Bush justifies foreign travel
(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier has said that he is forced to travel in order to protect Cayman from the global pressures from onshore jurisdictions and to find new business for the local economy. Denying that he enjoys the overseas trips, McKeeva Bush said no one else could “tell our story as well as we do” as he justified his latest travels, which included a stop in Washington to discuss the latest challenges to the offshore industry. Bush said Cayman’s presence at the table was important when it came to protecting the financial sector because when the Cayman Islands was silent it created a vacuum which was filled with the same old rhetoric. He told those who criticised him on the blogs and on the radio that he had a job to do. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr )
He explained that he was in Washington with a delegation to address the new Foreign Account Tax Complaint Act (FATCA), which will impact Americans with dual citizenship and Caymanians with green cards. Bush said the Cayman officials met with the IRS and the US Treasury because it was a very serious matter, as well as a number of other relevant government officials. The new reality, he said, was that Cayman had to be proactive in engaging with international partners in order to maintain competitive edge.
“We can do some of that by telephone, fax and emails, if you may, but most of it has to be done sitting down talking with them,” the premier told the people of North Side on Monday evening at the third of his town hall meetings as he answered community criticisms of his travelling. “I know there are complaints that I am off the island at times. Well, when something happens and Cayman’s name is called and these islands are questioned … someone needs to there,” Bush said.
He pointed out that he was not just the premier but also a minister with responsibility for many areas. “If I’m not there and Cayman is challenged then we have to take care of the fallout and clean up. The best position is when someone is at table to discuss matters. So those on the blogs and the radio show who criticize and carry-on, well let them go ahead. I have a job to do,” he said.
He warned that if Cayman didn’t maintain relationships, the G20 were eager to put pressure on Cayman, and that it had nothing to do with him wanting to travel. He said when he gets on a plane he prayed, but the need to fly was par for the course. Bush said he doubted that what local politicians would say here about the US policy would have any influence. “We must get out of the box and go to the policy makers and ask questions, clarify concerns and bring them evidence of what our jurisdiction stands for.”
He praised Sidley Austin, the law firm the Cayman Islands has retained to represent its interests on Capitol Hill and in Europe.
Bush also justified the trip to Dubai with the Hon development team as he said they toured the specialist economic zones there. He said the goal to develop a specialist technology park in Cayman would create thousands of jobs and bring in millions of dollars for the economy. Describing it as a medium to long term project, he said the Cayman Islands had to plan.
“We have hundreds of kids coming out of school looking jobs and wanting scholarships. We can’t depend on the financial sector; we have to diversify the economy and this will be part of that attempt,” Bush said.
Category: Politics
Perhaps we could send a representative who is atleast educated and wouldn’t be a laughing stock when sitting on a panel with highly educated and experienced individuals from the largest world economies? There are so many intelligent Caymanians on the island employed in the private sector. Create a team to go on your behalf.
YOU GOT TO LOVE THAT PHOTO because it says it all as he rams down our throats more of XXXX. Is it not strange that no-one other than the Premier can sell Cayman and carry out this function other than the Premier. So we allow this embarrasing despotic leader who does not even have a high school diploma to be the face and voice of our country while he travels the world. What an embarrassment for Cayman for after the world sees and hears this man there will be NO way anyone would wish to come here or invest in Cayman.
“I have a job to do”
Agreed, but do you plan on actually doing it at any point?
Surely the job description fir the Premier includes more than travel…
Read My Lips…No New..Ta!….wait…umm…….I got nothing…..
Let’s buy him a one-way trip to San Francisco; heard it’s nice this time of the year. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. (Jerry Seinfeld) The Beaver
Thats too funny
PEOPLE please 66 comments on here and only 28 comments on Ms Mary’s absolutely travesty of justice by ruling to in effect render the democratic process null and void.??? Please read the article and think about the far reaching consequences. BTW I had no problem with this trip because it is critical to our Financial Services industry which is constantly under attack. Flying to Venice to inspect dams now THAT’S rubbish and absolutely no value for money.
I really love it when you make your picture selection to go with the news article relating to the Premier, aka Hitlah. LOL!!!
Actions speak louder than words they say!!!
Please make that LA tv channel active tomorrow, we are all ready to watch in awe.
