Miller packs in PAC
(CNS): The chairman of the Legislative Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has handed in his resignation as a result of the persistent failure of other members of the committee to turn up to scheduled meetings. Ezzard Miller said he can’t do the work of getting government’s accounts in order as he wanted to without the support of all members and when not one of the other members of the committee turned up to this month’s meeting on Tuesday 8 March, Miller said it was the last straw. “I didn’t accept this because of the prestige,” the independent member for North Side said of his chairmanship. “I accepted it to do a job on behalf of the people, and if no one turns up I can’t do that job.” (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
He handed his resignation to the speaker today, (Friday 11 March) to give government time to place the election of another chair on the agenda of the next meeting of the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
“I am very disappointed and feel I have let the people down but I refuse to be ‘Ozzerized’,” Miller added referring to the last chair of the PAC, Osbourne Bodden, who also struggled with members not turning up to meetings during the previous administration.
The North Side MLA, who was elected chair by all members of the House in June 2009, explained that an email had been sent out by the clerk last week to PAC members, which was a round robin approval of the Auditor General’s Office January bill, but with the exception of the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman member, Moses Kirkconnell, not one of the other members had answered the email. He said that this had happened too frequently over the almost two years since the committee was elected.
Miller added that if the committee did not have confidence in him as chair, which must be the case as the members were simply not showing up despite the dates being set at their convenience, then he had to step down as there was nothing else he could do. The law says there must be at least three members present, including the chair, in order to form a quorum.
“It is one of the most important standing committees in the Legislative Assembly and we all accepted a place on it to do a job,” Miller noted. “I do not believe anyone else in the LA will have the enthusiasm for getting the problem of government accounting sorted as I have. I think most people would agree that I have worked very hard on tackling the backlog of accounts. The only person that seems to have the commitment to getting these accounts up to date is me.”
He pointed out that he had drawn attention to the problem of members not turning up for meetings last year in his first report on the work of the committee and suggested government change the membership after two of them, Elio Solomon and Cline Glidden, had been appointed as councillors, but his report had fallen on deaf ears.
With government accounts still behind and facing further delays, Miller wondered if it wasn’t in government’s interest to continue to allow the delays as it would mean they could avoid accountability for public spending during their term. He added that although many statutory authorities were catching up, most of the ministries were still woefully behind.
Miller said the auditor general had informed him that as of 28 February, the last deadline set by the committee, four of the ministries and portfolios had not submitted their accounts for 2009/10 to the AG and, ironically, the Ministry of Finance had not even finished 2006.
Miller also revealed that the Attorney General’s Office had advised him that he did not have the authority as PAC chair to bring any legal action against chief officers or chief financial officers in the ministries for their failure to comply with the Public Management and Finance Law. The AG, Miller stated, had revealed that the responsibility for compliance with the PMFL was with the premier in his role as Minister of Finance.
For more on PAC and the list of members go to the Legislative Assembly website.
Category: Politics
Ez, I don’t blame you, I can just imagine your frustration. Their lack of attendance is inexcusable, immature and pathetic. But this is exactly what they wanted! You have fallen into their trap. So, get back in there and be the bigger man.
There should be a fine for no-shows. And it should increase with the number of meetings missed. I’m sure they’re not surprise meetings. They are doing it to show disrespect. Like teenagers bucking up against their parents.
Not that it is a comparison but pro sports teams are fined if they do not show up for practice.
I can’t believe that even THEY do not think that their own antics are childish.
There should be a law that when elected MLA’s don’t show for meetings, they should not be paid.(NO Exceptions).
The UDP MLA’s knew that if they attended the meetings, progress on the old accounts would be made. Eventually the PAC would catch up and start looking at the current government accounts.
That’s the true politics of the situation.
Quit!
Why not ask for a change in membership if that was really the issue.
You only quit if its not important to you. Ezzard is a quitter.
