BUDGET ADDRESS 2007
“BUILDING ON OUR SUCCESSES”
Mr Speaker, fellow Ministers of Government, Honourable Parliamentary Secretary, Members of
the Opposition, other Members of the House,
invited guests, those listening via radio, television or over the
internet – good afternoon. It is my duty
this afternoon to present Government’s budgetary proposals for the fiscal year
January to December 2007.
As is the custom in the
years that I have served as Minister of Finance I will once again present the
Budget Address around a central theme. This
year after mulling over the various suggestions put forward by colleagues and
the staff within the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, Investment,
Commerce and Tourism (FEDICT) I settled on the theme “Building on Our Successes”.
It is a progression from last year’s theme which was “Managing the Challenges of Success”. It is not sufficient to simply “manage” our
successes but to “build” on them as well – to actively determine and shape the
way forward for
Mr Speaker, so what do I
mean when I say “Building on our Successes”?
Perhaps this quotation from a renowned
Mr Speaker, no one will argue
with the assertion that the well-being of Anguillians has improved many-fold
since 1967. Equally, no one will argue with
the assertion that we are paying a price in some respects for that material success.
Certainly the people of
Mr Speaker you and others
may ask what do we mean by “social reconstruction” and what are the means and
mechanisms through which it will be achieved.
In my 2005 Budget Address I began to shed some light on this when I
maintained that the practical
manifestation of a “social capital
oriented path to development” can be seen in the work of the United Nations
which for a decade now has charted the path of countries according to its Human
Development Index and in more recent times through success with achieving the “Millennium
Development Goals” or MDGs initiative. Mr Speaker, with your indulgence I will
restate some of what I said then and seek to further articulate what is meant
by social development and how this is germane to our period of social
reconstruction here in Anguilla.
As I stated in the 2005 Budget Address, the MDGs speak
to 8 goals, which all UN members have pledged, by way of a General Assembly
Resolution, to attain by 2015 in the following areas: (1) eradication of
extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achievement of universal primary education; (3) promotion of gender equality and the
empowerment of women; (4) reduction of child mortality; (5) improvement of
maternal health (6) combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (7) ensuring
environmental sustainability; (8) development of a global partnership for development. Since they are expected to be implemented
globally, and given the disparity in development globally, the specific MDGs
targets are set as minimum targets and countries are required to customize them
according to their own realities.
Therefore, Mr Speaker, it all starts with articulating
a “Vision”. You may recall that I stated
in the 2005 Budget Address that we in the Anguilla United Front have a vision of where we would like
“we envisage for the people of
But a Vision would be hollow and meaningless if there were
no concrete goals, targets and indicators for attaining that Vision. In other words, Mr Speaker, we have to “build the
architecture of our future”. So what should be the principles of this architecture,
this superstructure? We in the Anguilla United Front as a whole believe it
should be grounded in a social capital oriented path to development. Mr Speaker, I draw upon the work of renowned Caribbean
economist and scholar, Clive Thomas of
· it is
non-coercive – voluntary action rather than external rewards/punishment drives
it;
· it is humane
- it elevates social concerns over individual gains/losses;
· it is
sustainable - its time horizon is oriented to future generations;
· it is
empowering - it is not based on exploitation;
· it is
synergistic – it affects and is affected by all areas of social life;
· it is catalytic
– it is an agent of change;
· it is
mobilising – it helps to develop the energies of society;
· it is
accountable and responsible – it emphasises sharing and trust;
· it is
concerned with both development and the distribution of the benefits of development;
· its
accumulation is driven from below – because of its social character.
Mr Speaker, key terms like sustainability,
empowerment, accountability, voluntary action, mobilization, in one way or
another have been upper most in peoples minds in recent times, whether as
regards the current pace of development and the need to import significant
amounts of labour with the attendant consequences for housing and other social
infrastructure, thereby speaking to the issue of sustainability.
Mr Speaker the question also arises whether tourism
entities such as Cap Juluca should not in fact involve significant Anguillian
ownership going forward if empowerment is indeed seen to be key. Related to this is the role that Anguillians
are playing in the current development process and the distribution of
the benefits from this development.
Another principle Mr Speaker, the need for voluntary
mobilization and action to save our youth who are better off materially
relative to those from previous generations but nonetheless shows signs of
alienation and disenchantment with their lot. In this vein it is heartening to see the
Anguilla Tennis Academy, the Anguilla Football Association, the Optimists, the
Stingray Music Programme (to name a few
organizations), teaming up with Government and the private sector to mobilise
resources and expertise to save Anguilla’s youth, and so on.
So Mr Speaker, we do have a set of guiding principles,
an architecture for achieving social reconstruction, an architecture for building on our successes for the future. It is however, Mr Speaker, incumbent on us the
Anguilla United Front Government to further articulate and communicate this
message to individual Anguillians, the private sector and civil society so that
there would be the “mind-renewal” and “re-education” of Anguillians to meet the
challenges of the present and future and ensure that the Vision which I
enunciated above is attained.
As I have indicated, achieving the Vision which I have
outlined would be impossible without a Plan of Action which is articulated and
given effect in the Annual Budget, among other instruments. Mr Speaker, putting together the annual
budget is a very significant undertaking requiring efforts by many
individuals. Certainly, people in the
Ministry of FEDICT play an important coordinating role. But it does not stop there. The Budget formulation process involves the
entire Public Service running from the Department of Public Administration and the
other Departments and Ministries in between.
Mr Speaker, I would be remiss, if at this juncture I
did not mention some of the changes in personnel which have occurred at the top
of the Public Service during 2006. As
you know, Government has at long last succeeded in getting an Anguillian appointed
to the Deputy Governor post, in the person of Mr Stanley Reid, who previously
served as Permanent Secretary, Public Administration. 2006 also saw the retirement of Mr Fabian
Marcel Fahie who for so many years served as a Permanent Secretary, most
latterly for Economic Development, Investment, Commerce and Tourism. He has been succeeded by Dr Aidan Harrigan
who was promoted from Director of Economic Planning. Mr Kenneth Banks another long serving
Permanent Secretary with responsibility for Infrastructure, Communications,
Utilities and Housing also retired this year.
He has been succeeded by Mr
There were also two other Permanent Secretary
appointments during 2006. Ms Aurjul Wilson was promoted from Crown
Counsel/Legal Draughtsperson to Permanent Secretary Public Administration and
Dr Bonnie Richardson-Lake was promoted from Social Development Planner to
Permanent Secretary for Social Development.
Dr Richardson-Lake succeeded another long-serving Public Servant, Mr
Orris Proctor, who has retired. Mr
Speaker, the last two Permanent Secretary appointments referred to take us
“back to the future”, in that we have not had a female Permanent Secretary
since Mrs Countess Rey some years ago. I
am sure these two new ladies will make their presence felt because neither of
them is a shrinking violet and both are very capable.
