MLAs are ‘double dipping’
(CNS): Government has refused to grant a freedom of information request made by CNS back in June asking for details of which serving Members of the Legislative Assembly are drawing a pension on top of their salaries, termed ‘double dipping’ by one MLA earlier this year. There are five members of the parliament who have served one term or more that have also reached the age of fifty-five and are entitled to claim. PPM member Anthony Eden, the opposition leader Kurt Tibbetts, North Side member Ezzard Miller, West Bay government backbencher Captain Eugene Ebanks and the Premier McKeeva Bush are all over 55 and entitled, according to the law, to claim a pension on top of their salaries.
The PPM have admitted openly that both Eden and Tibbetts are claiming their pension entitlements but Miller, who coined the phrase ‘double dipping’, has said he is not taking his pension as he believes it is “immoral and unethical”.
The FOI request which has been denied by government is currently going through the appeals process, but CNS understands that after serving more than 25 years in the LA the premier opted to claim his fully vested public pension soon after becoming premier. He is understood to have made the pensions claim before announcing a major pay cut in MLAs’ salaries so his pension entitlement has been calculated on his original premier’s monthly salary of over $14,800 and not the recently reduced pay cheque.
Sources have told CNS that the premier opted to receive a lump sum amounting to a quarter of the value of the pension, and as a result he is receiving monthly payments of ¾ of his pension entitlement amount of the fully vested pension.
Ezzard Miller, the independent member, recently raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly and said he would be disappointed if he were to learn his parliamentary colleagues were double dipping with salaries and pensions as he said a pension was meant to be taken when a person had retired from their job, not while one was still doing it.
“Although I may be entitled, I have no intentions of claiming my pension until I leave this House for good,” Miller told CNS. “I believe it is immoral and unethical and I will be bringing a private member’s motion to the House to change the law to prevent it happening in future.”
Miller also criticised the practice in the civil service where a number of senior government officials who have retired at sixty have taken their pensions but have gone back to work in their job and are able to draw a salary and a pension from the public purse. Although it is not illegal, Miller believes it should be.
MLAs were first given access to their pensions while remaining in office in 2004 when a change to the law provided for MLAs to claim their pensions once they had served a single term and passed the age of 55, even if they continued to serve in the Legislative Assembly. In the past legislators had died while still in office and were never able to claim the pensions which they had earned through their years of service.
Unlike the civil service there is no official retirement age for politicians, who can stand forelection at any age, and since MLAs cannot be certain they will returned to the Assembly from parliament to parliament the law was changed to give them access to their pensions before they retired in case they never did.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly recently, the deputy governor Donovan Ebanks said the amendment had reflected the fact that careers in the House, unlike those in the broader community, can often be intermittent. “They are seldom of sustained duration from commencement until one permanently retires from the arena,” he said. Ebanks made his comments when he presented the Parliamentary Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2009 to change the MLAs pension scheme to a defined contribution rather than a defined benefit, as it is at present, for future members.
This change, however, did not affect existing members and the Leader of the Opposition said he had decided to take his pension a few months after his 55th birthday, despite the fact it was not fully vested (meaning he had not served four full terms) because of the uncertain future of being a politician.
Legislators’ pensions are calculated on multiples of fifths relating to the amount of terms served and the salary they were receiving upon reaching the age of 55. After one term in office MLAs can draw a pension based on one fifth of their most recent salary, rising to a maximum of four fifths for those serving four terms or more.
Category: Headline News
OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR TAYLOR
Did the UK send you here to watch the country be milked and drained bythese political croonies that are taking advantage of the people. Mr. Taylor you now are made aware publicly that there are MLA’s including the premier and the Leader of the opposition Mr. Kurt Tibbitts and others who are receiving a platinum package salary and a golden package pension!
This is unacceptable in a struggling recession time that we all live in. The rest of use are forced to make sacrifices, If you are really a leader lookig after the interest of the UK, why would you turn a blind eye to this ransacking of the public purse, while the Cabinet rapes the salaries of the civil servants? They already have had the nerve to accept $15 million from the Uk on top of forcing Civil Servants to make sacrifices they themselves refuse to make.
