Alden begins work on Cabinet
(CNS): The new premier in waiting was working with his team on Friday shaping the new government, which will have seven Cabinet ministers. However, Alden McLaughlin remained tight-lipped on how he would be putting together his new PPM government in order to secure a majority of ten, having won nine out of 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Faced with many options for securing a majority government, he told CNS that he could not reveal the likely shape of the new ruling group until he had sat down with his entire team and begun the discussions.
However, with such a great selection of well-educated and experienced people returned to office, the PPM leader said the hardest part would be selecting the Cabinet when there were only seven seats.
“We are in discussions about what form the government is going to take,” he said. “This is an incredibly able team and the greatest challenges is assigning ministries and who goes into ministerial roles,” he said, adding that the country would know soon what shape it would take, what the new ministries would be and who would hold them.
Although he gave nothing away on Friday, McLaughlin has an array of options in front of him, including offering Tara Rivers a Cabinet post so that he not only has a bright woman on his team but he will also be able to provide West Bay with government representation, an issue that McLaughlin himself had raised in the past as a specific problem with the 2005 -2009 PPM government.
McLaughlin made it very clear he was exceptionally impressed with Rivers' achievements but fell short of stating that he would be offering her a job.
“I am delighted that Tara Rivers broke into the UDP West Bay strong hold in a significant way,” he said, pointing out that this was more than scraping through. “She almost beat him (McKeeva Bush),” he said, regarding Rivers position as second elected member in West Bay, only 100 votes behind the political veteran and eight term representative for the district.
If Rivers chooses to go the way of her other C4C colleagues, however, and sit on the opposition benches with Bush and the other UDP candidates, McLaughlin has other options to secure his majority. He could also select the speaker from any of the other nine candidates returned, with the obvious choice being Ezzard Miller. But if the North Side member prefers to remain in his south-east corner, the job could go to Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. In addition, the former PPM stalwart who left the party last year, Arden Mclean, could be tempted back to the fold with a Cabinet job or even the speaker position. The only choice McLaughlin is unlikely to make for the speaker’s job is Bush.
However, the lesson from the past parliament has been a clear one, that a speaker for the Legislative Assembly needs to come from the ranks of past or present politicians as the inexperience of the previous speaker led to significant and constant problems with the proceedings and the overall democratic process.
Whichever choice McLaughlin and his team finally make, and depending on who is willing to accept what the Progressive leader offers to secure his government, he must then work out who would be best suited to a Cabinet job from his own team and which ones. With seven ministers now in the government, he must also decide how to construct the new ministries and then who will lead them.
The one Cabinet seat that can be called is that the new deputy premier, Moses Kirkconnell, is likely to take the tourism ministry. It is not clear what that will be coupled with though the obvious choice would be district administration.
In addition, McLaughlin was not willing to be drawn on how he would shape his own ministry, though an educated guess would lead, of course, to education and employment. McLaughlin is very unlikely to retain the finance ministry, especially given the brain power he has in that department among his team, with the likes of Wayne Panton and Marco Archer, who are major contenders for the job.
McLaughlin described the PPM mixed team of newcomers and political veterans as the as the wisest and most experienced bunch of politicians he could have hoped for, so he is likely to make full use of the team. With the new government set to be sworn inon Wednesday, McLaughlin said he was hoping to have the shape of the new Progressives administration and speaker’s job settled before the end of the weekend.
Reflecting on the result, the new leader spoke of the huge challenges the PPM had faced during the campaign, but ultimately, he said, the team did very well and he was delighted with the result. He believed that in the end the concept of party politics was what gave the Progressives an advantage.
“The people understand importance of organization and structure and of having a plan as well as the personalities to provide good government. It is not enough to just have good people; they have to commit to a particular plan and a set of policies,” he said. “What has caused us to prevail is the consistent and coherent message about what we will do as a team.”
Pointing to the collective and agreed policies on how the new government will tackle the economy, jobs and how it will restore confidence in Cayman and its governance, he said the people had accepted that the PPM were able to form a government of integrity.
“I think clear message was an absolute rejection of the previous admin and all those that were involved in the corruption, mismanagement and all the divisiveness and disunity that particular party had come to symbolize,” he said about the UDP and the splinter PNA. He pointed to what Wayne Panton had described as the rejection in Bodden Town of the UDP and the PNA on basis that they “all had same DNA”.
Although the coalition and the independent candidates hadtried to lump parties together, McLaughlin said the PPM was simply not the same, as demonstrated by its formation, constitution and its seamless change of leadership. He said there was wide party support but he acknowledged that the PPM had shared votes with the C4C.
Moses Kirkconnell also spoke about the modernization and the professionalization of the PPM campaign and the way it had reached out across the community and delivered its message through modern social media tools as well as the more traditional methods of the public hustings and billboards. As a result, the party had been able to reach and engage all groups in the community, the deputy premier in waiting added.
