His Excellency the Governor, Mr Tim Foy, OBE, says he is aware that it is now two years since Hurricane Irma devastated Anguilla, but work is “cranking up” on a number of public sector projects including schools. The delay, he explains, is due to several factors such as the need for procurement and tendering. He is grateful to all for their patience and understanding.
Speaking to The Anguillian newspaper, he also made the point that there is an extension of the period by which the UK grant of 60 million pounds is to be spent and that more projects and funding, inside and outside the Anguilla Programme, are coming.
“I know that people are thinking it is two years, which it is, and work is starting on the Orealia Kelly School at the beginning of the new school year. I just want to really thank people for their patience and understanding,” he told the newspaper. “It isn’t that we have been deliberately trying to stall the process. It just takes time to go through everything in terms of procurement in Anguilla, making sure that the Planning Board and all the rest have been dealt with. I know that people will be frustrated, but I hope they will see, over the next twelve months, a great deal of work – and we are going to make it happen. This is one of the key messages we would like to get across to people.”
Expansion of Post Office
Apart from mentioning the construction work now in progress at the Orealia Kelly Primary School, Governor Foy continued: “Even relatively small projects, like the expansion of the Post Office, will be finished before Christmas. There will be more physical storage space so that when it comes to Christmas, and other busy times, the Post Office isn’t keeping stuff in containers that are completely full. There will also be [computer] software to help with the management and tracking of parcels once they have come in – so that the delivery is quicker. People do a lot of online shopping and it is important that the Post Office responds in a way that they expect, so I am really excited about that.”
The Governor disclosed that the expansion work will cost about 350,000 dollars and it is not part of the Anguilla Programme. “I am very pleased to say that I have actually managed to secure funding for that work from the UK Government,” he pointed out. “It is outside of the Anguilla Programme so that doesn’t affect the 60 million pounds. It is a little bit extra that I have managed to squeeze out.”
Asked how he was able to get the extra funding, he replied: “I have the advantage of having spent time in the Department for International Development (DFID). So I know that if you are around at the right time, at the end of the financial year, it is when small sums of money are available. If you are quick and you have projects ready to go, and can deliver them, there will always be a little bit of money floating around.”
More Money To Be Available
The Governor was asked whether the 60 million pounds would be sufficient to meet the cost of all the projects under the Anguilla Programme, and how much was spent so far. He estimated: “We have spent somewhere around 7 – 8 million pounds, and we anticipate spending somewhere between 15 and 20 million this year under the Anguilla Programme – plus some extra money on [the new] Road Bay Jetty which again is outside the programme.”
Questioned about a recent report that he had travelled to London to seek additional money, or spending time, under the Anguilla Programme, Governor Foy commented: “Yes, two requests were made. The first was to extend the programme beyond the three years because we were at risk of losing the money if we couldn’t spend it within that period. I am 99 per cent confident that I have now got that extension for another two years. That means if we can’t spend all of the money by the end of March 2021, we will get an extension beyond that.
“In terms of additional spending, the good news is that I have managed to get five million. The additional funds have been agreed of which the Post Office, the new Taxation Computer System [at the Inland Revenue Department] and the Land Information System [at the Lands and Surveys Department] are part. They are funded outside of the Anguilla Programme, so that is good. I have made a request for a significant additional sum of money – close to half of 60 million. I won’t tell you how much – but that needs to get considered in the UK Government’s spending round.”
He went on: “Obviously, with things happening in London at the moment, we are not sure when that will be – but that will be sometime in 2020. So sometimes then I will find out whether we have got the additional funds. I am reasonably confident that we will. Whether we will get all that we have asked for, I don’t know. I have been asking for this alongside the Premier. We will wait and see. I am pretty confident we will get something.”
The Governor was asked what conditions, including the use of British taxpayers’ money, might apply to the additional funding. “I think the conditions back in 2017, for the Medium Term Expenditure Plan and the list of projects, have been met so, essentially, all we need to do is just to carry on spending money and spending it well. There is one school of thought, to use an Anguillian expression, which is the “squeaky hinge” will get the oil. But the more successful we are at spending money well – which we are now starting to do – the more likely the UK Government is to provide additional funding. I know it is being used well and is delivering the results supporting Anguilla’s development and making Anguilla far more resilient to the effects of possible future hurricanes.”