I look forward to your press release.
Good govrnor will you allow the MLA’S to continue receiving:-
1. Pension
2. Salary
In the eyes of the uK how does that make you look?
It’s not illegal and civil servants are benefitting too – especially one Permanent Secretary. So why should the Governor do anything about it?
This is why the government has to sell public assets like profit making entities like Water Authority to the private individuals to collect enough money to pay for their salaries and pensions. In short, these politicians are sucking our blood……
Also, the pension of the MLAs should be based onthe standard MLA’s salary and not the salary offered to the position they hold i.e premier/ minister. This is because, the position is offered by the Leader of the party in power and is not necessarily based on the qualifications or skills of the individual.
The saddest part about this is this…..
Come 2012/3 Big Mac will be first on the West Bay ballot.
You know I was going to sit here and call West Bayers all kinds of names for putting XXXX in year after year but without the rest of us he would be powerless. Cayman needs to UNITE against UDP. I really don’t even care who we put in now to be honest except they can’t be UDP or even friendly with them.
Mark/Dwayne your days are numbered. Closest you getting to the LA again is driving by. You want inside you need to buy a ticket.
I don’t understand , this should be unconstitutional and something needs to change. No wonder we are broke! People get put in jail in the United States for collecting a pension and a salary too! We need some laws and checks and balances. This is unheard of. MLA’s getting two salaries? That lady was right when she said they are making out like bandits !
Mr. Craydock Ebanks, Mr Melville Goring, Mr. Claude Hill, Mr. Willie Farrington, Mr. Berkley Bush, Mr. Ormond Panton, and many more that have gone on…. all these are old MLA’s that served in the Cayman Islands House of Assembly as our law makers.. I’m not sure if they even got paid. But I know for certain they did not even get a pension. That’s a fact. There was No pension or retirement fund for them and that is a crying shame. All of them served 25 to 35 or more years in the L.A.The country was not broke like it is now!
We did not have the problems that we have on today with the public purse always empty.
So tell me now, where do dead beats like Capt. Eugene especially, a mere extension cord (not a representative) not to mention Kurt and the rest of them including the premier get the nerve from to collect pension and a salary? The governor should look into this. if he does not I will be very disappointed in him being a responsible governor. We need to balance our budget that is on the financial scale, one side is too weighed down with people getting two salaries. The LA’s especially should never get two salaries. While they are elected and working in the LA serving their district and constituents, their pension should stop. If they lose their election as an incumbent then their pension should begin again, its only fair. The country cannot afford to allow anyone to ‘DOUBLE DIP" its not fair to people who are in need and can’t even find work. This is ridiculous. Other countries condemn this kind of behavior
Is it true that they are going to askthe poor Civil Servants for another 6.8% salary reduction before the end of year, to pay for all these perks? I see a revolution heading this way. Caymanians stop being so passive!! That is why these Politicians can do anything to us and get away with it. McKeeva only see money while he is in there, he don’t give a damn about you. Ask him what ever happened to that "Slush Fund".
Is it true that they are thinking about abolishing Pirates Week? Good idea! Because we should instead make every week PiratesWeek since our pirates are still plundering and looting.
Kurt & Eden you guys are better than that, please put the money back in to the Pension Scheme. McKeeva & Eugene I really don’t expect you guys to, as this is what is expected of you, but you can start some place by being honest. Ask not what your Country can do for you, but what you can do for your Country. Be Honest!!
I wonder what the Commission for Standards in Public Life have to say about this?
http://www.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=1142,4860440&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
XXXXX
So sad!I am done with these politicians and over paid Government cronies,I took my pay cut and accepted that things were going to get harder,even had to stop school because I could not afford it any longer,yes Mr Glidden some of the lower paid civil servants are actually trying to better them selves too(sarcasm)!but we do not have the luxury of such an enormous salary and all the time that you slackers have.
On top of that I now have to look at getting a second job just to try and make it month to month while all along some of you losers are double dipping! I thought we were broke? is that not why my salary was cut.