“However, we spent a lot of time on the ground talking directly with voters face to face about the issues,” he said, as he reflected on the great result for the PPM and party politics.
Category: Politics
10:56 – Give me a brake, Tara need to take what they are offering her, becuase we will not have anyone to assist West Bay.
Good gesture to the people of West Bay, the ppl who voted the UDP in can now see their faith and future.
Tara please accept and lets move on. Remember a by-election may be coming so be very careful Tara.
So, you are suggesting that Tara go against the principles on which she ran and join Alden and PPM when she said very clearly that she was against party politics? I expect her to stand for what she believes in, the platform she ran on and not compromise her principles and integrity. If Alden meant what he was saying last evening then he would have sat down and had a professional meetng with all of the independents, listened to their concerns and formed a true coalition government. Stick to your principles Tara!
I agree that tara should accept the Ministerial Position> she does not have to join the PPM.
Unfortuneately Roy McTaggart and the C4C backers will not let her. If she does, Roy has no chance of becoming the leader of the Opposition. Its that simple.
Roy, Ezzard, Arden, and Winston make 4 to McKeeva's 3. After failing to decide the makeup of Cabinet, he must have figured out "greater than" and "less than" by now.
You r missing the point. the UDP will be the largest group on the Opposition benches and Ezzard and and Arden will not vote for a newby to be Leader of Opposition. You clearly are niaive yusseff!!
Roy has no chance of becoming Leader of the Opposition, period, because C4C is not a registered party. Unfortunately this will fall to McKeeva as the leader of the only registered party in Opposition.
Lmfao @ Joey Ebanks for speaker!!!!!
Before any C4C MLAs become ministers I want to know who fundedtheir very expensive campaign. There are lots of rumours about who has taken over the Compass. If it's the same people that are behind C4C then it looks like someone is buying assurances that they get what they want.
I didntknow Leggatt was an MLA?
I think you mean David Legge, the new front man of the Compass, publisher of the Grand Caymanian magazine, notable for its cheesy society pages.
Lots of rumours about the Compass. Some say Dart, some say a bunch of businessmen, some of them with strong C4C connections. We won't know until they come clean about it.
Alden please do the right thing and put the ego and party aside and put country first. For the frst time in history there is an educated and experienced group of members to choose from. Please select those who are qualified and capable in the ministerial positions, not just those who ran on your coat tails.
I’m sorry I cannot believe you are so ignorant to make such a comment. From the sounds of it you have not been Caymanian long enough to know our history and yes we had very educated ministers before the C4C. I am a professional and voted for PPM. I know I made the right decision as I now fully understand the sense of entitlement of the C4C, the arrogance, the deception and the power hunger of the C4C and their handlers. Somehow you believe our votes don’t really count and all that matters is the C4C obtains its objective, Whatever the cost – including bartering with the UDP, Ezzard and Arden to gain control of Cabinet. Yes I think I made the right choice and hope they are exposed for who they are and what they are.
From the comments made at the press conference about the demands of the C4C even after the PPM had a majority, I would say that the C4C have now been exposed and this is just the beginning! The handlers are the worst, pressing for power even in the face of defeat because they cannot accept that they in essence lost. At this stage I am aghast that the Country waits on Tara Bush including Ozzy Boddens appointment. Can’t we just get on with business and leave those spoiled brats In the C4C to determine who will be their leader of the opposition.
Yes if had done that he wouldn't have to con Tara just so his party could have a chance in West Bay, but we know Alden, he is too power hungry.
Question for the new MLAs:
Regardless of one's position on the issue of "OneManOneVOte" how can a government retract the results of a national Constitutional Referendum on the issue, without first having a new referendum to decide what the PEOPLE want – again?
If a new referendum is held, there should also be an option for National Voting for Cabinet/Premier.
In fact, to save costs and to clarify the public's wishes, the top major issues of the day should be posed as questions during each General Election. Eg Dump / dock / Trutle Farm etc…
These CNS comments indicate one thing — we the people need a FORMAL way to collate our guidance/suggestions to our MLAs.
Where are the District Councils – these could be vital in this role!
District Councils should not be too hard to find. Why don't you go to the MLA or MLA's in your district and ask about it? If for whatever reason you do not want to talk/associate with those elected MLA/MLA's then ask around? If you are on the Brac and need information about the District Council for the 1st Elected Member/Deputy Premier you should contact Miss Liz Walton. Her work e-mail is lizw.bracmla@candw.ky. I am unaware of the office e-mail address for our 2nd Elected Member/Speaker of the House, but her assistant is Ms. "Levonne" Ryan and her office number is 948-0601. Hope this helps.
Save money: Why not use a current MLA as Speaker?; We now have 3 more, and this would reduce one mega-salary which would be paid if we hire a non-MLA Speaker!
