Mac complains about process
(CNS): The premier has complained that it will cost government around a quarter of a million dollars on consultants to tell him that the ForCayman Alliance deal is good for the country. In his annual speech at the Cayman Business Outlook conference on Thursday McKeeva Bush said that he was having to spend $250,000 to get advice regarding the deal with the islands' biggest developer which he said even a “blindfolded man could see” was the right thing to do. Referring to the requirements under the framework agreement signed with the UK Bush said to “satisfy process” government has to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to find out what he already knew. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
Talking about the issues regarding the proposed agreement with Dart which involves swaps of land, cash, development project and future investment in return for crown land and various regulatory changes as well as duty concessions, he said he didn’t need someone to tell him it was a good deal. All he was giving away, he said, was part of some future potential revenue which government would not get without the deal anyway and the road that “you can’t see the sea from.”
Deriding the need to follow process Bush went on to complain that the demands of good governance were sometimes too onerous as they got in the way of getting things done, as he claimed to be a person who likes to work and do things not talk about them.
Bush spoke about the pressures from the onshore world and the eyes on Cayman and acknowledged the need for transparency everywhere including in government but he said the issue of good governance, which was a theme for the CBO conference this year was too much when it becomes a stumbling block as the process gets in the way of action. He said he was being stopped from doing the important things he wanted to do because of it.
In a speech that lacked the premier’s usual fire and which was more reflective than forward looking, he spoke about Cayman’s historic success despite the odds and improbabilities for such a small island.
In particular he spoke about the financial services maintaining its position in the world and the need to fight those jealous of its success. He spoke of the need to attract a physical presence in order to silence the critics so they could not do the jurisdiction “so much harm” as he said if there was only a “name plate here” then Cayman would still face criticism. He said the country had been “bad” in the 1970s but it wasn’t like that now and he wanted to encourage people to have a stake here.
He also asked the financial services firms to train and employ Caymanians, to give them a chance to gain the knowledge and not to always look for permits he said they would get what they needed but employers had to embrace local workers.
Bush said that his government had tackled immigration and while he had gotten “stick for it” such as introducing some changes like ten year permits, he had done it. He claimed that his government from the onset had tackled tough things and had lost support for it but he said despite what people may think it wasn’t about winning the votes.
“It is not about winning the next election,” he said “My thing is…If I can set government finances on a proper course and make sure the accounts are up to date… if we can get that done and (address) the budget …we won't wipe (the deficit) out but it will bebetter …”
He told the audience that the people could vote him out of office but his government would have met its responsibility if he could balance the budget and keep down our borrowings.
Category: Politics
Perhaps a blindfolded man could see it but obviously a complete idiot cannot see the disaster it will be !!!
I'm sure since Dart thinks it is such a good thing that he would be glad to pay for this! i mean he has nothing but Cayman's interest anyway so why wouldn't he want to save Cayman some money.
This all reads like a good bye speech to me. He is making excuses and saying that he cannot function in a world where everything has to be above the table and out in the open. Oh woe is me, all of this "transparency" is preventing me from doing my job ????!!! Sell that story elsewhere.
If the Premier wanted to be transparent and wanted the people to know every single detail of his dealings he would make it public, instead he takes every opportunity to hide details, and agreements.
But once again, he spits in the face of the honest law abiding people of the Cayman Islands, and continues in his usual way, and we sit here and do nothing.
To be honest, I encourage Mac to keep on doing what he does, because nobody seems prepared to stand up to him.
Alden must be on vacation again, and I think poor Ezzard is getting tired fighting everybodys battles for them.
WHERE IS THE PPM? IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO OFFER OPPOSITION CAN YOU KINDLY STEP OUT OF THE WAY AND ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT!!!
Dear McKeeva,
Checks and Balances.
Now you'll have him writing checks regardless of the balances.
I like Mac, he seems like a sharp cookie.
He's talking now that he has an 'overseer'; he's not talking about the money he's lost and wasted, the Cohen & Cohen deal in particular, when he by-passed all checks and balances and procedures for contract procurement.