I applaud your efforts to improve yourself. Please do not stop going to school. Perhaps there are other ways of getting the money to help pay for your education?
Because…. politics is seen as a career move…something to do as opposed to a calling. Where you line your pockets as fast as you can in a four year period… if people are gullible enough. And then perhaps line your pockets as opposition for another four years… if people are confused enough. And then trade places back and forth until you’re all eligible for both a salary AND a pension.
The best part? You don’t even have to do a job….just blame the other guys…..and then they’ll blame you.
Sound good? It is.
The Greatest Show on Earth.
I’d rather watch wrestling….at least I know it’s fake and they don’t pretend otherwise.
You are so absolutely correct. My real concern is the cost of admission to this Greatest Show on Earth…
Ever since I was a Civil Servant I have questioned the fact that MLA’s are more privileged than the rest of the Civil Servants- Why is that so ?
The Civil Servents are instrumental in voting for them and after they get elected they suddenly become more entitled than the people who put them in ! The Civil servant works harder and puts in longer regular hours compared to out MLAs and yet seemingly seems to get shortchanged .
A civil servant can never become eligible for pension after a short period of service like our MLAs do.
I urge upon the Civil Servants to lobby for improving their lot !
So it go…Don’t rally to right the injustice, rally to secure your place at the trough.
The bushwackers are bleeding the country for all it’s worth. Start thinking of the poor among us that are struggling to make ends meet with little appreciation.
I know this makes for good argument, specially when so many people are hurting and civil servants taking pay cuts and all, but the fact is not many of us would do things different. If you put it 20 -30 years in an organization and you become entitled to pension pay it would be a no brainer; we would take it same way.
PS. It does feel good to beat up on them for this though i must admit.
Speak for yourself. I, personally, would not take advantage of such an honourable position, and I suspect I am not the only one who wouldn’t look to ‘milk the system’ if I were in such a priviliged role.
The LA is not an organisation. It’s a club with fantastic benefits.
Thank you Mr. Miller.
đŸ™‚
And here is the fundamental difference between the PPM and the UDP…Nothing. Now how many and who are the PPM members "double dipping"? And who and how many UDP?
They will tell you the other is bad/dangerous/untrustworthy, however, it was the independent Sarah Palin Miller that has brought this to the public.
Someone needs to put a stop to this crookedness Silence about this matter is deafening. Posters it is preposterous and down right outrageous in an economic situation like this for them to be collecting twice, but ask yourself this, do you honestly expect any better from them?,these people should be deposed immediately. Sadly we still have a few idiots who vote for them no matter what atrocity they carry out against the people of this island. Shame on you Kurt & Anthony . yes the sweet talk of the "Hippo"-Crites
I thought a pension was a fixed amount, other than wages, paid to a person or their surviving dependents in consideration of past services, age, merit, etc. i.e. Retirement pension. So why are they able to claim pensions and wages at the same time as they continue to serve office? I read here an act was passed in 2004 to cause this to be possible. How on earth did such an immoral, unethical and indeed outrageous process possibly be considered legal – law passed or not – surely this behaviour is ultra vires. This should be stopped. No wonder the country is in such a dire financial state. The politicians seem unable and/or unwilling to help the country but they sure are plenty willing to help themselves.
Surely this has got to be the last straw. People are you just going to continue to sit there an do nothing through all of this? You have the power. Get off your asses and do something please before its too late – actually I think it may well be too late already.
Shameful, just shameful behavour I am witnessing of these policiticians. They are an embarrassment to the country and its people.
You are correct in that pension is in consideration of past service. Accepting a pension is absolute proof that you have stopped working for the people and now as an MLA you are just there for yourself.
The really sad part is that some of them were only ever there for themselves.
Chuckie,
This is reasonable and justifiable cause to start a PETITION to stop this double dipping. I’ll vote for you next round. Take it to the governor. He would be more than ashamed to not act on it. This is a win win for all of us. Go do it Chuckie start a petition. the whole nation will sign it.
Ask the governor to strike down the 2004 law that allows these bandits to dothis to us !
