Mac signs West Bay Rd swap
(CNS): Government has signed a deal with the Dart Group which will see the West Bay Road closed and become part of a new beachfront resort on the site of the former Courtyard Marriott. Sources close to government confirmed Thursday night that the premier signed the agreement with Dart giving the developer a stretch of the West Bay Road in exchange for the development of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway to West Bay, the new Reverend Blackman Road extension and $5 milllion in cash. The government source stated that this is only one element of the ForCayman Investment Alliance and will ensure that Dart can begin work on its proposed five star resort.
The agreement was signed at the Government Information Services conference room on Thursday afternoon but it is understood that neither Cayman27, iNews, or Cayman News Service were invited to the ‘press’ event where the premier agreed to give 2,300 feet of the existing West Bay Road to Dart. Cayman 27 reported this evening that footage of the signing was sent to the television station by GIS.
This first step in what is expected to be a much more complex deal does not yet include the refurbishment of the existing public beach or the new public beach north of the new resort, the land in Barkers, the land in West Bay for the development of the Grace Academy school or the full cash donation that was proposed as part of the what has been described as the West Bay Road Corridor projects. Government did receive a cheque for $5 million that will be split equally between education projects and helping people with residential mortgage arrears, the government source told CNS.
All of the other West Bay Road related projects, as well as the land swap for the George Town landfill with land in Bodden Town for a new waste management project, will all form part of the full ForCayman Alliance when that is signed.
This deal focuses mostly on the National Roads Authority element of the deal but it does include the use of crown land as part of the swap. This means government will still need to go through a proper legal process and an independent valuation of the land that it has now formally agreed to give to Dart. That valuation will also need to go through a public consultation process and go before the Legislative Assembly.
On Monday a petition of almost 4,000 signatures was submitted to the governor opposing the closure of the road but the campaign to preserve the road appears to have fallen on deaf ears now the premier has officially signed over to the Dart Group the stretch of West Bay Road from the public beach to the yacht club.
Check back for more on this story Friday.
Category: Local News
The Gambler in McKeeva just lost the whole pot in this Shell game! I can just hear these words now from him, “Oh well, it naw ma money, so wha I gaw be worried ‘bout?, le dem go figure out wha gine happen next, I is ok wid it!”
When the "terms of reference:" forthe "independent study" are drawn up, Will the peopl have any input or does Mac know more than us and will draw them up without or input.
Mac has said it is a done deal now all he has to do is find a way to cover this @&& and get the so called "independten study" done to suit his needs.
Remember the words of our illustrious leader. "Cash Is King"!
The dog that bites the hand that feeds it soon has tro eat its tail.
Mckeeva got the names of the petition the people have been betrayed now they must face wrath of our leader. His statement to the news media clearly states he has identified persons as some of his supporters. Well I know some people that won't be getting their mortgages paid by Santa this Christmas. Yes Save Cayman you loyal and faithful servants you have been deliverd to the hand of the fowler aaaaaah boy some of you still don't get it.
Well, Well. I guess it is true, out’ve how many thousands of West Bayers and only 4000 thousand signatures on the petition.
Hhummm like the saying goes, no wonder Big Mac got in the first place —– FATHERS DAY IN WB IS A REALLY CONFUSING DAY!!!!!! LOL. LOL!!!!!
Just goes to show you that MONEY is what runs this Island and those that have it, GET what they want, and those that don’t get the shaft…….
Sorry CAYMAN we be SOL……..
I personally have nothing against the Dart Group, I just don't agree with the part of the deal that gives away that portion of the West Bay Road.
I have to wonder if the PPM had proposed the closing of that section of the road how the West Bay MLAs would have reacted. Bad I would venture to say.
I agree, we didn't have to give them crown land or allow them to close the road. The new road benefits primarily Dart and the UDP supporters whose land it also goes through. We won't have another road into West Bay, just a new one.
Puuuuuuure tickery!!!!
the next move must be for the petition to reach referendum numbers……
and since the premier and governor do not seem to respect the peoples wishes, every caymanian man and woman who ever enjoyed a beach day on our Public Beach need to stand up.
so in addition to petitioning for referendum the protests need to be ramped up.
stage sit ins, block traffic, play radio ads against the road move, boycott camana bay for christmas week and make sure you contact your politicians to express your discontent.
do whatever it takes to stop this madness!
Get that court injunction going for the road closure do not let them close our road this has nothing to do with with Darts road Project. Get the necessary supporting documentation and history of property and head to courts to seek redress in this matter.The powers that be are only interested in getting their Fat paychecks$$$$$$ cashed.
WE need to get Mckeeva Bush out of there before we have nothing left. Soon there will be no Cayman for us. He has to go NOW!
If I were Caymanian, I would by lying in front of Dart's machines and they would not be allowed to do anything to that road, much less close it. Caymanians, stand up for your country and protect it from being all taken away – your children and grandchildren at least deserve a future where public land is not being given away for nothing in the name of big development and big dollars. Do not allow one entity to go grabbing up all the prime land and increase its wealth while your children's right to access that land is taken away, at the stroke of the pen of just ONE MAN who does not listen to his people.
I am not Caymanian. I have not gone up that way in years. I really do not care about the road moving. I do quite like the idea of another civilised place to go omn island. So, hip, hip, hurray that this work has begun in earnest.
They wouldn’t give you a vest either, eh?
You will be rolled over before the foundation is finished and we will be left to pick up the pieces.
No rollover for me, sweetie, but I will leave when I have made enough easy money.
Cayman is lucky to have you on island – how wonderful that you are only here to bleed money out of this country – you should be proud of yourself – such a sense of acheivement should help you sleep at night when you finally leave with all your "easy money"……
She's in competition with the UDP.
You are not Caymanian and you don't care. No one is interested in your opinion.
They seemed to be interested in Non-Caymanian's opinion when they were collecting signatures for the petition!
The petition was open to all and it was indicated if you were a voter, resident or not. in the interest of open honesty it was checked against the voter register to make sure there was no misrepresentation. Certainly more public input the Mac ever asks for.
If non-Caymanian opinions do not count, why build a hotel for them to come to. Our tourists are almost all NON-Caymanians.
Will all the naysayers refuse to accept the benefits of this project? Refuse to apply for the jobs or accept the money that will go to government. That will never happen so just complain and then cash in on the benefits. Then ignore how dishonest and hypocritical it is.
Well, well, I'll be darn. If there isn't something kinda fishy & suspicious going on here I must really be Elvis! I would just love to know what is really going on between Dart & Mac, seems like a very cozy & extra friendly relationship. I wonder how much XXXXX is involved.
I believe that Dart has their own agenda. When what Dart wants and what the Premier wants coincide, you get projects like this. I will admit that I cannot actually recall something that Dart wanted that the Premier opposed. The devil worshippers on the internet might explain that all the Premier wants XXXXX and that makes it seem like he and Dart are always in agreement.
Well its a good thing then that there is an Independent Review to identify the value for money – and presumably that report will be publci for all to. If the Independent Reviewerr comes back and says that this is a value for money deal, would you still object?
Here's a question for you: why has the agreement been signed before the review is complete and published?
Because that is the way everything has been done in Cayman for the past two years.
Dart wanted the Port, they didn’t get it. Even after spending a lot of money on plans, negotiations and presentations. And guess what no lawsuit either.
Maybe they were promised some other deal, why they did not bother to sue? Or maybe they were not willing to acquiesce or compromise on the 99 year lease they wanted and just decided to walked away voluntarily?
Cayman’s Dilemma.
The problems and suffering that Cayman now face are the result of destructive emotions, and the resulting resentments that are growing in the native people will make any short term apparent success, short lived.
The mad rush to peruse instant gratification by allowing the landscape and environment to be destroyed, in the hope that it will create lasting wealth and contentment for the native people is a fallacy, complete erosion all things Caymanian is the inevitable end product.
To asses the truth of these statements one only has to the question who has benefited from the all the jobs and wealth created in the past 12 years, that will show you the future of Cayman.
By ignoring the contentment that comes of inner growth, the modern day Carpetbaggers aided by local greedy Politicians have cut open the goose to find more Golden Eggs, and in doing so they have killed the Goose that laid the Golden Eggs.
