Featured comment: The premier and the cruise dock
WaYaSay writes: To: Hon Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, MLA, Premier, Minister of Home Affairs, Health and Culture, Member of the Legislative Assembly. Let me be the first to say to you publicly: Be a premier. Stand up and stop this stupid mega-dock now, before Moses spends any more of the public millions on “consultants’ reports”, fishing for pro-dock opinions. Stop it now, if you want to see another day as premier after the 2017 elections.
Here, in my opinion, is why you, as premier, need to do so:
- Moses has his financial backing in place for the 2017 elections, just like he did for the 2013 elections. There is a reason why he did not need PPM funding to get elected in Cayman Brac in 2013, or any other time, for that matter.
- If Moses delivers on his campaign promise, to his cousins, to build the cruise berthing facilities (CBF), his war chest will grow for the 2017 elections and he will win BIG, against any opposition in his OMOV constituency in Cayman Brac.
- Moses’ constituency knows, and understands, Moses’ ambitions to move from deputy premier to premier; his supporters and his detractors, in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, will see him as someone who can get things done for them, and as better premier material than you.
- You will lose or poll much lower numbers that Moses will, due to the fact that the majority of support for the CBF are people on work permits, working for Kirk Freeport, who will not be able to vote for you in your smaller constituency, proving further that Moses is better premier material.
- Caymanian voters in your constituency will see you as weak because you allowed Moses to waste $150 million to save work permit jobs at Kirk Freeport and create 1,000 more work permit jobs through the building of the dock.
- The 1,000 jobs created will ensure that the 120 people without work in Cayman Brac will be employed when the 2017 election rolls around, as the overpriced CBF will be in progress. Ironically it is cheaper to pay them each $1 million than to build the dock.
- Building a dock in George Town and ruining the underwater environment and spending $millions on “consultancies” will not lose Moses a single vote in Cayman Brac.
In the unlikely case that I am totally 1000% wrong in my above predictions, here is the alternate scenario that also sees you ousted as premier, even if you get yourself re-elected:
- Mr Wayne Panton, who neither needs the PPM’s, nor Kirk Freeport’s nor Dart’s money to run a successful campaign, steps up, as the Honorable Minister of the Environment, acts like the statesman he is and puts a stop to Moses’ hell bent, spindrift, campaign payback, harebrained idea that Cayman NEEDS a CBF in George Town.
- Mr Panton, who is his own man, is already seen in the Caymanian population, as well as the expat worker Cayman population, as the most suitable person to be the premier of the Cayman Islands.
- Mr Panton has already shown leadership by publishing the “redacted” part of the report that we, the people, paid for, dispelling the myth that there was something in there that eliminated or mitigated the potential environmental damage, looking more statesman like.
Mr Panton will surely poll higher than you in his constituency, under OMOV, if you continue to be weak and let Moses “drive the bus” on this unnecessary dock. - Mr Panton already has near equal support within the PPM as you do and will take over the leadership, along with Moses, especially when they both poll higher votes than you in 2017, under OMOV.
- You will be ousted from leadership within the PPM if you are not prepared to stand up and lead. Mr Panton deserves to be the next premier, if he single handedly stops the CBF.
- Stalling OMOV will not help you be the premier in 2017, although it may help you get elected on someone’s shirt tail, however you will be the 4th of 5th elected member for George Town and no one in your party is going to make you premier with that kind of record. Be a leader!
Unlike Moses, who has declared his undying love for fulfilling his campaign promises and, unlike Mr Panton, who has expresses his “reservations” with the potential environmental damages as well as the cost, you are acting like a soldier crab outside his shell, with no spine and saying nothing either way.
Get on with being a premier and shut down the CBF so that you can get on with implementing OMOV in time for 2017. I, for one, will vote for you again and support you in 2017 if you do.
Like 2013, I will not be doing so in expectation of any favors in return. I can manage my own life. It is my children and grandchildren I do not want saddled with overwhelming public debt that will result in growth stifling taxes to service that debt in 15 years.
Last, and I am sure the least of your worries today, if you go ahead with this Mega Debt Dock, I will declare against you in the next election.
I voted for you and other PPM candidates in the 2013 elections under my misguided belief that surely the PPM were better than the UDP at leading our country upwards instead of downwards.
You and I grew up together and I live in what will be your constituency under OMOV and we share many voting friends in that constituency. In the event that I am unable to beat you, I sure as hell can split enough of your votes to make sure both Mr Panton and Moses poll higher than you in 2017. I do not need the PPM’s nor anyone else’s money to declare and execute a campaign against you in your constituency.
