McField on ministry payroll
Posted on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 14:27 in FOI
(CNS): A freedom of information request has revealed that local attorney Steve McField has been contracted by the premier’s ministry as a legal consultant to research a range of policy matters, from legal aid to national honours. According to the “scope of services” in the contract, McField is required to review and advise on government business, undertake legal research, assist with the development of a “country strategy” and nation building, as well as interpret opinions, case laws and other documents, advising the premier on appropriate action. McField is being paid CI$7,000 per month and the ministry confirmed that up to September he had received a total of $77,000 from the public purse.
The first contract for this consultancy position of “Senior Analyst, Legal Research and Development” was for a period of seven months and was signed on 1 November 2010. A second was then signed in June this year for a further seven month period ending 31 December 2011, the FOI request, which was made by a CNS reader, revealed.
The contract states: “The consultant is engaged in the business of conducting research and advise on legal issues and will provide advice on policy development, institutional development and historical development and has considerable skill, knowledge and experience in those said fields.”
The list of services in the first schedule on the contract is wide ranging and indicates that McField is being employed as an advisor to the Ministry of Finance, Tourism and Development, as well as to the office of the premier, and that he takes his instructions from and reports directly to the minister.
The schedule lists nine services with subcategories that require McField to “advise and research policy development, institutional development and historical development,” among other issues.
The requirements go well beyond the legal aid research that McField was originally assisting government with, when the premier removed the budget from the courts during his first year in office with the view to opening a public defender’s office. Since then, that funding has been returned to the chief justice and the legal aid programme is still being managed by judicial administration after the proposal for the office, which McField was earmarked to head up, was dropped in the wake of the review committee’s findings.
The contract still includes a requirement for McField to examine the reform of the legal aid system but it also contracts the local attorney to a much wider remit. It calls on the lawyer to research and evaluate other government policies and proposals, including investment, the development of Caymanians and the priorities for government to achieve a sustainable economy. It also speaks about advising on nation building, as well as offering legal advice.
During the period of the contract McField has acted as a courtroom advocate for the UDP government backbench MLA Dwayne Seymour, who faced charges of perverting the course of justice relating to an incident outside a Seven Mile Beach Hotel in May 2010, but who was eventually acquitted.
The attorney is also acting on behalf of McKeeva Bush, who has filed a law suit against the owner of Cayman News Service, Nicky Watson and her reporter Wendy Ledger, as well as Randy Merren, the owner of the local radio station Rooster, and Daphne Orrett, a caller to the show.
It is not clear if the premier is paying McField separately from his own funds as his personal attorney in those cases or if the lawyer is undertaking that work as part of this government contract.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| FOI response - Steve McField contracts with Ministry FT&D.pdf | 119.85 KB |
| Steve McField contract 1st Nov 2010.pdf | 339.93 KB |
| Steve McField contract 1st June 2011.pdf | 939.34 KB |
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@15:05, this can't be your
In politics it is all about
In politics it is all about taking money and giving money to your friends.
And if there isn't enough you just say we need to cut back and increase fees because of the economy, so you can keep taking money and giving money to friends.
I am a cv and lost 200 per month because of the pay cut, I can barely make it now. It hurts to see where my money went. I am very demotivated, and trust me most of us are.
Steve Mcfield 7 grand for
Steve Mcfield 7 grand for part time work, Hmmmm misuse of our money, yet another poor decision.
McKeewa should bear in mind
@9:49, you sound like an
It is not exactly surprising
It is not exactly surprising that such attitudes would have been found anywhere in 1839 - just a few years after after the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. It wasn't until 1954 that the U.S. Supreme Court found state laws which required segregated education to be unconstitutional.
That is an interesting aside from history but what does it have to do with the current issue? Obviously Cayman is not the same society it was in 1839. The vast majority of us have varying degrees of racial mixture. It seems like a red herring.
170 years ago, didn't people
170 years ago, didn't people think the earth was flat?
Are you for real? You are
Are you for real? You are going to pull out a letter reflecting racial attitudes in 1839 to try to prove that the reason people disapprove of this arrangement with McField is because of his race?! That is a ridiculous argument and you know it. Have you no shame? Is there no level too low for you to stoop to defend your party? By constantly crying wolf what you do is undermine genuine cases of racial injustice.
BTW I am a black generational Caymanian.
Isn't it a conflict of
Isn't it a conflict of interest for McField to represent the Ministry and also the premier personally at the same time?
We do not have 'conflict of
We do not have 'conflict of interest' in cayman!
