Jack scorned Cabinet
(CNS): The questionable attitude of this and previous governors, including their lack of respect towards the elected officials in Cabinet, was revealed by at least four members of the Legislative Assembly last week. The most recent former Cabinet members, Anthony Eden, Arden McLean and Alden McLaughlin, all suggested that by virtue of their elected status the current governor viewed them with distrust. Ezzard Miller, who served in Ex-Co back in the 1990s, added that previous governors had also displayed arrogance and disdain towards those elected by the people.
During the debate following the North Side MLA’s proposed motion that the CI government sue the FCO and the governor, Stuart Jack, to recover the costs of Operations Tempura in the British courts, the way that the UK’s representatives had treated Cabinet members elected by the people of the Cayman Islands was raised in public for the first time. The MLAs told the House how they felt the governor had treated them as though they were criminals by the virtue of their elected position and that he made it obvious he did not trust them or consider their opinions to be of any value.
The current governor as well as previous holders of the office were criticised for their derision towards elected members and how the prevailing attitude was that ‘governor knows best’ and they knew nothing, the members said.
Anthony Eden, the former minister for health, spoke of how Cabinet members were summoned to the governor and told about Operation Tempura some six months or more after the fact, without any previous consultation. Eden said that the governor had not even shared the information that foreign police officers were in the Cayman Islands with leader of the country.
Arden McLean, the PPM member for East End who also served in the previous Cabinet, said that the governor had treated him and his fellow elected members as though they were a “bunch of thieves” just by virtue of the fact that they were elected to office. He said that during the progress of Operation Tempura, the Cabinet was never informed as had been promised and the elected officials were learning about the investigation through the media.
During a passionate speech, the East End MLA said that now he was no longer in government he could speak freely and wanted to get things off his chest. “In my opinion he was part of a conspiracy to destroy my country,” he declared. “This is the people’s house; it does not belong to the governor.”
McLean revealed how the governor would constantly tell Cabinet members about good governance over and over again and how he regarded the elected members as “the biggest bunch of thieves” who “didn’t know what was good for our own country”.
He said the problem was that the governors who were appointed to serve in Cayman came with preconceived ideas and regarded the local people as mere “natives”. He said they seemed unaware that the Cayman Islands is a sophisticated country and the world’s fifth largest financial centre. He said governor’s came “believing they had to lead us out of the wilderness”.
His George Town colleague, Alden McLaughlin, who during his time in Cabinet was a more open critic of the governor and in particular the overriding power of that office, revealed that evenhe was shocked when soon after this governor’s arrival he made it clear that he distrusted the elected officials.
“One of my greatest disappointments as a minster was when I understood that the governor had no trust in the elected members,” he said, adding that this was not the partnership he had believed it would be. McLaughlin said the governor was not entitled to disregard what elected members had to say in the way he had. “Just because you get elected to office you are not converted to a criminal,” McLaughlin observed. “How do we get to the point where the governor is without flaw, but because we are elected we cannot be trusted?” he asked.
He said the distrust waspart of a much bigger picture, which was to do with Cayman’s relationship with the UK and the overall change in that relationship. As Cayman became increasingly sophisticated and a competitive nation on the international financial stage, the UK which had once looked out for Cayman was now in competition with it and worried far more about contingent liabilities to it than the welfare of Cayman and its people. McLaughlin said while the new Constitution restricted the governor in some areas, ultimately the overall picture had changed little and Cayman would have to face independence eventually if it wanted to control its own destiny as it was clear things were likely to get worse. McLaughlin said he believed independence would happen in his lifetime.
Miller, an open supporter of independence who had raised the motion in the first place, said that he too had “experienced the arrogance, disdain and condescension of Her Majesty’s representatives in Cabinet.” He described one as coming to cabinet “in a drunken stupor and drooling over cabinet papers”. Miller criticised another governor who the North Side MLA said had dismissed his suggestion to place five hundred names in Heroes Square for the centennial celebrations as he would not be able to find so many Caymanians worthy of the honour.
He said that governors come to the Cayman Islands believing they are experts in everything. “If one of us natives is brave enough to question them, we are ridiculed,” he said, describing the English manner in which the disdain was dished out.
Miller said his motion was about showing the UK and its representatives that the members were prepared to stand up for their country and the people. “We know what is best for Cayman," said Miller. “We are not idiots.”
Category: Headline News
My "socall" Leaders:
Politics.
The U.S. has 2 political parties. The UK has the same number. Canada I believe, has 3. The same would apply to most developed nations, and all of them have millions of people. Cayman is no different with 2 parties, but with a smaller population. All of those parties have been around forever. They have their friends, special interest groups, lobbyists, and any number of assorted hangers-on and personal favors. Any party elected to power has it’s own members and associates. Much like a private club. They do a job or they don’t do a job. It doesn’t really matter. They are either re-elected or occassionaly become the opposition. Either way they are paid handsomely and collect healthy pensions and perks either in power or out. Politics is a career. With an undefined job description and absolutely no accountability for success or failure. If you lose money and/or the faith of the people…you still have a job within your political party. Unless you’re arrested.
