For us here in Anguilla with leadership responsibilities we will no doubt continue to have another very difficult and challenging year ahead under the existing financial and economic circumstances being experienced globally. However, during these difficult times what is a fundamental necessity, is sound, steadfast, visionary, selfless, humble, realistic and pragmatic guidance through conscious and stable leadership in every segment of our society and especially in the leadership of government business – which I am afraid is absent in Anguilla at this time.
2010 has passed and the election results are a reality. What is also a reality is that the present Administration is confused, disunited, disorganized, disoriented and desperate. The AUM Government lacks the cohesion, stability, ability and leadership qualities that are required to deal with the difficult financial and economic situation that Anguilla, like the rest of the world is experiencing…. The evidence is quite clear and indisputable. Since Feb 15, the Leader of Government Business/Chief Minister Hubert Benjamin Hughes, the most senior member of the House of Assembly has been blatantly using the attack and blame game at every Press Conference, meeting of the House of Assembly and every time that he opens his mouth. Until recently he has used the same sound bites repeatedly – that Anguilla’s economic situation is not as a result of the global situation but because of:
a) Corruption of the past AUF Government
b) Mismanagement of Government funds by Victor Banks and the entire AUF Government
c) Lack of oversight of the poor governance of the AUF by the British Government
The same sound bites are being echoed by many of his passionate and should I say at times unthinking and irresponsible supporters, by his yes men and henchmen, hangers on and political advisers. Neither Chief Minister Hughes, nor any in the circle with which he has surrounded himself has taken the time to communicate to the people of Anguilla his and their plan and strategies for turning Anguilla around economically and socially.
I need to remind you fellow Anguillians that Mr. Hughes specifically stated that he had a plan, but that he would keep it secret and hide it from the people during the election campaign and would only reveal it after he was elected to office and took over the Government. Today, almost eleven months after being elected to Government Mr. Hughes is yet to come back to the people and lay out his plan, the plan he has kept secret up to now. If he cannot reveal his plan, and if he does not, he should be and must be held accountable to the people of Anguilla.
Mr. Hughes and his team had a field day beating up on the AUF Government for over a year before the elections and during the eleven months of his AUM Government. We have all heard Mr. Hughes loud and clear on how terrible the AUF has been in running the administration of Anguilla. Now we want to hear what his plans and strategies are that were promised all of us. We want to see how he intends to do better than the AUF and we want to keep score for ourselves, not to just take it from him. Mr Hughes, you are not God whose word is always true. Mr Hughes You are human like the rest of us and full of errors and weaknesses like people everywhere. So it is time for you to lay out your plan and strategies for your term in office and let us judge it for ourselves; let us keep score as you implement it; and the people of Anguilla will be able to compare the performance and the accomplishments of your Government with those of the AUF Government,
But no, Hubert Hughes has failed. He has failed to reveal his plans, and his strategies to accomplish those plans. Or is his plan to drag Anguilla into independence so that he can go down in history as the first Prime Minister of an independent Anguilla? Or Is it to propel Anguilla into independence before our people understand the opportunities and the major risks and potential pitfalls of going into independence unprepared and without having a good understanding of what it entails?
Mr. Hughes has given absolutely no indication as to what his government’s plans are to revive this economy, except to continue to accuse the British Government of obstruction and preventing him from jump starting the Anguilla economy. But what is his jump starting plan? We are all left to wonder and to guess. Is it to tax the people of Anguilla left, right and centre, when he accused the AUF of planning to tax the people and vowed that he would not do so? He repeatedly use the phrase “you cannot tax a dead economy”. Is it to take the AUF’s investment and growth strategy and programmes that was put together to take Anguilla forward up to 2025? This is the programme of which the Cap Juluca project is a part. This is the Programme of which the Flag-Temenos Project is a part. Viceroy, which has saved the day for us in terms of employment generation, exists today because of the AUF’s vision in crafting a long term luxury tourism led investment, growth and economic development plan and strategy.
