Deficit ‘reduced to $15million’
(CNS): The premier has declared that the budget deficit for the financial year end 2009/10 has been dramatically reduced to only $15 million after predictions in June that it would be in excess of $50m. At a public meeting in Bodden Town on Tuesday evening Premier McKeeva Bush revealed that his government had managed to reduce spending by some $35 million less than expected. He compared this deficit figure of $15 million to the almost $81 million deficit left by the PPM administration in the 2008/09 budget year and claimed his government had made the dramatic $65 million reduction through hard work.
The premier said he expected people in the audience at the meeting would be accusing him of just blaming the previous administration when he talked about the financial turmoil his government inherited but he said he wanted to remind the country never to make the same mistake again and to compare the record of the PPM leaving behind an $81 million deficit with the UDP government that had managed to cut the deficit down to $15 million in its first full financial year.
Although the premier did not reveal details of the dramatic cure of the country’s financial deficit, he said that the details would be revealed shortly and that the figures were accurate.
Bush said that central government’s deficit for its first full financial year in office — June 2009 to June 2010 — was down to $13.4 million and he said that government companies and statutory authorities were down to a deficit of around $1.6 million, making the total public sector deficit only $15 million. Bush said it was a “tremendously better result" than the previous budget gap and said that the first quarter of the news financial year was even revealing a government surplus.
He said the UDP government had achieved these impressive results through prudence and good management and were by no means an accident but down to deliberate efforts of the ministries.
“The road is tough going but government finances are showing consistent improvement,” he said. “And as we continue to make the right decisions the tough road will improve for everybody.”
He reiterated his commitment to the 90 day time line made just over six weeks ago for Cayman’s economic turn around and said there were several economic improvements already apparent. The premier told the people of Bodden Town that turning round the economy was not just about quick fixes but a sustainable approach to address structural problems about how government was run and how the economy operates.
The premier also revealed that the first phase of the government’s assessment to reduce public sector spending had revealed significant savings in the first four government entities examined. Bush said official reviews of CINICO, the department of tourism, the prison services and public works, which collectively spent $72 million could reduce their budgets by $17 million. Although he did not reveal what services would be cut to achieve the savings, he said government had accepted 90% of the recommendations made by the reviewers and would be reducing the budgets by over $15million
Bush explained that the review would continue with the next eight agencies, which collectively account for almost $200 million in spending, and government would be looking for similar results. He said government would look carefully at areas for potential cuts and saving including the possibility of privatisation and how services can be delivered more efficiently.
Category: Headline News
Hi,
When a corporation, government, or other publicly traded entity holds a meeting, town hall, or broadcast, the normal course of action is to produce financial statements, usually supported by either International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or Generally Accepted Accounting Practises (GAAP). If they are not supported by IFRS or GAAP, then there would be an explanation included in the document telling why.
As I wasn’t present, I can only assume this didn’t happen. Was the Financial Secretary there to defend the claims that the Premier made? If not, should the question not be asked as to why he wasn’t present.
Credibility is lacking with the Premier. If he were to do his due diligence, have supporting documents (that were audited), and share them in the form of handouts, powerpoints etc, the electorate may even listen with interest. Until that time, it remains pie in the sky with the Premier enjoying the sound of his voice.
Turks and Caicos is not that far away- geographically nor figuratively. And history has a way of repeating itself.
Deficit ‘reduced to $15million’
I don’t why everybody is so shock at this reduction!
The Premier has hike up duties and fees, the monies had to go some place!
Is the 15million dollar deficit caused by the premier and his deputy’s many perks including world travel?
You go Bush!
I am looking forward to walking down seven mile beach with no crowds. Crossing the streets with no worries. No standing in line for anything and cheap trinkets and massages. I do wonder where all the out of work and starving Caymanians will go? O Well I’m sure it will all work out.
I wouldn’t call that a bad thing..There is still more work to be done in the Civil service starting at the top…
You know something BIG MAC ? You can fool some of the people some of the time , but you cant fool all of the people all the time.
But you can fool most of the electorate of West Bay all of the time.
And you sure can fool the electorates of Watering Place (aka Dallas), Cayman Brac ALL of the time!
Most of the electorate in West Bay are NOT being fooled. They have voted for exactly what they want. Therein lies our problem.