To even question whether independence is good or bad we should first address how hopelessly inadequate this system is. It is outdated, outmoded, and ineffective in representing the wishes of the people or even foreseeing consequences for the future. It appears to be even more hopeless at that, but good at "Omigod we didn’t realize how bad things were." Because there are no consequences if you mess up or not. For any political party, other than to sit inopposition temporarily. And sleep for awhile while waiting for the next election. Ad nauseum.
Political parties to me are the worst detriment to democracy we have. They do not appear to be something devised by the people. Rather by groups whose wish it is to maintain careers.
Like inbreeding, they don’t allow for independent thought and they stifle imagination, input and choice. All of which we need to function as a society.
This forum is a better description of democracy and the way it should work than ANYTHING I have seen in government ANYWHERE. While we discuss and exchange ideas about what our government should do and what it should not….
Why are we not more aware that we have the power already? In our present informal system. Best to ask ourselves what democracy is supposed to mean. And who it’s for.
The UK has 2 political parties(sic)
Really, don’t really like to check on the facts you seem to vomit out.
Lets see off the top:
Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats (there are 3 that hace all lead the country for starters), then others that have won seats:
BNP, Green Party, Referendum Party, SNP, DUP, Sinn Fein, UK Independency Party.
That’s 12 now.
Hey there are another 100 or more listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom.
The 2 party system may be bad, but atleast it’s better than being ruled by a coalition government and nothing getting done
You’re right. In my haste I didn’t check on all the parties that have registered. I may have missed the Jelly Bean Lovers Party, and the North Side Of Our Street Party, etc.
Point taken
I too find it difficult to trust "elected" officials in a country where a vote is purchased not only in CI or US but with washing machines, generators, status grants, etc. I too find it difficult to trust the "elected" officials who continue to propagate differential attitudes that serve only to maintain the status quo and foster the "culture of silence" which binds us as a people. I find it even more difficult to trust elected officials who have to wait until they are no longer in power to speak their "truth".
You were "elected" to lead. Why did you not? Will you tell me your hands were tied? You had the power of the people you represent- the greatest power there is in a "democratic" society. Yet, like most of the people of these islands, you continue to tie your own hands. In the process you limit *our* aspirations and stunt this nation’s growth. You were much too busy with your petty infighting to take note of what was happening. Now *we* are left with an $8,000,000 bill to cover the cost of your "distraction".
Stop smiling, new government. Things don’t look better for you either. The nickname "Cayman Kanye" should be a good indication of that.
Colonies have one core purpose, namely to facilitate the transfer of wealth to the homeland, either directly through trade or through the generation of capital for homeland citizens. If a colony’s conduct results in a net loss of wealth it is not fulfilling its purpose and arguably Cayman, by diverting tax revenue, is causing a net loss to the UK’s balance sheet. If Cayman is costing too much to the UK the UK owes less of an obligation to put the interests of Cayman at the forefront of policy decisions which may affect the islands.
It appears to the discerning eye, that independence is what the mother country truly wants for Cayman. Have you heard of constructive dismissal? Ever had it happen to you? By the time you realize it, you’re usually out the door with no recourse because cleverly the power that be played you like a puppet and made you think it was your own idea to walk out the door.
People Shhhh, look at what is happening; all this fuss, all this crime, all this political bickering, instability and fear is perfect for their plan, look how hard they pressed to keep us off their precious “White list”. The Governor – a pawn indeed, if we allow him to be, but if we “keep OUR nose clean” and do what we are supposed to we have a better chance of getting by unscathed.
We need to realize that the UK does not “need” Cayman; the fact is that we are looked upon as a rebellious child that cannot be controlled, an embarrassment! This world is a big place, we are but a small dot on the map and we need the protection and accountability of a “big country” looking over us. Unfortunately, like a rebellious child we are thinking we would be better off with out all these strings attached and the UK like a tired parent would like nothing better than to cut us loose. The good news is; they’re currently still our “protector” and it is best we keep it that way.
Politicians I implore you stop already; let go of your false pride, focus on solutions – won’t you ‘truly love’ your country and put her first.
Cayman my mind turns to Joel 1 in this time. Wake up! Get back on track, for the “great locus” is devouring your land.
This Governor’s distrust and disdain towards the Cabinet may not be entirely because they were elected. Unfortunately, I think that it may be an attitude towards all things local.
I think his attitude may be really tainted with the typical notion of SOME expats that if you are local you cannot think your way out of a box.
Too bad for him that he has proven that about himself.
Higher monkey climb, the more he expose.
IF, the UK hate us so much, want our demise and are trying to get us to go for independence, then we should be RESISTING THIS MOVE, not going along with their plan. But keep that quiet! Dont give away our strategy!!! God help us.