Also, can we not put caps on their salaries / pensions / credit cards?
Why do we allow the MLAs to vote themselves these benefit$$$ ?
Anon 1405 I agree fully with you.
And seeing that the PPM requires one more vote to control the house that position might be offered to.
As for who will be minister of this and that and the involvement of the C4C, tell me would Mac or any other politician give such a position outside his party?
I see the ministers all coming from the PPM unless it involves that last vote that they need to control the house.
I see Alden, Moses, Anthony, Marco and Wayne as the five ministers. Or do they need more this year?
They need seven dear and Alden said you have Ossie for one. lol
If West Bay is going to have a representative in Cabinet it should be Tara Rivers.
I hope the PPM has the courage to offer Tara a cabinet seat and that Tara has the strength to accept it. If she doesn't it will indicate that her commitment is to her funders at C4C instead of her constituents.
That would be very unfortunate.
I am happy with the election result.
Cayman now has a good chance at putting its house in order.
The only downside is that without the UDP buffoons in power, CNS will lose much of its entertainment factor.
Alden….Kurt……Moses…..
This is my personal plea to you.
I hear what C4C has said they they will not for a government with Alden. Alden the problem is THE PEOPLE OF CAYMAN many of us believe you have a big head. We still support you BUT we know this.
What you must do in forming your governent is to form it without them and with them all at once…
Give your ministerial seats to your team but try to include C4C team members on various boards and committees as a measure to mend fences and to SHOW US ALL THAT PPM IS FOR OPEN AND HONEST GOVERNMENT…
To me this will win you points with everyone includind C4C.
My belief is that we are at a time in our history where we need to get the most bang for our buck. We have seated 18 members in our LA and what we don't want is for 50% or thereabouts to be basically DEAD WEIGHT. I would STRONGLY suggest you incorporate as many members of the independents and even the PNA as you can. You know UDP is not going to play ball but the rest will if you approach them correctly.
Explain carefully that you do not wish to change them and you are not doing this for any other purpose than to get the best for the Cayman Islands that you can get. You recognise that they all have talents and abilities that could be put to good use and you want to also do this to offer them the experience because one day it will be them running the government and you want to know they have the experience necessary to do it effectively and you do this at personal risk to your party so saying that they must understand this is a peace offering so we can all work for the better of the Cayman Islands.
I ask you to SERIOUSLY consider this.
C4C I also appeal to you to put down your knife. This is about the Cayman Islands and not about PPM or UDP or C4C. This was in your "manifesto" and slogan that you are for the Cayman Islands. Now it's time to put up or shut up. No one wants to make you PPM we just want this country moving forward. I believe we all can agree that we have a lot of work to be done and a short time to do it in. The more we fight the less we achieve.
As a citizen of the Cayman Islands and a voter in this Election this is my plea to both of you. Stop the fighting and bickering. Stop caring about whether this one is a party or a group or a collective or a coalition or whatever. The one thing we all are is Caymanians and at this time our country and its wellbeing is at stake. Let's go about the people's work.
I would also ask that you all take a creaful look at Bo Miller's Fund suggestion and forget who suggested it only look at it with an open mind. I believe it has merit.
Sincerely,
A Voter, A Caymanian…..YOUR BOSS!!!
Never forget….Never ever forget…..You work for us….The People of the Cayman Islands!!!
Dred I wonder how many of the C4C and their followers would be singing a similar song if the C4C had taken control of the house?
Dont forget its the C4C that came outright and said they would not support this government nor the UDP.
The only exceptable way for the C4C (Party thats not a party) was for them to lead the country.
Now after the Caymanian people have spoken so loudly by voting so many PPM members in, now those that did not get any power from the people want power.
How typical. And you try to put his forward by saying it has to be done in the ebst interest of Cayman.
Here is a problem for you. Say the PPM gets someone outside the party to be a minister. Now the people have put in the PPM in part because of what they promised the people. Whoever that outside choice is has to recognise that and be careful of going otuside of the PPM's plans.
If PPM choses Tara they will drive a significant wedge in the UDP West Bay Bastion. They will set themselves up to completely remove the rest of UDP there in the next election…that is if the UDP party lasts that long.
Really? If Tara hadn't received such great support from the UDP base, I believe UDP would have had straight vote with other female. Those die-hard blind voters must have been convinced they could vote for Tara not Velma…. or hopefully they are looking for change.
I wonder if Tara's former running mate from 2000, Bernie Bush (ran 3 times unsuccessfully now went with UDP and got elected) may also decide to run next election with Tara…as new UDP group since they must have received number of UDP voters??
In my opinion from trends emerging, I think Tara, Bernie, Mervin and Paul Rivers will probably plan new team/new UDP for 2017.