Mr Speaker while I
am on my feet I will also take this
opportunity to thank the outgoing Attorney General Mr Ronald Scipio for his contribution to the
Government of Anguilla over the past 9 years which he served in that
position. We wish him all the best for
the future. We also welcome the new
Attorney General Mr Wilhelm Bourne on board in what will be a very trying
period for
Mr Speaker, the challenge for the local Deputy
Governor, the new Attorney General and
the cadre of new Permanent Secretaries aligned with the other experienced
Permanent Secretaries (Mr Carl Harrigan, Mr Rodney Rey and Mr Foster Rogers) going
forward is formidable.
Mr Speaker, I round out these introductory remarks of
the Budget Address by acknowledging the support of my Ministerial colleagues in
the endeavour of formulating and preparing the 2007 Budget, in particular the
Chief Minister, a former Minister of Finance.
We all know of the challenges he has faced during this past year,
challenges which he has overcome with the help and grace of God. The other senior Minister, Minister Harrigan
during this past year has been his usual indefatigable self as he sought in
particular to advance the airport, seaport and road development programmes. As for Minister Rogers, a lot rests on his
young shoulders as it is his Ministerial portfolio – Social Development – which
is the area of emphasis for this Anguilla United Front government to 2010. We are a Team
and there is little that Mr Roger’s Ministry can do if it is not provided with
the funds necessary to move forward with our initiatives. The Honourable Albert
Hughes a former minister now serving as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry
of Infrastructure, Communications and Utilities. We are making progress with formulating policies
and programmes to address the social ills at hand and with Government’s
financial situation steadily improving will be able to address them in a
systematic fashion.
Mr Speaker, we feel that this 2007 Budget facilitates
the realization of the pledge we made to the people of
2. 2006 ECONOMIC AND FISCAL
REVIEW
Permit me now Mr Speaker to undertake a review of
2.1 Economic Activity
Mr Speaker, according to Government’s official
statistics,
Mr Speaker while we must be mindful of this we must
also realise that
Mr Speaker in terms of the composition of GDP in 2005,
Hotel and Restaurants was the largest sector accounting for 31.9% of economic activity. Banking and Insurance was the next largest
sector (18.5%), followed by Construction (14.3%) and Government Services
(12.7%). These sectors grew by 15%,
3.4%, 12.4% and 1%, respectively. The
strong growth in construction is linked to robust activity in all spheres:
resort, villa, residential and commercial construction.
Mr Speaker Nominal GDP was estimated at $354.94 million in 2005.
2.2 Fiscal
Mr Speaker, fiscal performance is measured in terms of
recurrent revenue relative to recurrent expenditure, and combining this with
capital revenue and expenditure to give a picture of Government’s overall
fiscal balance.
2.2.1 Recurrent Revenue
Mr Speaker the recurrent revenue estimates for the
whole of 2006 of $139.8 million was
fully achieved by August, and is an unprecedented achievement in
Looking at the top 3 earning heads in some detail,
collections from the Import Duty (Other) revenue head in 2006 are projected to
amount to $51.5 million. This would represent a 35.5% improvement from the budget estimate of $38 million. The surging
Import Duty (Other) collections are reflective of the growth in economic
activity which as I indicated earlier is being driven by the tourism and
construction sectors in particular. Mr
Speaker, the Customs Department continues to perform well under trying
circumstances, including working for most of this year from the Treasury Department
owing to extensive renovation work at the Customs Main Office. I am happy to say that the work is now
complete and the officers should have a great working environment in 2007,
which should lead to even greater productivity.
In 2007 Government will be exploring avenues to attain European Union
funding for the implementation of the upgraded version of ASYCUDA so as to
improve the ease and efficiency with which goods are cleared and to further
improve the collection of Import Duty.
Mr Speaker, Stamp Duty revenue has surpassed
expectations for the fourth year running.
Collections amounted to: $8.3 million in 2003; $21.9 million in 2004; $18.5
million in 2005; and are projected to be $44.2
million for 2006. I think therefore
Mr Speaker that we are justified in saying that the level of Stamp Duty collections
being achieved is not “windfall revenue”
but are sustainable and due to the investment strategy which the Anguilla
United Front government has employed since coming to office in 2000. This has resulted in
And rounding out the top 3 revenue performers, Accommodation
Tax collections are projected to amount to $14.7
million for 2006. This would
represent an increase of 20.5% from
2005 collections of $12.2 million. The increase in accommodation tax collections
is directly attributable to strong visitor arrivals in 2006, particularly of
the all important stay-over visitor category, which is expected to increase by 12.7%
from the 2005 figure of 62,084 to 70,000 in 2006.
Mr Speaker while the Anguilla United Front government
is pleased with the increased revenue performance every year since 2003, we
will be building on our successes
and ploughing ahead with the revenue objectives established in our 2005
Manifesto in order to raise the revenue required to deliver on the social
development and other objectives of this government.
2.2.2 Recurrent Expenditure
Mr Speaker, recurrent expenditure is projected to
amount to $146.3 million in 2006
compared to the budget estimate of $125.1
million. Increased subventions to
the Health Authority of Anguilla, the Anguilla Tourist Board, the acceleration of other programmes in the
face of stronger than expected revenue performance and the payment of increased
salaries and pensions, accounted for the over-expenditure.
2.2.3 Recurrent Balance
Mr Speaker, Government’s recurrent surplus for 2006 is
projected to be $35 million. This would be the third year running that
Government would have recorded recurrent surpluses in excess of $10 million, $22.7 million and $17.0
million were recorded in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
2.2.4 Contribution to Fiscal Reserves
Mr Speaker in 2006 Government continued to
aggressively put money aside into fiscal reserves as a safeguard against the future. Some $18.64
million were put into reserves this year.
Reserves are some $34.73 million
in total, well ahead the $24.05 million required to meet the
target of 60 days of recurrent expenditure for 2006. Mr Speaker, it is the goal of the Anguilla
United Front Government to build on our
successes in this area and to have $40
million in reserves by Anguilla Day 2007.
We thought that this would be quite fitting given that on May 30, 2007
2.2.5 Capital Expenditure
Mr Speaker, capital expenditure for 2006 is expected
to top out at around $45.6 million. Expenditure on air transport sector
development has again led the way with $10 million anticipated by year end, as
Government continues with the implementation of its Medium Term Air Transport
Sector Plan (MTATSP), covering the period 2004 to 2008. The MTATSP has been endorsed by the European
Union which has pledged Euro 9.09
million (approx US$11.7 million)
in support under the EDF 9 programme.
These proceeds will be used to partly repay the US$15 million which
Government borrowed to undertake the runway, terminal and associated expansion
in 2004. And, Mr Speaker, I am indeed
happy to report that on November 28, we received the first tranche of these
funds – some US$4.5 million. It has
taken a long, long, long time – some three and a half years - but we extend our
gratitude to the European Union nonetheless.
