Politics

(CNS): The various groups of local activists that are opposed to several elements of government’s planned mega-deal with the Dart group will be holding a protest and public meeting this Saturday. With a list of speakers from across all three Cayman Islands, the organisers say the focus will be on their efforts to preserve the West Bay Road and to prevent the move of the capital’s landfill to the wetlands in Bodden Town. The protestors say that the proposed deal with government and the islands’ largest investor - the ForCayman Investment Alliance (FCIA) is not a positive one for Cayman but is weighted heavily in favour of the developer.

(CNS): As the issue of leaked documents begins to take centre stage and following threats by the premier that they will be investigated, the police have denied harassing anyone during such investigations. Last week MLA Ezzard Miller revealed that he had been interviewed by police about where he got a copy of the Dart-NRA agreement regarding the Esterely Tibbetts Highway, which he had described as harassment. The police have rejected the allegations, stating that they have a duty to pursue all complaints that allege criminal conduct, However, the RCIPS has raised concerns about efforts to politicise the service.

(CNS): The premier said had his government gone ahead with the Cohen loan last year it would have saved $55 million for the public purse. McKeeva Bush made the claim about his efforts to borrow money to balance government books in an unconventional manner as legislators returned to Legislative Assembly Thursday. Bush, who was the one who pulled out of the loan deal, said that, given the current base rate of US Treasury bills, it was conceivable that if Cayman had accepted the Cohen offer of a floating rate it would have resulted in an effective interest rate of approximately 2.7% compared to the 6% it was currently paying.

(CNS): Residents in Bodden Town who are leading the charge against the government’s plan to move Grand Cayman’s landfill to their district have written a letter directly to the UK's overseas territories minister complaining that the government is not following the newly legislated Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR). The letter to Mark Simmonds sets out in detail their grievances about the proposed plan but also accuses government of “riding roughshod" over due process. The coalition pointed to the raising of expectations following the UK’s insistence that the port project be properly tendered and asked the minister to apply the same pressure on government regarding the ForCayman Alliance.

(CNS): Cardno ENTRIX has been appointed to work with the Environmental Advisory Board to finalise the draft terms of reference ahead of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that will be carried out on land in Bodden Town where government is proposing to partner with the Dart group to create a new landfill. In a statement from his ministry, Mark Scotland, who represents the district and is also the minister for the environment, spoke of a comprehensive Waste Management Facility (WMF) incorporating multiple modes of processing waste, including landfilling proper implementation of a ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ policy” as well as a future waste-to-energy (WTE) facility, and indicating government’s intention to press ahead with the project.

(CNS): The Public Management and Finance amendment bill setting the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) into local law was passed in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday afternoon, despite an expected UDP back-bench revolt. The document finally became law with the help of opposition. Cline Glidden, Ellio Solomon and Dwayne Seymour all voted 'no' and there were four members absent at the time of the vote, which took place after the House opened some four hours later than expected. In concluding his closing remarks on the bill before the vote, the premier said, without a hint of irony, that he should be given credit for bringing the bill now that the opposition supported it.

(CNS): McKeeva Bush has denied missing out on an opportunity to collect on the $6 million still owed to the public purse in relation to the development of the Ritz Carlton-Cayman and has accused the new owners of trying to threaten the government. The premier told members of the Legislative Assembly that Five Mile Capital (RC Cayman’s parent company) had offered to pay the $6 million but there were many strings attached which could have cost government millions of dollars. He also raised questions about the way the hotel was sold, suggesting it was significantly undervalued and that the land registry was looking into that in connection with the stamp duty value.

(CNS): As the premier presented his third version of the Public Management and Finance Law (PMFL) amendment to bring the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility into law in the Legislative Assembly Wednesday, Opposition Leader Alden McLaughlin took the opportunity to attack the UDP’s record in office. This resulted in a tirade from Premier McKeeva Bush against McLaughlin during a long response on the bill, which has still not reached the vote. Members have yelled at each other over the FFR for a week but have still not voted on the final version of the PMFL, which includes the entire agreement as an appendix. While three UDP backbenchers have stated their intention to vote ‘no’, the opposition has offered its support following indications from the UK that the latest draft is acceptable.

