23 September, 2010

British Minister's Visit

Henry Bellingham visits. The word I am hearing is that the British Minister stopped off in Turks and Caicos Islands and Anguilla for specific reasons.
        We know why he visited TCI. It has been published. The elections set for July 2011 will be delayed to allow time for anti-corruption and good-government reforms to take effect in the islands. You can read about it by clicking here: http://tcijournal.com/index.php?idsub=3249&id=8
        No reason for his visit to Anguilla has yet been suggested by any British or Anguillian official. However, I am informed that one of the first meetings that Mr Bellingham had was with the Social Security Board and the Executive Council.
        We know that since the election in February of this year the Government of Anguilla has borrowed some $60 million from the Board to pay civil service salaries. We know that was contrary to the “borrowing guidelines” that are by agreement binding on the Anguilla Government.
        We can expect that the FCO is not happy at this breach of the Guidelines.
        Could this be the reason for Mr Bellingham's visit to Anguilla?



6 comments:

  1. Statement from the Governor today: The Chief Minister and I had a meeting this morning about a possible ministerial re-shuffle. Normally such meetings are confidential between the Governor and the Chief Minister but the Chief Minister has apparently discussed the issue in public so I would like to set the record straight.

    The Chief Minister has asked me to adjust the portfolio of the Deputy Chief Minister by removing the health, social welfare and community development issues and giving them to Hon Jerome Roberts as, in the Chief Minister's words "de facto Minister". I in turn raised concerns about other Ministers. I suggested that any re-shuffle should also take account of these concerns. The Chief Minister has always told me that if I had any concerns about the conduct of his Ministers I should raise them with him and he would deal with them firmly.

    What the Chief Minister was suggesting amounted to a negation of democracy - that two people, the Governor and Chief Minister should effectively overturn the will of the people as expressed just seven months ago. The people elected four members of the AUM to form a Government, and three other members to form the Opposition.

    I further raised an issue with the Chief Minister that Mr Bellingham had asked me to raise with him, following up on Mr Bellingham's conversation with the Chief Minister yesterday.

    I should make clear that I am not seeking the removal of the Chief Minister. I have not asked him to resign. I have worked amicably with him for seven months and have every intention of continuing to do so. Naturally I am open to further discussions with him.

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  2. Anguilla Chief Minister Hubert Hughes' response to the Governor's press release:

    Thursday September 23, 2010

    Fellow Anguillians, I have to report a current state of affairs in the country at present times which threatens your duly elected Government and which occurred this morning.
     I have recently seen the Press Release issued by the His Excellency the Governor, which he did not share with me personally but having read the same, I wish to respond.

    Given the nature of the events as they took place this morning, and the Press Release which does not correspond to what truly occurred, I am taking the liberty of disclosing in detail what transpired so that you the People of the country become fully aware and can draw your own conclusions.

    Executive Council was scheduled to occur at 9:00 am. I made the indication to the Governor’s Office that I would be late as I was finalizing a letter addressed to the Governor in relation the portfolio of Health, Social Welfare and Community Development which was in line with a letter that I had previously communicated to Minister Edison Baird. Mr Baird was fully aware of my intentions. That letter sent to Mr Baird explained the reasons why I was relieving him of the portfolio of Health and taking that portfolio under my Ministry together with the assistance of Mr Jerome Roberts as I am entitled to do under Section 24(2) of the Constitution.

    At EXCO, in the presence of my Ministers and other members of EXCO, I delivered the letter to the Governor.  I observed that the Governor called Mr Baird out of the EXCO meeting into a separate conference.

    When he returned, the Governor called me out of the EXCO meeting.

    He said to me that I he will not be appointing Mr Jerome Roberts to any portfolio because Jerome Roberts is from another political party.  I said to him, Mr Governor, what would you say about the coalition Government in the UK.  The Governor said that he will not be doing that.

    The Governor then said to me that in any event I needed to dismiss Mr Evans Gumbs and Mr Walcott Richardson immediately.  I asked him why.  He said to me that Mr Gumbs attended Anglec and voted the Government’s shares without the approval of EXCO.  I reminded him that I had discussed the matter at EXCO.

    He then said to me that Mr Walcott Richardson denied a work permit without EXCO approval.  I said to him that for six (6) years I worked as Minister of Labour, I never took any permits to the EXCO except one, where that person may have appeared to be a conflict of interest.  I told him that Mr Walcott is entitled to deny a work permit if the job can be filled by our people.

