Ministers and other Government officials met with members of the press on Monday, January 16 to update the public on Government’s business and to answer related questions from the press. This marked the first Government Press Briefing for the New Year, 2023.
An update on matters pertaining to the various Government Ministries was presented by each of the four Ministers present at the Briefing.
Ministry Updates from Minister Haydn Hughes
The Minister of Infrastructure and Tourism, Mr Haydn Hughes, reported that the Government had been challenged for a number of years with its vehicular fleet.
He said: “As we all know, the former administration spent millions in car rentals and we have decided that is not the way to go. To that end, so far, we have purchased recently 11 vehicles, some for the Royal Anguilla Police Force and other departments to the tune of US$170,000 from Motor World in SXM.
“We still expect to import some more vehicles that are needed by the Sports Department in terms of maintenance, the Department of Probations for the movement of their passengers that are housed at Zenaida Haven [and elsewhere], and for other Departments that are in desperate need of vehicles.
“We just want to move away from the renting of vehicles because it makes no good sense to spend millions of dollars in car rentals and at the end of the day, we don’t own them.”
Mr Hughes also updated the public on the status of the Water Corporation of Anguilla’s (WCA) challenges noting that they main cause for the numerous disruptions in the water supply to the island is water leakage.
“As some of us may know, during the Festive period, we had some challenges with the delivery of water from WCA. We are saddled with a tremendous amount of leakage. The last analysis that we had, [revealed that] over 80% of the water produced is leaking into the ground. At the same time, because of the need of large [numbers of customers in] our community for water from WCA, we can’t just turn the water off. To that end, we have, in the initial stages, decided that we need to replace the water network and we have budgeted funds in the 2023 budget to start the process of replacing and rebuilding the network.”
The Minister reminded the public about Government’s plan to reintegrate water as a Government Department.
“You know that we are also looking to reintegrate WCA back as a Government Department under the Ministry of Infrastructure.
“When we came into office in 2020, WCA owed the Anguilla Electricity Company Limited (ANGLEC) in excess of $11 million and they were saddled with a number of accounts payables that have not yet been fixed. So, given the fact the Government of Anguilla has had to rescue WCA on several occasions, we thought it would be best to look at reintegrating it back as a Government Department.”
Moving on to his portfolio as Minister of Tourism, Minister Hughes said that the Tourist Board is tasked with marketing the destination as well as the Financial Services Industry.
He said: “In conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, we are expanding the marketing remit of the Anguilla Tourist Board to include marketing the Financial Services Industry, because for too long, that industry has been left to wander by itself.
“We want to do some cross training between Financial Services and the Tourist Board so that we can utilise all the resources at hand to be able to market the industry in a more meaningful way.”
Ministry Updates from Minister Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers
Minister of Education, Sports and Social Development, Ms Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers announced that work at the ALHCS new facility is progressing well and is due to be completed by summer. She gave an update on the project at the Press Briefing on Monday.
“Essentially, the project is proceeding well and it is currently anticipated to be completed by this summer. We have been engaging with the contractors who would have completed Packages One and Three. One of the contractors would have declined but one of the other contractors who was on site accepted the completion of the Package Two project and work will begin in February.
“We are currently looking at some amendments based on some increase in cost for materials and labour. We are currently prioritising some expenditure to meet the project completion date and to ensure immediate usability of the building at the end. This means that we are just working out some kinks.
“Our contractor has been working very closely with us and has given us all assurances that they understand how urgent and necessary it is for us to complete this particular package. And while we remain optimistic, we are also mindful of some of the logistical issues that are happening globally, specifically in relation to some of our major suppliers, but we remain optimistic that we will complete by summer, 2023, for a move-in by September, 2023.”
Regarding the Ministry of Sports, Ms Kentish-Rogers emphasised the need for that Department to get a new truck.
“One of the lagging issues that we had at the Department of Sports was the lack of a flatbed truck. A number of facilities under the management of the Department of Sports saw a high degree of deterioration. But we are now procuring a new truck for our Department of Sports which will allow us to do more programmes.