TO POSTER 1605HRS If you believe what the premier said last night, then you must be living in some wilderness. when said that when he took office the country was broke, the economy has not inprove, where has this money came from. was it the civil service 3.2 % salary cut. It was disgrace how he attack Austin ang Gilbert last night,then he had the nerve to say that when went to singipore some one told that they be listening to what go on here, i wonder if he think that they were not listening last night,and when he told them that the country was broke. this man has no sence of responsibility
How was this figure arrived at? Was there an increase in revenue compared to the budget? Exactly where were the increases? Work permit fees? MV taxes? etc. Was there a decrease in expenditure compared to the budget? Exactly where were the decreases? Personnel emoluments? Official Travel? etc. He should provide us with a breakdown of how this amount was arrived at as compared to the Budget.
smoke and mirrors
Pesky details.
Did anyone remember about the 500 plus civil servants who was let go or there contract wasn’t renewed.
Let assume an average salary of CI$30,000 X 500 = 15,000,000.00 cost savings.
Shame on Big mac and the fries with this deception.
Those 500 were over a period of time. The personal expenses of trips, etc of him and Julie should have added up to the 15 million that you think was saved. Every time McKeever in power, he fires people and closes businesses.
Government owes everyone money and they keep puttingit off so they can pretend they saving money. Don’t forget that loan is busy earning interest. Our great grand children will be in debt forever.
Congratulations, Mr Bush. There are alot of discouraging blabber mouths out there, but rest assured that there are many more in the silent majority that are relieved to see this deficit reduction. i for one, do not have amnesia, and remember the dismal situation of last year and how it came about. Looks like we are on the right path.
My my….I feel sorry for you! Sounds like more than amnesia you suffering from!
Everyone is free to have their say, even Mrs Bush.
McKeeva is still calculating with the arithmetic method versus the Mathematics and the accounting method. Who he think he is fooling? If the department filings are not up to date, where did he pull these figures from? The magician hat? I thought Houdini was dead!!
Who took our budget and gave it to the FCO thats what i would like to know? The people involved with that act should be dealt with by the people of these islands.
We all did. Simply by electing persons over the last 30+ years that did not look & plan for the future. Otherwise we would have arrived at a much different position.
This sounds like the story you read on tom fool day!
Very little meat and a lot of fluff.
This must be the new julie and big mack accounting. Juggle the numbers and see how they fall.
I am still trying to set a budget due to the lost of my job at the "ongoing" school projects. Can I borrow your magic calculator?
Who exactly is this story aimed at? I believe it must be the pool of deluded UDP supporters who still believe all the BS that is being handed out by this governement….correction our current dictator.
He cannot have any true figures to back this ridiculous claim because we all know that the figures supplied by Ken have about as much truth in them as Mckeeva’s sincerity!
On another note I cannot believe that the premier of any country would reply to difficult questions at a public meeting in the demeaning manner in which he replied to the two young Ladies last night.
What was wrong Mac were there not enough sycophants, such as a very vocal local lawyer (initials SMcF), at the meeting to inflate your already bloated ego any further??
Finally Mr. premier Bush you showed your true colors when you attacked a radio talk host simply because he two wanted answers to those awkward questions you continue to avoid. And you expect people to respect the holder of the office of premier while you occupy that post….it will never happen!
Please note I did not use a capital letter on the word Premier as I do think the current holder deserves it!
Amen! to Macman. 14:41
macman you are just a jealous bad mind crab in the bucket,i would like to see your stunned dumdfounded little face come post election time 2013.You and the rest of the haters of Premier Bush can run away from now cause come election 2013 you haters are going to get the shock of your lives……………….you see the UDP will be victorious once more and people like yourself won’t be able to handle that, i advise you to purge your mind before its too late,jealousy is vey,very bad for your health…..take heed!!!
Like Macman said "deluded UDP supporters" and now by the looks of this post ignorant as well!
Is that a threat? Typical ‘educated’ UDP supporter.
Anyone who believes this has been living in Antarctica for the last 2 years. This "information" is simply not reliable. There is no foundation to suspect that it is accurate, or even real.
What a waste of time.