The future is one of injustice, followed by unhappiness, the loss of all ethics. The week will be the first to suffer, ultimately everyone will fall victim to this destruction and the Island that time forgot will be like a Aztec ruin covered by bush in a vast jungle.
You are misguided.
Rather the problem is the spped at which the country has changed and some people have adjusted to that change very well and are successfully operating within this new environment. They have embraced western work ethics as well as the value of education and are riding the wave of success.
Others in society are struggling to adjust and are angry and resentful with the changes and want to turn the clock back to simplier times where an education was unnecessary and could even be ridiculed.
Like it or not Cayman has changed, education is now mandatory to success and the complexities of society are here to stay. Selling votes is no longer the answer, politicians can no longer take care of you.
That is it exactly (and actually expressed very diplomatically), Change has happened here incredibly quickly and some people can't or won't adjust. But the fact is, rapid change is happening all over the world, and it's not just Caymanians who are having difficulty. The big difference here is that Cayman has the good fortune of having some good options beyond just austerity or direct taxation. But some people here – and I believe it's probably a noisy minority – can't see a good thing if it hit them in the face. They complain that the government isn't doing enough for them and when the government tries to do what is necessary for them to have the easy life they really desire, they complain about that, too. Because all they have ever really known is a life of ease, they feel entitled to that. They think Cayman's economic success occurred because they are special in God's eyes, or some such rubbish. I remember back when Ivan was approaching, there were people who said Cayman was blessed so it won't be affected. When Cayman was devastated, they should have realised right then that we're in the same boat as everyone else; at the mercy of nature and, as we found out a few years later, at the mercy of a world economy beyond our control. Things have indeed changed and those who embrace the change will thrive. Those who resist will be left behind and become bitter haters wallowing in self pity.
Then there's the older generation, who want to hold on to a piece of the Cayman they remember. Nostalgia is great to a certain degree because it reminds us from where we came. But reality says the younger generation of Caymanians want nothing to do with the olddays and if we don't create an economic atmosphere that can allow them the same spoils of success – and more – there is going to be unbelievable social unrest here. I love the the Cayman Islands and I liked it in the old days, but I'm a realist. Things must change and I know from years of experience, socially responsible developers like Dart don't grow on trees. Almost every other Caribbean country would love to have a developer show the kind of commitment Dart has shown here and yet we have ignorant people who would spit in his face and call him a carpetbagger simply because he might make a profit somewhere down the line. It's really sad, but would would be even sadder is the day Dart decides he's had enought of this idiocy and takes his business to one of our competitors.
He has developments in other parts of the carribean. He has enough money not to have to pick and choose.
Sorry "They have developments…"
Well said Yep! thank you!
Yes Cayman has changed, the World is changing everyday! Today, Caymanians expectations are completely different from what they were 50 years ago!
But yet, the times have changed to where we are facing the very real possibility of genuine hardship once again (many people already are) the type of economic conditions that only people 75 and older can remember and while the rapid pace of changehas been hardest on them, I am confident that very few of them would like to go back to those days!
Some of us are willing to be quiet about the fact that tons of hazardous waste is dumped in a Landfill, much of it seeping into the ground water and North sound were we swim and snorkel and sail, but yet we want to protest to no end the elimination of 2500 feet of road, when not so long ago we were lamenting the fact that it was poorly designed and lit and had no Pedestrian crossings etc when a tourist got killed crossing it shortly after another pedestrian was hit by a car near Calico Jack.
Yeah talk about "Really4Cayman"
You are wrong. The real problem in this country are greed politicians, their so-called "consultants" aka cronies who yap around their ankles to get whatever they can i.e. commissions, consultants fees and finders fees, and the greedy locals who think nothing of selling out their land, including public land, to foreign investors for a quick buck to Government coffers, and a weak population that stands passively by while things that defy all logic are allowed to take place.
Instead of trying to use God-given gray cells, think outside the box and come up with new ways to build the economy by strengthening the small entrepreneurs, small businesses and creating new, vibrant industries, the politicians just keep developing and developing and in the process keep destroying the environment and the people's way of life. Your hardworking ancestors would turn in the graves if they could see what was happening today and how this place was being sold out to the highest bidder. That, my friend, is the real problem.
And whom might these small Entrepreneurs service? we have a stagnant economy a declining population and small businesses going out of business in record numbers.
we further have a taxation system that is based on consumption and when the economy is dead, consumption declines, Government debt (not to say Sovereign) is at an all time high and we have social service costs going through the roof!
You want to talk about the possibility for social unrest? Imagine this: Government runs out of money, (we already know we're not allowed to borrow anymore) Cayman Airways and the Turtle Farm have to close, about 400 more jobs are lost, causing a number of other businesses to close, maybe a Supermarket, a Hardware/Home store, a couple of Restaurants, some Yard maintenance, Hair Saloons etc. A bunch of Expats leaving, more Rental apartments empty, more Caymanians looking for Social Services help.
Compare this to; the Dart group is ready to invest, employing people and utilizing services, almost immediately pumping $50 million into our economy and getting something going where there was no activity. we know that Dart will make a profit but no more crass then many other Caymanians have done in the last 100 years. we also know that when Dart does something, they do it well, plan well and coordinate, I have not heard many people complaining about Camana Bay!
I totally agree with our Government, they do not have a choice! nobody has the luxury of waiting. Of course our politicians want to be re-elected, they hope that by the time the election rolls around the benefits of these projects will be felt in the pockets of many citizens. Nothing is perfect! Omelets anyone?
'Western work ethic' – What? seriously? This is the west… it has always been 'the west'. Another cookie cutter comment without any grounding and seriously erroneous.
The west? Next you'll be talking about the 65,000 people, some of whom need jobs. What a joke.
Don't be obtuse. Not all Caymanians have embraced the kind of work ethic generally expected in the Western (ie – North America and Western Europe) cultures. His or her comment is valid; many Caymanians have embraced this an have reaped the benefits. Others haven't and instead complain and look for handouts. This entitlement attitude needs to change. I think the comment was quite valid and yours was the joke.
I just came from Ireland, and a lot of people are on the dole getting handouts… Your comment could be made in any of the so called western countries, and quiet frankly you are stupid. You lack any critical thinking whatsoever.
Well, as I said long ago Madmac wants Caymanians to become extinct and that day has come. We are now all Dartians, residents of the Dart Islands. And don't bother getting in line for a Dartian Passport…..Madmac will make sure those are reserved for everyone else in the world with millions of dollars…..Goodbye Cayman and Caymanians.
So if Dart runs the country – how come he didn't get the port deal? Yes he's rich, but – shock horror – basically it has been shown that he still has to follow the rule of law and the Govt is actually prepared to say no to him if needed.
He didn't get it because he wanted to leasehold the port for 99 years and the politicians knew that would be political suicide for them to agree to that.
But how can that be true if he, the benevolent, only wants whats best for Cayman?
Just hire the Godfather of the local lawyers and go to court and get an injunction on the road work. That's what he did with the work on Bobby Thompson Way – why you think Bobby Thompson Way still has only 2 lanes and the foundation sitting there for the other 2 that are so badly needed?
Was I even possible to get those 4000 signatures to get the premier to step down? I dont understand everyone just complains but no one wants to start the petition!! Usual apathy in Cayman.
Did part of that $5mio went to payoff GLF?
None? Seriously, have you seen anything that suggests it has been?
We have not seen anything that suggests the money has NOT been used to pay off GLF. Perhaps that is why we have not be told how much or WHERE the money came from.
Although this deal was oppose by a very small minority of 4000 people, consisting of PPM members and other people from the others districts; and, although West Bay population consist about 11,200 people, and if we were to consider the 4000 all West Bayers, it would only amount about 1/3 of the West Bay district, I am of the opinion that the way the Premier and MLA's has handled this matter, will set a very bad precedent for the opposition party to follow. The reason being is that they are getting away with massive projects without any direct consultation with the people of these islands. Now, I understand that democracy is exercised when every 4 years we go to the ballots and vote in our cabinet members; however, it is during the 4 years that they seem to undermine the wishes of those who elected them in for well-off folk. Note there was no survey done in the West Bay area as to how people felt about this massive development. There was no voting process or referendum to at least find out what people wanted for their district. Now, don't get me wrong… yes, certainly, government shouldn't have to always consult the people just to pave a simple road or implement a mere policy. But something massive in this magnitude, effecting traffic and the entire West Bay community… you would have thought that they would have realized that they are not the only ones on this island. "No man is an island to himself," they would say. As an independent, I am just dissappointed in that we are setting a very bad precedent that massive projects can now be started without some form of voting process from the public, and that politicians would have at least respect the voice of the people. In this situation where you have only 4000 people, not even half of West Bay, there should have never been a Petition in the first place. If these lawmakers really cared for this country, I think, they would have considered a referendum or some independent survey before ever considering to truck the project through. All politicians who love these islands would not be satisfied with a mere representational government. We would have at least been able to "recall" MLAs wehave lost confidence in during the 4 years – but we can't because we have no real Constitution!
