CG: Airport delay due to Mac
(CNS): The new tourism minister blamed his predecessor on Tuesday for the delay in starting the much needed redevelopment of the airport, as well as for the cruise berthing facilities. Cline Glidden told audiences at the PNA public meetings this week that McKeeva Bush was behind the delay where the board spent more than 12 months trying to avoid following the proper tendering process and attempting to persuade the Central Tenders Committee that the airport project should go to a specific company. On taking up the ministry, Glidden said he found that this project, one that could be financed directly as the airport has the funds, was delayed by a determination for a specific company to get the work.
Glidden told a West Bay audience on Monday that he found the reason that had been presented for avoiding putting the project to tender was because Bush believed it would take too long to go through the proper process and following the Public Management and Finance Law. Instead, Glidden revealed, he took more than a year trying to persuade the authorities that it was a special case and should have a sole bidder.
As a result of this inexplicable position, Glidden said, the redevelopment of the airport, which is badly needed and could have started many months ago creating hundreds of jobs for local workers, will only now begin with the tendering process. He said it was a wasted opportunity that could have boosted the economy and put faith in tourism partners and stakeholders that the Cayman Islands tourism product was improving.
In his latest revelation on the campaign trail, Cline Glidden took credit as the councillor for tourism in helping to boost the air arrival figures to record levels during the UDP administration, which has continued over the last five months, but criticised Bush heavily for the secret cruise port deal and the airport fiasco in his deliberate attempts to evade the lawful process.
Speaking to the people of Bodden Town on Monday night, Glidden said that the system could sometimes be frustrating but trying to avoid it is far worse. The PNA candidate said it was down to poor leadership and bad political decisions that the country was still waiting for both the cruise berthing facilities and the airport redevelopment instead of having hundreds of people in solid jobs.
Glidden said that he had now set in motion the tendering process for both the cruise and airport projects, which, if he was returned to office and regained the ministry, would continue as the CTC had been clear that the projects must go out to competitive tender — a point that had been made to the former premier.
On the other hand, he told the West Bay audience on Tuesday, Bush and his party were promising to spend almost $10 million in the first six months of a UDP administration giving as many as 1,600 unemployed people work cutting bush on the road. Glidden said that temporary roadside clean-ups at Christmas were one thing but the people of Cayman deserved realjobs, not hand outs.
Taking the fight directly to his former colleagues in the UDP, and in particular the party leader, Glidden also criticised Bush over another discovery in the ministry. He said the people employed as rangers directly through the Ministry of Tourism for Barkers should have been employed by the parks and recreation unit. However, the former minister had manipulated the situation to make those people think their jobs were dependent on Bush being re-elected. But they were government workers and Bush did not control their livelihoods, he said.
Glidden was not the only one lifting the curtain on the former UDP administration, of which he and his PNA colleagues were all a part. Dwayne Seymour, the new community affairs minister who is hoping to regain his Bodden Town seat with the PNA, confirmed the long-held speculation that Bush had told the party caucus that he had to delay the implementation of the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, so he could sign the deal with China Harbour Engineering Company before he was obligated to follow the processes in the framework.
Category: Politics
Dont waste money on a fancy terminal.
Tourists just want to get in and out of there asap! They don't care that much about the airport facility once its clean, cool, somewhere to sit down, a bite to eat (this could be improved), and the process is as fast as possible.
Don't waste money on a hugely expensive brand new terminal when some major renovations will do.
Focus money extending the run way so we can get morelong haul flights from Europe in.
Mr. Glidden you have had 4 years to stand up and do the right thing and represent your country and your people and you chose not to do so. It is all too late as you have shown us how XXXX non transparent and spineless you really are in standing by and doing nothing. Hopefully your days of the abuse of public office and your benefits from your conflicts of interest and business with Dart are over as you have done little for the country XXXX. No point in speaking up or spilling the beans now.
No wonder we're broke. The departments of the government that actually earn their keep and make a profit are encouraged to find ways to spend the cash rather than contribute to the pot. Meanwhile they gaze out of their control towers to our national airline that the public has to sponser to the tune of >$10mln a year. Imagine running your household like that!
The airport is the governments second biggest earner after
HM Customs. Yet even the laborers of Port authority and CuC make more than
The airport staff who are even short staffed. They should
Be ashamed of themselves working those people like that.
Mmmm… do you happen to work at the airport by chance?
Yes you are wrong, to the best of my knowledge the CIAA is self supporting. Where did you get this info from?
Is it possible that the airport deal was 'held-up' 'delayed' because there was some land that needed 're-zoning'?
What you need is 1000 ft more runway. Worry about the terminal later.
Ok Cline. You have made it abundantly CLEAR that you KNEW ALL about what Mac was doing but you chose NOT to sound any Bells. You also stood by for ONE YEAR knowing what McKeeva was doing to circumvent the Laws and Due Process only to give that Airport Project to some 'SPECIAL' foriegn company and you didnt REPORT IT???
