As may be seen in this week’s edition of The Anguillian newspaper, some areas of the Government’s Press Conference, of Monday, August 16, were reported on in separate news stories.
Following are some of the other stories from information provided by the Premier and members of his Cabinet.
On the question of COVID-19 vaccinations, Premier Dr. Ellis Lorenzo Webster said in part:
“Certainly, you would think that persons who have the option to vaccinate and choose not, should have to pay for the testing themselves. We have not made that final determination. We are in discussion with the employees and the Government is an employer of some of the persons who are vaccine-defiant. These are the discussions which we are having to determine the way forward. But, make no mistake about it: those discussions are ongoing. As you have heard from the Health Team, vaccinations do work and we have seen the effect of that. Just think about our vulnerable population – our children when school opens. We need to make sure that we can give them as much protection as possible.
“Until we can get Pfizer Vaccine here, to cover those 12-17 year olds, we will have to make sure that those who are responsible for our children and those in vulnerable positions, do the responsible thing.”
Auditing Of Statutory Bodies
Dr. Webster also took the opportunity to announce that an audit is to be undertaken of all Statutory Bodies in Anguilla. He explained, among other matters, that the audit would take into account such issues of lack as transparency; reporting of financial activities; over-exposure to continued liability risks associated with contractual commitments; and inadequate liquidity or reserves. (The Premier’s full statement, read by him at the Government’s Press Conference, is published elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian newspaper.)
Mr. Haydn Hughes, Minister of Infrastructure and Tourism, stated:
“We have secured the services of CASTALIA [a Strategy Consulting Firm] which is doing an assessment on both Water and Electricity (ANGLEC) with the goal to strengthen both institutions, and place them in a position where we can move ahead on the promise of reliable water and electricity.
“We also have been having discussions with a number of institutions on renewable and re-usable energy. This is very important to our national development. We have a goal of transforming our energy sector and, as you know this is decades overdue; but we are excited that the dream is becoming clearer.”
On the question of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport, the Minister said the goal had always been to extend the airstrip. “To that end, a Business Case and Aviation Master Plan will form part of the preliminary work to reach that goal,” he disclosed. “A proper analysis and due diligence must be completed to ensure that there is value for money; transparency and a project that delivers.”
Mr. Hughes went on: “We continue to discuss aviation with a number of carriers, some of which I cannot speak about now due to confidentiality issues. But, as soon as they are confirmed, we will let you know.
“We are also finalising the regulations for child seats or seat belts; personalised vanity number plates; driving under the influence. One that is done we will have a series of public consultations with a view to having these regulations enacted.
“We are also extending procurement to all the Statutory Bodies within the Ministry. This is to ensure that the process for tendering is transparent and void of any corruption. We believe that this is long overdue and I am very happy to see this moving forward.”
Parliamentary Secretary, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie
Among other matters of which she spoke was ‘the blue economy’ as a way of economic diversification. “We are already doing some aspects of the blue economy as we have fishing that occurs,” the Parliamentary Secretary pointed out. “We also have costal tourism which also plays a part of the blue economy.”
According to her a ‘Blue Anguilla (BANG) Task Force Position Paper’ “gives us an idea of where we are; the strengths and weaknesses; opportunities and the threats. It also gives Government a template and a timeline of how to move into economies such as long line fishing and scuba diving…and there are a lot of opportunities that we can expand on in the blue economy; how to get there; and the legislative changes we will have to make…”
Mrs. Gumbs-Marie said the that the Position Paper was completed by the Task Force which comprises persons within Government, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Economic Development, Mrs. Chanelle Petty Barrett.
Minister of Social Development and Education, Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers
She announced a special press conference on the protocols regarding education – and the opening of schools – this Friday afternoon, August 20, among other matters. In the meantime, she gave updates on three developments in her ministry. The first was the National Sports Act and the National Sports; Council. She said that since last year the Executive Council had approved a National Sporting Group comprising Mr. Kenn Banks; Mr. Andre Collins; Mrs. Nakisma Rogers-Hull; Ms. Lorna Rogers; Mr. Girdon Connor; Ms. Katrina Richardson; the Ministerial Assistant, Mr. Merrick Richardson; and herself. The second update was a National Diversion Strategy, a supporting document for the Child Justice Act passed on July 1, this year. The third update, given by the Minister, was that her Ministry was in the last phase of the roll-out of a National Parenting Programme. It is geared for parents dealing with challenges in relation to assisting with the creation of a healthy school and society system. “We are looking at how we can provide support and to empower parents to build healthy relationships to deal with conflict resolution, time management and financial management,” the Minister explained.
Minister of Economic Development and Natural Resources, Mr. Kyle Hodge, said among other matters:
“I have just about three updates. First of all, I would like to update on the Peoples’ Market. With the development of The Valley Main Road (the Carter Rey Boulevard), we would have seen that the tamarind tree was uprooted. It displaced two vendors who were selling under that tree. Those vendors are now under the Peoples’ Market that is dilapidated at the moment.
“We are continuously working with different departments to see how quickly we can realise the reconstruction of the Peoples’ Market. The quicker and cheaper way to do it, right now is to put back some galvanise on the roof – so that is the plan. On the inside of the market, the first row will be for those selling produce; and the second row for those selling seafood. We have plans to utilise the front of the yard for different stalls and vendors that may come from time to time – just the same way we did Open Market Day when we had the front yard filled with vendors. We also plan to fix the bathrooms and include running water in the Peoples’ Market at the back. That [area] will be for parking for the vendors at the market.
“With the construction of The Valley Main Road, we will lose about 20 feet to the east of the market after the road shifts to the west. It means that area will be smaller than it currently is. We will also try to pave the area at the front to make it more suitable for those with different craft or whatever they plan to sell.”
Minister Hodge continued: “We have to thank the St. Lucian community. They continue to be on board and to be engaged with us; and they have offered us free labour and materials. This is something to happen while The Valley Main Road is being developed. I don’t have a specific date as to when the work will start but will be giving further updates. Have no fear: the Peoples’ Market will be developed.”
Mr. Hodge further said: “The next update is on the Business Licence Act. We should be going to the House for the first reading either by the end of August or the first week in September. We have done extensive consultation on this document even prior to approving it in Executive Council because we wanted the input of the business community, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the people of Anguilla…We may be able to come back to the public again for a final consultation on the document. We should have it in place before mid-September – that’s when the moratorium comes to an end.”
Mr. Hodge said that his third update was on the .ai domain. “This domain is a national asset with great potential,” he observed. “It brings money into the Treasury while we are all asleep. It went out to tender. In the last update, that I have from procurement there were a lot of bids and those bids have been short-listed to about three to four companies. They are all international companies. We got a few bids from a couple local companies but, so far, what the procurement team has seen is that the international companies are more aligned with the requirements that were set out.”
The Minister added: “To date, we have about 107,000 registered domain users. On January 5, 2021, that number was 107,480. Over the past seven months registered users grew by 433 – about 61 users per month. We feel that, if given the opportunity to be marketed on an international level that number should really shoot up a lot more than it is currently doing.”
He estimated that, when fully operational, the .ai domain could bring in significant amount money to the Government of Anguilla.