I for one beleive that we have had the best of both worlds for a long time. Which other place has it as good as we do?? All this change thats seems in vogue today – our children are going to curse us for it.
The (English, mainly) expats, regardless of the territory, have historically evinced an attitude of disdain towards the "natives". Why did India, for example, get rid of them? The British Empire was mainly about looking after its own interests, and that meant keeping the natives in their place as much as they possibly could.
What is more unfortunate is that, as a result of the British Empire having dwindled to the point of being relatively insignificant, there is no substantial training ground in which British diplomats can hone their skills. As a result, when they come to territories like ours, they simply don’t have the experience to manage the job. Hence the type of performance we have seen in Jack.
So the question for us is whether we will continue to maintain the constitutional status quo, even in the context of bewilderingly inadequate country managers — which essentially is the role that governors fill.
Frankly, I agree with Mahatma Ghandi — if there are going to be errors made, I prefer a Caymanian to make it, rather than an expat, whose heart for the place is questionable. After all, who is the expat governor’s boss? It is really the FCO — who may not fully undertand the local ambience anyway.
Well the colonialists appear to have trained some of the senior civil servants extremely well, as some of them do not believe either that local people have any abilities and can do as well or even a better job than those from overseas. And they continue to put their faith in outsiders who only have one agenda and loyalty, and that is to feather their own nests for as much, and for as long as possible.
When in reality, local people have their country at heart, and have nowhere else to go. Some of these people making decisions are forgetting that when they have gone down-under, their grandchildren will be affected by the decisions that they make today against local people. It is simply called ‘karma’ – or more commonly ‘what goes around comes around’.
Be careful of the seeds that you sow today!
Our father which art in heaven thy kingdom come plz help our little islands for all we have is FOOLS running it!!!!!!!!!! Amen…………..
a site that is owned and operated by Brits
Aha!! I knew it! You probably have a list. And we’re all on it. And you send the list to the Queen. Who reads it and we don’t get what we wanted for Christmas. Or is that Santa?
Seriously, I think this discussion is all about relevance. In other words is it relevant to have a child-parent relationship with the UK or with any other country? Is it relevant to have a Governor? If the Governor wanted to be relevant, he would take some responsibility for an investigation which so far has turned out to be a failure. But he hasn’t. I imagine because of that many are questioning the relevance of it and him. And, it follows who’s side he’s on. Ours…or an agenda? We are still, according to the Governor, under a cloud of suspicion. We cannot function properly under that cloud and he should be aware of it. Unless…as many suspect the agenda is for us to remain under his cloud, and as we continue to live on our island and look up to see blue skies we begin to wonder… what the purpose of the cloud is. To help? Or to hinder?
The Governor has authority without accountability.
So Does Makeeva….
Not true. He is accountable (a) to the Governor and the UK Govt. (b) to the legislature; and (3) the electorate.
But he is not accountable to Caymanians, and the poster, no doubt a Caymanian, will be suffering from political myopia. The fact is that the role of Governor is an important check and balance on a local authority elected on the basis of a restrictive franchise with an open desire to prefer their interets over the interests of the community as a whole. The broader the franchise is in Cayman the more legitimate the questionning of the Governor’s role.
Not sure I follow Bert. The electorate is comprised of Caymanians, why do you say McKeeva is not accountable to Caymanians? Did you mean the Governor is not accountable to Caymanians? Who is suffering from political myopia and in what way?
The "restrictive franchise", as you put it, limits the right to vote to citizens which is an acceptable global standard. You are not entitled to vote in the United States merely because you are a ‘Green Card’ holder.
It is fairly obvious that a country must be run primarily for the benefit of its citizens, although this should be understood broadly and for the long term as well. (For example, it may be in the interests of citizens for new business to be attracted here). If not, what is the point?
Widening the fanchise and the proper role of the Governor are two different issues. I understand that you believe this is an ideal opportunity to conflate them.
Other countries do not have elections where only about 23% of the population have the right to vote. Many people who have reside here for many years would have the right to vote in most other countries. British citizens have a right to vote under the ECHR, it is denied to them until the inevitable legal challenge. While the hurdles to enfranchisement are set so high, the role of the Governor to represent all is needed, even if that involves acting contrary to the wishes of the local politicians elected by the minority electorate.
Actually in many modern democracys only 23% or less of the total population actually vote.
And in the father of democracy, Ancient Athens, less than 1% of the population could vote.
When the expat community accounts for 50% or so of the population, giving them the vote would be criminal on the local population
Not so, we can vote McKeeva out, the governor is untouchable
Imagine Cayman Independence…
Our Cabinet cast being
Mr. Mac "Ritz Carlton" Bush
Mr. Ellio "Benz" Solomon (aka Dawg the Bountyhunter depending on who is on Rooster.)
