Editorial

The sentencing by the High Court on Monday this week of an 18-year-old to life imprisonment, the ultimate punishment under the laws of Anguilla for murder, sends a strong message to young people who are engaging in acts of violence on the island.

When there are such achievements in a society like prosperity embodying lucrative economic development, an abundance of money, full employment and good living, people usually lose their focus on other important matters. In Anguilla today, ours is a bustling society and there appears to be little time to seriously look at other parts of the equation which are necessary to complement many of the strides we are making in various areas of life.

Alas, the days when revolutionary leader, Ronald Webster, with clinched teeth and determination of purpose, bluntly told British officials “I’m not taking that,” appear to be over. Those were the times when Anguilla claimed with much success that it had a special case to argue and Britain bowed in acknowledgement. But what about these days when constitutional reform and devolution of power to elected representatives are on the lips of many people in the Overseas Territories? Just how much leverage is there for us in Anguilla?

Cap Juluca has long been regarded as the flagship of the island’s up-market tourism industry. Conversely, its 400-odd staff, almost entirely Anguillians, have been praised for their sterling commitment to duty and service par excellence. And yet there have been no other workers in Anguilla who have had to endure so much uncertainty and frustration at the workplace than they.

We are in the last days of 2007 and on the threshold of 2008, haunted by some of the problems that made us to be concerned and fearful during the closing year, and apprehensive about what may be lurking over our heads in the coming and unknown year.

The front page story presents much evidence of the phenomenal economic growth of Anguilla over the years. When one considers the many financial and development opportunities still looming ahead and within our grasp, the island appears to be set for a rosy and enviable future.

Anguilla was among the lucky islands in the Caribbean to have been spared the ravages of the 2007 hurricane season which officially ended on November 30 and, unfortunately, one has not really heard much thanksgiving here that none of the storms came our way.

The current 40th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution is one of those high points from where we can survey some of our accomplishments and look at a number of challenges facing us as a small developing nation and how we can go about meeting them head-on. The theme of our present Tourism Week, “Managing Change”, is a well-thought out slogan.

Anybody who attended Tuesday’s meeting at the Anguilla Tourist Board at which there were overviews of achievements during 2007, a market review and the dissemination of other pertinent information, could only have concluded that the various presentations provided much food for thought.

The Anguilla Social Security Board is to be complimented for hosting yet another National Development Conference. It is the third so far and has had as its theme: “Anguilla at 40, A Self-Evaluation: Conversations on a Blueprint for Tomorrow.” The theme has basically been hinged on the 40th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution and while it presented opportunities for an analysis of what has been achieved, it held out some very useful suggestions of what should be the island’s achievable goals in the future, leading to the further empowerment of the Anguillian people.

The late Premier of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Robert Bradshaw, once said during the 1967 Anguilla Revolution that one reason he could not allow the island to secede was because “it held the key to the economic development of the entire Associated State.” Apart from its world-class beaches and tourism potential, Anguilla was then in fact a poorly-treated and grossly-dominated sister island which had inherited the embarrassing description as “a backwater of the Caribbean.”

If there is an achievement that the people of Anguilla should be proud about, apart from their 1967 stunning Revolution, it is the success story of the island’s Social Security system. In fact both the Revolution and Social Security (the latter of which was introduced some 14 or15 years later), are inseparable. They are a kind of “Siamese twins” having a tremendous impact on the development of Anguilla and the lives and wellbeing of its people.

It is with a deep sense of concern and horror that the editorial column of this newspaper views not just the continued robberies in Anguilla by armed and masked bandits, but the new sophistication, aggravation and ruthlessness, with which they are being carried out.

The creation, staffing and financing of a fully-developed Department of Sports in the Anguilla Public Service can only produce some very positive results for the island and its people. These include youth development, the harnessing of their energies into productive areas, educational and other opportunities, the improvement of the social wellbeing of the island in general, as well as the promotion of good health stemming from involvement in various sporting activities.

At times we cannot but reflect on the old Anguilla and where it was especially over the past forty years and where it is today. Take for example the 1967 situation when the world heard about a rebel island which, quite illegally, tore itself away from a Federation and Associated State of three islands and appeared to be adrift in the Caribbean on an assumed course of self-determination.

The above is part of a statement found in the Bible as readers of the Holy Writ would quickly observe. It appears to be a prophetic declaration tied to the advancement of knowledge among young men down the corridors of time and certainly inclusive of this present period.

This week Tuesday senior officials and other personnel in the Ministry and Department of Education were engaged in the Annual Review of the Education Policy and Plan for Anguilla.

It was just in May this year that Anguilla celebrated the 40th Anniversary of its political and constitutional revolution which, by the help of the Almighty, brought much economic development and a high standard of living to the hitherto impoverished “backwater of the Caribbean.”

The recent shootings and the death of one young man as a result, just a few days before the start of the Summer Festival, have caused much concern in Anguilla and has been an assault on law and order.

Just when many people were about to raise some questions, the Ministry of Social Development announced on Tuesday this week that there was some movement with respect to the implementation date for the National Health Fund.