Newly-appointed Governor of Anguilla, His Excellency Mr. Tim Foy, OBE, has, like his predecessor, Ms. Christina Scott, promised that Government House, his formal residence at Old Ta, will be open to all persons on the island at invited guest receptions.
He gave the commitment during his swearing-in at the House of Assembly on Monday, August 21, while replying to a call to that end by Opposition Leader, Ms. Palmovan Webster. He repeated that commitment at the welcome reception he held in the evening.
It was a crowded reception – not only by repeat invitees, but by many persons who might have been invited for the first time. The huge turnout did not escape the attention of Deputy Governor, Mr. Perin Bradley, who served as Acting Governor for a few days prior to Governor Foy’s arrival.
“A wide cross-section of the community is represented tonight. We are public servants at all levels; directors of our statutory bodies, civil society, the clergy and the business community,” Mr. Bradley observed. “I can assure you that all of us here are interested in building a better Anguilla. This requires a genuine partnership built on mutual respect and trust. Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome our new Governor, His Excellency Tim Foy, OBE.”
Mr. Bradley went on: “We are happy to have you here, Your Excellency, and we look forward to receiving your wife, Dr. Foy, in the near future. Governor, we heard your remarks earlier – and our high hope is that you will listen and understand as much as you can about Anguilla.
“Take some time to know Anguilla – by that I mean the people of Anguilla – the Anguilla that you will never find in an FCO briefing note. Go to church; go to the grocery store; go for a meal at one of our fancy restaurants and just get out and meet the people of Anguilla.
“You will find that Anguilla has a unique charm that grows on you. We are proud people. We are very passionate about our home. We don’t shy away from expressing opinions on all manner of things, solicited or not. We know you have an awesome responsibility as Governor and we genuinely wish you well.”
Replying, Governor Foy stated: “I express my welcome to you all at Government House, and I wish to pick up on something that the Leader of the Opposition mentioned today about my predecessor, Christina Scott. First, I am going to try to continue the principle that Christina led of Government House being a house for Anguilla – not a house for the Governor. Secondly, I will do my level best as Christina has done very well: that is to go out and meet people and hear what they got to say. Thanks to Christina for the sound advice she gave me, and I think there are a lot of people here who will be judging me by her; so I got a lot to devote to.
“I would like to apologise on behalf of my wife. She is not actually here. She is just making sure that our youngest son, who is 19, gets off to university…The good thing about her not being here is that we will get to do this again when she comes…She looks forward to meeting all of you, and playing a very active part in getting around the island and meeting you all.”
Governor Foy continued: “This is a personal toast from me to the people of Anguilla who have impressed me enormously as the Lion that roared in 1967. I hope I don’t make it roar again because I think it is still vocal. I meant what I said today: my job is to listen, to understand and to build that partnership with the Chief Minister and his Government, and to do my level best to represent the interest of Anguilla with the United Kingdom Government so that we get what we need. I will really work with you to address the priorities.
“For every problem that people look at it, I believe there are two opportunities and it is great to see representatives of the private sector here; and it is great to see the new General Manager of Cap Juluca. I think the weight of expectation this shows is probably greater than mine.
“I am saying what I said in the House of Assembly today: congratulations to the Chief Minister on securing that arrangement [for Cap Juluca] which is phenomenal; and for the other deals around Legacy [Resort] and the rest of them. I think that’s the future for this country.
“Thank you again, ladies and gentlemen. Let me again raise a toast to the people of Anguilla. May God bless them.”
