It has been six months since our new Government was swept into office on its “Change Can’t Wait” agenda. Having run a brilliant campaign, our current Government managed to convince the majority of voters that Anguilla needed a change in leadership; that the previous Government was ineffective, unable to handle the challenges of running a country; not acting in the best interest of the people; and incapable of leading Anguilla to a state of prosperity. The previous Government was accused of poor governance, lack of transparency, accountability and integrity. The election of a new Government was supposed to signal an end to these issues and the dawn of a new era. That is why change couldn’t wait.
Six months in office, the current Government is being accused by its disenchanted supporters of being no different and, in some respects, worse than our previous Government. I am not quick to jump on any bandwagon, and I believe that we ought to give our Government a fair chance to prove itself. However, I believe the Government has made a few missteps which it must make every effort not to repeat if it is serious about good governance.
There are several principles which underpin the concept of good governance — and which can be used as a measure to determine whether good governance is being achieved. They include:
• Participation – involvement of the public and non-Government organisations in decision-making;
• Rule of law – impartial application and enforcement of the law;
• Transparency – decisions made and resources allocated in a manner that follows rules, regulations and established standards; information is freely available and directly accessible ;
• Responsiveness – stakeholder issues are addressed within a reasonable timeframe;
• Consensus oriented – balancing the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of the whole community;
• Equity and inclusiveness – policies do not make people feel that they are excluded from the mainstream of society.
Some may ask, why is good governance important? One only has to look at the insurrection in the United States, last week, to answer that question. The last four years of US politics were rife with examples of decisions made, actions taken, words spoken or not spoken which, over time, have eroded every principle of good governance — and resulted in what we can agree is probably one of the lowest points in modern American history.
We may think this can never happen in Anguilla but, in reality, it can if we do not hold our leaders accountable when they do not adhere to the principles of good governance. I therefore support those who have called out our leaders on what we can only call the secret increase in health fees, water rates, AASPA fees etc. The proposed increases should have been discussed with the public, debated in the House of Assembly, and shared via various media, before the final decisions were made. The public should not have been made aware of the decisions only when the Executive Council minutes were released. As every citizen has to access health services, in particular, wider discussion was required.
After Government faced public backlash, it then had to do damage control by going on various media outlets, holding a press conference etc. to explain the increases. Unfortunately, I cannot give it any credit for this approach or for the decisions taken. We know Anguilla’s financial situation is dire. We know Anguilla has been dealing with crisis after crisis. We knew this when the previous Government was in power. It was public knowledge. Our new Government campaigned on the promise that it could fix it. It cannot now rely on the same “excuses” it accused the previous Government of relying on when that Government sought to explain why it could not accomplish certain things, and why it had to make certain difficult decisions. It cannot accuse the previous Government of not being transparent and then turn around and do the same thing. The people voted for a new Government because they were promised better — and better is expected.
Another misstep of the new Government is the manner in which it went about appointing the new Director of Tourism. I am not familiar with the young lady and I have no idea of her capability. However, the fact that she was appointed without due process should not be overlooked. The Minister was at pains to point out that he has the power to appoint the Director. Indeed he has that power. However, he also has an obligation to ensure that public resources are being allocated appropriately, and that transparent processes are being followed in determining how those resources are spent. The Minister could have followed established procedure and advertise the position — so that all suitably qualified Anguillians could have had the opportunity to be considered. Then, with the assistance of the Board, he could have selected the most appropriate person from among the applicants. This would have been in accordance with the principles of good governance. Instead, he hand-picked a Director who will now be paid from the public purse without an appropriate selection process.
For some, this may not be a big issue, but we must consider the cumulative effect if every Minister took the approach that appropriate processes can be disregarded when making staff appointments to various entities. What we will end up with are political appointees who respond only to the direction of the Minister without regard to what is in the best interest of the organisation. Additionally, it would mean the politicising of the operations of various institutions which would then have to be “cleansed” every time a Government changes. This is not the type of culture we should be promulgating in Anguilla. While I certainly wish the new Director every success in her new role, I am saddened that her appointment was done in that manner.
I would urge our Government to be reminded of the reason why it was voted into office – because change couldn’t wait. It is important to retaining public confidence that it seeks to do better — be better than the previous Government. Critical to this is upholding the principles of good governance which were the hallmark of its campaign. We look forward to seeing improvements in the months and years ahead.
