(i) It is incorrect on the part of the Governor for him to suggest that the Chief Minister did not reply to Mr Bellingham’s letter of 30th September 2010.  In fact the response of the Chief Minister to Mr Bellingham was communicated by correspondence both dated and sent on 5th October 2010 and followed by a Report which the Chief Minister solicited from the Chairman of the Social Security Board.  That Report together with exhibits were promptly sent to the Office of the Chief Minister by the Chairman on 6th October 2010 and which the Chief Minister’s Office then forwarded on to the Minister directly on even date.  A full 15 days later, is the first time that Mr Bellingham has responded to that email and even in that response has not addressed the issue of the Report of the Chairman of the Social Security Board forwarded by the Chief Minister.
 
(ii) The Government of Anguilla recognizes the Governor’s Press Statement as being clearly political and subversive with the specific purpose it would seem, of seeking to cast the Chief Minister in particular, and the Government of Anguilla in general, as being irresponsible, unprofessional and acting against transparency, accountability and good governance which are principles this Government has openly pledged to the People Anguilla.    The Chief Minister’s record is clear.  He has always operated in the best interests of Anguilla, abhorred corruption, and indeed ran a platform on the issue of corruption in the just concluded elections, in which he expressed an intention to clean up that corruption and run an open government.  When he left Government in 2000, he left the Treasury with a surplus, yet just a few short years later, the People of Anguilla witnessed reports from the British diplomat Sir Michael Foote who was highly critical of the actions of the former Government and categorised Anguilla as being on the verge of being a failed state, ( http:\\www.hm-treasury.gov.uk\indreview_brit_offshore_fin_centres.htm)  the Report of the British Treasury Office that was critical of the former administration’s had Anguilla’s finances in a precarious state and unable to maintain 90 days of reserves (http:\\www.nao.org.uk\publications\0708\manging) the Foreign Affairs Committee Report which referred to the allegations of corruption alleged against the former administration of May 2010.  Yet up to this point the British Government has failed to conduct Inquiries into any of these matters.
 
(iii) The Government of Anguilla welcomes the diligence being applied by the Governor into the details of a loan which never occurred especially since such an inquiry would reveal that in fact this loan was first inquired into by the former Government and also representatives of the Government of Anguilla who were directors of one of the indigenous banks, those discussions continuing up until November 2009.  It should be both interesting and enlightening to the People of Anguilla that the Governor never applied that diligence nor indeed castigated the former Government in the manner in which he now seeks to sully the reputation of this Government.
 
(iv) The Government of Anguilla is likewise impressed that the Governor appears very concerned over the money which never crystallised and which he has quantified as being that of EC$35,000.00 for every man, woman and child.  We are encouraged by his concern and expression that his duty is to “safeguard their money” and no doubt having the confidence of Minister Bellingham, it appears that the British Government will now:
 

• (a)   Investigate and explain to the People of Anguilla why the Governor executed a Lease on election day signing away the Crown lands (that is the lands of the People of Anguilla)  to a foreign developer for an unheard of 250 years; 
   
• (b)   Investigate and explain the quantifiable income that was lost by the People of Anguillla in the transhipment arrangements which was stopped as a result of indiscriminate conduct on the part of certain elements within and outside the Government of Anguilla and which investigation has not as yet been pursued by the British Government; 
   
• (c)    Investigate and explain the quantifiable income which has been spent in the Airport expansion project which has never been afforded to the People of Anguilla; 
   
• (d)   Investigate and explain the quantifiable income that was lost to the People of Anguilla as a result of Memoranda of Agreements by foreign developers on the island which at a rough estimate would have far exceeded in US dollars, not EC dollars, the amount which the Governor has estimated to each Man, Woman and Child all executed under the watch of the British Government.  
   
• (e)   Investigate and explain why the economy of Anguilla is left in abject economic deprivation so that this Government on assuming office met a debt in excess  of EC$200 million and met a state of affairs where every month since September 2009, the former Government of Anguilla had been borrowing in excess of EC$10 million monthly to meet the ordinary expenses of civil service salaries and debt payments to lending institutions; so that even the monthly salaries due for February after the 15th February elections could not be paid from the People’s Purse, the Treasury of Anguilla. 
   