Mrs. Juliana "Angel" O’Connor (Whats her position on church raffles anyway?)
Mr. Mark "Pave it all" Scotland (oops, isnt he in Health?")
Mr. Mike "Deer in the Headlights" Adam
and NO GOVERNOR….no reserve powers….
How many would sleep better at night?
We have a LOT of maturing to do before we are ready for independence, Cayman.
I’ll take any of the above over Jack or Kurt again!!
At least they are Caymanians and our own people. Despite whatever has happened to us we must stop beating each other down. We could call the previous government names as well, but what good would that do. All of them have to live here good or bad. Jack, like all governors can come here, live off our milk and honey, destroy us financially and otherewise and then pack their bags for a healthy retirement.
It’s time that we understand that trying to destroy each other is playing right into England’s hands. Stop this foolishness, at the end of the day we are Caymanians whether you carry the UDP, PPM or independent label for that matter. Strife will get us nowhere and I say that to all sides.
We are at a crossroad and England is in the driver’s seat. It is like being driven by a drunken driver, do we take the keys away or do we continue to let them drive and hope and pray that in the end we will all get home safe and not die in the process. Sadly, it is our decision to make and unfortunately there are too many past and ongoing examples of what the UK has done to destroy overseas territories. Sooner our later, when the car starts swerving to go over the cliff, we will have to take action or we will all go down together. Sadly as well, it is always the drunk that survives unscathed.
Oh yea they are all Caymanians but that wont help us Caymanians that are not bosoom- buddies with the udp or on their payroll. In their books it is "kisses that goes with favours" and just check who is kissing and who will get the favours when the Port deal is revealed – and there are plenty "deals" to come that is not in Caymans interest but do they care, but you know certain people are blind to the facts!
Let us stop personalising everything and looking at matters subjectively.
Objectively speaking – we are (the Cayman Islands) a grown up adult child whose parents (the UK) have been signalling to us for some time that we need to leave their place of abode and strike out on our own as independent persons.
However, we need to finish our education(of our people) and develop certain skills before we do so.
How many persons skilled in International Relations do we have on board? How many good negotiators do we have to interface at the international level?
Such plans are what we should be putting in place, so that when the time is nigh, an agreed date can be set with the UK for us to demit the family home and stand on our own independently.
Is’nt this what every parent wants- ie to train and develop their children so that one day they can stand on their own?
Are you really saying that our leaders are grown up? Do they act grown up in your eyes? Are the things happening to Grand Cayman right now the offsprings of grownup adult childs? Every parent should want their children to successfull. Do you think that the Grown up child that is Cayman is successfull? I really wish I did.
The U.K. does let Grand Cayman run itself to a very large degree. It is free to fail or succeed. Yes the U.K. looks like it is having a hard time running itself and the "help"from them lately has left a lot to be disired but that in itself does not mean that we are doing a good job. Or am I wrong? Take away the U.K. and there is still a very big problem. Take away the U.K. and Caymans problems will just be Caymanian problems. No one else to blame also means no one else to help. Either way I just hope it works but I am loseing faith.
And Ezzard isn’t arrogant!? Sounds like a pot calling the kettle black to me!
If these elected members know about good governance how is it that if you are a friend or family member of an MLA you can get someone’s work permit stopped? Tell me it doesn’t happen. Tell me that’s good governance. Tell me if it is good governance that if someone doesn’t like you they just need to call up someone who is in immigration etc to get rid of you. Apart from the fact it would be a breach of the Anti-corruption law it seems not to have any effect.
What always happens when an intelligent person tries to convince a stupid person he is stupid by calling him stupid. The Governer and England should just back off and let them prove to everyone if they really can run the country well or not. Yelling at someone for screwing up while you are screwing up might feel good but really. Shut up and fix the problems that you caused first and then maybe someone would listen to you. Actions speak much louder then words no matter what words, how many or how loud. Right now ALL of you look like idiots. The ship is sinking.
Oh, heavenly father! Why is there always something new with the opposition?
Their observations weren’t very eagle eyed before. I take it they were never the opposition at some point before?
Why don’t they give up on trying to make the Governor look any worse then the crap they’ve come up with already.
Would they just lay off, the guy will be gone soon!
Ezzard Miller is always giving his 2 cents like anyone beside the Northsiders who voted for him cares.
*** Thank you, CNS for the great news updates***
Why is there always something new? I would have thought you would complain if there was not anything new. At least they have gumption.
You don’t get it. This was not personal with this Governor. This is what we can expect from the next unless we push back.
Frankly speaking, I believe that as soon as we get ourselves sorted out and clear of this mess that Jack and others helped put us in, I believe a referendumshould be held to determine those in favour and those against independence from the UK.
It does not appear that there is no genuine partership between us and the UK anymore.
In my humble opinion, we and the other British Overseas Territories are viewed like "bastard children" who pose a so called liability to our mother country, the UK.
