There is a saying, and I quote, “If the beginning is right the end will be right”, end of quote. I have prefaced this article with this quote, because in Anguilla’s present position today, these words coined by an anonymous writer are very relevant today as when first uttered. I have deliberately waited until the events of the last six weeks or so to approach this topic with all HONESTY and DEDICATION of PURPOSE for the ROCK and NOT FOR INDIVIDUALS.

As far as the ANGUILLA CIVIL SERVICE, or rather what there was of a CIVIL SERVICE in 1967, its SENIOR PERSONNEL were overlooked while JUNIOR or YOUNGER CIVIL SERVANTS were skyrocketed to the senior posts in the service over and above their seniors. These exercises caused not only injustices to the senior members of the service, but in some cases, demoralized the productivity of some members (senior) who showed their frustration by seeking employment elsewhere. However, a number of the genuinely dedicated ones stayed on and SUCKED THE SALT while their juniors were sent away to universities to return to the ADMINISTRATIVE POSTS in the service, and eventually to the posts of PERMANENT SECRETARIES.

We therefore had in the service, personnel which did not scale the various grades in the service, and as a consequence were relatively ignorant of the procedure of GENERAL ORDERS- THE CIVIL SERVICE BIBLE- which contains the CODE OF ETHICS which governs the Civil Service and was either unknown or completely ignored by Permanent Secretaries who felt that they were the bosses and could not err, but acted as MASSAS as far as the remainder of the service was concerned.

I move to a situation which was manipulated by Senior Permanent Secretaries. As a long standing Civil Servant – thirty six years, two months and twenty seven days, I am well aware of how salary revision s are or have been done in the Public Service. We had what was known as a sliding scale where the lower grades in the service received a greater percentage increase than middle management; and top management received a lesser percentage increase than middle management. By this method the gap among the grades remained relatively stable.

To my recollection for the past twenty years 1987-2007 the Anguilla Civil Service has not had a SALARIES REVIEW, but series of SALARY ADJUSTMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD. These reviews were presented by the Permanent Secretaries to the Executive Councils to their own advantage. What these reviews across the Board did was to widen the gap in salaries between the Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments and the Senior and Junior members of the Service. Because of these injustices many teachers in particular entered the teaching profession as a stepping stone to something else in the Public or Private sector where there were greener pastures. These acts are now manifesting themselves in our community in Anguilla and are among the real causes of the violence that the island is presently experiencing.

Because of these GREED and SELFISHNESS, Anguilla is suffering as its SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT has not kept pace with its ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I have over the years, and especially since the 2005 GENERAL ELECTION, written to the Hon. Chief Minister and my CONSTITUENCY REPRESENTATIVE expressing my concerns - Anguilla concerns - about the SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT of Anguilla, particularly about education and the island’s Human Resource Development since May 12th 2005. To date I have not had a response to these correspondences. Subsequently on 29th June 2007 I was perforce to hand deliver a second correspondence to the Chief Minister’s Office, informing the office that I was on my way to the Governor’s Office to also hand deliver a copy of the said correspondence. To date I have not had a response from either gentleman.

As recently as the 31st July 2007, the Anguilla Government has given AN ACROSS THE BOARD INCREASE to the Civil Service as well as members of Government. This, fellow Anguillians, is an injustice to the lower levels of the Public Service and a greater injustice particularly to Public Pensioners of the 1970’s and 1980’s as well as ALL other retirees since. I have read applications for personnel to enter the Public Service who would receive approximately Two Thousand Five Hundred (EC$2,500.000 with the twenty Percent across the board. This means that as of the end of August 2007, these entrants will receive a salary of over three thousand monthly. When one compares this with my pension, after thirty-six years, two months and twenty-seven days in the Public Service, my pension is just over two thousand dollars a month. Fellow Anguillians, do you think that this is a fair amount of Pension for a Graduate Teacher, who was one of the teachers who sucked salt during the heat and burden of the day? You, fellow Anguillans, be the judge.

This brings me to another aspect of my article as I continue to highlight the GREED and SELFISHNESS pervading the CIVIL SERVICE. Fellow Anguillians you will recall that I intimated earlier, that junior personnel in the Public Service were promoted over and above their seniors in 1967 ignorant of General Order procedures - Permanent Secretaries as well as Politicians. It has been alleged that Permanent Secretaries were negotiating for something over and above the twenty percent offered by the Government for “themselves.” It has also been alleged that they were asked to put their proposals in writing so that the correspondence could be forwarded to the appropriate authority, they discontinued their request.

This fellow Anguillians is the type of GREED and SELFISHNESS emitting from the echelons of our Public Service. This brings to the forefront what I was trying to portray earlier as far as CLIMBING THE PUBLIC SERVICE LADDER rather than having been catapulted upwards. Do these permanent secretaries know that if the Government acquiesces to their request and were given additional percentage over the rest of the Civil Service, Government would have been bound by General Orders to pay the remainder of the Civil Service the same percentage because it was an ACROSS THE BOARD INCREASE? Let me here commend the Deputy Governor and the team that has redrafted the New General Orders. My only hope is that it is relevant to today’s needs and aspirations.

In modern day situations where the cost of living index rises so frequently, at least pensioners should receive a cost of living allowance, if Government does not see it fit to base Pensioners pensions commiserate with the salaries in the grade in which they left the service. We are the forgotten few in Anguilla’s economic boom.

Fellow Anguillians, let us with God help, discontinue this GREED and SELFISHNESS. I sincerely hope that this article does not fall on deaf ears. One may well ask how are we to accomplish this? We are to do some individual soul searching. That is, each of us taking on the responsibility, individually as well as collectively apportioning the blame for the present situation on each and every Anguillian and NOT CASTING THE BLAME ON SOMEONE ELSE . It is only when we realise that each and everyone of us share the responsibility for the situation in which our beloved rock finds itself, that we will move out of the present mire. Let us therefore, think more genuinely and sincerely of our less fortunate brothers and sisters, seeking God’s Eternal Blessings on all of us, so that we can, with His help, make Anguilla a better place for our children and their children up to the third and fourth generations of this BELOVED ROCK, THE PARADISE OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may God in His manifold mercies help each of us shoulder our individual and collective responsibilities, without casting aspersions on any one group or person. The GOOD BOOK says and I quote, “JUDGE NOT FOR WITH WHAT JUDGEMENT YE JUDGE IT SHALL BE METED OUT TO YOU.” Finally the Good Book says “VENGEANCE IS MINE AND I WILL REPAY THEE” says the Lord. I sincerely, hope that this article is taken in the light and spirit it is intended - “WITH MALICE TOWARDS NOW”.

Finally, fellow Anguillans, let me conclude this discourse with a quote from the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians Chapter 4: Verse 8.
“ Finally my brethren, whatsoever things are true , whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS.”

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