Stop the dock and get on with OMOV and I will be the first to acknowledge publicly your leadership qualities … but please, my friend … show me something positive … besides Legge.
This comment was written by a CNS reader in response to Kirk Freeport dominates limited pier support
Category: Marine Environment, Science & Nature, Viewpoint
WaYaSay writes ” you are acting like a soldier crab outside his shell ” .
Outstanding description !! 100%
While I think the points raised in this article are 1000% off, the political strategy by someone who wants to declared in the 2017 elections is quite brilliant. Why not take the opportunity to turn the successful PPM members against themselves? From someone in the newly appointed political group this would be an absolutely well planned and thought out move. I just hope everyone reading this understands that that is all it is. Unbelievably strategic smoke and mirrors.
Philosopher 8:17. That is truly the dumbest piece of political analysis I have ever had the misfortune to see published.
If I wanted to take the PPM out of power, why would I target their strongest members…………or for that matter wait until 2017.
The PPM is in power by the narrowest of margins, 9 elected seats. In order to get the power, they had to bribe in people that campaigned against them and their policies. At least C4C candidates understand debt and the economy …….. I listened to their campaigns.
If I wanted to change the Government, I would be working at their weakest supporters. You appear politically naïve enough to miss the fact that I would only need to convince one of them for a no confidence vote to be successful and change the Government …… it really is that easy. However, I am really only interested in changing the Governments mind about this Mega Dock, NOT changing the Government.
Convincing two that the Mega Dock is a debt the Country cannot afford and it is a done deal.
But of course this could NEVER, NEVER, NEVER happen………….just ask McKeeva and the UDP.
If the PPM leadership continue down the road of debt that is the new Mega Dock, the voting population will mistrust them ……….we all remember what happened with spending last time they were in.
Two, three or four members from their coalition who will accept ministerial roles in a new administration ………..it’s all over for PPM.
We already know Julie and Tara will jump for leadership positions, I can think of a few others both PPM and C4C that would at least nibble at the bait.
The Premier and the Deputy Premier need to stop acting like they are secure in the drivers seat and that voters like myself have to like it or lump it. There is power in the voters hand with this coalition Government today that has never existed before, I just intend to spot the light for voters to see, not run for a seat.
If the PPM executes it’s wish list, we WILL end up like Greece. It is a fact of economics that a country, any country, will go bankrupt once the Government grows faster than the economy.
The PPM has shown in the past that they are prone to building massive debt. This does not hurt as much when interest rates are at an all time low, however , when interest rates start to go up, they will easily outstrip our growth in GDP and we are doomed.
You can only raise taxes so high to service debt before the economy collapses ……………. you may not be around then but my children and grandchildren will……….just like the Greeks grandchildren today
Interesting and compelling opinion and foresight…something has ‘got to give’. Soon. The country is in trouble…..and my stance is HIRE Caymanians ~ think of them first. The rich get richer…..
No marine conservationists squeaked when Bush was about to sign a $300 million deal with China Harbour, or said a word about the environmental destruction that would have followed, probably five times as bad as what is being proposed now, .
The Ironwood project, with 10 miles of road slicing through the untouched heart of the island, and destroying hundreds of acres of forests and wetlands and requiring perhaps a million cubic yards of fill, now raises hardly a whimper of an objection. And what about the primeval forest that was flattened at Breakers, alongside Cayman’s iconic scenic coastline? No one in Government at the time cared a fig, as far as I can tell.
I’ll say this about the environmentalists among us, (and I do support their principles) they are quite inconsistent with their partisan view of the environment, all of which is interconnected.
And all of the projects you mentioned are ones we would have loved to stop, but we didn’t have the resources to object. Fortunately, this project impacts the tenders business so Mr. Briggs is willing to fund our efforts.
Biggie Bush’s china dock was coming so fast, most of us were still in bed.
Everyone in Cayman is driftwood…its just a question of from when…
True dat
Is that why you tell me there is no such thing as Caymanian; wrong there by friend, there is much to be said about being Caymanian….but you want to re-write our history and redefine what Caymanian means. No way bo-bo, not today!
