Chief Minister, the Hon. Osbourne Fleming, prefaced his weekly press conference on Wednesday, expressing thanks to the Government and people of Trinidad & Tobago for making available a fire truck to the island following the loss of the domestic fire-fighting vehicle. That vehicle was put out of commission when it overturned on the Little Dix road while travelling to the scene of an accident in the Shoal Bay area.

L - R: Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming, Hon. Victor Banks and Hon. Evans Rogers

“We had inquired of a number of islands in the region for assistance and we were very happy to receive a positive answer from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and also the US Virgin Islands,” he said. “Lucky for us, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago came through before the Virgin Islands, but we were also promised support from the US Virgin Islands. It just shows that we are not living in a world unto our own and we have an obligation to be very close to our neighbours.”

Mr. Fleming brought to the attention of the reporters marriages of convenience on the island, a matter that he said must be carefully looked at. “We are in the final stages of the work at Viceroy and a number of Indian workers are going back home every week as the project comes to an end,” he stated. “I want to issue a word of warning to the women of Anguilla. I get criticised, but I am not concerned. I believe that I have an obligation when I see certain things happening. A number of Indians who love Anguilla are in the pursuit of marrying Anguillians, and I have cases before me, with no other intention, I feel, but to facilitate their stay here. I am warning the people of Anguilla to be on the lookout.”

He said that he was then investigating a very serious case and that there were others. “I warned about marriages of convenience and exactly what I am saying is happening,” he added. He advised that while there might be some genuine cases, he was certain that there were other cases which could eventually hurt the island’s women.

The Chief Minister referred to the motions passed in the House of Assembly recently to borrow money to meet the island’s dire financial requirements. He disclosed that during the next two or three days the Government would be meeting with officials of the local banks of Anguilla. “The motions were passed and the results are in the hands of the British. I got a call today from the Cayman Islands and I was told that the Leader of Government Business there, who is experiencing the same or worse problems than us, is at present in England… to see if the British would understand the problem that they are in,” Mr. Fleming stated.

“We have dispatched to London our financial position and we have told them that…we will not be able to meet our commitments at the end of September. This is the Gospel truth. We believe that we need to sensitise our people to the fact that this can happen. We are hoping that by tomorrow (Thursday) we will have some word from them.

“Let me reiterate what we have been saying. We are not asking the British Government [and taxpayers] for any money. We are saying to the British Government that Anguilla has been carrying its own for a number of years now. We have engaged ourselves in serious infrastructural development. We have built schools; we have provided money for scholarships and we have been able to meet our commitments on a regular basis. We are in a position as a country to honour our commitments to any bank and all we are asking them for is the right to borrow money to move Anguilla forward.

“If they do not respond positively, then we are facing a serious dilemma and to that end we will be meeting with local banks to explain our position to them and to see what help we can get. The British Government is aware that come the end of September we might not be able to meet our commitments.”

The Chief Minister appealed to all persons and companies in Anguilla owing the Government money to recognise the position it is in and to pay all, or part of any outstanding debt they may owe.

Responding to critics, Mr. Fleming asserted that the Government was not holding back the Flag project for votes. “If this Government is going to rely on doing something like that for election, we should resign right now,” he said. “We believe that if progress comes to Anguilla, irrespective of what time it is, it should be implemented.”

Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, who explained the purpose of the motions passed to enable the Government to borrow money, said the Government had informed the Minister for the Overseas Territories about the prospects for economic and financial projects, money owed to the Government by the European Development Fund and a range of strategies the Government was embarking on to meet the island’s needs and borrowing ability.

“If the Government of Anguilla is not able to borrow those sums of money…, we will be in a very dire [position]. It is the only option available to us. We cannot see any reason, given the arguments, why the Minister should unreasonably withhold signing off on these borrowings,” he pointed out.

Mr. Banks continued: “We reserve the right, as elected officials in Anguilla, because we represent the people of Anguilla. We were not elected by the British Government neither was Chris Bryant elected by the people of Anguilla so it is our responsibility to ensure that we sort out the issues here in Anguilla.”

Mr. Banks said the British Prime Minister in a number of presentations had pointed out that in the difficult financial environment there was a need to make unusual interventions to ensure that the British Government was able to withstand the impacts of the recession. The British Prime Minister had stated that it was necessary to do borrowing and increase spending to facilitate a recovery. “We had hoped that the same solution they have employed to deal with the present situation…would be looked at in a similar way when it came to Anguilla,” Mr. Banks reasoned.

Minister of Social Development, Evans Rogers, dealt with a number of matters related to the island’s health services, the procurement of medication for the health facilities and insurance issues which will be reported on later.

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