The Chief Minister’s Office in Anguilla, concerned over various social issues stemming from development, immigration and labour matters, initiated a panel discussion on the St. Maarten/Anguilla experience on Wednesday evening this week.

L-R: Evalie Bradley, Marcel Fahie, Claire Elshot and Calvert Carty

The event was held at the Teachers’ Resource Centre where the gathering was addressed by Claire Elshot, a St. Maarten trade unionist with vast experience. Her presentation was largely about the impact foreign investment and development have had on social and economic life in St. Maarten; how local business people have been affected by outside investors; and how such other matters like immigration and labour have impacted the half Dutch, half French island.

Her address was followed by a panel discussion with the Anguillian panelists being Marcel Fahie, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment, Labour Commissioner, Evalie Bradley, and Calvert Carty, a private sector representative.

The panelists set out to examine where Anguilla stood in comparison with St. Maarten and what could be done to avoid some of the potential pitfalls and the social impacts of such investments on the island. These impacts include which accompany foreign investment, the need to import outside labour, the need for rental properties to accommodate them; the overcrowding of schools and other areas of the social services by immigrants; and the disruption of family life that could result from persons coming to Anguilla without their own families.

The panel discussion was held against the backdrop that development comes with various social impacts, the good and the bad alike.

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