I extend a warm welcome to Governor Andrew George and to his wife when she joins him later. May they have a most rewarding and pleasant stay among us. They will, indeed, because of Anguillians’ love for British Governors. An aberration was when Governor Alan Shave (an atheist) rode his bicycle, perhaps inadvertently, through a Palm Sunday parade.

For that and other reasons, the then Chief Minister Hubert Hughes told a public meeting that Shave “only needed a tail to be an ass . . . British men don’t carry tails, either in front or behind, but he is an ass!” That incident caused Shave to lose the respect of many among Anguilla’s Christian community.

That aside, Anguillians do love British Governors and, apart from general elections, the biggest event in our political calendar is the arrival or departure of Governors.

Months before a Governor arrives all the headline news is about him. And then he is welcomed with open arms and with pomp and ceremony. It is the same thing with his departure. Month by month before he leaves the airwaves are jammed with news surrounding it. There is no space for other local events. They take second place, if they are aired at all. Our newspapers provide similar coverage. His every action, be it flying over the island in a helicopter or taking a boat trip around the island, provides colourful photographs for our newspapers. Their news – from front page to back page – is all about the Governor. In the meantime there are farewell parties, lunches and gift giving in galore. Finally, people turn out in their numbers, at Wallblake Airport, many shedding tears as they kiss him goodbye.

And if that isn’t love
Then the ocean is dry
There’s no stars in the sky
And the little sparrows can’t fly. . .

The reason for such deep affection for Governors I do not know, but I often wonder whether it has anything to do with them being the Queen’s representatives. Many Anguillians, like Albert R. Lake for example, would lay down their lives for her. Their attachment to the Governor is strengthened by the fact that association with him is viewed as an avenue to upward social mobility. In this regard, they look upon invitations to functions at Government House as an honour and as a status symbol. No invitation to a function in Anguilla carries as much significance as one to a function at Government House.

Governors are so revered here that they are sometimes seen as the giver of all things bright and beautiful. Kenneth Harrigan, a minister of government, told a political meeting (2000) that “we must learn to respect the Governor of this island. After all, that is the man who will bring tea at our table.” As long as a Governor was doing that, Kenneth did not mind letting him have his way because, in his words (2000): “If you are paying my way, I could stoop low and let you chat shit till morning!”

Our reverence for Governors is indeed entrenched and our political leaders, and Anguillian people as a whole, so believe in them that they seem not to be able to do anything unless it has their blessings. Even the simplest of activity must involve the Governor. I have long made the observation that if we open a public latrine or a chicken farm, we are not happy unless the Governor gives the opening speech. If we plant a tree we are not happy unless the Governor helps to dig the hole and sprinkle some water on it.

Most certainly, a Governor’s involvement in the sphere of responsibilities of ministers undermines our confidence in them as leaders. His involvement portrays him as leader and the ministers as followers. His profile is raised and that of our ministers diminished to the detriment of our political development. Regrettably, our leaders seem not to have grasped that fact – the fact that by involving the Governor in matters which are their responsibility they diminish their standing in the eyes of their people and nurture the perception that only the Governor could govern.

Our political leaders’ standing is also diminished regionally. There are occasions when they are invited to certain events overseas but do not to feel at ease unless the Governor is at their side holding their hands. The Chief Minister, for example, appears not to realise that when he takes along the Governor the spotlight is on the Governor and not on him. It is in his interest, and that of his ministerial colleagues, that when going on such trips which do not concern the Governor, they should leave him at home and seize the opportunity to show the world that Anguillians have leaders who are capable of representing them and ready for greater autonomy. When they tag along with the Governor, it is first place for him and the relegation of our Chief Minister to second place and to sitting in the shadow of the Governor.

In this day and age our leaders should so manage their affairs that they neither sit nor walk in the shadow of Governors. They need to cast their own shadows. They should cast it on the Governor in ways that tell him that their position and power come from the people who elected them to office. That was what Hubert Hughes was trying to do when he and Governor Shave had some differences over the CuisinArt project. He warned Shave: “If you stand in the way I [will] push you down and walk over you!”

Now that we have our own local Deputy Governor in Stanley Reid, to whom I extend heartiest congratulations, I hope that he tells the Governor to leave matters outside of his immediate constitutional responsibilities to our political leaders. They have to learn to do things without him holding their hands. Tell him, Stanley, not to accept their every invitation to do this or that because they must have faith in themselves – in their own abilities. I mentioned that because there are times when a Governor gets involved in certain ministerial matters not because of his choosing but by invitation because of their failure to lead.

Also tell him that he has to be careful how he exercises his constitutional powers, and stress the importance of meaningful consultation with our ministers. In this regard, you should bring to his attention this quote from a radio broadcast your father, Eric Reid, made in 1989: “The forcing through of the decision, in total disregard for the strong sentiments of the duly elected members of government, represents a callous disregard for the democratic process and is nothing short of the naked exercise of colonial authority reminiscent of the turbulent day of the post-war decolonisation era in many former British colonies . . . The refusal of [Governor Whittaker] to be guided by the expressed wishes of the ministers of government is an insult . . . ; a slap in the face of all Anguillians . . . It is a grievous insult in this day and age, eleven years before the end of the twentieth century.”

Constitution wise, things have changed little since then and I therefore make the point that the present imbalance of power between the Governor and elected representatives, as enshrined in our Constitution, must be adjusted in favour of our leaders if we are to learn to govern ourselves. Section 22 provides for the Governor to exercise, on behalf of Her Majesty, “the executive authority of Anguilla” thus making him the centre of gravity of our politics. But the time has come for the substantial shifting of that centre toward the elected representatives of the Anguillian people. I am aware that this issue is being looked at in the context of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform exercise, presently in progress, and I trust that as we look down the road towards greater autonomy we would soon see meaningful reduction in the Governor’s powers.

His control over crucial areas of government continues to create a psychology of dependence, among our people, which does not help us grow politically. Instead, it prevents us from developing self-confidence, self-esteem and self-reliance which are important prerequisites for political advancement.

It is critical that, in our preparation for ultimate self-determination, we get hands-on experience in the workings of the various constitutional instruments. This could only come about with the shifting of the centre of gravity of our politics from Governor to elected representatives. This is a matter on which we must take a single-minded stand. If there is no such shifting we will continue holding on to apron strings, and the arrival of each new Governor will continue being an admission, on our part, that we ain’t ready yet. How ironic when, only a few years ago, Hubert Hughes, then Chief Minister, wrote to Baroness Symons asking her to recall a Governor “because he was not Governor’s material.”

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