You gotta luv Travers of Cayman Finance.
http://www.cayman27.com.ky/news/item/7483
Why would Travers feel the need to qualify his statement with "If what the Premier says is correct"?
Has Travers ever known the Premier to say anything that wasn’t correct? LOL.
How long have the two high school projects been at a stand still and thus no monies being spent for the duration? Without the cancelation of the contracts government coffers would be in much worse shape.
Nice spin Mac but we are not buying your story.
The way which those grown people, even ELDERLY people were treating the young women who had the COURAGE to speak out and point out the contradictions coming out of the premier’s mouth was repulsive. Unna need be ashamed of yourselves. Proves how much LIP SERVICE is given to "empowering young people"– the minute they do somethin’ POSITIVE- for putting democracy into actions is always positive- unna try to tear them down. SHAME ON YOU! You cannot expect respect if you do not give respect in return.
Good on you, ladies, for questioning… and making sure he knows that unlike some, you certainly aren’t HIS "sweethearts"…
well said…that ignorant mob were like a bunch of laughing hyenas…..
Looks like one of them above – post 16.16
Is it me or does it seem like Chalo (handling the mike) came across like a real XXXXX last night as well at the meeting?
The Circus Did Come to Town last night in BT! Bozo d clown held a mock court and morphed from "King" to Court Jester supported by his cronies!
Was this really meant to be an informative Q & A Townhall meeting by the Premier of these islands? I think not. I could actually picture someone in d backgound with cue cards for the audience to "laugh now", "Applaud now", "Snicker now!"
He did not provide answers to any questions. He was insulting, condescending, arrogant, chauvinistic, and ignorant at will. How do expect to apprear credible when you act this way Mr Bush!
Shame on you!!
yeah he’s got the guts to stand in front of his own cronies but hasn’t got the guts to answer simple questions or go on radio shows…..
I’ll believe it when the Auditors office officially confirms it.
Better yet, after the audit of the audit done by the Auditor’s office, because those audits need auditing too.
At the end of it all, the premier is the man responsible for making the tough choices. Personalities aside he is doing what he has to do.
A lot of comments are directed at him and his methods, but the verdict is not in yet on his effectiveness. I would add that he came to power because the other side was not effective….at least that what most of us thought.
It obvious to everyone in this forum that he is operating within the parameters of his office. For anyone to argue that he is doing something illegal, they are the one’s who have lost sight of why those regulations were put in place….you don’t have to be a lawyer to argue his point. You only have remove what you think of him personally.
So my question to the informed ones…How is this helping the country ?
The person getting the blame seem to be the person working to fix the problem…Personalities aside…The Premier is doing his job.
WOW. What a pile of rubbish. You are so full of it it probably is why your eyes are brown.
"Not a fan of the Mac" – Really, Really!!! Seriously!!!
Wolf in sheep’s clothing!! Or should I say Mac in sheep’s clothing.
Is ignoring the parameters of his office the same as operating within the parameters of his office? XXXX
"It obvious to everyone in this forum that he is operating within the parameters of his office. For anyone to argue that he is doing something illegal, they are the one’s who have lost sight of why those regulations were put in place….you don’t have to be a lawyer to argue his point. You only have remove what you think of him personally".
I assume that this was sarcasmsince it is patent nonsense.
to clearify the "patent nonsense"
He did what he did ,and he can defend it. Morally and Legally.
These are but two of the realities that can not be denied. Argued …but not denied.
So move beyond the fact that he makes no apologies his actions and accept the fact that he is the primer and will excercise the authority of that office.
"Sarcasm"…no …butit is ironic that it’s the truth.
‘primer’ – whitewash LOL
Please correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding of what transpired is that Cohen was one of 7 bidders who submitted their bids to the CTC. Theirs was not the lowest bid and it was not the bid selected by the CTC. Notwithstanding this, the Premier approached Cohen directly (without similarly approaching any other bidder) and invitedthem to alter certain terms of their offer. Cohen has no track record of handling sovereign debt. It is a relatively small operation and does not have the financial strength that other bidders had. His explanation is that he had their contact details and was in NY and felt he could negotiate them with. If those are the facts, then it should be obvious to everyone that, at the bare minimum, his actions are ethically questionable. It has the appearance of impropriety. The fact you are denying that this is an issue says more about you than it does about the transaction. It doesn’t help his case when one of his staunchest supporters on this cannot spell "clarify" and "premier".