If they don't want to play by the rules….they have one very simple alternative….don't put yourself up for election…GO HOME and STAY there…no one in the Cayman Islands needs them when there could be alternatives who can and will work within the legal framework that is in place.
Now that the Auditor General's office is working free of political intimidation, the voters of Cayman are finally getting a fairly accurate picture of the financial situation of the country….25 million deficit for the current financial year could be said to be an improvement by Bush's government but it is a far cry from the surplus he's been claiming.
This Premiere either can't count, or read financial statements very well, if at all….or is habitually very economical with the truth.
"Process" costs us hundres of thousands of dollars. True.
Think about the cost of "No Process". Scary.
It is funny how the "process" was not a problem when he was not the leader. What a load of bush HOGWASH again!
Poor Mac. He was making a decent living in politics until somebody came along and decided to take a look at his decision making skills, found them wanting, and is now insisting on "some" accountability for his actions.
Hey Mac, if you don't like the new game rules, you know what you can do with your ball.
Well you idiots put voted him in
Can you explain to us idiots what put voted means?
Which idiots? Let us be clear the people of the Cayman Islands did not vote for McKeeva Bush, the people of West Bay did.
wrong…… the idiots of george town,bodden town and west bay voted them in……..
but can you blame them after the ppm sleepwalked us into bankruptcy.???……
p.s udp are the worst administration ever!!!!
Politicians everywhere understandably get frustrated by what they see as bureaucratic hurdles to achieving their vision. But they have to appreciate that their vision is not necessarily the same as other people’s. In a properly functioning democracy, it is essential that the necessary checks and balances are in place to ensure that due process is followed and the community is fully informed how that due process is being carried out. So however obvious the decision may appear to the Government of the day, that should not justify overriding proper procedures and obscuring the transparency of the process.
Equally, the community must accept that due process and transparency require resources, financial and human, that must be paid for. If the system works properly, these costs should be more than outweighed by the cost savings that can be achieved by open and efficient and government.
So all our politicians and public servants should embrace good governance, transparency and accountability not only in theory but also in daily practice. Pushing back only and unnecessarily increases the costs, delays and frustrations on all sides.
Tim Ridley
Tim, as usual you have a well thought out and expressed opinion that makes sense.
After traveling The Caribbean on my sailboat in 85/86/87 I realized how unique Cayman was. The wonderful "uniqueness" of Cayman and her people has been ruined by self serving politicians who want their personal fortunes. We will look back in 10 years from now and down play how much these politicos cost us which is a real shame. The bottom line is that transparency, non corrupt conflicted elected members and CS's will eventually come to Cayman, I believe that, should it not then my fellow Caymanians the islands will repeat what has happened in The Bahamas, Bermuda and Jamaica and you will all be the loosers as the elite among you live comfortable lives.
We can do better than what we have now.
Lachlan MacTavish
Listen guys, I believe Robin Hood is alive and well! How can someone sell government's land and have the money channeled to a private school while Government struggles to complete two of its own high schools, are in need of others and the government's budget is short on cash? Can anyone explain to me how that is value for money? By the way, is the recipient the school that belongs to the church that the Premier attends?
Being a direct relation of Robin Hood I take this as an insult. Robin was an acute businessman who made profits from the rich and charged a commission. Consequently Nottingham became the Delaware of England. Please do not knock him any more, he was a good man Gunga Din.
WRONG!!!… Robbin' De Hood is alive and well. Robbing the poor to give to the rich. We have been seeing ALOT of that in the last couple of years haven't we?
"My thing is…If we can set government practices and ethics on a proper course and make sure the politicans do not have clear conflicts between private commercial interests and their political power… if we can get that done and (address) the perception of widespread corruption…we won't wipe (corruption) out but it will be better …”
He knows it's the right decision it's like a sixth sense – he can feel it. He must have been speaking to the one or two people still trusting his judgment.
So change the process rather than ignore it! I would wholeheartedly support you Mac if only you stayed within the rules. If the rules are stupid, get them changed.
but the rules are not stupid. Mac's repeated blunders show that he should have followed the rules and let the checks and balances be done.