This is really distressing. The Premier have his issues, and at time he does, but he is still a Caymanian, who incidentally, lost his daughter this year. He needs to travel because as someone rightly highlighted, if we don’t define ourselves, someone will surely do it for us.
XXXXX
“We have hundreds of kids coming out of school looking jobs and wanting scholarships. We can’t depend on the financial sector; we have to diversify the economy”
Of these kids coming out of schools, most graduate based on just attendance and are NOT employable
35 are illiterate
20 will end up on drugs
40 will end up as criminals and dealers
5 will die in accidents
12 will go to university
45 will get an entry level job and never promoted
16 will manage promotion to middle management
6 will be promoted to senior management level
So what are we going to do about it?
Yes, no one else could “tell our story as well as we do” I believe the first story you told after being elected was that "we were broke" and the stories keep on coming.
I’m so tired of "stories" . Can’t wait to the next election when we can hear some truths.
Perfect picture! Mouth always going…
Candid shots are always the most revealing.
The United States have never accepted and recognised dual citisenship. As far as green cards for Caymanians as long as you did what you were suppose too according to time spent and time away. What they have been more aggrasive on is that EVERYONE pay their taxes including residents on work permits here. Nothing new.
While the US did not accept dual citizenship for a long time, that policy changed in the 1980’s. My wife is a US born dual citizen, with official approval from the US State department.
I watched the program last night on tv and it was a bit confusing to sit there and listen to the Premier as he himself seemed confused. It wasclear to me that the Premier did not understand the speech that he wrote. I mean if someone was paid a lump sum of cash to write the speech for him ahead of time, he should have at least had the deceny to reveiw the speech before delivering it.
We as Caymanians need to think about what our money is being wasted on as last night’s speech was a complete disgrace.
Let’s just hope that he is a fly on the wall at most of these meetings and is only there to be counted in the attendance record. If the crap that comes out of his mouth here is any indication of what he is capable of the Cayman Islands will be in trouble if he starts talking nonsence to people who understand how things work in the real world.
You know CNS it maybe part of your politcal blog’s editorial slant but these photos of the Premier are really uncalled for…..
12:39….why is the picture uncalled for…..CNS is reporting what is happening….when you watch Mr. Bush on TV and he gets annoyed with anyone who does not agree with him or he pounds the podium justifying his early pension should you print a picture of him calmly sitting at his desk. I think not.
What a hideously biased picture.
I think it’s a fairly typical of the pictures that would be taken by anyone.
Betcha Ms. Daphne he match! Need more people like her to stand up and speak out!! Wish she was speaker of the house a little “suppapa” he would get from her!
Thanks Denny!! That photo alone tells us what we are dealing with….XXXX
I’m not a Bush supporter at all, but I do agree with his travels. He is trying to keep Cayman on the good side of the world powers. As well as try to open up minds on bringing in revenue for us all young and old.
To make it easy, why not a member of the news media travel with Bush or any travel officals. so at least the general public will hear what is going on.
or better yet, you the news media spend your cash to travel with him. Im sure the government can’t deny us that.
CNS: What cash? You think we have money to go gallivanting around the world with the premier?
CGO CNS! Tell ’em about it! Governmetn is so broke that West Bay is getting new road surfaces!. Government is so broke, that McKeeva can afford to take his Sister with him on his travels abroad! Government is so broke that the Premier is constantly on world tours! Good Lord help us because we soon won’t be able to feed our families. We sit by while he sucks up his pension as well as a salary and I can barely afford gas to get to work, to earn a salary that is already spent on a mortgage, utilities and water (not to mention food). I know of all the children who go to school without breakfast and have to wait ’til dinner time to get something to eat because their parents cannot afford to give them anything as the cost of living here is ridiculously high! All these politicians have security guards and even the AG still has a security guard that is paid for out of Government’s pocket! Oh what the heck, some times you just feel like giving up because no matter how much you speak about these wrong doings your complaints go unheard and the excuses come out like roaches when the lights go out! Like my Grandmother used to say “Live good and honest, because God don’t like ugly!”
He is only gallivanting around the world to protect the good name Cayman Islands from all the crooks we have hear messing it up. All you have to do is review the business section from the past years and see all the corruption that’s been flying around the place.