So what is new that Hubert and the AUM are bringing to the table? We the people must demand of Hubert and the AUM to know and to be told. I hope it is not what we have experienced over the past eleven months – the creation of an atmosphere of political instability, creating conflict with investors when there is no justification for such conflict. -Creation of a fight with the British governor, Overseas Territories Minister, the Secretary of State and the British Government as a whole - Accusing the AUF of destabilizing his Government; trying to cause the Hon. Victor Banks to put down his pen and stop offering valuable comments, I could go on and on. But more on that in the future. As part of my presentation on the 2011’ Budget, I emphasized the importance of – Style, Attitude and Approach to life in general, but more so, in leadership. How important it is in Leadership in this ever changing and dynamic world in which we are living.
Fellow Anguillians – there is nothing new from the Chief Minister in his reflection of 2010 but the same old Attack, Blame game, war of words with the Governor and British Government and now preparing for a Bloody British invasion of Anguilla. Our Chief Minister makes the following statement in his year end reflections and comments on 2010 and I quote:
“Regardless to what foot of the politics we are on, we have to forget the party politics, bind ourselves together to fight because I am not fighting for me, I am fighting for Anguilla and its people and there will be another Turks and Caicos. And this situation in Anguilla will be worse than Turks and Caicos because I could anticipate bloodshed coming out of a British invasion of Anguilla. I can see it. It will not be like in 1967. That was bloodless. We defeated the British army in 1969 and there was no bloodshed, but this time, I believe, that people are prepared to die”.
What a pathetic display of ignorance, stupidity, disrespect, immature, irresponsible, misleading deceitful comments by the Chief Minister of Anguilla.
These words were no doubt said in an attempt to stir up the people of Anguilla by seeking to plant the idea in their minds that the British intention is to “invade” and take over “Anguilla”. If this is so we must demand of Mr. Hughes that he produces the evidence.
Fellow Anguillians we must ask the Chief Minister what are his reasons are for making such statements about Anguilla’s similarity to the Turks and Caicos Islands. I refuse to believe that Mr. Hughes is ignorant of the facts surrounding the British Government’s suspension of the Turks and Caicos constitution. I refuse to believe that he is not aware of British policy towards Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories. I refuse to believe that this is an innocent display on his part of the disrespect for the intelligence and ability of the people of Anguilla. This is an immature, irresponsible, misleading and deceitful display by the Chief Minister. There is no comparison when it comes to the operation of our political and governance systems, apart from both being Oversees Territories. It is an insult to all Anguillians at home and abroad and those of us who have served and/or have been elected to political office in Anguilla to suggest or to imply that politically Anguilla’s experience and performance closely resembles that of the Turks and Caicos Islands and that the destiny of Anguilla will be the same as Turk and Caicos Islands.
The time has come for all of us, if we have being doing so, to stop accepting what Mr Hughes says as gospel., while doubting everyone else. Mr. Hughes has been caught lying repeatedly for his word to be believed. And in this new year we must hold him to the truth if he is capable of such. We must require him to produce the evidence every time that he makes a claim and manufactures a story and presents it as if it is the truth.
Fellow Anguillians we should all hold our Chief Minister and his colleagues accountable to the people of Anguilla for the truth. No more tell tales, no more imaginary wars of independence, no more political destabilization of our Anguillian society to hide the inadequacies of his government and blaming his weaknesses and failings on everyone else.
The irresponsible political rhetoric that he continues to utter at every opportunity he gets has caused a great deal of uncertainty and instability within his Government…. “one of my Ministers was taken away from me and he himself admitted to certain people that the Government would not last more than three months. My government was destabilized by the British for no other reason only that Britain wants another Turks and Caicos in Anguilla. This is the Leader of Government Business and Chief Minister of Anguilla making these comments about his own Government Ministers…….
