Oct. 3, 2007 – Remarks by Chief Ministers, Victor Banks: I am grateful for the opportunity to make a few brief remarks at this launching ceremony for the Anguilla Country Poverty Assessment project. I also welcome the officials from the CDB and must express the gratitude of the Government of Anguilla for their participation and support for this initiative.

The title of the project, Country Poverty Assessment conjures up for many persons, I am sure, some notions about the need for such a project, the objectives for conducting it, and the purposes to which the findings will be applied. The responses which I have overheard range from the viewpoint that there is no poverty in Anguilla hence the conclusion that this is a wasteful exercise … to the opposing viewpoint that the present Government is taking the country along the course of rising poverty hence the CDB is being called in to make way for the IMF to take over. 

Obviously, none of the above opinions are accurate but I believe that from the standpoint that perception forms reality --- it is important that any misinformation is put aside at least by the conclusion of this launching ceremony.  I will do my best to outline a part of the Governments position.

In the Anguilla United Front Manifesto, which forms the basis for this Governments national development program, the “Mission Statement for 2005 and Beyond” is expressed as:

“To promote and build a more caring, peaceful and harmonious society, with justice and equity for all.

To provide universal and equitable access to a basic package of quality social and community services.

To manage the environment to achieve long term sustainability, for the benefit of present and future generations.

To stimulate and facilitate the achievement of robust and sustainable economic development by and for the benefit of the people of Anguilla, as the foundation for the social development of the community.”

Fulfillment of the lofty objectives included in this Mission Statement can only be accomplished if a proper assessment is made of where we are as a nation --- and where we have the capacity to go --- given the resources available to us --- natural, human, cultural, financial and so forth. It is in this context, that the slogan for this initiative: “Information for Action – Improvement for All” derives its relevance. We can only achieve the improvement of the lives of our people when we have the accurate information to actively move the process forward.

Just a month ago I had the privilege to deliver the opening remarks at the ECCB International Conference on Statistics, in St. Kitts. Among the comments in my address, as in many of the other presentations, I made the statement: “The lack of natural resources and the dependence on good economic and social policies for sustainable development mandates accuracy and precision in our decision making. The goal of creating the environment for sustainable standards of living for our people demands proper policy making and macroeconomic management informed by sound statistical information”. 

And I further commented and again I quote: “Statistics developed without careful attention to accuracy or applied without regard to other relevant factors can lead to the wrong conclusions --- and as a consequence wrong policies”. Both these statements highlight the importance of an exercise such as the one we are launching today.

Poverty exists everywhere. It is all relative. We have been informed that the exercise which is being undertaken involves a “broadened definition of poverty”. Whether the definition is broadened or narrowed it is critical that it be appropriate/relevant to the circumstances of Anguilla. It will therefore be necessary for us to make an accurate determination of the factors we wish to consider in formulating that definition.

From a macroeconomic standpoint one may say that Anguilla is experiencing a period of rapid growth and prosperity and we may seek to measure poverty on the basis of salaries or wages --- but when factors of inflation, the cost access to basic social services, increasing utility costs, rents, etc. are put into the mix our conclusions may be quite different.

We have situations in Anguilla as we speak where people are being evicted by landlords in order to charge higher rents offered by tenants in higher income brackets. Many Anguillians have to take on multiple jobs to meet the normal increased cost of living.  And there is a real challenge and concern that social development has not kept pace with the rapid economic growth which we are experiencing.

These challenges manifest themselves in a tight labour market, education and skills shortages, youth alienation, crime and pressure on social and health services. All these issues affect the ability of Anguillians to maintain a reasonable standard of living and impacts the determination of what constitutes poverty.  Obviously in responding to all of the above, Government if it wishes to meet the lofty objectives of its Mission Statement,  must be able to decide with a high degree of accuracy what “safety nets” or programs need to be implemented to alleviate these hardships and achieve that mission.     
 
I recall when the last CPA Report was presented to Executive Council, Members were surprised by its findings. In fact, there was a real concern that more poverty existed on the island than we had imagined. And that there was a critical need for more proactive policies to provide support for a large cross section of our population. While this was during a period of slow growth, the other factors which are now impacting our living conditions in this period can add up to similar findings from an assessment exercise.

The four components of the CPA exercise are all important to achieving accuracy in the findings of the final report. As other speakers before me I urge all individuals, families, communities, businesses and organizations on Anguilla who have been selected to participate in the interview process to be both cooperative and forthright. The Good Governance we all strive for as an aspect of sound national development depends on it. Please do your part to make it a true and accurate representation of the situation in Anguilla so that decision makers can be afforded good quality data for critical planning and policy making.

Finally, let me again thank CDB for its support and wish the consultants, the designated government officials and members of the National Assessment Team much success in what we expect to be a very challenging undertaking. You may fully count on government’s commitment and cooperation during the conduct of this important exercise.

I thank you all very much for your kind attention.   

Hon. Victor F. Banks