Bush heads east on latest trip
(CNS): Updated — Having returned this week from his travels in northern Europe in connection with a number of meetings relating to the overseas territories, the premier will be travelling again from Friday but this time he will be heading east. According to sources close to the United Democratic Party, the premier will be taking another long haul overseas trip, this time to Asia. McKeeva Bush is understood to be heading to Japan for a Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting ahead of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting and then on to China. CNS has been unable to confirm the details with official sources despite requests about who is travelling with the premier and why.
CNS contacted the premier’s office but has received no response. In fact, CNS has received ‘no response’ to any of the questions sent to the premier or his office for several months and has been requested by the premier not to contact him.
Aside from the refusal to acknowledge CNS enquiries, it is understood that by 7pm Wednesday evening no official statements had been released to any other media house in Cayman regarding the premier’s latest overseas trip. It is not known how long the premier will be gone for or which officials are accompanying him.
It is understood that Bush will be attending a gathering of finance ministers from the Commonwealth to discuss debt problems in Commonwealth Small Vulnerable Economies (CSVEs), which will be held in Tokyo on 9 and 10 October.
The main IMF and World Bank meetings in Tokyo a few days later consists of the boards of governors and decision-making bodies of the two organizations. The meeting is usually attended by finance ministers, central bank governors, and other principals from around the world. Once in every three years the Annual Meetings are held outside the organizations’ Washington DC headquarters.
The travel schedule of the Cayman premier inexplicably continues to be only reluctantly revealed by officials and usually as a result of pressure from the media and the wider public. The last trip that the premier took, which included a visit to London and his first meeting with the new UK Foreign Office minister for overseas territories as well as OT meetings in Denmark and Greenland, was only revealed after the fact.
Category: Politics
One way to change government. General strike. Shut down the island.
Sorry, we can't do that. McKeeva would lose on both his pensions.
That OK. He has ATM connections overseas and plenty stored away in other areas then Cayman. Plus those pensions is the peoples money anyway.
but don't forget about all the overseas investment that it has created……oops……….
Yeah, what happened to "shop local Cayman" obviously he doesnt believe we have sufficient investors here.
Also, ever hear of "GO To Meeting.com"? they even do video-conferencing. That way we could save 20,000 per trip.., but then i guess they wouldnt be able to roll any dice
Maybe we should ask the Chinese government for details of the trip? They are much more open and honest than our lot.
Is Mac trying to ensure that his name will top the list of Globe-trotting Government Leaders in Guiness Book of Recordss for decades to come?
What benefit Is the Cayman Islands deriving from the fortunes being spent on these great world tours?
Does the finance committee consider all this expense to be profitable and justifiable?
Can Caymanians with any intelligence believe that their money spent on such tours witll reap any real benefit to the islands?
Can a person of any integrity publish that the islands are experiencing financial shortages and at the same time spend great amounts of public money touring the world?
Food For Thought
China = CHINA HARBOUR
hummmmmm, ya think!
I hope he finds the time for a side trip to Vietnam to see Michael Ryan's latest project.
So he will arrive in Japan just in time for the Formula 1 Grand Prix then.
Whatever happened to job sharing in Cayman? I would happily take on the arduous work in Japan and take in the F1 race as a bit of well deserved R&R.
Via Macau no doubt
Its easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a self proclaimed "honorable" man to act honorable.
To be fair, by law he now has to be hornourable for all eternity. Now that is really hard work.
A self-proclaimed eternally honourable man. Don't forget that bit. Being honourable in the future has cash value when it comes to "consultancy fees" no doubt. Did he mention he takes cash? . . .From ATMs . . .in Vegas.
This is beyond a joke. Hes rubbing it in the face of the public now. After all the stink the public rightly make and he continues to go about his ludicrous travelling as if hes never heard a word. If bush was a turtle he'd be a leatherback.
Give the poor man a break. He works so hard for so little money and now he is called off island again. Lordy bless him (and my church he gave your money to).
8 more months, 8 more months! Then we don't have to put up with this bimbo! Or do we? who is going to stand up at the next election (besides the usual suspects from the other party, who will just give us more of the same). Who? Who? Time to start compainging so that the people can get to know you….I would, but I don't pretend to have the necessary skills or intellect, and not to beat myself down too much, but we need someone with business smarts not another Huckle Berry Finn.
Come on, be fair. The UDP didn't even accuse the PPM of corruption and you cannot compare the money spent by these jokers on first class jaunts and settlements for contracts cancelled with the money spent by PPM on infrastructure.
