In the fourth year of the AUM Government’s five-year term the people of Anguilla remain very concerned about where we are going as a nation. There is no good news on the horizon about positive economic activity — despite the fact that we keep hearing that new MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding) are being signed. And Cap Juluca, the flagship resort of Anguilla’s Tourism Industry, is again facing serious challenges to the extent that Management continues to lay off long-serving workers on a regular basis. In an economy already suffering from the throes of the global recession another thirty workers on the street without any hope for employment will certainly make things worse. But perhaps most upsetting of all is to hear the Chief Minister say that Cap Juluca, and by extension the issues of the workers there, are now out of his hands and in the hands of the Governor and the British Government.
The readiness of the Chief Minister to abdicate his responsibility in the midst of a serious national crisis is unfathomable. What does he mean by these uncaring statements when the very persons who have hailed him as the “champion of the workers,” and who have supported him as their elected representative, are out of work and facing grave uncertainties? What then is his job as Chief Minister & Minister of Finance, Economic Development, Investment, Commerce and Tourism (FEDICT) all about? Why did he campaign to be elected as the Representative for Road South — a district from which the majority of workers at Cap Juluca emanate? Where has the “fighting spirit” of which he boasts disappeared? These are questions that I am being asked on a daily basis by concerned citizens within our community. I sense in them a feeling of being “let down”.
Many persons have also raised questions regarding the many protest marches made to the Governor’s Office by the workers at the request of the Chief Minister. They ask what was the purpose for that charade? Were the workers duped into making themselves pawns in a chess game between the Chief Minister and the Governor? They fail to understand how after his avowed willingness to go to prison like the “freedom fighters” in Africa he (CM) is now quite content to throw his hands in the air and exclaim: “Not my job mate!”
I can also catalogue a litany of concerns coming from the community that the Government is claiming it cannot fix. For example, Caribbean Cable Communications, our Cable T.V. provider, has been implementing an “upgraded service” and customers are complaining that they are being asked to pay considerably higher rates for basic services. Government Ministers are claiming that there is nothing they can do about it.
Anguillians are hearing that there is a reduction in the price of fuel internationally. In this context, they are inquiring why the price of fuel at the pumps has not been reduced for many years despite fluctuations regionally and internationally. The Government is saying that they cannot do anything about it.
Anguillians have been protesting the manner in which the “Levy” is being implemented for many years. They point to the unfairness in the system and so on. The Chief Minister has told them that it is a British Tax and he cannot do anything about it. This is also the case for a number of other taxes that are being introduced, including the planned increase in property tax.
While the Government may be unable to respond effectively to some of these issues, it is imperative that they intervene and make a case for their constituents. After all that is the reason why they were elected and selected in the first instance.
Going back to the reality of Government being in the fourth year of a five-year term — the question arises whether there is time to fix all these issues that are affecting Anguilla. Obviously, the answer must be positive. But can the Government change its “Style, Approach and Attitude?” Or will it continue along the same vein? We do not believe that the CM can carry on serious negotiations, or attract new investors, when he continues to berate developers publicly and claim in the world press that Anguilla is at war. If there is no change in the approach of the Government over the next year, it will definitely be too late to salvage Anguilla from the dire circumstances in which we find ourselves.
As a responsible party, the Anguilla United Front (AUF) does not take offence to having been rebuffed on the several occasions that we have extended the “olive branch” to help. However, we believe that the time has come to bring all hands to the plough! In this context, we will be approaching the Chief Minister with a view to assisting him to resolve the issues. In this endeavour we hope that we will receive overwhelming cooperation. You will be hearing the outcome of that request on the various media.
But it would be remiss of me if I do not spend some time on the CM’s intention to have a referendum by the end of this year. For many persons, it is clear that he is using this opportunity to draw attention away from the real issues of the period. There is method to his madness. In the first place the CM comes up with a classic, namely, a ballot with two questions that practically boil down to the same thing. To quote him precisely, he said: “I want to ask the people of Anguilla two questions – one or the other: whether they want complete internal self government at this time or whether they want complete Independence.”
Such a ballot would be a recipe for disaster. It has already been clearly stated by the British Government that the option of full internal self-government will not be entertained because total devolution of their powers, under the present arrangement, will not allow them to carry out their responsibilities as the Administering Government. In their own words: “responsibilities without the wherewithal to effectively administer them”. So why does the Chief Minister want to make confusion with the ballot by posing two questions one of which is totally unnecessary and can be responded to simply by saying “no” to the Independence question? And clearly, to answer the question on full internal self-government serves no useful purpose. The level of internal self-government can be negotiated directly with the British Government.
Returning to the issue of Cap Juluca, specifically, as well as the general concern in the community for more positive growth in the economy — the question for many people is whether it is too late for this Government to fix the situation in this term. Of course the follow up question must be: “If they cannot fix it in five years do they deserve five more?” Still another question raised is: “Do they have the correct style, approach and attitude to fix it to begin with?” And for those persons who are extremely tired and disappointed with over three years of the “blame game,” their response is dispassionately simple, namely: “Guys! It’s too late!”
