Lorna praised for being in Anegada’s corner

Former Chairman of the Anegada Land Development Advisory Committee Darrell Ruan Jr has criticised what he described as a lack of meaningful political representation on Anegada, while singling out junior minister Lorna Smith for maintaining the strongest presence among residents.

Speaking recently on the Honestly Speaking radio programme, Ruan said government leaders should make quarterly visits specifically to sit with Anegadians and listen to their concerns, particularly the longstanding land issue.

Still, he argued that more direct engagement is needed as Anegada is currently underrepresented politically.

“I would say [underrepresentation] — that’s an understatement. There’s none! There’s none and you have to look at the situation the real way. Are the portfolios too big? Yes! How can you expect a man who doing 24 hours of work in a day to take an hour to come and talk to us?” Ruan argued.

Talk show host Claude Skelton Cline then questioned whether the island was receiving attention from its four At-Large representatives. That’s when Ruan singled out Smith for her dedication to the community of Anegada:

“If you name ain’t Lorna, you don’t touch Anegada,” Ruan said. “Lorna in yuh corna for Anegada the real way.”

Ruan also credited Territorial At-Large Representative Stacy “Buddha” Mather, saying he has made many visits to the island. He further praised Minister Vincent Wheatley for responding when Anegada faces problems, saying the D9 representative assists “in many ways” that the wider Anegada community may not know about.

He also acknowledged Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley’s desire to finally address the land issue, saying the leader personally expressed the desire to resolve the issue during this term. However, Ruan made a distinction between government officials visiting Anegada for official events and Smith’s involvement in everyday community life.

He recalled seeing Smith and her husband dressed casually and painting a church fence, describing her as someone who spends time “amongst the people” and children even when no government function is taking place.

Ruan said the island needs more of that type of engagement, urging elected officials to come, sit with residents and hear directly from Anegada’s elders rather than only visiting for official meetings.