We are conflicted, and we do have an interest in anything that puts money in our pocket - but you are not allowed to use the words 'conflict of interest' together...
How about next election we
How about next election we all VOTE independant.... that would solve a lot of these problems! We for 1 would definately not have all the members of one Party covering up for each other, that's for sure!!
I strongly believe, it is not
I strongly believe, it is not going to work. Because both parties will feed the seed that Independents are really on the opposing party's side. I recall that that was the propaganda during last election. "If you didn't vote for a party but for an Independent, you were causing the other party to win. Hence, you should vote STRAIGHT to avoid that from happening!" And propaganda was very effective. UDP won by a landslide. Also, PPM did the same thing before UDP got power. It is a back-and-forth thing. My recommendation is - GET RID OF THE PARTY SYSTEM altogether and you wouldn't have politicians looking out for party interest over the people interest.
Lib, actually is exactly what
Lib, actually is exactly what happened. Some PPM supporters split their votes with Independents and even some UDP naively thinking that this would lead to power-sharing, and MB and the UDP waltzed into office (but not really by a landslide). I would support a credible new party but otherwise a vote for an Independent is a wasted vote. At this point you cannot turn back the clock: parties are here to stay. Just make sure we get better ones.
Yet another reason why the
Yet another reason why the Premier hates FOI! Wonder how many more 'consultants' are now on the payroll?
Ellio and Corbell come to
Ellio and Corbell come to mind.
This is an outrage. I
This is an outrage. I thought we had a legal department to offer league advise to government.
Check with all the NGOs which provide needed services to the people of our islands, that had their grants dramatically cut for the second year in a row. And we find Mac finding ways to pad his friends pockets and his favorite churches receiving millions.
This is not Fiscal Responsibility that the UK is after. Nor should we the people of Cayman put up with it.
I repeat. An outrage!!!!!!!!
You need to be the true
You need to be the true citizen of your country that you have always been and WALK AWAY from this Mr. McField. Money is not everything, although the love of it is most certainly the root of all evil, as the people of Cayman are witnessing on a daily basis.
So now we, the people, pay
if ppm wins next election, it
if ppm wins next election, it will be the same thing. the perks were initially intended for a ppm premier, but udp won and took the spot light. welcome to the two party system
The Constitution does not
The Constitution does not call for any perks. McKeeva just decided he wanted to grab all he can.
Even if the ppm intended the
Even if the ppm intended the "perks" for a ppm premier, it does not make it right and we would be just as outraged! You seemed to have missed the point of our comments re: taxpayers paying for cook/helper, driver(s), x-mas decor, wall(s), elec bill for these "people", when the majority of us are hurting financially, some to the brink of losing our home(s).
When the shoe is on the other foot I WISH i could hear a peep out of Bush and the Bush-ites!!!!!!!!!
The commenter does have a
The commenter does have a point. How I see it, two wrongs don't make a right. The question is - The real question is, If PPM got in would they do the same? Remember this is the same party along with UDP that were unwilling to leave the LA with their salaries cut by at least 10 percent, but left cutting the entire Civil Service instead 3.2% If PPM was in, what makes you think that they would have not done the same like Bush??
Correction: The PPM was the
Correction: The PPM was the party that brought a motion to reduce MLA salaries by 20% and Bush and the UDP refused.
Say what you like about the PPM but there is no evidence that they used their term of office to line their own pockets. There were no scandals about financial improprieties. None of them own million dollar condos. McKeeva's attempt to stir up a scandal about the schools fell flat on its face.
Thank you. These people are
Thank you. These people are making totally blind and unwarranted insinuations and accusations against the PPM to what end I have absolutely no idea. Do yourselves and your country a HUGE favor and vote the PPM back in so we can all see that they are not swine feeding at the trough like we all know who.
SO THERE CAN BE MORE
SO THERE CAN BE MORE REPEATS??? NEVER! GIVE ME A BOX OF SQUID!
A box of squid. A definite
A box of squid. A definite improvement over what we currently have. I mean, how much can a box of squid possibly COST us in four years?
Yet another pitiful,
Yet another pitiful, desperate stab in the back, Mr Bush. I hope one day it will finally dawn on you that a hell of a lot more than 'perks' has gone wrong under the UDP 'administration'. At least you had the decency to use lower case letters for 'udp'. I am also very happy to confirm that they most certainly are in the spot light, an dey na lookin too good.
I suppose if Steve was of
10:56 You are so right, and
10:56
You are so right, and don't forget another race. I think we have two class of people here PPM ..Crab in the barrell.
