Over 12,000 say no to EE port

| 22/06/2011

(CNS): The petition requesting the Cayman Islands Government not to approve the proposed commercial sea port in East End has gone global and attracted more than 12,200 on-line signatures after just a few days of being on the international petition site. People from all over the world, including those who have already visited and dived in the area, have signed the petition, which is addressed to McKeeva Bush. The news comes in the wake of comments made by the premier in the Legislative Assembly this week that he wanted Cayman to develop a transshipment industry.

During the budget debate, the premier once again showed his support for the proposal for the commercial seaport in East End. “I want to see transshipment in this country. That’s what will make us sustainable,” Bush said. He also spoke about the need to remove the cargo dock from the cruise port in George Town and turn the capital into a more attractive tourist destination in the evenings. 

However, people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, all across Europe, the Caribbean, the US, Canada, the Middle East and Asia are asking McKeeva Bush to reject the idea of placing a commercial port at Half Moon Bay.

The petition reads in part: “Such a seaport would effectively destroy the irreplaceable natural beauty of Half Moon Bay, which is home to some of the world's most popular dive sites … the project is not only ecologically irresponsible; it is economically unnecessary.”

Adding to the local opposition, which includes a significant number of people in East End as well as the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, Save Cayman, the Concerned Citizens Group, the opposition PPM, the independent member from North Side, local quarry operators and a growing number of residents across the Islands, are (at the time of posting) another 12,233 people from around the world.

“The Cayman Islands depends financially on its global reputation as an effective steward of its magnificent natural beauty,” said Stephen Broadbelt, long time dive operator and the owner of Ocean Frontiers dive resort in East End.  “Clearly the whole world is watching.”

The recent publication of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) has also been criticized by both the Environmental Assessment Board, which has asked the authors to go back and address many of its shortcomings, and local marine engineers WI Marine, which heavily criticized the design and plans for the project.

Following a recent public meeting in East End and despite considerable opposition, the developer Joe Imparato has submitted his plans for the port, the EIA and a draft law to create a special development zone to the premier for his approval. If the government were to give its assent, the project would begin with at least five years of excavation and dredging before any part of the commercial and cruise port elements would be developed.

The current view by many is that the port would never become a reality and the goal is merely to excavate the fill, which could fetch millions of dollars locally and via export, which is why the project has been dubbed the ‘mega quarry’.

Next Tuesday (28 June), a march and demonstration has been planned in George Town to show government that the people are against this project as well as a number of other government proposals that have raised concern.

The petition, along with signers’ names, countries, and personal comments can be seen here.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I really hope the march organizers know how to maintain a peaceful protest. If the crowd gets unruly, they will lose sympathy. Cayman is still seen by the rest of the world as a tax haven/banking centre for the wealthy and corrupt. Fights or destruction at the protest will not be internationally perceived as similar to the movements in the middle-east, but rather more like the hooligans in the Vancouver riots.

    March organizers should be on the look-out for "agents provocateurs" who purposely try to rile a protest to violence. Unlike other places, however, these agents won't have to be on anyone's payroll. Just give them enough liquor and they'll gleefully start a fight and break windows…

  2. Anonymous says:

    Keep up the press we do not need a port in EE, not now NOT EVER.

  3. cabusow says:

    The developer does not care what the people want. he has openly and arrogantly stated that the project will start by years end no matter what. he seems very confident of that. one wonders why!!!

    All Imparado needs is the government to sign off. The rest if a waste of time. 12,000 signatures does not represent the electorate and even if the EE vote is lost to the current Gov in 2012 it wont affect the outcome of the election. you have to ask why it will be approved if indeed it is. the current agreement does not ask for any guarantees from the developer re completing what he started. We may well be left with a great big hole and a chunk of Cayman gone forever.

    if the warranted concerns of many over the environmentdoes not affect the governments decision why at the very least cant they insist he completes what he started within a given time frame?

      

  4. HURT says:

    Looks like Mac got his head caught in a fish pot.

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually it's hopelessly stuck in the pot at the end of the rainbow.

  5. Whodatis says:

    How quick our politicians forget that THEY work for US.

    We are their bosses, however, come post-election time, the tables of persuasion and intimidation seem to make a complete 180.

    Fear not Cayman – there are few of them and MANY of us.

    In theory this will be a walk in the park – there is no good reason why the reality ought to be any different.

    See ya Tuesday!

     

    • SeekingThethru says:

      I can't wait until the WALK OF SHAME tuesday.LMAO The news will shame all of you HAHA.Former PPMGovernment +1Northside IND almost PPM he said.lol I can bet 100 million dollars that no more than 100 PPM voters Will show support for this crap.I can't believe finally this former ppm goverment will ask for forgiveness for the way the spended the people money during there ternure.Can't wait BOBO…..the spended closer to 600 million dollars in there 4 years.The better wear the color red

      (Bleeding)to remained us they way the left this country financial services.

