Belonger

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Draft of New Constitution Creates Second-Class Status of “Belonger”. At present, all Anguillians are called “belongers” of Anguilla. There is no such word in the Constitution as an “Anguillian”. Some people find this offensive. The name “belonger” is not an Anguillian word. It is a concept taken from the British Nationality Acts. Anguillians don’t feel sympathy with the term “belonger”. They find it quite offensive. Everyone calls himself an “Anguillian”. Twenty years ago all Anguillians knew everyone on the island. You were either Anguillian or you were not.

As a belonger one has rights. You come to and go from the island without hindrance from the Immigration Department. You can freely acquire interests in land. You can vote. You can stand as a political candidate for election to the House of Assembly. None of these rights are held by “aliens”.

During the past twenty years Anguilla’s economy has boomed. Thousands of Jamaicans, Vincentians, British, Americans, and Santo Domingans have flooded into Anguilla. After a few years they have qualified to be naturalized under the British Nationality Act. Doing this in Anguilla has automatically made them “belongers” of Anguilla. They have all the rights of “native” born Anguillians. The status of being a belonger has become a bit confusing.

There is a process under the Anguilla Constitution for becoming a belonger. It is set out at section 80 of the 1982 Constitution. A “natural born” belonger, so to say, is one born in Anguilla of Anguillian parents. There are other ways of becoming a belonger. One can marry a belonger. Alternatively, one might qualify by living in Anguilla for fifteen years. A short cut is to become naturalized as a British citizen. As soon as the A-G’s Chambers gives an alien the okay, and the Governor swears him in, he immediately qualifys. Today you come across complete strangers in the supermarket talking loudly about how the Governor just made them into Anguillians. Many Anguillians are offended at the numbers of persons taking this short cut. There is general agreement that if this process continues, Anguilla will be swamped by crowds of strangers drowning out the Anguillians.

During the 2006 Constitutional and Electoral Reform Commission hearings there was much discussion on whether or not there should in future be two classes of citizens. Some persons wanted “real” Anguillians to have a special status. The new Anguillians, those who came here lately, could continue to be called “belongers’. In future, they should never have the same status as “real Anguillians”. Only real Anguillians, ie, those with an ancestral connection to the island should in future be called “Anguillians”. This notion of different classes of Anguillian was soundly rejected by the majority of persons making representations to the Commission. There was widespread agreement that the practice of naturalizing foreign persons and automatically qualifying them to belonger status was wrong. The people of Anguilla wanted this practice to end.

The Commission recommended that in future the process of naturalization should be disconnected from the process of becoming a belonger. Anyone who wants to become a British Overseas Territories Citizen can go ahead and get naturalized. That will give one British rights, but no automatic rights in Anguilla. The process of naturalization should have not automatically result in acquiring Anguillian status. Anguillian status should be reserved for those persons who had a connection by birth and ancestry with Anguilla. [Those from overseas who had in the meantime become Anguillians could not have their rights taken away. They would be grandfathered in as Anguillians.] All persons becoming naturalized in future would not have this benefit. The Chief Minister’s Committee subsequently studied the recommendations. The Committee supported the idea of removing naturalization as a method of acquiring full Anguillian rights.

The new draft Constitution up on the government website brings more confusion to the picture. It revives the status of belonger and adds the new status of Anguillian. Only an Anguillian can be Deputy Governor. Only an Anguillian can run in general elections. The bottom line is that this new draft constitution does exactly what a majority of Anguillians have already rejected. And it does it without the slightest prior consultation with the people.

Section 45(2) says who is an Anguillian. Who is a belonger is dealt with elsewhere. As if to emphasise the importance of the distinction, the draughtsperson has chosen to provide for the status of belonger in two different sections. Sections 20(5) and 105 contain conflicting definitions of who is a belonger. There are some similarities, but there are differences between the two definitions. There is no hint that these are alternatives open for discussion. They are put forward as separate and distinct definitions.

Check it for yourself.

How in the world did a competent draughtsperson make such an elementary mistake.

What confusion!

What embarrassment!