Please, please , please, please if you thought of country first you would not have time to suggest things such as this to make trouble. You must have been trained by the best divider that has ever lived, worked in, or headed up a party (or just simply do nothave the Cayman Islands interest at heart). To the Good people of these beautiful Cayman Islands please stay focussed and avoid the small minded trouble makers, as we appear to now be on the right track. Congrats and please keep up the good work Mr. Mclaughlin, as you are off to a great start and thanks for the time and respect you are giving for Tara and the people of West Bay to confirm a cabinet seat that will benefit us all living here. May our good Lord continue to bless us all and our Beautiful Cayman Islands.
A Plea especially to Mr. Miller & Mr. McLean at this point. Sirs, please do what it take to assist with bringing the Good ship "Cayman" off the reef. Mr. Miller and Mr. McLean I need you two at this stage to remember that many of us including West Bayers were also very influential to your voters in each district that assisted you all returning to office. Therefore we are sending out an S.O.S. for your so needed experience to be brought to the emergency table in having this surgery to become successful. Thanks in advance for your positive help in this new administration.
how about putting OC as speaker of the house.
Alden my advise first and foremost get rid of ken Jefferson. He was responsible for your lost in 2009 still not certain how he came up with his figures during the campaign and after the campaign the numbers were different? Then leave west bay to,west bay clearly they voted Mack back in so they don’t have a clue now or ever. So give up on this district and leave them to their sins.
Now you should take a look at Roy. Albeit I don’t like the man but he did come in second in George Town. Just saying if Kurt retires from politics you might find yourself in a difficult position come the next election. Clearly the people wanted Roy in a significant way. Then look at Chuckie as speaker of the house. He’s a good man with an honest heart.
Just some suggestion my man – good luck!
Roy has said he will not form a coalition with the PPM (at least under Alden's leadership) so that's off the table.
Agreed. The whole situation around Mr. Jefferson handling of the last PPM projections and outcome smells the high heavens. The fact that he messed up as much as he did and was still taken onboard by UDP says a lot about the matter itself and then the extra layer on the top, the cherry if you will was Big Mac saying he would not AUDIT the PPM's last year, in my eyes CEMENTED the fact that UDP messed with the numbers and others were COMPLICIT in that messing around and they wanted it hidden.
The only two worse than Chuckie for SPEAKER woujld be Georgette Myrie or Frank McField.
No, we need Roy (KPMG) to balance our books and reel in thewild spending.
Hearing that the PPMs FIRST statement is to ask UK to borrow MORE money infuriates me! Stop the waste and buildings and educate our people that the construction industry should NOT be an arm of our economy rather it should be a bonus as needed. Teach our youth more than relying on crony contracts to put money in their pockets.
We do NOT have an unemployment problem! We have 2,000 out of work Caymanians and 20,000 work permits!?! I promise you 50% of those permits are well above minimum wage level?
So who is going to stop professional firms' overbillings on government consultancy contracts?
You dont know what you are talking about. World economies use the construction of houses to see how stong the economy. The US economy collapsed basically because housing construction stopped.Money in bank accounts for rich people dont circulate in the economy. money in the construction industry circulates in the middle class economy. Go talk to the large supermarkets, vendors they are not making money and injecting any savings back in to their business to keep employees hired.
Roy is a bean counter who doesn't seem to understand politics or how the little man is hurting out here. We need a cabinet that can make sound policies for the good of all, not just the rich people. Marco for Finance Minister! He understands economics not just balancing books.
Getting rid of the UDP corrupt stranglehold on the economy and blocking the election of those cadidates that should never, ever be positioned within a Cayman mile of any Government post was a great achivement. Howver, the job is not complete until the PPM elect new blood to lead this country forward. Alden had his time as Leader and he does not have an automatic right to impose on us another 4 years of his autocratic style of Government. Times have radically changed and Alden is still Alden. Nice guy but there are better potential leaders in the PPM. Need to take a chance on new blood and move on.
Alden did not make himself leader of PPM. PPM put him there. If we like it you will have to get over it
PPM: Offer Arden a position and select a woman that did not run this election for the speaker. Good choice would be miss Daphne. She knows her stuff. And this would also be a good gesture to the west bay people who won’t have any ministers in cabinet.
West Bay deserves what they get for supporting Herr (ex)Diktater while he ruined the country.
And what exctly is that? Do you realize that West bay is not a state on it's own but a part of this little 8 by 22 mile island and anything that affects us will also affect you.
yeah Aunt sookie for Speaker!!..lol..come on guys????
Alden's new government will not be able to do anything unless and until he sorts out the mess that the senior civil service is in. He needs to meet with the current Governor and the new one who will arrive shortly and insist that the civil service starts operating within the law. If new rules are required to make sure that there are no future repeats of the past 4 years then he needs to make that a priority as well.
