LA business drags on
(CNS): Updated — The problem of being a minority government was highlighted on Friday when government lost the vote to sit late into the evening in the Legislative Assembly in order to rush through a list of bills before the country’s parliament is formally prorogued Tuesday ahead of the forthcoming May General Election. With what appears to be an ever growing agenda of business in the face of increasingly late starts, long lunches, adjournments and the swapping around of the order paper, government was still faced with a very long list to deal with Friday evening, but with no support to sit late, it was forced to adjourn and reconvene Monday morning to more problems and delays.
The MLAs actually got going by 10:30 Monday, an almost record breaking early start for this administration, which has been notorious for very late starts, long breaks and late night marathon sittings when it suited the government’s agenda.
The former UDP members now in Cabinet, however, learned what it means to be a minority government when they were voted down by the opposition, the independents and the former UDP 'opposition to the opposition', who all untied against government when it attempted to hold a late night session Friday.
A suspension to the standing order which governs the time that the House is supposed to sit moved by the deputy premier was voted down and, as a result, the parliament was adjourned while an order paper, which includes a number of controversial bills, was left only partially dealt with.
Although members managed to get the mental health legislation through its second reading Monday morning and begin the debate on the immigration amendment bill, which is not supported by the independents or opposition, the legislators broke for lunch at 1pm. The members made it back in the hour allocated in order to resume the proceedings a little after two o'clock Monday afternoon but technical problems with the recording equipment stalled the business further.
The government manged to push through almost a dozen pieces of legislation before the adjournment debate began when members made their last speeches for this parliament. Legislators spoke well into the night about the last four years, before the LA was finally adjourned, after midnight,ahead of is dissolution by the governor Tuesday.
Category: Politics
Oh boy, we now have 4 groups, Cayman:
THE UNITED DEMOCRATIC PARTY,
THE PEOPLE'S PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT,
THE COALITION FOR INDEPENDENTS; and now,
THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE…
I just hope voters see that it is CHARACTER and not party, labels, personalities, and this "vote straight" nonsense I am hearing from these groups. Last time we voted straight and see what happened… you had an LA house that couldn't work together and McKeeva was calling the shots. They sang vote straight under PPM too and you had a house where Kurt and Alden was making all the decisions. It's follow the leader and no debates and willingness to listen to the other members of the house. So I can only hope that the voters see through these groups andelect people who are HUMBLE, yes of HUMBLE CHARACTERS. People who will listen and try to understand the NEEDS of their community and the island as a whole.
LEADERS WHO WILL NOT PLACE MONEY AND GAIN OVER THE PEOPLE AND PRINCIPLES!
And that is why my vote is going to Independents of no party affiliation but to represent their district. And if I can't vote for an Independent who will stand for his district and no one else, then it would have to be C4C the lesser of the 4 evils. I personally do not like the two parties, and I don't like NPA. I rather someone who is Independent for the people and by the people.
All existing parties currently elected should be put into one party and avoided like the plague (a bit like the toxic bank debt programme in the US and other areas in 2008). It should be named "Cayman United National Treasures". Sounds alright, looks alright, and only has one use, and they should all be used in such fashion to the extent they abused Cayman..
And the initials of the new party??? :)))
Making more than 10k a month !!
Absolutely disgusting . . . . . .
And getting pension already also, double that up
Bush, Eden and Tibbets are the ones that do that.
The current MLAs, udp, ppm and independents have effectively sent the message that Friday happy hour is more important than debating the country’s issues in the LA.
In these times when our economy is at a low there is no interest in working overtime. Now these MLAs are going to try to convince you and me how hard they will work to fix things if re-elected. Nonsense! Let’s get each and every one of them out come may.
No, I think you’re wrong. The current MLAs (non-ministers) have sent the message that they will not allow a government to push through eleventh hour, ill-thought out bills. In the past, governments have often pushed through legislation before the house disolves for elections only to have to change these same laws once a new government have been elected…sometimes the decisions have been irriversible. So I THANK the Opposition, all of them, for not allowing that to happen this time.
