Anguilla’s Premier, Dr. Ellis Webster, has made the point that the coronavirus is now both a health crisis and an economic crisis.
Anguilla has no known cases of the virus since the recovery of the three infected persons several months ago. But Premier Webster made the statement while referring to the difficulties the virus has imposed on the island’s economy since the lockdown in March this year.
“If ever there was a need to balance health and the economy, this is that time,” he said. “Covid-19 is basically a health crisis, but now, as it has progressed, it has become an economic crisis. By shutting down our tourism industry, our economy is now stagnant and we have to open that up. Covid-19 showed us how fragile an economy is – that is so heavily based on tourism.
“Some of the monies from the UK Government’s sixty million pounds in humanitarian aid, following Hurricane Irma, helped to restore the hospital; build a lab; a storage area; an emergency medical services area; and a morgue at the hospital to cut down the cost of having to move persons to a funeral home before they are seen by the pathologist for autopsies; the building of The Valley Medical Complex, and the Western Polyclinic in South Hill. Monies from the United Kingdom Government are also helping to build an isolation unit.”
The Premier stated that the costs incurred by Covid-19, including the payment of unemployment benefits, had prevented and put on hold some of the policies his Government had campaigned on. Those policies also included providing healthcare for persons 70 years and over; and the provision of pensions for revolutionary heroes and heroines “so that they don’t have to worry about whether they can feed themselves or buy medication.”
He lamented the high cost to maintain the health services – and was pleased that the Health Authority was receiving a subvention which helps to keep the hospital open; the staff employed; and provide care for persons. “Without that, the fees that are being charged, right now, are not enough for the Health Authority to maintain itself – and there is a lot of money on the street owed for medical services,” he said.
The Premier spoke about the UK Government’s MOU, which he found on coming to office – and which listed sixteen provisions to be met in order for Anguilla to receive the current one hundred EC dollars in budgetary aid. One of the provisions suggested that persons, owing the Government for services, should be taken to court for payment.
“I felt people didn’t pay for the services because they couldn’t do so,” he observed. “Businesses were cash-strapped, but the Comptroller of Inland Revenue has shown me where persons have owed close to a million dollars – and he was able to get most of that paid by basically saying it has to be paid.”
The Premier pointed out that: “If we give a duty-free concession that, dollar for dollar is not given to us when we claim it [the one hundred million dollars] because they [The UK Government] say if you can give away money, then why are you taking it from the British taxpayers?”
The Premier advised his listeners that the economic and financial situation in Anguilla was so dire, that it would be necessary for the Government to take tough decisions in order to be able to efficiently and effectively administer the affairs of the island.
“That’s why you elected us – because we will make the tough decisions that are necessary to get Anguilla on the right footing and to go in the right direction,” he continued. “Some of the other MOU requirements include that we have to come up with a Medium Term Economic and Fiscal Plan that shows we can afford government. You know how tough that is in these times when there is no tourism – so you cannot collect Accommodation Tax and all the different fees which help to keep the Government going.
“They want us to sell ANGLEC which we campaigned that we wouldn’t – and certainly we will hold the line that the shares held by the Government are not for sale. We have the pensions of the former employees of NBA and CCB that need to be paid. Despite the cash position, we are in, it is something which we want to pay and which we will have to. We want to get that done, but it is a sad situation that we are in economically – and it does not allow us to do so.”
Premier Webster also referred to the proposed Goods and Services Tax in which, he said, the UK Government put a lot of money to set up the process. “They want to see that we put this tax in – to fill the gap between revenue and expenditure. This is something we campaigned against, as we do not think that a Goods and Services Tax will provide the revenue that the UK Government expects that it will. However, it is something we have to listen to, and consider, because there is a big gap that we have to make sure we can fill. We can’t expect the British taxpayers to constantly bail us out. Certainly, they owe us an obligation and maybe we have to talk about reparations at some point. But I think that, right now, we have to make sure that we can get through.”
