OPPOSITION MEMBERS SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

The Leader of the Opposition in the Anguilla House of Assembly, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, and her colleague, Mr. Jose Vanterpool, partnered on Friday, August 21, to submit a number of questions to the Government side of the Assembly.

The questions, to which the answers will hopefully be published in the next edition of The Anguillian newspaper, were as follows:

QUESTIONS FROM THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION, THE HONOURABLE CORA RICHARDSON HODGE

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1. QUESTION 1 FOR THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, MEMBER FOR DISTRICT 1
   WHEREAS, on 12th July 2020, a Press Release issued from His Excellency The Governor and the Honourable Premier (entitled “Covid-19 Update 12”) advised that effective immediately, there would be a suspension of repatriations from countries with active cases prevalence of more than 0.2%, and Covid-19 Update 13 advised that the suspension would remain in place until August 7th 2020,

AND WHEREAS, it is understood that there are almost 400 Anguillians currently outside Anguilla that have applied and are waiting to be repatriated,

AND WHEREAS, prior to the decision stated in Covid-19 Update 12, the previous Anguilla United Front Administration had implemented the repatriation process with the goal that by now most of our Anguillians would have been able to return home (almost 200 persons had been repatriated as at 12th July 2020),

AND WHEREAS, as at the date of the suspension, numerous Anguillians most especially Anguillian school children/college students wishing to return home but caught outside of Anguilla had not been approved to return to Anguilla,

AND WHEREAS, the parents of these Anguillian school children/college students have been required to undertake additional and unnecessary costs and expenses for their children to either remain in apartments or find alternate accommodations,

AND WHEREAS, the longer our Anguillians remain outside Anguilla and not allowed to return, the greater the risk of infection of our people,

AND WHEREAS, Health Officials in a press conference on Tuesday 18th August 2020 the Permanent Secretary of Health, Mr. Foster Rogers, advised that “most of the cases in the world would never need hospitalization”, that out of every 100 persons who are positive for covid-19, close to 90% of them may never need hospitalization and, that in fact, some may never even show symptoms. He further stated that some of the 90% may stay at home and get better (meaning that the health care facilities may not be overburdened for persons that may need hospitalization),

AND WHEREAS, the Permanent Secretary of Health, Mr. Foster Rogers, further made reference to the fact that Anguilla has three nurses and two doctors from Cuba on island who are experienced in dealing with covid-19 and infectious diseases, the amount of ventilators at the hospital and the WHO’s prerequisites for opening being met,

AND WHEREAS, in a recent press conference the elected members of Government advised that the Government has decided to resume repatriations of Anguillians before the “soft opening” for persons wishing to stay in villas,

Can the Honourable Member for District 1 explain:

1. Given the statement made by the PS of Health in the 6th Whereas clause above, what was the rationale for stopping the repatriations at such a crucial time, leaving hundreds of Anguillians stuck outside Anguilla and thereby increasing the risk of our Anguillians becoming infected?
2. What is average cost for an Anguillian being repatriated have to pay for staying for 10/14 days in quarantine (accommodation, food, etc)?
3. Has any consideration been given to the fact that those Anguillians who have had to remain outside Anguilla for an extended period may now be short of funds and unable to pay the repatriation costs? What is the plan to cater for these persons who are experiencing financial difficulties?
4. Why have our school children/college students not been given priority in being approved to return to Anguilla, as was established under the previous AUF Administration?
5. QUESTION 2 FOR THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, MEMBER FOR DISTRICT 1
   WHEREAS, there has been no further joint press release since “Covid-19 Update 13” coming from His Excellency the Governor and the Honourable Premier since 25th July 2020 and it is now 21st August 2020,

AND WHEREAS, the said joint press release made no mention of a “soft opening”,

AND WHEREAS, this APM Government has repeatedly announced that it is a proponent of openness, transparency and accountability,

AND WHEREAS, a Government press conference was held on Thursday 13th August 2020 wherein the Parliamentary Secretary in charge of Economic Development and Tourism announced to the general public that the Government would be moving forward with a “soft opening” of the villa tourism market and the pre-registration form to initiate the process would begin this past Monday, 17th August 2020,

AND WHEREAS, as a result of said announcement, many Anguillians across Anguilla have become scared, concerned and angry that (1) the announcement of the “soft opening” was not previously relayed to the general public before Thursday 13th August 2020, and (2) no consultation has been had with the general public to explain what is involved with the “soft opening” and how should the public prepare for same,