      • Anonymous says:

        I don't vote, I don't have a vote.  If I could vote, I wouldn't vote for any of your current political candidates…

        But on Tuesday, I'll be there.  You see (for me at least) its not about UDP, or PPM or anyone, its about the future of Cayman.

      • anonymous says:

        Your post is a resoundingly clear indication of the need for better education!

        • Anonymous says:

          Education is important but is not all my friend " grandma always says manners, and respect take you were money or education can't" , dont disrespect a person because he/she dont share your belief; he/she too have an opinion just like you; respect a person for thier opionion – you dont have to agree with it. A famous calyposian once sung "them educated donkeys mashing up the whole darn world"  

          • Anonymous says:

            In our case it's the uneducated donkeys.

          • Anonymous says:

            I dont think it matters whether or not the donkey is educated, put a donkey in charge and it's bound to mash anything up:)

            Another famous calypsonian also said:

            "There is simply no room in this whole wide world for an uneducated little boy or girl. Don’t allow idle companions to lead you astray. To earn tomorrow you have to learn today."  

        • Anonymous says:

          That comes with being a UDP supporter.

      • Anonymous says:

        Go back to school, learn to spell, and learn to write a proper sentence, then we might even consider letting you switch to PPM.

      • Anonymous says:

        It's not a PPM only march, lots of other people will be there who care about what happens to Caymans future. Bring your 100 Million Dollars if you have it. However, I would bet it is a Mac 100M$ that doesn't even exist and will never be audited.

    • Whodatis says:

      In all honesty, I am rather disappointed that this protest is (apparently) being led and organised by the opposition (PPM) and its relative political figures.

      That element is a bit of a pill to swallow for it suggests the approval and support of the "other" political party – and in my personal case – this is not necessarily the situation.

      However, the wise and focused among us will be able to see beyond the traditional politricks and come together for a greater cause – the future of the people of the Cayman Islands.

      • Anonymous says:

        At the initial meeting which was held to organise this march, there were many "non PPM" people who were invited and came toit. This is an issue for all of Cayman to consider. Someone had to start the ball rolling and it happened to be the PPM supporters and a lot of other people. Come to the march, show that you care about what happens to Cayman at this most critical time. You don't need to agree with everything that is said, you can walk with or beside a sign which states how you feel about one or two issues. I am glad you can see that it is important to come together for a greater cause. Bring some other like-minded people with you please.

    • Surprise! says:

      Now he is planning a protest at the public beach in response to the CITA protest at "Lovers Wall" on Saturday – The GALL of this man!

      This is truly PATHETIC!

      The protest at "Lovers Wall" is against the destruction of our prestine Island, what is his protest against, the destruction of more for for the wicked?

      Come on man, this man really has to go – PLEASE McKeeva stand down for the love of your Country or don't you have love for your Country?

    • Anonymous says:

      I smell trouble,  I think Mr Bush should rethink giving out this project.  Try and find money else where.  This is going tobring some serious problems in Cayman I am sure.

    • Dom H. says:

      I would recommend that if you have a job you go to it on Tuesday – be productive!  It sounds like you have another choice other than the PPM to replace the UDP with because if the PPM was in power now, I wonder how they would now explain to the people the problem that they created during their four years.

      If you really want to be useful, lobby for the proper infrastructure of the Sister Islands – especially for proper public telecommunications (island wide wireless & TV) and, piped water supply especially on Cayman Brac. Electricity supply is good but it takes the others I just listed to bring proper development to any area.

      • Anonymous says:

        And while you are lobbying for the infrastructure of the Sister Islands, lobby for a bar and cinema room to be included in the Brac Hilton ooops sorry Hurricane shelter

  6. cow itch says:

    cha…  i don't understand these people!  they should have said 60 thousand instead of 12 thousand. now mac is thinking 12 minus 60 equals only 48 thousand, and there you go- the majority on his side. thanks alot!

  7. Mr. Bush says:

    I always wanted a sea port in my country YaY!!!! i cant wait to see it

    • Anonymous says:

      You can't wait is right, because it's certainly not going to happen in your lifetime.

    • Anonymous says:

      Very interesting, everyone please read this.

    • Against the Oil Refinery says:

      Thank you Mud Foot – very eye-opening indeed.   

    • Anonymous says:

      For those of us with a non-legal background *I tried!!*, can you tell us what this means?  What did he do?? 

  8. Anonymous says:

    Is it interesting that the first person to sign was from Wisconsin and that the first person i could find with a Cayman address (the above quoted Steven Broadbelt) was number 991? Maybe the Cayman sign-up rate increased after this was published.

    • Anonymous says:

      We actually need Caymanians and other voters to sign the paper petition so that we can use it to push for a referendum on the subject. Great to see so many people from overseas signing tho'.

