In 2002, I wrote an article in The Anguillian newspaper about the state of Anguilla’s economy. In so doing, I did not use economic indicators like GDP, income per capita, MEW and HDI. Instead, I used the economic indicators which our political leaders used on their various platforms across the island. Now I am going to utilize those said indicators (underlined below), with which our people are well acquainted, in an attempt to compare Anguilla in 2002 with Anguilla in 2007:

The number of workmen on trucks. Sir Emile Gumbs in explaining the high unemployment situation in Anguilla in 1984 said that the trucks were no longer “driving from East End to West End loaded with men going to work.” That situation was also true of Anguilla in 2002. Unemployment was skyrocketing. The island was at a standstill.

Today (2007), there is more work than people. And the loaded trucks and pickups are all heading westwards. In 2002, every time I called my friend Harold Ruan to do a little maintenance work on my house, he was there before I could put down the telephone. And before he could finish the work good he handed me a bill. Today, I can’t find Harold. I don’t see Harold. But I did tell him sometime ago that I ‘does’ be glad when I don’t see him because I know he got a big job somewhere. A few weeks ago I managed to get him to spare a few minutes to do some repairs to my museum. Since then I have not seen him. And he has not yet brought me a bill for the work. Neither do I expect one. After all, he is making money and the few coppers I have for him would not make a difference. Harold is one of the many contractors who are making a mint out of the current economic boom.

The number of foreigners seeking work in Anguilla. (Merritt Lake, 1994.) I reported in 2002 that the numbers were declining and that most of the men who worked here had gone back home. Some went back to Nevis where they boasted, “Boy, Nevis gone past Anguilla by far!” The poor state of our economy had chased the Nevisians and others away.

Today (2007), the workers are coming back in astonishing numbers. To quote calypsonian Daddy Fresh Cold, “Dey coming back! Anguilla under attack!” They are coming from all across the globe: China, India, the Philippines, Mexico and Israel. They are coming – the Jews and Gentiles, the Sadducees and Pharisees – in response to the huge demand for labour. Dr Eric Williams, writing in Capitalism and Slavery about the origin of slavery in the Caribbean, opined that the white planters “would have gone to the moon for labour. Africa was nearer than the moon.” Same thing in Anguilla. The foreign investors would go to the moon for labour but China and India and Mexico etc. are “nearer than the moon.”

The young boys on the street. “In Island Harbour there is hardly a job, and all the young boys are on the street” (Kennedy Hodge, 1984). In 2002 the numbers were extremely high. In the Pond Ground, where I live, the boys sat on the wall all day with nothing to do. And in The Valley there was an Unemployment Block where the numbers were rising steadily, indicating worsening times.

Today (2007), most of the youngsters are at work. They are making money and buying their own sodas and beers. Those who used to sit on the wall in the Pond Ground are no longer there. Dey working. Some months ago I asked one of them if he was saving his money. He replied: “Yes! I have two bank books. One for US, one for EC plus a credit card.”

The crowded banks on a Friday afternoon. (Sir Emile.) In 2002 the number of workers cashing their cheques at the banks on a Friday afternoon was relatively small. There was hardly any work and therefore hardly any money. The economy was dying.

Today (2007), the banks are overcrowded on a Friday afternoon. The workers have cheques to cash. The banking business is so good that both NBA and CCB are now building branches at the western end of the island where the major development projects are concentrated. The banks are going to the workers instead of the workers going to the banks.

The number of motor vehicles repossessed by commercial banks. In 2002 the economy was in such bad shape that the banks were repossessing motor vehicles in record numbers. Hardly a day went by without somebody losing his or her car (land or house) because of failure to meet mortgage payments. The public notices about the repossessions, broadcasted over our radio stations, made for very depressing listening.

Today (2007), one hardly hears radio notices with respect to banks selling cars, land and houses. Our people can afford to repay their loans and so the banks are begging ‘whosoever will’ may come for a loan. Today, you could go to a bank, fill out a loans form and walk away, in about 15 minutes, with money for a car or jeep. That’s how easy it is.

Right now, Anguilla is covered with motor vehicles of all kinds. The other day when I noticed the grounds of Campus A of the AL-HCS filled with cars, I reflected on the times when I was a student there. The only cars parked on the compound were some 100 or more bicycles, one of which was mine. Today, Anguilla is moving. It’s on wheels.

The number of cars parked-up on the compounds of rental agencies. In 2002 those compounds were “packed to capacity with un-rented cars. Nobody renting. Another sign of the difficult times through which we were passing.”

Today (2007), it’s hard to find a car to rent especially around the August Summer Festival and Christmas. And new rental agencies are springing up everywhere. The rental business is booming.

Potholes in the roads. I wrote in 2002 that the “potholes are now all over the place . . . One needs the skills of Michael Schumacher to navigate successfully through them.” Potholes, potholes, potholes, told us that Government’s finances were in bad shape. There were still a few around not so long ago. Listen to Hubert Hughes (2006): “I went to a cocktail party at Old Ta, the Governor’s residence, and when I came out of my car I nearly broke off my ankle in potholes just outside the Governor’s gate.”

Today (2007), the potholes have all gone. There is no trace of them. And, from West End to East End, Anguilla has some of the best roads in the Caribbean. When you drive on them it’s like you driving on glass.

The number of boats tied up at Road Bay. Sir Emile (1984): “If you go and look in Sandy Ground you will see a whole lot of ships tied up. There is no work for the ships.” And the economy is so bad that the MV Sarah, “instead of bringing cement . . . she brought in a shipload of rats.”