To Anonymous Mon,03/14/11 13:50 Had you taken the time to read the article ,you would have noticed that Ezzard suggested a change when Elio and Cline were also named as councillors, but no action was taken to replace them..Maybe the plan was to make it look like Ezzard’s fault and then call him a quitter.Think about it.
You only don’t show up if it is not important to you.
Miller asked the MLA’s to show up. If that didn’t work, why do you think asking them to resign would?
This petty, dolly house politics needs to stop and the men need to get on with the work for the country and for its people. Stop the unnecessary spending, cut excessive travel and establish a long term plan to pay back debt. Restore the country and give back Civil Servants what was taken by way of pay cuts. Award a COL and redesign a feasible long-term sustainable budget.
Elio and CG can’t even make these important meetings to do the peoples business. I bet they don’t miss those big paychecks. I will also bet it is Mac that tells them not to attend. He tells them everything else. Puppet MLA’s is what the UDP is all about one man rule. This must stop sooner or later. I’m sick of this type of politics. Sorry cowardly politicians that put millionaire foreigners ahead of their own people that is so shameful.
WELL PLANNED BY UDP. These men would not turn up for meetings because this was well planned by the udp goverment.or thier members did not know what was giong on in the meetings. now lets say that it was planned. if they do not turn up there could not be any meetings,therefore the public could not know what was going on with goverment finance. they are aware that surplus that the premier say we have is a bundle of rubbish. but no way of proving it to the public ,so we must believe what the PREMIER SAY. now lets they did not know what was going on. if this is so then what do EZZARD expect the guys to do. If i had a job and did not know whatto do , and could not learn in two years i would be ashame to go to work too. AS for ELIO he thinks that he is the pride to humanity and always trying to fool people. mr glidden disappointed in you. joke joke i feel sorry for you. you are just an extension cord, has no clue of what is happening around you .
I believe the UDP totally misjudged Mr Miller.Apparently they did not think he was really independent,or they believed he could be won over by giving him this important Chairmanship.Unfortunately for them Ezzard has not become just another extension cord but has concentrated on doing what the position requires.Now that he is closing in on reports that deal with the UDP administration (and has attracted a bit of political support and even been asked by some to consider seeking the Premiers post) I believe the party made a decision to boycott meetings of the PAC and try to label Ezzard as a quitter or as being too abrasive.In fact Elio and Cline have already started this campaign in other media outlets and some of the party faithfulhave been spinning the same silly point of view on CNS. Do not be surprised to see Eugene added as a member of the committee and Elio named as chairman and then hold a few meetings (just to make it look good ) but not consider any reports dealing with UDP accounts.
Threatening to jail people is a very discouraging gesture. Once Miller started threatening civil servants with jail none of the MLAs wanted to be a part of his ignorance and they simply just excused themselves leaving Miller to Bully by himself.
Wrong approach Miller. Maybe you can now take some time to sober up and realize that your approach was discouraging and got you nowhere.
Blame yourself for your failures. Not others who had nothing to do with the choices you made.
If this is the excuse that the absent MLAs are using then that makes their no show even worse. They are elected representatives whose job it is to speak up on behalf of the people, especially those like civil servants who cannot speak for themselves. If they see silence and unexplained silent protest as doing their jobs then they should never have been elected in the first place because clearly they don’t understand it.
If they were truly upset by Miller’s threats to arrest people who many of us see as participating in a massive cover up or sheer incompetence then they should have articulated it. Not showing up to these very important meetings but not telling anyone why would be so pathetic it’s hard to get my head round.
For the record, I don’t believe it. I think they didn’t go to the meetings because they couldn’t be bothered or in some cases because they couldn’t follow what was going on.
You might be on to something there. It is far easier to accept ridicule for not showing up than it is to show up and expose yourself as ignorant.
Have you noticed how these people that are too busy to attend PAC meetings always vote "yes" to anything the Premier proposes, but they never spend even one minute debating to explain to the people who elected them as to their reasons for voting "yes"?
To Anonymous,Sun 03/13/11 11.16 Stop trying to deflect the blame from your UDP buddies.They refused to show up without giving a good reason ;you should be asking them to do their job.