He is covering up the lies, deception, tax cheats and all the others XXXX that’s what he is flying around doing.
Spending our money protecting their a$$.
On the road again
The Premier is on the road again
He’s travelleing the world with family and friends
and blaming all the problems on the PPM
On the road again
The Premiere is on the road again
Returning home with ideas that make no sense
and blaming all the problems on the PPM
“He pointed out that he was not just the premier but also a minister with responsibility for many areas.”
But not finance???
This guy must go!
Can we get our beloved barefoot man to spin this into a song? I like that one.
Goes good with ‘It was a rumcake’ music.
Mr Premier, why don’t you just own up to the fact that you don’t understand the concept of tightening your belt in a recession-hit economy?
I truly wish someone would investigate this meeting:
"Bush said the Cayman officials met with the IRS and the US Treasury because it was a very serious matter, as well as a number of other relevant government officials."
There has got to be a method to determine the people he is meeting with. Is it low level representatives from the departments that have no ability to effect policy or is this a worthwhile visit with more senior staff.
I used to work with the US Government and more often than not, these meetings get rescheduled due to conflicts. I would wager that he sits in the lobby and doesn’t meet with anyone other than security.
You are not far off the mark-I have it on good authority that he has visited several locations without any prior meetings setup.
Reading that statement basically assures me that he either doesn’t have any meetings scheduled or that it is with such low level staff that the meeting willhave absolutely no benefit.
Would his itinerary be covered under an FOI — I’m very interested in finding out exactly who he thinks he is meeting. I’m fairly certain it isn’t with anyone on this page – http://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/Pages/officials.aspx or this http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=149197,00.html
I’m almost 100% sure this travel is a farce and won’t provide Caymanians any benefit.
Although DC is very nice this time of year, unfortunately he’ll miss the Cherry blossoms – http://godc.about.com/od/holidayseventsindc/a/Cherry-Blossom-Festival-Events-For-2011.htm.
Nice photograph!!! Mouth obviously ready to receive foot!!!!
If you ask me, Mr Bush appears to be presenting the image of a leader increasingly desperate to hang onto power when he knows the game is up. Remember his tantrums and posturing with Messrs Milburn & Soto on the TV? – out of control maybe? Justifying his travel with the notion of protecting Cayman from ‘aggressive’ outside forces – somewhat delusional ? Dreaming up more and more far fetched grand plans to promote an image of actually doing something constructive – oil refinery, mega yacht facilities anyone? Let us not forget the many hundreds of jobs that will be created for Caymanians in the technology par Insulting the public in public meetings and having to promote a false image of support by putting ‘puppets’ in the audience? – Oh dear, on an island this small you think no one will notice that ? Being Finance Minister as well as Premier? – signing the notes but apparently having no fiscal responsibility for Govt’s sloppy accounting? – Hmm, conflict of interest? Grandstanding to however is listening – CNS, Cayman Compass (it’s OK he likes them apparently – why would that be then??), Weststar – desperately trying to justify his position and that of those around him and now telling the good folks of Cayman that they can watch him from the comfort of their own armchairs as he leads the country valiantly to bigger and better things ! – Hmm McTV had better put a sign up now and again on the screen confirming that the pictures are indeed live due to the lack of movement and shall we say ‘relaxed’ posture usually adopted by the Premier when in the LA (a picture was on this very website a few days back showing this!) Cayman – you know what is wrong here and only you can do anything about it, push forward now and have the Government YOU want and deserve.
Like the saying goes – “You can take the man out of the bush but you can’t take the bush out of the man!” Talk about a double dose!
"Know one can represent you better than yourself." Any idiot can represent himself, but it is time we find and intelligent, educated, learned, responsible person to represent us abroad and not an primary school drop-out, who has no knowledge, nor understanding of the Queens’ english. XXXX wake up and take our country back from the brink.
World travel, with no results. How can a leader expect the people he represents to look up to him, when he is squandering the countries revenue, that could be put to better use. Show the results of your wasteful spending. It would have been wisely spent on educating those punks (insult ) you referred to at the NS meeting. Imagine the Premier referring to his people as punks, some of whom I am sure placed an X on the ballot paper next to his name. That is when Mr, Hurry could’ve worked and let him run all the way to West Bay. We wouldn’t have to worry about him after that.
