Hon. Edison Baird
Sandy Ground
Anguilla, BWI
AI 2640
October 28th, 2014
Mr. Patrick Hanley
Advisor to the Chief Minister
Ministry of Finance
The Secretariat
PO Box 60
The Valley, Anguilla
Re: Membership of the Procurement Board
Dear Patrick,
As you are aware, at a public meeting held at Sandy Ground by TEAM BAIRD on Friday, October 3rd, 2014, I called upon you to tender your resignation as a member of the Procurement Board, because it placed you in a conflicting position. I am still of the same view.
The Procurement Board, established under the Public Procurement and Contract Administration Act, 2012, is an important entity of Government. Its function is to ‘acquire works, goods or services’ on behalf of the Government of Anguilla. It therefore must operate in a politically free environment in terms of its decision-making process.
HE, The Governor, Ms. Christina Scott, who is ultimately responsible for the maintenance of good governance, is concerned that your presence on the Board can have a deleterious impact on its operations. This is captured in:
Ex min 14/357 Membership of the Procurement Board
HE The Governor mentioned that she had written to Patrick Hanley on the 8th May regarding his membership of the Procurement Board and to recommend that he resign his position in light of his formal announcement of his candidacy for District 5. She had not yet received a reply from Mr. Hanley, and was concerned that his continued membership of the Procurement Board would call into question the political independence of the Board in a way that would undermine its operation.
Many people, too, are burdened with the fear that your presence on the Board means that decisions may not be made on a fair and objective basis, utilizing technical and financial criteria, but rather on the basis of raw politics. You are a member of the Procurement Board and an advisor to the Chief Minister. This raises the fear that a line of communication runs from the Chief Minister’s office and is connected to the decision-making process of the Board. The Government, then, can potentially use this line of communication to transport its influence to the Board, potentially contaminating its deliberations.
You are potentially positioned to use your membership of the Board to further your political interest and also to further the interest of your political party, the Anguilla United Movement (AUM).
Objectively speaking, there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case. However, the mere fact that you are a member of the Board, a declared candidate for the upcoming elections, and an advisor to the Chief Minister, creates the appearance of a conflict of interest. One must also be careful to avoid even the perception or appearance of a conflict of interest in public positions.
In conclusion, I recognize that you have never held public office before. I also recognize that as a member of the AUM Government, you are operating in a hostile and intolerant environment. Nevertheless, on the basis of principle, you should positively respond to the Governor’s recommendation and the call of many people in society to immediately submit your resignation, placing it in the Anguillian in the spirit of openness and transparency.
Sincerely,
Edison A. Baird, MA
Elected Representative,
Road North Constituency
cc: Ms. Christina Scott, HE The Governor
Hon. Hubert Hughes, Chief Minister
Hon. Evans Mcniel Rogers, Leader of the Opposition,
House of Assembly
The Press
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