Thank you Miller for all that you did to try and clear up this PAC mess. I for one am glad that you did more that anyone else in the last 10 years to expose to the public the true shabby state of the countries accounts. Sorry I vote in George Town so I will not be voting for you in 2013.
You just could not resist taking a cheap shot at Miller here could you. You sound like Elio on Rooster on Friday with his pathetic attempt to shift the blame instead of being a man and taking responsibility for his own irresponsible inaction. Any member of the public who listens to crosstalk always knew when there would be a meeting of PAC because Miller always talked about upcoming meetings on the radio and with the members getting notices and reminders sent to them personally, there is no excuse for not attending and doing the job they are being paid for.
These three delinquent members cannot claim that they were bullied as in the end they have the majority vote in PAC so that they can overrule Miller any time they made the effort to attend. What is even more pathetic is that Elio Soloman, Duane Seymour and Cline Glidden were obviously in colusion when they did not attend the many meetings in unison as they know that without them there can be no meeting as there is no quorum. They deliberately worked together to stop the important business of the Government, for the people, from proceeding. THIS IS PATHETIC.
If these three people had any ba**s they would have showed up to the meetings and carried every vote in the manner they were told to vote by the PREMIER just like they do with everything else he tells them to do.
As a registered member of the UDP who voted for Elio in the last election, let me tell you, YOU ARE AN EMBARASSMENT TO ME and you could not even get a glass of water from me in the next election. Please do not get on here and try to tell me off about not signing my name because this is not something that I have not told you to your face you arrogant fop.
Miller did the right thing when he resigned, now the UDP can appoint another UDP member to be the chairman and with 4 votes on PAC they can approve or pass anything that comes to the PAC the way the PPM ran it but we know that this will result in exactly what happened when Ozzie chaired it ……. no meetings will be called at all.
If the UDP wants to live up to the image of integrity that attracted me when it was formed then here is what you should do now. Appoint the 5 members of the opposition to populate and chair the PAC so that they can do the job they are being paid to do ……. keep an eye on the Government. This will serve to boost the credibility of the UDP once the accounts are brought up to date, that way when the Government says that we heve cut spending and reduced expenditure resulting in millions being cut from the defecit, the public can believe this is indeed true. Oh yea, speak to our ministers and convince them to get their ministries accounts up to date as quickly as possible. READ THIS PARAGRAPH AGAIN AND IT MIGHT JUST MAKE SENSE TO YOU.
Ezzard Miller, once again thank you for doing the job you did in raising people’s awareness of the importance of the PAC. You were right to resign as you were put in a no win position where you had all of the resoinsibility and no authority to get the job done.
” Sorry I vote in George Town so I will not be voting for you in 2013.”
Have no fear! Mr Miller will have a team of candidates with him next time around and you will have the opportunity to vote for them in every district. We plan to take back this country and set things right!
Agreed and well said, poster 11:16.
There is obviously a lack of people and leadership skills that create such a situation. How much management skills does such chairperson’s need, should be a question when they fail.
Finger pointing and blame rarely achieve good results in life towards anything.
Strong man or strong arm tactics are neither effective. We keep electing the wrong people, who once they are placed in a position over us, they believe we the people(voters) report to them. It is sad with so many decent skillful people in Cayman, that politics has been relegated to those who have not shown a track record of their own. The future of Cayman is indeed very dim unless we get a crop of people soon to make a difference, and show a better ATTITUDE!
No matter who is in charge here, the right thing to do is show up at the meetings or have the decency to send an appolligy not get on the radio and rant like Elio did on friday why he didnt have the time,its very clear and evident that he dislikes Mr. Miller and had no intentions of attending. From experience all of the MLA’s are approached with wants & wishes, but it does not mean that you shoulnt do your job. The real good thing to do now is for the people of G/Town to show him what its like to not show up at the meetings that he was elected to do, in 2013 , make a difference, vote from experience with wisdom. Not one of them deserve to be re-elected. I say shame on all of you.