What a disgraceful statement.
What a disgraceful statement. Pulling the race card to cover up cronyism. AG needs to a value for money audit.
Cushy jobs don't last
Cushy jobs don't last forever. Those jobs terminate when a new administration takes over after the next election and all that money being paid for those positions becomes available to help pay down debt. That is assuming, of course, that there is a change in administrations and that the newly elected officials are less XXXX than is alleged to be the case with the current administration.
So all you "friends of" job holders, save your money. You'll be forced by the voters to earn an honest living come election time!
What a disgrace. Lord have
What a disgrace. Lord have mercy.
NO WONDER HIS MOUTH IS NO
NO WONDER HIS MOUTH IS NO LONGER HEARD ON THE ROOSTER!!!!!!!!!!!
So tell me then, if he is being paid to give legal advice to the Bush, why then are we also paying the recently qualified legal expert currently employed in the Ministry?? Huh??
WHY should we pay 2 people to get ONE job done??? Huh??
Well, let's look at
Well, let's look at this.
Either:
(a) he has given the Premier horrible advice which the Premier has taken, thus resulting in the current woeful state of affairs
OR
(b) he has given the Premier good advice which the Premier has not taken, thus resulting in the current woeful state of affairs
Does either variable justify the expense? If I could earn 1/4 of that monthly salary, my current financial problems would evaporate. Maybe this office should be offered for bid. I'm pretty certain I can undercut that $7,000/month by quite a bit, and it's hard to imagine my advice would be worse. win-win!
Sorry my friend, only buddies
Sorry my friend, only buddies qualify.
HOLY $H!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY $H!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UN-HOLY $H!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UN-HOLY $H!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"You scratch my Back...." It
"You scratch my Back...." It is what it is. Government at work. Spending your money.
On each other. It's called NATION BUILDING.
That's a real Chewbacca
That's a real Chewbacca salary!
CNS ..did you request this
CNS ..did you request this FOI? Nothing wrong with it if you did as it informs the public but based on your current legal toubles with this man as he lawyer for the Premier, it would seem that ulterior motives played a role.
For the record, I am not a UDP Or PPM supporter, as I know many will be quick to accuse me. I am simply pointing out that whilst Freedom of Information is the best thing that ever happened to Cayman, it can be used in many different ways, some we may like and some we won't.
I don't see much wrong with the Government getting outside legal help as they did with Priestly's and other law firms, seems pretty cheap too based on what lawyers charge but my big question is why not just announce the appointment rather than have the public waste time going through FOI to get it. This island is too small to keep anything secret for any length of time.
Anyways CNS, good luck with your fight, but fight the battle fairly. Your battle is with the Premier not Steve McField and I don't think the battle was about bringing either down but protecting your freedom of speech. For that I will continue to support you but let's stick to conventional warfare before lowering yourself to the same level as some other media have done in the past. Hold your head high and you will prevail.
CNS: No one employed by or associated with CNS made this FOI request. The response was sent to us and we handled it in exactly the same way that we would have done if there was no law suit against us. The response raises other issues.
Like many UDP supporters, you
Like many UDP supporters, you seem unable to grasp the fact that the Premier's highly questionable actions in many areas are hugely unpopular. Many people want to know and have a right to know how government (especially public finances) is being handled and not everyone is so terrified of retribution that they will be swayed from filing a Freedom of Information request. Your complaint that FOI requests exposing the truth are somehow unconventional or warfare is the whine of someone who sees their gravy train grinding to an ultimately humiliating stop.
Yes. I know you said you were not a UDP supporter and yet it seems you are.
Steve Mcfield, a deep person,
Steve Mcfield, a deep person, but working on the wrong side. I hope he joins our side and see that money isn't everything. Peace and Love from a good friend
Just like Anakin Skywalker,
Just like Anakin Skywalker, he found the lure of the "Dark Side of the Force" to great, and became Darth Vader!
interesting. i thought i
interesting. i thought i would never live to see his face, but doesn't the vader carry a ppm red sword?
Erm, ok D. How deep?
Erm, ok D. How deep?
brilliant. jobs for the boys.
brilliant. jobs for the boys. at last Mac has found him a job to supplement his income. Good to see the public can pay
Governor NOW, or take the
Governor NOW, or take the next plane home (oh no, you can't because you will spend 12 hours tyring to get through Heathrow!!!!)
Why didn't Bush's "Legal
Well.... beat me with a five
Well.... beat me with a five foot long cow-cod!!!
just call the cow-cod man in
just call the cow-cod man in BT
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