Other major areas of expenditure have been: seaport
development ($9 million); road
development ($8 million); ALHCS
Campus B Auditorium ($965 thousand);
and Health Services Development ($851 thousand). Mr Speaker we as a Government are especially
proud that we are on the verge of completing the Campus B Auditorium. It was a project which languished in the lean
years between 2001 and 2003. With the
improved financial situation over the past three years Government has been able
to devote funds towards its completion. As
a multi-purpose facility it will provide
a venue for the hosting of the Performing Arts section of the secondary education
curriculum and community events in general.
Mr Speaker, this is just one example attesting to the fact that the Anguilla
United Front Government is indeed serious about its pledge to focus on social
reconstruction and social development, particularly in the area of youth
development. `
2.2.6 Overall Balance
Mr Speaker, the “overall balance” is simply the
recurrent balance, less contribution to expenditure on capital. The recurrent balance for 2006 is expected to
be about $35 million. Reserves of some
$18.6 million were added during the year and the principal repayment on loans
during 2006 amounted to $8.9 million. As
a result, there were some $8.1 million available for capital expenditure from
the surplus generated. Capital
expenditure is projected at $45.6 million and this means that there was a
financing gap of $37.5 million. This was
financed through loans as follows: $21 million in new borrowing in 2006 plus
$16.5 million from a combination of under-expenditure on existing loans and the
positive overall balance brought forward from 2005.
2.2.7 Public Debt
Mr Speaker, the Public Debt of the Government of
Anguilla at the end of November 2006 stood at $91.18 million. Of that
amount $22.40 million remains to be
repaid from the $40.5 million borrowed from Scotia Bank International to
finance the runway, terminal and associated expansion in 2004. The UK Government, with whom the Anguilla
Government, like other UK Overseas Territories, has agreed Borrowing
Guidelines, does not count this bridging loan in
Government Guaranteed debt held by ANGLEC, the
Anguilla Development Board and the Anguilla Tourism Board, stood at $15.79 million as at the end of
November 2006. Of ANGLEC’s and
Development Board’s debt, only 20% is counted in government’s total public debt
and in the case of Anguilla Tourist Board, 50%.
Mr Speaker, using
Given its existing level of debt the UK Government in
its recently concluded 2006 Economic Review of Anguilla concluded that the
Government of Anguilla had room to borrow at least $20 million in 2007.
2.3 Private Investment
Mr Speaker, as you may recall on October 27 of last
year Government imposed a moratorium on major new foreign tourism resort/resort
residential projects the specifics of which are as follows:
a. No announcement of new foreign direct investment
(FDI) tourism projects for a period of 20 months from November 1, 2005 – i.e.,
until July 1, 2007.
b. No sale or pre-sale of real estate components
associated with new FDI tourism projects for a period of 20 months from
November 1, 2005 – i.e., until July 1, 2007.
c. No construction associated with new FDI tourism
projects for a period of 30 months from November 1, 2005 – i.e., until May 1,
2008.
Mr Speaker, as I indicated in the 2006 Budget Address,
there were two primary reasons behind Government’s decision to impose the
moratorium:
i.
to
carefully manage the development of the economy to achieve long-term
sustainability and to prevent over-development;
ii.
to
provide local Anguillian investors the time and space to undertake developments
themselves.
Mr Speaker, despite the scepticism which followed the
announcement I can state that no new major FDI tourism projects have started
since the imposition of the Moratorium last year. At the present time the only new major FDI
tourism projects that are underway are the St. Regis-Temenos project at
Merrwying and the Viceroy project at
Mr Speaker, Anguillians have responded to the favourable
market circumstances and are attempting to get projects going. The Gumbs family of Rendezvous Bay Resort
have been in discussion with Government for sometime now about an expanded
project. Government will shortly reach
agreement with them on their project.
Such a project will set the example for other Anguillians. We will be
setting the bar quite high in terms of best practice.
Other local projects which are underway, somewhat
below the radar, include the Royale
Caribbean project being spear-headed by Mr Quincy Gumbs and family and the
Sheraton Estate Villas being undertaken at Maunday’s Bay by Mr Sheridan Hodge. Given the importance which this Government
places on ownership and empowerment of Anguillians in the tourism industry it
is vital that such local projects succeed.
Finally, Mr Speaker, the Moratorium serves as a tool
of macroeconomic management. The United
States Government through the Federal Reserve system has at its disposal
monetary instruments with which it can accelerate or decelerate the economy, as
required. In
2.4
Social Security
Mr Speaker I now switch
focus to an institution which plays a tremendous role in
Mr. Speaker, these funds are
to meet the System’s future liabilities - the retirement benefits of the
working people of
Mr. Speaker, the Social
Security Board is therefore both a guardian and mobilizer of national savings
and has the potential to have a huge impact on
Mr Speaker, overall, the
Social Security Board and Fund is in great shape. This is thanks to the great job that the
Director, Mr Timothy Hodge, and his staff have been doing, ably directed by the
various Boards of Directors over the years.
As the Board goes into 2007 I believe the slogan which has been chosen
for its 25th Anniversary Celebrations says it all, and I quote, “Social
Security: 25 Years of Achievement, A Lifetime Commitment”. Social Security is indeed one of those
institutions which is providing the architecture of our future.
2.5
Overall Outlook
So, Mr Speaker, we need to
monitor inflation. With high commodity
prices being imported we are required to slow down the economy to contain the
inflationary pressures. This can be done
by further extending the moratorium on major new FDI tourism projects and
carefully staggering the implementation of the local projects. Above all else we must be cognisant that the
seeds of the future are being sown now and we have to take decisions which are
in the best long-term interests, irrespective of the fact that they might not sit
well with certain interest groups.
That, Mr Speaker, completes
my review of the economic and fiscal situation in
3.
PROGRESS WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF ECONOMIC, FISCAL AND OTHER STRATEGIC POLICY
OBJECTIVES FOR 2005 – 2010
3.1 PROGRESS OF ECONOMIC POLICY
OBJECTIVES
Mr. Speaker, the overall strategy guiding the
Government’s development thrust simply stated in my 2005 Budget Address is to:
“increase
investments in the social sector, while maintaining robust economic growth and
transformation”.
Economic growth since 2004 not only has been robust,
it has threatened to deteriorate into uncontrolled growth, fuelled by massive
foreign direct investment in luxury tourism.
Uncontrolled growth would spell the end of the strategy of low volume, high value luxury tourism.
It would greatly multiply our social development challenges and cause resources
to be redirected from social re-construction to satisfy the infrastructure
requirements of the foreign tourism investment “gold rush” fuelling the
growth.