You need to seriously think about statements like this before you make them. Do you honestly believe that independence is the best way forward for this country? Whilst everyone at the moment is "UK bashing" most need to sit back and realise that the country would not hold its position in the world if it wasnot an overseas territory of the UK. Whilst independence is inevitable one day it would seem – now is really not the time.
Wah wah. You sound like a child.
We need to grow up and be the bigger ‘person’. The best revenge is success. And this island is too small not to be a success. But at the end of the day, all of the egos in the LA (and on this island) will shame us all, if we don’t watch it.
And of course Operation Tempura was a secret. DUH!!!
CNS, you don’t really have to display this one, I just needed to get that out of my system. I’m getting so tired of the whining.
CNS: Let it out – that’s what we’re for.
Independence? Are you nuts? We’d end up with a McCastro, McChavez, McSadaam, McBinLaden, or even a "McAkmandinejad"!!! Aren’t you afraid of a dictator in charge of Cayman with no one to stop it, because you know for sure that we the people will not stand up! Furthermore, any foreign investment that we may have left will run like hell, & for sure no new foreign investors will come to our shores. I suppose we will survive on iguanas, or maybe the sand!
Give us a break, if you think we are suffering now with the udp gov selling us out, just wait & see how bad things will get if we ever went independent! Don’t we ever learn? Take a look at our suffering neighbors!
Really now, could we do any better have Kurt or Alden in charge. why is it that you believe that McKeeva is a dictator? Is it becasue he has balls and does what he says unlike "Mislead Kurt," or is because he can get things done that Kurt couldn’t. McKeeva is a leader and sure he is charismatic but what good leader isn’t. Look at previous presidents, such as Bill Clinton and even now Obama. do you think they were effective because they couldn’t make up their minds and had no clue about running a business muchless a country.
Come on now, these Kurt and his gang had their chance. They were a one term, ineffective government that overspent and didn’t plan properly. They were voted by the majority of the voters. You may not like that but you sure as hell were cheering when it happened to McKeeva last time. Do you actually believe that the UK would even had taken a second look at us if that lameduck of Kurt had gone to Captain Underpants and said he was sorry for spending all the money and we needed to borrow some more. We better be damn glad that never happened! I felt so pissed off the other day when I heard Kurt on the radio saying he couldn’t answer any questions about the schools because he wasn’t sure what Alden had done and he didn’t feel he could answer appropriately any of those questions. that was just appalling. You call that leadership?
Give me a dictator anyday, at least I will know where they stand and they do too!!
The entire problem with the UK stems from us running our own affairs.
We are slaves or descendants of slaves and are viewed by the UK as such.
We became slaves because we were not smart enough to stop it in the beginning. Irrespective of what anyone may think, Independence is the only way out of this mess. If you dont want Independence then shut up and take whatever the UK dishes out to you.
Independence is the only way you can repatriate all these British people on our island whose purpose here is to addto our problems by causing many of them.
Gordon Brown and the rest of the UK politicians have no respect for us and still feel that the only thing we understand is the crack of the whip.
Make sense – kick out all the British people because they are the root of all our problems……… Can’t remember the last time I heard of a British person robbing a store, shooting someone, importing a gun, bring in ganga, burglarize a house, snatch a purse – shall I go on…….. This government is in debt up to its eyeballs and and the end of the day knows the UK will bail them out if necessary. Imagine how much debt this country would be in if it were independent? In my opinioin, the UK Government has enough to worry about in its own back yard and the Cayman Islands are way, way down the list of their priorities.
‘ Independence is the only way you can repatriate all these British people on our island whose purpose here is to add to our problems by causing many of them.’
After the Brits have gone, which I would say that most are giving you a hand by ‘rolling themselve’s over early’ who is next on the list?
I am not sure who would be favourite as it seems to change from week to week.
Once the ‘lebensraum’ is created and you have ‘liberated’ your Islands, what is the final solution?
I would say that the first apparent change would be the lack of people to blame anymore.
I am sure that within five years you will have your wish.
One thing …. don’t rest your hopes on a referendum, check the history, they are nice to have on paper but in reality, they don’t appear when expected.
Ask any Hong Kong citizen who held an overseas British Passport until they were all cancelled without too much warning.
Next time you are in Vancouver, BC, ask any of the 402,000 Chinese Immigrants what happened in 1997 when the lease to Hong Kong ran out and I bet they won’t open up the conversation with the highlights of the referendum or the benefits of being a previous British Passport holder!
"Anthony Eden, the former minister for health, spoke of how Cabinet members were summoned to the governor and told about Operation Tempura some six months or more after the fact, without any previous consultation. "
Was Tempoura not an investigation in corruption? Why would people be forwarned about such an investigation? So they can quickly cover up their own errors of judgement? That is the only reason I can see for complaining about not being forwarned. Unless it is an ego issue I suppose.
