The Government of Anguilla has faced a number of searching questions from time to time. One of them concerns Social Security and the banking sector. The Anguillian newspaper asked Premier Victor Banks for a reply.
Question: Why did the Government of Anguilla borrow the Social Security money to fix the banking crisis?
Answer. The Government of Anguilla did NOT borrow money from Social Security to fix the banking crisis. If the Banks were not resolved in a timely manner, a considerable portion of the money deposited by the Anguilla Social Security Board in those institutions would have been lost.
The Social Security deposits in the two indigenous banks amounted to two hundred and fourteen million EC dollars (EC$ 214,000,000.00). These were the pension and disability insurance funds for the contributors to social security and their beneficiaries. In its resolution plan, the Government of Anguilla took on a bond of EC$214,000,000.00 to ensure that all contributors to the fund would receive their pensions, and other benefits, when they became due and payable.
In simple language, the Government of Anguilla’s plan saved the pensions of the people of Anguilla and other eligible persons. Were that not the case, the Social Security Fund would have also gone into BANKRUPTCY.
It is also noteworthy, that over fifty percent of the Government of Anguilla debt is made up of its commitment to guarantee the viability of the Anguilla Social Security Fund, and the capitalization of the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla (NCBA). In this context, the Government of Anguilla is satisfied that it was able to formulate a resolution that not only protected our people’s hard earned pension funds but also led to the stability of our indigenous banking sector. Such an increase in our debt obligations, as a country, could have been put to no better purpose than to guarantee social justice and security for our people.
The Anguilla United Front considers the resolution of the indigenous banking sector to be still in progress — but it is advancing by leaps and bounds to the greater good of our people. It is one of the premier achievements of this Government. We firmly believe that the majority of our people have come to accept this view, despite efforts by our detractors to suggest otherwise.
I believe that it was necessary to clarify this frequently asked, and frequently answered, question yet another time, for the information and edification of those persons genuinely seeking the truth.
Anguilla! Onward! United!