Fellow Anguillians we must ask ourselves the following questions, ‘Why did Britain invade Anguilla in 1969?’ ‘Why would Britain invade Anguilla at this time?’ Is it because of the political instability and uncertainty within this administration as confirmed by the Chief Minister? or is it because of the incompetence of the Chief Minister and his team who seem to have no apparent ideas of how to deal with the current economic and financial situation or is it the monotonous political rhetoric and the inciting of violence as echoed by the Chief Minister?
The situation in Anguilla calls for an atmosphere of patience, understanding, peace , partnership and mutual respect between ourselves and Britain. Not threats of revolution, violence and bloodshed. We have struggled long and hard and without bloodshed to reach the status Anguilla now enjoys. While we desire to press forward toward greater self-determination, we must do so the correct way so that our deeds and history would not condemn us in the final analysis. We need to look beyond the charges and denials of the past year in particular, to better days of collaborative partnership and the forward movement of Anguilla from its current state of affairs……we need to engage the British Government in a civil, intellectual, respectful and mutual dialogue as it pertains to all aspects of the Anguillian situation. This I am afraid, will not be accomplished with the style, attitude and approach of our present Chief Minister.
Mr Hughes needs to take a new and different approach with the British. I hope he does. It must not and it cannot be the “same ole! same ole!”. The 21st Century demands fresh and innovative ideas and strategies, not the mimicking of 20th Century anti-colonial mobilization and violent independence struggles that were sometimes necessary in the 1950’s, 1960’s and as late as the1970’s. The Chief Minister seems to think that the world has stood still for 40 years. I am afraid fellow Anguillians that I may be hoping in vain for a new and different approach from the Chief Minister. And in the meantime Anguilla’s progress will be slowed.
We were told, among other things on several occasions by the Chief Minister that the British Government was insisting that the civil service be reduced by as manyas 400 individuals before the 2011 Budget can be assented to by the British Government--- WHERE IS THE DOCUMENTION to support this claim?, Where is the evidence? Is this a reality or is this an attempt to instill fear in the hearts and minds of the Civil Servants???? WHERE IS THE DOCUMENTATION to support such a claim!!!!!??
His Excellency the Governor On January 6th 2011, in a Press statement, indicated that quote“..the British Government has not (not) indicated that it seeks to impose a particular budget settlement, or a particular level of reduction in expenditure or in the numbers of the public service..”
Fellow Anguillians, Who is telling the truth? Where is the evidence from British Government to the Chief Minister demanding that to up 400 civil servants be sent home? If such a document does not exist, then I would suggest to you the people of Anguilla that the purpose of making this claim is in fact only intended to scare Anguillians and try to muster up support for “independence”.
Fellow Anguillians we have heard about the call for Independence for Anguilla ---- and while we as Anguillians must prepare ourselves for independence eventually, there must first be a plan and time table for such action. An Independent country is one that can conduct business and international trade, declare war and conclude peace, make its own laws and have its own government. Once independence has been achieved, a country does not rely on another to help run its government. The question to ask ourselves is “are we there yet”? Are we, at this moment, at this particular time, truly ready for independence? There are many questions that , must first be answered. And you the people of Anguilla must not be afraid to ask those questions and DEMAND the answers from our Chief Minister who is leading the independence call.

Again what is the purpose of this call at this time??? Is it because the Chief Minister and his team are incapable of confronting the challenges that are before us and believe that in an Independent Anguilla these challenges would disappear?. Will an Independent Anguilla mean that we will not have to pay taxes. Will an Independent Anguilla mean that we would not have to borrow? We must demand, that the Chief Minister explains himself. We cannot afford to go along with anything out of ignorance. We must demand transparency from the Chief Minister on his sudden call for independence in the middle of the budget stand-off with the British Government
We have a number of independent countries around us, are they better off than us, don’t they have the same challenges that we have? How are they dealing with their economic and financial challenges? Two Caribbean independent countries now stand 3rd and 6th of the top 10 countries in the world in the measure of Government Debt to GDP. A number of our independent neighboring countries must satisfy tough IMF and World Bank requirements before being able to access funding from those institutions especially the IMF. Those countries must also adhere to the implementation conditions and time tables imposed on them by the IMF and the World Bank as prerequisites for accessing funding/loans. If Anguilla is to go Independent will these requirements be waived for us to access such funding? And if such funding is granted to Anguilla would our debt be cancelled or would we have to repay our loans?