I don't remember West Bay consulting the rest of Cayman before putting McKeeva in power. Da wa ya get.
A lot of people who signed thispetition didn't even live here; they gave it to cruise ship visitors on Stingray City boats to sign, telling them the road would ruin the island. The petition was in many ways a farce.
.
Who are you? When you say “A lot of people who signed this petition didn't even live here” where did you get your information from? Are you a member of elected Government, the Governor? Or are just some poop stirrer?
The petition clearly has columns to identify registered voters, residents and visitors. Anyone who knows anything about statistics would welcome the forethought to provide this breakdown.
Since tourism makes up half of our economy, it should be of interest to everyone on this island what visitors think of this road deal as it will effect tourism. Generally speaking, some visitors to these islands have been coming here for decades. The cruise ship is often the first taste of Cayman some return visitors receive. That experience will often lead them to return or go elsewhere. Their opinion is important.
Perhaps you would be less “Mystified” if you stop drinking the Kool Aid.
Can you prove what you say?
What “massive” project? It’s a hotel and a road to get to your house faster and safer!
Do not assume that because people did not sign the petition that they did not support it. So many people said they were afraid to because "he would take the very bread from our mouths". This was not only civil servants either.
I fell sorry for those in living in West Bay when the section of West Bay Road is closed and diverted to merged with the by-pass.
15;35
Will you stop your all your foolisness, the traffic will only have to divert from using 2,500 feet of the of the old West bay road. I will bet you after one year of using that diversion, one will not even notice the change.No one is closing the west bay road, stop brain washing the people.
Maybe we sould all go back to the hard way of transportation..using donkeys and horses to travel through the 6 feet wide tracks, or using the cat boats to travel where there were no roads. Lets give God thanks for his many blesseings for taking us this far from the mosquito infested islands, we once were.
My point was – but definitely unclear – is the potential bottleneck that is likely to be created by merging the WB road into the by-pass. Yes it is only 2500 feet of road, but look at what happened last week when the Esterly Tibbetts bypass was closed because of an accident. Now, Picture the same thing happening along that 2500 feet of road and all lanes are blocked. Of course we can argue the same thing existed when the bypass was non-existant, but wasn't the bypass built to accomodate the growing traffic problem that exsisted?
IMHO, the road should remain a thouroughfare and circumnavigate the property if necessary, but we all know, not 1 sq foot of property will want to be 'given up' by the developers if they can convince authorities otherwise.
16:12 Do you really understand the design of this roasd? I have to ask, by your concern with bottle necking.
There will be a smoothe transition to the new highway,via a large round-about from the old road after diverting from the 2,500 lenial feet section of road.
That task will be done in less that one Cayman minute. you will have a choice to return back to the old existing West bay road after the diversion….which will take about one minute.
Now this new high way that you are diverting onto will have two lanes going into west bay, and two lane back to george Town. you will also have the third lane which is the old west bay road to travel on also, this gives you 3 lanes into west bay and 3 lanes to George Town. You will only miss the 3 lane each way when you reach the diversion, which will change to 2 lanes each way, and this will take one Cayman minute out of your drive.
Let me ask the people that are saying that, over 100 businesses will suffer because of this diversion…where are these businesses?? You will be able to exit the highway coming south at the boundry of Coutts (across from Harbour Heights) and you are back on the old west bay road going south where you will have the same access to the businesses.
A Caymanian for progress, and no bull
Well, you could go look at the study on traffic impact (yes – I'm sure you'll claim its not independant – but people have "addressed" it)
See http://forcayman.com/Factsheets/Public_ETH_Extension_TIA_Report_21Sept2011.pdf
Thank you for posting the link. I was unaware of it.
Lets say that a group of people with the right amount of money hired a notable firm to do a study to show that the impact would be extremely negative. How do you think the results would turn out. You need to face the reality of the world that is how things work.
Because Mac and Dart are in Cahoots we will never get a truly independent study done we are just going to get study's which support their needs.
Wait…did I get this right? They are closing the road to west Bay? Yippeee. Best idea that I heard yet. Now can we make sure that McKeeva is in West Bay when they close the road. One more thing, everyone in West Bay who didn't vote for McKeeva, you are free to move to any other part of Grand Cayman that you wish, even the Sister Islands. Dart, we have one more favor. Please build a nice home wherever those folks desire. The ones that had some good common sense to not vote for McKeeva. Thank you.
People say it as if dart is one person?!?!?!?Kenneth B. and Robert C. Dart two Brothers
Have you ever seen him…he does not exist…follow the yellow brick west bay road……
Yes I have met him. And Dart is not TWO people. In the sense of the word it is an investment group. A group that DOES NOT need us the caymanian people or our islands. The group has capitol in many other places.This is the same group who donated $500,000 to all the public parks to have them redone. The same Who built the bypass we all love so much, The same Dart that is the single largest employer of Caymanians in Cayman. Know what the project is before you speak. All it is doing is adding oceon front property and a new road being built farther back.
Yes Dart money is doing some great things for the countrybut don't imagine for a minute that Dart is purely altruistic. It is a fact that if – in the 90s – he had got away with a ruse based on Belizean citizenship not only would he not have come to Cayman but he would still be very comfortably sitting in Sarasota while still not having to pay US taxes.
Bottom line – never turn a gift bearer way out of hand, but there are some gift bearers you need to watch very carefully.
Does that mean the whole thing is not 60% Caymanian owned and controlled?
Because that it what it takes to get this kind of cronyism, and get away with it.
I doubt that Dart employs the most Caymanians of any employer in Cayman. Where did you get that statistic? I am quite certain that the largest employer of Caymanians is the civil service, and I believe that CUC with 193 employees 90% of whom are Caymanian is a larger employer of Caymanians in the private sector than Dart.
Is there any way we can swap Mac?
I hope that everyone has a good think about the problems experienced Friday morning due to the closure of the southern section of the Esterley Tibbitts Highway. Luckly we had an alternative road to use to go between WB & GT.
Think what will happen in the future if a similar accident occurs on the stretch of new road between Yacht Club Drive & Governors Way. Even if only one side of the road is blocked igmagine the chaos, delays, and confusion. By leaving the WB road intact we would always an alternative route, albeit a much slower one.
While you are at it consider a boat from the Yacht Club or Gov. Harbour deposited on that stretch by another Ivan, a container truck shedding it's load, etc. This preservation should not be about the scenic drive but about proper planning. It will be too late to wish for it when it happens.
But there already is a longer single point of failure now with West Bay Road. From the point the ETH rejoins the WB road by TIki beach, all the way upto WB is one lane each way currently. This deal reduces that single point of failure to around 3000 feet, instead of several miles. Also with two lanes either side going into WB now, a single accident on that single point stretch can still be moved to the side and one lane kept open. From a risk perspective this is far better.
Having lived for 50 years with the 5 miles of single point of failure (on this road alone) I am quite aware of it. We should be striving/planning to have NO single point of failure as was envisioned from the 70's when a second WB/GT road was thought of. I agree with your simple accident point, but try to consider something graver. Such as happened on Thursday evening when live electric wires were down across both lanes and hours of repair work required. That would be one entire side of the new roadway or maybe both.
I am not saying that the extension should not be built. Simply that there is no need to give up the 2500 feet of WB road to do so. The completed ETH opens up 1000's of acres of land which ALL belong to the Dart corporations and bring the obvious increase in value. Why does the country then also need to give away it's alternative route to add futher value to those corporations?
Or maybe they just put the electrical wiring in proper conduits *under* the road and avoid the issue seen last Friday on the bypass entirely. Remember this is Dart building the road – and with their resources doing underground sealed conduits that are protected against flooding is possible. Why would they want big ugly power poles through their lands….
