Viewpoint

Living the differently abled life

Most don't get it … and I hope they never will … because the only way someone will ever "get it" is to LIVE IT. Living with a disability is hard enough – whether it be your own or that of someone you love – but to endure the struggles of physical difficulties while trying to navigate a society of cluelessness is downright impossible. The average person is blessed to avoid this reality and can only look upon those "less fortunate" with apathy or empathy. They will never truly understand the struggle. 

It hurts me to no end that parents of specialneeds children are looked upon with sympathetic stares and teary eyed nods of encouragement, called amazing parents and wonderful people … just because we were given the monumental task of caring for someone who requires 24 hour love, support and attention. We are no different than any other parent, except that we are more tired, more stressed and more likely to face divorce, physical ailments (brought on by lack of rest and stress!) and a deeper look into the darkness of society vis a vie the lack of support on a daily basis.

Don't misinterpret what I am saying – as a recent recipient of the most wonderful kindness and generosity of this country, I am the first to say that we are a nation of philanthropic givers … but let's be honest, that's really only in crisis … as most find it easier to turn a blind eye to the plight of the disabled on a daily basis. Not because they are evil or cold-hearted, but because they simply do not grasp the struggles that these members of society endure and it is too uncomfortable to remain exposed to it for an extended period of time. Once in a while is good enough, thank you very much!

Unfortunately, those with disabilities do not have that luxury and must live with themselves 24/7/365 … no escape, no reprieve. Those primary caretakers, parents, grandparents, siblings, etc, likewise must learn to cope with "normal" life … that their own abilities permit … while experiencing the reality of life that their disabled family member brings to the table. Some days that life is amazing, wondrous and so rewarding … some days (and nights!) it really sucks.

So I do not expect anyone who is not living it to understand. What I DO expect is for those who do not understand to accept that we, the parents and those disabled with a voice, have SOMETHING to say. We want the needs of the disabled to be heard and answered. We want the support of the government to make and enforce laws that protect and help our children and family members. We are not asking for money, for hand-outs or for favours. We are asking for the people that sit in the big building to carve out some time to address this festering situation and make it a national priority. We are asking for some respect from the RCIPS and we are asking that the citizens of the Cayman Islands appreciate that life as a disabled person is hard enough … don't make it worse by being insensitive and ugly!

Recent comments by the RCIPS, defending the actions of their officers caught illegally parking in a Blue Spot (a specifically dedicated parking space for the disabled) brings to light the insensitivities at the highest levels of our society's protection echelons. For a body of authority to declare that the spot did not meet the requirements to officially be deemed a disabled parking space – despite being clearly painted the right shade of blue and despite it bearing the universal symbol of the disabled – was a slap in the face to every disabled man, woman and child in Cayman. What that utterance may very well have succeeded in doing was to discredit the exhaustive, hard work of so many dedicated and committed individuals who are trying to raise awareness for the disabled. In declaring that a spot without a sign, regardless of its colour, proximity to the front door or symbolic demarcation, was not good enough for someone in a wheelchair but just perfect for police officers wanting a short walk or quick spot, sent a message that anyone, anywhere can challenge the rights of the disabled. Thank you very much RCIPS for your support in our lame cause.

Forgive me for being too emotional. That's what becomes of parents who run on fumes, sacrificing a good night's rest to ensure that their disabled child is comfortable and their needs are met, even if it takes 3 or 4 awakenings throughout the night. Parents who are emotional say things that will get them in trouble; it kind of goes with the territory!

Clearly, emotional parents are the only ones who feel that it is wrong for teachers to mock the disabled children that they teach at special needs schools. Such was the case right here in Cayman, where parents were in utter shock and disbelief at the annual game of "Best Imitation of a Student", where the teachers competed to do their best and funniest impressions of their students. Golden moments! What would YOU as a parent expect from that school, should you learn of these activities? I can tell you what the parents involved expected, but as you can guess, there hasn't been much movement in that respect. The parents, meanwhile, as well as their own child, have been shunned at the school … for taking a stand and expecting at least a minimum of compassion for an already difficult and challenging life. Heart-warming.

How can we, as a society, not circle wagons to protect our vulnerable? How can we challenge those chosen to raise them, care for them and defend them? Whether it is for a parking spot or insurance coverage? When did it become ok for people to throw the defenceless to the mercies of the world?