All parlimentarian frequent flyer miles should be put into a corporate pool and only used for economy travel by future Premiers who clearly outline the Where, What and Why of their trip. And they'd better make it good!!
I am so angry with the Premier's office!! How DARE they not release this information to the public. Someone needs to remind those officials that McKeeva Bush is NOT God and he has NOT by virtue of his title been given leave to dictate his own rules of disclosure!!!
Where are you and your cronies staying this time, Mr. Bush? Which of the 5 star hotels?? Actually, come to think of it, that won't be difficult to find out, and I know just the person to ask! Did you all travel First or Business Class? How many people are takiing this trip with you, Mr. Bush? Name them. What are their positions and why is it felt necessary that they all accompany you?
Did YOU celebrate International Right To Know Day last Friday? According to Franz Manderson and Jennifer Dilbert, "the Cayman Islands remains one of the trail blazers in the Caribbean in this regard".
" Someone needs to remind those officials that McKeeva Bush is NOT God and he has NOT by virtue of his title been given leave to dictate his own rules of disclosure!!!" That someone is YOU the Caymanian people. The reason Bush does not have to accomplish anything af value in his job is because you the Caymanian people are not doing your job of Making him. Your little marches and gatherings have just justified his need to not hold himself accountable to the Caymanian people. Try something else until you find something that will work for you. Or just wait, watch, and complain as your future is spent in front of your eyes by those who have the right to do so given by you.
Whats his contribution to this, over 2,000 unemployed in his country, small business closing every day, indirect tax hikes, people leaving the Island, no end insight, he himself under investgation, and you think people are going to bring business here.
and what else should I pile on this.
Do not let this man take a pen with him. We do not need him signing any more crazy deals and commitments that will further hurt Cayman.
On the road again
The premier is on the road again
He's travelling with family and friends
And blaming the woes on the PPM
On the road again
The premier is on the road again
Always travelling with family and friends
But come May 2013 this crap will end
Nice one Andy
Das right. Unna cut back on unna spending.
I check ya when I come back. haha
One thing we can all agree on, our Premier is well travelled. Hopefully, he will pick up some good knowledge on his travels so that he can impart to the poor Caymanians who cannot now even go to Miami. There is a saying, when the cats are away the mice will play, maybe the PPM should rally theirr troops to oust the Premeir in his absence afterall, they could say he deserted his premiership, his people and the country.
Mac must know the mood of the country he leads. He must be perfectly aware that the citizens he serves are not happy with the amount of travel he undertakes. He must know we suspect these are no more than lavish junkets, that the entourages he takes are not necessary or justified and that he is neglecting his work at home.
So it is very telling to see how he has reacted. Not by reducing travel (if anything it has increased). Not by trying to save money by travelling more cheaply. Not by showing us any evidence that these trips are justified, and not by leaving his cronies at home.
Instead his reaction has been to try to keep all the details secret from us, while carrying on exactly the same. In other words if we don't agree with what he's doing he won't stop doing it, he will just stop telling us.
I think that tells you everything you need to know about the man, and everything you need to know in order to explain why our finances are in such a state.
I guess we shall have to wait until if and when the Government TV channel is up and running to get any information of these trips etc.
Even then I'm sure we won't be told everything
Who is gonna waste their time watching that?
LMAO. Your last sentence sums it up. The rest is just a complete waste of our time and money. Nobody wants the bloody communist government channel.
Cayman's fine immigration service could do us all a favour and refuse to let him back in again. He spends so much time out of Cayman that I am beginning to think I am more qualified to be Caymanian than he is…and I am a long way off that yet!
More money out the door . . . . .
and down the drain!
At local stores, children are holding raffles in order to buy books for the Clifton-Hunter School Library which has no books and no librarian. At a large local supermarket, people are outside asking shoppers to purchase school supplies in order to donate them when they are finished shopping.
The money spent on just one McKeeva Bush trip overseas could easily pay for all the books and school supplies needed in Cayman. Every time a citizen gives to worthy causes to help the poor and support entities that are supposed to be funded by government, we are enabling a socialist system to thrive and flourish.It is like enabling a drug addict. It is not easy to say no when you have the means and see the real need but you must stop and thing about the big picture and what your donation is actually doing. It is alowing a broken system of government to continue to run out of control and neglect it's basic responsibilities. We then become part of the problem. Such systems are not sustainable and eventually collapse on EVERYONE when the money runs out.
The party in Panama is just one glaring example of over $70,000 spent that could have and should have been directed to our basic needs before being frivoulously thrown away.
If you want to build the nation then demand that the Nation Building Fund be used to fund the building of our Nation which begins with assistance to the poor and properly funding things like schools and necessary government projects. I have personally received solicitation for donations on government stationery. This is not accepable.
