaper. “The office here has worked, and has been directed by the Blowing Point Steering Committee led by AASPA (the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority), supported by Customs, Immigration and the Police. This is to make sure that the functionality of the building is what it needs to be.
“People might have issues about aesthetics. We can deal with aesthetics. They are very important but for me the functionality is what comes first. What I am looking at now, in terms of the designs I have seen, which have been agreed to and worked with AASPA, is for a building which will be about 35,000 square-feet. The original terminal, which didn’t survive Hurricane Irma, was less than 5,000 square feet. So what we have is a building which, in terms of the serving area, is about seven times as big.
“It is also, roughly speaking, about 40 percent bigger than the proposal which was developed back in 2006, 2007 or 2008 – I can’t remember precisely – by the Jacobs Company. The conversations we are having are for a significantly larger building than has been thought about before,…and I give Minister Curtis Richardson his due. He is not just looking at the building but the road layout so that we would have a smooth operation.”
The Governor recalled that in 2016 almost 400,000 people passed through the Blowing Point Terminal. “That is a lot of people and a lot of movement,” he observed. “It is a very, very busy port operation by world standards. Getting the road layout and parking facilities sorted out, as well as the functionality of the building itself, have required a lot of effort. There is a lot of work which people won’t see. The design, approvals that need to be given by the Government of Anguilla and its agencies and the tendering, are not what people want to see. They want to see concrete being poured – so do I. I think the pace has been slow and I am not going to say who is responsible for that. I think everybody has learnt from that, and all of us have been trying to do a massive amount of work. I am confident that the second half of 2019, and on to 2020, we will see the programme really hitting its straps and people will see buildings.”
Drawing from his experience at DFID, Governor Foy noted that during his financial career there he had worked with partners in various places to find out what was needed, and how best to mobilize resources to make things happen. “I have to say that the quality of the people I work with here in Anguilla, and their passion, far outshine that which I have seen elsewhere,” he acknowledged. “Sometimes one can easily misconstrue that passion as people just being awkward or ungrateful. I don’t think it is. I think it is people wanting to make sure that things are done well.
“That’s why I really commend your Editorial [of last week]. It is important that we don’t repeat mistakes of the past. I have seen buildings here that lasted a while, but they were not well designed because they [the contractors/donors] didn’t take account of what people said, and what the expertise was. I think if I have any experience, it is seeing how, over the years, donors have moved from being quite arrogant contributors of money, and I almost borrow the title of your Editorial – ‘Beggars can’t be choosers…’”
He stressed that there was a need to ensure that, under the Anguilla Programme, the infrastructure being put into place serves the interest of the people – and that they are happy and content that their views have been heard.
Governor Foy further told The Anguillian newspaper: “I have really enjoyed working alongside those planning committees in ASSPA, Education and Health. I have made no secret. We changed the design of Road Bay because Marcel Fahie quite rightly said to us, this looks like a beautiful pier, but it won’t be able to take ships of the size of the draft which currently comes in. We need to look at some changes. If you have a conversation like that, you can really engage with somebody because they know what they are talking about.
“I am not just interested in seeing the money [the 60 million pounds] spent. I am interested in seeing it go well. The key thing is for me to listen to the people who will use the infrastructure.”
Another matter on which the Governor commented was a call by persons in Anguilla for the island to have its own marine rescue services, spurred on by the three fishermen who went missing several days ago.
“We have, under the International Maritime Organisation’s obligations, to put in place a search and rescue capability and a lot of work has been done on that,” he stated. He gave the assurance that he was continuing to work with Minister Curtis Richardson, Permanent Secretary, Mr. Karim Hodge, and Maritime authorities to identify the specifications of a vessel for that purpose.
He added: “We have to be honest. What works in sea rescues like that is the aviation aspect of having an aircraft in the air. Unless an aircraft had been in the air, we would never have found the vessel and have the coordinates. As I said, we will be looking for resources to put in place a vessel. When these poor guys drifted a long way out in open water – may be 40 or 50 miles from shore – it would take a particular type of vessel to get at speed to those locations. So I am saying that is under active consideration because we really care about our fisherfolk.”