You seem to equate "primer" with autocrat. The Constitution does not give the Premier any reserve powers to overridethe provisions of the Law and related regulations. Acting as he did is not a proper exercise of the functions of that office unless you are using the Misick Guide to Ethical Conduct in Public Office.
Given the excellent projections from our Premier I am sure we can count on this being accurate! (Sarcasm)
$132M budget deficit projected
Source: http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=10384483
$29 million dollar budget deficit
http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=10381061
$56 million dollar budget deficit (may 2010)
http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/headline-news/2010/02/25/mac-reveals-56m-deficit
$44.1 million dollar shortfall (August 2009)
http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/headline-news/2009/08/27/government-runs-out-cash
By the way, someone should ask how many outstanding invoices for services and products are owed. I know for fact government has not been payings its bills. I personally have money in my bank account when I don’t pay my bills too!
If I didn’t know better I would say that this was one of the most impressive headlines that I have read in a LONG time. But unfortunately, I cannot possibly fathom how a reduction in the deficit is likely with all this outrageous spending and borrowing?! And still no accounts available?
School projects = magical $35mln deficit "savings".
They are back on again in the $185mln debt financing, so it’s just a political shell game, and we’ll pay for them one way or another.
Just so we’re clear, $15mln + $185mln = $200mln, against projected $50mln
Please allow me to state here one of the main reasons why this deficit has been so drastically reduced.
Government is not paying their bills!
Everywhere I turn people say they can’t order goods to put on their shelfs because the Government owes them so much money.
Call the CFO’s in government and ask them if they are up to date on all of their bills?
These are only falsified figures.
This is what Mckeeva Bush is all about, that is getting the job done. Mind you he may not always go about it the right way but the man gets it done. Kudos Mac a job well done.
And you beleive him? He’s been rather vague as to how the Government managed to reduce the deficit from $81 million to a mere $15 million.
I for one, would like more answers, please.
There’s more to this story….
In order to believe this, one must accept that Big Mac did not take the title of Minister of Finance as a right, but that he is entitled to that high honour because of his sound financial education.
Big Mac has simply returned to cash accounting. There is cash on hand because government suppliers have not been paid, and nobody has been working on the school sites for many months.
The schools still have to be completed, with many of the same work performed twice because of the break, and undoubtedly not only will we pay Tom Jones lawyer’s fees but they will get a big settlement as well.
The only real savings that Big Mac could have made would have been the big reduction in MLA salaries that he has since reneged on.
The only people that would believe this are those who refused to believe that we were paying all of the Premier’s bills until they were presented with the proof. Thank God for FOI.
Is this the ‘new math?’ Does Mac now do his own accounting? Me thinks he pulled a number out of his a@@. Is this amount verifiable by anybody?
Ken Ken told PPM their deficit wasn’t so big either. Let’s see what the final figures show.
If we don’t have financial statements then how are these numbers reliable? He needs to write a book on this so that the rest of the world can join us in this recovery! "The 90 Day Plan to end the Recession"
In related news it has been announced that the official name of the Ministry of Finance will be changed to the Ministry of Playing with the Numbers, or perhaps the Ministry of Playing the Numbers, depending on how time is actually spent.
Sorry Mouth can say anything Mr. Bush you have BS the people too many times.
I bet $15 million that this is the new "projected" deficit is based on the financial equivalent of unicorns and rainbows. At the end of the financial year the deficit will probably be HIGHER than was projected at the beginning and Bush will blame the PPM, "bureaucracy" and other haters for holding up the changes he wanted to implement to make and save this money. If I am wrong I will gladly eat my words, but watch this space. It’s just 8 more months before the truth comes out (well, as far as possible without audited accounts…).
What an embarrassing display by our so-called leader last night… no direct answers to direct questions, just lots of fluff bamboozaling rhetoric.. and worst of all the bonus of the demeaning "sweetheart" treatment of adult female citizens looking for serious answers to their questions.
The Premier owes those two ladies from last night a deep andsincere apology for his disgusting behaviour towards them.