Chuckie you have a law degree. Why can’t you draft and file a motion to repeal the 2004 law that allows these free loaders in the L.A.. to suck our blood.
They are simply ‘BLOOD SUCKERS!"
There is a difference in electing people of integrity and those that have no integrity.
Mr. Roy Bodden a man of integrity walked away from his MLA pension to serve the Cayman Islands community as President of the Cayman Islands International College and University in December of 2009.
WHY can’t the premier lead the way to set an example of integrity for others to follow? oh I forgot its the blind leading the blind and the sharks swimming behind the great white shark into the deep pockets of our public purse!
If legally valid, I say a Petition should be done by the citizens of Cayman to be sent to the Queen in protest of this and the many other political abusesbeing served up in our country, especially since this new Govt has gotten into power.
What say you Cayman?
Totally FED UP!!
Absolutely IRON CLAD.
Well look into it and do it then. All talk.
YAWN!
We have had news like this on a weekly (if not daily) basis. Has anything changed? No! We know they are screwing the country, taking advantage where they can. Gosh, the list of headlines such as this is endless.
Stop bitching! The people who have voted them in should be able to get them back out. Caymanians will need to try and stand united for a change to accomplish something, but they are all too busy blaming foreigners and contiue to be envious and spiteful of each other.
Double dipping is certainly a grey area although legal.
But did anyone notice the fact that Bush took his pension just BEFORE he announced pay cuts? Had he waited after the announcement, his pension would have been reduced. Doesn’t that amount to a very serious conflict of interest? What’s the story here?
Pensions were not reduced with the salary cuts, read carefully.
Two things to say about that:
1. How do these people sleep at night? (I know, I know, on very expensive sheets)
And
2. Capt. Eugene Ebanks is without a doubt the luckiest human being who ever lived.
Rectus Femoris the answer to your question is that they do not have a conscience. They also do not go to bed worrying about how they will pay their rent / mortgage, car payment, utility bills and still be able to afford extravagances like gas in the car and food on the table. Vacation? Was that my empty pocket groaning??
So most of us know that we need to depose this premier, but the question seems to be how. Since we do not have the funds for a refferndum I would like to ask that all registered voters write a lettter, with proof of registration, to the Governor’s office and protest his occupation in this post and ask that something SOMETHING be done to save us before this country has to declare complete financial and moral bankruptcy!!!!
If anyone else has a plausible way to convey our distress to the Governor please PLEASE post it here!!!
Does Taylor have an e-mail address? A phone number? A UK contact? Somewhere to send a certified, return receipt document? Some way he can’t say, "Oh, pffff, pffff. I had no idea what was going on here under my watch. XXXX
http://ukincayman.fco.gov.uk/en/
http://ukincayman.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/contact-us
Seems he actually lives here and has an office and all.
I think this is a real shame & disgrace for all those mentioned to be receiving pensions and salaries, while we poor civil servants have to do with less. Shame on you all, what an example our Premier is setting, I call on him to give that pension to our poor cs who can hardly make ends meet. You can say all you want about Ezzard Miller, but one thing is for sure he has Cayman and Caymanians at heart, he is not money hungry and power hungry like the rest of them. Shame, shame, shame. Capt. Eugene I call on you to either give up your job or pensions, we hardly hear from you anyway, and that also goes for Anthony and Kurt, no wonder Kurt didn’t kick up about the 10% salary cut he got. Come on now these guys are making far too much money for the little bit of work they do, while some of us can hardly get by, like that poor lady on Rooster this morning who don’t know where she is going to get food for the day. Be a little more sympathetic than greedy.
My dear Caymanian friends.
Obviously you still have it to good. I don’t see anybody marching the streets opposing in a determined manner what you write here on this blog.
Stop complaining or do something. Use the power of international media, print and video in order to get the word out of what is going on here.
If you don’t take actions your are just supporting those who you despise.
Stop whining andlet them feel the power of the people.
Good luck and all the best.
Sincerely,
Just another one leaving this corrupt and expensive island.
