A press release from the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that a series of town hall meetings, for public discussion on phase 2 of the Constitutional Reform in Anguilla, will begin on Monday, September 30, at the Church of God (Holiness) at Pope Hill, commencing at 6.00 pm sharp.
The full text of the press release, signed by the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, reads as follows:
The Government of Anguilla is ready to progress to the next stage of Constitutional reform which will focus on the comprehensive reforms outlined in the recommendations of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee. A Committee, comprising members of the whole House of Assembly, has completed its review and analysis of the recommendations. It is now proposed to hold final consultations with the public on the recommendations – before beginning negotiations with the United Kingdom Government on a new Constitution for Anguilla.
As such, the Ministry of Home Affairs invites the general public to a series of meetings on Constitutional reform. At the meetings the reforms recommended by the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee will be discussed as well as any alternate or additional recommendations made by the committee of the whole House. The general public is encouraged to attend all the consultation meetings as different sections of the Constitution will be discussed at each meeting.
The meetings will be held as follows:
? Monday 30th September 2019 at the Church of God of Holiness Pope Hill
? Tuesday 1st October 2019 at the Church of God of Holiness Pope Hill
? Thursday 10th October 2019 at the Teacher’s Resource Centre.
All meetings will begin at 6:00 pm sharp.
Meeting No. 1 (30th September)
? Protection of fundamental rights and freedoms
? Interpretation
? The Governor
? The Executive
? The Public Service
Meeting No. 2 (1st October)
? House of Assembly
? Powers and Procedure in the House of Assembly
? The Judicature
? Institutions protecting Good Governance
Meeting No. 3 (10th October)
? Institutions protecting Good Governance (continued)
? Public Finance
The Ministry of Home Affairs encourages the public to be a part of this important exercise. A draft of the Constitution can be found at the Government of Anguilla website at www.gov.ai. It should be noted that the amendments made via the Anguilla Constitution (Amendment) Order 2019, as well as the recommendations from the Committee of the whole House, are visible in the draft. The Ministry looks forward to the attendance and participation of the public.
Cora Richardson Hodge
Honourable Minister of Home Affairs
24th September 2019