Really? You try showing up to work at 10:30 and then go for a 2 hour lunch, leave at 4:30 and see how long you keep your job. This is not acceptable, period.
I did not say that they had to pass all the bills as you imply but I do expect them to work more than 4 hours a day.
especially when their pay is more than a US Senator or Congressman
Bush's old paycheck was more than the US President earns net of taxes, for governing 30,000 times less people!
What part of,
if they actually SHOWED up for work ON TIME, worked a regular work day and only took one hour for lunch, they wouldn't need to push through things at the 11th hour,
dont' you get??
And how is that the Opposition members fault? No! Because it is the GOVERNMENT members who rule the roost! IF the GOVERNMENT members brought the motions before (or whenever for that matter) and they have the majority of votes of the MLAs PRESENT in the LA they would pass the bills without need for opposition votes. So don’t get it twisted it is the fault of the UDP and now the NPA.
Where did you see that I said it was the oppositions fault?? …its ALL their faults…NOT ONE of them is standing up and saying, Let's get to work early, take an hour for lunch, work until 6 and go home and do it all over again tomorrow…they are ALL overpaid, underworked BABIES
Aaahhh why not be long? It is the last hurrah for many of them yah know. Maybe they just want to take time to marvel at the construction of the building and make mental notes of their time while in there. Am sure it will be great stories to reminisce about with the grandkids. So as with anybody running their last legs, this time was well delayed. (cue sad song).
Those late night sessions were very productive – fixed my insomnia anyways.
If the same politicians are voted back into office I really fear for the future of the country. Re branding the PPM to the Progressives is meaningless and their answers sounded like a joke as reported by Cayman 27.
For God's sake voters don't put the ones back into power that got us here.
After three hours of listening to Foolio make his last ever statement in the LA, I bet they all needed to escape.
Hysterical. The people of the Cayman Islands actually believe that they have democracy? Nothing could be further from the truth. Be prepared to give up your rights for 4 more years of bullshit. Can we not see? We are beeing fooled into thinking that we have a choice, but our choice is damned if you do and damned if you don't. There is only one democracy. When the people vote, every time on every issue and the votes are not counted by liars and thieves. Wake up Caymanians or lose your country.
shambolic incompetence to the end….
And these people claim to represent us? Not even at the start of an election campaign can they actually sit and pass anything useful…but they still all manage to say "this bill needs passing, that one too"'….the words "brewery", "organise" and "pi** up" come to mind. Disgraceful, notone of them seserves to represent Caymanians.
It seems lke they are just trying to drag each other down. Nothing will ever get done – none of them deserve to be there. Disgraceful.
I wish they would cancel the TV program until after the Election when they will be able to appoint a new Speaker. The one they have now is like, pop-corn up and down- up and down. After all this time she is still fulmbling!!
I can't say I had high hopes for the Speaker, but I had some hope she would be decent. But truthfully, having watched her on television, she is terrible, completely out of her league. It's an embarrassment to the country. Very sad.
You are so correct. Now consider this. 10 years of a downward spiral.
Our forefathers worked together for the betterment of these Islands.
when we elected independent thinkers our Islands thrived.
Our democracy was founded by independent thinkers.
who built this country from "the Islands that time forgot" to it;s hey-day in the 1990's
and made us the leaders in the region.
They introduced the legal system, religion, education, tourism, telecommunications,
electricity and finance just to name a few.
Their main goals were to develop a prosperous country for all, Not to divide into party lines as is being done now.
We must get back to thinking and voting for candidates who have the ability and desire
for 1 country and 1 people,
put the country 1st. and the people will prosper.
We cannot continue to allow career politicians to divide us for their own selfish reasons.
Let's saves these beautiful Islands, it must be done now,
record unemployment, record debt a fiscal crisis because of incompetent management,
people suffering all around us for lack of jobs that do not pay a livable salary, on and on I could go.
Will you re-hire the Managers that ran your company into bankrupcy, no you will not,
think of these Islands as your company your children's future, their home. Now do the right thing and i suggest return none, no not 1.