Mr. Speaker, Fellow Anguillians at home and abroad and all those listening to the sound of my voice, Good Afternoon. I trust that we are all complying with the guidelines and restrictions that have been put in place to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus here in Anguilla. I cannot emphasize this enough – the health and safety of all Anguillians must continue be our number one priority.
Mr. Speaker, I want to issue a word of caution to all public officials, including myself, and to persons in Anguilla who have a loyal following on all forms of media. We all have a collective responsibility, especially during this global crisis, to differentiate facts from opinion. The World Health Organization has noted that COVID-19 “can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.” In addition, the WHO has recommended maintaining a distance of "at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing" and noted that persons who “have a non- communicable disease or pre-existing condition such as: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, heart attack or stroke, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer” are more susceptible to contracting
COVID-19. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
Spreading misinformation, rumours and innuendo at a critical time like this is not helpful; it is counterproductive and, in some cases, could be viewed as endangering the lives of our people. I urge us all to stop such practices and to be responsible.
Every single country on the face of this planet is dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. Anguilla is not immune, and we cannot ignore the reality of what we are facing as a nation. I repeat once more that this is not a time to play politics. This is a time for principled leadership in the interest of the health and safety of all Anguillians.
Every day, positive cases of the Coronavirus have been increasing around the world. As I prepared this statement, the numbers in the British Overseas Territories, in our region alone, were as follows:
Bermuda – 48 cases with 4 deaths, Cayman Islands – 45 cases with 1 death, Turks and Caicos
Islands – 8 cases with 1 death, And to date Anguilla has recorded 3 positive cases.
In St Martin there have been 35 cases and 2 deaths, and in St Maarten 53 cases and 9 deaths. Anguillians, the Coronavirus pandemic is serious, it is not to be taken lightly. All governments are focused on preventing the spread of this virus and are working to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of their citizens. We must all work together in this regard.
Now to the matter at hand, the upcoming General Elections here in Anguilla. Many know that I raised this issue out of an abundance of care and concern for the health, safety and well-being of our people. Do I want to postpone the elections in Anguilla? Of course not. Notwithstanding, based
on:
1. This growing pandemic, its impact on healthcare systems, lives and livelihoods;
2. The updated science on how it is spread and its viability in the air and on surfaces for prolonged periods; and
3. The conditions which have been set out by the World Health Organization for preventing its spread, including social distancing;
I concluded that the postponement of our general elections was something that we may have to consider and plan for. Unpopular as this proposition may be, my duty and responsibility as Leader of the Opposition and the Elected Member for District One is to work to minimize the risk of COVID-
19 infection in this country. I could not bear it if one of our people got sick! Some valid questions that all stakeholders must consider:
• Can we safely execute a general election while adhering to protocols and guidelines from the World Health Organization?
• Can we and should we conduct a general election without the presence of regionally and internationally accredited election observers?
• Do we have the institutional capacity at this present moment to incorporate safety protocols into the Election Day machinery and voting procedures?
• How would we address Anguillians living and working in St. Martin/St. Maarten, for example, who have registered and are entitled to vote, when the borders there are closed?
While some have chosen to distance themselves from this subject matter, I want to make sure that our people are safeguarded as much as humanly possible from exposure to COVID-19. Mr. Speaker, I want to make it crystal clear that I would rather have a voter upset with me, than one of our citizens exposed to COVID-19 and possibly suffering from infection! Our healthcare system is not built to handle an outbreak of this virus in our population.
And the economic impact of this global pandemic is already being felt. Thankfully, we have not recorded additional cases of COVID-19, and I pray to God that we have truly escaped and will continue to escape the high infection rates that our neighbours are experiencing at this time. That being said, we hope for the best but we must plan for the worst.
Mr Speaker, what we are facing is unprecedented. Thus, my call to the public was to raise awareness on this issue and to call for an open and transparent discussion with all stakeholders, to determine the way forward. Some have claimed that, by raising this issue, I colluded with the Honourable Premier and the Governor, to postpone the elections by virtue of an Order in Council, and all this against the will of our people. Mr. Speaker, I don’t want my legacy to be described as an astute politician or a political opportunist. No. Mr. Speaker, my legacy will show that in all matters I worked hard to do the right thing by the people of Anguilla, always.
To summarize Mr. Speaker: Does Pam Webster want to postpone the elections? – NO, never Mr Speaker. That is far from the truth. Indeed the contrary can be proven. By virtue of my representations the Honourable Premier consulted with the leader of the largest political party in opposition, who has chosen to be silent! By virtue of my representations, the Order in Council provides for a "possible" postponement for two months; not twelve months, as originally envisaged. Does Pam Webster believe that we should have a contingency plan in place if a postponement is necessary based on this evolving pandemic? – YES. Is Pam Webster fully satisfied that proper consultation with all stakeholders has been achieved in this process? – NO
Mr. Speaker, I believe that more can be done to ensure that all stakeholders, especially including the voters, come to a consensus on this proposed contingency plan, and I urge His Excellency the Governor to implement the process of effective consultation on this matter immediately.
Thank you, and may God Bless Anguilla.
