Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4371/-1/135/
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Social Security: St Maarten Learning From Anguilla
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Currently, as part of the Dutch Netherlands Kingdom, St. Maarten has a shared functioning social security system in place; but when the island becomes a territory by itself, it may need to have a system to call its own. It is with this in view that the Leader of Government there, Sarah Westcott Williams, on behalf of the Cabinet invited Anguilla’s Director of Social Security, Timothy Hodge, to deliver a presentation to the St. Maarten Government.
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Mr. Timothy Hodge
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“I am proud that they asked Anguilla and not other countries like Europe and they told me they did not ask Europe,” the highly knowledgeable and committed Social Security Director told The Anguillian. “Had they asked Holland, the authorities there might have said that based on what they do in Holland – how do you expect a small island like St. Maarten to have a social security system? In the same way, if our Government had asked somebody from England in 1980/81 about a social system in Anguilla they might have laughed at them because of the difference in the perception and so forth.
“There are lots of positive things that Anguilla has done right over the years and are good examples for others to look at and certainly over the last 25 years the social security system has been a good example. As I said before in St. Maarten, Commissioner Westcott-Williams is to be commended for seeking information and asking Anguilla.”
One of the headline matters Mr. Hodge told the St. Maarten Cabinet was that: “The Social Security System [in Anguilla] is an integral part of the administration of Government linked to Health, Immigration, Labour, Education, Finance and Economic Development. However, it has functioned without undue interference from Government, and Government has not been tardy in making recommended legislative changes to ensure that it remains strong and meaningful.”
Mr. Hodge, who made the presentation on January 31, went on to outline various other matters on which he enlightened the St. Maarten Government. “I spoke about the environment in Anguilla in which social security was introduced – one in which there were distrust and often outright hostility, limited employment and scepticism about whether such a system could be successful,” he stated. “I said despite this Mr. Ronald Webster had a vision and courage and those who were appointed to work with him on the Board and Staff also had a vision and courage to persist to bring it to reality. I said it was no coincidence that Anguilla’s Revolutionary Leader was the pioneer of the society social system…
“I talked about how the system was structured; how the legislation was enacted and the Board and the Fund were set up under it; the benefits payable; the way the funds are invested; the persons covered under the system; how the system has actually performed over the years and I showed them charts and graphs; I spoke about the Investment Committee and the Social Security Development Fund which finances socially-desirable projects in Anguilla and which was established in 1986 with the approval of the Minister.
“I told of how we are using that fund quite legally on community projects and by that we are seeking to pursue our mission which is to improve the quality of life for all. I talked about strategies for pursuing that mission; how the social security system is administered and operated; how our staff structure has been organised. I spoke about our core values, vision and mission and our relations with Government. This is critical because if Government is going to organise a financial system there has to be certain levels of cooperation and levels of ‘hands-off’ as it is the people’s money for their future benefits. I talked about that and the other roles of the system – what we have done in the community. We have led in the establishment of the Anguilla Community Foundation; the sponsorship of the annual National Development Conference we sponsor and our linkages with Government.”
Mr. Hodge also reported that other matters included the affiliation of the Social Security Board with regional and international bodies. “I think I was able to demonstrate how clearly important a social security system is to a country if it is properly administered; and how important it is for the overall administration of Government,” he concluded. “As a new emerging country, it is very appropriate that St. Maarten does this exercise [of seeking information].”
He said the event in St.Maarten was an open session – not only with the Cabinet, but representatives of the Social Security Office there, the Government Information Service and members of the press all of whom asked many questions.
Asked whether he would be in a position to give some actual hands-on assistance if necessary, he replied: “I would be prepared to give the Government of St. Maarten any advice on the preliminary work in establishing its own system and to offer the services of my staff if they were to request the same.” He made the point however that St. Maarten had been part of a social system which pre-dated any in the English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean and therefore knows about social security. He thought that with St. Maarten having a good economy it should be quite feasible for them to have a social system of their own.
Mr. Hodge added: “My presentation was extremely well-received and I was well treated by the Protocol Office and the Office of the Leader of Government Business – Commissioner Sarah Wescott-Williams. The presentation is going to be shown by the G.I.S. in St. Maarten and hopefully a copy will be available for showing here in Anguilla.”