While there have been strides over the past years to paint parking spaces blue, the reality is that most of those spaces are simply blue painted, normal parking spots – not wide enough to allow a wheelchair ramp to come down without hitting the closely parked car beside it. While there is a planning requirement to have disabled parking at every establishment, the reality is that there aren't ramps at many of them, preventing wheelchairs from even making it onto the sidewalk. While many establishments have engineered ramps from the parking lot to the sidewalk, the reality is that the doors into their premises are not wide enough or there is a step up that makes it impossible to get inside. While many of these situations do not exist in places, the reality is that there are often no elevators to the 2nd level of restaurants or businesses, eliminating those options and shrinking the world of someone who cannot climb stairs due to their disability.

Why? Because it is not a priority to make the Cayman Islands accessible to all.

Medical bills mount. Insurance premiums sky rocket. Opportunities are few and far between and continued education, employment and meaningful adulthood is all but a wish of the parents who once looked upon the impending birth of their perfect child with hope and dreams of greatness.

The life of a differently abled person is fraught with dilemma, disappointment, frustration and depression. Please consider that the next time you make fun of them, park in a disabled spot or choose to look the other way, rather than face them head on like a real person who deserves a smile, a hello, a chance.

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A failed constitution

The 2009 Constitution was rolled out to much acclaim and educational expense. The public has not been notified of any review or results of review of our unconstitutional laws. It would appear that our overburdened attorney general, who spent almost $1.5 million dollars in the last three years on outside counsel, cannot find time to deal with this pressing task.

By his default our overworked and underfunded court system, which is yet to receive a much promised dedicated modern facility, will have to assume that task. Put another way, it would be easier for our highest law enforcement official to seek change of laws obviously unconstitutional than tie up the courts for days trying to perpetuate a fiction of his creation.

Perhaps the lawyer in his chambers on the government payroll who also has permission by the attorney general to do private outside work could be given the task.

Our esteemed and highly regarded minister of finance would appreciate the cost saving to the government and assistanceto our judiciary if such a review was performed.

These laws include banned publications, inhumane penalties and police laws in breach of human rights.

The most recent ruling of our Grand Court saw a most important decision that required accused persons to be advised of their right to free legal advice when interviewed by the police. As is commonly done, the decision was first heralded as going to appeal then quietly discontinued.

This decision will require substantial increase in the legal aid budget and it is debatable if Minister Archer has been advised of this by the highest law enforcement officer. He has not been advised of potential claims under the Constitution for quashed convictions.

A reasonable guess will see a tripling of legal aid costs to the government depending on the number of police arrests for minor offences.
The Cayman Islands are now required to pick up the tab for recently passed unconstitutional laws while the sinecure government legislative advisor reclines comfortably in the legislature as his retirement portfolio grows and these Islands decline.
 

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Our unsung heroes

In the indecent haste to discard the civil service 3.2% cost of living allowance (COLA) many unsung heroes have been left behind. There are many government workers who do not show up on the radar screen of employee awards who daily give the people of the Cayman Islands free labour. Whether shortened lunch hours or uncompensated weekend workloads, there are many that go without regularly.

Daily days of extra minutes to hours can become astronomical over a year. Days in lieu cannot pay CUC or the supermarket. There are many uncompensated gifts of labour from all branches of the civil service from the economically depressed.

It must stop.

There should be a work to rule until those who receive the highest salaries face up to this inequality. They cannot comprehend the fragile existence of month to month pay life. Improbable as this may be, the unpaid must become the unreasonable.

Unpaid work in the private sector would find employers before the labour tribunal. In the criminal court this is called obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception, more frequently applied to unpaid hotel bills. The cutbacks have overstayed their welcome in the hotel of free civil service labour.

If there is any intention to discard long serving, long suffering government employees or limit their compensation, it should only happen if free labour comes to a halt or arrears paid up.
A better start would be a higher salary reduction the higher the salary. Lower salaries would see a 1% reduction and highest salaries a 10% cut.

People are not beasts of burden to be taken to the abattoir of economic convenience.

