Public invited to talk about UK relationship

(CNS): The committee established by the premier to consult with the people regarding the UK’s new White Paper for the Overseas Territories which is to be published next year, begins its public meetings next week. The goal is to explain to the process to the wider public and allow them to provide input on the final document which will be discussed by the leaders of all of the OTs and the UK government at next month’s annual overseas territories council in London. Thepeople can, however, circumvent the government committee and give their input directly to the UK via a web portal created by the Foreign Office.

Last month the UK’s FCO minister with responsibility for overseas territories invited the people of the Cayman Islands and other OTs to submit their thoughts and ideas directly to the FCO on the future of their relationship with Britain. Henry Bellingham called on everyone in the territories to have their say and in particular the younger generation.

“I want this consultation process to include as many people in the Territories as possible,” he said. Keen to allow people in the overseas territories have an opportunity to provide feedback and thoughts direct to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office an official portal was created on the governor’s office website to enable people to go direct to the source here at Overseas Territories – Have Your Say

Contributors can email or write directly to the FCO or alternatively post their comments on the website. The only comment posted on the site so far from the Cayman Islands is a query about voting rights for long term residents. They can also make their comments via the Cabinet office website here.

The main goal of this process is to replace the existing white paper that guides the relationship between the OTs and the UK, which was put in place more than a decade ago in 1999. The territories had very little say in that white paper OT leaders are also eager to see more input from the territories this time around.

Bellingham said the UK government’s strategy towards the new paper was about having a dialogue on how best the vision and values between it and the territories could be expressed. He pointed out that the UK’s fundamental responsibility and objective was ensuring the security and good governance of the fourteen territories.

“We recognised that the Overseas Territories are remarkably diverse; and that policies to meet these objectives need to be tailored to the specific circumstances of each territory. So there’s no question of one size fits all,” he said when he launched the dialogue process.

He pointed out that on the question of independence the current government followed the same policy as its predecessors and that it is for the territories themselves to decide whether they wish to remain connected to the United Kingdom. “Any decision to cut that link should be on the basis of the clearly expressed wish of the majority of the people of the territory in question,” he said.

The government committee will be making a presentation about the process on Tuesday, 25 October for West Bay residents at the John A. Cumber Primary School at 7.30 pm and then on Wednesday, 26 October  for George Town and Bodden Town residents at the Mary Miller Hall also at 7:30pm.