September 30 to October 10, were the designated dates for a series of public consultations on phase 2 of the larger Draft Anguilla Constitution now being finalised before submission to, and discussion with, British Government officials.
The consultations, led mainly by the Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs, Mrs. Cora Richardson Hodge, and her Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Chanelle Petty Barrett, have attracted a diverse group of persons from around the island. They included prospective political candidates in next year’s district and island-wide elections, and other persons.
It was reported that there were some very useful suggestions for inclusion in, and amendment to, what is the main bulk of the Draft Anguilla Constitution. The Minister and the Permanent Secretary were occasionally assisted with their presentations by Mr. Jose Vanterpool, First Nominated Member in the Anguilla House of Assembly. He clarified some areas of the draft constitution which he, and other members of a House of Assembly Committee, had been intimately involved in.
A notable feature at the consultation on Monday, September 30, was the appearance of Premier Victor Banks. He stated that there was a deliberate effort by the Government of Anguilla to make sure that the constitutional reform process was now moving forward. He noted that the exercise had been going on since 1999, almost 20 years, without any final constitutional approval by the House of Assembly, the people of Anguilla and the UK Government.
He said that in order to ensure that in 2020 certain critical aspects of the constitution were in place, the Anguilla Government was able to get an Order in Council for a number of important elements to be approved by the UK Government. He pointed out that his Government had promised that a larger constitutional reform process would take place within the Government’s current term of office and that this was now happening.
Premier Banks disclosed that a number of technical officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would be coming to Anguilla, in the middle of November, to participate in another round of public consultations. He said constitutions were very complicated documents with far-reaching implications, and certain elements of the constitution must be in sync with the laws on our books. He added that “the whole idea is to ensure that 20 years of the constitutional process in Anguilla must now come to some kind of conclusion.”