To the best of my knowledge, getting paid for a service that is not being delivered amounts to theft. Theft, I believe, is a crime punishable by imprisonment in Cayman. If I am correct, then it is my own opinion that the entire UDP should be in Jail. Ezzard Miller is obviously the only person here that is IN FACT sober. Unfortunately he is flogging a bunch of dead horses… in vain. Thank you for your efforts nonetheless, Mr Miller.
If the members of the various committees were appointed because of their relative experience, expertise and qualifications to whichever board they are appointed to, then perhaps the country would be in a better position. Instead, too often, people are appointed because they are cronies of this one or that one. My apologies to those board members who do show up, do care and want to make a difference. I am not referring to you. Members of the various boards should be very carefully considered before they are appointed.
I find these news extremely disturbing. I had hopes that with Mr. Miller as chairmain, and elected Board Members from both parties we would finally get our House in some sort of order at least. Mr. Financial Secretary where do you fit in all of this? PAC is one the most important Board. No one showing up at the meetings is negligent and failing to take your responsibilities seriously. No wonder some Porfollios are not following the rules of timely report. And I don’t want to hear that we can’t get along. We trust you with our Country that affect our lives and I don’t know if you’ve notice but we are not doing so well not mentioning crazy crime rage, people can’t pay their bills or eat or both. I have lost a lot of confidence in many. Not good for TOURISM or INVESTORS either. Mr. Miller I believe you were the right person for the Job.Teamwork is what is missing in many Boards and some seem to think this is a big joke
Since we have a problem of MLAs not turning up for PAC meetings and not being held to account for it, this is like the Chief Officers and CFOs who don’t give a monkeys about getting the accounts done on time .The problem we are told is the Public Management and Finance Law, that bloody annoying law that requires people to do things on time and be accountable for them (except they are notaccountable because no one does a damn thing to those who don’t comply with the law.) So………what we need is an expert from the FCO (maybe the same one reviewing the PMFL recently) to tell us how to get the the PAC to work properly. After all, it’s NEVER people is it, it’s always laws and regulations and standing orders that are the problem.
We are worrying about the symptoms not the cause. Unless we are prepared to change the electoral system here in a number of ways, we will continue to have irresponsible government. I shall expand on all this in a viewpoint in the next few months.
This is the kind of nonsense that really infuriates me. What exactly are these people getting paid top dollars for?? These individuals are not even Ministers where one can somewhat expect a hefty work schedule which would cause meeting conflicts. Exactly what is Dwayne, Ellio, and Cline busy doing that they cannot attend to doing their jobs?
As far as I am concerned I am most disappointed in Ezzard because resigning accomplishes absolutely nothing!!! If they were making a mockery of the democratic process before this just gives them carte blanche in all aspects now.
We the people need to put pressure on this individuals to get them todo the job they are being paid for. Ezzard needs to withdraw his resignation and request a new committe of members that are willing to show up.
As captain of the ship if you jump ship before your mates, do you really think you will be left unscathe???Regardless this ploy will still leave a blackmark on your record as a failure to accomplish something that you were appointed for.
“The surest way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”
Registered voters please let your voices be heard!!!!
“As far as I am concerned I am most disappointed in Ezzard because resigning accomplishes absolutely nothing!!”…..
“Ezzard needs to withdraw his resignation and request a new committe of members that are willing to show up.”
I ABSOLUTELY CONCUR…….
I am sorry but Ezzard by himself can’t request a new government.
It does not appear that Miller was getting much support on the committee however this appears to be another example of Miller not getting anything accomplished. He seems far better at criticizing others than actually getting his own set of responsibilities completed. As chairman of the committee, it was his responsibility to see the committee work and sometimes, that means managing other committee members. Simply quitting in light of poor performance of the committee seems to me a poor option and is a likely indicator of what would happen if he was given any real authority in future. There would be lots of noise and blame however nothing accomplished.
10:50 I am tempted to agree with you.
