With Anguilla’s need for financial assistance in 2021, the Government of Anguilla is looking to the United Kingdom for further aid. This is according to Premier Ellis Webster who is also the Minister of Finance and Health.
The Government is also hoping that, with the coming implementation of the Brexit agreement, Anguilla will continue to receive European Union funding. But, according to Premier Webster, this has so far not been confirmed:
“We understand that with Brexit, the European Development Fund, which provided budgetary and project aid for Anguilla, will no longer exist. We asked the UK Ministers, during the Joint Ministerial Conference, if we had a guarantee, on that. They did not give a guarantee but said it would be done on a bilateral basis – a case by case with each of the Overseas Territories.”
The Premier went on: “I have spoken with the Director of the Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office, Ben Merrick, and we have the assurance [of aid] from Lord Ahmad, who is back as the Minister for the Overseas Territoriess. They have approved our Medium Term Economic Fiscal Plan. They are funding gaps in that plan because our economy is not going to be where it was, especially with tourism not being able to be back where it should. As a result, we have asked them to provide us with the aid to fill that funding gap and we have assurances that this will happen. We have not as yet confirmed the amount. I think Her Majesty’s Treasury has to make that final determination.
“As at this point in time, we have the funding to resurface the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport; and funding to do part 4A of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. We are looking to get further funding to finish package four – and also to fill that funding gap because of the economic decline we have had.”
Asked how the 2021 budget was proceeding, Dr. Webster replied: “The budget preparation is going great. It is tedious because every department and ministry has needs, and some of these cannot be met because of the financial situation we are now in. However, given that the Medium Term Economic Fiscal Plan has been approved, at the levels it has been, the budget has to fit into that. Right now, the Permanent Secretaries, and other public servants, are doing a great job getting it all together. We will be meeting again for several hours to try to iron out the details – where we have to make funding cuts; and what we can be lenient about. We know that in these constrained financial times there are some things that we need, but will not get. We are hoping that, as we get through 2021 and 2022, we will be able to fill some positions that have not been filled, for the past few years, because of our economic situation and the revenue deficits we have had.”
On another subject, the Premier was asked whether he had discussions with the UK Government as to what type of Covid-19 vaccine would be made available to Anguilla. “We got a letter from Baroness Sugg, when she was the Minister for the Overseas Territories, stating that they were prepared to share what vaccines they have with us,” he disclosed. “We just see that they have approved the Pfizer vaccine. One of the issues with that is that it requires cold storage at minus-5 degrees. We don’t have that facility here in Anguilla – and so the Ministry of Health and the Health Authority are looking at getting help to procure a freezer with that capability.
“There are other vaccines that are coming on stream. The Moderma vaccine requires minus 20-degrees, for which it may be easier to procure a freezer and to roll out that type of vaccine. There is also the AstraZenica vaccine which requires 2-8 degrees for storage, and which will be better for us because we have that capability – and we will be able to transport the vaccine easier. They [the UK Government] will give us all we can accommodate, and enough to vaccinate all the people who will agree to get the vaccination.”
The Premier said there was no specific date for the availability of the UK Government’s vaccination supply in Anguilla, but this was expected early in the New Year. He continued: “We have a vaccination team set up and we are now doing the training. We will do some public consultations in terms of educating the people about vaccines and how this would help. We are projecting that those who will get it first will be our frontline workers: those in health, immigration and customs at the ports. We will go on to the elderly at nursing homes, who are vulnerable, and then to the general population.” He could not say which vaccine would be available in Anguilla.
Given the rising number of imported Covid-19 cases in Anguilla, Dr. Webster was asked whether he foresaw a second closure of the island’s borders – or whether the Government was in control of the situation.
“That is always something that I wrestle with,” he stressed. “It keeps me up at night because, in the final analysis, the health of the people of Anguilla is my priority – and that is paramount.
“Right now, the Covid-19 cases came in with negative tests but the persons were tested positive on arrival. The good thing about that is that, due to our protocols, instituted by our Chief Medical Officer and the Ministry of Health, they are caught on entry – and are kept in isolation, so that decreases the chance of community spread.”
Premier Webster added: “In terms of closing the borders, it is something, as I said, I wrestle with but, at this point in time, we are not going to do that unless there is risk of community spread.”