Also, because there will be four lanes, in an emergency one "side" of the road could be coned to be a one lane each way – so you have a close approximation to two roads……
Hey dip-squit – have you thought how stupid your observation is??? There is only one road there now!! DUH…
Not as stupid as yours. I understand that there is only one road and that that is a problem.
The issue is that we should be striving for 2 roads not trading one for one, otherwise we are no better off. If there is a problem on one road we still have the other to travel on as was done on Friday.
That is what planning for the future is about. This is why the second WB/GT road was thought about from the 70's. If the legislators of those days (& since) had been buying the road corridor mile by mile ever since, we would not be having this debate now. Current Governments would simply have been building it mile by mile. The same applies to the second road to EE where we now have the same issues.
Based on your name I presume you have been asleep for a long time. Welcome back.
We should be striving for a lot of things, but to get those things, you have to have funding. That funding can come from one of two places: from taxes or from investors. It's really that simple. Now, the current level of taxation isn't enough to even sustain the bloated civil service, let alone major infrastructure projects. Hence, you have schools that take five years or more to build. And with the new Framework for Financial Responsibility that the UK made Cayman sign recently, it's going to be much harder to get approval to undertake infrastructure projects. Unless the government partners with investors to do the funding, it will take direct taxation – and no, my delusional friend, you can't just tax the earnings and properties of expats and expect Caymanians not to pay. Direct taxation will take away a major recruiting advantage Cayman has over all of the competitors and it will cause an even larger reduction in the size of the population. This means Caymanians will have to bear an even larger precentage of the tax burden. The truth is that without and investor or direct taxation, the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and the East-West Corridor do not get completed for a long, long time, if ever. The government simply can't afford it. And by the way… don't forget that when the government does a compulsory acquisition of land for things like roads, it also has to pay people for the land. This is why the government still owes millions of dollars for the land taken when it did the East-West Arterial under the last government. The good thing about the Esterley Tibbetts Highway extension is that Dart owns the land and it's part of the deal, so this requires nothing out of government's coffers.
Hey Hibernator,
YOU are the dip squit. What is going to happen in the future when the population of that area grows?
Isn't it odd that when it came to build the much needed extension of Linford Pierson to walkers road just a few lovers of the ironwood forest and orchids stopped it. The claim is perhaps valid that these orchids may become extinct, but here we are faced with extinction of a beach for public use, but it doesn't seem to matter as much. The only difference here is that the government XXX stands to benefit with a very large cash amount.
Ahhh the power of money vs the power of the people – no contest!
Ahhh the power of ironwood forests and orchids versus the power of the people. It is so encouraging to see that at least some of us are at long last getting our priorities right and starting to somewhat resemble what God intended us to be. If you look hard enough you might even find another beach in Cayman. And of course THE public beach is still there for your enjoyment.
Instead of writing obscure esoteric posts with references to God and his intentions for us, please translate into either a cogent argument or plain speaking. Oh, and by the way ALL beaches are set aside for public use, however the access to them is disproportionate.
Sorry but obscure, esoteric posts like yours, with obscure, ecoteric words like 'obscure' and 'esoteric' and 'cogent' and 'disproportunate' are way above me. I suppose folks like you will just have to settle for swimming around in your bathtub at home while folks like me continue to enjoy Cayman's beautiful beaches.
The beach will still be available for public use and will be safer being further from the main road.
We’re not losing anything in this deal!
You are so right, but clearly those to whom you respond have lost their common sense and reasoning in favor of a progress-inhibiting selfish sense of mind!!!
We ARE losing several rights of way to the beach in this deal. That is several different points to access the beach. What we get in return is ONE beach combining all of these rights of way. This is not us being GIVEN an additional beach but having several rights of way taken from us.
21:29
Sounds like typical Caymanian …want your cake and eat it too…we are getting 75 feet wide new beach. and we dont have to risk parking on the side of the road in front of other people's property.
Give me the latter, i want to be safe on that 75 feet beach on a proper safe parking lot.
Only by boat. That hotel is going to be so exclusive the public will not be allowed to use the beach. That is pretty much gauranteed.
Well I wonder what time Mr. Bush got to work this morning on the ONE ROAD that was open??? Or maybe he decided NOT TO GO IN TO HIS OFFICE AND STAY HOME???
You see Mac, the difference between you, Dart and your rich friends and the rest of us Caymanians is, UNNA CAN STAY HOME AND PLAY ALL DAY……The rest of us…..GOT TO GO TO WORK.
Let this be a warning to all invovled. If unna want Cayman Kind, unna better not close off MY road! I will stand by the gates and holler at anybody and everybody that walks by!! Go ahead Mac…test us and see how Kind we can be in Cayman!!
Unna. Dumb. People.!!!
Easy to see from the comments that Caymanians biggest and worst enemy is…………………………………….Caymanians.
A house divided can not stand. Falling, falling, falling, falling.
Education would help the people and hurt the Government.
As much as the next person, I don't like overly transforming Cayman into a modernised island. But, as unfortunate as it is, development is necessary if we wish to grow a stronger economy.
aim for profit, not investment. Development = investment only
This is CROWN LAND McKeeva!! Dammit!! Do you have the authority to give that away??….I say give away OUR CROWN LAND, because that is what you McKeeva is doing. Is this the RESPECT you give to Her Majesty's Land? …and What is Duncan doing about that?!!! Duncan are you already retired too? When are you going to change also the Flagship of these Islands? I don't mind you signing the other deals for prosperity, but don't give away what is rightfully for the people and what the people is against. This is ALL for the love of money. Let me ask you something also, Is Grace Christian Academy a Government Entity or is it for you Mr. McKeeva Bush? Tell me also something…How is Mr. Dart going to maintain a 5 Star rating Hotel? You know how? We the local people will not be allowed on that Beach…plain and simple. If we are allowed, we will have to pay an enormous fee. Another thing….Will Mr. Dart maintain that new section of roads, since it will be going through his land and for the benefit of his businesses? This is all for his business and his convenience, not for us locals ala this morning, as we were stuck for 2 – 3 hrs in traffic, because of 1 accident. Was he sitting in that traffic mess…I don't think so! This is exactly what we will encounter, if something similiar should happen with the closure of that section of road. Every morning we are stuck in the traffic now by Camana Bay, why? because of Dart School and Camana Bay. XXX
If the Queen had a problem with what Bush was doing, she would stop him. He obviously has the authority weather you like it or not. What the crown doesn't like is a country full of people that give nothing back themselves IE: Pay Taxes.Yet always want something.So be happy that Mac isn't giving into that and letting her into each and every one of your pockets
18:01
Thank you , i couldnt have said it better myself. We better thank God the queen agrees on this land swap, instead of tax implication. Caymanians , we have to open our minds and accept the world has changed.
Her Majesty just gave up thousnds of acres of her green belt in England ( preserved land) to developers, to construct 75,000 new homes. This will boost her economy and avoid her becoming like her European counterparts, that are drowning in their debt crisis.
This WAS Crown land McKeeva!! Dammit!!
I'm not entirely opposed to this, just a bit confused as to why in God's name are we building building building and building?? Aren't all hotels currently open underbooked? Aren't all available apartment buildings undersold and/or selling for less than desired? "Build and they will come"…we have plenty already and all I hear is complaining about not having enough visitors…how about we try not to saturate the market any further….?
Don't even get me started on what this money will be spent on… I suggest some goes into boosting tourism campaigns internationally. Cayman is an amazing place, it truely is paradise regardless of all of our complaining…it shouldn't be so hard to convince people to come, let's get our name out there!
To all those of you sat in the traffic jam this morning as a result of the by-pass being shut, conisder that a taste of the impending return to the good old days of one road from WB to GT, and the resulting heavy traffic in rush hour.
You do realise that at present there are only 2 lanes of road between Tiki Beach and West Bay anyway? How is it going to be any different post construction – oh yes, there will be only one road over a slightly longer section there, but one with 4 lanes, and the rest of the route from the Yacht Club to West Bay will have 2 roads and 6 lanes in total. I agree that as long as there is one section where there is a single road there is a risk of closure, but really – you need to think before claiming that the situation after building the road will somehow be worse than it is now. By all means complain about whether Cayman got fair value, or the loss of the beach view, but please be logical.