Funding for Elections
Governor Foy was accompanied at The Anguillian’s interview by Mr. Nick Snee, Deputy Director of the Anguilla Programme, who joined in saying that they were trying to get as much as they could from their colleagues in London. In reminding the Governor about other funds secured for such matters as the 2020 elections, Mr Snee said:
“We have just successfully bid for an additional 110,000 US dollars which primarily will fund the purchase of the tabulation machines that will be used to read the new ballot papers. That will be a big chunk of the money, and we have asked Ms. Wilson [Supervisor of Elections] to allocate a large portion to voter education. This will enable her to do some advertising in the newspaper, online through videos, and tutorials on YouTube, so that she can educate the electorate on the new way that the ballot will look with the island-wide voting; how persons will go about voting; and what will happen to those new ballot sheets when they are read by the tabulation machines. The 110,000 US dollars is a big chunk in addition to about an already 200,000 dollars in funding for the elections.”
Voter Registration Card
Noting that there were well over 10,000 voters in Anguilla and that so far only 700-plus had collected their Voter Registration Card from the Central Elections Office, Governor Foy offered this advice:
“I encourage everybody to get a Voter Registration Card. That’s not a requirement to vote. If you are on the register then you are on the register [to vote]. It just makes it a lot easier and quicker. I know one of the big complaints from the 2015 elections was an awful lot of time it took people to vote. There were very long lines and obviously there is a need to avoid that, and so the Voter Registration Card will help speed up the process.
“I think the decision – which allows people, who are working on elections day or who are either old or infirmed, to be able to cast their votes the day before – is a very good sign of matured democracy. So to everybody: Please get your Registration Card. It will speed things up. It won’t stop you from voting if you don’t have one, but you want to get on to the rest of your life without queuing up at the polling stations.”
Brexit, Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories
Another matter on which Governor Foy was asked to comment was Brexit – the planned departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union and how it may affect Anguilla and the other British Overseas Territories.
“The fourteen Overseas Territories and the three Crown Dependencies are all indifferent, but significant, positions. The previous Prime Minister, Theresa May, wrote to each of the Premiers or Chief Ministers in every Overseas Territory, reassuring them that their interests and concerns would always be taken into account in terms of Brexit.
“What I see is a lot of chatter about what things are going to be like after Brexit. I wish I could say it is gossip because there is a view that gossip is informed by fact. Most of what I see is not informed by fact. I come back to the four great certainties: The first is that the UK Government is well aware of its responsibilities to the Overseas Territories. It will continue to make sure that any arrangement about Britain’s departure from the European Union recognises the respect for the Overseas Territories. The second thing is in terms of citizenship. Nothing is going to change. Anguillians’ rights to British citizenship will not be changed. Their rights to British Passports will not be changed. It means that Anguillians will continue to go to the UK without visa; will be able to work in the UK without requiring a work permit, and continue to go to the US on an ESTA.
“In terms of the loss of the European Union Development Fund money, the UK Government has guaranteed that it would make good any shortfall. So, if as a result of Brexit, the European Union decides it won’t [continue] its commitment to the Overseas Territories – up to the current round of the European Development Fund – it is very clear that the UK Government has made a commitment to make good that shortfall.
“Finally, in terms of across the water [Anguilla/St. Martin/St. Maarten] which is critical. With 500 movements across that channel, we are absolutely certain that the rules that govern the movement of Anguillians into Dutch St. Maarten will not be affected in any way because neither territory is part of the European Union. In terms of moving into Marigot, we are confident that the arrangements which define … access into French St. Martin from Anguilla, and vice versa, are set according to to…rules and that has nothing to do with the UK’s membership in the European Union.
“I find myself a bit perplexed when I hear people saying that we won’t be able to go to St. Maarten/St. Martin. I have not seen anything that said that; and, in fact, I see lots of things which said that won’t happen – but I never take anything for granted. So we are in constant discussion with colleagues in London who are in constant discussion with the Brexit Office to make sure that nothing, in fact, will happen…”
Governor Foy added: “I have heard some absolute nonsense about Anguilla’s dependency on the European Union and St. Maarten/St. Martin for food, oil and medicine. That’s just not true. The bulk of our foodstuff comes from the United States and Puerto Rico; our oil comes from Trinidad, St. Lucia and Antigua…The majority of our medicines for the hospital is sourced through the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States. If anybody wants to tell me that he or she knows differently, I am happy to be educated.
“When I say I don’t believe anything is going to change, I am not being complacent. That’s a solid judgment of the facts that I see before me. What we will do, as always, is to keep a very close eye on things.”