The new premier? Are you sure about that? Last time I checked the PPM didn’t have a majority (10) of elected members and the other 9 all seem to have one and only one thing in common, that is the desire to NOT see Alden as the next premier. Maybe you should read Section 49(3) of our constitution and you will see that it is going to be a majority of the elected members of the LA who will appoint the next premier, not a majority of the PPM under Section 49(2). We might be in for a surprise yet!
Words of advice to Mr. McLaughlin, please dont take on the finance ministry as you will already have too much on your plate.
Right now the Cayman Islands has assembled in my humble opinion the most capable group of elected officials in our history, we now have experience and expertise and it would be a great shame if we dont capitalize on this opportunity at such pertinent time in our history.
I believe that the Premier is now surrounded with mature intelligent people. If he is able to be open to debate and discussion and considering the consensus of his peers then Cayman will begin the long road to recovery both economically and socially.
Here are 4 priorities:
1. Remove fuel taxes and lower import duties back to previous levels. This is primary to giving the people more spending power which will produce more government revenue and begin badly needed economic growth.
2. Deal with the voting issues while it is fresh in our minds. Get One Man One vote in place before it is forgotten entirely.
3. Legislate a liveable minimum wage. Studies show that adoption of minimum wages at decent levels do not cause prices to rise but instead they increase the spending power of the public which leads to more demand for goods and services which creates jobs and economic expansion.
4. Get the National Debt under control. Make necessary spending cuts as needed and spend cautiously.
What is Alden going to do with Mr Ken Jefferson and Mr Leonard Dilbert? Both were very closely associated with former Premier Bush and they can hardly be considered as neutral civil servants.
……..Agreed, and while you're at it include the Attorney General who most definitely fits that category.
And agreed there. I especially remember the Mark & John John failure to list their interest and his failure to abide by the legal system making the STUPID and YES I SAID STUPID STATEMENT that it was not in the interest of the people of BT.
My return would be…..so if you can commit a CRIME and because more people profit from it than gain harm then is it okay for me to ROB the rich and give to the poor aka Robin Hood? NO it's a crime it matters not who gains or not. It's simply a crime.
Mark and John John should not have been in the LA Period and its was the Attorney General who turned his back to this. It should not have been needed for Sandra Catron and others to launch a challenge if it broke a law it was for the judicial division to recognise and challenge it themselves.
Implementing the things that need to be done will require sorting out the mess that the UDP made out of the senior civil service. Without an impartial and competent civil service Alden will have an impossible task.
Alden needs to meet with Franz and the Governor and make it very clear to both that he expects the senior civil service to start complying with the law. He also needs to come up with a plan for sorting out the proper role and required qualifications for the Financial Secretary and the Attorney General going forward. He needs to bring all of the misdeeds of the senior civil service over the past few years into the cleansing light of day and to also bring into the light the political interference with the top levels of the senior civil service that facilitated all of the things the senior civil service signed off on for the past administration. Without the participation of the senior civil service most of the crap that happened over the past 4 years could not have happened.
You forget that Franz is also a civil servant. What Alden needs to do is meet with the governor and his successor singularly without the civil servants.
Cut revenue (from fuel duty) AND get the national debt under control? Genius! Why didn’t someone think of that before!?
Oh wait… Because those are ends not means, and they are in diametric opposition. It’s like saying I need to spend less on rent and get a nicer home.
21 thumbs up? Does nobody understand the fundamentals of monetary policy on this island? No wonder the PPM got elected without a single decent idea.
God help us.
ummmm…..didn't anyone tell you that there are two sides to financial statements: expenditure and revenue? Didn't you see where expenditure cuts were suggested? They are not incompatible. Another UDP drone who thinks they know when they know nothing.
Speaker of the House – Gilbert McLean. He is knowledgeable of parlimentary procedures, soft spoken but firm, and most importantly, fair.
Please not Gillie, let him continue growling on Rooster.
The Speaker should come from outside the House, but have the experience to do the job. Past speakers Mary and JuJu should not be considered; likewise past deputy-speaker CG.
In my opinion, the best person for the job would be Georgette Myrie because of her years of experience as the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly. Norman Bodden would be another possibility, but I'm not certain he would take it.
I would like to nominate Joey Ebanks for speaker.
The simplest and most logical choice for Alden is to offer the role of speaker to Arden. Being a seasoned politician he would be very familiar with the workings of the LA and would do a good job. That gives the government a 9-8 majority and although this does not give them much breathing room, with the current state of the country and his stated intention of a more inclusive government it is unlikely that the PPM will be bringing such contentious legislation that they would not be able to garner support of some sort from the opposition bench especially with the large number of independents. No place for Ezzard in the cabinet; leave him to do what he does best from the opposition bench!
While I agree that the Speaker should be a past member of the LA, I do not agree with taking a present member & putting them in that seat, essentially silencing their voice as a representative of the people who elected them as such.
