SAME OLE KHAKI PANTS

Every three years or so, as the time approaches for the rotation of the governor, there is much speculation and discussion on what can be expected of the new governor. Some are concerned as to whether he will be personable while others focus on what difference, if any, will be forthcoming in British Policy towards the island as a result of the rotation. Well, we did not have to wait very long to see that the recent rotation will not have any noticeable change in British Policy.

It is now very clear that the British remain focused on their international obligations and scant attention is being paid either to how these obligations impact the island and, more importantly, how they intend to address their constitutional obligations to Anguilla. In his news conference on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, the incoming Governor, H.E. Alistair Harrison CVO, made clear that his priorities were in relation to defence, external relations, internal security, good governance and the oversight of financial regulation. However, most if not all of the news conference dealt with the need for additional regulation to address the concerns of the G20 nations and the OECD. The news conference was most noteworthy for what it did not say.

The governor’s news conference stressed ad nauseam the need for Anguilla’s financial services industry to be well regulated. He further noted that it will be a good thing for Anguilla to be compliant in that it will attract business away from other jurisdictions that are not well regulated. The truth of the matter is that Anguilla has always been a well regulated jurisdiction. As a matter of fact long before the governor set foot on the island there was, and continues to be, significant public and private sector cooperation in addressing the new mandates required by the OECD.

Given that there is no argument against or resistance to regulation of the financial services sector, it was surprising that nothing was said as to how the British government will assist Anguilla in promoting its financial services industry. Although the government has identified the financial services industry as a key component of the island economy, it is still less than 5% of the GDP. For years, the Anguilla Financial Services Association (AFSA) has sought to have the government establish ANGUILLA FINANCE, an organisation dedicated to the marketing and promotion of the financial services in Anguilla. Such an approach has been very successful in Guernsey, Channel Islands, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands and Bermuda to mention a few. This idea has received scant support from the British. It would be a good start for this governor to address this concern given that Anguilla has and will remain a well regulated jurisdiction. This will at least demonstrate that the British Government is not only interested in focusing its international obligations to Anguilla but is also engaged in supporting the marketing of the jurisdiction. This is the kind of much needed partnership that the island awaits.

There was also a deafening silence as to how the new governor intends to address the serious decline in our security. For several years we have witnessed this decline and its concomitant effect on our tourist industry. Given that tourism is responsible for over 90% of our GDP, it would seem that internal security for Anguilla should take on the same urgency shown to terrorism by the British Government. Yet the island remains saddled with out moded and dysfunctional internal security apparatus, ill equipped to deal with modern day criminals. As this area is not only a listed priority of the governor but a constitutional one, we need to hear clean and bold initiatives on how this situation will be addressed. In light of the depressed state of our tourism industry, we can ill afford one visitor who is deterred from coming to our shores for fear of being impacted by crime.

Finally, while he did not specifically list this as a priority, not one word was said as to his responsibilities on matters related to finance. To be sure, this is an obligation placed on his office under Section 28 (2) (a) of the Constitution. It is no secret that the whole world has been impacted by the global financial meltdown. As a matter of fact this state of affairs which the proposed regulations are seeking to address was brought on by the greed of institutions in the very G2O countries who now seek to further regulate our financial services and by their own lack of regulation of their own institutions. It would have been encouraging if the governor announced some policy initiatives to provide financial support or stimulus to counteract the severe impact of the global financial crisis on our government and financial institutions. I am not talking about a handout since our own government is already undertaking its own initiatives but do not have the kind of resources to adequately address the situation.

It is my hope that this rotation of governors will bring about a demonstrated change in policy that is based on shared goals and mutuality of obligations. Not only must we always have to bear the brunt of the imposition of these international obligations but also that there must be a demonstrated effort by the British government to live up to their mandated constitutional obligations. If we cannot achieve that then some may say that the change of governor amounts to nothing more than the same ole khaki pants.

Keithley F.T. Lake,
Anguilla

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