Looking back over the past months, Chief Minister, Mr. Victor Banks, is of the view that his Government has had some successes despite Hurricane Irma which caused much devastation in Anguilla.
Speaking to The Anguillian newspaper at Road Bay, where he awaited a day trip to Prickly Pear Cay, on the August Wednesday semi-holiday, he said: “After Hurricane Irma I think we are back on track. I think we have been successful in arranging grant funding from the United Kingdom Government. As a matter of fact, we are continuing to find new pockets of support. Just the other day we were able to get another 1.9 million pounds from the British Government which we need to spend by August 31st. It is a special envelope of assistance we were able to access because of the efficiency of our implementation programme, and so forth. We are doing well as far as that goes.”
Earlier, the UK Government approved a humanitarian grant of 60 million pounds for Anguilla to finance a number of projects. It is understood that some 10 million pounds have so far been spent and that the release of the remainder of 50 million pounds has now taken place.
One thing that stands in the way of a swift implementation of projects is the requirement for proper procurement arrangements. “The procurement process is taking some time but we want to make certain that it is open, transparent and accountable – and to do that it often takes a lot of time,” the Chief Minister observed. “But as you know, as politicians, we are a bit impatient in ensuring that things get done. At the end of the day, however, it is for our own protection that this process is in place.”
Mr. Banks, appropriately covered up from the searing heat during the offshore day trip – but with several matters of state on his mind – went on: “Right now, I am just relaxing because I am going to Prickly Pear to have lunch with a couple of friends, enjoy the water, and come back to mainland Anguilla later.
“Last night I was at the Landsome Bowl Cultural Centre for the calypso finals for both the juniors and seniors. The crowd was not that large, but I think it was a very appreciative crowd and we understand what the situation is in Anguilla now – people have scarce resources and they decide where they will go.
“The August season is going well and I think we are surprised by the kind of response that we are having. There are a lot of people on the island and they are expressing support for what we have been doing. A lot of them marvel at the amount of progress we have made.
“One thing I can say is that I have never seen Anguilla so dry but, be that as it may, I am sure that we have to be careful what we wish for – so even though we are complaining about the dryness we don’t want to have any high winds with rain either. At the end of the day we are hoping for the best. Things are going well as far as I am concerned. Within the next couple of months a number of hotels are going to reopen so it will be an opportunity for us to do some more things.”
With just barely enough time to reply to another question, Chief Minister Banks added: “As far as the procurement process is concerned, the projects I want to see happen now include the Blowing Point ferry terminal project and the schools.”