Can the Honourable Member for District 1 explain:

1. Why has no joint press release been issued since Covid-19 Update 13?
2. Why were Health Officials (ie. Permanent Secretary of Health and/or Chief Medical Officer) not present at the Government press conference on Thursday, 13th August 2020 to be able to speak from a health perspective in discussing the “soft opening”?
3. Why was there no substantive communication with the general public as to the “soft opening” before the announcement was made on 13th August 2020 in order to prepare the public for same?
4. The general public would like to know how are you going to ensure that visitors staying at the Villas will remain in quarantine for the entire 10/14 day period and be monitored 24 hours a day?
5. QUESTION 3 FOR THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, MEMBER FOR DISTRICT 1
   WHEREAS, during the election campaign, the members of the APM stated repeatedly that the monies being provided through the Anguilla Social Security Fund that was set up by the previous Anguilla United Front Administration for qualified persons, was not sufficient to truly assist families with their financial needs,

AND WHEREAS, the Minister of Health made similar statements at the press conference on Tuesday, 18th August 2020,

AND WHEREAS, members of this APM Administration during the 2020 election campaign claimed that once elected, they would increase the amount being provided to unemployed persons through the Anguilla Social Security Fund,
AND WHEREAS, the continued closure of the hotels necessarily means lay-offs and terminations in many cases for our Anguillian employees, resulting in little or no employment and little or no income for the foreseeable future,

AND WHEREAS, in recent weeks at least two major hotels have announced termination of employees, with there being no publicized response from Government,

Can the Honourable Member for District 1 advise:
Whether this Government intends to increase the amount of EC$1,000.00 currently paid from the Social Security funds in the near future? If yes, when will the increase take place and to what amount will it be increased to?

QUESTIONS FROM THE ELECTED ISLAND WIDE MEMBER, THE HONOURABLE JOSE VANTERPOOL

QUESTION 1 FOR THE MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES, ELECTED ISLAND WIDE MEMBER, THE HONOURABLE KYLE HODGE

WHEREAS, a letter dated July 31st 2020, in relation to the development of a category 5 hurricane proof agricultural project here in Anguilla was signed by the Minister to whom the question is directed,

AND WHEREAS, the Minister expressed that this administration is not in support of this project citing that if the company was prepared to partner with Anguillians, the proposition would be considered more acceptable,

AND WHEREAS, a response was sent to the Minister by the company’s director on August 7th, 2020 – a copy of which is attached,

AND WHEREAS, the said letter, cited that a member of the Government’s political party who would have contested the 2020 general elections was one of the first to “indicate a serious interest in co-investing”,

AND WHEREAS, evidence was provided of trying to partner with several local persons who were ultimately unable to meet the capital requirements,

AND WHEREAS 98% of the agricultural produce we eat is imported compared to the 2% grown locally,

AND WHEREAS, the company clearly outlines its market and strategy for competition with imports as opposed to competition with local farmers by reducing the amount of produce imported,

AND WHEREAS there is real concern related to the potential of food scarcity due to the global COVID-19 pandemic,

AND WHEREAS, I agree with the Minister that we need to protect our local farmers and enable them with a non-hostile environment to grow,

Can the Honorable Elected Island Wide Minister please explain the following:

QUESTION 1

1) Could the Minister please explain in detail his reasons for opposing this project when it stands to significantly improve Anguilla’s Food Security?

2) While it is understandable that protections should be in place to protect the production of our local farmers, can the Minister please inform us of any alternatives that were explored (if any) before rejecting the project proposal?

3) COVID-19 has disrupted global supply chains with some existing supply chains for food now showing produce contaminated with the virus. Did the Minister consider before rejecting this project, its potential to provide a stable supply chain locally to reduce our dependency on imports and how that could be critical in bolstering our COVID-19 response? If so, could the Minister please elaborate as to his thought process behind this consideration and how he arrived at his decision?

4) What other alternative supply chains for food has the Minister identified to be tapped into should our current situation deteriorate to a point where importing food becomes difficult?

5) Has the government considered partnering with this initiative in the form of a Public Private Partnership or otherwise considering:

i) the health benefits of fresh organic food being provided to its locals

ii) the ability of this project to grow climate controlled foods such as blueberries, strawberries, and other items which tend to grow in colder climates,

iii) the lower cost of food to which our locals will be better empowered to buy seeing that food will be able to be produced at less than 10% of the cost that its currently sold on our shelves.