This deal was given as much thought and research as establishing the dump/waste plant in Bodden Town is beinggiven.. Mark Scotland on Rooster this morning said Bodden Town is the fastest growing residential district on the island, and in the same breath says he agrees to to the waste/dump plant being established in the middle of the residential land that is the in the ultimate direction for the growing Bodden Town residential district, because there is no where else to expand residential development because the sea side is full. He says the dump is staying in WB on the by-pass…we would hope they not going to transfer the $h** from there to anywhere else on the island…dart will wave his magic wand and get rid of it…how about in the heart of West Bay…that is the fastest dying residential district so they should put it there…not in the fastest growing district…no on is moving to west bay…everyone wants to move out of there…even the Premier…so in Barkers where Dart has wsorthless land that he is trading with govt for our valuable beach property…that is where it should go Barkers Swamp…it is down-wind from everyone……if it is established in Bodden Town the odors will be blown by the Trade Winds to every district West/North & south of it. Not to mention the devaluation of the adjoining/surrounding land owners…and by the way, have notices been sent out to the adjoining land owners within the required radius for objections yet? this step has to be done before Planning Dept. gives approval Only East End and NOrth Side will not be affected by it. My suggestion to govt is to let dart get double value for money by establishing his dump/waste plant on the same barkers swamp land he is trading for the 2500 feet of SMB road and beautiful vistas to the sea!! Wa happen dey can' tink or wa? Dey must be smokin' sumting!
Dart's company is being very wise. They got a land subdivision approved by Planning so that none of the adjoining land owners will have to be notified, and none will be invited to object. Who said that Dart was doing things the right way? How can it be right when so many people feel they are being taken advantage of?
12:33
Can you say who and how people are being taken advantage of. Do you hate Dart that bad?
Whats wrong with Dart owning land and developing it. just look around you , for the last 40 + years this has been going on and nothing was said. Now all of a sudden, it is wrong. Is it because of the present administration? Mr. Mac
There are a few that we wouldn't mind if they moved out of West Bay – perhaps they could move to Bodden Town?
I think this is a great deal for Cayman and all true Caymanians that Mr. Dart will be putting to work. Mr. Dart already owns about 25% of all the land in the Cayman Islands and has done nothing but good for this country. We need more good expats like him and to get rid of the Godless rest that hold honest, Christian Caymanians back. Thank God for Mr. Dart and thank God for our Premier!
The above reads like a press release from the Jordanian Embassy
Mr. Supporter, everyone is entitled to his own opinion, and here's mine…… I think you've lost your cotton-pickin' mind…….. if you ever had one!
You had me right up to the last four words.
25%???
You had cred until you threw in a bull$h!t assumption…
Sorry.
11:55
yes, i want to also say thank you Mr. Dart, and Mr. Bush, and the UDP.These people have the vision. and common sense. and to those other 75% of land huggers, put your money where your mouth is. Caymanians own a tremendous amount of property but only sitting on it and sucking their thumbs.If we had to depend on these land owners we would starve to death. they have the same opportunity with owning land in Cayman, to develop it. Stop coveting Kenneth Dart, and Mac….it is a great sin to covet.
Governor Taylor has added more sorrow to the plight of the Caymanian people by shirking his responsibility as Governor.
My suggestion is that if government want the road closed the people can close it for them Democratic style:
Drive your l8 wheeler trucks, bull-doozers, backhoes, tractor trailors, and every vehicle you can find park them on the people’s road, and STOP THIS DART AND MCKEEVA railroading of the people’s democratic and constitutional rights.
DO WHAT THE NORTH SIDERS AND EASTENDERS WERE PREPARED TO DO! BLOCK THE ROAD AND STOP THEM FROM WORKING ON IT.
We have got to send a message that we have enough of this abuse and will not take it anymore.
You must be an idiot if you think that crappy march at Lovers wall had anything to do with stopping the EE port deal. Imperato just decided to stop it on his own, because the Shetty offer was better for him. Ezzard would like to take responsibility for this but it wasn’t his victory he’d just like you to think that.
As far as blocking the road by parking your cars and trucks there, I’d really like to see you try it, first of all the ones with the big 18 Wheelers, Bull Dozers, Backhoes and such are the ones who stand to actually benefit down the line from this if they don’t already work for Dart. So I wouldn’t expect them to support your closing the road call. And for the folks who decide to illegally park their cars in the middle of the road to stop traffic. I’m sure tow truck owners will benefit from this, so I guess the fools that actually try this will be giving the economy a boost in their own little way.
Abuse, I guess that allowing you to live for free in paradise without paying to sustain government coffers is abusive.
Good Luck, this will be hilarious.
The Shetty offer was only better for him because there was not great public opposition. McKeeva is on record as saying that it did not proceed because of the "negativity" it generated. Obviously digging his massive quarry would have netted Imparato far higher profits than merely selling the land to Shetty.
You are one of those greedy, irresponsible people who think that there is no such thing as bad development as long as you get some money in your pocket.
The Governor cannot win as he is castigated when he does not involve himself into local politics and he is attacked when he gets involved in any way, the Independant minded rant from the North Side and else where.
Don't be stupid….when you block the road, do you have enough money to hand out to all of us for the lack of jobs and opportunities in this country?? Can you pay my CUC bill? can you pay yours??
I am surprised you even still have gas money to drive your trucks down there! Get real and get a job!
A legal action in the courts is the only option now left for those who wish to stop the closure of the West Bay Road a detail case needs to put forward by those who wish to stop it that means you have to present a solid case against the developer and government to achieve this. the lack of transparency in these areas pertaining evironmental effects or impact would be a good starting point. It appears to be and area which has not been ever given a EIA.
Good idea, insist on an Environmental Impact Assessment on moving a road further inland that’s destroyed and unusable after every major storm. What do you really expect to accomplish….?
Good start, now about that dump…..
It was heart breaking to watch the news this morning & hearing the outcome. I had my hopes up thinking that with the amount of signatures and concerns from our fellow citizens that they would reconsider. But sad to say they didnt, I guess it all about the MONEY now! Good bye to the old time Caymanian traditions, good bye to the Caymanian values & good bye to the beautiful view of the sun setting & ocean as I drive home from work.
Your forefathers sold all those things off a long time ago my dear
Nail on head. Whilst I take issue with Dart being given that stretch of road, it is based on the facts that 1) it is one of last pleasant views driving up and down WB Road and 2) we revert to a single road down SMB, and this can only revert to the congestion of old, I do laugh at the bleatings along the lines of "selling our nation's birthright": all of the land owners who sold the beach lots between the Wharf and Public Beach were presumably Caymanian and clearly didn't mind taking money from developers back then.
And now that money is all gone!
My forefather did not give away the WB Road you @#$@#%. That was given away just yesterday but an complete and utter bunch of @##$@#%!!
Calm down. Take a deep breath. Nothing was given away. Dart is going to be paying over $100 million to build roads, schools, parks and to deal with the dump disaster that about five consecutive elected governments have been uable to do. All of the things that the Dart money will be used for are very much needed here and won't happen for a long, long time or not at all if a private sector entity isn't involvled. Dart is providing an alternative road to West Bay that will be wider and better and reduce considerably the chances of West Bay getting cut off by a storm. The loss of less than 1/2 mile of road will not impact people. You can only see the ocean from that part of the road for about 100 feet. In return for this, the country gets a better road that goes all the way to West Bay, a much better public beach, another public beach plus hundreds of millions of dollars in investment by the Darts. So what if the Darts make a profit. They should for everything they are doing for this country. The haters can keep on hating and showing their ignorance and prejudices, but there are many, many Caymanians who see huge benefits of this, and the need. If we're to keep our standard of living, we will have to accept foreign investment and I for one would rather have the Darts and their great track record here than unknowns.
If you insist on speaking in Chinese only Mac will understand what you are saying.
18;04
ha ha i got news for you…your forefathers did give away all your seven mile beach. 6.25 miles of it. what do you think those conds were built on, for the last 35 years.
Please tell me what's wrong with Dart getting the little piece that is left…is it his mega money that some Caymanians covet him for, or these deals are being done under Mr. Mac administration, which will allow him to gain populance with not just Cayman economical stimulus,, but the financial world. You have to face reality…my friend.
