LA Budget date changed

(CNS): Legislative Assembly officials have announced that the budget meeting will now take place on 26 May providing that the UK gives the finance minister the nod for his 2014/15  spending plan. The official notification of the State Opening & Budget Meeting of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly was sent via email to members on Wednesday evening indicating that the House will now meet to deal with the government's second budget a week on Monday and not next Wednesday as had been expected. Ezzard Miller the MLA for North Side said that members were given just twenty-four hours to submit motions and questions for the meeting which he said was unacceptable.

The formal letter sent by the LA to members of the country's parliament on Wednesday said Parliamentary Questions and Motions had to be submitted before 5pm today, Thursday 15 May as a result of the standing order requirement that these have to be handed to the Clerk no later than ten days notice prior to the commencement of the Meeting.

Miller said this was even worst than the last government and despite the election promises of the PPM government to restore the integrity of parliament they were also "treating it like a fish shop". He said that the email was sent out from the LA at 5-40pm on Wednesday evening giving members less than twenty four hours which was unacceptable.

The independent representative said it made it impossible for him to do his job properly as he pointed out he had arranged to meet constituents this evening to discuss some issues that would have led to a possible motion or questions but now he said he will not be able to help them in this meeting as the deadline has come and gone before members.com have had anytime to consider what they need to submit.

'This is worse than its ever been," he said, adding that as bad as things were under the UDP the Speaker would allow questions and motions to be submitted after the deadline though he conceded that was wrong. 

"We have to get to the point where the speaker sets the four meetings of the parliament for the year and ministers then should work towards those dates," as he berated the arbitrary approach that the current government was taking to meetings when they had criticized the previous administration for behaving the same way.

Although the premier had made an attempt to set a parliamentary timetable it was only three dates and in the end they were changed.

Miller also pointed out that had the former premier, Mckeeva Bush not changed the law to give his UDP government until the eleventh hour to deliver their budgets, the PPM, who had objected to that change at the time when they were in opposition, would also have been a month late with their 2014/15 spending plan. Miller railed against what he said was the continued disrespect forthe Legislative Assembly and by implication the country's democratic system.