The poor civil service? You earn more than me and as god is my witness your benefits well exceed any I will ever be entitled to. The money should be put back into the public purse for utilizing on public projects. Nobody should be claiming and receiving pension when they are still actively employed.
You are not going to get rid of greed until people learn to be thankful, accepting, and appreciative for what they already have. There has to be a transformation of heart; or else, such people will forever be blind to the realities of life. People who are thankful for all that life has offered them, know that the world does not center around them, and the people they know. They are not caught up with "MEISM." It seems like people today are so weak to stand up to unchanging princples. Once people taste a bit of power, status, or certain comforts of life, they are so caught up with themselves, personal desires, and gratification that they have forgetton where they came from.
Even though there are times when I have disagreed in principle with some of the things which Mr. Ezzard Miller has said and done, in this instance, Sir… I STAND and applaud you for your stance on this issue…
Cayman needs to get Sucker free!!!
Civil Servant:
DOUBLE DIPPING… AND YET THEY DON’T WANT TO PAY US FOR OVERTIME!
Pay? They make you work over time and won’t even give you comp time anymore.
They have fill their guts at the public trough lapping up not once but twice and if allowed they would go back like a true glutton three or four times too. It’s not their fault but ours, we continually elect the same old parasitic and paraplegic minded politicians. I was at a supermarket recently overheard one of these same old longterm stalwarts talking to an elderly lady who was complaining about the cost of living. Not once did he offer assistance but advise the lady that things would be better next year can you imagine? Yet on top of his outrageous salary he sold property to the government in excess of 1 million dollars and drives around here patting people in their heads like their his pet dog. We all know who these people are yet we suffer from amnesia at the election booth. The fact is X means wrong!!!!! Yes Cayman what if our leaders had a little integrity.
I don’t know who they are
As a young Caymanian, I’m hurt. Not so much angry but hurt. I thought my country’s leaders had their future and my future at heart. I must of misunderstood. When I saw my parents living, it didn’t look this hard. Should I even consider having children? What would be there (here) for them?
No wonder some of us live like what we see on tv. Our role models aren’t where they’re suppose to be. As a kid I used to look up to my MLA’s, whose prosperity is now making it impossible for me. If I live to be an MLA, I hope to be nothing like you guys. I can’t imagine how those young people who aren’t Caymanians are making it because it is hard enough for us who are. Don’t lie to us about your pretend concerns for Cayman, it’s young people, or our future. So much for our youth are the future. Making more than I do in a year in 2 months and taking pension too. They always told me pension was money you get when you are no longer working. What about those who have no job now and are about to lose their car next month and their house by the end of the year? We’d even sell the car (if we could get anything for it) to keep the house.
Perhaps you should be ANGERED. It is more by anger that people GET UP and DO what needs to have been done in the first place.
It is just TIME to do what we need to do people.
Seriously IRON CLAD.
Your anger is getting you nowhere. My opinion, a reasoned approach to someone who can do something like the governor or FCO will go a lot further than anger fuelled rants on an internet forum. OTDEnquiries@fco.gov.uk
Now I know why I feel so lost, I have been looking for the Big Dipper to rise in the North and all this time it has been in the West.
These people are absolutely disgusting! Senior civil servants, permanent secretaries, MLA’s…..the whole damn lot. The law needs to be changed immediately to curb this abuse. Furthermore, for MLA’s, two terms and you’re done, end of the line. No more career polititians sucking this country dry. Every one of these eligible MLA’s who do not stand up and deny that they’re participating in this double dipping should be voted out of office, for good. When are we Caymanians going to stand up and stop the raping of our country by these unconscionable, worthless rags? Stop the madness!
WHY IS THERE NOT A TERM LIMIT THESE FOOLS CAN SERVE!! The people of the Cayman Islands will be dealing with this same crap with EVERY government that comes in because it’s the SAME FOOLS that you are keeping in office. Any person should NOT be able to serve more than 2 terms, after that you are OUT OUT OUT!!!! Especially the "Premier" position!!!! When will you people learn!!! Stand up for yourselves!! Make yourselves heard. Your opinions DO count, no matter what anyone tells you. MAC MAC CAN’T SHUT UP THE PEOPLE BUT HE SURE IS TRYING HIS DAMNDEST!!