New

The new Constitution, to quote Haydn Hughes, has just popped up on the government website. See: http://www.gov.ai/documents/Anguilla%20Constitution%20Draft%202009.pdf

I am going to be downloading it, printing it, and commenting on it. I expect that the A-G’s Chambers have made alterations and comments. If they have, all interest in Lolita’s draft now pales into insignificance.

Secrecy

Attorney-General denies having a copy of the draft new constitution. All Anguilla has wanted to see the draft new Constitution prepared by Lolita Davis Richardson. We have been waiting patiently to see what is in this draft.

I have been given a copy of what I am told is the final draft. It is filled with errors so I have my doubts. It contains barely one half of the recommendations of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Commission. It contains some proposals that Anguillians soundly rejected. It is severely defective in many respects. Mrs Richardson should be ashamed if this draft is what the Chief Minister presents to London. It needs to be cleaned up and corrected by a legal draftsman in the A-G’s Chambers.

In the 16 February issue of The Anguillian Newspaper we saw the story of Mrs Richardson officially handing over the final draft to the government of Anguilla. She handed it over to the Chief Minister, the Attorney-General and the Minister of Finance. Those three had been part of the drafting team that spent over six months reviewing and finalizing this draft. They were well aware of what was in it.

All that was left was for the Attorney-General to publish the draft. The comments of the public would be sought. Members of the House of Assembly would debate the draft and come up with their own recommendations. The Chief Minister’s Committee would meet and hold discussions with the British Negotiating Team. Looming high over this process is the need first to publish the draft. Before anything is finalized the public needs to be given an opportunity to comment. Most people will not have anything to contribute. But, they all expect to be asked first.

February passed. March passed. April passed. May passed. June passed. We are now in July. That is nearly a half a year since the draft has been officially presented. Nothing.

On Tuesday 3 July the Chief Minister held his weekly press conference. He spoke about going this weekend to Guyana for the Caricom conference. When he returns he leaves on Monday for London. He is taking a team to discuss economic issues. He is also going to discuss the new constitution. The Anguillian Newspaper of 3 July reports what he said at page 15, column 2:

“He reported that

while in London the

delegation would

meet briefly with the

Constitutional Review

Team to discuss the

new draft constitution,

copies of which would

be circulated shortly.”

That concerns me. What business does the Chief Minister have discussing a new constitution when it has not yet been shown to us the public.

So I wrote to the Attorney-General asking for a copy. I told him I want to comment on it. He has now replied. He writes that he does not have a copy. It is still with the Chief Minister’s office. That means that not even the Attorney-General has been given a copy. Not for the public to see, anyway.

My fear is that, just like the 1982 Constitution, we in Anguilla will see it one week before it comes into effect.

I wonder how the people of Anguilla will accept being treated in that way.

In the coming days, I will make my comments on the draft that was sneaked to me.

Judicious

Random thoughts on writers’ block. I have nothing of interest to post on the blog. It has been over a week now since the last one. A house-full of guests is part of the problem. The devil has no chance to get at my hands now . . .

Another reason is that the political season has begun. The campaigning is going to bring the issues out into the daylight. The discussion will be much more effective and relevant to the needs of Anguilla than anything I can write on the blog. I am content to let the politicians, old and aspiring, debate the topics that interest us all. My contribution will not be worth two cents by comparison.

I have never in my life attended an Anguillian political meeting. They are real drama, I am told. But, I am not inclined to start attending now. Too old and cynical. The result is that I shall be unaware of many of the subjects of discussion. Unless someone is kind enough to drop me a line now and then to let me know :-)

Another reason for my writer’s block is that I am hearing that there are some major developments going on in the court. Both the Magistrates Court and the High Court have been producing some very important orders and decisions. Major events are playing out in that forum. The public knows nothing about them save for rumour. The court’s contribution to social development might as well be a play performed on a blacked-out stage. The singer’s mouth is moving, but the microphone has gone dead. There is no reporter who has the time to attend court and write up the happenings. No press-officer is employed to publicise what it is doing. There is a tradition that lawyers do not prepare press releases boasting about their forensic conquests. Most lawyers do not even receive the orders and judgments of the High Court in cases that do not concern them. Even though court decisions are public documents, they are dealt with as if they are private to the parties. Very few final judgments are posted on the Court’s website. Those few that are posted are out of date. I am reluctant to lean on any of my legal friends to beg them to scan and email me copies as they come to hand. What a waste of judicial time and effort. Such a pity, really.

