At a public meeting of the Opposition Anguilla United Front, on Sunday evening, April 18, the AUF’s newly-elected Leader, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, delivered an acceptance speech. She spoke about her association with the party and those in the forefront of its leadership, over the years, especially former Premier, Mr. Victor Banks, with whom she served as a Minister of Government.
She took the opportunity to speak in detail about her leadership plans for the AUF and the people of Anguilla in general. Following are some of the main excerpts from her address:
“There are many other persons standing and listening among us tonight who may not have been political leaders, who may not be close family members, who may not even reside in District 2, but who have played a critical role in assisting me over the years. I will not call your individual names, but you know who you are, and I sincerely thank each one of you.
“But, fellow Anguillians, I can give no greater recognition tonight than to the man under whose wings I sheltered during my entire political career, the person who now hands to me the awesome responsibility of leading the Anguilla United Front – the former Chief Minister, our first Premier – the Honourable Mr. Victor Franklin Banks. I have been extremely fortunate to have worked as a Minister of Government under his leadership and guidance.
“Over the years, I have come to admire and respect Mr. Banks for taking decisive action, especially in times of crisis. We have heard recent reports as to the success of NCBA. The future of our indigenous banks was the first critical issue that Mr. Banks had to grapple with as the newly elected Chief Minister in 2015. The decisions made under his leadership would have determined whether or not Anguilla’s future included any indigenous bank at all. If we had allowed the banks to fail, we would not only have lost our indigenous banks, but we also would have lost the hard earned savings of over 70,000 depositors between NBA and CCB. And, we would have lost over $200 Million dollars of Social Security funds that were held in those banks.
“Because of the decisions made under his leadership, today we have those same social security funds being used to help many Anguillians and residents across Anguilla since March of 2020. Under his leadership, we also successfully managed recovery from the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma and, even up to today, have kept Anguilla safe from COVID-19 as a result of early action and measures initially put in place by the Anguilla United Front.
“I have seen Mr. Banks forcefully express his views, sometimes angrily, sometimes calmly, but always eloquently. I have seen Mr. Banks shed tears for the future of Anguilla and the difficult decisions that he had to make. I have seen Mr. Banks use his charm and his wit to encourage persons to see his point of view. I have seen him hard and dispassionate, and I have seen him soft and compassionate. He is a statesman and is truly a study in diplomacy.
“Fellow Anguillians, I have learned so much under the leadership of the Honourable Mr. Victor Banks that it would be remiss of me to allow him to exit the political arena without publicly expressing my admiration of and appreciation for him. Thank you Victor for all you have done – for me, for this Anguilla United Front Party, and for Anguilla. [Applause]
“As I take the reins of leadership, I am humbled by the faith and trust that my colleagues and the Party have placed in me to lead us forward. Each one of my colleagues possesses unique strengths and talents and I thank them for their hard work over the years and for their support.
“During the last election campaign I spoke about the various accomplishments of the AUF as a party. Including the ones previously mentioned, our term in office included major renovations to our hospital facility and clinics across Anguilla under the leadership of the Honourable Evan McNeil Rogers, and an upgraded Sandy Ground jetty, just to name a few. I also would have spoken about the accomplishments that took place under my leadership – the Labour Relations Act, new and upgraded schools, the amendments to the Immigration laws so children born in Anguilla of non-Anguillian parents today no longer have to pay for time, and constitutional and electoral reform. And so, tonight, I do not intend to spend any time on them.
“Tonight, I want to tell you that the same zeal that I brought to making important and substantive reform in my Ministry between 2015 and 2020 is the same zeal that I bring to being Leader of the AUF Party.
“I am committed to ensuring that we create realistic and attainable changes for the betterment of Anguilla. I want to also let you know that no party has the exclusivity on the word “change”. It is said that “the only thing that is constant is change”. There was change during the 2020 general elections and I am convinced there will be change again.
“Fellow Anguillians, this weekend’s activities are not just about the position of party leader. This is about charting the course for the Anguilla United Front. It is about charting the course for Anguilla’s future. We know the conditions under which some of our people are currently living in our country. And because we are a proud people, we sometimes do not want people to know the extent of our suffering – how we cut and contrive every single day of our existence. I see it.
“People of Anguilla, I want you to know that I see each and every one of you. I see the pain, I see the frustration. I see the desire to be more than who we are currently and do more than what we currently do. This is why I am committed to building a new path, a new vision, for the Anguilla United Front. We have to take the strong foundation that has been laid for us over the many years and build on it. We will rebuild the Anguilla United Front with strong, capable dynamic leaders – both young and experienced men and women who are ready and willing to take on the challenge of service to the people of our beloved country. I stress the word United because it is said, WE ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS WE ARE UNITED, AS WEAK AS WE ARE DIVIDED. And where there is unity, there is always victory. There must and will always be unity, not only among the members of this Anguilla United Front Party, but across the breadth and depth of Anguilla.
“We will rebuild with a unified purpose – developing Anguilla and our people in a way in which Anguillians can achieve success, prosperity and fulfilment, right here in our own country. We will rebuild to ensure that our young people, our school children, our young entrepreneurs see a future in their homeland. We will rebuild to ensure that our elderly are truly taken care of, not just lip service is paid to them.
We want our country to grow, but we want our people to feel that their lives are improving and that they are growing along with the country.
“A nuestros dominócanos aquí en Anguila, también quiero que sepan que los valoramos. Valoramos sus pensamientos, sus intereses y preocupaciones.
“Trabajaremos juntos para asegurarnos de que sus voces también sean escuchadas.
“The way forward for Anguilla must be inclusive and a recognition of all of the cultures and norms that make us who we are today. Anguilla is continuously evolving and we must evolve with it. Join me, join us in this evolution.
“Fellow Anguillians, I reach out to you. It does not matter what colour shirt you currently wear. Advancing a country requires the involvement of every single one of us. You can trust and believe that, in me, you have a leader who embraces the advancement of all of our people, not just a select few. I am young enough to appreciate the very real concerns of our youth and old enough to understand the plight of our senior citizens.
“We have work to do. We will now begin that work – assessing where we are and how we can best prepare ourselves and our people for the future. There is hope on the horizon.
“And so tonight, I stand tall, humbled and honoured to be chosen, and I stand ready to lead this next phase of the Anguilla United Front – the New Generation. I end on a note of urgency, and I am issuing a clarion call to our young people across Anguilla to get involved in our rebuilding process, to stay informed and to understand the difference between campaign promises that could never have been met on the one hand and the Anguilla United Front’s steadfast, realistic and achievable goals for our beloved country on the other hand.
“Members and supporters of the Anguilla United Front, Residents of my District 2 constituency, my cell members, family and friends, People of Anguilla, I love each and every one of you!! We are UNITED, we will SUCCEED and we will THRIVE!!
“Good night! God Bless You and God Bless Anguilla.”
