Fellow Anguillians, residents and well-wishers of Anguilla, I recently returned to the island, having attended an OECS Conference on Environmental Sustainability in my capacity of co-chair of the OECS Regional Conservation Caucus. Now that I have had the opportunity to listen to the proceedings of the last sitting of the House of Assembly, which took place on Tuesday 13th June 2023, I am obliged to address the manner in which the Speaker handled questions submitted by an Opposition member, as well as the misleading statements made by the Honourable Hadyn Hughes.
As you may recall, all of the members of the Loyal Opposition walked out of the House as a result of the wrongful refusal of the Speaker to allow the Single Island Wide Opposition Member, the Honourable Kyle Hodge, to present four (4) questions to the Honourable Premier. These questions were in relation to the Honourable Minister of Sustainability, Innovation and Environment, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie, and her breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, as well as the House of Assembly Rules of Conduct.
While the Speaker of the House admitted her error in claiming that the matter was sub judice (that is currently before the court), she proceeded to deny the questions on another erroneous ground. She incorrectly stated that the reference to Minister Gumbs-Marie’s conduct could not be addressed by way of questions, but rather by way of a motion. The fact, however, is that under the House of Assembly (Procedure) Rules 2021, a question can be asked about a member in her official or public capacity. It was very clear that the questions all related to the Minister’s failure to abide by the Codes of Conduct to which all elected Parliamentarians should adhere. I reiterate my stance that the Speaker was clearly wrong on both grounds for denying the Honourable Kyle Hodge the opportunity to pose his questions.
Notwithstanding the departure of the Opposition Members from the House, the session continued, during which the Acting Premier and Member for District 6, Minister Haydn Hughes, spewed lies, mistruths, half-truths and, indeed, pure vitriol, from his lips in relation to me, the Leader of the Opposition, the Honourable Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge and other members of the Opposition under the guise of a debate. He waited until there were no opposition members in the House, to launch his tirade. This essentially amounted to a misuse and abuse of the privilege of the House. None of us were there to confront and challenge him.
But this is not the first time that he has done so, as over the three (3) years of his term in office, Minister Hughes has regularly used the House of Assembly to attack and malign the names and reputations of private citizens who do not have the privilege to respond in like manner. Yet, with all of the bravado and gusto Minister Hughes displays in the House, he is as meek as a mouse when he does not have the cloak of parliamentary privilege.
Mr. Hughes’ despicable and underhanded behaviour in the House on 13th June 2023 was clearly an attempt to distract the people from the issue at hand, which is the poor and potentially criminal conduct of Minister Gumbs-Marie, as well as his own role in the sad state of affairs that occurred at the local restaurant on 23rd May 2023.
Fellow Anguillians, how could we be reasonably expected to forget when we have all seen, and have also heard the video recordings of that day which are being circulated in Anguilla, in the region, and beyond? How could we be distracted from such behaviour which has now gone down in political infamy? And what was startling to everyone who saw the videos was Minister Hughes’ failure to intervene and de-escalate the situation. His obvious lack of leadership and failure to quell the situation has been the topic of many conversations throughout the Anguillian community.
In fact, he sat, phone in hand, and said nothing as Minister Gumbs-Marie picked up a restaurant chair and walked around and to the back of him. He did nothing. He sat, phone in hand, with his back to a melee which erupted between his two female Ministerial colleagues and an Anguillian citizen. He did absolutely NOTHING!
Had we not had the benefit of sound and seeing the actions of Mrs. Gumbs-Marie, one would have gotten the impression that he was sitting peacefully alone in a restaurant. More importantly, it appears that the incident began with a simple conversation between Mr. Hughes and the civilian concerning statements made by Minister Hughes, once again, in the “Honourable” House of Assembly where he has the privilege of immunity. Not only does Minister Hughes’ continued abuse of parliamentary privilege reflect poorly on one who is supposedly an elected representative and a leader in our country, it also reflects on the Speaker’s inability to manage the House as she continues to allow such conduct to play out in what the people are now largely describing as a “baby House”.
I turn now to the actual statements made by Minister Hughes in the House on 13th June 2023 and make the following points:
1- Minister Hughes’ tirade and consistent violation of the House of Assembly’s Rules of Procedure: While the Speaker of the House was quick to point out that the Members of Opposition left the House of Assembly without her permission and contrary to the Rules, the Speaker allowed the Member for District 6 to repeatedly violate the same Rules, which include suggestions of a) false motive, b) abusive language, c) offensive words and d) uttering deliberate falsehoods. Yet, after allowing him the privilege of a long monologue of unfounded allegations against the Anguilla United Front and its members, the Speaker’s only comment to the Member was to stick to the debate on the Bribery Act. Many Anguillians who watched it unfold, called me and pointed out the clear bias in the Speaker’s actions.
2- Minister Hughes’ attempts to deflect another APM broken promise: The member of District 6 attacked the members of the opposition and the AUF party, claiming that our opposition to the Bribery Act was because of a so-called history of bribery.
My people, nothing could be further from the truth! Let me use this opportunity to make it clear that we are NOT opposed to the Bribery Act, as Minister Hughes is trying hard to make you believe! Sad to say, his rant in the House on this matter is yet another age-old finger-pointing trick to try to distract you from the wrong that his APM government is doing.
You see, what this APM Government fails to understand is that laws such as the Bribery Act that they pass would affect each and every Anguillian citizen. Laws are not simply words strung on a paper. They are powerful words – words that could give rise to criminally convicting and imprisoning YOU, as is the case with the said Bribery Act. All that we the Opposition are saying is that YOU, the PEOPLE, should be made fully aware about any laws that can potentially affect your personal liberty.
