Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4658/-1/135/
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CHIEF MINISTER UPBEAT ON PROGRESS IN ANGUILLA Hails Local & Foreign Investments
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Anguilla’s Chief Minister, Osbourne Fleming, sported a bright yellow necktie at his first press conference in a long time on Wednesday, May 2nd, saying he was happy with the progress being made on the island.
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The Honourable Chief Minister, Mr. Fleming
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At the outset he expressed delight that all of the elected members – Government and Opposition - were fully participating in the public consultations on the proposed amendments to the Constitution. His only regret was that the public meetings were not being well attended by the people in the various constituencies. He disclosed that the first round of talks with the British Government was scheduled for July 23.
“We have already selected a committee which will meet with the British and we have also decided to put in place a committee for continued talks on the Constitution when we go to England,” he reported.
“The other topic I wish to speak on is the development taking place in Anguilla today,” the Chief Minister continued. “In addition to the fact that we have two foreign companies actively engaged in building projects in Anguilla, namely the Viceroy Project and the Flag Luxury Properties, we have just signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the Rendezvous Bay Project owned by a local company.
“The reason I am saying this is that the Government of Anguilla is not looking for foreign investment only. We are also looking at local investment. To that end we have signed an MOA with the owners of the huge Rendezvous Bay Project which, according to the information received, will cost in excess of three to four hundred US million dollars. In addition, we have signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Madeariman Project in Shoal Bay owned by the Harrigan’s family. This morning at 10.30 we are planning to have a meeting with the local owners (the Lake’s family) of the Conch Bay Project at The Forest.
“I mentioned this to say that we believe that in Anguilla’s development, our local people should play an important role. To that end, the Government of Anguilla has committed itself to supporting these projects, doing all that we can so that Anguillians can also participate in and benefit from the progress that we are experiencing today.”
Mr. Fleming went on: “In addition to that, I want to say that regarding the Flag and Viceroy projects, we are very heartened and impressed to note that the Flag project is moving very smoothly. We are told that there are more than 800 workers on that project now. A significant number of those workers are Anguillians who working with their counterparts from other countries. We feel very encouraged by the fact that Anguillians have integrated themselves with the foreign workers and there is a wonderful relationship especially at the Flag project.”
He was pleased that the work was progressing very quickly and that Government was told that the hotel aspect of the project should be ready by February or March next year. “We have our doubts about this, but that is what the owners and contractors are telling us,” the Chief Minister stated.
He reported seeing a model room of the hotel at Flag Luxury Properties and spoke about its excellent beauty.
Mr. Fleming said that the Viceroy project was also moving very quickly and that there were mostly foreign workers at the site. “For some reason, which I cannot say, it seems that the Anguillians tend to gravitate more to the Flag project than the Viceroy project,” he observed. “All the preliminary works for water, sewage, electricity, telephone and cable have been put in by a group of Mexican workers who have already left he island.”
He said the Government would arrange for the people of the island to visit the project on Separation Day, December 19, as was done last year at the Flag project. “We feel that Anguillians need to see the project. I can assure you that 98 percent of the people of Anguilla do not know what is happening at Viceroy,” he added.
The Chief Minister also touched on Cap Juluca which is up for sale. “The end result is that the Government of Anguilla wants to see Cap Juluca remain the flagship of the tourism industry in Anguilla,” he said. “We want to see Cap Juluca running as it is supposed to run. We want to protect the jobs of over 400 Anguillians there and to that end we are working desperately to get somebody or company to own and manage Cap Juluca. In its present form and with its present owners, we don’t see Cap Juluca remaining as it is supposed to be and, recognising this, we want to ensure that we get the right people to manage the resort and retain the jobs of the workers.”
Mr. Fleming said the Government was in serious discussions with Gencom, a US company, which is interested in purchasing Cap Juluca. “I cannot say exactly where things are today, but what I can say is that we are actively involved in serious discussions with Gencom which has made a request to the Government of Anguilla to buy Cap Juluca,” he told the press.
“The way things are going, I believe that in a week of two, we might be able to say something more. We want to see closure to this and for Cap Juluca to enter the tourist season in October with what it needs to be, so that we can continue to attract the kind of clientele we have been attracting all the time. There is a lot of work to be done at Cap Juluca and we have to move quickly to ensure that somebody serious and have the financing for Cap Juluca in place.”
The Chief Minister took the opportunity to touch on the crime situation. “There is nothing that can destroy a country quicker than crime,” he cautioned. “Anguilla has always been known as a crime-free destination. That is no longer the case… and it behoves us to let people know that we do have crime here. We cannot go around fooling ourselves and telling people that we have no crime in Anguilla. We realise that society is changing…but it behoves us to move quickly to correct it. To that end, we have suggested to the police that wherever people are caught, tried and convicted for crimes, that we should not keep it a secret. People need to know.”
He was happy to report that the Government had much success in bringing a number of persons together to discuss the crime situation and ways to deal with it. He emphasised that there was a need for everyone to assist the police with information and that the lawmen must be free to do their job without interference.