"the lesson from the past parliament has been … that a speaker … needs to come from the ranks of past or present politicians as the inexperience of the previous speaker led to significant and constant problems" – Actually the problem wasn't inexperience but unequel treatment. You can learn quickly but only if you apply the rules as written not as you want them to be.
I think I have a brilliant idea as speaker of the house Mrs Grace Donalds would be the most fair and partial person ever to be Speaker of the House.
I would hope that the real life experience and capabilities of each member would be assessed and ministries assigned based on the talents of each member regardless of whether they are PPM members or not. It should be a no-brainer as to who should have Finance -,Roy!
How will the Leader of the Opposition be chosen? I'd like to see Roy in this role but if Tara moves into a Cabinet position, the C4C will only have 2 seats compared to the UDP's 3 seats. Of course the C4C maintains that they are really independent so it doesn't matter if Tara moves into a Cabinet role. Of course Ezzard has really been the defacto Leader of the Opposition and it may be a natural fit for him to be officially oppointed as such. As always, Mac remains the very wild card….
Once Alden has sorted out his Ministries, he'll have to sort out a chief officer for each one. Unfortunately so many of the current chief officer are only in their post because of favours (ie bending the rules) they granted the previous administrations and as a result they are not likely to support the policies of Alden's new administration. Removing these individuals may be difficult unless evidence of wrong doing is brought forward. Clearly much is 'rotten in the state of Denmark'. Let the investigations begin!
5:40 I bet you could not name even one chief officer who is "only in their post because of favours granted the previous administrations". That is pure marl road nonsense. There is indeed a senior civil servant receiving a huge salary simply because Mac wanted him as his loyalhenchman but he is NOT a chief officer. The new government could bring back Deborah Drummond and Diane Montoya (who Mac disgracefully removed from office) for these new chief officer posts. After all, they are still being paid and have had 4 years of salary with no work.
You might want to take a look at the official findings of the report of the Information Commissioner who found that the senior civil service did not follow published rules for chief officer selection during the past administration. There is more IF the events of the previous 4 years are allowed to come to light. That is a big IF. You have to remember that the senior civil service is not well known for exposing its own wrong doings. They protect their own no matter what the law says.
No, 10;23, YOU look at it again. The Information Commissioner did not say anywhere that chief officers had bent rules and done favours for past administrations, as the original poster alleged. She pointed out technical infringements of the competitive appointment process which nonetheless was carried out with interviews, aptitude tests and problem solving exercises of likely scenarios that a chief officer might have to deal with. As with all competitive processes, there were winners and losers. I very strongly suspect, from your attitude, you are one of the losers.
While I do not know you or the other individual you are replying to, I would like to inform you that while the IC did point out a few things, her job was not to make a judgement on the process/on what actually occured. THE FACT IS, one of those individuals who interviewed and scored very poor; and in fact was in LAST place, was given the post. How fair was that to those who did better and was actually recomended for the post?!
Re "last place". This is a complete lie. Name the person appointed or shut up and stop making allegations that are entirely without foundation.
I don't know if the feminine of Bobo is Baba, but I have to say Bobo/Baba, those of us in the know are well aware of the fact that you are just one person making all these posts and you are the same person disappointed at not being selected as chief officer that appealed to the Information Commissioner and is still passing around misinformation and lies about last placed persons being appointed to the post of chief officer. I wish there WAS an official enquiry because your posts would be exposed for the total nonsense and bitter attitude that they contain and they still would NOT result in you getting the job.
17:56. thank goodness someone knows what is going on here with all these posts alleging wrongdoing in the chief officer appointments and I agree with you that itwould be wonderful to have an official enquiry as it would reveal what is really motivating this bitter poster.
Wow – I am not one of the above posters but I suspect that you must have been one of the senior civil service decision makers or one of the 'chosen' few. I come to that conclusion based on your apparent non-recognition that 'technical infringements' means that the process used did not comply with the law. It is SO typical of some members of the current senior civil service to think that they are completely above the law. Your response shows exactly why the new government needs to do something to get the senior civil service to start following the law.
Actually I can name four, and possibly five, of the appointments during this past administration. Don't lose sight of the fact that a civil service is a rules-based and procedural organisation. The identification of procedural flaws in their appointments, as highlighted ny the Information Commissioner, legally renders their appointment invalid. Alden should start by having an independent and impartial tribunal investigate these appointments for procedural irregularities.
I hope that the "four or possibly five Chief officers" you are talking about does not include one that placed last in the list of individuals that applied for the job, but still got it!!!
Especially his Own Chief Officer and the many contracted "Consultants".. some of whom are already packing their bags.