Mr. Speaker, this would shut out Anguillian investors
from investing in the luxury tourism sector, defeating a pivotal objective of
the Government to encourage and facilitate substantially increased Anguillian
investment in the sector. Foreign
investors would acquire the coastal and other lands having the highest tourism
potential, effectively surrounding Anguillians in the interior of the
Key economic policy responses considered to stem this
dangerous trend towards runaway growth and increased inflation, with ensuing
social costs, include:
1)
the investment
moratorium referred to earlier;
2)
gradual
implementation of large projects approved since 2004 over extended periods from 10 years and
upwards;
3)
discouragement
of large foreign tourism direct investment proposals for new sites;
4)
preferential
consideration of projects by Anguillian investors going forward over projects
by foreign investors;
5)
facilitation
as a priority of proposals for the redevelopment of defunct and underperforming
hotel projects;
6)
restriction
on the number of alien landholding licenses issued for stand alone villas and
small villa projects for rent and for vacation and retirement homes;
7)
expansion
of the Labour Department’s role and the Ministry of Labour’s in regulating and
managing the labour shortage;
8)
research
on the labour needs of the economy over the medium term, and making appropriate
recommendations;
9)
careful
scrutiny, by following established due diligence procedures, of investors in
luxury tourism and vacation residential real estate, hotel operators and hotel
brands to ensure that the principals, their strategic partners and their
proposals are consistent with the applicable Government policies and laws and
to avoid developers whose business models, strategies and philosophies are
inconsistent with the aspirations, policies, laws and regulations of the
Government and people of Anguilla; and
10)
development
of an investment policy statement and drafting of legislation and regulations
to give effect to the policy statement.
Mr. Speaker progress on our economic policy objectives
has been mixed. Government’s has
targeted for 2005-2010 an average annual growth rate of 10%. In 2004 GDP growth was 16.4% and in 2005
10.9%. The reduction in the growth rate
in 2005 is a positive sign. However, the
economy in 2006 has experienced severe labour shortages, necessitating an
unprecedented increase in the number of work permits issued. Reluctantly,
Government has permitted the Temenos-St. Regis and the Viceroy projects to set
up labour camps of imported construction workers to assist them in addressing
their current labour needs. The rest of
the construction sector and the economy in general also face severe shortages
and have little recourse but to seek workers from overseas.
Temenos-St. Regis and Viceroy will require a large increase
in the tourism workforce to service them. Where will these employees come
from? Inevitably, labour will have to be
imported to fill a significant number of the jobs that will be created. The
natural increase in the Anguillian labour force cannot supply all of the
personnel required to operate these two large properties. At the same time, the construction sector will
continue to experience growth as other projects already approved are built.
It appears, Mr. Speaker, that the volume of investment
already approved over the next five
years is more than we can comfortably absorb.
As a result, most of the benefit of the excess expansion in the economy would
additionally flow abroad to foreign capital and labour. The social costs of this excess expansion
would be significant and would be borne by the Anguillian society. Additional new investment could potentially
worsen the situation, unless appropriate policies are employed to strike a
balance between tourism, construction
and the other sectors.
The question facing the Government, in light of this
scenario, is whether an average growth rate lower than 10% should be targeted. The Ministry of FEDICT will continue to assess
this issue and report on it during 2007.
The reduction of the average growth rate to a more
manageable level would also allow us to slow down the rising rate of inflation
that has appeared in the past two years, especially in 2006. It would
help us to avoid an oversupply of Anguillian luxury vacation residential real
estate products. It would also reduce employment pressures,
slow down the rate of increase in the importation of labour, improve the
implementation of immigration policy and enable more resources to be allocated
to the improvement of the social sector.
3.2 FISCAL POLICY OBJECTIVES
Mr. Speaker, this Government has made exceptional
progress in 2006 in pursuit of its fiscal policy objectives for 2005 –
2010. I am extremely pleased to report
that:
·
Recurrent
revenue will substantially exceed the Estimates as it did in 2005;
·
A
large Recurrent Surplus is again projected for 2006 – some $35- million;
·
The
contribution from Recurrent Surplus to Capital Expenditure in 2006 is well over
the target of 20 %;
·
Government
Reserves stand at $34.7 million, achieving the minimum target of 90 days of
Recurrent Expenditure two years ahead of plan;
·
Government’s
fiscal management is steadily improving with the development of the Inland
Revenue Department and strengthening of the Ministry of FEDICT and the Treasury
Department;
·
Financial
programming has been improved especially with the appointment of a Debt Officer
and implementation of the debt management system and with the appointment of a
Budget Officer and the move towards Programme Budgeting with the 2007 Budget.
Mr. Speaker we will build on our success in advancing
our fiscal objectives in the period 2002 to 2006. We will further strengthen the increasing
fiscal sustainability, self-reliance and autonomy of the Government in 2007
by:
1)
continuing
to aggressively implement existing revenue measures and maximizing the
collection of revenues;
2)
enacting
the enabling legislation to give effect to the new tax measures incorporated in
the various Memoranda of Agreement between the Government and developers;
3)
amending
the legislation to extend the Tourism Marketing and Development Levy to the
tourism allied services and the broad spectrum of businesses that directly
benefit from tourism;
4)
completing
the planning for a Property Tax Reform Project to be approved in 2007 for
implementation in 2008;
5)
increasing
fiscal reserves to at least $40.0 million in 2007;
6)
enacting
legislation to enable the Anguilla Government to raise treasury bills and bonds
on the ECSE and other markets;
7)
implementing
a National Health Insurance Fund and Social Development Fund;
8)
implementing
a Disaster Emergency Reserve Fund;
9)
implementing
the provisions of the Insurance Act on to posting deposits with the Government;
10)
developing
the policy on taxation to mitigate the impacts of major projects and preparing the enabling
legislation; and
11)
preparing
and implementing a new three year fiscal plan 2007-2010 for stable and
sustainable fiscal expansion to replace the stabilization plan of 2002-2004.
3.3 DIVERSIFICATION AND BALANCED GROWTH
Economists, Mr. Speaker, characterize the Anguillian
economy with its dominant tourism sector as a one sector model. In “building
on our successes” we must commit in 2007 and over the long term to reducing
our dependence on tourism. Mr. Speaker,
ample opportunities exist to diversify within tourism itself and at the same
time foster the growth of commerce and support cultural and social
development. The
Unique ventures have been conceived by enterprising
individuals including the Anguilla Music Production and Publishing project in
alliance with Kamique Villas, the Shoal Bay (Villa and astronomical)
Observatory, the St. James School of Medicine (offshore medical school), and
the Almenara Project at the Searocks combining luxury villas and an integrative
healing centre for cancer survivors.
The financial services sector has begun to take
off. Government is committed to
significantly increasing its allocation for the marketing and promotion of the
financial services sector. It requires
that a satisfactory mechanism, is put in place.
Government will decide on the mechanism to achieve significant and
sustained growth as a result of collaboration between the Financial Services
Association (AFSA), the Ministry of FEDICT, the Financial Services Commission
and the Companies Registry.
