At a time when Anguilla is at its most vulnerable the United Kingdom Government (UKG), which is expected to be its greatest benefactor, appears to have determined that now is the time to bring the island and its elected officials ‘to heel’. This is considered by many to be a fair representation of the content of the two pieces of correspondence received by the Honourable Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, from representatives of the UKG over the past three months. The first, which was dated 23rd December 2017, was from Ben Merrick, the Director of Overseas Territories Directorate. He wrote “to set out UK Ministers’ requirements for the release of the funding which the Prime Minister announced on 28 November.” Chief among these requirements is the agreement of UK Ministers to a revised Medium Term Economic and Fiscal Reform Programme (MTEFP). The full text of his letter, setting out the stringent requirements, was published in The Anguillian of 16th March, 2017.
The second, more recent, correspondence was dated 13th March, 2018 under the hand of Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Overseas Territories. This correspondence was published in its entirety in The Anguillian of 23rd March, 2018. The Minister’s correspondence reiterates the need for compliance with the UKG’s requirements to facilitate the release of the UK funding previously announced by the Prime Minister. The Minister further signals that anticipatory steps are being taken to allow the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer. He noted that he has asked officials “to begin work on preparing an Order in Council that would provide for a Chief Financial Officer who would have considerable responsibilities over the public finances of Anguilla.” He further noted that he is “asking officials to begin this work now so that this legislation can be enacted if needed following submission of the revised MTEFP if it does not meet the conditions I have specified.”
The appointment of a Chief Financial Officer with “considerable responsibilities over the public finances of Anguilla” would serve to effectively emasculate the Chief Minister and the senior Finance officials appointed to the Ministry of Finance. As one would expect the demands and proposals of the UKG have not been well received by Chief Minister Banks. He has penned what can be described as a robust response to the Minister of State for Overseas Territories. Among other strong statements, he advised the Minister in the following terms:
“Your two pre-conditions for remitting any funds, namely the preparation of a revised 2018 Budget that addresses your concerns by the 31st March, and the preparation of a revised MTEFP by 30th June 2018, which coincides with the commencement of this year’s hurricane season, may jeopardise the welfare and safety of the people of Anguilla and may well prove tantamount to negligence. It is quite clear that the current state of repair of the island, if affected by further adverse weather conditions, is likely to result in life threatening conditions that could be avoided by the deployment of aid that has been committed by the UK Government for this purpose.”
Chief Minister Banks’ response of 20th March, 2018 is set out in full in The Anguillian of 23rd March 2018.
While it is understood and accepted that a grant of 60 million pounds sterling must attract some provisions for accountability it is difficult to reasonably conclude that the UKG, by stipulating stringent conditions for the release of the grant funds, is acting primarily in the interests of Anguilla and its people. While the insistence that certain conditions must be met before the grant funds are disbursed is alarming in itself, what is even more troubling is the insistence on the placement of a UK official within the Ministry of Finance who might ultimately be described as a Chief Financial Officer “who would have considerable responsibilities over the public finances of Anguilla.” Such a move would be a slap in the face of the Minister of Finance and his Finance officials and would serve to significantly erode their professional and personal dignity. What is even more profound than the effect on their dignity is the effect on our fledgling democratic system. The democratic processes we are seeking to build would be significantly eroded if a UK appointed official is able to assume, through force of implanted legislation, the role accorded to our elected representatives by the electorate through the electoral process. I believe that the proposal by the UKG to implant a Chief Financial Officer with “considerable responsibilities over the public finances of Anguilla” is abhorrent to all right thinking Anguillians as it can only be seen as seeking to diminish the dignity of resilient and persevering Anguillians.
What of His Excellency Governor Tim Foy? He is on the ground and one anticipates fully aware of Anguilla’s plight. Is he communicating his personal observations and experiences effectively, or is it that the UKG is placing no reliance on his observations? We must remind ourselves of the three priorities identified by Governor Foy in his address when he was sworn in as Governor. He identified them as: reduction in crime; protection of the most vulnerable in our community; and building a strong economy. A very significant percentage of Anguilla’s population remains vulnerable after the passage of Hurricane Irma. In an editorial published in The Anguillian of 25th August, 2017, I observed that any points of contention that may arise between Governor Foy and our elected representatives, in relation to his identified priorities, are likely to relate to how these priorities are to be achieved. I noted that on these occasions our expectation is that the right of our elected representatives to make decisions on behalf of the electorate will be recognised and respected by Governor Foy. We have this same expectation of the UKG.
Governor Foy has a role to play in effectively communicating Anguilla’s plight, and we hope that this will result in the much-needed aid funds being dispersed without recourse to the stringent demands currently being made by the UKG. I also noted in the editorial 25th August, 2017 that in his remarks, at his welcome reception, Governor Foy in expressing how he hoped his time with us would be viewed quoted Oscar Wilde who said, “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” Any intervention on the part of Governor Foy resulting in the timely release of the UK Grant funds to alleviate any potential life threatening conditions, that could be caused by failure of the UKG to deploy the aid committed by the UK Government, would certainly set Governor Foy well on the path to causing happiness in Anguilla by his presence. Our mother country must be convinced that its apparent exploitation of our vulnerabilities is wholly unacceptable.