"he regarded the elected members as “the biggest bunch of thieves”
The Governor is referring to politicians…what else should they be called?
“We know what is best for Cayman," said Miller. “We are not idiots.”
They certainly know what is best for themselves, but the wider vision to see what is in the best interests of the country? I am not so sure. Judging from the current state of Cayman I sincerely doubt it. But is much easier to blame someone else rather than look in the mirror.
By the way, before bashing the UK any further, consider how Hong Kong rose to pre-eminance in Asia as a financial powerhouse in the region under British rule. Since the hand over back to China, HK has done nothing but continue to grow and florish, based largely on the foundations laid down by the British, and the hard work of the people.
Instead of trying to make yourselves look good by makeing the governer look bad why don’t you make yourselves look good by actually proveing him wrong?
"he regarded the elected members as “the biggest bunch of thieves”
Start with that and work your way down the list.
Good luck.
"Was Tempoura not an investigation in corruption? Why would people be forwarned about such an investigation? So they can quickly cover up their own errors of judgement? That is the only reason I can see for complaining about not being forwarned. Unless it is an ego issue I suppose".
It was specifically an investigation into corruption in the RCIPS, not Cabinet or the entire population of the three Islands. They are not just "people", they were the elected Government of these Islands which is the reason they ought to have been informed. This is now recognized in the new Constitution with the creation of the National Security Council. Corruption and errors of judgement are not synomyous. If they were, then Governor Jack should himself be prosecuted for corruption as his errors of judgement were many.
So what you’re saying is that HK is doing just fine without the UK?
Lets give the Governor a job in Immigration.
Actually, he has been running it since he got here. It falls within his responsibilities.
The LOGB and the elected government, as well as the opposition party should also act professional and have respect for the Governor. We must lead by example. It also teaches us as Caymanians how to treat those in authority over us.
We must only show respect for those who show us. Jack-Off did not show us any respect and his blatant disrespect for our money that he wasted was enough for usall to disrespect him. I hope and pray that JACKS leaving date is when the next BA flight arrives at the airport. He should be ashamed of himself he had no regards for our country and it is now clear that he along with the FCO had and has motives to destroy our pillar of strength
That obsequious attitude has got us where we are now. Clearly we have had far too much respect for him. It’s time we got a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
sell the governors house $60 or $70 millon . buy one or build one off the beach for $2 millon . gov pocket the rest to pay for all what he cost us .
I agree with this as a way to raise revenue to plug the budget shortfall. However, I think a long term lease (not selling) would be a better idea.
Better yet, one for 500’000.00 right next to the Queens Hotel & Resort in Northward! 🙂
This is one of the best ideas to help raise capital, the only thing I would add is to buy a Frank Hall home and place all new governors there from hereon.
Best regards………..
Frank Hall home?…I wouldn’t waste funds like that! How about one of those government housing homes up in Windsor Park. It would make Frank (McField that is) proud and he could learn to live amongst us common folk. We will even let him keep the Caddy but he has to drive it himself as we need to reduce costs!
Way to Go RH Good idea as always………
Are you crazy? Sell the Premier’s Residence? Not even if the commission was going to a certain real estate company.
Sounds like PPM/Ezzard are the looking independence after all.
I suppose this was their plan – except that the PPM wanted to be premier at the time.
Oh well! They should have been making these claims of scorn when they were the Government.
I guess its ‘if we can’t have it, neither can you’ syndrome.
They obviously couldn’t say that while they were in Govt. Have some commonsense. What’s it got to do ‘if we can’t have it’? Take your head out of the sand.
Chuckie said it when he was in Cabinet….why didn’t they have the same courage back then ??
Well said, Chuckie! You were a voice crying in the wilderness.
But it was only after the governor ordered an enquiry into the improper removal of govt files and after the High Court judge (Tucker) under the commission of enquiry had found that he had acted improperly and in his own self interest and that he had not upheld the standards of the civil service. Once again, he was not acting altruistically but rather in his own interest.
It was only after it became clear that Operation Tempura was a runaway train. Had he done it earlier, the complaint would have been that he was trying to cover up something.
Whatever his motives (and I cannot look into his heart) he did the right thing. God alone (not Tucker) can judge our motives.
Although Iwas not a part of Chuckies Government I must say that I have the highest of respect for him. Inever found him to always being on the run and didnt have time for you. If you spoke to him about a matter in the community in a constructive way he would listen and act on it even as far as the Miami counter service. Also I must say that his lovely wife compliments him so very much .May God bless him and his family.
Stuart Jack *** is like the rest of no good l***y Bast***s and he needs to hit the road and don’t come back.
Well Anthony, Alden, Kurt, Clifford, Arden, let me set this record straight for you. If you all allowed the Governor to treat you like S**T for 4 years, then your a bunch of a****s and deserve it. You all had mouth to black gard Mckeeva as one of your own Caymanians, but never had GUTS or BALLS to stand up to Jack the ripper. This is just some sad a** excuse by the PPM clowns to hide their Mismangement of funds and the deep hole they left the country in.
