Government Ministers
Chief Minister’s Office
The Secretariat
The Valley, Anguilla

Honourable Gentlemen:

On Wednesday last, September 28, 2005 a town hall meeting was called at West End providing the citizens of West End, as well as other concerned Anguillians, an opportunity to offer an opinion on the “Physical Planning Bill” which had received two readings in the House of Assembly.

It must be noted here that this said meeting was convened in lieu of the meeting previously organized by you, the Government, to have the Anguillian public participate in a consultative manner to discuss the “Physical Planning Bill” as well as the Labour Code Bill, 2005.
Let it be recorded that your scheduled meeting was CANCELLED at a rather short notice and within the same breath you were respectfully notified of not only our shock and horror at such cancellation, but that a meeting would be convened at which your presence was demanded to allow the people of West End the same opportunity that the rest of Anguilla was afforded.
This communication, Honourable Sirs, is not to be construed in any way as to embarrass the Government of Anguilla in any form or fashion that may place it at a disadvantage of not being able to treat the people of Anguilla with the respect they deserve. On the contrary, its sole purpose is to register with you the sentiments of the said meeting as expressed by the cross section of Anguillians present and offer you several options of redressing the offensive behaviour of not serving the people as you manifest to do.
It is given that there is no transparency, no accountability, no respect and no proper governance when our elected officials only want portrayed such disrespect for the community of West End and the Anguilla public in general.
Consequently the West End community at this town hall meeting of September 28th, 2005 furnishes the following resolution:
a) whereas the Government of Anguilla instituted a series of consultative meetings throughout the country, and
b) whereas the said consultative meetings came to an abrupt halt without true and just cause; and
c) whereas the said people of West End have been denied the right to express their views on the said pieces of legislation in question; and
d) whereas West End is considered to be the Mecca of the country’s tourism industry; and
e) whereas we consider West End to be poised to suffer severely by such poor and bad legislation based on the diverse matrix of its economic and physical development;

Be it resolved:

I. that the people of West End and indeed the people of Anguilla shall neither rest nor slumber until the elected representatives of the people give an account of such legislation and what are the benefits to be derived by the people of Anguilla from the said legislation;
II. that the bills in their present form be withdrawn from the legislature and more sensitive and sensible legislation be drafted to reflect the economic and cultural heritage that is so unique to the identity of the Anguillian way of development;
III. that when the new draft is presented the process of consultation may genuinely be engaged so that Anguillians feel truly a part of the decision-making process;
IV. that the people of West End be respected and be treated as equal citizens of the nation and not be made to feel as second class citizens in the country where they live and for which they would die without thinking twice.

In conclusion, the West End Community would want to encourage you to expedite as soon as possible a favourable response so that the healing of the nation may commence and the injury inflicted through your callous judgement to cancel the consultative meetings may not result in irreparable damage.

Please accept Gentlemen our sincere wishes.

Leslie V. Richardson

Calvin Richardson

(The West End Community)

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