Editorial

“Clapping should not mean that you want a new tax,” Mr. Ved Gandhi told his applauding listeners following his recent presentation in which he stressed the need for the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) or VAT (Value Added Tax). It was both a candid and pertinent remark.

Past and present Governments of Anguilla, and the people of the island, owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Leon Roydon, and his son, Nigel, who have spent the better portion of their lives enwrapped in the meticulous, but rewarding, operations of Malliouhana Hotel and Spa at beautiful Meads Bay.

Apart from the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which is threatening Anguilla, (not to mention the other Caribbean islands) two other types of storms appear to be hovering menacingly over Anguilla. The hope is, however, that they will eventually and harmlessly dissipate like some of the recent tropical depressions.

The 2011 Summer Festival, with all its merriment and splendor, is over. One of the pleasing features, which all of us ought to be grateful about, is the fact that there were no untoward acts of violence or other unfortunate incidents to mar the festivities or stain the good name of Anguilla. Certainly, had there been any wanton behaviour, it could have sent a wrong and negative impression to our many tourists and spoil a good promotional opportunity at a peak time on the island.

Anguilla appears to be filled with festivals these days. The main one, of course, which really attracts hundreds of people to the island for a week of cultural displays featuring music, dancing, singing, band competitions, beauty shows, boat-racing and feasting, is the annual Summer Festival. Reports have indicated that travel to the island is a challenge due to the number of bookings at this time, and so, perhaps, will be the departures with the air and seaports continuing to be beehives of activity.

Aside from the ways and means that we, in Anguilla,endeavour to make ourselves a happy people, we are facing a strenuous and uphill battle to survive financially and economically perhaps like everybody else in the world.

Events like the unfortunate closure of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport in Anguilla, earlier this week, caused by an unexplained ‘sick-out’ by Air Traffic Controllers (notwithstanding that some submitted relevant medical certificates of absence), and matters related to the still simmering political feud, have had the effect of undermining and clouding out some of the more positive happenings in Anguilla. That is bad because we need to have time and space to appreciate those efforts and achievements of our people, organisations and even perhaps agencies within Government, which are contributing to the uplifting of the island and its citizenry.

The meeting initiated by the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the Tax Reform Committee and officials in the Ministry of Finance, last week, was an important one. The Board and membership of the business organisation were concerned that neither the Government nor the Ministry of Finance was proactive enough to call the meeting, but allowed the Chamber to do so instead. It may be a small point, but it certainly has some merit. This is particularly so when one considers the groaning of the people of the island under the impact of the sluggish economy, taxation, high cost of living, growing unemployment, and the need for redress by Government.

There appeared to have been a concerted effort by the Anguilla Teachers Union to meet with Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Hubert Hughes. The main cry of its members is their dismal financial situation in the wake of salary cuts in the civil service and a series of tax measures impacting all and sundry in Anguilla. Twice the teachers were unable to have access to the Chief Minister for a meeting. They succeeded on the third attempt at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium on Friday, June 17, but one wonders what they really achieved in terms of allaying their concerns and sufferings.

In recent days, the Royal Anguilla Police Force came under additional pressure from incidences of violence perpetrated by persons believed to be gang members on the island. The first was the discharge of gunfire during the road show launching ceremony of the 2011 Summer Festival in The Valley. Two youngsters were wounded and four vehicles were damaged. This incident put everyone at the event at risk of injury or death. The Police are still trying to identify and hunt down the shooter or shooters, although some persons were arrested on suspicion.

Several years ago, the Temenos/Flag Luxury Properties development on 275 acres of prime beachfront land in the western area of Anguilla was the pride of the island and its people and the largest local construction site. It provided jobs for hundreds of workers from Anguilla, neighbouring islands and a number of Southeast Asia countries and elsewhere. So large and diverse were the tradesmen, the engineers and other technical and administrative personnel, that the project was dubbed by the Israeli Project Manager as "the United Nations”.

Commentators have expressed the view that the 2011 Anguilla Day celebrations, and the various preliminary activities, made this year’s observance of the premiere National Holiday one of the best ever. It appears that more and more,after over four decades, our people today are appreciating the significance of Anguilla’s achievement of political and constitutional separation from its unpopular and uneasy federal relationship with St. Kitts-Nevis. The 1967 struggle for self-determination is seen as having laid the foundation for further advancement and both Government and Opposition have voiced statements that “the revolution is not over”, meaning that some day, when convenient, Anguilla will opt for independence.

The announcement by the Government of Anguilla, late last week, that Executive Council had approved a tax reform study, took the majority of the population by surprise. It was regrettable, however, that the undertaking was approved since in March and only now was made public.

Apart from the political, socio-economic and cultural relationships which Anguilla needs to foster within its own territorial borders, are the good relations we must develop, strengthen and maintain with our fellow island and country neighbours in the Caribbean – not the least our brothers and sisters in St. Martin/St. Maarten. There is a long history of close-knit relationships among these three territories and of the oneness of the people that is often referred to with a measure of prideat every available opportunity.

After a period of ten years, it is time for another Population & Housing Census in Anguilla which announced on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, and is expected to last two months. It is not an event which suddenly manifested itself in that, as far back as 2009, preparations were being made for this national undertaking. For this purpose, various persons drawn from the Statistics Department, other Government departments, as well as from the rank and file of the private sector, participated in various workshops. The training sessions were sponsored by the OECS, CARICOM and UNDP.

The Anguilla Domestic Violence Bill 2011, which was this week a matter for public consultation, is quite a long, if not bulky, piece of draft legislation with a series of very wide-ranging provisions. Yet it has a simple one-sentence definition which reads: “An Act to provide greater protection for victims of domestic violence and to make provision for the granting of protection orders and for matters incidental thereto and connected therewith.”

It is a great pity that the Chief Minister of Anguilla declined to accept the invitation to attend the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton at the famous Westminster Abbey in Central London this week Friday, April 29.

When the Speaker, on her own volition, decided not to allow the much-publicised Education Bill to be presented and debated in the Anguilla House of Assembly, some months ago, it raised the eyebrows of many persons. Even the Attorney General, at the time, not to mention the Minister of Education, who had a prepared address to present the Bill, thought she had exceeded her role.

One of the things that a people and or a country, especially when it comes to tourism, must be aware of, is that the first impressions of visitors are very important. Those imprints on the mind usually dictate what the persons in question think about what they observe or hear, and whether the place they are visiting is worthy of their time and presence and whether they should return.

The above subject keeps cropping up ever so often. It must, because of the immeasurable impact it has on the respect and wholesomeness of our small society, when it comes to bringing up masses of young people who will determine, to a great extent, what the future of Anguilla will be.