I agree. They will build a hotel on that land in which I probably will not be able to afford to stay so I, too, will not be able to see that view. It saddens me and I do not even live there.
Are you able to afford to stay at any of the other hotels on seven mile beach?
I can afford to stay at " some" of the hotels on 7MB, but it is at that spot that I love the best…you know…the one without the high rise buildings in the way!! It just was always a clear view to the sea!
17:48
Just to let you know, right next to that hotel we have 300 lenial feet of the most beautiful public beach one can imagine. Nop high rise buildings. you are very welcome to come sit on it and watch the sunset, and no one will say you can't. thank God for our own public beach. we dont have to trespass.
Please don't cry, baby. now you get a beautiful view of the sun rising as you drive to work.
SOrry to say this, but you can have as many signatures as you want, and it wouldn't matter one bit!!!! Someone is going to have a very merry xmas this year and it isn't us the people of the cayman islands!!!!!
Best thing since sliced bread.
Betrayed with a kiss. lol.
Who is Dart? Has anyone seen this faceless person? Is he even for real…. We see pieces of land developed in his name. why does Mac assosiate with a person who choses to be invisible yet omnipotent ? How can a business empire thrive with so much bad press… are they hoping it'll just go away once thehotel is built. In times of stress the opressed need a target ,like the 'occupy' crowd in the US. They are the 1% vs 99% crusaders. In Cayman it would take very little to see spiraling crime and rebellion take the sheen out of whatever D ART builds. Even Sandals-Type all inclusive resorts built by a faceless money bag are not immune to the rage of the masses. jamaica has Negril but look at the rest of the country.
Are we an early stage Demography, turning into a Bahamas or Jamaica with a well-established odious inner city, while Dart has pre-designed his edifice with Razor- blade fencing. You do not see the Gated – Community yet , soon that fence will go up faster than you can blink. Stand back and take a bird's view. Caymanians not welcome. If you doubt it, spend 2 days in Nassau and drive around, you'll see the future of Cayman.
And you will have no one else to blame but yourself….
Ourselves, Dart, and the government(including the Govenors branch)
I think what everyone fails to realise is that this land will be worth nothing in short order if the country continues to fail and no money is invested in it. You can have the prettiest part of the beach but if no one comes here to invest , buy from our stores, eat in our restaurants etc, that little stretch of beach is worth absolutely nothing.
Remember back folks when there was nothing along the SMB road but a bunch of swamps and mosquitoes. If we had left it that way we would have had nothing to complain about now except mosquitoes..Maybe that's the way Alice and the Wonderland group want us to return to..Not this Caymanian!!!!
I really question as well if the people who signed that petition were Caymanians and registerd voters of this island.
You really are a sad case. I'm very much Caymanian, I signed it and so did several of my Caymanian family. One of these days when you grow up, maturity sets in and reality hits, you will remember Alice Mae and other intelligent women who stood up for what they believed in. But guess what? Gools like you will already have ruined it for everyone, including yourself.
To 10:49 – You must have become a Caymanian overnight because you sure don't have the love of your country at heart. At least back then we could use the beach and didn't have to worry about anyone chasing us off. You better think twice if you think you will get to use that part of the beach soon from now and the little beach that is going to be developed further down how will you get there? You'll have to park your car in Yacht Dr. and walk way up the road so you know not many people will be using that beach to picnic so that will eventually become private. Boy we are really the biggest fools that the good Lord ever created – to go and give way one of our most treasured assets. I don't blame Dart or whatever that bought it, I blame all of us Caymanians. But God is still in control and I put my trust in Him and not in the set of fools we have as leaders.
I'm against this deal, but let's put that aside for the moment. Big Mac is going to take some of the money from Dart to help people with residential mortgages.
Why doesn't he give the people who are behind on their mortgages jobs and then let them pay their own damn mortgage?
Why does McKeeva like it when so many are in dire poverty and live day-to-day waiting on a handout from him?
Pay my mortgage I will vote for you. Make me work well that is another thing.
Because hand-outs guarantee votes — pure and simple. It's the way all despots operate.
Handouts should actually be resulting in prosecutions for official corruption rather than providing votes but the benefit of handouts goes wide and deep and…
My heart hurts
$2.5 million to help people with their mortgates? Are the people who receive this money going to repay the government over time? I doubt it. If you cannot afford your home, the government should not be expected to help you. That $ should be going to hire/train more police officers or something that actually benefits all residents.
” Clean hands and a pure heart”This is the man, Premier Bush, who at every opportunity he gets declares he has a ” Clean hands and a pure heart”. This is truly sad that so many have been sovocal about this issue, yet he does what he feels. What is even more sad is that this impacts West Bayers more than any one else and they are the ones responsible for him being there. Now here is the ‘ saddest part’, within 17 months from now, a few refrigerators, stoves, washers & dryers and a few parties, sessions these people will forget all about this and do it all over again. If you think this will not happen, then think back! First Cayman Bank, Commision of Inquiry, Expulsion from the Legislative Assembly!, Boatswain Beach financing Procurement which had it’s own inquiry, The Boatswain Beach project itself, which continues to lose millions per year and cost nearly twice the budgeted price to build, Royal Watler Terminal with it’s own inquiry which also gets demolished soon for the Chinese Port, Status Grants and I could go on and on. However, this should give you something to think about when you hear him say, ” Clean Hands and a Pure heart”
Get your hands on those studies Save Cayman and as soon as possible?
To those who believe that Caymanians are going to get jobs you are in the same boat as the 4000 people who signed.
Yes the old Cayman myth "Caymanians will get jobs" it works everytime even though it never happens. Why don"t we give 100 year work permits and cut Caymanians completely out of the picture for good. What a state this place in.
The people will get jobs, just how they got them at the Ritz. They are still waiting for those jobs.
YYYEEEESSSSSS.
I love it. 4000 ignorant people against 46000 people with a brain.
They asked me and my wife to sign and she said "We are actually FOR that". You should have seen the look on their faces.
Dart and Mac have a plan and I like plans. Better than than waiting around, twiddling our thumbs, for something, some unknown event, to give Cayman a boost in the right direction.
To the 4000, what are you plans? Thats right. You dont have any other than sitting around singing Kumbahyah. You would rather we starve than give Dart a piece of road and hungry people a meal. Shame on you. Talking bout christian values. Nothing christian bout that.
"Dart and Mac have a plan" – Very definition of the term fascism… but your too ignorant to realize that
This is one of the most ignorant comments I've read here. Do you even know what fascism is, because calling Dart fascist is beyond dumb.
Its almost as dumb as reffering to Dart Group as if its an individual
I don't know any Caymanians that sing Kumbahyah.
Just because you have a plan, does not mean you will be a success! Geezz
yea, where is your march to make it better for Caymanians. to be able to operate one's small business, without all the fees and red tape. High work permit fees, employers paying for work permit fees, forced by law to contribute to employee savings, their health Insurance, their vacations, their redundance pay.
Lets march to amend these laws, and you will get all the support from the small businesses and their families, that are now being destroyed by these draconian laws.
I think you missed the earlier poster’s point (I am not the same person) but that said, I agree with everything else you said. The economy worked much better when it was run by entrepreneurial Caymanians.
The Labour Law is the worst thing that ever happened to Cayman. Before that every Caymanian knew that it was hard work that made for progress. Just look at the men from the Southwell Years.
We followed european labour ideas and yet they have now been shown to fail their own people.
The sense of entitlement has to be dealt with if we are to return to prosperity. The best way to do that is to introduce “Hire and Fire at Will” to our labour market both public and private sector.
Employers will take a chance on hiring if they know that that person can be fired if it doesn’t work out, hence more employment opportunities in these hard times.
Intelligent people would "NEVER" refer to themselves as "INTELLIGENT" they may say something like "I'M JUST A DUMMY BUT" etc. etc.!!
Good. This is a victory for the 20,000 Caymanians with a brain in their heads that refused to sign the ridiculous "Petition Against Progress" and for the one man economic stimulus that is keeping these islands' economy alive on life support.
Wow, you have high hopes for the "one man", I hope he doesn't disappoint you like he has the rest of the Caymanians he has betrayed today.
Actually, I was referring to Dart.