    (Continued below)

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  3. The Governor then asked me to resign and have fresh elections.  My response to him was Sir, from the 16th of February you have been seeking to undermine my Government.  I said to him that if he feels that I need to resign then he should put his reasons in writing as to why I should resign and as to why I should dismiss my Ministers.

    THAT IS THE TRUE RECORD OF THE FACTS.

    In relation to the Press Release issued by the Governor I wish to say this:

    I did not publish to the Public the discussions which I had with the Governor on the matter.  The Governor is wrong when he makes that statement.

    The Governor stated that he did not ask me to resign.  I emphatically state that he did ask me to resign.  In fact as I related to you earlier he also asked me to dismiss Ministers Walcott Richardson and Evans Gumbs and told me that I should call elections.  I told him no.

    Now, my People you all were present at the House of Assembly yesterday when in front of the Minister for the Overseas Territories, Mr Bellingham it was not me who reported to the Minister of their feelings about the attitude of the Governor to your Government Ministers, it was you the people.

     I think that this is a reaction to how you the people reacted.

    My People the Government that you elected on the 15th of February continues to function and serve this country.

    We will have a public meeting this Saturday night at Freedom Park across from the Airport.

    Please come out

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  4. Someone is lying to us. Which of these two men have a history of lying to the people?

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  5. WHAT?!!!

    What the Chief Minister was suggesting amounted to a negation of democracy - that two people, the Governor and Chief Minister should effectively overturn the will of the people as expressed just seven months ago. The people elected four members of the AUM to form a Government, and three other members to form the Opposition."


    So how then does he explain the new coalition government in the United Kingdom?

    (Anguillian)

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  6. For the person who is implying that Hubert Hughes has a history of lying I would like to ask you what do you know about the Governor’s history.

    I believe that both parties are being economical with the truth but you can draw a picture of what transpired by looking at the similarities in both stories.

    The Governor said ‘I in turn raised concerns about other Ministers. I suggested that any re-shuffle should also take account of these concerns.’ Hubert said ‘the Governor then said to me that in any event I needed to dismiss Mr Evans Gumbs and Mr Walcott Richardson immediately.’ Obviously the Governor must have said something to that effect.

    The Governor said he did not ask Hubert to resign and Hubert said the Governor did ask him to resign. WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH ON THIS ONE? Like most neutrals (someone who don’t support the AUF or AUM) I believe that the Governor in his meeting might have advised Hubert or suggest to him that it might be best to resign and called fresh elections if he wants to make Jerome a Minister in his Government.

    What I really have a problem with is this statement from the Governor:

    ‘What the Chief Minister was suggesting amounted to a negation of democracy - that two people, the Governor and Chief Minister should effectively overturn the will of the people as expressed just seven months ago. The people elected four members of the AUM to form a Government, and three other members to form the Opposition.’

    That statement above is troubling. What does the Governor know about the will of the people and nowhere in our constitution there is mention about political parties? We don’t elect the opposition or a government we elect representatives of seven districts and the Governor chooses the person out of the seven who he thinks commands the majority in the house to be Chief Minister. The portfolios are then selected by the Governor under the advice of the CM.

    (Taken from the Constitution)
    Appointment of Ministers

    24. (1) The Governor, acting in his discretion, shall appoint as the Chief Minister the elected
    member of the Assembly who, in his judgment, is likely to command the support of a majority of theelected members of the Assembly.

    (2) The other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor in accordance with the advice of
    the Chief Minister from among the elected members of the Assembly.

    Assignment of responsibilities to Ministers

    27. (1) The Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Minister, may, by directions in writing, assign to any Minister responsibility for the conduct (subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of any other law) of any business of the Government of Anguilla including responsibility
    for the administration of any department of government

    This is no time for us to be excited about the prospect of a duly elected government being dismantled or thinking about going back to the polls in just seven months. By the last statement above the governor is saying that the ADP/AUM government in 1994 – 1999/2000 should have never happened and that Belto (ANSA) should have never been able to join the AUF in 2005 – 2010.

    As far as I can see in the last general elections the people of Anguilla had the wish (judging from the results) for the AUF to go and for Hubert to be CM.

    I don’t support Hubert but the Governor is totally out of place on this one.

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