The Anguillian diaspora has been given an opportunity to comment on Anguilla’s draft constitution which was the subject of much discussion across the island, each Thursday evening, over a period of seven weeks.
The Minister of Home Affairs and Constitution and Electoral, Reform, Mr. Kenneth Hodge, and his Permanent Secretary, Dr. Aidan Harrigan, were engaged in a zoom meeting by the Anguilla Progressive Association (APANY) of New York on Saturday, October 16, for close to one hour and fifty minutes. The participating Anguillians were in Florida; Texas; New Jersey; Washington DC; Atlanta, Georgia; Canada; New York; and St. Kitts Nevis. The meeting was led by APANY’s President, Mr. Carlson Lloyd Connor.
Minister Kenneth Hodge gave a comprehensive overview of the consultations in Anguilla. “We wanted to really get persons’ consciousness awakened once more as to what the constitutional exercise was all about,” he stated. “This is why in the discussions with my PS, and other officials, we came up with the strategy of going to each of the seven districts to give each district a feeling of being part of a process – and a platform on which they can express their views. We ended with the seventh week in District 3.
Good Feedback
“We did not get large numbers turning out each time but, nonetheless, we had a very good viewership and listenership – and there was active participation both during and after each session and, of course, those sessions are available online at your convenience. We have been very heartened despite the fact that our numbers could not meet together because of the [COVID] protocols that we had in place.
“We got a very good feedback from the public and, interestingly, not only from Anguilla, but the wider diaspora. We got commitments from the United States, the United Kingdom and from across the Caribbean. We are very happy that despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic we were still able to reach out, using technology, to our people across the diaspora.”
Clergy: Strong Views Against Same-Sex Marriage
Minister Hodge continued: “I come now to some of the major issues that have arisen out of this exercise so far. The major one has been same-sex marriage. The Christian community is of the very firm belief that we should not entertain any other provision in our constitution except marriage between a man and a woman. Let me say from the outset that is a position that this Administration is taking. I am happy that the previous Administration had taken that position as well; and it is a position that I have taken personally, and I have been unafraid to do so.
“The Christian community has been reaching out and came to most of our town hall meetings and, as a matter of fact, the one on Thursday evening [October 14] we had a very huge turnout, mostly drawn from the Christian community. Quite a number of clergy were there and they very strongly expressed their views. So same-sex marriage is a burning issue. Let me say hasten to say, though, that has been the primary view of our clergy and many of our more senior persons.
Young People Want Us More Liberal On Same-Sex Marriage
“But I want to say, though, that we are getting a little different feedback from many of our young people who seem to think that we ought to be a little more liberal in our ideas and opinions when it comes to same-sex marriage. We see even in our school system, and in our community that there are a number of persons who have openly professed lesbianism and homosexuality – and some of the young people are of the view that we ought to embrace differing views when it comes to sexual practice and sexual orientation. I have said that to say this: I have my personal views on it. I have not been pushing my personal views in all of this because I am cognisant of the fact that, as Minister responsible for this exercise, it is important that we garner as many views from as wide a cross-section as possible.”
Voting Rights: AG, DG
Mr. Hodge further stated: “There is another issue that has recently come to the fore and that is the voting rights of our Attorney General and Deputy Governor. Now, as you know, the constitution provides that the Governor is in charge of the public service and the Governor delegates that responsibility to the Deputy Governor. He sits in the Executive Council and in the House of Assembly. The Deputy Governor is appointed by the Governor, or the British, so the perception is that, as a British-appointee, he has to toe the line as set by the Governor of the British.
“The Attorney General, as well, is appointed by the Governor in conjunction with the Bar and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court – and he too sits in Executive Council. He provides advice to Executive Council on legal matters and he also sits in the House of Assembly. During the passage of the GST Bill we would have had somewhat of a slight stalemate where two members of the ruling party voted against the GST Bill. And the AG and the DG voted for it, allowing its passage in the House of Assembly. That has caused a major outcry. As a matter of fact, there have been a number of petitions and letters to the Governor, and to the Foreign Office, asking for this legislation to be repealed.”
The Minister told the APANY diaspora that a number of persons in Anguilla are of the view that in the new constitutional exercise neither the Attorney General nor the Deputy Governor should have any voting rights in the House of Assembly.
Electoral Boundaries & Districts
“He went on: “A third major issue has to do with the question of our boundaries. Now, as you know, we have enjoyed a system of seven districts and seven elected members. During that last consultations there were a number of amendments: one that would have changed the Chief Minister to Premier, as well as introducing the concept of at-large voting with the introduction of four at-large members complementing the seven members from the districts, making a total of eleven members. When you look across the seven districts, you would find that they are unequal in terms of numbers. For example, districts two and seven are among the smaller districts in Anguilla – and districts three and four, in particular, are larger than the other districts.
“There has been a debate across this country as to what would be the solutions to that. Option one is, leave it as is. It has been there for a long time; option two has been to split districts three and four into two additional districts – to have nine districts plus the four persons [running at large, making thirteen]. There is a third school of thought that says: let us redistribute the seven districts on a more equal basis into nine districts. So instead of splitting three and four there would be a split of the entire seven districts into nine districts plus the four at large.”
He said his Ministry had gone ahead with a fourth option involving the redistribution of boundaries in the seven districts, using the current road network. He added that there was another option – the return of the whole of Anguilla into one giant at-large district with all candidates running at large thus –finishing away with the seven electoral districts.
Those and other points formed the basis for the zoom meeting with the APANY members. While there were a number of questions and comments, it was felt that there was a need for wider participation by the Anguillian diaspora to keep the Minister very much engaged.
When that section of the zoom meeting ended, and with the Minister and his Permanent Secretary having left the discussions, APANY members went on to discuss the COVID situation in Anguilla and matters relating to their organisation.