“As you would have seen behind the Coronation Avenue, we have a new playground that has been installed for community play and recreation. The intention is to increase the number of playgrounds that we have across the island, and to ensure that our workers are able to get to those locations and execute that role, we would need the availability of a flatbed truck.”
Minister Kentish-Rogers also announced that advertisements are currently out for persons to join the Drug Advisory Council, which was established partly to address the issue of marijuana use on the island.
“Advertisements are out [for persons] to apply, and I would encourage all suitable applicants to apply. This is a very important Council – specifically for the Government of Anguilla’s aim to decriminalise marijuana. The Government of Anguilla is not pursuing the legalisation of marijuana. It is pursuing the decriminalisation of marijuana,” she noted.
Ministry Updates from Minister Kenneth Hodge
Labour Minister, Mr Kenneth Hodge, is encouraging persons employed with Madroka who may have been laid off due to the temporary suspension of the Lottery in Anguilla, to visit the Labour Department.
“I was just informed that Madroka would have temporarily terminated the contracts with their workers. If this is a fact, I would say [to workers that they should] come to the Labour Department for advice on their rights and privileges under the law. I encourage persons to come to the labour department and ask to speak to the Labour Commissioner or the Deputy Labour Commissioner in regards to this issue.”
Minister Hodge also noted that public consultations on the Minimum Wage initiative are scheduled for next week. The first session to be hold on Monday, January 23, is geared towards employees across all sectors, and the second session scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, will be directed towards employers. Persons can also submit their questions, comments and enquires to ahead of the meeting dates via email at minwage@gov.ai.
Minister Hodge spoke of the minimum wage issue during the government’s press briefing on Monday.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the Minimum Wage Committee, will be launching a series of public consultations beginning next week.
“The provision for a Minimum Wage has been part of the legislation, and so the actions of this administration to finally push ahead with a Minimum Wage comes almost 35 years after the fact…Minimum Wage is one reform that is five years overdue, and counting,” he stated.
Ministry Updates from the Premier, Dr Ellis L Webster
Anguilla’s Premier, Dr Ellis L Webster, is anticipating a meeting with two high-ranking United Kingdom officials arriving in Anguilla next month.
During the Government Press Briefing on Monday, January 16, Premier Webster announced: “The Minister for the Overseas Territories, Lord Zac Goldsmith, will be visiting Anguilla in early February along with the Director for the Overseas Territories, Mr Paul Candler.
“As you would know, HE the Governor announced that she will be moving to the Turks and Caicos Islands in June 2023 and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has assured me that they are seeking her replacement even at this time.”
Premier Webster, who is also the Minister of Finance, indicated that the government is moving forward with plans to bring gaming on stream in Anguilla.
“We are working on the policy and legislation [for gaming]. That is happening,” he said.
Premier Webster, reporting as Minister of Health, indicated that he will soon receive a preliminary report from the recently established Health Reform Committee – charged with bringing the Health Authority back under the direct administration of Government.
He said: “The Health Reform Committee has been meeting. It is a team that is working on the transition of the Health Authority back into the Ministry of Health. Those discussions are going very well. They have been tasked with providing me a preliminary report within the next two months and then a final report thereafter.”
He also announced that health officials in Anguilla are awaiting an MRI technologist to arrive on island to operate the new MRI machine which was donated by the Schultz Family Foundation and arrived on Anguilla on December 23.
“In terms of the current status of the MRI machine, the testing MRIs were done. Some persons had MRIs done while the technicians and MRI technologists were here at that time. We are waiting for an MRI technician to come on island to do actual scheduled MRI testing. We have made arrangements for the MRIs to be read by radiologists. This is an added service that compliments access to adequate healthcare in Anguilla.
“With the machine here, persons will not have to go over to St Maarten or elsewhere to have MRIs done. MRIs are necessary for diagnosis, especially for brain and other soft tissue diseases.”