  9. Anonymous says:

    "Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything."

  10. concernedvisitor says:

    I come to the Island because of the quiet, beauty and relaxing atmosphere.  I run away from the States and fully enjoy my peacful time on the Island. When all of this development happens, I will no longer want to come to the Island, it will look like a city!! The cruise ships do visit but they do not bring in the money that overnighters do!  We come to the Island and stay there, that means we need to buy our food, drinks and other supplies from the Island.  The cruise passengers come in for the day and spendless that overnighters.  This does not make sense!  An oil refinery??  Why in the world do that?  To make money for the already wealthy.  If you want to see oil refineries come to the states.  The Island does not need this to survive.  What the Island needs is a new government!  One that does not want to ruin the natural beauty of the Island. This brings tears to my eyes to think something else beautiful will be destroyed by the greedy!!  Leave Cayman the way it is, absolutely perfect!!

    • Against the Oil Refinery says:

      Thank you.  Many, if not most of us feel the same way you do.

      Please do help us to spread the word.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Desperation to stop progress.

     

    An online poll – where our competitors get to hold us back

  12. Anonymous says:

    Caymanians the time is now to DEMONSTRATE IN THE MARCH!
    If you do not then you will be marched over by oppressive governance and greedy destructive developers knowingly destroying the East End Water Lens, the scenic Sea View Drive, leaving Caymanians taxpayers to pay for the entire infrastructure external to the Mega Quarry.

    How much sense is there in several ships bringing rocks each week and Mega Quarry shipping out our rocks each week? Madness.
    Only DUMBOS could support this crazy damaging nonsense.

    Caymanians the time is now to DEMONSTRATE IN THE MARCH!
    Join the email list to keep updated on the DEMONSTRATION MARCH: savecayman@gmail.com

    Please circulate the DEMONSTRATION MARCH to your entire email list.  If you are a Civil Servant then set up an anonymous email account (on Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) that does not use your real name e.g. anonymous98@gmail.com.

    Get the word out CAYMAN IS NOT FOR SALE, NO BOBO NO!

    C U Tuesday noon!

    Fisherwoman.

     

  13. Michel says:

    The wheel of fortune is turning, where will it stop ? No one knows.  Les jeux sont fait, rien ne vas plus ! Michel Lemay

  14. SeekingThethru says:

    What a joke that was an online petition as well with the world population been close to 8 billion people that is a whopping 0,0000000001 percent?LMAO

    • R. U. Kiddin says:

      Hey, SeekingThe thru:……  Those 12,200 people that don't want the hole are the ones that care about the Caymans.  The other billions you mentioned don't come here, and may have never heard of the Cayman Islands.  And……..  since the others didn't get a chance to express their feelings on the subject, why are you even mentioning them?  Get real!

    • Anonymous says:

      Shows what little you know about petitioning and the forces that govern (and have the ability to change) the political and ecological landscape. Shut your mouth and open your mind.

    • Anonymous says:

      Any chance you could give us an idea how many 0's it would take to reach a percentage of the world population versus McKeeva and Imparato? LYAO

  15. Anonymous says:

    Of course it has 12,000 signatures, they way the website is setup you are nearly forced to sign the petition to access it!  sneaky sneaky

    • anonymous says:

      Hardly the case. You have to fill out numerous fields of personal data and then press submit. Everyone who has signed has done so very intentionally. And it is clear that most people that have signed if not from Cayman – have visited as tourists or lived here in the past. Read the comments. 

      • Anonymous says:

        You don't have to sign the petition to access it. There are two tabs, if you click the "petition" tab, you can see the petition. Then you can choose to register and sign if you want.
         

    • Anonymous says:

      that is not how it works… it is a pop-up for you to send the petition out to other folks should you want to.  

      if you don't want to sign it then don't.

    • Anonymous says:

      There is no such thing as 'nearly forced' either they are forced to sign the petition or they are not, the latter, I am sure, is the case. sneaky sneaky. Makes me wonder how much YOU'RE getting per cubic yard.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes you're right, Iwent to the website and this hand came out and twisted my arm until I would sign……..

      • Anonymous says:

        No you don't have to sign the petition to access it, READ YOUR SCREEN!!!! There are two tabs, if you click the "petition" tab, you can see the petition. Then you can choose to signif you want. After you sign, it doesn't show you the petition.
         

    • Anonymous says:

      No you don't have to sign the petition to access it, READ YOUR SCREEN!!!! There are two tabs, if you click the "petition" tab, you can see the petition. Then you can choose to sign if you want. After you sign, it doesn't show you the petition.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Scientist's warn oceans'marine life "on a brink of extinction".

    Dire warning: catastrophe would be unprecedented in human history, they say. Published today.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Yea, these same scientist, claims the world was created by a big bang.