Austerity

Government announces civil service salary cuts as part of austerity measures. This circular letter from the Department of Public Administration to all public servants has just been sent to me for comment. I have not checked with anyone to make sure it is authentic. I take it on trust as the source is dependable. I have read it.

Department of Public Administration

The James Ronald Webster Building

The Valley

REF: EST/5/10

GOVERNMENT CIRCULAR NO. 4 OF 8 JUNE 2009

TO: Permanent Secretaries

Hon. Attorney General

Department Heads

All Public Officers

H E, The Governor (for information)

Ministers of Government (for information)

AUSTERITY MEASURES

Anguilla and by extension the Budget of the Government of Anguilla continue to be impacted by the sharp slow down in global economic activity. The Government of Anguilla has been adopting certain austerity measures in response to the global financial crisis. The current difficulty being experienced in meeting monthly expenditure has necessitated further austerity measures by Government.

On Wednesday June 3, 2009 Executive Council agreed to the following for a period of six months in the first instance, effective July 1, 2009, to sharply reduce expenditure:-

(i) the figures for travel allowance categories A to E will be as follows:-

($225.00, $175.00, $125.00, $75.00, $62.50 respectively);

Council further agreed that travel allowance categories should be continuously reviewed to ensure that officers are placed in the correct categories.

(ii) telephone allowance will remain at the current reduced level;

(iii) salary payments be reduced by the amounts set out below:-

a) Hon Deputy Governor, Hon Attorney

General and Public Officers in grades A-F - 10%

Public Officers in grades G-M - 5%

Public Officers in grades A-F who did not receive the 25% salary increase in September 2008 should have the increase actually received reduced using the following formula to determine the percentage reduction (10 ÷ 25 x % increase in salary actually received in September 2008 = % amount current salary to be reduced by). This is proposed exceptionally on moral grounds particularly as persons would have made financial commitments based on their prior salary. This exception must not be construed as giving affected persons any rights or benefits that they would not have otherwise accrued.

b) All elected Members of HoA - 15% (of ministerial and HoA allowances)

Speaker and Nominated Members - 5%

Special Assistants/Advisers/

Specialist Worker - 10%

Wage Workers - 5%

(iv) pensioners will not be affected by any reductions;

(v) officers retiring during the temporary salary suspension period will be afforded their retirement benefits (gratuity and pension) based on their current salary and not at the reduced salary;

(vi) all officers including “contract” officers will be subject to the temporary suspension of benefits;

(vii) the GoA will communicate with financial institutions to request that civil servants who require their loans to be refinanced be granted that service at no cost;

Council noted that the GoA cannot commit to giving back the suspended funds at this time but undertakes that if the situation changes positively and significantly, consideration will be given to either partial or full reimbursement of the suspended funds.

Public Administration acknowledges the historic nature of these measures and the personal sacrifice officers will be required to make. However, it is hoped that public officers will recognize the seriousness of the situation and understand that the measures being instituted come after considerable deliberation.

Public Administration continues to urge officers, especially at this time, to remain vigilant in the collection of government revenues, be professional in the performance of designated duties and practice sound work ethics.

------------------------------------------------

Lana Horsford-Harrigan

Director Human Resource Management

Public Administration

Copy – Honourable Deputy Governor

Here are my comments.

First, let me say that everyone in Anguilla would expect that in time of financial crisis and falling revenue deep cuts must be made, including cuts in salaries and allowances. But, it is elementary that such cuts can only to be made by consent, not by force.

The memorandum makes it clear, if only by inference, that the proposed reduction was determined on by the Executive Council without discussion with either the public service or their representatives. There is no question of seeking to obtain the consent of the civil servants whose salaries will be affected. They are being told of a decision that has been made. The decision is “effective July 1”, by which I understand that salaries will be cut from July 2009. The lack of consultation and the failure even to try to secure prior agreement is unbelievably inconsiderate and unacceptable if true. Tell me which employer in Anguilla could get away with informing his employees, without any prior discussion, that their salaries were about to be cut?

