Bribery

Has Don Mitchell Accused Ministers of Bribery to the FAC? Well, the Chief Minister was on a roll in the House of Assembly this morning! He stated, with all the passion in his voice that he could muster, that Don Mitchell has accused him and his ministers of bribery before the Foreign Affairs Committee. The reason, he suggests, is because Don Mitchell hates Anguilla and Anguillians. His explanation for this alleged hatred was two-fold.

One, was because Don Mitchell wants to stop Anguillians achieving full internal self government. He wants to continue the present colonial regime, because of his colour. He is wrong in that. Don Mitchell’s paternal grandfather was the same colour as the Chief Minister. Don Mitchell, like his father before him, has always considered himself a man of colour.

Besides, Don Mitchell believes that Anguillians are fully capable of handling full internal self government. We Anguillians just don’t trust the politicians of the future, any politicians, to be able to handle all that power. There are various reasons. One is that we have no tradition of good governance. All government in Anguilla, since self-government started in 1967, has been based on doing favours for friends and blocking those who are not subservient to you. That worries all sensible, thinking Anguillians. Another is that there are no checks and balances in the law or in the Constitution. We think full internal self-government would work fine with plenty of checks and balances.

The second reason, he suggested, is that Don Mitchell has no children of his own. Anyone, he said, who chose not to have children is incapable of love. Well, he is wrong there. The consequence of not having children of his own is that all Anguillian children belong to Don Mitchell. He does not need to get greedy to pass on wealth and possessions to biological children. He is happy with the little he has. The friends he has need nothing from him. They greet him in the street with no hidden agenda, no favours to seek.

The Chief Minister knows the coming recession is going to hit the development projects in Anguilla hard. People are going to be laid off. Mortgages will not be paid. Properties are going to be sold. This unfavourable situation is going to last until well after the appointment of the new President of the USA in 2009. It is only then we can expect the economy to revive. The politicians will have to shoulder a lot of the blame. There must be someone or something, other than government’s short-sightedness, to deflect the coming accusations. Don Mitchell is conveniently located nearby for that purpose.

Never mind, Don Mitchell intends to keep on doing what he has been doing up to this point. That is to demand that the highest standards of government must always be striven for.

And, the extraordinary thing is that, other than the post on 4 July 2007 [that the Ministers have Don Mitchell in court for], when he was commenting on what people were saying about the Indian workers’ march, it is only the Chief Minister who keeps repeating over and over again that Don Mitchell is wrongfully accusing government to the FAC for bribery!

Don Mitchell has done no such thing.

His letter to the FAC, as anybody who can read can easily find out by clicking here, was to send them a copy of the 2006 Constitutional and Electoral Reform Report. He has had no other contact with the FAC.

Politicians need to have a convenient whipping post nearby. It helps to put spin on the situation.

I am continuously amazed at the Speaker’s relaxed attitude to the Chief Minister’s abuse of the privilege enjoyed by members of the House to slander and defame persons who cannot defend themselves. In parliamentary procedure this is not normal.