Wow, that's like 60% of a consultancy fee to get planning permission passed.
The problem here is lack of transparency and accountability…oh wait…that was someone else's comment on another news story. The problem here is lack of transparency and accountability…oh wait…I guess I could just apply this comment across the board then…!
So who agreed and signed this "framework agreement signed with the UK"?
Oh yes, Mr Bush and now you complain about it?
You do inspire such confidence
We all know why he signed it.
He was possibly literally saving his backside.
Yep, becauase he had no other choice than to signed it, if he did not…..let me say no more.
blah, blah blah!
we’re bringing out the dogs come 2013! this UDP government has got to go! Every one of them none shall remain in the House of Assembly. NO NOT ONE!
The reason people complain about, or worse try to prevent, proper due process is simply because they either want to, or need to, circumvent it regardless of the reasons given.
Mr. Bush may be cut out for politics, but he does not seem to be cut out for big business. The CIG is big business but is not being run as such. When CIG is run like a business and becomes rational, a lot of these complaints will fall away.
Mac said he didn’t need someone to tell him it was a good deal.
How about someone to tell him it's NOT a good deal?
Mac went on to complain that the demands of good governance were sometimes too onerous as they got in the way of getting things done.
Maybe so, but good governance is first and foremost with me.
Mac said he was being stopped from doing the important things he wanted to do because of transparency.
If you don't have transparency, the door is open for all kinds of under-the-table dealing.
Mac said the issue of good governance, which was a theme for the CBO conference this year was too much.
How can you have too much good governance?
Mac said employers had to embrace local workers.
I'm with you on this one, Mac.
Mac said we won't wipe (the deficit) out but it will be better
The budget CAN be balanced. Our country is too small to run up such a large deficit.
Blinkin processes..
Environmental studies, framework agreements, value for money audits, tendering of contracts, govt accounts and overdrafts, police investigations, official corruption of govt officials, and ELECTIONS soon come..
I suggest we bypass them all and just make Mac 'Supreme Premier for Life!'
THere's nothing good coming out of any of these deals that the Premier has dragged us into. Everything he has done has questions over it, and the process is so corrupt it really makes me wonder if we are getting screwed from both ends?
As if he knows what's good for the country. He must be deaf, dumb and blindfolded…
Mr Bush, you have personally wasted much more than that on stupid (and thats the kindest description of what might be far worse than stupid) off the cuff deals. Every government has to evaluate deals to show that money is spent wisely. If you didnt spend so much time ignoring the need for proper accounting, you would have the skills in house to evaluate policy. In fact, your civil service cant produce ordinary accounts at all, let alone on time.
You might not think they are your civil service, but ultimately you are in charge, and you should be speraheading the efforts of people such as the auditor, which you patently are not doing.
Resign and soon!
This is no longer 'funny'! Please guys, we have to remove this Jocker. He is against anything call protocol,its no wonder he has been the poster boy of failure for so much of his public career.
*Where are the remaining MLA thougts on all this? We the voters will remember everyone involved(all elected officals), even those hidden away!
Mac: The need for verification has been imposed on you because you’ve xxxxed up every single deal you’ve ever touched, and even if this is a good deal, which it probably is, the fact that you’ve said it’s a good deal makes people think it’ll go pear-shaped anyway. The fact that you’re involved raisesa significant risk of that, despite the business acumen of Mr Dart. You are unsafe, and mandatory adult supervision is the result. Have a great day.
He don't want PROCESS to get in his way!
Well take your "Blindfold" off Bushy, as we now have taken ours off!
What a shocker!
Anything that is transparent, we know he will complain about!
“My thing is…If I can set government finances on a proper course and make sure the accounts are up to date… if we can get that done and (address) the budget …we won't wipe (the deficit) out but it will be better …”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I almost wet myself.
Mac, I'm curious, if today is your birthday, that makes you one year older, is that a deficit or a surplus?
Hey Mac, how much is it going to cost for someone to consult you on the CHEC Project?
