On the evening following the mass Goods and Services Tax (GST) protest march to the Premier’s Office, Marlon Lake delivered a letter from the Concerned Citizens Group to Premier, Dr Ellis Webster, denouncing the tax and asking for its repeal.
While the Premier had very little to say at the time, he did promise to read the letter and respond in due time. The following day, July 1, 2022, as implementation of the GST was rolled out, Premier Webster addressed the nation via live telecast and radio as follows:
My Fellow Anguillians,
Let me thank you for your understanding and partnership in progress as we are set to implement a critical new tax measure which will ensure that we can begin “Growing Sustainably Together”.
I am encouraged by the words of Civil Rights Activist, Gwendolyn Brooks which bares so much insight to our current opportunities. Indeed “We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond”.
In a simpler context we are responsible for each other.
We are part of a community with shared risks, shared goals, shared opportunities, shared burdens and shared responsibilities.
I have spoken on numerous occasions regarding our collective responsibility to not only carry out the expectations of those who have elected us, but to act responsibly in honouring the commitments that have been made of us as a nation. The position we now find ourselves in must be seen as an opportunity to right the ship and to the steady the course.
Make no mistake, every action considered and taken is done with the collective community at heart.
We have listened to the concerns of the business community and have weighed them against the obligations we must meet on island, from our Administering Power and International Creditors.
We were able to devise a solution from the options presented by the Business Community and, despite all efforts to find an amicable resolve, we were faced with more resistance and opposition to putting country and future above self.
Some members of the Business Community chose to close their places of business and I respect their right to do so. I also commend those businesses which did not close – and continue to be of service to the consumers and the people because we are each other’s keepers.
We must all pause and speak to the man in the mirror.
Government exists on a continuum. There are programmes which support the needy and less fortunate in our community totalling millions in support. Many of these individuals found themselves unable to shop based on their schedules and commitments. Government is established to be of service to its people, and when faced with the realities of such abrupt breaks in our relationships we are forced to look at the terms and strength of those relationships.
The currency of good faith that connects all can be stretched but never broken. It can lose shape but must be allowed to return to form. We are each other’s business; we are each other’s harvest.
Where do we go from here?
This seems to be the resounding question.
As your government, we will not waiver in our commitments or sidestep our obligations. This step is not to merely meet our debt obligations as some may want to reduce this broad-based tax to.
It is a commitment to secure a future for you and generations to come. It is a commitment to ensure that Anguillian businesses are given a fair chance and the exclusivity, where possible, to grow.
It is a step to grow our economy in a measured and predictable manner. It is all the supporting mechanisms and functions working together to ensure that the less fortunate and needy among us are cared for.
It is how we improve healthcare, it is how we transform education, it is how we move towards a national minimum wage, it is how we realise the development of resilient national infrastructure like new roads and ports.
It is our ability to bring about the implementation of green energy. It is our ability to attract and retain more foreign direct investment. It is a first step in truly diversifying our economy. It is the basis for legislation that protects the rights of all Anguillians.
Commitments naturally impact on future considerations. As we approach the peak of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season, we are prayerful that we do not repeat the events of 2017 in which the support of rebuilding our nation forms part of the commitment to implement GST. As we follow the global health crisis, we are watchful that we do not experience another pandemic which the assisted response also forms part of the commitment to implement GST.
Fellow Anguillians, this is not only about out debt obligations – it is honouring our word. It is putting ourselves in a position to say that we continue to support ourselves in the fight. This involves every Anguillian and those who call this place home, putting country above self.
Let it be said of us that we came together not in a quest to divide but to save our nation.
Let it be said that Government and the Business Community find ways to partner for the greater good.
Let it be said of us that Anguillians are a people always willing to put personal feelings aside in pursuit of the greater good.
Let it be said, by future generations, that the Anguilla we enjoy was imagined and birthed by a brave and devoted set who sought to meet the needs of their time without compromising the ability of our generations to meet our own needs.
“Growing Sustainably Together” requires compromise, it requires unity, it requires each of us in our different capacities doing what we are expected to do. It requires legislation that promotes fair business practice. It requires communication that promotes fair business operations. It requires trust and understanding knowing that we are dependent on each other.
Businesses that choose to remain closed, knowing that Government has accepted and actioned your recommendation, I implore you to count the cost at which we spend our words. Know that beyond the shadow of a doubt, this Administration has your best interest at heart and is committed – and have shown that we will always meet you halfway. Anguilla is bigger than any individual, and stronger than the divide of any varying agenda. You have a friend in this Administration, and I trust that my saying this Administration has a friend in you will be seen in your response to the people of Anguilla.
May God Bless You and May God Continue to Bless Anguilla.