The third paragraph from the bottom, with the words “commit to giving back the suspended funds”, etc, makes it clear that the Executive Council believes that it has the right to take away the proposed salary cuts permanently. This is not guaranteed to be a temporary suspension, it is to be a possibly permanent cut in salary. That is contrary to section 7 of the Constitution of Anguilla. This letter infringes the “property rights” section of the Constitution, and as such is illegal.

One thing that is guaranteed to get me really vexed is when I see government not bothering to take legal advice on a matter of great importance and obvious contention such as this. This proposal is the wholesale cutting of salaries. That is a matter of great importance of obvious contention. There are civil servants who are already living at the limit of their means. There are house mortgages, car loans, university loans, vacation loans, and personal loans for furniture, all expected to be paid on time. Any reduction will call for civil servants to have to begin negotiations with creditors and other persons to whom there are obligations.

That is why I would contend that no competent department of public administration could possibly have circulated this memorandum without first having sought legal advice. And, I would go further and state that no lawyer in a West Indian Attorney-General’s Chambers could possibly have o-kayed it. Both contentions cannot be right. One must be wrong. The conclusion is that either the department took a risk, or the A-G’s Chambers was careless.

I know it is a long time ago, but government must retain files. About the year 1982 Verna Fahie was a young civil servant. She was sent by government on a Canadian scholarship to Barbados. After about a year, government wrote her a letter. They had just realized that she was getting a stipend from the Canadians. That was in addition to her Anguilla public service salary. That was considered too good for her. She was informed that after she came back to Anguilla they would begin deducting her salary until she had paid back the government of Anguilla the amount of the Canadian stipend. She protested that they were the ones that had organized the scholarship, and they should have known about the stipend from the beginning. She did not agree to any deduction from her salary. They went ahead and made the deductions anyway. She took the matter to the High Court. The judge’s decision was that salary is property as much as land is. Just as government is not allowed to confiscate your land without payment of full compensation, so they are not allowed to confiscate any part of your salary. They had to pay her back the salary that had been cut and pay her legal costs as well.

In what way is the proposed new cut any different from what was done to Verna Fahie?

Come on, public admin, get their consent first.

Fathers' Day

I owe 243 of you per day an apology. No one has sent me any troubling or worrying news all week. I am not mad at anyone or anything. The result is that I have not made a single post for seven days. The statistics report I receive every Sunday now tells me that, on average, 243 persons per day visited this site last week. You would have been disappointed that I had nothing new to complain about. I am sorry. I apologise. I can only hope someone or something will upset me soon.

Meanwhile, it is fathers' day. My latest grandchildren are growing healthy and strong. Their mother is teaching them well. Here are a couple of photos of the entire family. The father is the pretty one.

Was it not Sir Francis Bacon who said, “He that marryeth and hath children giveth hostages to fortune”?

Viceroy Delayed

The July “soft opening” has just got even softer. As recently as a week ago, 8 June, the Hon Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, gave a reassuring speech over Radio Anguilla about Viceroy being “well on the way to a soft opening in July". This, he said, will result in the employment of a number of Anguillian workers. Certainly, as of that date the Viceroy management had not informed him that there was likely to be any delay in the previously announced soft opening scheduled for 1 July 2009.

The original opening was supposed to be in 2008

To go back in time a bit, we will all remember that the original soft opening was supposed to have been in December 2008.

Then, they announced that the opening was delayed until 1 April 2009.

Later, that date was quietly changed to 1 June without anyone giving any explanation.

I wonder what the investors in apartments or villas made of these repeated delays and disappointments. The amounts of money they had to commit were huge. Contracts were signed and deposits made on the promise that the project would be completed before December 2008:

Prospective purchasers committed large sums of money on a promise of a 2008 opening

I wonder how many deposits National Bank of Anguilla financed? The risk is that some of these purchasers, badly hit by the current recession that began only after they signed the contracts, will not complete their purchases and will not repay the bank loans.

Then, in May of this year, a visit to the Viceroy website indicated that reservations were not being taken for June any longer. They were only accepting reservations starting 1 July.