Opportunities have also increased in the other sectors
of the economy and the Government will continue its policy as far as possible of
reserving opportunities in these sectors principally for investment by
Anguillians. The Anguilla Development
Board (ADB) has received a significant injection of loanable funds from the
Caribbean Development Bank to support small and medium scale ventures among
other projects. Government will continue
in 2007 to strengthen the ADB and to undertake the necessary reforms to convert
it into a full fledged development bank.
The commercial banks will also be encouraged to increase funding support
for innovative ventures.
3.4 ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Mr. Speaker, the awareness of the Anguillian
community, has been significantly raised recently to the centrality of
Anguillians becoming more economically empowered in their own country. I wish to remind us all, that the economic,
social, political and cultural empowerment, in short the total empowerment of
the people of
Anguillian governments over the years have advanced
the cause of the economic empowerment of Anguillians. Empowerment as it relates to the sale of Cap Juluca is
essentially no different from the sale of the Bank of America Branch in 1985
that resulted in Anguillians purchasing the branch and growing it into the
National Bank of
Mr. Speaker in 2003 this Government resisted pressure
from the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE) to open up the
Government’s sale of its Anglec
shares to unrestricted purchase by nationals of the OECS and instead limited
purchases by OECS nationals to 10%. This
was motivated by our commitment to ensuring ownership by Anguillians of
critical and strategic industries.
Mr. Speaker, in 2005 the Government reached agreement
with the KOR Group and its strategic partners in the Savannah Bay Development
Project for not less than 20% of the shares in the venture to be made available
to Anguillian investors. Furthermore,
Mr. Speaker, the KOR Group agreed that Anguillians would have the first
opportunity to purchase the Sile Bay Hotel section of the project after ten
years.
The people of Anguilla directly and through their
institutions possess the wherewithal to purchase significant ownership stakes
in some of the luxury tourism ventures, which are expected be quite profitable
as real estate ventures. The growth we
are now experiencing will put our people in even stronger positions to acquire
part ownership without starving those other projects earmarked for 100% or majority investment by
Anguillians of domestic investment capital.
3.5 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Economic development is inseparable from social
development. As stated at the beginning
of the section, our commitment in part is to “increase investments in the social sector”. The impacts on society of the economic growth
now in full swing will be enormous and greatly increased resources will be
required to combat the negative impacts.
Major social policy responses in health going forward
include:
1) continuation of the programme of
institutional strengthening and quality improvement of the Health Authority of
Anguilla;
2) continuation of the institutional
strengthening of the Ministry of Health in policy development, regulation and
monitoring of the health care system;
3) expanding the HIV/AIDS education,
prevention and intervention programmes;
4) establishment of the National Health Fund
to create universal access to health care; and
5) improving and expanding facilities and
programmes to achieve effective coverage of the mentally ill.
Priorities in Education include:
1)
establish
of the Community College already started in 2006;
2)
expansion
of individual financial assistance for tertiary education and training through
the Government’s Training Vote;
3)
improvement
of the learning environments in the primary and secondary schools through major
enhancements to the physical facilities including refurbishment of existing
facilities, a major addition to West End School and development of new school
premises for the Island Harbour Primary and the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive
School and replacement of the Education Department’s offices; and
4)
ongoing
strengthening of the management and administration of the school system.
The area of social and community services, youth,
sports and culture has been least provisioned with resources over the
years. In partnership with the private
sector and civil society, major strides are beginning to take shape in the area
of sports development. Much more needs
to be done and more resources need to be allocated to sporting development to
make a difference among all of our youth.
Government is fully committed and this is reflected in the 2007 budget.
The Ministry of Social Development was expanded
significantly in the past two years in the area of social and community
services with the establishment of the Department of Youth, Sports and Culture
and the Probation Department. It has now
been disaggregated into two separate departments to improve efficiency. However, these agencies have yet to make an
impact on the social development challenges.
Government will ensure that there is inspired and visionary leadership
in these departments and at the Ministry of Social Development and that they
are on the front line of the battle against social dislocation and decay,
delinquency, crime and violence.
Mr. Speaker, we have to shift more of our inspired,
skilled and competent human resources, wherever they are found in the public
service to planning, supporting and implementing the initiatives in the social
sector. This does not mean that they would
displace personnel in the Social Development Ministry. It means that they would be available to put
their skills and capabilities at the disposal of their colleagues in that
Ministry, especially in areas such as project planning and implementation. That trend has already been started with the
appointment of the Comptroller of Inland Revenue, Mrs. Gecheal Richardson-Gumbs
as Project Manager for the National Health Fund project.
A poverty assessment project has been agreed by the
Caribbean Development Bank to be carried out in
The need for a general levy to fund major additional
social development interventions in education, social and community services,
youth, sports and culture is under consideration concurrently with the Health
Insurance Fund project. The views of the
public will be obtained on this as on the Health Fund before a final decision
is taken on the direction to take.
3.5 LAW AND ORDER
Law and order has been neglected as a component of the
social sector. Traditionally, it has
been regarded as part of the legal and security infrastructure. With the increasing significance of criminal
conduct in the society and the need for increased prevention as well as
investigation and prosecution of crimes, the emphasis on increased investments
in the social sector must also include increased investments in the law and
order apparatus of the Government, including the police, probation services,
prison service and the courts with an emphasis on prevention and interdiction
of crime and rehabilitation of offenders.
4.
PROVISION OF RECURRENT EXPENDITURE 2007
Mr Speaker, in our personal lives our expenditure is
constrained by our wealth, income and ability to secure additional financing
from the appropriate institutions that now exist in our country. We strive to prioritize our spending so that
given our budget constraint, we can maximize satisfaction. That was a little Economics 101, Mr Speaker,
and the approach of government is no different to a certain extent. The difference is that the government has a
role to play in the satisfaction of all who are domiciled in
We have a demanding public service which has grown
over the years both in numbers and productivity and though our service still
has a long way to go, I can say Mr Speaker that it is on the right track. As I mentioned earlier a number of our senior
civil servants have retired over the last year and I will again take this
opportunity to thank them and say that our expenditure on you was well
spent. We have a new generation of
leadership emerging in the public service who now have the responsibility of
overseeing the adherence to prudence, accountability and transparency in our
expenditure as a whole and I am confident that they will be up to the
challenge.
Then, we also have a sophisticated public to serve and
they accept nothing less than service which is out of the top drawer. Mr Speaker, over the last few years, the
government has been dedicated to improving the quality of service that is
offered to the people and these improvements have a cost. However, there are no regrets because
although there will be hiccups here and there, the quality of service offered
since the turn of the twenty first century is leaps and bounds ahead of what
was offered previously.
