Dear Mr. Editor:

I FEAR A PORT AUTHORITY

I read that the Government of Anguilla is planning to set up a Port Authority. As I understand it, this is another decision to virtually, if not altogether, privatise an important part of the public service. The Water Department is a case in point.

I have no problem with Government privatising some services which for some reason are difficult to manage or not very profitable, with the aim of bringing about improvement. Where I am concerned is when one may find that as a result of the setting up of a Port Authority, Government and the public services lose the valuable Customs Department.

The Minister of Finance said recently, I think in delivering the Budget in the House of Assembly, that revenue from Customs amounts to 37% of the Budget. This is a really big contribution to the Treasury purse.
As a once public servant who had been ever conscious of safeguarding Government revenue, I am worried that under a Port Authority this big amount of money will slip into the hands of a private company, leaving the public purse with a giant hole in the centre which no stitching up will be able to mend.
Please give us more information on the planned Port Authority.

Name withheld at writer’s request

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