(CNS): Following a rushed attempt to transpose the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) into the Public Management and Finance Law (PMFL), the premier has been forced to redraft the law for the third time. While the debate continued in the Legislative Assembly on Friday on the second version of the bill making the agreement Premier McKeeva Bush had signed with the UK one year ago into law, legal drafters were forced to re-write the legislation once again. The original bill submitted to the LA ahead of this current meeting contained changes made by Bush which were unacceptable to the Overseas Territories Minister and which, after a standoff with the UK, were eventually changed. 

(CNS): Following more than a week of political turmoil that saw Premier McKeeva Bush taking the Cayman Island to the brink regarding its relationship with the UK government before making a sudden U-turn on policy, 92% of people voting in an on-line vote on CNS said they want him to resign. In a non-scientific straw poll this week, which received more than 1,000 votes, 944 people said he should step down while only 80 voted for him to remain in office. The poor approval rating comes some six months away from the General Election and indicates that, among CNS readers at least, the premier has a lot of work to do if he still wants to lead the next government.

(CNS): Following speculation that the premier had entered into talks to sell a substantial share of Cayman Airways to a Filipino firm, McKeeva Bush admitted Friday that the airline was exploring the possibility of selling shares, but alongside the San Miguel Corporation, local companies and Caymanians would also have access to shares in the national flag carrier airline. In a statement to the Legislative Assembly Bush said  that CAL had received a proposal from the Manila based company which owns Philippine Airlines (PAL) to “explore mutually beneficial ways of working together”, which included investment in the local airline code sharing, aircraft operations and other strategic areas. 

(CNS): Following comments made by China Harbour Engineering Company on Wednesday regarding the costs it incurred during the talks with the Cayman Islands Government over the cruise port, concerns grew Thursday that the public purse may be looking at another major payout. Although it is not clear what agreement the CIG actually entered into with CHEC, if, as the Beijing based firm has claimed, there is a framework agreement, opposition members believe that this could leave the local government vulnerable to legal action by the Chinese company. Given the precedent set by the GLF payout, the tax payer could be footing another painful legal bill.

(CNS): Despite the premier’s insistence that the new government TV channel, which is now broadcasting the Legislative Assembly live, is free, anyone wishing to tune in will need to have, at the very least, a basic subscription with WestStar TV. Although the channel is now added to all existing packages with no extra cost, it cannot be picked up via an antenna and viewers will need a cable box. Following a statement on Wednesday about the launch of CIGTV20, McKeeva Bush insisted that the channel was “F.R.E.E. free,” as he spelt out the word in response to questions by the member from East End. While technically it is free to those who are already WestStar customers, it is not free to those who do not have a subscription with the local cable company.

(CNS): The independent member for North Side said he has been “harassed” by the RCIPS about the leak of the agreement between the NRA, Dart and government relating to the West Bay Road projects and the ForCayman deal. Ezzard Miller said he was appalled, not only by the attempted intimidation but the complete waste of public resources investigating the leak of a document that should have been in the public domain all along. Miller said the behind closed door deal, which was posted on CNS, was sent to him in the mail and he had no idea which concerned citizen had sent it to him. But, regardless of the source of the leak, the MLA said there was absolutely no need for the police to be involved.

(CNS): A year after he signed the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility and with a potential crisis with the UK looming, Premier McKeeva Bush finally brought an amended version of the Public Management and Finance Law (PMFL) to the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday to incorporate the agreement. Although Bush had made no changes to this second version, the amendments relating to the procurement process that were required by the UK have been placed in the regulations rather than the substantive law. This raised concern among opposition members because, not only had no one seen them, but it meant that government could amend those procedures in Cabinet without scrutiny from legislators or the public.