Apparently you believe these "committee members" are little children that we are trying to get to go to school and poor father Miller simply isn’t trying hard enough?
To Anonymous Sat 03/12/11 10:50 I suppose you would have used the strap on them ,or put them in detention,or maybe even withheld their salaries.Unfortunately, if you check the Legislative Assembly website you will find that the Chairman does not have these powers.Stop hating on Ezzard and ask your Mlas to do their jobs.
when the going gets tough…the tough resign????
miller has taken the easy option and is trying to claim some moral high ground after failing in his position……of course he is right about the other members but he was in the perfect place to embaress them and show them up for what they really are…..
When the going gets tough, the tough just don’t show up?
These committee members are full grown adults that SHOULD NOT by any stretch of the imagination need to be ’embarrassed’ into fulfilling their obligations, although if it is indeed possible to embarrass them I would say Ezzard has in fact done a very good job of that.
Could it be that Miller is too abrasive and find it difficult to work with peope? and they with him?
If they think the meetings are broken and a waste of time, then it is their duty to show up and work within the system to fix things. And yes, doing so is hard and frustrating work.
They are paid big bucks because they are expected to work hard. And yes, one of the difficult tasks is dealing with "difficult" people. It comes with the territory.
There is no excuse for abdication. Caymanians deserve better.
09:19 If they think the meetings are broken and a waste of time, why have PAC?
Since the norm with our government seems to be inability, no accountability , organization, budgeting etc etc I tend to think it has nothing to do with personalities.
So why does nobody bother turn up for other Board Meetings in which he has no involvement? With all due respect, I don’t think the issue is about Miller, its about our MLA’s who just don’t seem that bothered about performing their public duties.
23:57, stop wasting your breath, because Nortside is not voting out Ezzard Miller. He is a good person, and besides that if only he and MacKeva could shake hands, they would make a good team, because both of them are the same NO NONSENCE GUYS. What ever I still think both of them are good representatives even if at times they dont see eye to eye.
To Anonymous,Fri 03/11/11 23:57 Could it be that your boys can’t be bothered as they have "more important " things to do.Are you saying that your boys are weak and easily intimidated? If so why didn’t they get the "Chief Intimidator" ,sorry I mean why not get Mac to remove Ezzard.Poor little things , it seems they have bitten off more than they can chew.
does anyone realy have an exact dollar amount of the governments expenditures and who does the inventory or audits.
my fault i forgot ,worldcom, lehman bros, etc all had investments here; wow what a wonderful world.
What a useless, uneducated comment.
The last Public Accounts Chairman took much heat when he did not complete the accounts for many years. The reason is plain to see that yet they get up and run their mouths about blaiming this one and the other. Ezzard saw that the blame game would have been placed on him and he vacated his position in the right time. Who should be blamed?? all those that were appointed to do justice to the people of these Islands, and did not assist in doing the job – What a shame!!!
Well done Mr. Miller don’t be apart of this systemic nightmare the UDP has us in now.
Can you now focus your efforts in helping these Islands to get rid of Big Mac and the fries, can you start a debate that is geared towards national unity in getting these idiots out of government who are wasting the peoples time as soon as possible.
We are fed up with these wannabe representatives, who are just in the LA collecting a salary.
McCarron dont jump the gun. You should not tell Ezzard Miller not to be a part of systemic nightmare by UDP. Your representative is Arden McLean not Ezzard Miller. Furthermore where were you when the PPM Government PAC did not do his job for years. He was not even having meetings. Do you really think Ezzard Miller dont know all about that.
Getting rid of Big Mac is on the minds of people who desire to have more money and more power over the people.
Mr Miller does not have to start any debate geared towards getting these, I quote you, “Idiots out of government.” Why dont you address that to Mr Arden McLean. If Ezzard Miller is wise he will continue to do what is right for his district first and all of Cayman afterwards. Northside voted him in. As far as wannabe representatives go, All of them whant to remain in LA collecting a salary. To Ezzard Miller I would suggest that you keep a careful eye on those who want to push you up front to be shot down. Just continue to do what is right in making Cayman a better place to live, and you do not need a barage of UDP or PPM people intimadating you.