Ok we, the Electorate of West Bay will make you a deal. Please UNRAVEL ALL that you Know that McKeeva was doing while he was Premier as well as any terms before that. We want you to turn up the FLAMES under his a$$. We want this turkey COOKED. You hear me? When we Stick a fork in his a$$… he'll be COOKED.!!!
West Bayers, are you taking note? Are you going to be represented again by some people who have no respect for you, no concern for you and who can not even stand up to ONE man? Are the people who can not get one project done without any contoversy or self serving agend to built this country for your future? Is this really what you want to be represented by? Do you really want to be held down and continue to live in misery with escalating cost, corruption and crime so that a few can enrich themselves? Is this worth it for you just to get a little handout here and there?
Thinks about what you are doing come May 22nd!
Just like he is and has been aware of all of the corruption on the board but will not acknowledge it or take action because elections are so close. One word comes to mind – pathetic!
Delay due to Mac……not being able to find the "right" contractor.
Hog Wash !… Now he and the rest of them are looking for the symphony vote… I THINK NOT. GO HOME AND STOP WASTING GOOD OXYGEN.
No S–T Sherlock! And this kind of Governance will continue if the UDP is elected again! Please wake up Cayman! Can we really go through another 4 years like the 4 years we just went through? Anyone voting or supporting the UDP, is in my opinion, either on the "take" or might as well not be living!
Not just UDP but also ex-UDP, conveniently turned PNA, likely to return to UDP if treated favourably and rewarded with a ministry!
Now it's all coming out. The suspicions of many citizens, and the media, are proving to be accurate. The question now is.. why didn't the UDP administration do anything.. to stop it? These revelations come at a time when it appears they are all too convenient for those UDP members hoping to get re-elected albeit under a different title.
I would be very suspicious of their morales and motives.
Pna Absolutely coward! Someone these islands don’t need!
PROUD CAYMANIAN
We don't need the UDP, PNA, some of the Independents or C4C(who are UDP). All decievers, who threw us under the Bus. Theelectorate is smarter, can read between the lines and will vote intelligently.
Educated fools following the leadership of an uneducated fool! Now we see why this country is in such a mess.
VOTE THEM ALL OUT. The LEARNERS cant possibly do any worse.
i tought they knew nothing about the china harbour deal , John seymour just confirmed they are lying about that mess , why didn’t these so call men fight for the betterment of the country in the heat of the battle , instead of trying to place the blame on 1 person when they all played a part, guilty by association and playing along with the plan . no one held guns to their heads.
Wa shocking, first they said they did not see nothing, hear nithing but could speak a lot, and now Bush said this and Bush said that. Whats going on here is this some silly schhol boy game or what?. They all knew what was going on , but too busy minding their own thing and doing their own thing and now its open season on whoever can defeat them.
We need men and women not boys and girls to run our country.
We had nine Jackasses in the government race and not one could beat the other.
All this finger pointing is tiresome and unproductive.
The past is the past.
Now what are you going to do in the future to make things right?
Vote PPM!!!!!
Please explain then how the Brac airport job has been stopped. A contract was awarded and started and then stopped and now nothing is happening.
Snake in the Bush.
That's the way he has always done business for years, but sorry Bushie those days are now in the past. Honesty, integrity and accountability have now surfaced. Sorry Bobo.
Hey CG your heart is pure and your hands are clean too? funny how everything is to be blamed on Big Mac. Don't get me wrong I'm no supporter of UDP or PNA but please admit to yourself and the people of these beautiful islands that you are just to blamed! Shame on you whilst we the people were suffering, you promised to take care of us and our country instead you went to school got you higher education on our payroll and did absolutly nothing but taxed the crap out of us. So go ahead and try to save your own hydes now but we are not a stupid nation. 20 days remaining and counting. God bless our beautiful islands!
I am 69 years old and remember back to when the Capt. Charles, Mr. Berkley, Mr. Willie Farrington, Mr. Warren Conolly, etc., all ran the Cayman Islands for the people of the Cayman Islands. They were, by no means, above reproach, because nobody is perfect, but the things going on in our country now, would make them all turn in their graves. The former Premier should not be allowed to run for office again, untill he has XXX. Thanks to his lack of integrity, he has caused the cost of living to go higher than it has ever been, The police should be looking at the new UDP team for the culprits in the defamation of other people's campaign billboards. At least, at the last election, a certain member of his party only handed out cards with instructions on how pwople should vote. I hope our Police Officers keep their eye on the polling stations in George Town and West Bay.
Interesting how we (the people of these islands and your employers) are now just hearing this. I wonder if this was ever going to come to light had it not been for an election year. My my that was a mighty BIG bus that PNA members were thrown under and stayed under even longer, but I guess one should not expect anyone thrown under a bus to get up again !!!. PNA members have surely beaten those odds cause they are up, about and moving along just fine.
If the top (head of the party) of the stream is dirty, the tributaries are filthy. Figure that out.
It is amazing how the bubble has burst and the inside is revealed to the people at this late stage. Voters do what you know to do best, and clean house.
