Mac hints at stimulus
(CNS): The country’s premier has offered some future hope for the construction industry in the coming months as he says he will be introducing a range of incentives, which include reducing and deferring planning fees and rebates on work permit fees for senior staff. McKeeva Bush said that he will be announcing full details of what will amount to a stimulus package for development in the next week or so but hinted in the Legislative Assembly on Friday afternoon that the government was discussing some incentive proposals for developments starting in the first half of 2011. He said the construction industry was of particular importance to the local economy and he wanted to kick start projects.
The premier suggested that he was considering one off reductions for new or renewed work permits for senior and specialist technical staff, such as architects and engineers, in the construction industry working on projects that would be underway and employing Caymanians before June 2011.
He said a stimulus package for the construction sector would be like a stimulus package to the whole economy as once projects were underway they would fuel consumption, not just for the developments but those jobs created by the projects would see the employees spending in the local economy. He said duty waivers would also be available for certain goods and materials relating to new developments.
Bush said he was limited in what he could do because of the commitment he had made to the UK for the three year budget plan, but he said the construction industry was an important place to start to offer a stimulus package and he was going to impress upon the UK the need to give the sector assistance. The premier said once the analysis and research was complete, he could be more precise about what size reductions the government could give on the various fees and duties associated with the business of developing.
“We need to jump start our economy now,” he told the Legislative Assembly, and said there was reason to be cautiously optimistic that things were improving. “It is going to start to get better and we are going to pull ourselves out.” Bush warned that government had to be careful, however when it started there would be jobs again for Caymanians.
The premier raised the issue of the stimulus package in what was a heated debate regarding a private member’s motion on duty waivers brought by the independent member for North Side. Ezzard Miller had asked government to make it a requirement that duty waivers could only given on goods bought at local merchants to ensure the locally economy benefitted. However, government proposed an alternative motion which suggested instead that where waivers were given government would give a higher percent to good’s bought on island.
The debate is set to continue on Monday when the Legislative Assembly meets again.
Category: Headline News
Friends of CIG must be wanting to build something. And do it cheaper than what the common Caymanian can do it for. Otherwise Mac would not be wasting his breath. Not too hard to see that he only works for "the money". Too bad he is still getting paid by the ones he doesn’t represent. Such is life in Cayman.
When I is lookin a little stimulus I takes me one of them there wy-agras.
That all you need to get tings pumpin again.
Mac, is doing the right thing. He is making more and more money, so that he can develop Cayman and take us out of this economic mess the PPM left us with
Am I the only one who takes exception to the fact that the proposed fee reduction is thus far aimed at "senior and specialist technical staff, such as architects and engineers"? It would seem that the small local contractor is left out in the cold while the quite lucrative architectural and engineering firms will enjoy even greater profits. I would think that reduction in permit fees for skilled and semi-skilled construction workers and construction supervisors would result if a far greater degree of stimulus for construction than reducing permit fees for architects and engineers.
A reduction in work permit and T&B license fees would be an appreciated respite for the beleaguered contractor. Thus far, I have not heard of any architectural or engineering firms that were foundering due to the economic down, but local contractors in numerous forums have made it quite clear that they are suffering.
I should think that having the duty concessions extend to the average Caymanian trying to afford a roof over his head would be fairer than offering such concessions only to already wealthy developers.
I guess that’s the way Mackeevahood thinks: Rob from the poor and give to the rich.
LMAO…..although this is a serious matter I had to scratch my head and all body parts when I heard "big-mouth mac" speak to the creation of jobs like what he did for the road clean-up a few months ago.
Low-n-behold, I thought, that if these are the kind of jobs he’s preaching about, then we will surely STARVED to death, after-all we would have lost all our personal assets by that time……go figure, a job once every 6 months?????
Now factor in the type of job he’s speaking about (cleaning the road sides – island wide), pitched at the very poorest of persons, at the lowest level educated of educated, many of those were persons who usually don’t work due to drug related problems or, can’t find work due to their prison record. Well, blow-me-down, Christmas is just around the corner so here comes the jobs again!!!
Well, its a good dog-gone t’ing this man and his "i-Team" can fix our unemployment problem and create jobs!!!
To all of you that believe in him (and I’m not talking about Jesus Christ) may the good Lord have mercy on you, your children, their children and for many future generations to come, for allowing such a person to pull the wool over your brains, ears and eyes. I think this is what one would call, "a state of insanity"!!