Regardless of what Jack the ripper said or did, if you all had any balls you would have stand up to him, and fight for the people of this Country, whatever happens in this Counry affects ALL CAYMANIANS not some. I can bet you my life that Jack would never had cut that Bull S**T with Mckeeva or he would have been gone long time. You all played the fool and made an a** of yourself in the L.A and now you have the damn nerves to come public with it now after over 4 years has passed.
Stop crying over spoiled milk and try help the Country clean up this damn mess you all created and earn your dollars. Tell Kurt to stop d**nsleeping in the L.A. cause the news paper always catching him laying out in his chair sleeping. For someone who has a high position in Government he really is a slacker. Edna Moyle knowing that the S**T would have gotten stink so she did the best thing and resign.
I really resent anyone lumping all the English together in one lump as no good limey expletives. That is racist. Why does CNS print it?
CNS: You’re right. I should have pointed out that he/she is posting on a site that is owned and operated by Brits and noted that it is as silly to lump all the English together as it is to generalise about the Caymanians.
"black gard Mckeeva"??? He is doing a good enough job of that himself! Mckeeva dont need nobody to "black gard" (sic) him, no one can do it to him as well as he is doing it to himself!
A leopard cannot change his spots, & even though he & the udp try & say he has changed, he has not, it is obvious.
One a dictator, always a dictator! XXXXXXX Things will never change.
You so far up macs xxx that you cant see what going on, soon it will be too late! NEVER MIND!
How far up in Kurt’s are you? Despite everything he did or should I say didn’t do, you seem to thing that he is the best thing since sliced bread.
Give me a break, Kurt couldn’t make it selling pencils at Hampsteads and we gave him a country to run twice. Once he got overthrown by the members of government because of his ineffectiveness and the second time he got thrown out by the majority of the electorate again for his ineffectiveness. He has had his day and the PPM needs to find a new leader. let Kurt retire to the hallowed halls of "Country" and Over the Edge. He is much more at home and happy there!
Hold up now! Independence is not the solution for Cayman! Historically small countries who go independent eventually fail. There must be a way to better the relationship between the UK and Cayman!
People who work in Glass Houses shouldn’t throw stones.
This is a tough one.
There is no obvious "good" side here. On one hand you have arrogant condescending British jerks looking down on Caymanians. But on the other hand you have our backward-looking, greedy and undeducated elected officials harming this country every chance they get.
Who are the smart and decent people supposed to root for on this one? Our colonial masters who may be racist? Or our elected Caymanian demogouges who do not have our best interest in mind?
As someone who moved here from the UK, I find these remarks totally offensive. So to be smart and decent you have to either be a non-elected Caymanian or not from the UK. Very subjective argument. Do not tar all people with one brush please.
CNS: I believe he/she was referring specifically to the governors past and present.
"Ezzard Miller, who served in Ex-Co back in the 1990s, added that previous governors had also displayed arrogance and disdain towards those elected by the people." I think this sentence is misleading, presumably it would be more accurate to say "towards those elected by a small minority of the residents of the Cayman Islands based upon arcane voting restrictions".
Given the obvious democratic deficit in Cayman, it is far more legitimate for the Governor to be circumspect in his dealings with those elected by a minority, especially, in Mr. Miller’s case, when dealing with someone elected with less than 250 votes.
Quote is factual. Your preferred quote presumes that all residents should have the right to vote. There is no valid constitutional, human rights or other legal basis for that idea.
It really does not matter how many people were in Mr. Miller’s district. It has never been an issue before now. Like it or not, he is elected by the people (i.e. citizens). The Governor needs to pull the log out of his own eye before troubling himself about the "good governance" issues with anyone else.
Demi O’Crassie. Seems to me that you still regard North Side and its people as uneducated and ignorant people, why is it that you and all others that claims that Ezzard should not act and represent North Side and the country as a matter of fact because he only won by 250 votes.
There was 3 canidates, with about 650 voters, not all voted, Mr miller clearly came out the winner. So my question to you and your sore loosing peers, why is it that you have to keep repeating the same crap every time you think that Ezzard should not spek.
Are you so upset that Joey didnt win and he did, we know that is the reason as the other voters that supported Mr. Rankin didnt carry on like you all did. Should we all feel like you do, no, we are happy with Ezzard, as you can see he or his supporters are not crying in our beer now are we. Maybe you should stop thinking like that and try to do something constructive with your time, like assisting Ezzard in north side.
Why is it that Ezzard’s supporters seem to think that every attack on Ezzard is from a Joey supporter? It is pretty obvious that the poster you are responding to is not even Caymanian, and had Joey won he would have similarly held him in disregard.
Your minds are being warped by petty politics. Start to think before you type.
Who could trust the PPM?They were misled remember!