To call one lady "sweeheart" and then the other lady "darlin’" and "you, young woman" simply because he did not like the questions they were asking but yet address others by salutation/name was despicable.
Fine example for the young men of these Islands of how to treat women!
Mr Steve McField – maybe you should teach your ‘buddy’ some manners and give him lessons in civility and respect before you set up and start preaching to the people about respect for the position of Premier. Last night’s behaviour was a disgrace to the position/title of Premier.
Respect is earned and if the person in the position of Premier of a country is unable to show respect to the people then he is sure not going to get any in return!
Next time, please also ask your howling banshees to act in a more civil way at a public meeting.
Yeah, looked like the circus came to Bodden Town last night! and what a classless show they put on!
From what I could see on the TV Mr. Anglin looked like he was embarrassed and he should be. You are a CPA Mr. Anglin, why on earth are you quietly following this premier? You are a CPA the Premier is not yet he is in charge of the finances of the country and single handly making financial decisions. Speak up for the love of Country, Say something, anything. The premier is the least educated of the whole bunch yet he is the only one speaking. Julie, Rolston, Mike, Mark Cline you are the educated ones, come on do something about this man. Your silence is not gaining you any respect.
Also, hurling ‘you PPM’ at the lady because the lady’s questions made the Premier hot under the collar.
A person – a woman – is allowed to talk and ask questions regardless of whether a supporter of any particular political party or not.
Perhaps some need to take a look back in history to see how many died and suffered to obtain the vote anda voice for women.
Even after all the recent worldly travels, it appears not much has been learned.
I agree with what you have said but Steve McField teach his "buddy" some manners and give him lessons in civility and respect?
I suppose we can dream!
And all this financial info without any way to check the facts. Wow! O.K.! Good one. Just where did you get all these (facts) from? Will the so far unfinished and unavailable financial audits now be written to conform to your facts? I’m sure they are trying very hard.
last nights ‘meeting’ was a masterclass in distraction…lots of rhetoric and yet more promises of big announcements soon to come (haven’t we heard this for the last 18 months?)
i’ll beleive the deficit reduction when i see it officially…but in the mean time it proves a nice distraction from the cohen and cohen controversy…….
well if the Finanical Secretary had anything to do with it, i would rather wait and see the facts… please keep in mind people that under the PPM they had additional, unplanned expenses because of hurricanes etc.. we also got much needed infurstructure upgrades etc.. so now that all that has been done by the PPM, much is not needed- so a lil savings could be expected.
Figures can lie and liers can figure!
Actually, the saying goes: Liars can make figures, but figures don’t lie.
Another one is: Time longer than rope.
Also: Time will tell.
And don’t forget: You can fool some people sometime, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.
And now you see the light, STAND UP for your right, yeeaahh yeeaahh – GET UP STAND UP…
And perhaps most important: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, da wha ya get.
I’m looking at you, West Bay voters.
I can’t believe someone had an issue (thumbs down) with this post
Common sense tells us that It is impossible for the people to be better off when we see an exodus of business from Cayman or businesses closing down, rising unemployment, rising foreclosures and reposessions, no new investment and government coffers filling up.
This money had to come from somewhere and it did not come from Dr. Shetty or any influx of new investment.
It came from We the people!
Why are we cheering on a government who has sucked the wealth (money you and i had to pay our bills) out of the private sector and placed it in the public purse?
Who is better off now than they were two years ago?
We are struggling more now to pay our private sector bills as a result of the crushing burden of new government taxes implemented in the past 18 months.
What is the benefit of having a rich government and poor people in a free market economy?
While this is the model of government in socialist countries, it is not what we need or want in Cayman.
We do not need government surpluses at the expense of private sector foreclosures as this will create greater problems than those we claim to have solved.
Mr. Premier what we do want is for you to keep cutting costs (which you seem to be doing; good job), cut most fees back to 2009 levels making it more attractive for businesses to invest in Cayman, take a firm hand with crime and to renegotiate with CUC. Our light bills are practically a second mortgage for many of us and it is killing the competitiveness of our country in all sectors!
Bush is destroying this country and is a disgrace.
