In an atmosphere of utmost cordiality, but seriousness, representatives of the Concerned Citizens of Anguilla presented the first batch of signatures to the Governor demanding that the passage of the Goods and Services Act be nullified.
The presentation of the relevant petition was made on the steps of the Governor’s Office at noon on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Governor Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam came out from an Executive Council meeting to receive the document.
The Concerned Citizens’ representatives were Attorney-at-Law, Mrs. Josephine Gumbs-Connor; businessman, Mr. Mitchell Lake; radio talk show host, Mr. Percy Thomas (who remained in his vehicle due to a leg injury); and Mrs. Gumbs-Connor’s Office Assistant, Ms. Khadijah Muhammad. They all made personal statements to the Governor before the well-known Lawyer made the actual presentation of the petition to the Governor.
Mrs. Gumbs-Connor told the Governor that the petition comprised an initial batch of signatures totalling 2,083. That number included 1,173 signatures completed online (by Anguillians in the Diaspora and residents at home) and 910 on paper (collected at various points in Anguilla); as well as the signatures of herself and the other representatives of the Concerned Citizens of Anguilla.
The above-named main presenter stressed to the Governor that the petition was being delivered for “your very thorough and thoughtful review knowing that justice was at the core.”
She told the Governor that the petition was in opposition to the passage of the Goods and Services Tax Act passed in the Anguilla House of Assembly on July 29, and assented by her hours later on July 30. Attorney Gumbs-Connor further told Her Excellency that the GST legislation was signed “under your hand and under circumstances which we feel amount to a travesty of justice.”
She continued: “We have outlined our deep concerns in the petition and, guided by the principle of good governance, to which you are constitutionally responsible, we seek redress to each of the concerns that our petition highlights.”
Mrs. Gumbs-Connor spoke to some extent on the well-known situation in the House of Assembly and other matters, including the Select Committee’s Report, leading to the passage of the GST legislation.
She described the way the matters were handled as “a sham, a farce and never a genuine intent to engage the people of Anguilla who will be under the weight of this legislation.”
She went on: “The circumstances which occurred at the second and third readings of [the Bill] in the House of Assembly are far more egregious. We note that the speaker paid scant regard, bordering on disrespect, to the Honourable At Large Member, Mr. Jose Vanterpool, who sought a vote by division. We note further that the Speaker was deciding instead that she was satisfied by the loudness of the yeas that the vote had carried. This notwithstanding that she was also aware that two Government Ministers voted against the passage of the Bill along with four Opposition Members. It meant that there were six votes of Elected Members who were against the Bill [with] five votes of Elected Members [on the Government’s side] who were in favour of the Bill. There has never been such an unprecedented move and direct assault on the democracy of the people of Anguilla as what occurred on the evening of 29th July, 2021.
“It is incomprehensible to us, the people, that two EX-Officio Members, appointed by the British, were used and they felt embolden to cast a vote to frustrate and crush the expressions of our people through the majority of elected representatives. This full, frontal attack against our democracy means that those six Elected Members, representing the votes of over 8,000 Anguillians, cast in the last general election, were nullified by the actions of two British appointees.”
In recalling a previous letter to the Governor, Mrs. Gumbs-Connor emphasised: “This is untenable. It is outrageous. It is egregious. It is a serious and devastating incursion on the democracy of the people of Anguilla, and we vehemently object to it. It must not be validated.”
She added: “Now that the sunshine pervades the process, we are asking for you to consider and reflect on the actions of those two Ex-Officio Members. We are hereby seeking, in this context that, at the point in time, that you stay your hand on the assent of the legislation as the people of Anguilla feel that your assent to this legislation is to sanction the flaws highlighted and leading to the passage of this legislation.
“So determined were the people of Anguilla at that point, that they craved seven days from the date of our correspondence, that is to say, Friday, the 6th of August, 2021, for us to present a significant number of signatures in support of this petition.”
Governor Daniel Selveratnam replied: “Petitions are incredibly important mechanisms giving a voice to the people and particularly here in Anguilla. I would like to thank you for your efforts in organising and bringing forward this petition to me.
“I would like to confirm, and reiterate, that I take forth my constitutional duties as Governor faithfully with the sole aim of serving and protecting the interest of the people of Anguilla.
“I will consider your representations in that vein, and I will respond to you with a clear and thorough position in respect of my reflections and consideration.”
Pressed by Mr. Percy Thomas as to how soon she would respond, the Governor replied: “I will respond by the end of the week. I want to consider it [the petition] properly and thoroughly, but I will respond to you by the end of the week.”
The petition was made both to the Governor and the Minister of the Overseas Territories.
