Following the election of 2020, the newly elected Premier, Dr. Webster, said he had no choice but to accept a deal signed off by the previous Government. The Brits said it was non-negotiable. It was a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, a fait accompli, a done deal. Period full stop. One can only speculate what was on Webster’s mind then, maybe delusions of grandeur or posterity. He had to make a snap decision, whether to sacrifice the people of Anguilla for his own selfish choice of becoming Anguilla’s first elected Premier or walk away from a deal he did not make, and, in the process, miss the brass ring which he so badly wanted. Mr. Webster did what was expected of him. Like Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, he accepted the agreement to become Premier Webster and betrayed the people who got him elected.
That being said, the first two years of Dr. Webster’s Government have been a total disaster. The changes that they have made caused hardship after hardship for Anguillians. Though he did not initiate the regressive GST, he signed it into law, and from what we’ve seen so far, it has been a total disaster for the people.
Already reeling from losing their two indigenous banks, Anguillians are caught between a rock and a hard place, for they cannot pay their mortgages and stand to lose everything. In some cases, property that had been left to them by their forefathers, they now must forfeit, while our government, as if under a spell, fails to act. Victor signed off on an act that afforded Anguillians the worst option, even though he had many options open. The toxic loans continued to sit on the books, burdening the system.
As with any loan, a banking institution should follow GAP (Generally Accepted Practice) when they loan someone money for any reason. There must be collateral and a way of paying back the money, and if you default, that bank has recourse. Does this happen every time? Probably not, but when a situation like when the world financial system collapsed back in 2008, a system should have been in place by which the banks that were in trouble could be salvaged. It happened in the United States, the U.K., Ireland, and other countries where their Central Banks came to the rescue. What happened to the Anguillian indigenous banks was a downright dereliction of duty by our Central Bank, a bank in name only.
The demise of Anguilla’s two indigenous banks came about when Chief Minister Hughes suspected wrongdoing by the big boys, and he wanted to snare them. The two indigenous banks were taken over on August 13th, 2013, promising they would be rehabilitated and returned to the owners in six months. Six months turned into one year, which turned into two, which eventually turned into three. Sir Dwight Venner, Governor of the Central Bank, refused to take calls from our Chief Minister, Mr. Hughes, who later retired from Government. His party was devastated in the general election losing every contested seat, thus allowing the AUF party led by Victor Banks to ascend to power once more and, in the process, putting the final nail in the coffin of Anguilla’s two private indigenous banks.
Promising “Change can’t wait,” Dr. Webster and his Government have started off on a journey fraught with land mines, and without the proper equipment to detect them, bodily harm will come to those on that journey. In Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat tells Alice, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” We seem to be on a never-ending roundabout road to God knows where.
I can choose from a plethora of issues facing Anguillians. Those familiar with their history should remember the phrase “no taxation without representation” and all it entails. Because our government is operating from a position of weakness, we are in no place to make demands of the British Government., nor should we. According to former [U.K.] Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Brits see us as flag-waving pickaninies.
As promised by Dr. Webster, the change that couldn’t wait has manifested itself in a series of laws that, at first glance, are touted as necessary for Anguilla. However, a closer look exposes them for what they are, laws designed to get Anguillians to do what condescending British technocrats think they should do—and that IRD inspectors seem to enjoy as policemen. In the middle of a pandemic that, for the most part, has not affected Anguilla until recently, the House of Assembly saw it fit to pass laws that protect the Lignum Vitae tree and a species of ground lizard while killing Anguillians with GST.
GST results from being told what to do if we want British help, and after all, is said and done, our spineless leaders think that GST is the answer.
Anguilla’s Government is based on the British system of Government, the Westminster Model, which contains hundreds of elements. It is unicameral in nature, that is, having one chamber. The unicameral system can, at best, be considered an elective dictatorship. The party in power calls the shots, which is their right, but there is no lower or upper house to balance the Government’s actions. Most often, the opposition, such as it is, has its say, as the saying goes, but at the end of all their raving and ranting, the Government has its way. In his book “From Commoner to King,” Whitman Browne said the British gave us (the Caribbean nations) this system of Government but failed to make sure that we understood what it entailed, and therein lies the rub.rub. They were so anxious to divest themselves of their now resource-depleted colonies that they hurriedly threw the Westminster Model together and left.
Lacking standards, checks, and balances, the Westminster Model of Government allows these autocrats, the so-called elites almost tantamount to a house of lords, to impose their will on the people, opposition be damned.
Today, we have an arrogant government that behaves like a petulant child, hell-bent on imposing its will on us, the people who voted for change, the “change that couldn’t wait.” That change has manifested as a Trojan Horse, leaving its mark on Anguilla in untold ways. We stand on the sidelines while this disingenuous Government wants to rid us of our last bastion of self-sufficiency, our electric plant, among other things.
It’s unbelievable when you look at what’s happening and say it’s all a dream, only to wake up and find its reality, and just when you thought you had seen it all, our Government is getting ready to legalize casino gambling. We just seem to go from one boondoggle to another. Can anyone out there talk sense to these people?
We’ve heard that this Government is about to meet with the Christian Coalition and the Evangelicals., who are adamantly opposed to Casinos. This Government will listen, but at the end of the day, it will go ahead as usual, coalitions be damned. If this isn’t the height of hypocrisy that our Government led by those who claim to be Christians who strenuously oppose the vices that they once derided, for now, wants to benefit from the same sins is shameful.
I hope cooler heads will prevail, for should we continue on this path, I’m not sure we’re ready to deal with the coming elements. The argument of some that we already have gambling in Anguilla should not be the justification to bring in more gambling. Sure, we bet on our favorite racing boat, and yes, we bet on the cockfights, it’s all part of Anguillian folklore, but casinos, now that’s a whole different story, one that I’m not sure we’re ready to deal with. All that glitters isn’t gold, and “evil, be thou my good” is not a route we want to take. The old saying, “Play with a puppy, and you get fleas.”
That we have thrown all caution to the wind will one day blow it all back into our faces; only then will it have been too late. We will have sold our birthrights for a few million dollars, and for what. We could self-correct our course if only we had the will to do so. This Government will try everything in the rest of its term to try and impress the Anguillian people, but no matter what they do, the fact remains that they have lost the trust of the Anguillian people, and it should be hung around their necks like the albatross. Till next time, may God bless Anguilla.