I think you mixed up your sentence construction. It should be "Who could the PPM Trust. They were misled remember". At least it would then make logical sense.
I apologize in advance for not adding fuel to the fire.
If the UK were looking to bring about our demise, they have failed miserably. We are a hugely successful place (we seem to often forget) by any standards (per capita income we are 12th; and 6th largest financial centre in the world; relative social harmony, tourism and guest workers flocking to our shores). If the UK wanted to further our demise, they really lost out on a fantastic opportunity to do this recently, by simply allowing the Govt to recently borrow what we wnated to without tackling the critical issues of cost control and sustainable revenue streams. What better way to finish us off than by allowing us to further rack up the debt to the point of no return?
There will always be those who do not like us and history has shown that the UK Labour Govt and the US Democratic Govt always seem to be more wary of the Cayman islands than the UK Conservatives and the US Republicans fro example. Remember we were recently singled out by the US president during the Elections. Make no mistake about it, the UK has been under ever increasing pressure from the European Union and the USA to do something about offshore financial centres (significant amount of which are UK territories). Look at what the UK did recently to the Isle of Man (an island and financial centre off the coast of UK).
My last point relates to human nature. The UK is a convenient (and very useful) whipping post for the Cayman Islands. We need someone to row about. Indeed every grouping be it large or small usually end up choosing another to be the brunt of their frustrations. When we no longer have the UK, we will likely turn on ourselves.
Lets be smart rather than overly senstive. The UK cannot even agree amongst their own Cabinet and worse in Parliament. Take a look at Prime Ministers (UK) weekly Question Time and the constant reshuffling of the UK Cabinet. The recent spate of investigations were undoubtedly an over-reaction (and blundering) attempt by the UK to addrress similar problems in other Overseas territories, and dont forget they were also a direct result of Caymanians publicly complaining of corruption here.
Our fore-fathers and mothers, did us a real favour when they left us this paradise called the Cayman Islands. But there is much to do and more than ever before in our history, we need statesmen and women with wisdom, to run these Beloved Isles Cayman.
A Caymanian
Wait a minute now….wait a minute !!!…….where were all of these heros back in February 2009 when Charles Clifford was publicly calling on the UK government to recall Stuart Jack because of his mismanagement ???????????
You all are late in seeing the bigger picture which is quite an indictment on your own discernment and ability to lead this country.
"Eden said that the governor had not even shared the information that foreign police officers were in the Cayman Islands with Leader of the country."
Who was that? The present Constitution names a Leader of Government Business, does not specify what that means and the title carries no authority. Its one of the reasons we are in the mess we are in now – perceived responsibility with NO accountability. If the LOGB was a Leader, he would be accountable for the mess he has led the country into. Therefore we have no political Leader – yet.
The PPM campaigned on being a Government the people could Trust.
The PPM failed the people, and this was reflected in the election results.
In retrospect the Governor was right for not trusting the PPM either.
"Divide and rule", that is always the British way and you are falling right into it. Forget about the UDP vs. PPM rhetoric for a while. We are all Caymanians. Think about what is best for our country.
Correct!
PPM is wrong, wrong, wrong and can’t be trusted.
See what they did with the country’s money – and they called that "progress".
Right
Wrong
Wrong
the udp were unanimously disgarded in the 2005 elections because the Cayman people could not put up with them anymore! The udp failed the people during 2001 & 2005 & this was "reflected in the 2005 elections." Judging by what you say, this same Governor should not trust Mac Bush & his cronies because the governor fully well knows that the people threw out Mac & his cohorts in ’05! What you say does not make sense, because who can the Governor trust if he cannot trust those that have been defeated? He can’t trust PPM because they were defeated, he cant trust udp because they were defeated! In your logic, when will it all end? For sure, Big Mac CANNOT be trusted, we all know that for sure!
It sounds like His Excellency and his predecessors understand Cayman well.
If he did, then he himself would have shown good governance rather than attempting to use it as a stick against our elected reps.
This is clearly pro-independence propaganda. If you don’t like how you are/were treated you need to speak up at the time. Speaking up years later when the other party cannot defend themselves is asinine.
Also looking around at other examples of what happens when small islands declare their independence it is not something I support.
Although if it happens, then no one will have to worry about the expats taking jobs, both the jobs and the expats will leave in droves.
As I recall the PPM only left office in May. It is obvious that they could not speak out while in office. The Governor is here and able to defend himself. Ezzard was only acknowledging the truth of their complaints by reference to his own experience as a member of ExCo (as it then was).
If our elected Members, past and present would have some b…. and are really are in the the House for their and our Country first and foremost as they all claim, then they would speak up then and there not after and when it’s to late!!! Politricks and finger-poiting get you all nowere but closer to were the Brits want you!!! Stick together and only togheter we will win!
Dont worry he is on his way out. The time cant come soon enough for him to leave this Island.