Agreed. But who is going to scrutinize each of the chief officer and deputy chief officer appointments in the past 4 years as those above that level would have had to be involved? I think we need some outside person to scrutinize what went on and to make sure it is brought to light so that rules can be implemented to make sure that it never happens again.
I too would like to see Tara offered a Cabinet post such as Family Affairs and would like to see the Speakers post offered to CG (Cline Glidden).
PLEASE give the Speakers job to Captain Eugene, we have been waiting years to hear him speak.
Given his lack of involvement from the first time he rode in on Mac's coattail, I suspect the good captain knows as much about parliamentary procedure as a less than average5 year old.
Alden have you lost your senses even contemplating giving Julianna the Speaker's role? It would be criminal to give her any position after the scale of abuse of public monies that she presided over as she paved private driveways in the Brac. Did you ever ask her about her strange views on homosexuals? Let her stew on the bench next to Mac as she presides over her party of one. Thats where she deserves to be.
It's funny you should say that. I have a cabinet that needs fixing. Do you have his number?
Aunt Bessie, West Bay
Keep JOC out of any position please. Ezzard as Speaker is great!!!!
Tara should take Education and Community Affairs… Alden are you man enough?
If Alden/PPM wanted to be truely inclusive he should ask Arden to take a post as Minister of Infrastructure. As a PPM supporter I along with many other PPM supporters would find this to be a positive move. I do not think it is a good idea to throw all of the new commers of the PPM into the seats of Ministers. I understand the wrangling that must be going on right now, but I hope they think long and hard about offering Arden a post in Cabinet.
What I would like to see put in place is a TWO term in . More than that they become stagnant.
My take on an offer, is that Arden and Ezzard are vying for Premier. Are you hearing them say they are seeking Ministerial positions? U din't think so.
Absolutely not. Arden left the PPM party because he wasn’t selected as Leader of the Opposition. He also stated that he does not subscribe to party politics anymore. Why should he even consider rejoining the PPM? If he rejoins the PPM It would be for one purpose only, which is power. He would be no better than Mr. Bush who he claimed has no morals and principles. I must ask you the writer of this blog, why have you singled out Mr. Arden for Minister of Infrastructure? It seems rather strange to me that he is the only one you mentioned.I must conclude that you are representing a special group or yourself and is expecting Mr. Arden to look out for you. If so, then isn’t that also corruption, which is one of the reasons Mr. Arden helped ousted Mr. Bush. I would suggest that Arden be appointed as Speaker of the LA rather than a Minister of Cabinet. That will keep him in check so he doesn’t spend all the country’s money on roads like he did when he was in power the last time, which is part of the reason the country’s finance is now under the control of the FCO and we have to go to them with hat in hand for their approval. I am not saying we didn’t need to address our roads but he even took the money that was air marked for the schools and spent it on roads. When the time came for Alden to start the schools it was all spent on black top. For Alden to move ahead with the schools, he had to engage into additional borrowings. Which ever group you are representing, please don’t make it so obvious that your special interest is infrastructure and that you want Mr. Arden to be the Minister responsible for that subject.
I agree with this and he should go further to make Roy McTaggart Minister of Finance. Roy is the only one with the credentials and experience for that job. There would be no funny business with the financials of the country if Roy was that Minister. It would create a great deal of credibility too in Cayman as well as the UK..
Wow such short memories. Arden was responsible for negotiating the latest CUC license agreements back in 2008 and was instrumental in the Utility keeping a monopoly license on T&D thereby allowing it to continue to control the electricity generation aspect on Grand Cayman. Had both the generation and T&D license been made non exclusive, then we would have seen competition in the generation of electricity much sooner. No, No, No, keep Arden far far away from the Infrastructure Portfolio (and Joey Hew as well !!!). By the way, whatever happened to the unanimous agreement of the last legislature to implement more liberal renewable energy policies including net metering.
dont be silly…you cannot have two distribution systems on the island…what the new guys are going to put up their lines too so we have two or three sets of power lines???
Simply not an option.
You must be the one who got the lions share of the road work contracts to supply material.If you think due process is not going to be followed now you are making a big mistake,and by the way if it is you,time to get rid of some of the fifty foreing employees and hire caymanians and most of all EAST END PEOPLE. How do people like you get away with stuff like this,shame on you.
While I can understand the excitement about putting Tara in a ministry. But it will spell disaster for Tara, who ran as an independant in WB. She will not be able to deliver on anything during this four years, as this Government is bounded by the FFR. Her contribution as an educated person will not be appreciated by those who elected her as they will be looking for results they can see, feel and put in their pockets. Tara, you better think twice, or you will suffer the fate of the "One Term Minister curse".
I disagree. If Tara makes the 10 it puts her in a powerful position to accomplish something for her district. She will be able to deliver.
Bring in Roy and Arden!
Roy who? Is this the same Roy that confirmed that he would not work with a Alden lead government?