Let it be known that i Michel Lemay am against this project. Too much to risk for our Beatiful Island. Kirk Freeport will survive if ever they think out of the box for a change. Alden my friend please Kill this potential big mistake. I worked 27 years on the waterfront and visitors enjoy our pristine waters. And nothing guarantees the Ships would come anyway and as they said they are againts any damage this crazy project.0
and we already get as many as 6 ships in port some days! You know when we get a nor’wester no ships can dock, right? So then what??? The argument of ships staying longer in port is bull, they have that option now and don’t!!
Great point… When we do have Nor’westers, there will be no tenders to move people to Spotts… Think this all the way through, Alden!
On the one hand, I do not support destruction of our reef or other marine life. It is precious and something we should fiercely defend. Any proposed dock that impacted this environment could be devastating if we destroy what draws visitors to Cayman to experience in the first place. On the other hand, it is embarrassing to watch tourists come on and off the ships – jammed up on tenders, losing time they should be spending exploring the island, mulling around in search of something tropical or cultural in GT, waiting for the stores to open. Is there any feasible way to fix the issues and discomfort the tourists experience without damaging our marine life?
Mr. Premier: Be a leader be strong, and do the responsible thing for Cayman in the face of dissenting opposition based on utter emotional non-sense and pseudo-science.
Stand strong and build the dock and go down in history in doing what’s right in the face of a bunch of obstructionist eco extremists.
I like those hyphenated phrases emotional-nonsense and pseudo-science that you use. Very scientific. You must be really smart.
Pseudo-intellect, Ad-hominem attack.
alden is spineless….
Alden is not spineless, he will stand up to the minority environmentalists that are trying to stop the progress his government was elected to deliver.
He will get this project moving and not delay it like past governments.
Is to! Is not! Naaa naa
If he really gets this through, then he is an idiot.
Bottom line is that he is saying nothing.
Ok Ppm bloggers you got paid all 74 of you, now shut up. Alden, don’t do it ole boy you don’t want the destruction of Heorge Town Harbour as your legacy. You are a man of courage indeed, courageous enough to do the right thing ” FOR THE LOVE OF COUNTRY. Ya remember this?
Brilliant Viewpoint WaYaSay. Alden has an opportunity by shutting down the proposed new dock to send a message to the younger generations of our country that moral values are important and the immoral permanent destruction or our environment for the sake of chasing money is irresponsible and unacceptable. Bo Miller deserves credit for his opinion piece also. If you want to tackle structural unemployment issues – do it properly through the channels of education and incentivizing business. Take a look at the activities of those behind the dock support – whether it is making money from confining dolphins or bombarding our youth with messages encouraging the consumption of alcohol, there are enough bad examples out there that the younger generations will have a tough time avoiding, it’s high time a good example was set by the Premier. Take the for sale sign down for once and preserve Cayman.
Morals aye? XXXXX Look at the following on-going issues the entire country is plagued with that the Premier will do nothing about:
1. The GT Landfill – killing us all and our eco-system; cancer linked to this also.
2. Public education – a complete mess; hence all the illiterate kids today.
3. Immigration reform and enforcement (a joke – thanks for cutting marine border control budget, more guns, drugs & illegal immigrants here)
4. A National Electoral system (each person gets 1 vote per district & 1 per the sister islands) versus OMOV = more ghettos & easy way to tailor votes.
5. Social Services – children still being molested at home by daddy and uncle dick & children having children.
6. A Mental Health facility (obvious one here)
7. Crime – highly organized these days and only getting worse.
8. Re: The Cruise Berthing Facility; not necessary and a waste of money. Advance on the tendering process for a lot less than what would be spent on the dock and we win on both ends. We cannot afford to risk losing ANY of our environmental asset.
I may have missed a few more points but gotta get back to work. Feel free to piggy back and add more guys. God Bless.
Thank you! I second everything you said! This mega dock is a disaster and we have much more important priorities for this country! A dock for cruise ships should be towards the dead bottom of the list! Here are some suggestions for 200 million: Cap the dump and find a new solution for effective waste management; expand the airport; investing in our infrastructure to service the growth in tourism; invest in the schools so that Caymanian children have a future, invest in and update the hospital, expand/move/update the courthouse; hire an animal welfare officer; train civil servants… the list goes on and on…. FORGET THE STUPID DOCK- I WILL ENSURE I DO NOT VOTE FOR ANYONE IN 2017 THAT SUPPORTS THIS IDIOCY! – A Caymanian!
WaYaSay,
You sound quite knowledgeable of what’s going on in politics and our country’s affairs. If OMOV passes in 2017, (I hope it does) I would urge you to put yourself forward as an MLA.
