Cayman still waits for FCO green light on borrowing

| 22/09/2009

(CNS): The Cayman Islands is still waiting for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to give the cash strapped government permission to access the loan it has negotiated with a number of financial institutions. Despite the fact that CI government officials have spent the better part of last week  in meetings in London, the UK has still not given its go-ahead. On Monday evening, Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush told News 27 that he was confident that the UK would come through with a ‘yes’ in the end. He said that the UK government needed to use “common sense and not ideology".

Bush said that he was not asking the UK for one red cent but was trying to catch up. He said he really believed that the UK had to be practical but that it was right when it came to creating a sustainable revenue base. “I think we can do that without doing an income tax or a property tax,” he said.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    you have no evidence to that effect.

  2. Anonymous says:

    The evidence suggests that we have a leader who is in way over his head and overpaid "advisors" pointing to the bottom and saying that is the way to go.

  3. noname says:

    In answer to that question – CITN made a silly mistake…

  4. a hard working Caymanian says:

    Oh dear… how poorly informed some of you are…

    if you check the qualifications of some of the ‘advisors’ that you refer to, I am sure that you will find that they are extremely highly qualified and the administration is lucky to have them on board. 

    hiring appropriate advisors or experts is something that all administrations do all over the world. 

    our officials cannot be experts in every area that they are involved – whether its the economy, tourism, the environment, financial services or health.  Of course they should make sure they have the best possible advice.

    I am quite sure that the FCO has a whole pack of ‘experts’ on their side of the table.

    And, by the way, some of these ‘advisors’ that you are so keen to knock down are also hard working Caymanians… who have worked extremely hard to get as qualified as they are.  Its such a shame that people feel the need to hurl such insults.

    This is why other very intelligent and well qualified Caymanians don’t want to get involved in the public sector, as they will likely also get such uneccessary and ill informed abuse.  And this is to the detriment of all of us.

    Get over it, and focus on the real issues that the country faces and support all of those who are trying to address them.

     

     

  5. Anonymous says:
    Did Paul Byles misrepresent himself or did CITN make a mistake with his title?  This seems to be the real question…… Anyway, does anyone know what is Mr Byles official capacity? 
  6. Anonymous says:

    This does beg the question of whether Mr McCarthy (or the FS) was complicit in anyof the wrongdoings that UDP claim went on under the previous administration???

     
  7. Anonymous says:

     Tony Travers is not an advisor to CIG , he is Chairman of CIFSA as such he speaks on behalf of them and not CIG 

  8. Anonymous says:

    Good point about Mr McCarthy being in Cabinet for the past 10 years and did not at anytime say that anything was wrong.  Now he appears to be a key ‘advisor’ to Mac.  Paul Byles also played a key PR role in the UDP campaign and now he too is an ‘advisor’ to Mac. Apparent Mr Byles has been giving the impression that he’s doing the FS’s job as well as the jobs of other qualifed civil servants who have been sent home but continue to be paid.

    Are these ‘advisors’ really qualifed to handle the job or are they getting their fat consulting contract as a political payoff? Why are qualified civil servants being paid for sitting at home while these ‘advisors’ make poor attempts to do their job?  It also looks like that the lack of ability and qualification of these ‘advisors’ explains Cayman’s ‘flip-flop’ position and recent international embarrassment. Wy do we, the hardworking Caymanians, have to pay for such incompetence and the squandering of our public funds?? CNS are you able to find out what these ‘advisors’ are being paid?

     

     
  9. Anonymous says:

    What is really going on……. There may be no such official position as the one referred to below within the Civil Service, but that does not in any way constrain "what is really going on" within the Ministry.

    A previous poster suggested an FOI request to shed some light on "what is really going on". Good idea and good point in relation to carefully wording the request to catch any personal contracts as well as those that may have been given to various related/controlled companies in order to avoid any tendering or independent scrutiny. The average Caymanian would probably be completely unaware of the ways that contracts can be issued and moneys paid out of government while keeping the values and paying officer segregated and below the threshold that might trigger higher levels of scrutiny. Someone might at the same time want to make sure that the request relates to each portfolios and ministry as that is another way of splitting contracts.

    There are qualifications and then there are "qualifications". Not all "qualifications" have any relationship to competence, and competence need not have anything to do with "qualifications" when it comes to the untendered award of contracts that we all pay for.

    Someone might want to take a look at the coincidence of who was responsible for the UDP PR strategy during the last election and what was the payoff for that exercise.  Somehow I am not sure that a FOI request would get you there unfortunately.

  10. Anonymous says:

    its a shame that people have such strong opinions based on such little understanding of what is really going on.

    the fact is that the current administration and their advisors inherited this mess, and are not responsible for it.

