News

Opposition Parliamentarians in Anguilla, Hubert Hughes and Edison Baird, responded on Wednesday to the Government’s proposed austerity measures with much criticism saying there would have been no need for that course of action had more attention been paid to careful spending and savings “for the rainy day.”

Government officials and representatives of public sector staff associations and unions scratched their heads for solutions when they met on Tuesday afternoon this week with the current economic crisis being the focal point of their discussions.

Superintendent of Prisons in Anguilla, Conrad Gumbs, says the time is ripe to begin a process of paroling prisoners to give young rehabilitated offenders a chance to be accepted back into society as opposed to rotting in jail.

The Community College Development Unit in Anguilla now has a functioning Zenaida Cafeteria which serves both as a training facility for its many hospitality students and as a competing place of good food on the island.

For the first time in the parliamentary history of Anguilla, two persons holding no membership in the House of Assembly were called upon to present addresses at the first readings of draft bills for passage into law. The occasion was on Thursday, March 19th. The unusual event was heralded by Leader of Government Business, Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming, who has responsibility for Environment.

A Task Force, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, has submitted its report (with recommendations) on school violence and other behavioural problems relating to students at both campuses of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.
Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Chanelle Petty-Barret, issued a statement on Monday in which she said that the Ministry had become increasingly concerned about the incidence of violence at the school.

The people of Anguilla are being sensitized to the consequences of failing to do their part, even in a little way, to reduce the effects of global warming and sea level rise: important chunks of their touristic island and its barrier and fishing reefs could eventually disappear forever. It is a threat largely posed by greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) emissions into the atmosphere and the use of an abundance of oil (often referred to as fossil fuel) that are already taking their destructive course on planet earth.

If all goes well, a new group of investors from the United States will take over the development of the Flag/Temenos project which closed operations in the second half of last year, sinking Anguilla’s economic and financial hopes.

The appointment has been announced of Mrs. Kathleen Rogers as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Her commendable achievement is a feather in the hat of aspiring and successful Anguillian young women who are quickly making their mark on the society in leading positions in the hierarchy of the public and private sectors.

The Anguilla House of Assembly met in full session on Tuesday this week, March 10, and gave a big send off for the first time to a departing Governor, in the person of His Excellency Mr. Andrew George, thus signifying the high esteem in which he was held since his appointment to the island almost three years ago. The outgoing representative of Queen Elizabeth (and the British Government) inspected a Guard of Honour formed by the Royal Anguilla Police Force, as well as the Police Community Band, before entering the crowded House of Assembly for the farewell ceremony.

With just one year before its Silver Anniversary, the National Bank of Anguilla is celebrating 24 years of service and achievement as one of the two indigenous and growing financial institutions on the island.

The Anguilla House of Assembly, which temporarily postponed the passage of the Prisoners Bill and the Probation Bill, may now be in a better position to consider the two pieces of draft legislation. This follows a thorough airing of the Bills at a public consultation held at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on March 2.

A core group comprising residents with a strong sense of community spirit, with a few of them being political aspirants, is at work at Island Harbour looking into ways and means of improving the village and taking particular interest in its young people.

The Anguilla House of Assembly has given its approval to legislation formally establishing a National Community College for the island.

Outgoing Governor, His Excellency Andrew George, has showered a great deal of praise on Anguilla and its people saying his tour of service has been an enjoyable experience, that Anguillians are a tough and inventive people and that despite the difficult times the island’s economy will bounce back.
Governor George expressed those and other complimentary sentiments at a farewell reception, at Government House on Monday evening this week, attended by leading officials and other persons in the public and private sectors of the island.

The Government of Anguilla is perhaps making its most decisive effort ever to find out what is happening at the Flag Project which has been closed since around the latter half of last year, with no apparent indication as to when work will resume.

An official tour of four of Anguilla’s private vegetable farms on Monday this week, has resulted in the Government promising to look into the possibility of placing an embargo on the importation of certain agricultural products during some periods of the year, in order to protect local farmers and enable them to market and sell their produce on the island.

The inaugural flight of Anguilla Air Express touched down at Wallblake Airport in Anguilla to the cheers of Government officials, members of the Tourist Board and the Hotel and Tourism Association on Saturday, February 14, providing some well-needed access on the San Juan-Anguilla route and vice versa.

It is a matter of interest that with lovers on the island celebrating Valentine’s Day and exchanging gifts for the occasion on Saturday, February 14, that Anguilla, as a tourist destination, experiencing problems of access, should also on that day receive a gift of a new carrier. The hope is that it will assist in easing the access situation especially for travelers on the San Juan/Anguilla route and vice versa.

From its quiet and commanding ocean view, overlooking Meads Bay, Malliouhana Hotel and Spa, Anguilla’s first luxury hotel of world acclaim, is asserting itself in the island’s tourism markets as a place of grandeur, high visitor expectations and memorable experiences.