Roy’s statement, although somewhat naieve, referred to Alden.. Not the PPM.. Roy is the only one across the entire LA with that credentials and experience to do that job properly.. Everyone should consider the country now and what its needs are now and not be vindictive over political bantering as it was coming from all directions.. Not using the capabilities if Roy in Finance would be a travesty for the country.. Who do you want to Sheperd the purse strings of this country now..?
Roy need to realise that we the people put him there, and expect him to work with Alden or whoever is there, He must remember he works for us the people not us the voters for him. Roy please keep this in mind, we put you there and we can remove you. you better wake up….
I would like to see Tara as a Cabinet Minister for Community Affairs,Gender and Housing. She is a fantastic example of a young Caymanian womam who our youth should be able to identify with. I so proud of her and would very much like to see her in a higher profile role setting an example for our young women in particular.
Why would the PPM give Tara a cabinet seat? The PPM have 9 capable candidates plus Arden as possible ministers & do not need to give away cabinet seats. If she wanted a PPM cabinet seat she should have joined them before the elections not after. The PPM worked too hard for the past 4 years & especially in the last 8 months to win the elections, why should they now give it away? The PPM say they want to work with all elected members, but "working with" is different to "joining with".
Why? For a majority vote.
I haveconfidence that Alden will do the right thing. He has worked extremely hard to put together a fine group of progressives.
Agreed. There is no reason why they should give her a cabinet seat when they have other PPM candidates that have actually work very hard to get the PPM elected.
Was Tara a part of the group that said that they would not be part of an Alden lead government?
That thinking is too narrow, born free. The PPM need to be inclusive and show WBers that they will not be excluded under their administration Besides, the PPM lacks a female MLA and Tara also appeals to a different demographic. It would be a very "progressive" move.
If Tara had joined the PPM she may not have been elected.
Because it makes sense. Not only does Tara bring a woman's perspective into Cabinet, she also brings real intelligence.
Everyone agrees that Roy would have made an excellent Minister of Finance,but he has cut off his nose to spite his face by refusing to join Cabinet if Alden is the Premier. A group of 3 cannot rule over a group of 9 in a democracy. The only way he can redeem himself is to become Chairman of PAC and set a new standard for excellence there.
Mike Adam was not re-elected because he put his loyalty to McKeeva above his loyalty to the people who elected him. Roy will become the next Second-elected for GT to also-ran, if he places his loyalty to Jude Scott above his loyalty to the people who elected him.
Roy and Winston need to understand that many (a majority perhaps?) of the people who voted for them were not buying into the C4C crap. We voted for you because you are honest and capable. In this case, DON'T be like Mike!
Not knowing her but I thought about the same thing yesterday. Then our Capt and Deputy Premier for Tourism and Administration. Ezzard to again properly our hospital, Arden to take back roads.Archer Finance, Eden planning and lands and Survey.
Tokenism: put the woman in the girly ministry. Ms Rivers is too good for that.
20;55
So now integrity,honesty and transparency are all out the door. I hope the caymanian people realize that those words meant nothing…we all were fooled again with the BS.
These words were only generated to try and defrenciate themselves from Makeeva, to win the election.
Should Tara reliquish her ideal in regards to what she ran for, she will not only let down her supporters, but the country in a hold.
You get where im coming from?
Please please Alden, dont you remember when Julianna ran the Camanians out of the LA and called them strangers. We do not want her back as speaker. Caymanian misplet by my being so upset over this silly thought. It is so shocking to know that she got so little support from her own District, Watering Place and the Creek. Capt Mose must be very pleased.
Any one in the viewing area of the LA who are not elected members are referred to as "strangers". Go take a read of the Hansard and view all the previous speakers' comments to the viewers in the gallery. It's just the same as the US Government calling all non-US citizens "aliens". Gonna tell them to not re-elect any of their congressmen/women or presidents too?! Grow up and understand political language!
We all learned from that time that the term STRANGERS are correct but hell it was not correct to run out the Caymanians out of the La. We will never forget JULIE.
You should change the Hansard then. Strangers is stupid. People is better.
Alden please do not give JuJu anything. She has never spoken good about you or the PPM and is nothing but a Spanish machete.
The PPM should let Miss Juliana sit on the Opposition side by herself. She represents the political party known as PNA. Do not put her in any position of power – it was MY PLEASURE not to vote for her holier than thou = oh yeah Miss Juliana GOD BLESS YOU TOO
She was so nice the last month leading up to the election. This is how you should have been throughout your term. Could have been first Elected but you blow it. Had you and the other PNA stand up to Mac when you were supposed to, you would have been our Hero.
yes i agree! The country has rejected both udp and pna parties that she was a member of· let her sit where she belongs on the back bench. her and mac can fight over who should be leader of opposition! One could be leader and one deputy leader, Just like old times of premier and deputy premier!