Poor mac. Complaining about unadulterated bureaucratic harrassment again. And good governance. What a terrible thing.
From someone who "gave away" several million dollars of the public's money, his concern about a measly quarter-million dollars sounds rather odd!
Hmm, didn't he say the same thing about the Cohen loan deal? He was abolutely convinced then too. Except he overlooked a thing or three, and no doubt has done so again.
IMHO this deal is akin to selling the family jewels to try and shore up the family finances after the air-head kids went on a 3 year spending spree with the parent's credit cards.
yep…. he knows the game is up….
Is this the same man that threw away $450,000.00 of our money on a fabulous loan 'deal' in our interests? 'Process' MUST be observed in this country, people. If we stand to gain as much as McKeeva insists we do from this deal then surely $250,000.00 is the proverbial drop in the bucket to pay for knowing exactly where we stand in this, rather than allowing a less than trustworthy gowerment to keep us permanently "blindfolded" on issues that our very lives and the survival of our country depend upon.
If you have nothing to hide concerning the ForCayman Alliance, Mr. Bush, then what is the problem ?
We certainly don't mind spending 250k, just to make sure .
The thing is he is probably right as consultants can be paid to make the project look good or to make the project look bad, all depends on who ispaying them.
He is suddenly sooo cost-conscious because he has to follow a process, boo-fricking-hoo
Maybe if we had followed the process properly, you wouldn't have wasted and lost $250,000 on that dodgy Cohen deal and would have it $ now to use for the consultants on this Dart deal.
Or perhaps, you should consider being a bit more prudent in your own spending and travel…where are these foreign investors you were supposed to be finding?
Or better yet, if you had followed proper process in tendering for the port, CIG wouldnt be facing claims from other developers — XXXX
WOW!!! this is brilliant! We could hire Mac out to other govts. that need advive, he could use his extrordinary accumen and granny wit to advise them and Cayman could bank the fees for more nation building!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How is this not a great idea?!
I think he is consulting a "blindfolded man" on this project as he either fails to see or refuses to see the long term downfall of giving Dart too much power. While most nations try to limit monopolys Mr. Bush is helpong Dart become one.
Open your eyes Mac. Do what is right for the common Caymanian not the rich ones for a change.
We still don't know who is paying the GLF settlement and how it will eventaully come out of our pockets.
Running the government by "gut feeling" is not exactly open honest and transparent. Due process is in place to ensure mistakes dont get made with spending of public funds.
Well, so much for it being independent. In case the reviewers missed it, here are your marchign orders "tell him that the ForCayman Alliance deal is good for the country".
Why does Mac care about the correct procedure? He never follows it anyway.
This is a drop in the ocean compared to the money that's been wasted, and continues to be wasted. Try cut back and improve efficiency in the CIG, and follow the recommendations of the Miller Report, then perhaps you'd have no need to be complaining about the cost of this and other projects. Honestly, the way things run here defies belief.
If he hadn't squandered money on the scuppered Cohen deal; paid off GLF, and given $4M dollars to Ministers of religion, perhaps the Premier would have the money to follow DUE PROCESS to protect the electorate's interest in the For Cayman Alliance project.
Was the blindfold on when Mr. Bush sat on the board of directors at First Cayman Bank?
Oooohhh snap! Oh no he didn't (hand over eyes)!
(Smiley face)
He was blind, deaf and dumb and blnidfolded.
Happy Birthday to the Honorable Premier. Long Healthy LIfe to you Sir.
I always thought that his birthday was the first day of April.
Guys, c'mon. A happy b-day message should not get a thumbs down. That's not right. Even in world wars they observe certain rules and protocols.
That's exactly why Mac is getting so many thumbs down here, silly.
Have you forgotten where you are? Maybe you are new to this website, what is protocol? Based on some of the comments, I am sure this word is foreign.
Does that 250,000 cut into your traveling? Mad because you can't take a first class trip to China! Remember you were voted in by the people and the people are going to make sure you don't get back in office next year! Don't vote for the udp ever again!