You see Mr Speaker, the Government of Anguilla is
transforming the way we approach expenditure and revenue. Our experiences in this regard provide us
with meaningful lessons which are going to serve our public officers in a manner
that will be professionally and personally enhancing. We began the process of
program budgeting in 2004 and at first the consensus was that progress was
extremely slow. However, my senior officers associated with the project have
indicated that because of the transition process involved in moving from line
to program budgeting, the progress while not great is at least
satisfactory. The budgeting process has
become more inclusive and the discussions on recurrent expenditure have changed
from “The Ministry of Finance will cut us anyway” to “What can we do together
to produce a balanced budget.” Mr Speaker about half of our departments were
able to produce business plans for fiscal year 2007 and that in itself is a
significant achievement. 2007 will be a
critical year in the transition process from line to program budgeting and the
Project Steering Committee for the implementation of program budgeting is
confident that come 2008, the transition will be complete.
However, Mr Speaker, I must touch on an issue which is
on the minds of all present here today and indeed all well meaning people in
this country. We are concerned with the
upsurge in crime and what amounts to disrespect for the rule of law by some who
reside among us. Criminal acts are
dramatic and get the headlines, but be reminded Mr Speaker that the vast
majority of us are law abiding citizens who must have confidence in law
enforcement. I will give more details
about our plans for law enforcement but for now it will suffice to say that law
enforcement is one of our top priorities at this time.
I will not address every nuance of government’s planned
recurrent expenditure for 2007. Apart
from being a small revenue source, we print
Budget Estimates of Recurrent Revenue, Expenditure and Capital as a
source of information for the public to take a detailed look at what our plans
are for the coming year. Through this
medium I will highlight the most significant areas of recurrent expenditure as
planned for 2007 and encourage you to peruse the document mentioned previously
to gain the full perspective on how the Government of Anguilla approaches its
recurrent expenditure.
I must reiterate what I have said over the years that
the Government of Anguilla does not spend frivolously. Expenditure, recurrent and capital,
ultimately is geared towards enhancing the lives of the people. Bearing that in
mind, we plan to spend 25.5% more in 2007 on the recurrent expenditure side of
the budget than we planned in 2006 moving from $125.126 million to $157.101
million.
Mr Speaker as I mentioned earlier, this year saw the
appointment of the Honorable Stanley Reid to the post of Deputy Governor. This is the first time that one of our own
has been appointed to that distinguished position on a permanent basis. Mr Speaker, ladies and gentlemen, this does
not constitute a major expenditure item as such but it does contribute to our
history and is a reflection of our development as a people in this emerging
nation. The establishment of the office
has financial implications for the Government of Anguilla but we are confident
that it will be money well spent.
I spoke briefly before about the criminal element that
is present in
However, the time has come for us to upgrade all
aspects of the Royal Anguilla Police Force and this must be done because we are
serious about zero tolerance of crime.
Mr Speaker, we want to make policing an attractive career option for our
young men and women with appropriate promotion opportunities and pension
plans. That for the most part explains
the 38% increase in the recurrent
expenditure plans of the Force moving from $6.305
million in 2006 to $8.713 million in 2007.
Mr Speaker, I thought that those two preceding items
warranted special mention and I will now proceed to look at the various
ministries which are responsible for the delivery of government sponsored
programs and services.
HE the Governor
The increased expenditure under the Governor’s Office
is dominated by increases in Public Administration, Disaster Management and as
discussed before Police.
Mr Speaker, we have no choice but to assist in
training of our young and if the truth be told not so young people in order for
them to be able to compete on a personal and professional level in the work
market. Most importantly we want our
people to be productive and have the ability to deliver under pressure which
certain situations will demand. The
Training account of Public Administration dominates the 53.3% increase in planned expenditure moving from $6.377 million in 2006 to $9.781 million in 2007.
The natural disasters in our region are mainly
hurricanes and it is now common knowledge that our luck ran out in 1995 when
after 35 years we were hit by a major hurricane, the infamous Hurricane
Luis. We cannot forget Hurricane Lenny
in 1999 and the floods which that brought.
We came out of those situations with flying colours is and as we improve
our planning processes, we do not want to leave disaster management up to chance. Hence there is a 49% increase in the planned recurrent expenditure moving from $582 thousand in 2006 to $871 thousand in 2007. In the case of disaster management, it is not
so much the amount of expenditure that is earmarked for it but the importance
of the outcomes that it can produce in times of need.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Mr Speaker, this Ministry indicates that there is a 37% increase in the planned allocation
for Immigration moving from $1.850
million in 2006 to $2.535 million
in 2007. Mr Speaker, the Immigration
Department is important to us. We
welcome many people to our shores in a variety of capacities ranging from
visitors to those seeking Anguillian citizenship and we need to ensure that we have
the staffing and the environment that would facilitate the provision of these
services.
Ministry of Finance, Economic
Development, Investment, Commerce and Tourism
Mr Speaker it is not often that either the Finance or
Development sections of my Ministry will take second place to another unit
within the Ministry but in this case I will lead off with Tourism. (Nominated
member - Tourism will certainly not object)
The planned subvention for the Tourist Board has
increased by 11.5% moving from $7.856 million in 2006 to $8.758 million in 2007. It is important that we keep the image of
The Customs Department also has its role to play in
upholding the laws of
The Ministry of Finance as a result of internal
discussions has decided to regularize the management of national debt and remove
it from the Treasury Department to the Ministry of Finance where the Debt Unit
resides. This partially explains the 79% increase in planned expenditure for
the Ministry moving from $10.298 million
in 2006 to $18.443 million in 2007.
Ministry of Social
Services
Mr Speaker we are trying to move the provision of
health services into the modern era both in terms of the number of services
offered and the quality of service. The
Health Authority which was charged with that responsibility is still in its
growing stages and the government is willing to continue to fund this statutory
body probably not to the extent that it would like, but still at a level which
will promote growth of the institution.
As result the subvention to the Health Authority has increased 12% moving from $15.164 million in 2006 to $17
million in 2007.
I spoke briefly before, Mr Speaker, about alternative
sentencing and the biggest strides in that direction is in probation
sentencing. We recognize that the majority
of first time offenders have no intention of living a life of crime but may
need to be given a chance to correct their initial mistakes and head down a
path of prosperity. We are trying to
further advance probation sentencing by increasing the allocation to this one
year old department by 142% from $440 thousand in 2006 to $1.066 million in 2007.
Ministry of Infrastructure
The Department
of Information, Technology, and E-government Services (DITES) is moving from
the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Infrastructure. I wish the Ministry good luck in coming up
with another acronym to replace MICUHAF now that DITES is a part of the
Ministry. The Ministry of Finance wishes
DITES all the success in the world and though it is somewhat saddening to lose
one of the units which originated with us, DITES is going to the right place.
Mr Speaker, the budget Section of my Ministry wishes
me to convey through this medium its sincere appreciation for the approach and
the tone which the recurrent expenditure side of the budget now experiences in
the budget preparation process. It
augurs well for the future.
5.