Narrow minded anonymous poster – you really believe I’m concerned who didn’t do their jobs, I want what’s right for these Islands.
This government has already demonstrated their unwillingness to work with anyone outside the UDP, so should the opposition and Mr. Miller just sit around and wait for May 2013? No they should start working from now to bringthis government down.
By me saying he should focus his energies in getting them out, isn’t putting him forward to get shot, I am willing to go there too, the question is, are people like you willing to sacrifice for these Islands?
Mr. Miller is a representative of the people for the people and I will continue to ask him to fight for the people, putting him forward to get shot, get real and show your face, stop hiding behind that ugly mask you have on, show your face and let’s have real debate.
True, Mc.Carron, Ezzard beware of those who want you to bring issues or talk about certain issues, they are setting you up, they know that the other MLA’s aint gonna do a damn thing but they stay mute and you get the tongue lashing from the UDP, dont let the PPM use you as their bait.
Sorry my friend I’m my own man. PPM using me is pile of bull crap.
“Getting rid of Big Mac is on the minds of people who desire to have more money and more power over the people”.
Actually, the only people who want Big Mac in power are those who hope to get more money. His support his fuelled by greed.
Keep on fighting the good fight Mr. Miller.
Well, Mr. Miller, it is sad to read that you had to resign your position due to the irresponsible members of the committee not attending those very important meetings. Consider and understand the importance of the PAC.
When Osbourne Bodden chaired that same committee he got a lot of flackfrom the UDP and he got flogged left, right and centre. Now the shoes are on their feet and they have failed miserably, what can they say now? It is a crying shame that tax payers money (revenue) has to be wasted to pay those images that were nominated, voted for and elected to those positions to embarrass the Cayman Islands. It is time for us to clean house, sterile equipment, and take the garbage to the dump. Our country needs people, who are educated, has common sense, integrity, and last but not least vision. A man like you could not find that in your lopsided committee. Their members are not concerned about government accounts, they are too concerned with their own personal business and the Premiers wishes or tagging along with him on his see the world at our expense.
Waiting to hear the big boy excuses, why he/they could not attend. Are we heading down the road of TCI? No accountability. Are we there yet? Are we nearly there? Time is running out.
Two points here:
1. Ozzie had very few meetings when heading PAC- the ones he had never actually resulted in ONE report. Ezzard has tried to and managed to do get some of Ozzie’s report completed.
2. These accounts that are being review by Ezzard and other members are PPM accounts-years 2005 to 2009
This actually has nothing to do with UDP nor PPM but a failure by the Civil Service to deliver the accounts TO the PAC to be reviewed. Maybe most posting here should understand what the PAC actually does instead of making silly political statements.
Blame the correct ones please.
http://www.legislativeassembly.ky/portal/page?_pageid=1588,2236564&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
methinks these poor folks need more pay.
I will donate 3% of my wages. anybody else?
They can have .00003% of mine but it must be indisputably demonstrated beforehand that it will in fact help.
NO … give us the money first, then we’ll do our job. wink,wink
Mr. Miller, your problem is that you insisted on holding these meetings in Grand Cayman, if you were keeping them in Dubai, India, Spain, The Bahamas, Singapore etc. You would have full attendance for each meeting … heck, even the Premier would attend. You gotta think out the box …. or in this case off the rock.
I regret that Ezzard Miller was unable to provide the necessary leadership to deal with the responsibility of the Public Accounts Committee. Resigning and walking away does not move the PAC forward.
This cannot be viewed as a success for Ezzard.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not an Ezzard supporter or indeed, a supporter of any political party here, but the (repeated) failure of other members to attend these meetings hardly moves PAC forward either. Personally I don’t blame him – he would just end up being the scapegoat for all the others who can’t be bothered to perform their public duties. Making a stand like this has clearly brought to the public light, how bad things are.
Thank you, you are perfectly correct.