This delay was a big concern for us in Anguilla. We all remembered that in December 2008, the House of Assembly had debated and passed the national budget for 2009. At that time, members of the Opposition questioned how government could be anticipating an increase in revenue as they did. The Minister of Finance reassured them with these words:

“He said the increase in revenue of $4 million over the 2008 figure was mainly expected from Stamp Duties resulting from alien landholders’ licenses to be issued to purchasers of real estate when the Viceroy project opens for operation in 2009.”

Now comes the latest disappointment. Viceroy has, as of yesterday, just quietly stopped taking reservations for July. Its website shows that the planned resort now has its reservations commencing in August.

Viceroy online reservations now permits bookings only as of August 2009

Those persons who made reservations for July are being assigned rooms at Cap Juluca and Cuisinart. They have begun to question what is going on:

Yesterday's complaint on Trip Advisor about a cancellation of a reservation

There has not been any public announcement by Viceroy or anyone in government, far less the media. I would have thought that the event would have made the news. But, maybe, no one in government or the media knows yet.

The Hurricane Season has already begun.

I am sorry to be the one to have to tell Victor, but our 2009 Budget has just taken another hit. There will be no revenue from Viceroy for the first half of 2009.

Another clip from the same Trip Adviser page

There is a further concern. How can there be any expectation that Anguillians who were banking on taking up employment with Viceroy in 2009 will hang around to see if the Hotel will really open in August? If I were paranoid, I would ask if it is possible that these last minute changes could be partly designed to ensure there are no Anguillians available for employment when they do really open? Or, is there some more serious systemic problem that we do not know about?

In my humble opinion, we will be lucky to see any revenue at all from Viceroy for the balance of 2009. In my view it is unlikely that there will be any Anguillians employed at Viceroy for the foreseeable future.

The Labour Department better start hiring an interpreter qualified in Tagalog.

Related posts:

27 June 2007: Slave Labour

28 June 2007: Hunger Strike

22 July 2007: Kor Realty Group

20 January 2009: Soft Opening

26 February 2009: Barnes Bay

15 March 2009: Meads Bay

29 May 2009: Pinoys

Reshuffle

Chris Bryant is in. We have not heard much about Chris Bryant before 8 June. He was once a popular parish priest and preacher in his village in Wales. He could talk so good he decided to leave the church and go into politics. He won a seat in the UK Parliament with the help of Tony Blair.

What is his relevance to Anguilla? He is a newly appointed Foreign Office Minister in Gordon Brown’s latest Cabinet reshuffle of 8 June. He is also Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. He is being rewarded for backing of Mr Brown in his confrontation with Labour parliamentarians who want him to step down as PM. This appointment to the Foreign Office is not exactly that of Foreign Secretary. It is a junior government post. Ministers of State in Britain have under secretaries and junior ministers to assist them. He will be an assistant minister to Foreign Secretary David Miliband. He may have responsibility for Anguilla and the British Overseas Territories. In that case, he is one of the ministers in the UK government we will have to deal with.

Chris Bryant MP

There have been so many recent changes in the Foreign Office that I have got lost. I remember welcoming Gillian Merron just a few posts ago. Now, I see that she is no longer Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign Office. PM Brown has promoted her and made her his new Minister of State for Public Health.

What got my attention was Mr Bryant’s nickname in the British Press, Captain Underpants. No, not the American children’s comic book. It turns out that the new Deputy Leader of the Commons was in the news six years ago for a less than ennobling reason. He was discovered sending photos of himself in his underpants to a man he had just met on an internet dating service. Not the sort of person you would have thought an embattled Prime Minister would be proud to be rewarding with such high office.

Chris Bryant MP looking for a date

You have to ask yourself the question, what will some men in politics not do for a little bit of extra sex?

Do you suppose that he would receive a rousing welcome if he came to visit Anguilla?

Would we roll out the pink carpet for him?

He had better hurry. I don’t think he will be minister for much longer.

Medical School

St James School of Medicine. My attention was caught by a throw-away line in Victor’s recent speech, published a few days ago on this blog as “Golf Course”. Right at the end of the speech he said, “and, the long awaited Medical School is scheduled to open in August/September and will create opportunities for the apartment rental sector and other businesses.” That was it. No further explanation.