PROVISION OF RECURRENT REVENUE IN 2007
Mr Speaker, the revenue
budgeted for 2007 is $174 million. This
is 25% more than the revenue budgeted for 2006.
The revenue budget is cast against realistic projections in revenue with
some revisions in tax rates including one reduction and some small increases in
a few of the revenue subheads.
Mr Speaker in my 2005 Budget
Address I noted the strong performance in Customs Duties Other and predicted
that it would continue in 2006. I am happy to report that this was the case and
many of the budgetary projections were surpassed by the end of November 2006.
The 2007 Budget continues to reflect this strong performance of Import Duties
Other. This is expected to continue as a
result of the rapid economic growth we are experiencing with the increase in
foreign and domestic direct investment.
The major hotel projects are fuelling the economy, resulting in local
investment in services, trade and commerce as well as private home construction
further contributing to the robust performance of Customs duty.
Property Tax will be
reformed in 2007 and new rates will be in place for the 2008 Budget. The Resort Residential Asset Levy (RRAL) will also be in place for 2008, when the
Temenos St Regis Hotel and residences will open , construction of which is
slated to be completed at the end of 2007.
Mr Speaker, this is will be an
example of Government adapting to the new dispensation as regards the
development of tourism projects and ensuring that Anguilla can compete in this
new environment.
Based on known and
anticipated projects, we have increased the estimate on Stamp Duties from $20
million in 2006 to $30 million for 2007. It should be noted that Stamp Duties
has yielded over $40 million thus far for 2006. As
Mr Speaker, the
Environmental Levy is now yielding significant revenue for the Government of
Anguilla. In addition to the amount
collected from ANGLEC, an amount representing the yield from US$3.00 per round
of golf played will be collected during this first full year of the operation
of the new Temenos Golf Club. Mr
Speaker, building on our successes
means that Government has to always ensure that development occurs in a
sustainable manner. Fees from the
environmental levies will be used to re-invest in the protection of Anguilla’s
environmental assets – its beaches, its coastline, its reefs – as these are the
very basis of
Keeping on the environmental
sphere, we will be increasing the Noise Pollution Charge introduced in last
year’s budget from $100 to $268 per aircraft operating with jet propulsion.
Mr Speaker, the Tourism
Marketing Levy was implemented earlier this year. This tax was implemented to raise US$1.00 per
day from each room occupied by visitors with a matching contribution from the
hotelier. If no visitors came, then no
tax was expected. This tax was to partly
offset the significant investment in tourism promotion that is benefiting all
hotel owners, workers and the economy as a whole. It was implemented from April 1, 2006 and
will take full effect from this new tourist season. The Tourism Marketing Levy
is expected to yield of $1.6 million in 2007.
Mr Speaker, the annual
licence fees paid by restaurants were lower than that paid by a bakery as an
example. Consequently, an amendment to
the Trades, Business and Professional Licences Schedule will be implemented to
provide for new licence fees under this act. Under the new arrangements, a
mobile restaurant will pay $1,000.00 per annum under the Business Licences
Act. A restaurant located at a Hotel,
Villa or Guest House will pay $3,600.00 per annum. Other hotels are divided into those that
offer local/ Caribbean cuisine and others offering international cuisine. They will pay $1,200.00 and $2,400.00 per annum
respectively. Restaurants will still be
required to pay their licences under the Liquor Licences Act.
Mr Speaker you will note
that significant investments were made in sea port improvements in the last few
years. Much of this was financed from
loans that have to be repaid. An increase
in departure tax by sea from EC$8.00 to EC$13.50 will be implemented to
facilitate the repayment of the loans. This is a US$2.00 increase for
passengers departing from any of
Sticking to transport, Mr
Speaker, we can all appreciate the improvements to our road networks. We are scheduled to spend close to $10
million this year alone on road development and improvements. We all appreciate that the most damage that
can be inflicted is by the use of loaded containers on the road. To this end, a Container Road Fee was implemented
in 2002 to assist in providing funding to repair the roads as they become
damaged. Some exemptions were granted to
“less than Container Load (LCL)” containers that were based primarily in
And now Mr Speaker, some
good news. It is often said that
governments hardly ever reduce or eliminate taxes. Well today I am declaring that persons
purchasing foreign currency from the Banks will no longer have to pay the 2%
foreign Exchange Transactions Tax effective from January 1, 2007 or such later
period as may be necessary to allow the Banks to make the necessary adjustments
to their systems. We feel the case for
the elimination of this tax is good. For
example, importers presenting proof that the purchase of foreign currency was
to pay for goods for resale in
Mr Speaker on that note I
wish to state that these were the extent of the revenue measures proposed for
2007. Increased revenue is expected from
better performance of all the revenue subheads in the budget due to improved
collection processes, improved knowledge of our citizens who now realize the
importance of paying their taxes on time and the improved performance of the
economy. I wish to thank all those who
engage in the process of collecting and securing the revenue of the Government
of Anguilla. This includes all tax collectors,
valuation officers, customs officers, cashiers their supervisors and Heads of
Department.
Finally, Mr Speaker, even
though no figure has been budgeted, National Health Insurance will be
introduced from July 1, 2007. This is approximately one year behind schedule.
As a result employers and employees have had some additional time to prepare
for this. The Minister of Social
Development made a public broadcast on this last month. It is a programme that should benefit all
Anguillians and others employed and contributing to the NHF.
With its introduction, all
workers will be expected to contribute a small percentage of their salaries or
wages into the National Health Insurance Fund.
With the National Health Insurance Fund, all Anguillians will be
entitled to an acceptable package of medical services at low cost. As from early in January 2007, the Ministry
of Social Development will begin public consultations on this matter. The NHF will not form part of the revenue of
the Government of Anguilla and will be managed by a Board. The collections are expected to be made by the
Social Security Board on behalf of the NHF.
So in short Mr Speaker, in
2007 we will continue to build on our successes
in revenue collection to fund Government’s social development and other
objectives, to build the architecture of Anguilla’s future,
6.
2007 CAPITAL PROGRAMME AND FINANCING
Mr Speaker, we have made
provision for $33.18 million in
capital expenditure for 2007. This
represents a reduction from the projected capital expenditure for 2006 of $45.6
million. Mr Speaker, this is explained in part by our desire to allocate more
money towards Land Acquisition in an effort to move ahead with three very
important social development initiatives, namely: National Community College
Development, Juvenile Centre Development, and Prison Relocation and Development. Mr Speaker, the funds for Land Acquisition is
to come from borrowing to the tune of some $8
million. With a cap on borrowing for
2007 of $20 million, we have
allocated the remaining amount as follows: $7 million for road development – to
fund the completion of the redevelopment of the main arterial road through the
eastern end of the island and the North Hill to Sachasses road; and, $5 million for seaport development – to
fund the completion of the construction of the new piers at Blowing Point and a
Master Plan Study of the utilisation of the lands at Corito from the ANGLEC
Generation Plant south to the lands for the proposed modern, deep water
container port and including the current landfill. This Master Plan study is absolutely crucial
to providing some direction as how to address a multi-dimensional situation
involving the rehabilitation of the quarry site, rehabilitation of the solid
waste site and the construction of the modern container port.