4000 thousand fools who thought they could divert this island from going to the highest bidder Dart and his entourage. What happened to the real people who needed to stand up against this travesty says alot when we have to get our women to fight our battles. This says alot of about Caymanians. Get those suggested studies Save Cayman and take them to Courts on behalf of the people of this island and to the UN if those who govern these islands refuse to act and do what is right by these islands.
Fact is that those who Govern have decided to do what best for these islands and that is to approve this deal..
You may like it and it may put a bad taste in your mouth but right now Dart is Caymans Saving grace…Unless you are ready to sell out to the Chinese or start direct taxation you need to shut up and don't look a gift horse in the mouth. At lease he's Caymanian be it paper or whatever you want to call it the money made will be spent here..
Rubbish. If Dart is our saving grace, how did Dart Almighty allow us to end up in this economic mess in the first place.
18;20 you need to ask the PPM that question. why we are in this economic mess? you better thank God we have Dart to now stimulate the economy, what are you doing to help? beside tear down all that Mac is trying to do. Give him a break, if he f@@@s up, then you can ride his ass and whip him.
I am not the PPM but I imagine the reasons we are in this economic mess is because a group of greedy wall street capitalists encouraged persons with nominal means to borrow a million dollars to buy homes they could not afford … Which is why the rest of the world is in an economic mess. Add to that the incredible ongoing expense of a large influx of new Caymanians in terms of education, medication, housing and social services and a failure by immigration and others to adequately protect Caymanian employment opportunities and you have your answer.
IF he f@@@s up??? Before I would have recommended you stay out of the rest of Cayman, but right now I would really recommend that you keep out of West Bay. MAN you sure are a lone ranger in a very hostile territory. Just keep that campfire very, very low, buddy. and watch out for that rattler behind that rock under your head. And please don't drink the water, its contaminated something mean. And watch out for those indians. And don't go gamblin wid dem outlaws. Man this territory is really no place lad the likes of you.
So let me ask you this. If Dart hadn’t continued building Camana Bay during the recession period, and continued building now, just how much worse a state would Cayman be in now. If Dart hadn’t dropped $600m plus in the last 6 years of so where would our economy be? Because the majority of Cayman’s GDP comes from global finance and tourism – trends in which frankly Cayman can do little to influence – we have had an approximate10% decrease in GDP since 2007. What would that decrease looked like without DARTs spend? I’d wager it would be far deeper.
Hopefully the government would have had to shrink, and there would be more caymanians in the private sector
By PPM not listening to him in the first place!
For GOD's sake Mac (Anon 09:19), why are you still blaming the PPM? Are you really going to tell me that you are now blaming the PPM for selling out our beautiful island to Dart? Hey Mac, you really amaze me (in a terrible way). There is one person & one person alone, to blame for the control that Dart has over our country, our government & our people, & I can promise you it is not anyone in the PPM!
Sorry 4000 signers but this is a good deal for the country, it is alarming tho that a petition of this size was completely ignored by the despot, but remember you 4000 WBers – he was voted in by who? Fix it next time please.
For the first time, I'm seriously considering actually demonstrating against this government. We just need our Moses. Who will it be?
Finally, a signed legitimate deal where Government is actually get something out of it! How many developers have signed deals but still owe Government money? Dart actually turned over a $5M cheque when they signed and now they are going to spend millions more building a road and hotel and getting people back to work.
Great work Dart and Government!!
Maybe prayer does work after all!
Hopefully it doesn't if you're praying for things that will be detrimental to the Country…
I don't see how Cayman suffers from this development. The reasons are DART develops the beach land & improves the old defunct hotel & grounds into a proper beach front resort, that will employ Caymanians. The road is extended to West Bay on the new by-pass extension.Land value improves off the new by pass, as access is now improved. When the new resort & beach development is up & running in a few years, Cayman has a premier resort to attract tourism, conventions etc, etc / Tourism numbers increase with the type of tourist that will spend money, repeat visit to Cayman & possibly purchase a condo, land or invest in the country. Finally, the land fill mess may be cleaned up & hopefully DART will be able to introduce proper re-cycling to Cayman. Congratulations to both Mr. Bush, UDP & Dart on the venture & all successes in the future to it.
Dream on, Mr. Anonymous. Cayman is being given away!
Caymanians…be afriad….be very afraid………..
I support the decision to go ahead with this project, I have not seen anybody else stepping up and investing their own money at this level.
I am sure Dart will ultimately get a lot of value out of the various land swaps and the new Road (that he is building) and of course the removal of that segment of road will open some waterfront Real Estate for development, but all that potential has to be developed for him to realize the created value! development means economic activity which means commerce, that equals income opportunity and work for those that can cease the opportunities.
Lets go! we need to start getting out of the Doldrums!
I agree with your comment but have to point out the malapropism of “cease” when you meant “seize”. it’s too funny to ignore.
That's one way to pay for the Civil Servants COLA!
The new resort will be designed so that it will be easy to convert into an "all inclusive" resort where the guests feel safe behind a razor wire fence.
It is sad that it has come to this but this is what Cayman gets for allowing a generation of young boys to grow up thinking it is cool to import guns and participate in their little petty drug wars. What a tragedy.
Not that is wouldn’t be a good Idea, but I’m curious as to where you got your information about the design of this new resort. Have you seen these plans or heard of it from someone on the design team?
We really need to know if this factual or just an opinion….
yep you are correct…..totally false statement.
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Here is the proof.
No one man should be able to sign this deal. It is not democracy at work in the least.
Yes its a democracy. And Mac and his party won the election, and therefore he is governing. That is the whole point.
You cant expect 100% consensus on anything or nothing will get done.
Please read the post again. Democracy is not allowing ONE man to have this kind of power
12;06 does this same rule goes for David Cameron and Obama, ( one man signing of documents) all the other leaders of other countries? or this only applies to Mac, because you and the rest of hate mongers dont like him. Can't you get it through your thick skulls that the constituation gives him the power. lay off the man!
One man didn't agree to this. The entire Cabinet did and do did the National Road Authority Board.
Sorry, you are wrong, cabinet is ONE man when Mac is in charge. Not a democracy.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to present you with one more West Bay numb-skull.
It's Mac's idea of democracy, and Mac is boss, so we poor devil worshoppers really shouldn't object.
To the Governor: You Coward!
Although I find you choice of words over the top, I do agree with you that he should have come out in support of this deal weeks ago, allowing Government to sign this deal and get on with the project.
I keep hoping there is a stealthy lion just waiting to ROAR in our Governor. Sir, you need to lose the kitty-cat "mew-mew" and give us a ground shaking ROAR to put Mac in his place. The constitution says what you can do, so do it. JUST DO IT.
Two of the posters may be "incredulous" but I think that they think that the deal is "INCREDIBLE". I just love the Caymanian use of English.
On reading this article it still sounds like it has some ways to go in regards to public consultations not a done deal as the government would like us to believe. Some aspects still need to be ratified opportunties for some to oppose some aspects of this deal are up in the air for discussion. Come on Cayman stand up and fight for your rights.
Other than scientific proof which has to be provide direct to the powers that be in the UK This Dart project looks like it is clear sailing from here onwards. Too bad The Save Cayman crowd and MLA Ezzard miller never did their home work in challenging this Project Talking and protesting ain't cutting it anymore you have to present a good enviromental case study to fight these types of projects not just petitions. Mac will beat you everytime.
Come on Save Cayman lets take it to the streets get your hands on some empirical environmental or scientific evidence to put a halt to this man and his big plans. We all know Cayman aint going to get S#@* out of this but some temporary work and the sole benefactor is KING Dart and company just another exclusive area for the rich to be seen and locals to get permission to visit. They taking this place section by section Cayman leaving us with nothing for our children.Time to stand and fight Caymanians your yard will be next!
They can't take it if you own it and don't sell it..
Ever heard of Compulsory Purchase?
Can'tbelieve you finally did something right, Mac. Too bad all those same folks you bought fridges for are going to cut your kahonies out for it.
We've lost a road, and Mac, and we've gained another road. What a deal!!
I think it is" now the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country"
This is the beginning of the end of Cayman as we know it. I think we need petitions to have the current head of government thrown out of offfice.
Enough is enough. XXXXX I guarantee you that when he is no longer in office he will go to another country. No one wants him here.
If all good men came to the aid of thier country when it was needed Cayman wouldn't be in state it's in now…Now it's to late, Dart has come to the Aid and it's his…
Blame yourself, Caymanians had plent of time to by up the country, instead you and all your forfathers decided to sell it..
