Who can we count on to keep us informed during these critical times in our history? Yet again we realise it cannot be our present Government.
In last week’s article, I shared my concern in relation to our status and what it means to refer to external authorities and legislation to prove our identity. The urgent need to understand who we are and to better safeguard our identity, while modernizing the rights that define us, is an effort for the vigilant and God-fearing.
Last week marked the beginning of our fight, as Anguillians, to reform our laws and modernise how we govern. On 10th April, 2019 the Anguilla Constitution (Amendment) Order 2019 was approved in the Privy Council by the Queen at Windsor Castle.
As if we needed a harsh reminder of our standing in history as a segregated people, and the relevance of the constitutional process in our lives; the “incident” at West End last Sunday took centre stage. The distressing entourage of inequities, inequalities and incompetence that followed glaringly exposed a lack of principled leadership at every level in Anguilla. From my perspective, at least, it was yet another indicator of our government’s customary unwillingness to take responsibility to protect Anguillians. Even more worrying, it demonstrated that, as citizens, we continue to place value upon one class of persons above another class – by committing the alleged perpetrator to custody in a luxury hotel rather than in prison – all this in denial of accepted rights and freedoms of our own nationals. I was heartened, though, that right minded people were prepared to make their views known and that there was oneness in requiring fairness in our law enforcement processes. This is the same strength that we must call on to reject this regime’s routine neglect of governance standards and our constitutional conventions.
During a House of Assembly meeting, in response to one of my questions, we were informed by the Chief Minister that the draft Order in Council would go before the Privy Council on 10th April. However, the constitutional reform process to date has been far from satisfactory and transparent. I have consistently raised questions in the House to better understand what stage of constitutional reform the Government had reached, and those questions were never fully answered. The questioning and the answering exercise became a kind of cat and mouse game. All this to uncover information that is expected to be public and available to the people of Anguilla. This unapologetic way of exemplifying poor governance is unacceptable and, as we have grown to appreciate, there are more questions than answers.
It is clear that the Government continues to make decisions that do not take into account the entire legislative body. All of the House of Assembly members should be privy to the information concerning our Constitution, when we are the institution that is fundamentally rooted in the writing and passing of laws and debating and voting on them. The separation of powers between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch is so imbalanced that our people are suffering from our government’s inability to govern effectively and democratically. The Executive must be held accountable, as every other institution should be, and we must force our leaders to actually commit to their obligatory roles of protecting the democracy and the liberties of the people.
I have shared our grievances with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office many times, and complained regularly that the consultation process for constitutional reform was not being followed. I reminded the British that the Government did not use the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee’s Draft Report to make a one-time overhaul and modification of the Constitution, as intended by our people. Instead they created a cherry-picking reform agenda that would amend the Constitution in a piecemeal manner. Certain Committee recommendations that were much more pertinent were neglected, while other amendments that are less critical for the benefit of the people were chosen. The recognition by the United Kingdom that the reform process affects all the people of Anguilla, and that decisions must come from the people of Anguilla, underpins their direction to the Anguilla Government to go back to the drawing board. This may be a small accomplishment, but at what cost to our people? We need full reform now!
All of these external negotiations and behind closed doors decisions are hindering our progress as a nation. Thank God we have secured the attention of the United Kingdom Government and that they are taking the need for cross-party consultation and engagement seriously, but what is the point of having change if our people are not being lifted together? Transparency and access to information must take place as a national standard, not just as an option to be exercised based on political opportunity. It must concern us that while the Anguilla Constitution (Amendment) Order 2019 has been approved, yet there is still no Government media outlet, social media account, newspaper release or anything that is produced locally, to inform the Anguilla people as to its effective date or application. Furthermore, as a member of the House of Assembly, I was not officially notified of the Order’s approval and I have still not been notified. I had to visit the UK’s legislation website to confirm the changes. This is not good governance, good practice, or good execution, by any standard. It demonstrates that our government is continuing to show a lack of knowledge, competence and preparedness for the increased autonomy which our people desire and deserve. Indeed, the Government’s website boasts, under the heading “Recent News”, of “FATCA Financial Account Reporting System Training 12th- 23rd September, 2016” – yes 2016, I kid you not. Under the heading “Recent Documents” there is no mention of the Order in Council, and if the Order in Council is not a sufficiently important “Recent Document” to make the cut I don’t know what is. Where else is it publicised? I challenge the Chief Minister to tell us, or to apologise publicly for its inexcusable concealment.
We must remember the origins of our Constitution and why the laws even matter. As a small developing island state we have had six Constitutions dating back to the first one in 1967. Dr. Roger Fisher, a Harvard professor of law at the time, drafted our first Constitution that established an Anguilla Council with full legislative and executive powers. We later had two Constitutions in 1969, one in 1971, another in 1976, and then our current one in 1982. Each Constitution brought about different changes to the government structure; some to camouflage the political realities of the day but each addressing voting dynamics and fundamental rights and freedoms as a people.
This progression of our laws through history matters. This supreme law establishes that the Government has a duty to protect our rights and codify our laws in a way that ensures equal representation for all members of society. The Government must fulfil the needs of the people of Anguilla and enforce measures that will move us forward, while staying true to the cultural principles on which we were founded. This AUF administration has fallen short, and we must hold them accountable to address their neglect and failings in the coming weeks.
The consultation process for the second phase of reforms is commencing 18th April, the Speaker having established a Select Committee to review proposed reforms. The Select Committee proceedings will begin with all members of the House of Assembly meeting with the 2015 Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee (previously considered functus by the government). We shall do what we can to ensure that the Chief Minister organizes the necessary discussions, consultations, and meetings that he promised the people and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in his 29th January 2019 letter to Lord Ahmad. We must push forward with the reform process and be vigilant. We must educate ourselves, because it is clear that we cannot rely on the Government for any updating us on their own initiative. they must be told what to do!
We must be the change and always require that our people, at every level of society, have their voices heard. We must require full citizen participation in our decision making in line with our constitutional rights. We will require effective and wide consultation and the immediate expediting of public integrity and campaign financing laws, to better assure a fair and just Anguilla. Together we are one – the One Anguilla force for change.
As the cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