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Past time for Liquor Board change

Liquor Board chairman Mitchell Wells should have resigned or recused himself long ago, especially after he himself and two other members of the board declared a conflict of interest and walked out of the December 2013 session of the Liquor Licensing Board, forcing the adjournment of the session because of the lack of a quorum.

Considering that a conflict is so obvious and so glaring (both Mr Welds’ mother and son are liquor license holders themselves), it is equally obvious that his continued presence as chairman of the board serves to compromise the office itself. In fact, my attorney Clyde Allen, who attended the December 2013 meeting on behalf of Tortuga, made a statement to the board that because the chairman and the other two members of the board who had recused themselves had acknowledged that a conflict existed, it meant that all previous liquor license decisions that they were a part of could now be legally challenged. He also stated that all future decisions of the board could also face legal challenge.

It is an affront to the intelligence of all Caymanians for Mr Welds to merely shrug his shoulders and maintain that it is difficult to avoid conflict because the Islands are too small, when his immediate family members are directly involved in the liquor industry. Where direct conflict exists, a presumption of prejudice is immediately raised (whether real or perceived), and in any other country would result not only in an investigation but a call for the chairman’s resignation. I agree with a call for further enquiries and investigation into the issues raised by the internal report from the Department of Commerce and Investment and would urge the ruling members of government to show the courage and political will necessary to address the issues that arise from an enquiry.

It could never have been the intention of the framers of the Liquor Licensing Law for any one person to dominate a position on the Liquor Licensing Board for in excess of 25 years and sit as chairman for 12. In fact, Section 4 (3) of the Liquor Licensing Law (2000 Revision) states that members of the board, including the chairman, shall be appointed by the governor and shall hold office at his pleasure for such period not exceedingfive years as the governor may determine and who are eligible for reappointment. The definition section of the Liquor Licensing Law states that “governor” means “governor in council.” Governor in council refers to the leader of government business and the Cabinet of the sitting government, so Mr Welds has sat as chairman for 12 years under both the UDP and PPM administrations.

The fact that the law expressly refers to a maximum period of five years is proof that it was never intended that service on the board was to be perpetual. The question that needs to be asked is whether Mr Welds has ever been formally reappointed by the governor in council (the leader of government business and the Cabinet of the ruling party). If not, can it not be said that his position as chairman is invalid?

Thirty years ago, when my wife and I started Tortuga, the Hon. Lem Hurlston, Chief Secretary, was then chairman of the board; thereafter, magistrates were appointed, followed by the first justice of the peace 12 years ago. The intent of the law was to have someone with legal knowledge chair the board. Following recent court decisions, there has been a call for JPs to get some form of legal training because of the nature of their responsibilities. I think it is time to revisit the tenure of the chairman and indeed all board members. This is not about Mr Welds personally, but the office of chairman itself, and a desperate need for confidence in it to be restored.

Considering the obvious conflict, I believe the proper thing for Mr Welds to do is to resign; failing which, the powers that be should thank him for his years of service and ask him to step down. What concerns me, as well as many license holders, is that there are many young Caymanian attorneys qualified and talented and worthy of a JP appointment, who have not been considered by the UDP or the PPM for the role of chairman.

The liquor industry in the Cayman Islands is a significant player in the economy and an essential stakeholder in tourism. It creates many jobs, the trickle-down effect of which can be seen in the growth of huge hotels, restaurants, party boats, liquor stores and warehousing delivery, just to name a few. It is important that the members of the public and the primary stakeholders have confidence in the impartiality of the decisions of the board. As it stands now, that confidence is woefully lacking.

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Ten-point reparations plan is seriously flawed

I don’t think that I have seen a comprehensive challenge to the ten-point reparations plan that our Caribbean governments are using as the blue print to press Europe for reparations.  However, I think this plan can (and will) be successfully challenged. To start, we want Europe to apologize. The Europeans can successfully refuse this demand on several good grounds. 

Firstly, both the supposed perpetrators and the supposed victims are long dead. Secondly, those alive in Europe didn’t commit the “crime”. Thirdly, andthis is the most powerful reason, slavery was both morally and legally acceptable at the time – both to the Europeans and the Africans. Far from apologizing, I think the Europeans should be proud of their great imperial past.

We also want repatriation. This most impractical aspect of this plan is quite laughable. What guarantees do we have that those in Africa will be glad to see us returning? If those thought that life was hard in the West, they should wait until they reach Africa! Also, it is interesting to note that many of those calling for this pipe dream actually have the means to go back, but refuse to do so.