    I am the first one to be cynical about the motivations of politicians – and not just in Cayman.

    but in this case mcKeeva and his team are all working extremely hard to resolve this for the betterment of the entire country, and some support would not go amiss.

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Sorry to say this but I suspect that your first instinct – cynicism, would probably have not been misplaced. Some effort of some of the team may be directed to bettering all of us, but "charity" begins at home – at least those of some.

  11. Anonymous says:

    dont forget tony travers and george mcarthy as key advisors. I dont know who else but i am sure big mac has many more advisors.

    • Anonymous says:

      Guess who was the only member of Cabinet for all of the 10 years up to the recent election and said nothing publicly about the mounting debt? Now that is a "qualification" for advising the LOGB.

  12. Anonymous says:

    clearly the UK is trying very hard to use this particular opportunity to try to screw cayman. is that not obvious to everyone? this has absolutely nothing to do with whether we have been hit by the global recession etc. all the UK wants is to destroy our financial services industry. period. it is only a auestiosn of whether any of leaders current orm future will bow to the UK’s wishes to see the end of the finance part of the economy.

  13. Anonymous says:

    guys: there is no such position in the Ministry as far as I know it..storm in a teacup on that one.

  14. Anonymous says:

    There is no such position as managing director of the Ministry. the media got it very wrong. Paul is an external consultant to the ministry….

    • Anonymous says:

      Surely the issue of whether a position exists as a matter of fact has nothing to do with whether or not someone has bothered to go through the formality of creating the title. After all, Civil Service titles tend to be associated with limits on what is paid.

      As a matter of fact whether or not a position exists  has to do with what authority is given to an individual. On that basis it may be that the media and the private sector organisations who believe that the position exists are entirely right.

  15. Anonymous says:
    I heard that CITN broadcast as well.  Paul Byles was described as the ‘Managing Director of the Ministry of Financial Services’.  I don’t remember seeing that position advertised, do you CNS?  Anyway, I don’t know what qualification is required to hold that position and whether Mr Byles is suitably qualified.  However, it does look like he is the ‘advisor’ who is responsible for this mess.
    • Anonymous says:

      Paul Byles is a … dare I say it…. CONSULTANT!!!!.  Someone want to do an FOI request on the contract price?  And be careful how you word it, ask for the sums of all contracts he has in his personal capacity and, sums for all contracts he is receving as a principal, owner or other afiliate of any companies that the Govt has contracts with.  I would like to also know what his qualifications are.  I am not insinuating that he is not qualified I really don’t know.  And yes anyone carrying a title in a Ministry MUST be a civil servant so the job would have to be advertized, but the title is neither here nor there, he is a consultant.

    • Anonymous says:

      The Paul Byles appointment has many people baffled. When and how did this appointment take place?  It also appears that he has replaced the Financial Secretary.  In these matters of Finance we are hardly hearing anything about Ken Jefferson – only Paul Byles.

      XXXXXXX

       

      • Anonymous says:

        So does anyone really know who the players are in this circus ? 

         

  16. Albert Jackson says:

    Fearless Leader should get any and all money from his main man Dart.

                          Albert Jackson

  17. Anonymous says:

    Who are Mac’s advisors anyway? I heard on CITN that Paul Byles is the Finance Director?  Is he responsible for this debacle?

     
    • Anonymous says:

      Excellent question. I heard the same news item and thought the same thing.

  18. Joe Average says:

    Who does the UK borrow money from…. when it needs it?

    I forgot.  The Bank of England can print it.

    How did that happen?

    Watch

     

    http://www.documentary-log.com/d334-ascent-of-money/

  19. Anonymous says:

     

    You PPMers are so hateful! We are not asking the UK for anything only to approve our borrowing limits.

    I am a Caymanian first.

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      I supported the UDP before the election but I am not a mindless drone who religiously believes that anyone who asks questions regarding the actions of his supreme holiness the LOGB has to be hateful. Everybody is asking what the heck is going on as sadly it is not at all clear.

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually you are NOT a Caymanian first. You are a Human Being first.

  20. Mercedezes says:

    Oh my body is paining me from laughing so loud. You all got so much to say and yet doing so little to help. Mr. McMouth is what some is calling Mckeeva nowadays.

    Well it’s a good thing that he has alot of mouth and can be classed as McMouth, our we would still be on that OECD grey list. It’s like you really can’t do anything to please some people, the less you do the more appreciation you get, and the more you do the less appreciation you get.

