Why are we “hanging on” to someone who has failed us so badly? It makes no sense. The time has come for him to go! The funny thing about it is that all of us know that the Chief Minister is a spent force. He cannot do anything for us. He has become the stumbling block that is standing in the way – making things hard for us. He should come to grips with what is going on around him and do the right thing. Call an election to see how Anguillians feel about his leadership. He is wasting our time. As a matter of fact, he himself is a waste of time. Mr. Hughes should “man-up”; recognize that he is “politically constipated”; get off the “po”; and let somebody else use it before there is a bigger mess to clean up!
He has messed up things enough and it will take a long time to salvage anything from the aftermath of his mixed up and confused approach to running Anguilla. We understand the challenges, but must not accept this level of stagnation as the best that can be done. What we do not understand is how Hughes expects to gain positive results using the approach he employs? Does he expect “to cuss off” people and think that they are going to turn around and give him what they have? Is he crazy or something? Under no circumstances does it work that way! He has got the wrong song and the wrong tune and we must let him know that it is not all right with us. The trouble is that he has been singing the same tune all his life and cannot change it now. So if he cannot change his tune thenAnguillapeople should change him! In order for this island to move forward we have to generate a climate of constructive politics that, in the long run, will allow proactive governments to emerge. The immediate task therefore is to remove the encumbrance that prevents the emergence of constructive politics. That encumbrance has now been determined by many Anguillians to be the Chief Minister.
What do we need to do? What are we searching for? What basic attributes should our politicians possess? In practical terms, the first thing we need to do is to get rid of Mr. Hughes and tell ourselves that never again will we allow our people to “be suckered in” by politicians with the slightest trace of his style, attitude and approach. His departure must conclude the end of that era and usher in the beginning of real politics on Anguilla. We can then begin to think about how to provide for our national expenditure. That is what makes us independent. They say that “talk is cheap and money buy land!” Anguillians have not been capable of coming up with the money we need to run an independent country. That is the question with which we must fully occupy our minds.
Forget the fighting with HMG! Do like Tortola, Montserrat, Bermuda and otherOverseasTerritories. See them and don’t see them! All we are looking for is money to run this country. Put people back to work so they can take good care of all their children’s needs! Provide a good education for them so that they can become willing and capable of helping us modernize and throw off backwardness in this country. But we cannot wish it to happen! We got to make it happen! That is why Mr. Hughes should do us a favour and quit, instead of using his “so-called” press conferences to incessantly bombard us with nonsense that in this day and age belongs to the dustbin of foolishness. After all these years in politics one would think that Mr. Hughes would have a goal forAnguilla. Disappointingly, all he wants is to be the Prime Minister of Anguilla. But someone said the other day that he would bet a bunch of ginneps and two blue doctor-fish that that would not happen — not even in a month of Sundays!
Anguillaneeds a leader who is able to talk to investors and incite them to come here. Whatever the circumstances, we should not be insulting them or using press conferences to denigrate them! These “would-be” investors talk to one another. And word gets around. These people must be met with a cordial and professional manner that is capable of being spread abroad. It is not that one wants to be mischievously critical of Mr. Hughes. But what he says, and what he has not done, is so blatantly irksome that it drives one to speak out. He has done nothing useful with his time. He is known here and abroad as the Chief Minister who fights HMG Governors without ever getting anything meaningful out of them. He has effectively established himself in their eyes as a buffoon. It would be so nice if he could understand this and deal with them in a different manner. He should sometimes think on the old adage of “when the great scorer comes to score the game he marks not that you won or lost but how you played the game”. Hughes should have even for the first year toned down his rhetoric and tried to develop a more cordial, amicable and less antagonistic relationship with HMG.
Mr. Hughes should by now understand that his approach and attitude in terms of dealing with HMG is that of a loser. He should also assess whether anything is gained from it and try a different strategy. That is the fatal flaw in his character and the people ofAnguillaare paying for it. It is his inability to recognize when he has to entreat or when he has to retreat, especially when dealing with investors. So the result we get from all his interactions is “nada”. To appease himself he resorts to his prop the press conference. Basically, that is the forum where the guys listen to him cuss off everybody and “bellyache” over the fact that he has not been able to change anything positively inAnguilla. That after all his time in politics he still seems to be a “political pigmy” and an “administrative eunuch”. It is not OK! He gets paid to do a job for Anguilla people andAnguillais getting nothing from him. So there you are: “The man een doin nuttin for us. We dont need to keep him!” The time has come for him to go, and let somebody else who would handle things differently allow us a fighting chance in these tough times. The sum total of what he has caused to happen is that HMG will not help us and investors are not in the mood to come back. Therefore why should we continue to suffer for another two and a half years because of him? We would not feel so bad about his inadequacies- and his inability to attract investors – if he could make us feel hopeful when he talks at his press conferences. But his press conferences shatter all hope. And in fact act as a depressant. It is no longer a talking point — it has become laughing stock!
But can you imagine that today, after all his vilification of the British and their Governor, the Chief Minister is now seeking support from them to borrow to fund a public acquisition. All things being equal, it must be remembered that when you borrow you have to pay back. Sadly, the proponents of this argument fail to take into consideration the fact that government would have to raise taxation in order to pay back the loan. Maybe they think they could rely on the idea of “in god we trust” and hope money will come, or that we will pay back with what “that very frank lady suggested.” Clearly, to follow Mr. Hughes is to continue to stifle Anguilla further. And that, we all know, we cannot afford! Little wonder that there are increasing calls for a clean break from Mr. Hughes — now!
