Anguilla Leader looks forward to 50th anniversary of 'Revolution'

Chief Minister’s 1st Year Anniversary Address

My fellow Anguillians,

One year ago to this day, you bestowed on our party the honor and privilege of leading our nation. It is an awesome responsibility, one that as Leader of the party I do not take lightly.

A year ago our country was at a crossroads. It was a hard fought contest, and at the end of it, the Anguillian people entrusted us with a mandate to lead our country in the direction we articulated in our campaign and outlined in our Manifesto.

We were humbled by this tremendous vote of confidence. You placed your trust in me and in my administration, and I pledged that I would work every day to make a difference in your lives, to right the ship and to ensure a brighter future for our children.

We have spent this first year working diligently to chart a new path for our nation, and to lay the foundation for the next four years. There is no quick fix to the issues we face, and our successes will not emerge overnight. However, we firmly believe that with your support, if we harness the resilience and creativity of the Anguillian people, we will be well on our way to creating a new and prosperous future for our island.

I believe that it is important that we all understand not only what the government is doing in terms of policy, but also why we have made this particular set of choices. We welcome a healthy debate on the issues, as we had over the banking crisis. It is our hope that as we move forward, we do so in unison, on the basis of a shared vision of what we need to do to achieve our common goals.

This is what I wish to do today, to share with you some of our successes, outline where we are heading, and ask for your involvement and constructive engagement. We cannot do this alone.

Our first and most pressing priority when we assumed the leadership of the country was the resolution of the many critical issues facing the banking sector. Over the past 12 months my administration has focused on creating a resilient, sustainable and affordable solution to Anguilla’s banking difficulties, and safeguarding the life savings of small investors in over 22,000 accounts. Restoring stability to the financial sector will enable us to move forward on a host of other priorities, including attracting much needed foreign direct investment into Anguilla.

READ FULL ADDRESS IN THE ANGUILLIAN.