To Anonymous Fri 03/11/11 13:07 It seems obvious that boycotting PAC meetings was planned by the UDP to discredit Ezzard as he has become too much of a threat to them.This will certainly be viewed as a failed strategy by the UDP .
If no-one but the Minister of Finance can be held accountable for the failure to comply in a timely manner, then shouldn’t we be holding him accountable? Is it not ultimately his responsibility to ensure that proper accounting be done in time to hold those in office accountable for their expenses? It is too late to count your horses after the corral has been left open for two to five years! If any money has been mis-spent or squandered, it is entirely the fault of the Minister of Finance for not detecting the infraction while the offender is in office. Is that not his responsibility? So, hold him responsible. Need this go to court?
silly post…these are PPM accounts they are currently reviewing…The Minister of Finance has to rely on the civil service to deliver the accounts to the Financial Secretary who then delivers then to the Auditor General. Its the Auditor General that makes a report and sends to the PAC. It is only then that PAC even comes into the picture. The AG is still waiting on the Civil Service to deliver the last 5 years of reports to him. Actually might be very interesting to see what they look like.
Lots more folks to blame but clearly not the Minister of Finance.
They are probably too busy flying first class and driving their Benz or BMW’s to attend meetings.
Everytime I read reports like this, it dscourages me from voting. It doesn’t matter which party is in power, the majority of them are there to relax in the LA for a few months per year, contribute nothing and collect a nice salary. Some are even collecting salary and pension at the same time. Total Madness!!!
Maybe the PAC members were too busy trying to convince people that dredging a channel in the North Sound is a good idea.
Why do these members fail so miserably in their public duties by not bothering to turn up for meetings? This is an issue which I understand is a problem in most government departments and not just PAC in isolation. There should be a statutory fine to all who fail to attend these meetings without good reason… then perhaps finally they will be present at these meetings to perform their public duties, failing which by paying a fine, they are putting something back into the public purse (after all they always seem so keen to take money from it).
Our politicians are acting disgracefully and should be ashamed of themselves. They do not deserve to occupy such honorable positions and I simply cannot understand why the general public still won’t make a stand about all of this.
I don’t always agree with Mr. Miller but I support him here. We have a break down in our CIG. It seems that the majority of our highly paid elected members and especially at the top and some in the CS just live off the fatted cow which is getting skinny these days. No wonder we don’t have accounts that make sense or balance. This is disgraceful and the leader of teh country is leading us into a third world.
No worries. The Premier added it all up in his head and Cayman is doing fine. Thank you for your efforts Mr. Miller.
Wow! He can count past 10? Amazing!
You mean he does in fact have a head? Amazing!
what do you expect from dwayne seymour and elio??? cayman – you get what you deserve..you elected them!
Did you hear the arogance of MLA Ellio Solomon on Cayman Crosstalk today?
He tried to justify ignoring the importance of the work of the Public Accounts Committee. He triviliazed he absence from the PAC meetings, just about inslulting the dedicated attitude of MLA Miller to get the job completed. But then why should we expect any better, from his Premier on down they do not want their performance measured or audited – so like other OT’s they frustrate all good governance entities like the PAC, constitution committee and the FOI process.
1913 can not come soon enough and whomever is seeking office know that the rules will be changing, you will be held accountable.
MLA Miller thank you for trying, you are the better man in this UDP mess up of a so called government.
call a session, buy some rum, gets the ladies, and then you’ll have a quorum of these inspiring people
John John, I believe you should concentrate on your district and the people who put you in the house. The other districts did not vote for you. When times dome for a new election, Bodden Town people will ask, what have youy done in four years. Be careful.
Please pay attention, Bodden Towners and George Towners
I don’t always agree with Mr. Miller’s positions, but I completely agree with him when he says he didn’t accept the position because of prestige. He wanted to get down to work and lead his country.
The other members of the PAC are truly disgusting individuals. None of them have any problem showing up for a photo op, but when it comes to real work (the work they are being paid handsomely to do) they are nowhere to be found.