OMOV is not good for the Country; really think about it please. If it was 1 vote per district fine. But not 1 vote for yourself in the district your reside! That is NOT democracy. PLEASE wake-up.
This project is being promoted by Kirkconnells for the benefit of Kirkconnells. If they want it so bad they and their Minister can do it in their own homeland. Cayman Brac!
Cayman Brackers have spoilt them for too long making them think they are royalty. They really think people like them and other white families are the elite class and that the Cayman Islands belongs to them!
Too bad for us all Premier Alden McLaughlin and the rest of PPM continues to bow before Moses and the merchant class families like modern day slaves. Failing to be the leaders representing the interests of all Caymanians instead of just the self appointed royalty.
I KNOW you are a troll because everyone knows that there are no duppies in Spot Bay. The duppies used to all live in Stake Bay and would go out at after sundown to keep an eye on what the poor folk were gettin’ up to…..
No, no, no. We don’t want no stinkin dock in the Brac!!!
You definitely not from the Brac. The Brac is dying for any little piece of business we can get. Do you know how much life it brings here the one day that Star Clipper ship stops off? Do you know how badly we would love to have that opportunity? You Crazy
Anonymous, I definitely am from the Brac! I love the Brac because it’s quiet. It’s pretty. It doesn’t have fancy niteclubs. It doesn’t have traffic jams. It doesn’t even have have traffic lights. It has very little crime. It has beautiful scenery above and below the water. It has a lot of nice people. O.K., O.K….. maybe it does have a few misfits, but no place is perfect. I’d like to keep it like it is! We don’t need a CBF……….. and neither does Grand!
Ironically this person does not know the history of the Cayman Islands. The Kirkconnells were in recent years in the Brac, but their ancestors were from Grand Cayman before that and…no I’m not connected to them, just setting the record straight.
The Kirkonnells are driftwood Caymanians with ancestory arriving to these shores from Central America
Nope…the last name of the mother of all Kirkconnells here was Foster…definitely not driftwood. Fosters also originally from Grand Cayman despite the most recent generations living in Brac and Jamaica.
The founder of the Kirkconnell business empire, Walter Aaron Kirkconnell. was son of William Kirkconnell and Sarah Elizabeth Foster. I do not know of William Kirkconnell or his son, Walter Aaron, ever being in Grand Cayman before being in Cayman Brac but Sarah Elizabeth Foster, who was originally married to a William Ryan of Ireland , and her mother and three brothers migrated from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac about 1830s when she and her brothers were quite young..
WaYaSay,
Thank you!
You sir or madam must have been playing the old board game “Risk” back in the early 80s, when Alden was busy shining his Vette.
Well analysed and well put.
Thank you. Somebody in this place has to try to talk some sense. I just like to spend all my time writing these comments to get a reaction out of people because no one pays any attention to me outside of this site. I’ve tried to get meetings with many people in government but they know I blow a lot of smoke so they don’t like to waste their time meeting with me, and believe me they would be wasting their time.
You are the worst kind of Troll, someone who would impersonate someone with a fake name.
What is your problem……….CNS shut down your multiple thumbs down computer or are you just mad because I was the first one to call you out as a fake voter so you turned into a fake poster?
I am flattered, but dammit, I want my 100 thumbs down………Idiot Troll, I see you gave yourself 4 thumbs up votes, surely you can do better than that!.
If you really had a brain you could trace down my IP address and call me and cuss me out ……. or post your number and I will be glad to call you too.
Impersonating an anonymous blogger? Does that count as impersonating?
Of course it counts! It’s positively impersonating an impersonator. I’m sure the Cayman Islands has severe penalties for such heinous crimes.
WaYaSa,
What you wrote makes perfect sense.
We need people like you to speak up. well done! Dont be distracted by the negative comments.
This country needs to have laws and MLA’s who are not dictated by corporate lawyers drafting laws and proposals that only take away what little is left of this beautiful country.
FCO and the British have no sympathy for either the people or the Islands. The colonial masters shall never change their attitude or strategy to plunder from the colonies.
How do you expect them to change at this time when the coffers of the western banks are now empty and keep churning out more debit to ‘create’ more money out of thin air?
The assets of the country are being pledged for these dead projects so that the people are kept hostage till kingdom come. Talk to the Greeks!
Keep up the good work my man!
WaYaSay 7:21 you are my hero!!!