LMAO
you said, “XXXX wake up and take our country back from the brink,” CNS moderator had to block out your cussin by the XXXX. I wonder if it is your imbalanced head speaking or your sexual feelings manipulating the keyboard. Only CNS knows… BUT PLEASE CALM DOWN, CONTROL YOURSELF, AND SPEAK WITH SOME INTELLIGENCE
How do you know it was cussing?? I could have been a name or something they called that CNS didn’t want to air….stop assuming because you know what happens when you ASSume!
ahem… that’s ‘XXXume’
PLEASE CALM DOWN, CONTROL YOURSELF, AND SPEAK WITH SOME INTELLIGENCE
Err, umm, would you mind conveying that message to our Premier please? That in itself would be a drastic improvement.
What I find disturbing is when he speaks, all that he says is read from some script in front of him, literally, the entire dialogue.
Does he do the same when he goes abroad or does he actually talk to these people he is meeting with?
On TV last night, he read from his script recounting his latest travels to Washington, literally reading off paper what HE had gone and done, surely you don’t need a script when you were there?
His literacy is so bad that I often found myself lost in what he was saying.
What a Leader. What a great example to send abroad. What an utter waste of time and resources we are spending on this guy and his cronies.
Don’t let these people get you down McKeeva! They just hate anyone who is Christian and Caymanian and has done well! True Caymanians all support you and your efforts to improve our lives!
And he said, quote:
‘was silent it created a vacuum which was filled with the same old rhetoric.’
So you have taken the PM at his word eh, spouting rubbish about hating Christians and Caymanians and doing well !
It’s not all about the Lord himself you know !
Said the pirates to the pirate lord.
"They just hate anyone who is Christian and Caymanian and has done well." Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but many of the posters ARE Christian AND Caymanian AND have done well.
So, I guess they hate themselves, eh?
Must be from the new testament.
11 Thou and thy peers shall go forth on extravagant ineffective travels on the purse of thy neighbors.
A Christian is know by the fruit of the Spirit listed below. Make up your own minds:-
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-3
McKeeva is a Christian??
Damn! That’s news to me.
My Bible gives the following as hallmarks of a Christian: meek, long-suffering, patient, kind, loving, industrious to do well, leaves childlike behaviour behind, honest, abhors lies, self-sacrificing, temperate, self-disciplined, not given to excess, pursues and values wisdom, puts others first, well spoken of by people, not covetous, seeks not riches, speaks well of others, is a good steward, is not critical, slow to judge, Christ-like.
I see nothing in McKeeva that that even comes close to any of the above criteria. Go down the list yourself; he fails on all points. The closest Mac comes is thinking that he is the messiah and trying to make others believe he is. Some of the more gullible may worship Bush; most are not that stupid.
Anyway, re-check your facts. It is obvious that you have your information all wrong.
Christian? Now THAT’S funny. Bless your little heart.
Oh my goodness! People reading these posts must have come to the conclusion that per capita Cayman has the highest percentage of idiots in the entire world!
I have come to the conclusion that UDP Supporter is deeply ironic. He is parodying UDP supporters. There is no other explanation; no one could be so stupid as to actually mean what he writes.
It did before CNS, it is just more apparent now.
UDP…..I’ll say it again….the present situation has nothing to do with being a Christian or being Caymanian. It has to do with Mr. Bush. He is not the right person to lead Cayman out of this recession and his record proves it and that is the bottom line.
why you all didn’t go to NS on monday night and give the premier a piece of your minds instead of hiding behind cns,you all full of anonymous chat,a bunch of sorry cowards.
Waiting for you to come back to George Town Mr. Honourable Premier McKeeva Bush, I got your number old boy and the times they are a changing.
alot of times the MULTIPLE COMMENTS you see on this site, are made by the same individuals, which are just but a few or loyalist to the opposition party, PPM. CNS does not keep any record of IP addresses, and hence cannot monitor the amount of times a person can post a comment. Many of those opposing the Premier are using VPN (virtual private network) as well where their IP addresses cannot be traced. Another thing sand crab, you have to also differentiate between who is a COWARD and who is just playing SMART. Cayman is still a place where I personally know you can lose your job because of expressing certain views. I think it is playing it SMART to have a shield to hide yourself behind during a sword fight. It is not COWARDLY to post a comment as ANONYMOUS
I was there but was not one of the "invited" questioners from West Bay. And where were you Sand Crab… Over The Edge?