    Bozo and his circus of clowns has left the country hanging by a thin rope and all you can hear from these PPM sour losers is Mckeeva this, Mckeeva that. Get off his d#$@ back, and give him a chance to do what he was put there to do (a job that the PPM couldn’t).  I say if your not gonna be apart of the solution try hard not to be a part of the problem. We are living in one of the most crucial times in our lives and if we don’t get together and work as Team Cayman Islands we will surely fail with no doubt. 

    Our ancestors worked hard to preserve a better Cayman for generations  to follow, if we don’t allow ourselves to be a part of the conservation process we will have let our fore fathers hard work and dedication go in vain.

    So i say help to build a better Cayman, help our leaders, pray for them and ask God to give them strength to make the right decisions. In all we do there is only one Man who has that final say and he’s watching very careful at all that is going on.

  21. God Help Us says:

    TAXATION AGAIN??? I HOPE NOT!

    If we go that route, I hope it is not income or sales. I better evil would be a property tax, but… there is always a BIG BUTT…

    If the UK going to make us go PROPERTY TAX, McKeeva needs to ensure that Caymanian homeowners get a good deal! Tax at higher rates those who are buy land or beachsides just for keeps.

    WHY IS THE FCO TAKING SO LONG TO GIVE US THE PERMISSION TO BORROW???

    • Anonymous says:

      Perhaps because they are trying to save us from our foolish selves and/or to prevent us from becoming another TCI.

  22. Anonymous says:

    Cayman doesn’t need "one red cent" from the UK, but it does need the UK’s permission to borrow plenty red cents from any bank or other lending institution.  As it stands, all of the Overseas Territories have to ask the UK’s permission to borrow more than 10% of GDP and before they say yes, the UK needs to know that Cayman has sustainable financial practices in place to be sure that it can meet the payments on any borrowing it manages to secure.

    • Anonymous says:

      And as the FCO should!  Although I know I will be rediculed for saying this I will say it anyway – that is, Caymanians need to take the blinders off and see the real picture. The UK knows that the reason we are over the 10% limit is because we amply demonstrated that we chose leaders without real ability to lead! They could not contain themselves and recklessly spent money way beyond the limit set. As a parent, when I set limits my children are expected to obey or else there are punishments. Well guys, this is it! So, stop cussing the FCO and accept that it is our home grown choices of politicians over the last several years that have put us in this mess, no one els.

      Remember the in the last bunch of spendthrifts? One of them went as far as to swear that only the Almighty would stop him from doing his projects (or words to that effect) and another kept paving the roads etc etc. They in effect built on the debt of the previous administration (some of whom are part of the present government) who the records will show played a role in started the spending spree ,,, remember Boatswain Beach, questionable land  purchases etc.So, they are both guilty! Don’t listen to this gang nor the previous one bad mouth each other and try to place blame .. they both are guilty! Now that we are in this position they are ganging up and trying to demonise the FCO for putting on the emergency brakes! Well I say, "thank you FCO!"

  23. Anonymous says:

    Or perhaps they’ll give us exactly what McMouth has asked for…."not one red cent"

    Is this really the political leader of our country or am I just having a very bad dream ????????

    Wake me up please !!!!!

  24. Anonymous says:

    why is bush waiting for the green light to borrow money he said that we dont need one red cent from the uk do he really know what hes doing or is he just guessing?

  25. Anonymous says:

    Good thing that they got plenty places to gamble and lots of fancy hotels and restaurants in London because Mac is gunna be there a long time before he sees the UK make any decision regarding Cayman based on "common sense and not ideology". He is either dreaming or having fun up there at our expense.

  26. Anonymous says:

    After McMouth blabberd of to radio Jamaica that Cayman does not need "one red cent" from the people of the UK, I am very anxious to see if the FCO will actually give us a go ahead to borrow.

  27. Common sense says:

    Just introduce a property tax. It is the only logical thing to do. Get on with it, and get somereliable annual cash flow. 

    • ??? says:

      I take it you will be happy to pay my bill…  Where do I send it?
       

      • Anonymous says:

        Same place you take your garbage fees, light bill, and water bill anytime you need a little "hep".

        Isn’t that why you voted for them?

      • Postman says:

        Send it to Kurt’s PO Box instead, he is the one responsible for it.

  28. Anonymous says:

    Mr. Bush and his advisors should have not went to the FCO for permisision to borrow money as they must have known what the answer would be with their ridiculous and extra legal proposal.

    Mr. Bush and his advisors know the law well enough that they should have not made such a proposal. Mr. Bush only did all this nonsense to make the PPM look bad. This is his idea of making himself look glorious and big, by making other peopl look bad.

    Had he been genuinely interested in a loan he would have met the debt service requirements. Any businessman knows exactly how this is done.

    I would apprecitate objective criticism on this wesite and no more of the petty garbage that is being said.