I get very upset when I read comments on CNS which denigrate Cayman and Caymanians (re: banana republic, etc) but how can I argue with statements like that when our so called leaders are carrying on this way?
CNS permit to psot two minor corrections to your article; 1.The e-mail sent out two weeks ago was for a round robin approval of the Auditor General’s Office January bill and 2. The accounts at end of February was 7 not finalizes for 09 with the finance Ministry not done 06 in central Government and 2 for statutory authorities and government companies. I could also report that for central Government only the Finance Ministry, the Portifolio of the Civil Service, the Education Ministry and the Ministry of Tourism have not had their audit for year 2010 commenced. Only UCCI from the statutory authorities and government companies have not had their audit of year 2010 commenced.
CNS: I’ve made a couple of corrections based on this.
Shouldn’t one get fired when one does not show up for work ?
Unfortunately the majority of voters in this country gets their news from church, so they have no correct view of reality.
Lets keep them dumb, is the motto here.
Now if we could recall and put to pasture the UDP jokers!
Glad to see that the PPM member was diligent.
The PPM member comes late to main LA after the morning flight from CB, then has lunch, then leaves early to go back- not even a full day in the house. Check the records. I doubt that he would even bother to show up for the PAC therefore.
"The PPM member comes late to main LA after the morning flight from CB, then has lunch, then leaves early to go back- not even a full day in the house. Check the records. I doubt that he would even bother to show up for the PAC therefore."
Unless it’s a Monday or Friday, the first flight into Grand Cayman from Brac arrives after 9:00am. The evening flights are the same way with the latest being around 5:00pm which means you have to be at the airport by 4:00pm. Some days the first flight does not get to Grand Cayman till after 10:00am. The flights are not very helpful for people going over on business.
I’m not defending him in anyway. Just pointing out the flight problems that workers encounter sometimes going back and forth for business.
These politicians should be ashamed of themselves. They’re a national disgrace.
Mr Miller Have you given it some thought, that is exactly what they wanted you to do. Sometines we have to keep our mouths cl.osed, because by speaking the devil has an opportunity to make his move. Once you begin expressing your feelings and what you will and will not do, you are done for. This was a plan.
In my opinion you played right into their hands. It seems as if you were set up to do just that, because they anticipated your every move. Dont be rational, try and be calm, think carefully about each move you make, spend some time in private, prayer and fasting and seek the guidance of God. That isthe only thing that will keep you on the right track and give help to your efforts in making Cayman a better place. Dont be fooled by others manipulating you against the Premier. What ever anyone has to say about him, right now he is the only person who can truly lead Cayman in the 21st century, except yourself, There is much undermining and envy in the House, and just because you are a “Horn Blower” you will get set up. Most of them are afraid of you for this, that is why they give you the “Horn” and push you to blow. Be careful.!! All that glitters is not gold.
My thoughts EXACTLY as I was reading this. (Not sure about the spend some time in private, prayer, etc)
The Premier will soon have his way with everything with no accountability
Accountability is not exactly Cayman’s strong suit, whether it’s the education system or the vast majority of politicians … so much fluff, so little substance…even the few who are willing to bite the bullet and deal with reality so that ALL Caymanians benefit can’t fight through the banana republic mind-set that is Cayman.
Maybe a banana republic mind-set, but at least banana republics had an advantage – plenty of bananas to feed the people.
that’s actually a core part of the problem
This example of the leaders in Cayman not taking responsibility mirrors too many day-to-day issues we all face. When will they buck up and lead?
Can we get a tally on how many meetings they attended and how many they were AWOL?
Aww cmon now Moses lives in the Brac, he cant afford too come down there, poor lil Moses……..
You could always make a FOI request and find out.
The MLAs on these committees, especially PAC, should be fined every time they don’t show up. They are paid, and paid well, from the public purse for doing their job. Disgusting!
The entitlement mentality is alive and well, even in high places.
No wonder that many Caymanian youths (not all) have a poor work ethick. Look who is leading by example.