Quelle suprise……..they will milk this cow dry….
Wonder if they would have factored this into the pay cut they mused about taking….
As Mr. Miller says just because you can double dip by the law they voted in does not make it the moral andethical thing to do. And to claim the pension prior to pay reductions to get the slightly higher figure speaks loud and clear. IMHO any elected member who can justify milking a struggling countries coffers does not deserve the peoples trust. Just my opinion.
Wonder why we are broke???
A Permanet Secretary who has reached retirement age is rumoured to be going to work on beyond that age. That person will receive a pension of about $90,000 plus salary of about $140,000 for a total of $230,000 a year. (To say nothing about a generous annual allowance "for other duties"). Not bad in these difficult times. Could not a younger person be given the chance to advance up the scale, Governor Taylor?
I must admit I was sceptical about whether this post about the permanent secretary could be right but I have just checked with a friend in the Glass House and it is true. God help our blessed Cayman Islands.
Which permanent secretary is it -though I think I can guess because theres only two of them over 50. I cant get overtime and I’m struggling to put bread on the table and he’s going to get double pay. Wheres the fairness in that?
Why is this allowed.
certainly looks Permanent
me thinks of a few choice words to describe all a dem involved including the one that won’t go wid dat Spanish name Wha is his claim to fame anyway
I wonder if anyone in the Cayman Islands remember what happened in Turks & Caicos Islands. Can Caymanians see the similarities? If not, we need someone to explain it to them. Maybe the members in Parliament in the United Kingdom do not understand what is going on, so someone needs to enlighten them. What is happening to His Excellency? Why is he not putting brakes on this UDP Government before Cuba or Venezuela move in and annex us. I think the only reason why Cuba is not doing so is because Raul Castro is not like his brother. All this coming on top of the news that Ms. Lucille Seymour cannot take Sterling Ebanks’ place at Radio Cayman, when he goes on vacation, seems more and more like a dictatorship to me. Arden and Alden, where are you? Have you guys actually been frightened away by bluster and shouting? I hope not, because you were the only hope we had for some sort of salvation from the tentacles of our illustrious (tongue-in-cheek) premier and deputy premier. Mr. Taylor, are you really only a figure-head or are you here to help the Cayman Islands. The majority of the people in the Cayman Islands continuously run off at the mouth because of the owners/developers of the Camana Bay development. I personally know those people and they are not here to rape andm pillage Cayman and Caymanians. Investigate and see how many Caymanians are employed by that firm and in positions of importance. That company is helping Cayman, not stealing our birthrigh, so Caymanians, look at the people who are really raping and pillaging our islands and stop them before it is too late. The Cayman Islands cannot survive another 3 years of this.
Actually, If anyone, I think the UDP are setting it up for Jamaica to annex us. We have already been referred to in some circles as west Westmoreland.
Yes, Mr. Taylor. Please inform us. What slight of hand trick did the UK see in T & C that they haven’t seen here while conducting their inquiry. What do you need for a smoking gun to establish the level of corruption? Perhaps an actual smoking gun.
When I look at the well-off entities, corporations, and economic forces that pulls the strings of politicians, communicators, and law-makers – I can’t help but not be reminded of the saying:
THE "LOVE" OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL
How so true! That is why the world is not getting any better!
Who will look out for the people over profit and the god of money?
Unconscionable!
just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right!
But because they are Caymanian they believe they are entitled!
No, this can’t be held as a Caymanian thing. This is a caribbean mindset and they simply don’t see anything wrong with it, a la TCI.
No again, "Caribbean" or "Caymanian" do not have a monopoly on abuse of the public purse in all its many and varied forms. Corruption and greed are uniquely human "qualities".
KER FERKING CHING!
Because they are greedy and self serving, not because they are Caymanian. Greed comes in all nationalities.
Oooops, I should have said because they are illected leaders of Caymanians they can and will do it, get away with it, not care what their own people think of them. My bad.