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Anguilla Chief Minister Sees Independence as Logical Alternative following British delay on budget

04/07/2011 00:47:00 Etc/GMT+1

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I feel very disillusioned and frustrated with British administration for Anguilla. My commitment now is to press on with my programme for self determination.

THE Valley, ANGUILLA, CMC – Chief Minister Hubert Hughes said that Britain's approval of his December 2010 budget is a little too late and signalled his intention to seek independence for the British Overseas Territory.

Hughes wants Anguilla Independence

"We lost out on so much revenue, we have lost out on the deal we had with the European Union, on the EDF 10 fiscal package, we have lost out on support from the Caribbean Development Bank because these institutions will not do business with Anguilla as long as Anguilla cannot produce a proper, credible budget." Hughes told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

Governor Alistair Harrison said that the Queen, through the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, had assented to the island's Appropriation Act which contains the 2011 budget.

He gave no details of the amount contained in the budget, but Harrison also announced that he had approved the legislation introducing the interim Stabilization Levy, as well as amendments to the Customs surcharge and the Petroleum Levy passed earlier by the House of Assembly.

“These three measures constitute the new measures necessary to implement the budget settlement for 2011," Harrison said.

At the start of the year, Henry Bellingham, the UK Minister responsible for the British Overseas Territories in a letter to the Chief Minister indicated that the London would provide two independent experts to assist the local administration with the preparation of its 2011 fiscal package.

The two consultants - paid for by the Department for International Development (DFID) have since presented a number of recommendations to the local government.

“My budget was perfect so says the team of consultants by the Foreign and Commonwealth office sent in on the advice of the Governor of Anguilla to rewrite it. But yet the day after the consultants gave the report to the cabinet, the Governor said he had permission from the Foreign office now to sign the budget and yet it took a month for him to sign it playing the fool because he was ashamed, “ Hughes said.

The Chief Minister said that Britain's action has underscored the need for his government to pursue independence.

"I feel very disillusioned and frustrated with British administration for Anguilla. My commitment now is to press on with my programme for self determination." he added. (CMC)

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Comments (5 posted)

Observer 04/09/2011 19:04:53 Etc/GMT+1

I am not making a comment regarding the CM's comments, but I want to redress the independence issue. When Anguillians made that giant step back in 1967 to separate itself from the former colony, what do you think that was? All the naysayers cried, Anguilla is so small they won't make it..there are still some naysayers who have a dependency clause in their minds. If it is the will of the people, meaning those who are true blood Anguillians who want to break the yoke of dependency, I say go for it. "Where there is a will there is a way". At least let independence be accountable talk among yourselves, and let it be an option to seriously consider in the not too distant future. Anguilla will get plenty of help, and more importantly Anguillans are by nature a self-help group who sometimes do not give themselves the kind of credit they deserve.

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04/12/2011 06:33:38 Etc/GMT+1

Craziness! Anguilla has no resources and not enough foreign reserves not bullion. It would be slave to debt from other countries! A totally ridiculous proposition in the making.

axasttusa 04/10/2011 03:23:18 Etc/GMT+1

I don't know whether the chief minister has given much thought to what he's saying. I first met the chief minister many years ago and after sitting in on a legislative session, it was clear that then councilmember Hughes was very anti-British, and as a member of the opposition that's exactly what he was, in opposition to just about everything. Now he's hell bent on independence for anguilla, using as the impetus for his march to independence, the stalemate over the budget. I don't know that the budget is a reason for going down this path. As a people we have always been very independent. The Brits really haven't done anything for us for the longest while. All this budget mess has done is to point up the fact that we all now have to pull our own weight. It's going to be painful and expensive. Unlike the united states, where the rich get richer on the backs of ordinary working class people, in Anguilla everyone will have to pitch in.Independence might be the way to go. It simply means that we are going to have to elect competent leaders, not because we like them, but because they have a plan and they know how to govern. The days of voting for someone because he or she is related and he or she is a nice person has to stop. Vote for me because I have a vision and I know what the hell I'm talking about. Don't vote for me becasue you knew my father a long time ago, but because, I have a plan and I've articulated it as eloquently as possible. Vote for me because I'm fair, because I actually know something about government, that I'm educated and can represent my country on the world stage. The observer is right on the money. We as Anguillians have never backed away from a challenge. As Anguillians, we've been made fun of all our lives. I"ve had mixed feelings about independence, but if we are going to go down that path, let's give it serious thought. Let' s look at some models and see what they've done. We've got to have legal minds whose specialty is constitional law. This break is not something to be taken lightly. We've been always independent, the only thing that's missing is the declaration to mother England that we wish to move out on our own. There, I've said it.

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Okay now 04/10/2011 09:40:40 Etc/GMT+1

Your comments are right on' I hear you loud and clear

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Observer 04/13/2011 15:02:17 Etc/GMT+1

Attstusa - right on to you, real depth and insight on this issue. Of course, I am glad you agreed with me, but I am the type that if you disagreed, I would respect that also. Anguillans, you are laughed at so what' "if you perceive it, and believe it, you can achieve it. Yes, independence has to be well thought out, but on many levels Anguillans are independent already, although the stroke of the pen has not been done. Let's face it, these warm colonies are a bed rock for those who see what Anguillans don't see, my thoughts are there must be a sound, sound accountable discussion about initiating, planning, coordinating, organizing and achieving independence from the U.K. It is high time that Anguillans call the shots. As for help, you will have more that you can handle, and remember as you have said, the seeds that are sown must continue to grow and sprout to maturity. Anguillians who are serious about independence, form a committee and begin the process. It may be sooner than you think.

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