Speaker sets special meeting for next month
Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly
(CNS): Hopes by opposition members that the speaker of the House would call a much earlier meeting of the Legislative Assembly to debate two motions relating to the management of the police service have been dashed. The speaker has confirmed the parliament will not sit until Wednesday, 13 April, just twelve days before the already scheduled government meeting on 25 April.
CNS contacted the premier Tuesday following news of the meeting but the country’s leader was understood to be hosting the caucus meeting in the morning before a Cabinet meeting in the afternoon and was unavailable.
Government has not yet commented on the call by the opposition members for the debate about the police but while in opposition the PPM also raised concerns about crime levels and police management.
In 2012, the premier, who was then the opposition leader, took part in a closed-door Legislative Assembly meeting with the governor and Police Commissioner David Baines, along with all other members of the House. Under pressure then, as now, but seeking an increase in the budget, the police commissioner agreed then to an internal review of the management structure of the RCIPS called for by members. It is not clear now if that review was ever conducted and if so what the conclusions were.
Although statistics suggest crime has fallen since then, multiple other issues, from evidence management problems, break-ins at the George Town Police Station yard, a lack of community confidence and a failure to fully police the eastern districts, as well as the recent controversies over the search and rescue operation have contributed to pressure mounting again on Baines.
The many questions over the management of the near 400 strong service that sucks up an annual budget of some $35 million from the public purse remain unanswered but it is not clear if government will give its full backing to the motions, which some believe are more politically motivated to undermine the current government at a time when numbers are very tight for the PPM administration after three of its members crossed the floor since the last parliamentary meeting in November.
Ezzard Miller, one of the eight opposition members calling for a full review of the management of the RCIPS, told CNS that he hopes government will support the motions as Premier Alden McLaughlin had, along with the rest of the MLAs at the time, supported the concept of a review of the RCIPS and that, he said, is the basis of the opposition members requests for the special meeting.
See the details below of the Speakers call for the meeting and the motions scheduled to be debated.
Letter to Members re Meeting on 13 April 2016
PMM No. 19 – Enquiry into the Search and Rescue Operation on Sunday 6th March, 2016 – McKeeva Bush
Category: Crime, Crime Prevention, Government oversight, Police, Politics
This just goes to show who cares about Cayman and who doesn’t
Juju cares, she paved the Brac at our expense.
She paved the Brac for every Caymanian and visitor to the Brac. It was a public service. Did you expect her to pay for it? If so, then you should expect the same from MLA’s elected to represent constituencies in Grand Cayman, who pave roads in Grand Cayman using public funds and revenues that are also generated by Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
10:24, Can you please point to the law where it states that it is ok for a politician to take public monies and use them for private purposes i.e. paving their families and friends driveways or properties?
Perhaps you have a revision to said law that the rest of the Country is unaware of?
The roads we pave on the mainland are public roads, hence the use of public monies to do the job. Understand the difference?
Visit the Brac. The whole island must be her family and friends because the whole island was paved. She didn’t pave a single road by the way. The government did. Everyone opposing it must have been sleeping because it was done. Don’t drive on it if it hurts your feelings so much.
6:10, Again you miss the point. I cannot say it any simpler than this:
We know that the public roads were paved, we are fine with that, that’s supposed to happen. What you seem to find difficult, perhaps because you received a free driveway, is that USING PUBLIC MONIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL(S) IS ILLEGAL.
We’re all individuals. 🙂 If what you said is true then, for example, government scholarships would be illegal and civil service salaries also.
If government had to budget based on revenue from the Brac and Little Cayman, what a deficit that would be. Contributes very little and receives much. The duty reductions and reduced fees should speak millions.
Every person who votes in the Cayman Islands can at any time they choose, organize and sacrifice to let their concerns be heard. The question is not whether a few elected officials care, but rather, does the majority of Caymanians care enough to dedicate their time to important issues, or do they just vent when things don’t go their way.
” Da Wha Yu Get” Mr. Premier!
Juju just bit the hand of the Premier that made her Speaker of the LA.
You should seek intelligence. The current Premier didn’t give the Hon. Julianna Speaker. He was most grateful and desperate to form a government so that he could be Premier. She gave him what he has and enabled the democratic process to continue without chaos and additional cost to the country. Furthermore, the Speaker has no obligation to consult the Premier with regard to such matters even though she probably did and he is more concerned with cycling in Cuba and bluffing the opposition as to who has more power.
Ya Mama!
That’s good that she is speaker, as we love our blue eye Capt Moses being our Leader. A very fair and upright Man. God bless you.. You will be back again the next time.
Another political black eye for Premier McLaughlin, a leader who remains consistently detached from reality and the views of his Caymanian people. If Govt members support his nonchalant approach to matters impacting the public then they are just as guilty and deserve to be voted out of office with him!
11:24 Hurrah!
Good. These complaints are plain silliness and misplaced blame.
Alden talks a different language now that he’s in charge then he did when he was the opposition. He’ll just blow this off because he doesn’t want to get on their bad side. At least Mr Bush stood up and spoke his mind, even if they didn’t like what he said. Alden doesn’t have the same cojones, after all he owes them a lot for helping him get elected and squashing bush so his time as opposition leader would be rather ineffective leaving Alder to do whatever he wants without much opposition.
Couldn’t have said it any better.
Like x99999999.9