While Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming expressed pleasure at Tuesday’s press conference with the continued strides at the Viceroy Project, where he said over 20 Anguillian contractors and over 200 Anguillian workers are employed, he was hopeful about the re-starting of the Flag Project.

Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming and Hon. Evans Rogers

“This morning we just came out of a meeting relating to the Flag Project,” he told reporters. “Needless to say how concerned we are getting this project back on stream. It must start if we are to survive…Recently, and up to this morning, we have been told about the number of persons who are now being laid off in Anguilla...We are told that there a number of persons at Cap Juluca who are on work permits. A number of those names have been given to the Labour Department advising us that these people will be laid off first. In other words, if there is any laying off situations, Anguillians must be the last to go. Everybody understands that. This is not going to be an isolated to Cap Julucans alone. There will be a number of places in Anguilla which will continue to lay off and we are impressing upon them that whatever happens, make sure that Anguillians are employed.”

The Chief Minister was concerned that a number of people in Anguilla seemed unaware that the island was encountering serious times. “It seems to me that people are making a joke of this situation,” he went on. “The record is showing that month after month, the economic situation on Anguilla is getting worse. I speak from a Government standpoint because I see the figures everyday. We realise the revenue is not flowing; the hotels are not faring as they suppose to and in Cap Juluca’s case, they have cut their rates by 50% and there are a number of hotels that are laying off people. It just shows that things are getting more and more difficult… and a lot more persons will be laid off and will have to work shorter weeks and days.”

Mr. Fleming, who is building the economic hopes of Anguilla on the Flag Project to a large extent, continued: “We have been trying over and over to ensure that we put some mechanism in place to see to it that the Flag Project starts. If and when this project starts, it will definitely boost the local economy and jump start the growth that we need. The re-opening of the golf course would create immediate new jobs, boost tourism throughout the island…and once money begins to circulate at this project, everybody will benefit.” He said that when construction work resumed it would also ensure new jobs and that on completion between 600 and 800 permanent jobs which the Government would like to see, in 2010, would be created. He said that, contrary to rumours, the Government’s interest in the project had nothing to do with politics or elections.

Mr. Fleming, returning to his well known phrase, said that the signs of the re-staring of the Flag Project showed that “there was light at the end of the tunnel.” He was of the view that the situation with Flag appeared to be getting better and better every day. “This is good news for everybody in Anguilla, and we only hope that things will go according to how they looking.” He added that he wanted to be sure that when a statement is made, “it is sound and coming into being.”

The Chief Minister wants to see more Anguillian participation in the project, like taking over certain aspects of the golf course and like operating the restaurant there. He regretted the unavailability of jobs in Anguilla, with a number of Anguillians and foreigners out of jobs, one of the reasons why we have to get the Flag Project back on stream.

Speaking on behalf of Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, who was not at the press conference, Mr. Fleming had this to say: “The financial position of Anguilla continues to limp. What I mean is the revenue is not performing as it should and so we are spending more than we are receiving; and the question is how long can this continue. To that end, next week I hope to give you a list of the austerity measures that will be taken by the Government to ensure that we remain in a position to pay our civil servants.” He said he was holding a meeting later in the day with owners of all properties rented by Government to ask them to give “a discount” as he, one of the property owners, had done. He also said that civil servants must also give “a discount.” He was certain that all the people in Anguilla understood that there was a need to make a sacrifice in order to keep the island moving.

The Chief Minister reported that the European Union had assured the Anguilla Government that some budgetary aid [probably four million US dollars] would be available to the island during the course of the year. He said he told the EU representative that Anguilla had never accessed money for agriculture and fisheries and he advised him that we, the Government, would start to look in that direction. “I am strongly of the belief that we - all of us - should now begin to use our leisure time to engage in backyard gardening,” he stated.

Minister of Social Development, Evans Rogers, said the money from the European Union for Anguilla was already approved. One of the other matters discussed was alternative energy, using solar and wind power rather than dependency on foreign oil. He was very hopeful following the meeting with representatives of the Flag Project and was looking forward to its continuation and completion.

Mr. Rogers said he was pleased to have been invited by the University of Technology in Jamaica to make a presentation there on Thursday this week, on behalf of the Past Students Association, for one of his former lecturers who would be honoured on that day. “I feel very honoured and privileged to have been asked to make the presentation,” he said. He and Fitzroy Tomilinson, another past student, now Festivals Coordinator in Anguilla, have both been invited to the occasion.

He was pleased to have had the opportunity to attend an Open Campus meeting of the University of the West Indies in Grenada. The Minister, who is a member of the Open Campus Council, representing the Anguilla Government, said he was delighted that the island was being looked at very favourably in terms of extending the university’s local centre and acquiring additional lands elsewhere on the island for the project. According to him, Anguilla is among the first group of islands where an extension is anticipated and, among other matters, the university is intimately involved in the establishment of the Community College.

Mr. Rogers referred to the report on school violence which was recently submitted by a Task Force set up by his Ministry. He said that the next step was to implement the recommendations and an effort was being made to have this done by an implementation team yet to be selected.He observed that work was in progress on expanding the human resource capacity for the Juvenile Centre. In other matters, he said the Water Lab was soon to be commissioned.

He also spoke of several activities in the health sector including a consultant who gave a presentation on gastro-enteritis in children which was an attempt to keep local physicians, and other persons working with the Health Authority up to date with regard to the changes taking place in the medical and healthcare industry.

Mr. Rogers mentioned a visit from an orthopedic surgeon from St. Maarten to discuss the possibilities of sharing services between the two islands which would be a useful for Anguilla. Another helpful matter was a medical education workshop, on Thursday this week at Paradise Cove, dealing with enhancing cardio-vascular risk management for patients with hyper-tension and other health problems.

In another matter Mr. Rogers said there was one confirmed case of TB among the expatriate construction workers. That person has been isolated and is being treated.

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