      Rubbish… about extinction.Man has no power to destroy this world.

      Are you blind ? dont you see how weak man has become, marryng one another, women taking the lead. men has lost his balls, and his backbone.

      If you told me man was on extinction, then i would believe you.

      There are only a few of us left in the world.

       

      • Anonymous says:

        We seriously suggest you try to listen when someone with a grain of sense speaks.

  17. Anonymous says:

    Bush does what he likes & the rich get richer. Cayman's destruction & give-aways-to-the-rich are depressing.

    Last night I read in the newspaper about the oil refinery where 5000 barrels of crude go in, & 5000 barrels of fuel come out & it is 100% clean with no emissions etc., which is impossible; how can you have the same volume of useful material come out compared to raw material put in? The lies the public are told on every issue in Cayman is staggering.

    The Premier knows well in advance what deals he is going to sign so keep up the pressure on this one & get environmentalists & global pressure applied early on as this is propably another already-done-deal for Cayman's destruction.

    With all the new cruise ship docks, dredging, channels, oil refineries, quarrying, building constructions & removal of mangroves, what tourists, investors, divers etc. would come here, & who would invest in property?! This is all so short sighted to get the Govt. out of a fix now, they will wreck Cayman forever.

    The only answer is, Govt. stop spending & live within your means!

  18. Anonymous says:

    12,000 ppl say no but Sir Bush says yes so everybody else is irrelevant. Just saying!

  19. Real World says:

    If Bush ignores the screams of essentially one-fifth of the population, his contempt for the people of Cayman will be clear.

    • Anonymous says:

      re-read…real world

    • Against the Oil Refinery says:

      Its not one fifth of Cayman's population, its (so far) 12,000 people from around the world.

      Hopefully they'll start a similar petition against the Oil Refinery – I suspect that will get even more signatures!

      • Anonymous says:

        Yes, and I hope these same 12,000 from around the world petetion their country, that they are from, to stop progress…I'll bet you, you won't ever see that happening. Did they petition, not to improve their 70- year old infastructures, their bridges that are falling down, killing people.  

        They enjoy their infastructures back home, even brag about them, then they travel  to other people's little world, and want it to stay the way it is, with thatch huts, and mud roads, just  for their entertainment. 

        We have three types of people here; the desparate oppositionist, trying to convience the Cayman people to vote them back in, the  year 2013….. pure political bull shit.

        The Caymanians; want their cake and eat it too, got whatthey want already… from all the past so-called destructions,  set for life..living in their mansions, driving their SUV hate Makeeva, hate to see other Caymanians prosper in life.

        The foreigners, who come here with their millions, also wanting the Island to stay in its primitive state, for their entertainment, and fantasy life style.

        Wake up Cayman, if we do not get these projects off the ground, England is going to force property tax, and income tax on us, is this what we want? We do not have the luxery to borrow any more money.

        Do you really think these same foreigners, against development will stay here with us.

         

         

    • Joe B says:


      Why does it take any more than what he has already done for the people of Cayman to see he is not interested in what you want?  His contempt, his deceit, his "I am Premeir and your all not"  attitude of the last two years should be enough.

    • R. U. Kiddin says:

      It already is.

    • Anonymous says:

      You misleading the cayman people again, where did you get this number from? one -fifth.

  20. Henry says:

    Please bear in mind –

    Although it looks like, the Premier has not publicly made a decision on this project yet.  All we can do is hope he sees from the demonstrations that there are a large majority opposing this project, and he doesn't allow 1 man develop to cause him to make the wrong decision for these islands.

  21. Anonymous says:

    This is wonderful that we have so many signatures, but will this mean anything?  As far as I understand we need $3,500 signatures from registered voters on the island for a referendum. 

    I hope this helps to illustrate the frustration with this project and that we do not believe this to be beneficial to our islands.

  22. anonymous says:

    Still not a scientific poll….

    If the question is put – "would you vote against the importation of food if it is going to destroy the Cayman Islands", many would go hungry too. 

    We need accurate information.  Hopefully one day we will actually get a balance in reporting and information to truly understand whether this project is good or bad.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      If you want a scientific poll then have a referendum. I challenge the Govt. to have a referendum.

      • Anonymous says:

        The gov. won't have a referendum on this topic, because it could lead

        to them having to have a referendum on any project he comes up with.

        That wouldn't do!! For the most part he will carry on doing exactly

        what he wants…Can anyone really stop him from that?

         

        • Anonymous says:

          "For the most part he will carry on doing exactly what he wants…Can anyone really stop him from that"?

          YES WE CAN!

    • R. U. Kiddin says:

      Harming your environment is NOT good!  Any dummy knows that.

  23. Anonymous says:

    online petition……yipee….thats it, i'm 100% against this now…….zzzzzzzzzzzzz