(v)  The Government of Anguilla welcomes the Governor’s clearly new interest, albeit late, in safeguarding the monies of the People of Anguilla.  We therefore view his commitment and that of the British Government to honour the request of the People of Anguilla made through us as their duly elected Government by sending forensic experts to inquire into all the above listed matters given allegations of corruption and help trace and recover the monies of the People of Anguilla which cannot be accounted for as a commitment on which the Government and People of Anguilla can now stand firm.  

(vi)  All the matters listed above together with others are matters which this administration had asked of the British government since the Ministers assumed office.  The Government of Anguilla is disappointed that given some of these matters occurred from as far back as the 1990’s that the interest of the British Government’s successive Governors and indeed the British Government was not as swift as their intent to pursue this matter against this Government.  However, if it takes an investigation into a matter which commenced just in June of 2010, is a matter in which the former Government also explored as well, in which this Government of Anguilla was not a principal party,  in which no loan by the Government of Anguilla or indeed the Social Security Board was ever transacted, and in which not a penny of the People of Anguilla’s money was spent for the UK Government to commence investigations into these other areas listed above, then we welcome such an investigation.

 (vii)  Anything short of a published commitment on the part of the Governor and the British Government to investigate the matters listed above and circulate that commitment to all the media houses in like manner as they have published their intent to investigate this Government on this non-issue, would be nothing short of hypocrisy and discrimination against this current administration, amount to complicity on the part of the British Government if they do not pursue and defend the financial interests of the People of Anguilla since they now admit to their role of safeguarding those interests, and raise questions as to their commitment to transparency, accountability and good governance.

(viii)  Although  the Chief Minister has already over two weeks ago addressed the People of Anguilla directly on the issue of the facts and indeed through radio talk shows made himself open to receive and answer questions on the issue from the People of Anguilla, in light of the Governor’s wide circulation of his Press Statement, the Chief Minister wishes again to reiterate those facts in detail  in light of the Governor’s current Statement:
 
The Chief Minister asserts that the Ministry of Finance was contacted by an agent of the lending institution with respect to lending Government money but which the Government of Anguilla declined on the basis of the constitutional arrangements with the UK.  The Social Security Board was subsequently approached by the same institution.  While the Social Security can competently on its own enter into financial arrangements without reference to Government, the Board took the decision of informing the Chief Minister and seeking his approval to explore the loan, hence the Chief Minister’s correspondence of 9th July 2010 issued to Social Security Board stated that they, (Social Security) were authorised to enter into this loan for EC$200 million dollars at a rate of interest of 1.5% over a 25 year period. 

The clear understanding at all times was that if all the components of due diligence and terms could be agreed by the Social Security Board then they would then get back to the Government of Anguilla who would then be able to raise the matter in Executive Council.  That is the extent of any connection that the Chief Minister had with respect to this loan. It is remarkable that the Governor now elevates that letter which was issued even before the Social Security Board had begun to explore the loan as a ‘guarantee’ of those funds. The Social Security Board through their own Press Release has explained that it operated responsibly by conducting its due diligence and in their Report set out how they worked closely worked with CCB and had a committee established which included persons such as a retired bank manager, the Bank’s internal auditor and a person in the financial services all of whom were working to design a business plan for repayment of the funds had the loan materialised.  At no point, the Government of Anguilla have been informed, were the social security funds in jeopardy.

(ix)  Notwithstanding that this ‘loan’ by Social Security never came to any fruition, the Governor’s interest to implicate this Government as being involved in some conduct of an unsavoury nature is unmistakable.

(x)   To the extent however, that the Governor and therefore the British Government have now admitted that:
“My job is to ensure the good governance of Anguilla in the interests of the people of Anguilla.  In this case, to safeguard their money.”
the Government of Anguilla welcomes the publication by the British Government of the investigations into several areas where allegations of corruption and unaccounted funds existed under the former Government and which the People of Anguilla have been calling for, for the past few years and in particular since this administration assumed office.

This Government pledges that it will not be silent in pursuing this commitment on the part of the British Government to investigate all areas where the People’s monies cannot be accounted for through all channels of the press and international community.