The Government of Anguilla has engaged a group of consultants, namely Kairi Consultants Ltd. of Trinidad, to come up with a national plan for what Anguilla should be like in the next twenty-two years. The plan, is called “Anguilla 2040” and, so far, the consultants have been quite busy meeting with particular sectors of the society to garner from them what their views and visions are for a future Anguilla.
According to the Kairi’s Stakeholder of Engagement and Management, Ms. Fredericka Deare, “We have been engaged by the Government of Anguilla to assist the Government and the people of Anguilla to prepare a long term national sustainable development plan for the country. This engagement involves a series of activities. We have started this aspect of the program, looking at the different special interests in the economy. We have done ten consultation sessions with public departments, so far, and there are six more sessions to conduct.”
When The Anguillian spoke with Ms. Deare, she was at the time conducting an intense forum with officers and personnel of the Department of Education. Present at that session were: Mrs. Rhonda Connor, Chief Education Officer; Ms. Susan Smith, Education Officer of Pre & Primary; Mrs. Joyce Stuart, Principal of The Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School; Mrs. Bonnie Lake-Richardson, Permanent Secretary, Education; Ms. Dawn Reid, Education Services Planner; Ms. Doricia Rogers, Asst. Education Services Planner; and Mr. Colin Hazel, Teacher at ALHCS.
Ms. Deare explained that the engagement is a national venture and that she, along with her consultation team, will be going out to the community to get people’s general input on their vision of the quality of life in Anguilla in 2040. She said that the community aspect of the exercise will start in earnest next year, but currently she is involved in looking at certain special interest groups in the public and private sectors.
“The exercise should have started at a community level first”, Ms. Deare said, “but given what has happened due to Hurricane Irma, there is a need to give people time to recover from the recent disaster, and therefore we have turned to the special interest groups first, where at this time we are dealing with Education. However, the exercise will ramp up more early next year.”
Accompanying Ms. Deare are two of her partners, in the persons of Mr. Yohance Nicholas, Economics Officer; and Mr. Anderson Ramsubhag, Officer of Infrastructural Development. This Anguilla 2040 vision exercise is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
