‘We must move on port’ Bush says during Roatan trip

| 14/03/2012

Capture_17.JPG(CNS): During a visit to Honduras Friday the premier said that Cayman had to move on the development of cruise berthing facilities and could not sit back any longer. McKeeva Bush took a delegation to look at the cruise berthing facilities in Roatan, which included some members of the press. According to Cayman27, Bush was impressed with the upland element of the facilities, which included a variety of retail and other amenities. He told the local television news station that there also had to be upland development at the facility in Cayman. Bush said if there were no stores the “people would not have an opportunity to make back their money.” (Photo courtesy Cayman27)

While visiting the piers in Roatan, Bush said that when he looked at the upland development amenities and the recognition of the local heritage, he recognised the need for Cayman to move on with its own facilities. Despite the concerns about such retail space as it would compete directly with local merchants, he said it had to happen in order for the piers to be developed and those opposing it were not looking at the bigger picture.

“It’s the kind of talk I heard in 2002 and 2003,” he said, when the north and south merchants were fighting against each other. “Nobody could make up their mind about what they wanted and so they got nothing. This can’t happen with this,” he added, referring to the China Harbour Engineering Company proposal. Bush said that everyone would have a chance to rent the spaces that would be available on the proposed facility in George Town.

“It’s not just for the diamond and jewellery shops. It is for small Caymanian entrepreneurs that need to make an income for them and their family,” he added.

During the trip to the Central American neighbour Bush also looked at the possibility of directly importing from the country to Cayman. He met with officials in La Ceiba, before heading to Roatan in the Bay Islands, about the importation of fresh produce and manufactured goods as importing directly would make the goods cheaper.

While there, the premier also met with relevant officials regarding possible three-way flights between Grand Cayman, Miami and Honduras as well as direct flights from Grand Cayman to Roatan. As there is no direct flight to the Bay Islands, Bush diverted the regular Cayman Airways flight at the weekend to Roatan to collect him and his delegation.

The trip came ahead of the premier’s trip to Washington Wednesday, where he will be discussing the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the new legislation that places new financial reporting requirements on foreign banks and financial institutions about US citizens with offshore accounts. Bush has said he intends to be at the table to ensure Cayman is not treated any less fairly than other jurisdictions. When the premier returns from Washington he will be going on to Panama with the Chamber of Commerce special delegation.

See Cayman 27 video here

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Big mac you need to give me credit  for some of this on the Roatan port – I actually suggested to find out who built the Rotan port – I did not say visit – you could do that by email and phone calls a lot less expensive than a delegation and diverting CAL at extra costs – and I said nothing about produce – we trying to revive/grow agriculture in Cayman and you trying to kill it – you should be trying to stop importation on the crops like mangoes during the season and green bananas from Hawaii and plantains from Costa Rica cause our farmers have them out of waste and supermarkets bringing them in like crazy!  You tell me did you find out who built the Rotan crusie berthing facilities? Shucks!  you forgot the real purpose of your trip with all dem distractions!   

  2. Anon 1.0 says:

    Panama > GCM

  3. Anonymous says:

    UDP/PPM are both to blame for not having cruise berthing. If they didn't keep stopping each others plans and just built a "flippin" pier we would have had one long before Rotan. Not meaning to knock Rotan but we lost ships to them years ago because they had berthing and we are are still in the stone age. Not to mention why doesn't DOT/Port look at working with the ships on spreadingthem out more over the week? 3 ships is good for a day! more than that is just crazy! Can't show our Island's true beauty. Guest leave hating their experience. But everyone that seems to know what we need to make this work should just come spend two weeks at the pier. The whole day for when the first guest comes to when the last one leaves.

  4. Anonymous says:

    UDP left hand not seem to know what right hand doing. JuJu, look wha KeKe doing…first he messing with your NRA and now he messing with your farming.  All that hard work you doing trying to get local farming going and he wa bring him them Hondureno fruits and vegetables.  XXXX After all, Jamaica is closer, have more flights, etc.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Whoa, easy big fella, hold up !   The port was progressing nicely to the point where GLF said they were ready to start around May / June 2011, the Port Board agreed, and then YOU put a spanner in the works and terminated GLF.   Even when the Port Board voted to reinstate them, you overturned your own people because ONLY YOU KNOW BEST.  You claimed that by Nov. 2011, you would have an agreement with the Chinese, and this moved to March 2012, and we still waiting and meanwhile some of us going out of business waiting.  So tell me, who is holding things up NOW?

  6. Anonymous says:

    You cant fix stupid, but you can vote it OUT

    • Anonymous says:

      Sometimes I can’t decide whether to give a post a thumbs up or LOL, but I wish I could give both to this one.

  7. Knot S Smart says:

    I wonder what this trip was really about?