MORE DECEPTION
If you believe his rhetoric you are either naive or stupid. When has he ever spoken the truth or kept his word. Imagine the savings the country could have benefited from without all his personal wasteful spending, travel, first class everything, hotels, meals, the worldwide road shows, the entourages to accompany him, the security, cars, drivers, roll back on MLA salary reductions he promised, promises promises promises, etc etc etc.
His road show around Cayman is to deflect the heat on him for breaking the law and personally making his secret deal for the country’s $185m loan.
COME ON ! DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE HIM.
but is it true? Without financials how can we be sure of anything. Did the PPM really leave such a huge deficit. If the Premier had shown facts and figures to back this up,I might be a bit more receptive. But please remember a few months before the election, this country supposedly had money according to the Financial Secretary. 3 months later, the same FS produced another set of figures which showed that we had a huge deficit. What happened to that money?
ATTENTION: DR. SHETTY! This island is now viable, crime-free and a totally cool place to drop a few billion.
Seems like self praise is his only recommendation…
Any proof? We all know he can talk the talk…………………….
Come on PPM…Where are the negative comments???
Am I missing something here?? Has the Auditor General finalized the audit on the public sector already? The last thing I read was that, not all departments have handed in their final reports, and if they did, there hasn’t been any news stating that his audit, which I believed he said would be finished around December (if all account were in on time) are complete.
I’m not trying to bash anyone at this time, I’m just saying, How can Mckeeva say his saving quote is accurate when he doesn’t have final numbers from the AG? If that is the case,, then why do we need the AG, as it is obvious he is plugging in his own numbers now. If im wrong can someone please enlighten me? Dont just give me a negative and not be able to set me straight.
Thanks
The financial audits have not been completed since 2004 so if u use your analogy, we should not believe anything since then, which would include the entire term of the last government.
That is why it is so important to have verifiable financial information.
It is absolutely amazing what people say. The govt was faced with a huge budget crisis like none ever experienced in our history. Drastic measures had to be taken including rescheduling major projects that we could not afford all at once in order to reduce the deficit.
So instead of applauding them for getting spending under control, we castigate them for acheiving this by stalling on major projects. Folks, the blood loss had to be stopped and done in such a way as to minimize the negative impacts on the economy and unemployment of Caymanians.
No doubt you are the same people who wanted the massive capital projects continued at the expense of civil servants. Of course if large numbers of civil servants (who are mostly Caymanians unlike any other labour sector of our economy) are fired or made redundant and salaries and wages slashed by this govt, that would give certain people a better chance of being elected next time around.
There is tremendous pressure to cut civil servant salaries and make significant numbers of them redundant, and so far this govt has resisted against this. I wonder how many civil servants really appreciate this fact?
The issue is that what little proof exists regarding government finances seems at odds with the Premier’s claims. All the people want is the proof that what he says is true.
It’s simple. Government reduced deficit by not paying bills.
BTW: What happened to the people that was going to tell it to him? Fell for his BS again?
I must say despite the criticisms, large rocks that were thrown at Premier McKeeva Bush for these two years, he has managed to remain resilient and committed to his portfolio. The Premier has traits of a dictator, somewhat like a ruler… could be in his horoscope sign. But I have to put it to ya, the man has push getting his goals accomplished. And despite the media and critics, he has had to verbally forewarned, the Premier still dust himself off, looking for another fight. A West Bayer at his best!
Of course, he has associated himself with big names, such as, Dart, Joe, and Mike… who are all players in Cayman’s economy; it has made him seem like all that’s on his mind, is making the almighty dollar. Kurt now is more silent and feeds Alden with ideas. Alden is full of life it seems and are Kurt’s arms and limbs.
The whole negative thing about these two, is that I recall when they were in power for four years, how they sort of strayed from the principles of maintaining a good and sound budget. 81 million dollars of getting the country into debt, is a lot of money! Still Cayman seem to forget that they had no real explanation for months in the country’s economic decline. I recalled some of them blame the debt on the Global Recession and Hurricane Polama. And Mckeeva, business-minded as he is, plead to Kurt to please control the spending, in which I recall Kurt replied to the effect, "never in one of these mornings will he stop." Kurt Tibbetts and Alden Mclaughlin increased the country’s debt, and there seem to had no plans on how to pay it off.