We also want an “Indigenous People’s Development Programme”. As the ten-point plan itself says, the scholarship programme that the University offers to members of the indigenous community is woefullyinadequate. This is an admission that our own governments care very little about these peoples. The Europeans have been doing much more. For example, directly, they funded the upgrade of the water supply system in Dominica’s indigenous Carib territory. Indirectly, they have pumped tens of millions of Euros into Dominica – for both the native and non-native populations.

We also want “Cultural Institutions”. The first point I would like to make is that if we cannot come up with the intellectual means to create our own cultural institutions, then no amount of reparations can help us. However, the Europeans have been helping us in this regard. The Institute of Jamaica was started in 1879 by the then British governor. That organization is mainly responsible for the preservation of Jamaica’s culture. It has oversight responsibility for the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica, the National Gallery and other cultural organizations. What more do we want from the Europeans?

Then the European must help us solve our “public health crisis”. Again, this can be successfully challenged from many angles. Among others, firstly, no one two hundred years ago would have been able to foreseen the effect of the slave diet today, if there is any.  Secondly, we today still continue to feed ourselves with this “poison” diet.  Thirdly, the evidence for this claim is very unsound. Fourthly, our “modern” diet of fast food has done much to contribute to the health problems we have today and fifthly, this fast food diet would have done much to “dilute” the link to two hundred years ago.

As for our Illiteracy problem, the advances that we have had since independence have been due in large part to the assistance given to us by Europe. The ministry of education itself was created during British rule, in 1953. The University of the West Indies was started by the British in 1948 as a college of the University of London and given to us as a gift. Many of Jamaica’s popular schools were built during British rule. It may be true that at the time of independence we had a high illiteracy rate, however, it is through the same education system that the British bequeathed to us that we have been able to reduce this problem.

We also want an “African Knowledge Programme”. We want the Europeans to help us Africans in the West to know our history in Africa. In fact, it is largely because of the Europeans why we know what we do about Africa’s past. Napoleon’s discovery of the famous Rosetta stone and its translation in Europe enabled us to better understand the greatness of ancient Egypt. Many European universities and other organizations have done much to open up Africa’s hidden past. Of course, I wouldn’t want to discount what African universities are doing. But to claim that Europe isn’t helping us to know our past is very disingenuous. Also, with modern means of communication, we don’t need to be physically present in Africa to know its history.

This “Psychological Rehabilitation” demand is a strange one. I havea feeling that the “reparatory justice approach to truth and educational exposure” that is being demanded may cause more harm than good, especially if the truth about our own involvement in the export of slaves and the millions that died in Africa at our own hands are told to us.

I am still not sure how much more technology transfers we can get.  From modern communication systems, to the internet, to modern transportation systems and the like, all of these have been transferred to us. Technology transfers also involve know-how, though education. As mentioned before, we have the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology, both started by the British. If we can’t use institutions like those to create a culture of science and technology, after over half a century of independence, then I can’t see how the Europeans will be able to do it for us.

Finally, we want debt cancellation. For some strange reason, our high debts are high because we were slaves! Why should the Europeans reward us after we voluntarily entered into these loan agreements with these creditors and then refuse to be prudent with these loans?  However, we have received some debt write-offs. Guyana received some from Bulgaria in 2012. Haiti got some from the Paris Club in 2009. Jamaica has received four billion dollars worth of debt forgiveness from Britain between 1997 and 2004. It is utter nonsense if we think that all of our debts will be forgotten!

When one looks at this ten-point plan, the only impression that anybody can get of us is that we are a people determined to get more handouts. This ten-point plan is not an accomplishment – it’s an embarrassment.  We need to ditch it and grow up.

Michael A. Dingwall writes from Kingston, Jamaica.

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Water & alcohol don’t mix

The Cayman Islands are well-known for its climate which offers great outdoor activities residents can enjoy year round. Summertime is simply that time of year when you can enjoy the Islands’ natural beauty with family and friends. Excursions of underwater adventures on the Submarine or glass bottom boat, wave running, kayaking, boat charters, trips around one of our islands, paddle boarding, or just an afternoon at the beach, are just a few of the outdoor activities one can enjoy during the summer.