Mr Speaker, in keeping with
our pledge to focus on Social Reconstruction in the period 2005 to 2010 we have
provided for several crucial interventions in social development. For example, we have allocated $0.3 million towards the completion of
the Campus B Auditorium. This would
bring total expenditure on this project to approximately $1.5 million over the period 2005 to 2007. We have also allocated $0.7 million towards
the West End Primary School Renovation and Extension. Like the Campus B project, this project was a
joint UK Government –
Mr Speaker, you may recall
that at various fora over the past two years Government has signalled its
intention to implement a “development
impact levy” in the form of a levy on the sales of the real estate components
included in these new extensive resort residential tourism projects, or any
existing resort projects which might go that route. We are projecting that this levy will be in
the region between 1% to 4% on all real estate sales. The KOR Group quite admirably is leading the
way in this respect. We will be
expecting them to provide more funds as well as requiring Flag Luxury
Properties, Altamer and other such projects to ante up, because fair is fair.
Mr Speaker, if we as a
Government are serious about addressing the social development and other needs
of
Mr Speaker, though I would like to say more, time only permits me to highlight two other interventions of note in the capital programme for the social development sector in 2007. This involves Government’s pledge of $0.54 million each to the National Football Stadium and National Indoor Sports Auditorium initiatives.
Mr Speaker it has become clear that multi-disciplinary
and multi-agency approaches need to be implemented in promoting youth and
community development. In particular it
has become abundantly clear that participation in organized sports can play a
vital role in instilling in youth the norms and values to enable them to become
responsible and productive citizens.
Moreover, in a social dispensation where the traditional family
structure is increasingly absent, membership in a sports or recreation club can
serve as a surrogate family and provide the sense of belonging which is so
important to young people.
The Anguilla United Front government has recognised
the importance of the link between sports development and youth development and
has sought to provide financial support for such initiatives in partnership
with the private sector and civil society.
Witness Government’s contributions to the
Mr Speaker I round out this section by indicating that of the $33.18 million in capital expenditure projected for 2007, $20 million is to be financed through borrowing and the remaining $13.18 million through recurrent surpluses and capital grants/contributions.
7.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Speaker, I began this address with a quotation
from Caribbean Scholar, George Lamming and I believe that for emphasis it
should be repeated: “the architecture of our future is not only unfinished, the
scaffolding has not really gone up”.
Over these --- fleeting moments, I have attempted to
illustrate how Government intends to erect the scaffolding requisite for
building on our successes. To ensure that the outcome is a robust architecture
--- the design process must of necessity be dynamic since we subsist in a
steadily changing world environment. These and other changes affect the
choices we must take and the decisions we must make on an almost daily basis.
I believe that it is especially important on this the
eve of the fortieth anniversary of the Anguillian Revolution that we return to
the theme of building --- not only physical infrastructure but social and human
infrastructure as well. There is an oft quoted adage that “a house is not a
home”. It is for the very same reasons that “an island is not a nation”,
namely, those who live in it or on it must feel a sense of belonging. That
sense of belonging is enhanced by the comfort, safety, security and status
which the occupants enjoy or experience. These must all be concerns of the
building process.
Caribbean Scholar, Peter Adrien, Senior Economist at
ECCB in his book “Cricket Development”, defines development “as a process of
the empowerment of the human resources of a country”
But he further goes on to imply that it is not a
“one-size fits all” when he points out that “development is user-friendly, not
having any precise definition but being informed by the specific needs of the
target population”.
And in an even more elaborate explanation describes
the level of harmony which must exist to allow for positive development. He
suggests that in “the absence of this harmony, development could become uneven;
perpetuating inequality in society and the process could be subject to periodic
discontinuities caused by the underdevelopment of the sources of production.
The harmonious development of the social and economic resources ensures social
integration in society and is essential for the creation and maintenance of
social, emotional and political stability of competing interests -----
increasing integration allows for harmony among interest groups and across
cultural and racial groups and in the process, regulates the expression of
dissatisfaction and dissent.”
All of the foregoing points to the need for us as a
government to create an environment for harmony in our nation --- to ensure
that our island is a nation “proud, strong and free” ---- to quote that
powerful line in our national song. But it would be remiss of me if I did not
express some, hopefully, rumours which we have heard as leaders on both side of
this house which can affect our ability to build on our successes.
It is being said that Anguillians no longer possess
that traditional character which serve us so well during the hard times of
yesteryear. Those positive qualities and cornerstone principles which made us
strong; the willingness to work together to achieve; the vision of an empowered
Anguilla as outlined so eloquently by the early patriots; and a readiness to
contribute to and participate in our own development with that strong pride
which has distinguished us as a unique people over the years.
While Government has a facilitating role in the
development process, the main resource in achieving that objective will always
be the quality of the people we represent. While we declare that empowerment is
a right not an option --- it is also a privilege not to be abused, not to be
exercised with complacency and mediocrity nor exploited without due regard for
succeeding generations. We must show that we deserve that right; that we are
honest in the manner in which we deal with it; demonstrate integrity in the
manner in which we employ it; show fairness in the manner in which we share it;
and exhibit excellence in the manner in which we express it.
In other words, as individual citizens we too must be
involved in maintaining the quality of our heritage for future generations and
not go into a “feeding frenzy” in this time of plenty and destroy it through
greed, gluttony and a disregard for the values which we as Anguillians have
upheld for so long.
None of these positive attributes which I have
outlined are a line item in the budget. They must be a part of the Anguillian
psyche as Bishop Brooks so eloquently described in his comments during the
church service for the opening of Tourism week. These qualities must be within
us. And we as leaders must create the environment and initiate the strategies
to enhance them. We sincerely hope that the rumours I alluded to have no
foundation or place in the
But this is Christmas time, the time for giving and
sharing. It is especially satisfying to share with those who have helped to
make our success possible. Not only workers in the public service, but the
private sector in fact the Anguillian citizenry as a whole. It is our
responsibility to reward our public servants directly and the good news is that
we will be granting a fifty percent salary bonus to all workers in the service
and other government agencies. We also believe that we have been able to
provide the profitable environment to enable private sector employers to be
also generous.
But none of this could have been possible but for the
grace and providence of the Almighty. For yet another year we have been spared
the ravages of hurricanes as well as other natural and man made disasters. His
all-seeing eyes are in all of this. We indeed have a lot to be thankful for and
to be mindful of --- and we must pray for his continued grace and mercy as we
seek to forge ahead.
And I must in all humility thank you all for your
enduring patience in allowing me to articulate, at some length, our plans for
“building on our successes” in 2007 and beyond.