    Does he have a real estate project going on there or anything?

    As far as I know the cruise ship facilities there were built by the cruise lines – just like the arrangement that the past Govt had in place in 2009 and which was stopped by this Govt.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Don't you know our illustrious, luminous and effervescent Premier needs no excuse to travel?   It just came to him on a whim, it took his fancy to go travelling yet again.  ANYTHING, but to stay home and actually solve the problems of the country. 

    • Anonymous says:

      This trip was about getting rid of some more of that excess money in the government's coffers.

  8. Support our Farmers says:

    to 13:04

     

    Since you think we so small minded and Roatan so good, why the hell you never stayed there. Nobody said anything about Roatan being a bad place, i said he should be supporting our local farmers and try go back school learn how spell. I'm a caymanian and proud to say i am and have family back in Honduras. I dont disrespect no country and i didnt have to go another country to make a living, i stayed my backside in my homeland. Next time you posting, read the facts before commenting or haul ya @$$ back Roatan!

     

    People like you too glad call Cayman Islands home!

  9. Anonymous says:

    i am a young caymanian too and i have property in honduras that also grow produce so ppl need to know that alot of caymanians have business over in honduras, also ppl need to that cayman can only grow certain produce and at a higher cost, which honduras grows alot more different types of produce for far less.

    cayman have been importing produce from honduras, maybe just sam mind ppl dont realize it, just think of all the dole pineapple sold here on island and all the dole bananna's too and also all the seafood. 95% of all red snapper that this island consume's is from honduras.

     why ppl on this is so negative towards everything and everyone, maybe ppl need to travel more and have a open mind, maybe they need some education………

  10. Plato says:

    I hear say that some of us are thinking of retiring in Panama!

    Question Is!!    Do we have an "EXTRADITION TREATY"   with

    THAT COUNTRY?  Something to think about!!

  11. Anonymous says:

    Hey listen to this little thing, been you are so small minded. Roatan doesnt need him to support  them. As you can see Roatan didnt come here looking for ideas. He went there trying to get some to help you all small minded people. So just back off !!! Roatan is a BEAUTIFUL island , so when he gets them flights going direct into Roatan make sure you get one so you can expland your mind.

  12. Support our Farmers says:

    Here ya again! I really wish he would try sit down. Here we trying support our local farmers and this man bout supporting Roatan. I hope the idiots that put him in be the biggest sufferers when this happens. I really cant wait until the next election and i hope this one man one vote come in effect by then. Im a young Caymanian and my father is a farmer and this is what he does for a living and you slobby POS wants to take all of this from hard working men like my father who is over 70 years old and trying to earn a living. I hope the same fools that put you in realize that you for yourself and not country.

    • Anonymous says:

      Support your local farmers first. Anyhow, if it was viable for produce to come from Honduras – wouldnt Fosters / Kirks / Progressive be doing that right now?

  13. Anonymous says:

    Could I have funding for my family, i mean delegation, of 4 to view the cruise berthing facilities in the western meditteranean?

  14. Anonymous says:

    If it made sense to export food from Honduras to Cayman direct, it would be happening now.

  15. Anonymous says:

    ppl here cmmenting dont know NOTHING about honduras, this could bring dramitic price reduction on food if imported from honduras, this well also be better natural food that is grown the organic way and not that chemical food we be importing from USA thats cause's nothing but CANCER!!!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      How do we know that Honduras doesn't use chemicals to grow their produce?  For all we know they could be dousing the stuff with DDT.

  16. EYE ON THE ISLAND says:

    Every time The Traveling Man opens his mouth from a foreign country we shouldn't even listen. We can't believe anything he says. Please send his suit casess and pay checks. Had enough.

  17. Anonymous says:

    He never gave it all to West Bayers , but who supported the UDP at that time. This man is just shooting for pies in the sky once again. As they some people think they are so clever , but are you smart!.

  18. SKEPTICAL says:

    I don’t know if Bush’s designated negotiator “YELLIO “. has a diary note, or reminder, on his PC / iPad / Blackberry , or, perhaps more likely, a knot in his handkerchief, but, if memory serves me correctly, I think we are very close to what Bush promised would be the cut-off date for finalizing the details of the contract with CHEC for the cruise ship dock in George Town including the upland infrastructure, the Spotts alternative cruise ship landing, maybe a revamped airport and a cruise ship dock in WB, and sundry other MEGA PROJECTS.
    WOULD ONE OF THEM MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT ON THE STATUS OF THIS ISSUE.

    • Anonymous says:

      Ellio said that the signing of the MOU was "weeks" away, and it was only a matter of dotting eyes and crossing tees. Then there was a letter by merchants complaining about the size of the upland and Ellio said that he went back to them and it was not as big as claimed. LOL.