While many people reach for a cold beverage during the hot summer weather, perhaps already knowing the health benefits of keeping hydrated, what you may not know is that whether you are boating, swimming or diving, fun in the water and alcohol just don’t mix.

Alcohol impairs judgment, balance, vision and coordination and is not a good combination with water sports. A single drink can impact your ability to observe and react; two important skills that are necessary in the event of an emergency.

The consumption of alcohol can cause problems with swimming and diving. When under the influence of alcohol persons are not able to accurately judge what is safe and thus can get themselves into dangerous and even life threatening situations.

When boating, the addition of wind, sun, noise, and motion can intensify the effects of the alcohol and result in a hazard for the driver and the passengers which include falls on or overboard, collisions with other boats or other water crafts, a higher risk of stumbling at the dock resulting in bruises, cuts and falls.

The combination of alcohol, heat and outdoor recreational activities poses a serious health implication for older adults, individuals with medical conditions, or those on medication.
We recommend packing the following to keep hydrated: plenty of water, juices and non-caffeinated soda when preparing for a long day at the beach or when participating in outdoor recreational activities.

If your summer plans include the consumption of alcoholic beverages, consider the following seven safety tips and risks of mixing summer fun with any amount of alcohol:

1. If you drive, do not drink; if you drink, do not drive. There is no safe level of alcohol for drivers because everyone reacts differently to alcohol on different occasions. If you are going out with others, decide beforehand who will be the designated driver.
2. Never drink and pilot a boat of any kind. The same things that make drinking and driving dangerous can be as deadly on water as they are on land. Boating, windsurfing, wave running and jet-skiing can all be dangerous to anyone who has been drinking.
3. If you are riding in a boat, remember that alcohol will impair your balance and increase your chances of falling overboard. This danger,compounded by alcohol's effects on your swimming ability, can be fatal.
4. Do not swim or dive if you have been drinking. Remember that alcohol will inhibit your swallowing and breathing reflexes, both of which are necessary for swimming. In addition, drinking affects your ability to judge distances and may lead you to swim too far out in the ocean.
5. Eat before and during occasions when you are drinking — eating will slow alcohol's effects.
6. Feel free to refuse alcohol for any reason, regardless of pressure or encouragement to drink.
7. Do not drink if you are a child or adolescent. For anyone under 18, alcohol is an illegal drug. While the summer boasts of a wealth of opportunities for outdoor recreation and relaxation, when mixed with alcohol, these activities can become dangerous for both youth and adults. Weigh the risks and choose responsibly.

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If you have any questions/queries email us at info@ndc.ky or call 949-9000.

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One Man One Vote – the Belly of the Tiger

Recent events with regards to One Man One Vote (OMOV) reminded me of this line from JFK’s 1961 inaugural address where he said “those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.” It is said that one of the purposes of election is to determine the will of the people.

I believe it is fair to say that a majority of electors in this country supports One Man One Vote (OMOV) and that their will is clear both in the 2012 referendum and the general election of 2013.

While some may argue that the referendum held in 2012 did not meet the criteria for passage into law – and legally they would be right – it does not change the fact that more people came out and said “Yes” than those that came out and said “No”.  If the same scenario had taken place back in 2009 when we voted for a new constitution – the constitution would not have passed. Why? Because, like many other democracies around the world, the only vote that truly counts is the one that is cast. If we were to even try to attempt to determine how some people would have voted if they came out, no one would truly be elected.

But here is something I want you to consider and also ponder. Why was the benchmark for the referendum set so high? And more importantly, why was this benchmark not challenged by the PPM members? While the constitution is clear that a people’s initiated referendum requires a majority of 50% + 1, the minute the Government of the day decided to call the referendum, it became a government initiated referendum and at a minimum the government should have considered using the benchmark established for the 2009 Constitution referendum, and equally so, the PPM members should have insisted or fought for that benchmark to be used.

They did not. I am sure that many people would agree that it is a retrograde step in our democracy to have the passage of a law held to a higher standard than our constitution. This is hypocritical and goes against the principles of democracy and the purpose of elections in determining the will of the people.

