Saturday, March 5, 2011

Hughes distances himself from ?joint statement? on the Internet

Page21A227ANGUILLA--Chief Minister Hubert Hughes Thursday evening dissociated himself from what he said was a statement on the internet purporting to have been issued jointly by himself and Governor Alistair Harrison.

He distanced himself from the statement in a telephone radio broadcast from St. Kitts where he is attending a meeting of the Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. He also expressed his displeasure and disagreement with the statement.

"I want the people to know that I had no part in that statement," he stressed and went on to say it was drafted solely by the Governor.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Governor's Office said Friday that there was a draft text written between the Government and the Chief Minister but it was never made public and the account on the internet was "a significantly altered version."

Hughes also complained that the Permanent Under-Secretary from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Simon Fraser is due to visit Anguilla, from February 20 to March 2, the same time he will be attending the Overseas Countries and Territories Ministerial Conference in New Caledonia.

Hughes said while he did not know what the visit was about the Governor had told him, "It would be very useful if you were on island."

However, according to the spokesperson at the Governor's Office, as of Friday, February 11, Fraser will no longer be visiting Anguilla due to an illness in his family, but he will probably be coming at a later date.

The visit was partly a familiarisation one as Fraser is newly appointed to his position.

The first issue Hughes raised in his address from St. Kitts was in regard to correspondence from the Governor Alistair Harrison about the two ministers of Government Evan Gumbs and Walcott Richardson, who the Governor asked the Chief Minister to dismiss while investigations into two incidents took place.

The incidents included Gumbs voting shares of the Government at the Anglec meeting and Richardson granting work permits without consultation with the Executive Council. The Governor had raised concerns since last September about the conduct of the ministers.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/13632-hughes-distances-himself-from-joint-statement-on-the-internet.html

Cheryl Cole

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