Send a refund for deposits made on work permits immediately if the work permit is denied or cancelled.
This should be sent with the final correspondence from Immigration.
What Mac wanted all along was for PPM to give him the ideas, so he can take it and run with it. I hope this construction he is talking about is finishing the schools. I also wonder how much PORK is in this stimulus. I wonder too if the Auditor has audited the last stimulus yet? Where did that stimulus go? Things that makes you go Hmmmmm.
Isn’t it funny how we are now preaching to buy local ansd stimulate our economy…isn’t Cohen an overseas company…makes you wonder.
Don’t fall into his trick!
This is just an attempt to deflect attention from the last scandal.
Opposition MLAs, please do not let the Government debt issue with Cohen go unforgotten and unpunished, is the best chance we have to avoid us the pain of 2 more years (or may even be 6 years) of this administration
Scandal after scandal… eh…
Where is the proof?
Good Job MB!
: )
Everything is talked about, then dropped… as if it were never mentioned in the first place
Would this have anything to do with the East End?
Finally, he is realizing that strangulating chickens to double up the production of eggs is not working.
Maybe an other illuminating moment will bring about the development fees.
mac ‘hints’ at stimulus???…….you have done nothing but damage the economy in the last 18 months ….do something NOW!
Food for thought will these stimulus packages be extended to hard working Caymanians trying to get their own home. We all know that Mac is more a fan of big businesses and couldn’t care less about the average Caymanian.
The Construction Industry?!? Here we go again….if you do NOT have money to build, you CANNOT build. The short term solution to throw lucrative building contracts to your buddies is what got us in this mess.
Unless it is going to directly impact and grow the economy (like a cruise ship port built and paid for by Dart…as much as I hate progress, no ships will come without it in 36 months) wait until you have funds to build anything new.
Fix the educational and vocational programs so that your workforce is acceptable. Stop thinking bricks and start thinking smarts. Only when we have less than 5% unemployment again will we return to the progressive island we were a decade ago.
ALL businesses need help!!!!!!!!!!! Why is it everyone seems to think it is only construction that is hurting?????
Come on Mac and you other MLA’s, give us some help.
It would’nt take much, first of all GOV pay your bill’s! How are we expected to pay for Gov fees and permits when you don’t pay US!
And second, SPEND on Island, Government, YOU spend way to much overseas on things that NOBODY gets a chance to bid on localy.
Give duty consessions to manafacturer’s so we can at least compete!
GIVE US A CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!! or at least an explanation please.
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
I can not wait to see this. Who do you think will get this "stimulus"?
Sounds like McKeeva is finally acknowledging what Charles Clifford described as "the flawed economic policy of the UDP Government"
Lets see if action follows words with this.
if the stimulus is used with borrowed money, what happens when it has to be paid back?
i’m assuming that the benefit of the stimulus is equal or less then the cost of stimulus. i also do not think it is far-fetched for a government to spend without a real benefit to the project.
can anyone get a historical trend for the velocity of money since the crisis started? that would be helpful no?
Way-2-Go Mac
Shouldn’t that be "Go Away Mac" based on what has actually happened in the past 18 months? Talk and hints are cheap. I will wait to see what is delivered and at what cost.
Mac getting scared and dancing faster than last week. LOL! Finally, something got him going. Can you say, faster faster round we go, step to the right, step to the left, where we will end up on this merry go round no one knows?
As long as Mr Bush and his party are in power,or the choice of the same people in both parties are the same,things wont change around here.lots of people are telling me,that they are thinking of going to live in Panama..check out why ?.
It is my very humble opinion that unfortunately you have to be a friend, family, colleague or cronie of the UDP to get any help from Mckeeva Bush’s "stimulus." Just take a look at the last so called "stimulus." We have not heard from the UDP as to who received any help from it, but the few who claimed that it was helpful were UDP supporters or cronies. It is very easy for any government to supposedly use the people’s money in a so called "stimulus package" to help small business & those in need, but instead use it to help family, friends, colleagues & cronies & then proclaim it to be a success! The only people who have benefitted in any way over the past 17 months have been those that are connected with the UDP. Almost everyone else has felt pain & suffering. We desreve it though, we should have learnt our lesson from 2001-2005. A leopard does not change it’s spots & nor does Mckeeva Bush.
What is happening with the possible change to the rollover? You don’t hear anything more about it…
glad to see Mac is finally starting to listen to the PPM
MORE DOUBLE TALK
Totally EVASIVE to deflect the real issues surrounding him !