A few weeks ago, we celebrated Black History Month. We recognized the significant contributions of Black people; we can’t help but reminisce about where Anguillians as a people are. Earlier this week, I was reminded that we had attained Independence from Great Britain. On February 6th, 1969, our fearless leader declared a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), which gave Anguilla Independence from Great Britain. The vote was 1789 to 4 in favor of the UDI. Our Independence lasted two short years before Britain (at the urging of Robert L Bradshaw and other Caribbean leaders) invaded Anguilla.
Since then, we have been cast adrift in a sea of uncertainty, led by a series of incompetent governments who, by all accounts, have done a horrible job of looking out for their people. It appears that they are more concerned with the longevity of their political party and all that they can derive from the Government.
Reeling from the effects of a pandemic, we now find ourselves at the mercy of a Brexit-injured Great Britain. This once proud behemoth of a nation, now just a shell of its former self, struggles to be relevant on the world stage. Consequently, it is forced to look out for its best interests at the expense of its Overseas Territories, of which Anguilla is one.
Led by PM Rushi Sunak who came to power under very dubious circumstances now faces the problem of looking out for the U.K. at the expense of its territories. Their recent exit from the European Union has put them in a precarious position, the ripple effects of which will directly affect us and our relationship with the E.U. We have been the recipients of their failed policies, incompatible with those of an island some 23 hundred miles away with a population of 12,000 people.
Instead of teaching the overseas territories how to fish and, in the process, providing them with a means of self-sufficiency, they instead insist, for the most part, on giving them a fish, which, as the adage goes, will feed them for one day.
In Anguilla, which depends on tourism as its economy, the effects of Covid19 have wreaked havoc on the economy simply because we’ve had to close our borders and, in the process, bring a screeching halt to our way of putting money in the Government’s coffers.
The last Government led by the Honorable Victor Banks found itself first at the mercy of two category-five hurricanes, Irma (and a near miss by another, Maria, before she devastated Puerto Rico and St. Croix that same season) the effects from which we are still trying to recover, has left us in a very tenuous position. Here we are some four years later, still trying to recover from those two hurricanes, only to be hit with the worst pandemic since the flu of 1918, which killed millions of people worldwide. For a people who once declared a Unilateral Independence from Great Britain, we have found ourselves going backward. We now must agree to every beck and call of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office or face the consequences once imposed on Turks and Caicos.
One cannot blame the Government for acts of nature, but one can blame it for its wasteful spending. For example, after Hurricane Irma, Victor’s Government saw it fit to rent vehicles for his government ministers for over 700.000 dollars while the people struggled to put tarps over lost roofs. This is the same Government that forgave a $17 million debt to the Hickoxes to make $13 million on the sale of Cap Juluca. Those monies would have come in extremely handy in our time of need.
Fast forward to 2020, when covid19 made its grand entrance, everyone had to shut down. Fishermen weren’t allowed to fish. Fish, a staple in Anguillians’ diet and a way for the fishermen to make a living was unceremoniously shut down, causing hardship for most families, especially those in the seaside villages of the Island.
To compound an already dangerous situation, Anguilla held its general election and changed governments, to no one’s surprise. The new Government led by a self-proclaimed Rock-Star Palm Beach-based Dr. Ellis Lorenzo Webster; M.D. swept into office promising “change can’t wait.” He and his party did a compelling job, for they captured seven of eleven seats, which gave them the power to form the new Government.
It was the custom for the Government and opposition to be sworn in simultaneously; at least, that was done in 2015. This time, it was different for Dr. Webster, Anguilla’s first elected Premier, who found himself with a fait accompli, compliments of the Victor Banks-led Government, became the first leader to be sworn in in secret. This act should have raised all sorts of red flags. His ardent followers felt betrayed. Dr. Webster did little to allay their fears and concerns, for he pretty much agreed with everything the outgoing Government, headed by Banks, had decided.
A little background is necessary to fully understand what’s going on here. The previous Government I spoke of acquiesced to every beck and call of the British Government to make the people pay for bigger budgets every year. They provided a 60-million-pound grant to repair the damages done to our infrastructure by Hurricane Irma.
With their hopes of being re-elected, Victor’s AUF party signed off on a 100 million E.C. dollar package to keep the Government afloat until the end of 2020. That was how long the Government would last, based on what was in the Treasury. Victor’s party lost, and the new Government inherited this deal and had the choice of accepting it as it was or walking away from it and, in the process, having to declare bankruptcy in about a week.
The newly elected Premier, Dr. Webster, said he had no choice but to accept Victor’s deal because the Brits said it was non-negotiable; it was a take it or leave it, a fait accompli, a done deal period, full stop. One can only speculate what was on Webster’s mind at the time. He had to make a snap decision, a Sophie’s Choice if you will, sacrifice the people of Anguilla for his own selfish choice of becoming the first elected Premier of Anguilla, or telling the Brits to go to hell. And so, Mr. Webster made a pact with the devil, sold his soul, to become Premier Webster at the expense of his people.
He sealed his fate as malleable, one who could be easily molded and would play ball with The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the condescending crowd responsible for the administration of the Overseas Territories.
Had Dr. Webster, whose mandate was “change can’t wait,” stood his ground and rejected the sweetheart deal that Victor signed, he would have sent the message that, for once, Anguilla had a leader who would stand up for the people. Still, in accepting Victor’s deal, that change that he and his APM Party (a rebranding of the old party led by the late Hubert Hughes) promised would have all of Anguilla behind him. However, he accepted the deal and showed he was malleable to their every beck and call. To be continued…