But the real truth in this matter is not tactics used by Premier McKeeva Bush at that time that would have made Machiavelli proud. The real truth is the sinister way in which those that did not support OMOV jumped on the band wagon to say that they supported OMOV when they did not.

Everyone and their aunty knew that, based on previous political trends, the real number that would have been required for the referendum to be successful was closer to 70% when considering average voter turnout. There were people in the UDP at that time that was urging Premier Bush to keep the referendum on a Monday instead of during the week just to create a “long weekend” and ensure that the voter turnout would have been even lower to ensure that the referendum failed.

While the position of the UDP’s elected government was clear with regards to OMOV, the PPM on the other hand took a calculated approach in supporting it knowing that it would have failed. In doing so, not only did they mislead their own members and some new candidates, they also misled the public. Credit should be given to Al Suckoo and Anthony Eden for their principled stand and we should not only commend them but support them in this endeavor. Some of the old guard politicians in the PPM saw a political opportunity and took advantage of it and in doing so foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger, and we now find them being chewed alive and the public is preparing to digest them, literally.

They have once again been given the power and responsibility to lead this country, and like many before them, the power as gone to the head of their Head and the only focus now is to retain power at all costs. Why are they doing this? If I was to make a political guess, I would say that they need to keep the 2 seats in the Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman at all costs if they want to be returned as a government in 2017. In their ranks they have the Deputy Premier that was elected with over 75% of the votes, and since the election, his only true political opponent that was re-elected with over 55% of the vote has joined forces with him giving the PPM a formidable advantage in the Sister Islands.

Lately, I have listened to some PPM politicians used the term “equality of votes” in an attempt to bastardize our electoral system with “at large candidates” to try and eke out as much seats as possible from their George Town leader. There is however one problem with their argument with regards to equality of votes and that remains the Sister Islands. The real issue that OMOV as well as the equality of votes will highlight is that George Town will remain under represented and that the Sister Islands would be over represented and may be challenged by voters and/or other politicians in George Town.

While the PPM may have 4 seats in George Town, they too also recognize that their franchise and brand in George Town is diminishing day by day and at the current trend would be worth even less come 2017 when consider the record that they would have to defend. Their number one vote getter for the last several elections is the Hon. Kurt Tibbetts, and like the Hon. McKeeva Bush and Anthony Eden, have developed serious coat tails over the years with one exception in George Town.

While McKeeva and Anthony have maintained polling numbers around the 50% mark, Kurt’s numbers have not been holding up. At his peak, back in 2000, Kurt got 2,753 votes from 3,400 ballots that were cast. 13 years later, Kurt received 2,470 votes – 283 less despite 2,428 more votes being cast. He went from receiving 81% of the votes in 2000 to 42% in 2013. Clearly his coat tails are wearing thin as not only did 58% of the people in George Town not vote for him, 63% of the voters in George Town did not vote for Alden.

The credit that I give to Mr Eden in this regard is that by supporting OMOV he is actually opening his district for serious challenges as he is guaranteed to lose one seat in Bodden Town (Bodden Town East) where he has not topped the polls in that division for the last 2 elections and knows he has no coat tails there. He is also putting Bodden Town West and Newlands in play as the only safe seat that will be left is Savannah proper. Kudos to him for leveling the playing field and bringing more accountability in the process. All Bodden Towners should be proud of his stance. 

The UDP also needs to let go of this position. In the past, they could count on 4 seats in West Bay simply from having a dominant position in 3 polling divisions. Quietly, we always knew that West Bay South was the Achilles heel and the last election proved that with Tara Rivers receiving 99 more votes in that division than Mr Bush. However, despite his other personal challenges, he was able to pull 3 seats and remains confident that he will pull all 4 once his challenges pass away. 

Both political parties have their reasons for not supporting OMOV and maintaining the status quo. Afterall, why mess with a system that allows them to interchange power? Both have agreed in the past to leave Sister Islands alone as they were each guaranteed a seat. However, in these modern times where people are advocating for equality of all types of rights neither party can remain blind to the disproportionate level of representation that the Sister Islands receive compared to that of George Town. While some may argue that the same principles would apply to East End and North Side that they should be merged to ensure equality of voters – I beg to differ for 2 reasons.

