The high cost of corruption
Anonymous writes: Government will soon begin to increase taxes to pay for needed infrastructure because of continued development that is not self-funding. The general public complains about the cost of living and the business community says that the high cost of doing business contributes greatly to the high cost of living. Corruption in reality adds about 30% to the cost of living and the cost of doing business.
After the exposure of corruption after corruption in the Cayman Islands, in both the private and public sectors, it is past time for the general public, the business community and the business organizations, led by the now very vocal Chamber of Commerce, to go to the streets demanding that the Governor / PPM Government take action on the following:
1. Implement the Standards in Public Life Law, passed unanimously by ALL MLA’s years ago.
2. Enact / implement a very strong Whistleblower Law.
3. Enact / implement a very strong Charities Law.
4. Immediately appoint a successor Auditor General.
5. Anti-Corruption Commission: Reestablish the membership and give them the resources, including finance, to execute the intended function of this very important crime fighting entity.
6. Stop violating General Orders, that limit “Acting” appointments to one year, by immediately appointing both the successor Complaints Commissioner and the Freedom of Information Commissioner.
7. Election Law Reform: After “One Person, One Vote”, continue with the Election Law Reform discussed for many years. This must include full accountability / transparency / reporting of ALL POLITICAL DONATIONS.
Very, very few of our MLA’s and political candidates support the above issues, they pay lip service to democracy and fighting crime. These anticorruption measures are only the beginning to improve our quality of life in our Beloved Cayman Islands.
The comment was made in response to CIFA executives facing shake-up
Category: Government oversight, Politics, Viewpoint
The money wasted under the last Government is easy to calculate from the constant news reports, and common sense that tells you that at least as much again lies hidden from view. I’m willing to bet that those who are struggling in Cayman have been systematically cheated out of $150 million of misdirected, wasted and stolen revenues over an eight year period, money that should have been used to help with education, health and saving the shared environment. I hope there’s a special punishment reserved for those whom the electorate trusted to represent them, but who end up milking the system, betraying the electorate and so condemning the needy to more pain and suffering, while they themselves profit with other people’s money. Corruption truly is the political cancer of society.
Ezzard – One can complete an FOI “anonymously” (for good, and well documented reasons) so why do you or anyone else need to know who made a post?
Maybe if people didn’t feel so much of the “corrupt” weight of retributribution we would feel more secure with posting our names.
Corruption and conflict of interest issues will not stop unless the people stop asking for favors and go out of their way to circumvent the law, regulation and process.
Come and pave my drive way, approve my employee’s work permit asap, don’t charge me the full duty on xyz, don’t charge the extra fee for extra luggage on CA flight, license my cousins friends crap car despite it falling apart……..the list goes on and on.
People think their “lil favor” doesn’t mean anything big. Well, you spread a “lil favor” across the total population and over 20 years you end up with what you got now. A complete disaster, riddled with conflict of interest, and dare I say it, corruption.
But didn’t the premier, and all other MLA’s, recently vote to stifle the leading newspaper because they all concluded corruption is a non-issue?
That was using the Double Standard provision in the Sweeping It Under The Carpet Law (2015 Revision). It is different.
Rubbish. None of these suggestions would have stopped Watson.
private sector employees have been the last two persons convicted of corruption. Not civil servants who have cleaned up their act.
Come on private sector wake up.
8. Let Cayman Brac be a free market economy.
9. Sell Cayman Brac to the Chinese.
Cayman Brac is slowly being sold the the NY Serbian. We will soon be run and controlled by the Mafia. Sooo don’t worry our big shot politician is slowly going to make it happen and you will be rid of us. Lord help us.
Welcome to Grand Cayman’s world. Our “benefactor” is originally from the US
Heard that the country manager of one of the oil companies, owns share in the new gas station and we wonder why we are paying high cost for fuel.
Look at the other owner, who was just in the paper!
Just saying……
There is a method to their madness, keeping someone in an acting role for extended periods ensures that person continues to brown nose, kiss butts, stay quiet, and not step on toes out of fear they will not get confirmed to the position.
It’s a little carrot they use to play games, the unfortunate thing is that many of these individuals in extended acting roles become lame ducks in the position and staff use it as leverage to get away with a multitude of inappropriate behavior. I’ve been around enough Civil Servants to know how this works, trust me, it is not by accident, the system is by design.
I read this comment with a lot of interest. It certainly offers seven shortcomings in the CIG. Sometimes I wonder if any of our glorious leaders read any articles concerning improvement in our government, especially any that night question the honesty of those self-same leaders! Recently there seems to have been action taken in one or two cases of corruption discovered in some areas of the government. Isn’t that amazing? For a l-o-n-g time I thought every wrongdoing would continue to be swept under the rug! Part of the last paragraph could have been labeled “Number 8” because paying lip service is almost the same thing as committing the crime! A small percentage of Caymanians are beginning to resent our poor quality of government. Let’s hope they grow and strengthen. I think they will.
The problem is not a lack of support for that list in principle its more-often a challenge of practicalities. For example # 7. So easily said. yet no country has a good handle on it. Which means there is no ‘best practice’ Cayman can simply copy. Which means anyone tackling it has a long slog ahead to end up getting it at best not quite right. So they tackle something else first. (Like the dump, even that would be easier than campaign finance reform.) And so on up the list. (Except for maybe #4.)
So, you’re not wrong in your assertions, just your tone of indignation and oversimplification.
I agree with all seven request by the “anonymous reader” but is this not part of the transparency that is needed, be a person, sign your name. What are you afraid of the Government. Why blame the politicians and the Chamber when you don’t have enough convictions in your beliefs to sign your name.
D. Ezzard Miller
Isn’t the content of the message far more relevant that the identity of the person who wrote it?
Has the Chamber or politicians done anything to right the wrong that was done to Brian Tomlinson, whom I believe has some connection to your particular district, when he signed his name?
The vindictive reign of the UDP had terrible consequences, and poor Brian Tomlinson was someone Mac could crush knowing no one would stand up to him, including Brian’s MLA
Who is suddenly brave again.
Excellent point. Brian Tomlinson stood up and was counted. He gave his name. He fought against corruption. Ezzard?
Probably not government he’s afraid of but his neighbour or anyone of the people he/she may know.
But corruption must start with government and does this one or the previous ones really have an appetite to tackle it, be it noble corruption or major government corporate corruption.
Just look at the anti corruption commission that one solitary figure if the premier had an appetitate new members would have been in place as soon as one left and who is actually carrying out the investigation. At the conclusion of the Watson trial the judge commended the investigating officers all two of them is that it two officers investigating corruption, clearly no appetite everyone berated Legg and the compass but maybe just maybe he was right. Time now to put our heads in the sand ignore it and it might go away.
I agree that it is the message you need to take notice of, not necessarily the messenger. In fact why are you so keen to identify the poster of a point well made, so you can bully them in your typical nonsensical style?
Northsider, (and no you’re not getting my name either).
You may be Northsider, but definitely not a North Sider (or Nor’sider even).
I concur. Do not understand the constant misspelling of North Side. How about Westbay, Eastend, Boddentown?
It is because we genuinely do not care.
Thank you for stating the obvious.You feel this way, but still expect to be treated as decent human beings.
Hey anonymous, you’re joking, right? – Anonomous