The mayor of Toronto may very well be removed from office for "solicitation for donations on government stationary". And it was for a charity.
Billy? Billy Bush? where you is? cha, gone again, you wutless
The lunatics have definitely taken over the asylum.
Maybe that’s the real reason behind all the tax hikes this year? To cover all the extra trips this year?
caymanians voted this lot in and you deserve what you get……
Oh so sad, but oh so true. Yet again, do we really deserve anything THIS bad? I hope not!!
Caymanians did not vote in McKeeva Bush as premier. I for one never voted for either him or any of his cohorts.
The UDP MLA's made Mac premier, not the Caymanian voting public. They keep him in power and only they can remove him when they grow a pair, vote against him in a vote of no confidence with the opposition.
transparency, – if there's any indication during Mc Dingbats pre election rallies of a desire and importance for Govrenments working transparency, – I'm very intereseted in how it'll be received and the created depth pertaining to it. . . keep it rollin Mc, keep it rollin. . . just a head shake and nothing more.
He will apparently be speaking to the world's finance ministers on a subject he knows well "Criminal investigations into political corruption and how to ignore them".
I still don't understand why he don't make Uncle Dart lend him his plane??? He gave him everthing else!! But just wait you soon hear he at a board meeting at the internationla space station too.
I'm not clear on how these things work, does anyone know if we can make a freedom of information request to see who goes on these trips, how much they cost and how much time the delegation actually spends at these conferences? It seems like that should be public information considering how broke the country is and how much extra we are all being asked to pay. Not to mention how much important government business is left unattended because Mac doesn't seem to enjoy being in Cayman.
Are the Caymanian people including the civil serva
nts paying for all these trips?
When are we going to stanad up anad say enough is enough. Lets it the LA in sessiion and get the FFR paper signed.
What is the cost of these trips? I'm sure he does not tavel alone. As my parnts told me if you dondd't have the monies you don't spendit.
Expats are paying for it too. Some posters seem to forget that. If the Caymanian people want to intriduce Caymanian only taxation, I would not be opposed, but until that day please remember we are all getting screwed equally.
We ARE standing up and saying enough. They're saying shut up and sit down we are not accountable to you sonny, pass the microphone and eat your milk and carrots.
A fool and your money are soon on a plane. With his tribe. More spending, less work.
I guess if he continues heading East he will eventually get back.
I hope nah.
And he will return from the East with a signed contract stating that the Chinese are moving in to build the dock and there is nothing we the people or the UK can do or say anything about. GUARANTEED.
Fire, Aim, Ready.
With all the lavish spending by Dumbo and the Flying Circus, do you not think they would be smart enough to purchase Rosetta Stone so at least they could at a basic level understand the ride the Chinese are taking them for?
Nope.
And the excuse will be they didn't understand what they were getting into.
Fire, Aim, Ready.
Thanks for the tip CNS but we already knew about the latest 'trip'. They all keep reflecting on our monthly utility bills. Please continue to harras the UDP 'sources' and his office. We really need to know if his stop in Japan is a poor coverup for his real destination to China again with yet another MOU that he doesn't have permission to sign. This guy is definitely a 'trip'.
Well if you were bush, wouldn’t you be packing in the First Class airline travel – he needs to build up the
” AIRMILES ” , so that he can use them to pay his fare on the bus from West Bay to George Town after May next year – sound planning.
I just have one question. Why?
Where is McKeeva headed next, OPEC meeting?
Did you not get the memo? Our Oil Refinery is a go….MOU signed in Nov 2011. Just kidding…geeesh….
Das a good idea. We did mention an oil refinery for Cayman at one point. Challo tell them to start up the plane.
Don be giving him ideas.
"Okay guys, I've bought us some time now let's get this thing done before this all falls apart"
China Visit
Anyone know where the Deputy Premier has gone off to, and who is acting Premier at the moment?
Your better off when no one is home.
Does it matter?
Ooh good….China….perhaps he’ll piss some wannabe politician’s wife off and she’ll slip him some cyanide!….or better still, he gets incorporated in a new concrete Harbour ….permenantly.
keep pressing them cns……you put the other media houses in cayman to shame….
China? Hmmmmm…..I think they have ATMs there, too. Just like Las Vegas.
Looks like we need a "Foreign" Minister. lol.
In the immortal words of Mel Brooks in History of the World — Part I, "It's good to be the King".
Nothing further to add.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha………………………………oh, & by the way hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! What a joke.
Ignorant MF meeting?
Thank you for giving us the facts!