Firstly, from a historical context we cannot have a district within a Westminster style democracy without any representation. Secondly, we cannot only use the number of registered electors in any district to determine the level of representation. We need to also consider the number of Caymanians living in a district. To do otherwise would imply that a Caymanian that is not registered to vote should not be entitled to any representation. The following table provides a breakdown of the population by district using the 2010 census and the number of electors as at July 1, 2014 per the elections website:

From the table above, it is clear that there is some alignment between the number of voters per each district and the number of Caymanians in each district for Bodden Town, West Bay, East End, and North Side. However, there is a clear anomaly between George Town and the Sister Islands that needs to be corrected to ensure equality of votes. Adding one seat in George Town and taking one from Cayman Brac would fix that anomaly. For the record, if one seat was added to George Town or one taken away from the Sister Islands, the table would look like this:

I am sure that you would agree that this would be better equality of votes both in terms of voters and number of Caymanians. Similar to the United States, we can revisit the boundaries and number of seats every 10 years after a census is conducted.

I don’t want anyone to believe that this article was intended to be an attack against Cayman Brac. Anyone who knows me and my family also knows that when my grandmother arrived here in the 1940s she first settled in Cayman Brac. Additionally, my own personal views have always held Cayman Brac in the highest of regards as they have created more Captains and Titans of industry and serves as an example for others to follow with achievements and accomplishments in the development of our islands too much to list.

The real truth is that the issue of OMOV has always been about electability rather than accountability. For too long in our political history there have been people that have been elected on the coat tails of others and know that they can’t stand on their own two feet if they have to face down a serious challenger. We have pockets within the multi member districts that skew the overall results of the districts and by doing so not only skew the quality of representation but more importantly distort the will of the people.

The reality is that our country and political landscape is changing. There are a lot of serious issues out there that needs to be addressed such as the direction of our country, cost of living, opportunities for all, and the overall quality of our lives. It is said that not even the march of a mighty army can be greater than an idea whose time has come. It is now time for OMOV to be implemented and put to rest. The result of the last election is clear with regards to OMOV. The result of the 2012 referendum is clear with regards to OMOV. The will of the people is clear with regards to OMOV. I therefore say to all the members of the political family, put your own personal views aside and respect the will of the people. If not, you can follow in the PPM’s footstep and find yourselves inside the belly of the tiger.

One love. Walk good.  
 

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Looking for feedback

We’re trying out a new comment system on CNS Business and would appreciate any feedback and problems that readers find with it. The new business site layout is based on Wordpress rather than Drupal (as this main site is) so we cannot use exactly the same comment system. After looking at all our options, we decided to go with Disqus, which is the neatest system that we have found so far.

We could commission someone to build a custom comment system but we’d rather avoid that expense if possible.

You can still comment anonymously – you have to click the little box that says “I’d rather post as guest” – but you will have to supply a name or a pseudonym and an email address. If you comment a lot, you can register with Disqus with either a real name or a pseudonym, or you can log in using a Facebook or Twitter or Google+ accounts, so you don't have to go through that each time.

Comments will be moderated before being posted as before.

Some of the advantages are that you can share particular comments that you especially like, and you can view comments from newest, oldest or “best” – comments that people have starred as a favourite.

So please let us know what you think, or if you have found something better that will work with Wordpress.
 

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Onchocerciasis Cayman

Onchocerciasis or African River Blindness Disease is caused by parasitic flies biting humans and infecting them with worms that cause itching and eventually blindness. In some ways there is a similarity with our river of bureaucracy especially at the Customs department where increased complex regulations are frustrating economically overwhelmed business owners.

Many of those selfsame entrepreneurs must feel like biting off their voting finger with the continuing debacle of wedding dresses and a department seemingly intent on driving businesses into bankruptcy.

Until the business sector begins to press the government beyond mere calls for redress, those blinded by the parasitic flies buzzing around them will continue to display the commercial myopia that is driving small businesses especially to ruin.

The business community is the backbone of economic progress in these islands not overfed office holders feeding at the trough of over regulation instead of the healthy salad of simplification.

Unfortunately our commercial leaders are renowned for their conservatism and prefer whispers at cocktail parties over demand for a recall provision in the Constitution.

They are as powerless as their customers except CUC.

Barren Africa has substantially dealt with this disease by medication originally developed for canine heartworm.

To stand mute is to endorse idiocy.

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