Yeah gone all the way there, where he talked utter nonsense for the majority of the time as he couldn’t read properly, and then answered 4 questions if I am correct. 4, thats all before time was up.
Mr. Bush,
Have you ever heard of "virtual tours"? Most of the important things you’ve been doing on your globe trotting jaunts can be accomplished on a PC within the confines of your palace walls. Much safer and cheaper too, no need for body guards either. But sorry, the virtual programs for red carpet receptions, cocktail parties and diplomatic perks have still yet to be developed to a level which might satisfy you and your entourage.
yeah but, virtual tours are not realistic… you have to meet people and experience first-hand to really know what is what.
Job to do. Right. And the most important aspect of that job is as Minister of Finance for Cayman. The most important part of that would be to succeed in producing relevant and up to date government accounts. So? Where are they? While you were out: The Auditor General reports that most of them are out of date, or non-existent, or unreliable.The truth is the failure of that aspect of your duties hardly equips you to discuss finance with ANYONE.
In other words Mr. Premier while you are away talking high finance "face to face" for the good of Cayman no one back here has any idea where millions and millions of dollars went because your ministry has failed to produce any documentation.
***** I for one have no issue with the Premier maintaining diplomatic relations and rapport with key giant entities that have influence over the Cayman Islands. And logically, there will be travel expenses incurred, because lo and behold, the fax machines, the telephones, and the internet, are not that effective in terms of a one-on-one contact, a handshake, and a big smile. So I don’t see any real issue with us “getting out of the box” so to speak. However, I do have a serious problem when the Premier makes a judgement and declares that “we can’t depend on the financial sector WE have to diversify the economy.” There are many local businesses and companies that can offer the Premier good advice on financial matters. If left alone, not restricted by petty laws, and given a chance to grow and create more jobs, they could enhance our economy and standard of living. The Premier could start helping them by lowering permit fees, import duties, and provide incentives to these local establishments for employing Caymanians and helping the youth to aspire and become more educated. For instance, companies that consist of more than 50% Caymanians, that have them in managerial roles, could have their business license fees reduced. Incentives like that could help the economy. To me, a one-man-show, reaching for the stars, is not the solution! ***** Libertarian
So we are "punks" now for being anti-establishment XXXXX. Why does this man even show his face overseas, he must feel like a sand grain being in the company of people who think for themselves.
Man what these educated people must think of the Cayman Islands to have such a narrow minded delusional leader.
LMAO
please… please stop now. i can’t even afford a trip to Burger King.
Mac: I am an old civil servant who as part of my job supported you in the same way I supported those who were opposed to you. I am neutral. You are not understanding that the people of Cayman (apart from your WB voters who are in thrall to you) are terribly pissed at your foreign travel, which-sorry- is not all necessary (I am an expert on Venice and its flooding and you shouldn’t have gone there). But more particularly, your Deputy is an absolute disgrace to your party with her primping herself up and her freeloading no-value to Cayman overseas trips with her personal assistance and entourage and her flaunting herself here with her government car and her driver and her talk about how wonderful it is that a brownskin barefoot girl like her could reach such “great” heights etc etc. Great heights! Deputy PM of a tiny overseas territory.Ah me! I am dismayed that Richard Parchment can’t make you all see a bit of common political sense but maybe he has lost his too.
I am not the only one who will be voting against you both simply because of your (especially hers) thumbing your nose at the people who put you there. The PPM are a useless lot right now, no better than you, but surely by the next election we’ll have a few more people of ability to vote for.
Justification on a convenient selective basis will not suffice.
Explain the value of a non-expert government representative visiting an irrelevant construction project in Venice. Why not visit the pier the company built in Tampa (thank you past reader for this information)? Or maybe just send the Cayman liaison there as here expertise on such matters is probably equivalent.
And sending a delegation to Barcelona for a telecom conference attended by telephone companies because you were invited is not acceptable.