12;17
yes , you are so right, you hit the nail on the head. these same people that making all this noise about selling out. Has to only blame their forefathers, gradfathers and fathers for selling us out.
First sold out was the beach, you dont own the beach anymore. 99% of caymanians do not realise that. The beach that Caymanians used to own was up to the vegetations, the cocoplum and sea grape trees. your ancestors changed that. you now own to the high water mark.
let me educate you, when the tide flows to high tide and stops at that point…that is what you own. do you realise that these Islands have a tide change of aproximatly 18" between high and low. in most parts of the seven mile beach that will give you 4 to 5 feet width of beach, all depending on the slope of the sand. just barley enough to stand on. At some locations land owners place their stakes right at that high water mark, and you cant stop them, your forefathers gave them the rights to it.
Excellent news!
This is a slap in the face to the Cayman People. Those who think dart would scrap the rest fo the plan if this was not approved are crazy.
Mac, XXXX. You should be ashamed to call yourself a representative of the people or a Christian.
Merry Christmas Dart. The Island is yours!!!!
22:41
Are you implying that Dart bought all the property on Cayman and now ownes the Island? this sounds like jeolousy, envey and coveteousness. What about all the the mega land owners: the Watlers, the Mclaughlins the Boddens, the Fosters the Kirkconnells, the Ryans, the Hurlstones, and i could go on. Is it really about him spending his money here to invest and put food on your table, or his association with Mac????
Which part of the Bible deals with national road strategies? I missed that bit, but obviously by your "Christian" reference there must be a passage in their somewhere. Leviticus 3:35 "Blessed are the many by the name of Mickey Mouse who have signed a petition in the Cayman Islands for they shall be entitled to whatever their hearts' desire".
most old family caymanians are descended from immigrants, slaves, pirates and deserters..never bought their so called land…much ot it was given to them by the British Crown in land grants ….they sold it for a profit at the time, and now are jealous because someone who is just as caymanian as anyone, has a vision.. ..wake up and move on.
What took so long?
This is great news, now Dart and Co. can start working on getting this country back on it’s feet and getting people working..Something no one else has been able to do, If only he was allowed to handle the Port we’d be really on our way…
Go ahead haters do what you do best and spread the hate, you will see that it will fall on deaf ears because there are more people that want to see recovery start. And that’s just what this is. Hopefully whoever’s in charge after the next election won’t try to tear it down just because it was started on Macs watch even if it means hurting the Country..
It really is incredulous & shocking that one man can do what he wants against the wishes of the people. Well folks, there is no turning back now because the deal has been signed, so even when he is disposed of XXXX it will make no difference because whoever takes over will not have the power to cancel the deal. It is already done, this is a very sad day in our history, what is rightfully ours has been taken away. Why can't the almighty developer do the development without taking our road? GREED! Eternity in hell is not fun, I hope they know.
22:32
And whats the population of England? say 65 million, and Cameron listen to them…right? when national issuescome about, like funding the European banks to boost their credit rating to keep England from colapsing. that will be the day when any leader listen to it's people on certain issues. Stop being one to mislead the people.
Just where does the greed lay, with a people that want something for nothing or with folks that are willing to invest their own money to get something in return.
Something for nothing???????? Just what is the country getting for nothing from this deal??????? Acres of crown land is not nothing.
Its not agains't my wishes, speak for yourself.
And just like McKeeva, you ain't the people.
How far behind is the relocation of the South Sound Road? The precedence has been set.
South sound road was first moved in 1970. Scotts “straight” was moved after the big hurricane. Spotts landing road was moved in 1970s-80s Old crewe road was moved. Road at airport was moved. New road entering west bay was moved now you have boggy sand road. Road at cottage was moved. Road at lovers beach was moved. Old man bay road was moved. Precedence??? Not really. Read some history….we should move all these roads away from the sea.
I may be wrong, but if only we had a large hotel like the Ritz Carlton here to bring in high end visitors and provide jobs the local economy would be saved….oh wait, we have one and with all the concessions made to get it here I can't see that it's done that.
This is a blatant slap in the face for the Caymanian public and someone should remind the Government that they are representatives of the peopleXXXX.
This is only great for Dart…A 5 star luxury Hotel is not the way to fix the economy. Yes it will provide jobs but this is a short term fix, and when the projects are completed are people are out of work again maybe we can sell the rest of 7-mile beach. The only probable solution is diversification, and where we lack natural resources, the development of human capital is critical.
The economic zone is a good idea but as usual it will probably executed poorly. The focus should be on education (not churches). For whichever companies take up residence there, the government should institute initiatives to educate and train the local population to provide the services and manage the operations within the zone, so that in 10 years locals will be qualified and experienced enough to hold high level, not just entry and middle management positions. Failing that we'll have a repeat of the current financial services situation.
I'm not opposed to development my only question is what cost are you prepared to pay for it. The economy is is too closely tied to one person, being allowed to invest multiples of the country's GDP we might as well break ties with the UK and declare ourselves depenadants of Dart and erect a 20 foot statue of him in the middle of town. At least that way the general public might actually get to see what he looks like.
All hail Ceasar….I mean Dart!
won’t try to tear it down just because it was started on Macs watch even if it means hurting the Country????????????
Do you mean like Mac's team won't finish JGHS because Alden started it? Conveniently forgetting, of course, that the UDP broke ground on all the high schools and many other projects right before they lost the election.
Why would Government sign this before the main deal? THIS WAS OUR MAIN BARGAINING TOOL. NOW WE HAVE NOTHING.
I hope there was a corrupt aspectto this deal. It's our only chance of ever getting that land back. Who knows what is in this contract? There might not even be any guarantee that they have to build the hotel at all. We have seen what these amateurs playing 'government' can do when they have to draft a contract. This is truly terrifying for us. Sometimes I read this stuff and I just want to cry. When will it end? WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING
Yep … its about to hit the fan!
well done!…..its time to start getting things done!
And the Dart folks know how to do it…
Talk is cheap and the leaders of Cayman be they UDP, PPM or some Independant are masters of just that..
Yep. Still dodging questions, eh Mr Bush?
WWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
This is incredulous worst than the GLF port deal or CHEC deal. What a slap in the face of those 4000 persons who signed the petition.
The public can take no comfort in the requirements of the Governor Vesting of lands law as the Premier as Leader of Government business passed an amendment to this law which allows the Governor in Cabinet to decide not to follow any of the procedures laid down in the law.
Where is the National outrage aginst what is being done or are we so desperate for a few dollars and hope to get some work that we as Caymanians will give up everything and allow this man to go unchallenged.
Well when you as Caymanians are ready to putyour money where your mouth is these are the types of things you will have to deal with. Until each and every Caymanian is willing dig into their own pockets to help sustain the country the leaders will have to look elsewhere for folks that are willing to invest their hard earned cash into the country such as the Dart folks. So just sit back and enjoy the tax free lifestyle that deals such as this allow you to live. And don’t give me the crap about how much tax you pay when you shop at Fosters. Think about how much duty you avoid when you go to Florida to by your clothes..
There are 65,000 people in the country, many who need jobs. The correct decision was made.
"65,000 people in the country, many who need jobs" – What? You certainly _do not_ live here. This statement is _completely_ erroneous. Where are you? and why are you commenting on a Cayman news site?
Actually the census did not count anyone studying overseas or anyone who was leaving in 6 months or less or on a temporary work permit. Overstayers and dependents are underreported and no one knows how many expatriates have moved here and become Caymanians by entitlement. You may live here but you are not paying very close attention.
You mean because the census isn't exact, being out by 1/5th of the population is permissable. Also, quoting the entire population as if they were all citizens is a significant overstatement.
The figure is old.
The census last year said there were less than 55,000. There may be less now. How many jobs do you think will be created by this?
Lots – and based on prior experience with another hotel, mostly for people who have never lived here. I hope this time can be different!
I would be extremely surprised, if at any given time, anyone will be able to count 65 employed Caymanians either during the construction phase or the operational phase of this project. But that's us Caymanians. Simple, gullible people who insist on continuing to give away our very souls in exchange for empty pie in the sky promises, and we continue to allow one single uneducated individual to do it for us. WHO are we to blame fot that? Really?