During this week’s Government press conference, on Monday, January 11th, the Hon. Premier, Dr. Ellis Webster, explained that if the UK ought to be providing aid to Anguilla, it is essential that Anguilla does whatever it can to help itself.
“We have to show the United Kingdom Government that we are trying to assist ourselves while seeking its assistance. The UK continues to drill into us that there were certain self-help promises made by previous administrations which were not kept. This led to a lot of the economic issues that we are dealing with right now.”
He said that one of the UK’s main concerns is the issue of contingent liabilities. “There is a risk to them,” he warned, “if Anguilla’s debt continues to grow out of proportion. This would not only have impacts on the UK Government, but it will also have an effect on what we can get done, because we cannot borrow to help our situations unless we get permission from the UK Government.
“It requires, then, that if there is a deficit in a statutory body’s budget, there are two ways that it could be fixed: 1. Any fees that the statutory bodies collect have to be increased, or 2. Government has to increase subventions to that statutory body. This means, basically, that Government would have to provide the statutory body with more money for the services that are necessary for our people. And from where does this money come? It comes from increased taxes, essentially. The other option is funds from foreign direct investment and, as we know, that with COVID-19 that has slowed down.”
He observed that while the Central Government’s debt is $470 million, the overall debt is $494 million because the statutory bodies owe the difference of $24 million. “There are no free lunches.” the Premier exclaimed. “Everything that is offered as services must be paid for.”
On another note, he said that to assist businesses which have been affected, in one way or another, by COVID-19, the Government has provided some $500,000 to the Anguilla Development Board Fund to lend to small businesses. And to help raise Government revenue, he also said that Government has installed legislation committing the Financial Services Industry to be used as another pillar of income, thus relying less on tourism as our only industry.
In order to implement cost cutting measures, the Premier noted: “Persons who retire, or leave government services, to go into the private sector will not be replaced. We are also deploying persons within the public service to fill positions that are more essential.”
Among expenditure that Government has committed to, he highlighted the fact that Government has had to incur additional spending for healthcare services. He noted that with the new and upgraded buildings in the health sector, and education, funds have had to be allocated for increased maintenance.
Further, he mentioned that Government will be continuing with its Unemployment Benefit Plan for persons who are unemployed or underemployed. He specified that these benefits have been extended to March 31st. In adding to the list of certain outlays of expenditure, the Premier noted: “We have also had to increase monies to Fire and Rescue, since this service now feature a new search and rescue vessel.”
“Evidently,” he said, “there are a lot of areas that require us to find money to cover. The United Kingdom has promised to provide us with $30 million up to March 31st. But it is incumbent upon us as a Government, and as a people, that we must be able to help ourselves to some degree. It surely requires our sacrifice, but there is hope.”
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
