The rift between the two members on the opposition side of our House of Assembly seems to be widening rather than narrowing. When the House met on Tuesday 31st October, Hubert Hughes moved two motions: one called for the next Attorney General to be an Anguillian. The other called for, among other things, the cessation of the importation of labour from Asian and Latin American countries and the employment of labour from Caribbean countries instead. And Edison Baird (Eddy), the other opposition member, refused to second both motions.

The motions were still-born. In a closely knit society like ours, people do not laugh at death but that was precisely what the Government side did when Hubert’s motions showed no signs of life. Eddy’s refusal to second them left them motionless.

Tuesday 31st October was an unfortunate day for our people who were denied the opportunity of hearing Government’s position on two issues which are currently occupying the minds of many. And it was a sad day for the opposition which remains headless. In the absence of unity it is not in a position to make Government accountable.

I am a believer in responsible and effective opposition and I am of the view that Eddy’s refusal to second Hubert’s motions is paralysing further the opposition thus making it most ineffective. I will come back to that another time.

There are a few days in the life of our House of Assembly that I will never forget. One of them is 22nd August 2006 when Kenneth Harrigan, Minister of Communications, Works and Public Utilities addressed it. He was close to tears. Actually, that was the first time I saw a Minister of Government so emotional – so passionate – when addressing the House. It is true that Kenneth has a soft heart – is a very caring person. For example, if somebody asks him for $100.00 and he doesn’t have it, he cries. And as David Carty once remarked (1994), “Kenneth is a man who is full of love. He don’t like to hurt people. He is so full of love that I don’t know what di hell would happen if he was a woman.”

It was love for country, and the realisation that his Ministry was not pulling its weight in fulfilling its obligations to the Anguillian people, that brought him close to tears on 22nd August. He was at the time speaking on a motion, moved by Opposition member Hubert Hughes, which called on Government to deal “urgently with provision to rearrange and upgrade the yard of the Court House” and, by extension, the grounds of the House of Assembly. Kenneth lamented the fact that his efforts towards the building of a better Anguilla were thwarted by the non-performance of officials in his Ministry, and observed that it was those said officials who were holding up the upgrading of the grounds of the House of Assembly. The grounds are an eyesore and when rain falls some sections are virtually impassable: swamp and mud.

Churches and other places of worship aside, the House of Assembly (parliament), is supposed to be the most hallowed building in any country. But not in Anguilla. It is a disgrace to see how its grounds are kept. Opened in 1999, the House’s surroundings are not properly maintained nor has the building itself been given the dignity it deserves.

Kenneth informed the House that the building and its grounds could not be given that dignity because the public servants in his Ministry were not producing. In his words, “Our people in our departments who are in charge of departments, our engineers, our road inspectors [are not working].” He added: “I’ve often say . . . that some of our people that head these departments . . . mussa (must have been) born in Russia or Cuba. They don’t want to take on the responsibility to see Anguilla clean and things happen.”

He is so bitter over the extent of inactivity in his Ministry that he told the House: “I am fed up!” And he did not care on whose toes he stepped as a consequence of his criticisms: “I just hope dat people understand what we are going through as ministers! And who it hurt, it hurt! Get up and do the Government work!” It was an irate Minister who admonished his officials: “You just can’t sit in your office. Yer got to work for your money. You got to do the people’s work.”

Kenneth has a reputation for being an action man. He wants to see things happen. He wants action. Not talk. To quote him (1994): “I am a hands-on man – a man of action. Too much of talk is bull sh-t!” Further, he has long claimed that he is not an office minister. That’s true. He hates anything called an office. But oh he enjoys going out on a bulldozer or backhoe. And he loves being among his people, listening to their needs and helping to satisfy them. To quote him in the House: “I don’t find no problem in going out and listening to the people on the street . . . saying ‘something is wrong here. This needs to be done.’ I go on the streets everyday looking for problems.” And he has long pledged (1993) that, “I just want to be humble Uncle Kenneth to do your work right in your backyard.”

Uncle Kenneth has lived up to that reputation. He told the House: “What I do all my life . . . as a Minister. . . [is] go around and see where there is potholes, where there is trees to cut for the safety of the public, where water lines was dug and . . . the holes are still open [and then advise my staff to work on them, but they do nothing].” He went on: “It grieves me, Mr Speaker, and I think it is the right time to speak about it because . . . [public servants must] realise that Anguillians are paying them not to sit in their offices . . . Every time there is a meeting [I point out that] this need to be done at Rey Hill, this need to be done at West End . . . but dey still drag their feet.”

Uncle Kenneth wants the people in his Ministry to follow his example – to be proactive. Listen to him: “What I am trying to say, Mr Speaker, if you heading a department, or if you are a PS, it’s your duty [to drive around and see what needs to be done]. A Road Inspector must go out there daily, weekly. If there is a tree hanging over Stoney Ground, if there is a tree hanging over Blowing Point, it must be cut . . . Let’s get it done. I take my time, Mr Speaker, and go and look for these things daily.” Indeed, Kenneth is in the field daily checking to see “if there is a tree hanging over Stoney Ground, if there is a tree hanging over Blowing Point,” and arranging to have them pruned. He asked: “Why can’t [the] supervisor of roads [do likewise]? That’s [his] job. Go and look for problems!”
A problem with which Kenneth is very much concerned is the failure his Ministry to replace people’s bounds which were moved during the upgrading of the roads. He told the House, “Di people calling me from all abroad – what about this pothole? . . . What about my boundaries that is next to my heart, that was there for years, [and] you haven’t put back?” He continued: “We complete roads [and] they are not putting back the boundaries . . . You can’t get nobody to act!” Kenneth reported that some people were getting so desperate over the matter that one of them threatened him: “A fellow meet me on Sunday and told me that if I don’t put his boundaries back in a week what he goin do with me!”

Towards the close of his submission, Kenneth accepted full responsibility for the shortcomings of his Ministry – for the non-performance of its officials – but was quick to point out: “It’s not that I don’t try. I try and I try.” He had sounded like a man who had given up all hope when he called out for help even from members of the Opposition. He pleaded: “I need di help of the Opposition, the Government and whoever!”

Kenneth’s submission was nothing short of washing his Ministry’s dirty linen in public. And having listened to him one gets the impression that, firstly, the Minister’s priorities are not the same as the priorities of the officials in his Ministry. Secondly, there is some misunderstanding about the role of the Minister and the role of his officials. It appears that sometimes the Minister acts as an official and sometimes officials act as Minister. Thirdly, there is an absence of clear lines of communications.

In light of the foregoing, it may be useful if the Ministry undertakes retreats, perhaps twice-yearly, at which the Minister and his officials discuss the various programmes for implementation, prioritise them, and devise strategies towards their realisation. It could also hold monthly interdepartmental meetings to evaluate progress and to come up with ideas for removing roadblocks. Furthermore, such consultative sessions could clear up misunderstandings and contribute to a climate of cooperation.

Notwithstanding those observations, when a Minister of Government washes his Ministry’s dirty linen in public it is tantamount to sounding the fire alarm which must be taken very seriously. Kenneth’s fire alarm is good reason for an inquiry into his Ministry’s operations. It may, among other things, provide answers to his question: “What are we going to do with the civil servants and those people who are in charge, and suppose to do their work, but are doing nothing?” More fundamentally, an inquiry may very well reveal the need for a reorganisation or restructuring of the Ministry.

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