I don’t mind Mac traveling, but in the name of God I implore you, STOP COMING BACK!
saw a commercial called "gotomeeting.com" can have sit down meetings over the internet. save on costs for travels and you can see the people in the meetings. Also the need to travel to look at stuff…..with high resolution cameras and how architects make detailed drawings can’t you get a feel for a damn by studying these things instead of flying there "to have a look"?
bla bla bla, sure sure nothing he says now anyone will believe.
Brother Bush may be out of touch with us Caymanians but he stays in touch with world millionaires. He never misses an opportunity to cut a deal even if it’s against his own countrymen. Trying to force an oil refinery down our throats or dredging out the North Sound and destroying our Mangroves. He doesn’t care about us or our country, only about foreigners with money. It’s Let’s MAKE A DEAL Cayman style.
Mac has a very good point! No one can represent you better than yourself. And being a small island, we cannot afford to pay for lobbyists! The main question is whether every stop or trip is needed? example is the trip to Venice to see a dam – why not send an engineer, someone who can make a qualified review ?
Possibly the frustration is the lack of inward investment and the type of investment projects bringing addressed with this travel over the past two years. Cayman is still going backward. An example would the Olympic first class trip or the Deputies cell phone adventure to Spain. Travel on borrowed money with a struggling country can only be justified with tangible results for the people. The first class travel and extravagant life style is also a slap in the peoples face when so many are hurting in Cayman. It would be more cost effective for professional consultants to be paid to assist with the world’s interest in Cayman which would leave the Premier time to stay on the island and address the crime issue.
This Bush fellow is seriously deluded. Can you imagine it, for the most part, (I said most) we are turning out illiterates who cannot reckon numbers nor write their supposedly native language.
This is due to bringing in seriously sub-standard expat teachers who don’t really care what these gangsters do in class as long as they can get through another day without being abused and collect their paycheck.
The blame for this lies squarely at the feet of the last 5 governments who have not given a damn. (You too, Roy) If you want to get exposed to the next generation of Caymanians, just go down to the schools for the morning and have a good look and listen to the to the “pupils” cussing and carrying on. You will be utterly shocked at the crass boorishness of these children who think that adolescence is an excuse to wreak havoc on common decency.
So to get back to the point, who are these thousands of new job holders that are going to grace our technology parks? Certainly not Caymanians, that’s already been seen to. Brace yourselves for millions of Indians, Africans, Filipinos, Europeans etc. I am not racist, but why should we give up our homeland? They have theirs and its bigger than ours. Why Mr. Bush, why? Why have you done this to our islands. WHY?
Dear "Immigration Gone Bad",
I agree with you that our youth is illiterate and lost and that the past FIVE previous governments should hang their heads in SHAME that 60% of our children are below international reading levels and illiterate. However, ask ANY teacher and they will tell you that the bad apples are the ones with Status and/or Caymanian teachers. Just like the civil service, these are jobs for life and if a teacher does NOT perform, you cannot get rid of them. If we had young, hungry, idealistic, expat teachers…. we would not have this problem. Our old dead weight is very local my friend (they are voters and stubborn old mules), starting at the top with the blind administration allowing this to happen is the problem.
Your question on Immigration as to HOW will Caymanians ever get to the civil service if rollover is not implemented is a good one. 6,000 strong civil service. Govt job = path to status, no room for locals.
"just go down to the schools for the morning and have a good look and listen to the to the "pupils" cussing and carrying on. You will be utterly shocked at the crass boorishness of these children who think that adolescence is an excuse to wreak havoc on common decency."
The blame for that lies squarely with YOU, the Caymanian parents. Teach your children how to act right, respect their teachers, and value something other than their blackberries and you might see better results from their education.
With all due respect, what an absolute load of horse manure. McKeeva Bush, tell me one Caymanian (except yourself) who stands to benefit from these ridiculous “agreements” that you are off around the world signing. Name them, now!
If you are truly our “Premier”, you would care more about what the precious people of your islands think.
We want to know what you are going to do to help the average people? These “pie in the sky” trips overseas with your buddies like Kearney and that fellow who sold our finances down the river, McCarthy, or something like that, have got to stop.
Step down, sir. You have been tried in the balances and found wanting.
I pray to the living God for justice for His people in Cayman and may His fear fall upon every living soul.
This man is delusional!