News

As work continues on the design drawings for the expansion of Wallblake Airport, an environmental report on the impact of the project during the construction and operational phases is expected to be submitted shortly.

The Labour Laws in Anguilla are coming under public scrutiny at a series of island-wide town meetings which commenced at the Island Habour Primary School on Tuesday evening, April 8.

General Manager of Cable & Wireless in Anguilla, Sutcliffe Hodge, says that the newly-introduced per second billing for the use of mobile phones, is a result of the company listening to its customers. According to him, customers have been asking among other things why they should pay by the minute while they only stay on the phone for a few seconds.

For the first time the people of the island are being given an opportunity to join the Government in reviewing a set of labour legislation which has been consolidated into one document called The Anguilla Labour Code.

Early Childhood Education Month climaxed in Anguilla on March 29 with a mass parade of children representing all the preschools on the island. The march commenced on the grounds of the Scouts and Guides Ruthwill Auditorium and wended its way to the open area of the Agricultural Department’s premises.

Anguilla’s Director of Health Services, Dr. Franklin Lloyd, has submitted the following article on the new disease –SARS - which is now a source of much world-wide concern:

Officials of the British and Anguilla Governments met for talks on March 25 and 26 at Paradise Cove for the annual review of the Strategic Country Programme extending from 2000/01 to 2004/05. The financial arrangement is the outcome of discussions aimed at establishing a mutually-agreed medium term action plan to guide achievement of the Government’s objectives for economic and social development and for democratic and accountable administration.

Several hundred school children in Anguilla, joined by teachers, representatives of various community groups and churches, staged a protest street march from outside the National Trust Building around the Caribbean Commercial Bank and Mahogany Tree Road area and back, on Tuesday afternoon, against recent acts of violence on the island.

A two-man delegation from Anguilla will be spending several days in Monte Carlo at the invitation of officials there. They are Minister of Finance Victor Banks who will be representing Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming and Chairman of the Tourist Board, John Benjamin. Their travel to Europe was arranged from Friday March 28 to Tuesday of next week when they are expected to return to Anguilla.

A meeting called on Tuesday March 19 by the Environmental Health Unit in Anguilla for the launching of new procedures for the issuing of Food Handlers Permits, was sparsely attended at the Teachers’ Resource Centre, but the message is clear. All Food Handlers on the island will be required to conform to the rules and obtain certification or be denied permission to operate their food business.

Mr. Arif Ali of Hansib Publications has been commissioned by the Government of Anguilla and The Anguilla Tourist Board to publish a 160 page book on the destination entitled “Anguilla, Tranquillity Wrapped in Blue”. The book, which will be published in hard cover, and contain over 200 photographic images, will provide extensive coverage of the island’s history, culture and way of life, as well as information that will be of interest to potential investors and others interested in gaining in-depth knowledge of the island.

The Chief Minister’s Office has announced that the Annual Conference of the United Nations Special Committee of 24 on Decolonization is to be held in Anguilla from May 21-23.

The recent gang beating of Claudel Romney Jr., a young student at the Comprehensive School, who was admitted to the hospital as a consequence, and other acts of deviant behaviour, have forced teachers to take a strong stand against violence in the school.

Ralph V. C. Hodge is the latest top government employee retiring from the Anguilla Public Service. He is now on pre-retirement leave until July when his 38 years of employment in the service will end following his 55th birthday. His coming departure was marked with a farewell reception at Government House on Tuesday evening hosted by Governor and Mrs. Peter Johnstone and attended by a number of invited guests from the public and private sectors.

A Teachers’ Resource Manual, part of the Scotiabank-sponsored Kiddy Cricket Programme, was presented on Tuesday March 11 to the seven primary schools on the island by Managing Director of Scotiabank (Anguilla) Limited, Walter MacCalman. The Chief Cricket Development Officer with the West Indies Cricket Board, Dr. Michael Seepersaud, was in Anguilla for the presentation and launching of the manual.

In a couple of weeks the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla will have a new backup anesthesia machine to fill an urgent need so that critical surgical operations can be performed to preserve the life of patients. This important piece of equipment is being funded by Cable & Wireless to the tune of US$46,000, the equivalent of EC$130,000, as a gift to the Government and people of Anguilla. The donation does not include shipping and handling costs. The contribution was announced on Wednesday March 5 at a joint meeting of Government and Cable & Wireless officials in the Chief Minister’s Office.

A .meeting has been arranged in the Chief Minister’s Office for today (Friday, March 7), at which Mr. R. Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire who owns Caribbean Star and other investments in the region, will hold discussions with the Government of Anguilla. He will be accompanied by Yolanda Suarez, Chief of Staff with Stanford Financial Group.

Anguilla’s newly-appointed Commissioner of Police, Keithly Benjamin, was given a standing ovation at the end of his acceptance speech in which he vowed to take a tough stand against all forms of crime and to help preserve the pride of the island. Taking command of the Royal Anguilla Police Force on February 27, he pledged to make every Anguillian and visitor feel protected and safe in their homes and on the streets, thus promoting the island’s tourism slogan Tranquility wrapped in blue.

Mr. Keithly Benjamin, CPM, LLB. (Hons) LEC has become the sixth Anguillian to head the Royal Anguilla Police Force. He officially assumed the appointment of Commissioner of Police at a handing over ceremony on the compound of Police Headquarters on February 27. That was the day that the outgoing Commissioner Mitchell Harrigan retired from the Force having reached the age of retirement.

The stage is being set for the opening up of a southern area of Anguilla to business and housing development and a meeting with persons whose lands will be affected by a new access road has been planned for March 15. The project involves the construction of a two-mile long road in the scenic Lockrum area from Blowing Point to Little Harbour where the cooperation of landowners is being sought.