I went off to do a little research on the internet.

The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professionals would be the agency responsible for authorizing such a school. This Authority is the officially recognized institution for accrediting medical schools in the West Indies. It has existed since the year 2004 when the British General Medical Council abandoned us and went off to be fully integrated into Europe. The Authority has a website. I went to visit it. There are eight medical schools listed as having applied to the Authority for accreditation. Some of the schools have achieved full accreditation, while others are only provisionally accredited. I had a look at the details for each of them. I learned that these appear to range from No 1, the University of the West Indies to No 8, the University of the West Indies School of Veterinary Medicine. No 4 is the St James School of Medicine.

So, I went to the “details” page to learn what it had to say about the assessment of the Anguilla project. I found the following from the year 2007:

I note that Sir Graeme Catto and Professor ER Waldrond are the two persons who carried out the Anguilla assessment. Professor Sir Graeme Catto is well-known as the President of the General Medical Council of the UK. He is a Scottish doctor, Professor of Medicine at the University of Aberdeen, Vice-Principal of King’s College and St Thomas’ Hospital Medical and Dental School. Professor ER “Mickey” Waldrond is a distinguished professor of medicine at UWI. This is a very serious team. Their recommendation that the school be given provisional accreditation must be given weight. The St James School was obviously not considered by them to be a fly-by-night operation.

But, I note that this 2007 assessment is only provisional. The assessment team was to have visited in six months time to see how the school was progressing in setting up the facilities for the admission of the first class of students. Did they ever pay this second visit? I cannot find any report of their later assessment, if it ever took place.

I do a little more exploring. I learn that the St James School of Medicine already has a West Indian operation. It has functioned in the island of Bonaire since 2001. YouTube even has a video about it. I find a few grouches posting negative things on various blogs. I find some doubt that the qualifications they give are acceptable in various States of the USA. Then, I go to their website.

I find something odd about the banner at the top of their home page. I say to myself, “Hold on, is that not a view of Road Bay in Anguilla taken from South Hill?”

It may be a minor thing, but I wonder to myself why would they want to illustrate a web page about a school in Bonaire with a picture of a bay in Anguilla.

I ask myself, is the plan to close down the Bonaire medical school and transfer all courses to Anguilla. What would cause them to take such a step?

Is Victor right that this school is about to start up in Anguilla in September?

If so, where is it going to be?

How come I have not heard of any activity on the island relating to the school since provisional approval was given in 2007?

It is all a complete mystery to me.

Tragedies

The TCI Journal is my hero. I try to read the TCI Journal every day. Each daily exposure is for a West Indian what the cathartic effect must have been in old Athens of attending one of the tragedies of Sophocles. One leaves the pages of the Journal drained of all emotion, conscious only that it is good to be alive and living in a different place. I do not know how I could keep my sanity if I had to put up with what the people of the TCI are going through. They are my second set of heroes.

Just today, I was looking at the several items published on 4 June. I have to urge you to read them yourselves to see what I am talking about.

I started with a letter from W Hurd on Freedom of the Press. His quotations ably illustrated the points he was making. I was particularly struck by Adlai Stephenson’s “My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.”

John Hartley’s Letter from London reminded us how the political crisis now playing out in London may affect the liberties of the people of the TCI, and us in Anguilla too, for that matter.

Diana de Gara’s heart rending call for Patience took my breath away, as all her writing inevitably does.

And then I read Shawn Malcolm’s account of the proceedings in the Supreme Court yesterday. Some 15 lawyers from London were presenting applications by two of the foreigners who were mentioned by Sir Robin Auld as possibly being implicated in paying bribes to Premier Michael Missick. They are trying to stop the Auld Report from being published. They claim that Sir Robin’s remit from the Governor was only to investigate politicians. He had no business mentioning their clients’ names. As Mr Malcolm points out, it is difficult to see how Sir Robin could have detailed the reports of bribes paid to politicians if he did not mention who is alleged to have paid the bribes.

May they all burn in eternal hellfire.