Fellow Anguillians, Independence is not only a state of mind, but the preparatory work must be done in order for us to be able to maintain our independence. Let us not be fooled into believing that an independent Anguilla would be immune to what is happening globally. Another smoke screen by the Leader of Government Business and CM of Anguilla.
There is nothing wrong in being a strong leader, but we must indeed have strengths and know where our strengths lie, how to conduct ourselves and that to be humble does not mean to be weak or faint hearted. On the contrary, it means to be statesmanlike and a great and respected leader. Unfortunately our Chief Minister does not conform to this. What he considers to be the hallmarks of strength is dictatorship. Mr. Hughes has stated on a number of occasions that benevolent dictatorship is good. What is benevolent dictatorship? Be warned fellow Anguillians! This independence campaign the Chief Minister is now on could be a move to establish a Hubert Hughes dictatorship in Anguilla, and a Hubert Hughes dynasty with Papa Hughes ( at least one segment of the population calls him “Papa”) and Baby Hughes. He has stated that Anguilla will become just like Haiti. Will he be the “Papa Doc” of Anguilla. Who will be the Baby Doc?
Civil Servants be on your guard, Hubert Hughes has long argued that the Civil Service should be under the realms of the Ministers of government. Within the last ten months he raised this again when he wanted to fire certain civil servants and was prevented from doing so. I hope you all see that an independent Anguilla under Hubert Hughes will put every civil servant’s job at risk.
Based on their present attitude to governance, he and his ministers will no doubt fire every member of the civil service whom they believe is getting in their way by not doing what they are told to do. Again Civil servants I warn, be careful in what you wish for. I am sure you all are aware of what happens in other neighbouring independent islands where the civil service changes every time government changes. Today the talk of firing 400 civil servants may be fabricated, but under an independent Anguilla with Hubert Hughes at the head, the likelihood of being fired is real. There is no telling what a dictator would do.
Where there is no wisdom the people perish says the good book. We must insist that the Chief Minister and his team bring the full weight of wisdom to their governance of this country and replace bluster, rhetoric, emotion and rabble rousing, noise and threats with thoughtfulness, analysis, creativity and innovation, the art of reasoning and negotiation; replace arrogance with humility, ego and preoccupation with “I” and concentrating power in his hands with selflessness and a genuine belief in “we” and rendering the best service to the people of Anguilla. He must replace lies and false claims with truth and facts backed up by evidence that cannot be denied.
The Chief Minister must settle down and get to work. The Chief Minister must tell us what his secret plan and strategies are. He must show that he is capable of real and genuine work on behalf of the people, must show that his AUM has ideas and is not simply relying on the unfinished plans, programmes and strategies that the entire AUF Team left behind when we left office in February 2010.
Fellow Anguillians we all wait to be pleasantly surprised by our Chief Minister. Let us try to hold our breath until he brings something to the table that is original, fresh, creative, innovative, realistic and above all is good for Anguilla. We wait to see an end to political, rhetoric, lies and falsehoods and to see genuine transparency based on truth, facts and analysis implemented by the Chief Minister and his colleagues. We wait to hear him explain how he can justify imposing the degree of taxation on Anguilla that he has, when he vowed not to do so and constantly insists that “you cannot tax a dead economy”.
We wait to see Mr. Hughes stop putting up political “smoke screens” and using political “smoke and mirrors” to deceive the people of Anguilla.
We wait to see the Chief Minister take responsibility for the actions of his government and to see him run a responsible and effective government in the interest of Anguilla.
I hope that we do not have to wait forever.
Fellow Anguillians, thank you for listening.
And may God’s richest blessings be with us throughout 2011 and the years to come.

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