      Ellio has been leading the negotiations and he had no idea what SIZE the project was! Isn't this the height of incompetence? He is insisting on local labour and local materials but has no clue what is being built other than the generic term "cruise dock". Que estupido.

  19. UK where are you? says:

    WTF!!!"We must move on Port"?? That is what the Port Authority was trying to do before the Premier interfered and delayed the project, costing the country tens of millons of dollars in lost  business due to what is now almost another year without the port starting in addition to the millions of dollars goverment had to pay GLF!!!!

    Not to mention negotiating our future away to Communist China!

     

  20. Anonymous says:

    Why do we need to import fresh produce from Honduras, when we are trying to boost our local agricultural scene??

    This baboon can never taste when his foot in his mouth.

    Furthermore, he went down there to look at their pier; how did he end up discussing importing produce and manufacturing goods in La Ceiba BEFORE he made it to Roatan?! 

    Aggravates my soul how he does our islands everytime he gets a chance! 

  21. Anonymous says:

    wow …its like i've gone back in time to may 2009……

    • Anonymous says:

      yep…the udp have achieved nothing….. same old rhetoric….even after 3 years!

  22. Anonymous says:

    My mother always told me that fools jump in where angels fail to tread! Is this another Cohen deal I wonder?  Or a Boatswain Beach?  No research, just got to have it.  I hope the UK listening and ready to step in.  I don't know which is worse, our leader or araging lion.

    • Anonymous says:

      Our leader.  At least you can put a roaring lion to sleep and get him back to the zoo for our safety. 

      • Anonymous says:

        Ditto that.  One you can use a tranquilizer shot on, the other you have to round up a referendum to get out.  The last one takes way more effort.

  23. Anonymous says:

    On the road again

    Puppet Mac is is the road again

    Travelling the world with his friends

    And blaming all on the PPM

     

     

  24. Anonymous says:

    Other than McKeeva Bush's incompetence, what is keeping the port construction from moving forward at this point?

     

  25. Anonymous says:

    why didn't he bring the piers back with him?

  26. GR says:

    "Bush diverted the regular Cayman Airways flight at the weekend to Roatan to collect him" … What a(nother) waste of money!  Why couldn't he have flown back to La Ceiba (the flight is less than 30 minutes) and caught the Cayman Airways flight like everyone else does?

  27. Anonymous says:

    Did anyone else notice they were the ONLY people at the dock? Where were all the cruiseshippers? what time did they tour it, one would think they would be there when it was at capacity to see it in action… Maybe CNS has access to those details or Cayman 27?

  28. Anonymous says:

    I wonder what the bill on this trip was?

    And who was in this delegation?

    • Marl Road says:

      The Marl Road has it that some of the delegation were people he is trying to recruit into the UDP as new candidates. (Private Citizens)

      • Anonymous says:

        Tell mi nah…who dey was and wha else they wah "negotiating" on this trip?

        Really curious to know who was on this trip and if it did not include members from say DOEH or Agri Dept…then I'd question the real purpose of this trip.  Or was it "oh look a dock- lets pull in and say we were here to tour this facility".  Classic

    • Anonymous says:

      Let me guess:

       

      For the Importing Argiculture and Produce part of the trip, the follow were not present:

      Minister for Agriculture, Director or Staff of Agri Dept., Prominent Cayman farmers, Prominent Importing Company bosses in Cayman, Prominent Cayman Supermarket bosses

       

      For the Cruise Pier development part of the trip, the follow were not present:

      Chairman, Director or Staff of Port Auth, Director or Staff of CITA, Director or Staff of Planning Auth/Dept., Chief Officer for Tourism Ministry

       

      There are probably ten other persons that could be added to each list that would be relevant ppl to go on such a trip too.

  29. Anonymous says:

    The new government administration building "HAD" to be sold too, Cayman.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yeah until Charles Clifford frightened McDinejad into retreat with the proposed March !

      Mac saw what was coming and quickly reversed course on his proposal to sell the Peoples Building.

      • Anonymous says:

        Tell Chucky not to go to sleep, as I hear that is back on the table now that he is so desperate for cash.

  30. Anonymous says:

    "Bush said that everyone would have a chance to rent the spaces that would be available on the proposed facility in George Town"

    Mr Bush will that be like last time when the shambles that was Royal Watler was built, when you single handedly gave all the spaces to West Bayers?

    • Anonymous says:

      Royal Watler is a tacky disgrace.  The shops are all utterly classless.

    • YOW!! SCRATCH !! says:

      15.56  well tell me why not.  Charity begins at home.   West Bay is his home Town, so give me a good reason why he should not help them, first.

      • Anonymous says:

        Er..because he is the Premier of the whole country? Someone who is that parochial in his thinking should not be in govt.