Curious, If the Airport has the money why is it that it cost the CIG nearly 20 Million a year to keep it going or am I wrong about this…
airport=one thing, airline=different thing
Why would you ask a stupid question and then enquire it you were right or wrong?
Again, this all shows that UDP and PNA cannot be trusted to follow proper process. And even when some (or all) are aware of wrong doings, they remain quiet until it suits their personal interests to speak up (aka electioneering).
All UDP and PNA need to go!
There are no more excuses that these ex-UDP now PNA "ministers" can give to explain why they never once put our country's welfare and reputation before their own selfishness. They just succumbed everytime to the bullying tactics of Bush to keep their own nice little jobs. Being an MLA ,and more so, a Minister carries the responsibility of putting Cayman and its people before anything else.
Let's vote in a lot of new blood in the LA, people with integrity and honesty – what a change that would be!!!
I wish Glidden and crew blurp out these things from long ago like what Ezzard was doing. Now after ridiculously having party loyalty over the people's interest, and you just coming before elections to talk now?!!
So ask yourself, why, consistently, did one man try and force business towards specific contractors?
Why did he do this despite delay and legal action?
Why did he constantly try to avoid due process, even when delay ensued.
A reasonable person might well assume that he was trying gain personally from the contractors concerned!
Why is it that nothing surprises me any more re projects promised but not started by our former premier.Its a pity we still keep this mans name in the public arena as it gets really boring to see and hear about what seems like an every day occurance..We need to move on to a more positive vein of thinking and put some positives into the future of what happens after this next MOST CRITICAL election.People think long and hard before marking those ballots with your X as it is the future of these islands that is at stake and IF we do not get it right this time around then a bleak future faces us all but more so our new and upcoming generations.Lets stop this selfish way of dealing with the way we run this country.
Reading this… I was proud of him. For the first six paragraphs!
GET OUT!!!!!
Funny to hear the minister admit that the airport has the money to do the redevelopment on its own..
When at work its a different story from our bosses saying that we don’t have money and that’s why we are understaffed and underpaid. Mr. Minister if you read this I ask u to please take a closer look and you will see what I’m saying is true. We need more staff if u want to give jobs to caymanians this is where u can start. And please I beg u.. Get us some more money please.
Could quid pro quo be getting in the way in which the worst Premier was trying to conduct business? Just asking a question here? People must realize “when their in officetoo long it is not about YOU”. People enter public office mostly with good intentions. But when special influences have their ear, the good of the people go to the back of the line quickly. Also, there are some that aren’t that smart in the first place and that is why we need fighters not dummies.
i wish none of the pna will be re-elected….. they are the most worthless spineless cowards this side of the udp……..
Has anyone else noticed how noisey the chickens are right now??? All you hear is them running around sqawking and clucking, tut-tutting all and sundry not realsing that they are behaving in exactly the same manner themselves…
To a lot of people, knowing Bush's track rec, I dont think think this will be a surprise to many.
I remember at one point during the Cohen financing deal fiasco the same Cline Glidden touting "substance over process" as to why the Central Tenders Committe was bypassed.
why do we need to tender – let the airport authority build this. They have over 10 million. Caymanian people need to own this and the port. Listen to Bo Miller.
Bush and his party were promising to spend almost $10 million in the first six months of a UDP administration giving as many as 1,600 unemployed people work cutting bush on the road.
If they can find enough money for another 128 people, they could be called the Dirty Dozen Gross Bush Whackers.
We get it CG, everything bad is Mac's fault and anything good is down to you.
I believe all of the things that CG says is true, except the part about him only finding out after taking over the Ministry.
Weird. Cline Glidden is now all of a sudden an honest man. Where were you for the last 4 years and why was this not brought up earlier. Throwing Mckeeva under the bus now will get you nowhere my friend. Its too late.
It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone with a pulse that CG (and all of the other UDP puppets) blindly followed orders from Mac for the last 12 years. Now they are speaking out to try and save themselves. They don't care about the Cayman Islands, all they are interested in is keeping high paying part time jobs so they can line their own nests. All this talk is making them look like idiots and confirming the rumors that Mac was running everything all along. Please do tell us some more stories so we have all of the facts about how poorly you have represented the people of the Cayman Islands so we can get rid of you all and have a fresh start. Do they really think the voters are stupid enough to believe any of this crap?
XXXX
CG has your US citizenship issue been resolved? Did you sign the declaration following your nomination? Clearly the law needs to be changed so that the declaration candidates need to sign is mandatory and is subject to penalties of perjury if false.
PS – CG I hope you don't have any bank accounts at FCIB.
CG should at least confirm to us that he has been filing tax returns every year, and paying all taxes due. It would be terrible to read of a CI Govt. Official being pulled out of a line at Miami airport for tax evasion. That kind of news story would go viral. I deserve to know so I know what risk I would take were I to vote for him.
Lets her who was going to get the contract and a lot of things will fall in place, HQ, favorably radio station for accussed criminals to attack citizens, lets get it all out. The truth will set us free.