We experienced the same thing in 2002: “A whole lot of ships [were] tied up. There [was] no work for the ships.”

Today (2007), Road Bay is abuzz with activity. The main pier had to be extended to cope with the huge quantities of imported cargo. The Anguilla traditional schooners have given way to container ships which call here almost daily. (Incidentally, Johnno’s Banana Boat Cruise is now a big attraction at Road Bay.)

Passenger movement between Anguilla and St Martin. In 2002 it showed signs of growth. Today (2007), the traffic has increased significantly because of the ever-rising number of visitors to the island and because Anguilla’s economy is booming. When Anguillians have money they crowd the ferryboats. Passenger movement between the two islands has become so heavy that the Blowing Point Port now has three new first-class jetties and a new terminal building is in the planning.

Passenger movement at Wallblake Airport. In 2002 the American Eagle, using ATR aircrafts, was our main carrier of tourists from the USA our principal market. By 2004 the ATRs could not accommodate the huge influx of tourists so the Eagle introduced the AT 72 after the runway was extended from 3,600 ft to 5,400 ft.

Today (2007), the Eagle continues to bring in loads of visitors but many are now coming by executive jet. In the height of the tourism season these jets virtually take over the Wallblake Airport. Years ago the only jets we saw were those using our airspace on their way to Juliana, St Maarten. Anguilla is experiencing rapidly changing times.

The number of people shopping. Hear Sir Emile in 1984. “A couple of years ago it was difficult on a Saturday morning to go into Albert Lake Store, or to go into the Superette and do any shopping, the crowd was so big. Now [1984] you can walk in and pick up your groceries and go to the counter and come out in two minutes. Nobody buying. You can go into Albert Lake’s and it looks like a ghost town, something you see in the movies from Texas.”

That was also the case in 2002. Few people were shopping at Albert Lake’s or elsewhere. Shoppers walked in and picked up their groceries, got to the counter and came out in two minutes. Also, in 2002, “You [could] go into Albert Lake’s and it [looked] like a ghost town, something you see in the movies from Texas . . .”

Today (2007), Anguilla has a host of supermarkets which are ever-expanding to cope with the increasing demands of shoppers. The supermarkets are crowded. The check-out lines are long with everybody pushing large trolleys. Everybody has money.

Dinners sold by restaurants. In 2002 the restaurants were doing badly. I recall writing that some of them “hardly [sold] more than ten dinners a week.”

Today (2007), the restaurant sector is booming. Take English Rose, for example. At lunch time, on weekdays, one ketch hell buying a plate of food there, the place is so crowded. Then we have the mushrooming food van business and roadside vendors all indications of the health of the island’s economy.

The demand for lobsters and fresh fish. In 2002 I reported: “Our fishermen have been complaining bitterly about the vast number of lobsters which die in their lobster storage boxes, almost daily, because nobody is buying them.” The same thing with the jacks. Nobody was buying them and most times Phillip had to give away plenty of them, free, before they spoiled on his hands.

Today (2007), the fishermen can’t get enough lobsters to sell so great is the demand in the tourism sector. There is no longer any need for storage boxes because the lobsters go straight from the fishing boats to the hotel and restaurant kitchens. And the jacks: Phillip and dem can’t catch enough to sell. People buying them like mad. When it comes to getting Wahoo fish, they are sold long before Patrick Webster catches them.

Money in our churches’ collection plates. I wrote in 2002 that “some ministers of religion [were] complaining that collections were falling steadily – the tithes had gone down substantially – all signs of a sagging economy.”

Today (2007), most ministers of religion will tell you that their churches’ tithes and other offerings have more than tripled; and because the collection plates were too shallow they had to replace them with deep velvet bags. The impact of Anguilla’s strong economy on the churches is also seen in the brand new buses which some of them own, and the kinds of vehicles in which their leaders drive.

The amount of US currency in circulation. In 2002 there were several weeks when our banks were without US dollars. The economy was in park and so their coffers were low.

Today (2007), the US dollar appears to be Anguilla’s official currency. It is more common than EC currency. To many people, the EC dollar looks like a piece of ---t and the few business places which still accept it are mainly the supermarkets. Elsewhere, the prices are in US and the only workers who are paid in EC currency are those in the public service.

The ease with which US currency is available has been made easier with the removal of the 2% foreign exchange levy. While in other Caribbean islands the process of acquiring US currency is akin to applying for a passport, in Anguilla it is as easy as going to Mabel for a bowl of corn soup.

I could go on looking at other economic indicator, but I will stop here because the others will also show that Anguilla is enjoying unprecedented economic growth. Having written thus, I am reminded of Glen (Jesse) Hodge’s brief appearance on the ANA’s platform at Island Harbour in 1994. In response to the opposition parties’ call for a change, Glen told the crowd: “. . . We want dollars, not change!” But now we have both.

We have dollars. When the Rev Dr Clifton Niles asked his congregation at last Sunday morning’s service at the Bethel Methodist Church, South Hill, who or what was King in Anguilla, Evalie and dem exclaimed: “The US dollar!”

We have change. Economic and political. And social as well. According to Rev Niles, the Anguillian people are sacrificing their personal integrity, morality, spirituality and health for the US dollar. Now the problem which faces us starkly, is how best to manage the dollars and the change. How best to transform the wealth into human development and into the creation of a more equitable, caring and safer society.

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