Cayman seem now to forget all these things, because of the stressors of having to deal with the Premier’s hikes in fees and duties. The sore and bruised populous, the disgruntle and sore faces, have no turned on him. Much more the perks and preveleges that came with being Premier, which Kurt would have as well accepted, made matters worse. But the PPM left us with a debt that two years of a new administration, would not be able to pay off completely.
May I remind everybody, that is how McKeeva got into power. People were fed up with the PPM and 81 millions in debt result in job loss and a slow economy. The Premier could have not touched the fees and duties and he could had spend like the PPM, but he choose not too. Many times, he had the opportunity of just relaxing and sitting on his throne as Premier, but instead business was on his mind. Many think that it is wrong to have business on one’s mind. They almost see it like your being too money focus, but that is how the world works. We have to make money in order to survive in a Capitalistic world.
Everyone from my district and other districts were fed up with the PPM. Now we hear that UDP has done something that the PPM has never done in their four years… And that is in two years time reduced the deficit to 15 million and spending to 35 million. Hmmm… like I always say… actions speak louder than words. I am now routing for UDP
What i find truly amazing is why it has taken 4 months for the Premier to tell us this good news. i would have thought that if this was really the case Globe Trottin’ Mackie would have been trumpeting this from every every airport and hotel lobby from New York to China months ago..
What happened between March when the projections were for a deficit of some $50M and June which has improved the position so much? Did government revenue increase significantly? If so, how? Did government cut operational expenditure dramatically? if so where?
Where have these figures come from? Are they real or did dear ol" Ken Ken simply "do a ting" again?
We are four months in to the 2010/2011 fiscal year. Where is the report for the first quarter? Show me ze moneee Mac! Show me ze moneee!
the PPM administration produced solid surpluses in the first three years of it’s term. It was only when the global economy started to go south in 2008 that they ran in to trouble.
i’m no udp supporter… but by the ppm blaming the global recession is nonsense….
ppm by bankrupted cayman by overspending and economic mismangement
I think you should share whatever it is you are smoking with us the rest of us poor, economically depressed, souls.
You forgot to mention that the PPM got elected because the people were fed up with the UDP, and by the looks of things this is more than likely going to happen again, probably for good this time…
23:34…you can spin and spin and spin it any which way. Bottom line is the big economic players will be here no matter who is in power. The bigger issue is the Premier doing what is best for all the people of The Cayman Islands. Answer that question.
Impressive results by the government in reducing the deficit. did I also hear reductions in fees coming soon? I’m starting to get a sense of optimisim.
This is a bandaide. Yes a bandaide stops the bleeding temporarily but it does not heal the would.
What he did was raise fees so high that businesses that had no choice at the time but to pay the bills. This raise revenues in the shortfall but the fallout is that many of these businesses will close or cut back significantly and then we will see truly where we are at. What I am saying is already evident just look at all the businesses closing their doors, listen to all the business saying they are forced now to let go foreign workers because permits simply are too expensive. Work Permits have fallen sharply.
All this was was a stop gap. What he is hoping and praying for is the recession to end and then the increases to outweight the losses but thing is we still have 2 years maybe 3 or 4 before the full affects of the end of the recession is felt in Cayman and even still we will be living in a much different world. People won’t simply squander because they have again.
The best way I can summise what he is doing is like waves coming to a beach. The revenue increased as he did the injection but after the surge is done and the water pulls back out all he is left with is sand. He will have to find another gush from somewhere to bring the water up to the beach again.
But what you and me need be concerned with is the damage that is bing caused. All those businesses leaving won’t be back anytime soon. Good business practice is always to keep your existing clients because its much harder to get a client than it usually is to keep one.
We are simply being baffled by the BS.
Well reasoned and presented Dred, it is rather difficult to add to your post.
Like I said before….Dred for Premier!
My first act as Premier….
Dredge a channel just after the West Bay Fire Station from North Sound to top of SMB and declare West Bay a separate country. Then Big Mac can wreck it if he wants to.
That is actually a joke btw.
And the name of that country shall be "Absurdistan".
I understand it actually used to be that way years ago until a hurricane joined the two islands somewhere around the public beach. I guess Mother Nature can be cruel sometimes…
Extra, Extra, Read all about It – Pigs can fly!!!!