The Anguilla Progressive Movement (APM) government has been in office for over four months. It was given an overwhelming mandate, by the people, to lead Anguilla through these turbulent times. The people decided they needed a change — and they needed it now. From all accounts, the new government has buckled down to do the work it had been elected to do. Four months are not sufficient time to fairly judge the performance of a government with a five-year mandate. However, as the saying goes — “yer can’t please people”.
Some of the same persons who were the biggest supporters of the new government during the campaign season have taken to the airwaves, and social media, to publicly chastise, and voice their displeasure with actions taken, or decisions made, by the government. Social media is rife with unsubstantiated allegations of corruption, disharmony and confusion within the ranks of the APM. The practice of publishing such allegations under the umbrella of anonymity is cowardly and ought to be condemned. Such allegations not only defame people and tarnish their reputation, but they have the capacity to undermine public confidence in the government. If we truly love Anguilla, as we say we do, we should not find any joy in the prospect of a failing government. In fact, we should make every effort to enable our government to succeed because it means that as a country, we succeed.
While I may not always agree with, or appreciate, the reason for some of the decisions made by our new government, I understand that as a responsible citizen, I must give any duly elected government a chance to lead.
For example, I am concerned about the decision of government to reabsorb some statutory bodies into the public sector. I am sure that before those bodies were established various studies and analyses were carried out which recommended their separation from the public service to offer particular services. Yet, in less than four months, our government has decided that some of these bodies ought to be dismantled and reabsorbed into the public service. It was obvious from the Premier’s interview with Keithstone Greaves, on Radio Anguilla last week, that the decision was not based on any detailed analysis of the implications of the reabsorption for the public service, the employees or the delivery of services. Additionally, there does not seem to have been any review of the background information that would have provided an understanding of the rationale for the existence of the statutory bodies in the first place — and a possible framework for measuring their success or failure.
Additionally, I am concerned about the decision of government to remove responsibility for port development from the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority (AASPA) and place it under the Ministry of Infrastructure. I would have thought that one of the key functions of the AASPA was to be the driver for port development. After all, given its mandate it would be well positioned to seek and engage potential developers. The brand new board could have brought new perspectives to advance the cause. The subsequent decision that the new Blowing Point ferry terminal will only be constructed on land owned by government, and that the land that was, or was being, compulsorily acquired, will be returned to the original owners, was also concerning to me. It made me wonder whether consideration was given to any long- term vision for the port development — and possible surrounding amenities like adequate parking, spin off businesses, concession stands etc.
Despite my concerns about these and other matters, it is premature to judge our new government. I am certain that its members are doing the best they can, and their decisions are intended to be in the best interest of Anguilla. Only time will tell whether or not they made the right decisions, but we have to give them the time and the space to do their work. We won’t always agree with them. In fact, we don’t have to agree with them. The fact that we elected them means that we trust them to make good decisions on our behalf. Rather than criticise at every juncture, as Anguillians are prone to do, I believe we should give them a chance to lead.