Fellow Anguillans, you should know that various opposition members, as well as a significant cross-section of the general public have repeatedly voiced their concerns regarding the fact that the provisions of the Bribery Act are vague, and are also wide reaching. The Act impacts individuals and businesses. Yet, this APM Government has taken the Bribery Bill to the House WITHOUT public consultation. Another show of disregard for your views.
Businesses, employees of those businesses, and individuals generally were, and are still NOT aware of this law that could potentially turn their existing way of conducting business into a criminal activity. As a result, on 23rd May 2023, I wrote to the Clerk of the House expressing my concern regarding the lack of public consultation and the impact of the passage of the Bribery Bill on you, my good people. The concern which prompted my writing to the Clerk was mainly in relation to this Government’s failure to fully inform the public. I encouraged them to define vague terms in the Bribery Act and to engage in a wider consultative process.
I received a response on the same day informing me that the Bill was pulled back for consultation. However, only one rushed consultation was held just to say that something was done, and the Bribery Bill came back to the House at the next sitting with only one minor amendment. Despite all of the concerns raised about the vague provisions of the bill during that one consultation, the Bill, was unanimously passed in the House by the members of this Government. This, my people, is the full story behind the Opposition’s response to the manner in which the Bribery Bill was brought to the House. We detected the dangers in a hasty passing of the Bill; and sought to address it.
May I remind you that the APM made campaign promises to take every Bill to consultation before passing it in the House. Well, if the Opposition had not pressed for a consultation, the one time that they did so would not have even happened. Their handling of this matter is yet another broken campaign promise and, more importantly, it is another show of disregard for how this Government’s decisions affect the people of this country.
3- Minister Hughes’ evil distortion of historical facts regarding the search of my office in 2010: Minister Hughes stated in the House of Assembly that my offices were searched in 2010 and that the members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force took away computers and files during the search. For those of you who may not remember this incident, let me remind you – (i) a search of my offices took place on January 18th 2010, just three (3) days before nomination day. My research over the years has revealed that the incident was entirely politically motivated.
And yes, The Anguilla United Movement won the election in 2010. But contrary to the brazen evil, lies spouted in the House by the Member for District 6, here are the facts outlined:
i. My computers were NEVER EVER confiscated by the Police! The facts are there and I DARE and CHALLENGE Minister Hughes to bring the proof to the House that my computers were taken, in the same way that he brought the lie. And by the way, my people, this outright lie is a contempt of the House and an abuse of freedom of speech as Minister Hughes could have ascertained the truth of the matter, had he tried.
ii. What Minister Hughes conveniently failed to state in the House and to tell you, the people, is that:
1) Three (3) weeks later on 12th February 2010, I Cora Richardson-Hodge sued the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Commissioner of Police, and Mr. Joseph Andrew Arsenault (I shall collectively call them “the Defendants”) regarding their search on my office;
2) In August of 2010 (6 months after I filed my lawsuit), I was wrongly charged with falsifying an Invoice. The Defendants applied to court to stop my lawsuit until their case ended. This was a tactic to stop my case from proceeding;
3) In June of 2012, the then Attorney General wrote to me advising that [and I quote] “Having completed my assessment of the available evidence, I can indicate that I am not satisfied that the prosecution of these matters should continue. As a result, on 25th June 2012 I shall be offering no further evidence and ask that the charges be dismissed…” [end quote].
4) Mr. Hughes also conveniently failed to tell you that in December 2012, I again sued the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police and Joseph Arsenault for damages, aggravated and exemplary damages and costs arising out of the wrongful search and charges which were filed six months later. This second lawsuit ended with a settlement in my favour, which included payment of my legal fees and a public apology read in Court. Why is Minister Hadyn Hughes not telling you this? Why did he give a piece of a story and not all of the facts?
Fellow Anguillians, I have taken the time to explain what took place thirteen (13) years ago when I entered the political arena for the first time.
It is little wonder that Minister Hughes has seen it fit to resurrect this 2010 politically-charged search which, in my view and that of others, was intended to remove me from the political arena. This has had the effect, however, of bolstering my commitment to seek political office and to ultimately change the tone of politics in Anguilla, and replace it with kind, effective, caring, and compassionate representation which our people seek. My commitment has not changed and, has in fact been reinforced by the underhanded statements and character assassination taking place in our Honourable House in recent times.
Fellow Anguillians, it is unfortunate that no one is safe from the venom that is repeatedly spewed due to the misuse and abuse of the People’s House by our very own leaders, our elected members of Government. The constant lies, mistruths, and abuse of parliamentary privilege in the House by Minister Hughes is disdainful and MUST NOT be overlooked! The failure of the Speaker of the House to ensure equity, fairness and compliance with Parliamentary Rules is regrettable and MUST NOT be overlooked. The conduct of Minister Gumbs-Marie was a violation of leaders’ Codes of conduct and an embarrassment to the entire country and the region, and this, too, MUST NOT be overlooked! I believe that we as leaders have an obligation to uphold standards in the way we conduct ourselves in or out of the House. In this vein, I issue a clarion call to all Anguillians and residents of Anguilla to demand more from our Government representatives.
My people, I am hearing you. What Anguilla needs now more than ever is stable, mature and progressive leadership and representation. It has now become clear that this APM Administration has failed to bring about the change they campaigned on and, have in fact proven to be a major disappointment to the people of Anguilla. As we move towards a new election cycle, let us take stock as to where we are and be honest with ourselves as to whether this APM Administration has brought about the peace, respect, prosperity and advancement of our country that you, I and all Anguillians desire.
Thank you for listening. God Bless You and God Bless Anguilla.
