Government too busy for special meeting

| 08/04/2016 | 33 Comments
Cayman News Service

Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly

(CNS): The Cayman government is already too busy preparing bills for the LA meeting it has called later this month, the 2016 Budget and now dealing with the pressures surrounding the Panama Papers to attend the special meeting called by opposition members, Premier Alden McLaughlin has stated. Despite his weakened majority, as a result of three MLAs quitting government benches since the last parliamentary meeting in November, the government leader is making no concession to the opposition.

In a statement released by his office Thursday evening, McLaughlin made it clear he had other fish to fry and was in no mood to deal with the opposition and independent motions before he was ready. Accepting that the motions raise important issues, he said that, given the circumstances, they were not so urgent that they could not wait until 25 April for the scheduled meeting, when they would be on the order paper.

The opposition group has called for a 13 April meeting to debate two private members’ motions regarding the RCIPS. Accusing them of being oblivious to the threats created by the Panama Papers, McLaughlin said they should be pledging to support government in the latest battle with the UK instead of trying to disrupt and distract government during the mounting crisis.

McLaughlin prepares for UK fight

The premier said government’s work on its first ever 18-month budget and the fourteen pieces of legislation coming to parliament were taking up time but were “overshadowed” by the challenges presented by the Panama Papers.

“While Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush and MLA Ezzard Miller, as well as other members of the opposition, appear to be oblivious to the threat we are under, I and the government I lead, entirely understand what is at stake,” he said.

Noting the pressure on Cayman and other overseas territories regarding the disclosure of beneficial ownership information and the call from the British opposition leader for direct rule over them, he said government could ill afford the distraction of an earlier meeting of the LA.

The premier said the opposition leader and others accusing government of dereliction of duty should be “pledging their solidarity with the government” and agreeing to work with it as it navigates the present challenges.

“To do otherwise — to disrupt and distract the government at this critical point — is the very thing that constitutes dereliction of duty. There is just too much at stake for opposition politics to be played at this point,” he added.

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Comments (33)

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  1. Soon come says:

    Sorry but I believe these clowns are wasting time.
    They’re to busy to deal with such an important national issue?

    Come on guys, everyone knows how this stuff works, your caucus doesn’t want you to attend because it means they would not have instructed you boys too.

    Notice I said boys. It means that in the relm of men you all are still little boys. You can’t do anything unless your mommy and daddy says so.

    As for your caucus, well let’s just say that I prefer to have thieves and murderers by my side. At least I know what they are up too. Your caucus instructs you. You have to follow their orders. You don’t know more than half the time why they instructed you. But I can tell you it’s for their own personal benefit. So keep following your instructions like good little boys do.

    Usually after you get kicked out you realize how dirty and sneaky these little rats were. But it will be too late and you will be flat on your backsides, with a negative stigma attached to you and your family.

    So all we gotta do is wait a while and watch you fall, like all the others have done before.

    • Spot on says:

      Wow! Somebody says that the PPM is doing the people’s business and therefore has no time to respond or have responses to Parliamentary questions. Hmm sounds like Dictatorship to me, who are you to ask me questions , well Sah Alden he is an elected representative.

      But really to the people’s business comment; isn’t the livelihood of people
      Especially those who are hungry today and living in cars isn’t this the people’s business, the rising crime isn’t that the people’s business too, isn’t the high cost of food and .iving in general which continues to rise , Isn’t that important. . The people’s business, isn’t ambulatory services not the people’s business- aa the country relies on charitable causes to do the things that Government is elected to do.

      Well Help was on the way and still not here yet, don’t you wonder when the “help” will come. Poor Principle Mentality.

  2. Silo Broker says:

    Well Al you and Wayne Wonder having been running up and down signing this and that What happen you find out the Cunning of the Britisssh I had a dream that one day i will get my title !!!!!

  3. Anonymous says:

    McKeeva is the pipe piper, he even has the two big dumb dinosaurs from the east and North following him.

    • Anonymous says:

      McKeeva just get used to the fact that you do not call the shots around here anymore, you are now a disruptive joke, please retire for all our sakes.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Thank you Premier. Why would anyone want to attend this meeting?

    Motions are old news now.

    • Anonymous says:

      In a year you all will have a lot of time on your hands. Lots of it, count and bet on it

      • Anonymous says:

        I sincerely hope you’re not suggesting we’re going to let the gambler finish destroy us. Incredibly there seems to.STILL be people in Cayman ignorant enough for that but rest.assured the very large majority of.us are WAY past that. Sorry, the time of free fridges and two million dollar church donations is OVER, folks. Accept that and lets get on with our future please.

  5. Anonymous says:

    What a bunch of bullshit, and waste of a pay-cheque, paid by the resident tax-payers.

  6. Wharves says:

    Had Alden done what he was elected to do and stood up to the UK we would not be in this predicament now. But he is blowing it out of proportion because the comments made by the Opposition Leader in the UK are pretty much the equivalent of Mckeeva here making comments. Neither one run the Govt and neither one can win because they do not have the numbers on their side. Alden is just using this latest “threat” as a distraction. Busy my A$$, I bet you he will have time to visit Country and Da Station and Johnnies later on this evening.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Alden will soon be Alldone at the next election

    • Anonymous says:

      That’s right, mceewa doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell against him.

      • Anonymous says:

        You don’t make any sense at all,my 7 year old niece would do much better than you on a simple IQ test.

        • Anonymous says:

          That’s what happens when you glut on koolaid three times a day. Please give your 7 year old neice my congratulations. She’s obviously light years ahead of her auntie.

  8. Caymanian says:

    This may get a bit of backlash but I actually agree with Premier on this. Maybe before this whole Panama papers thing I was on the other side of the fence but this Panama thing changes a lot.

    I really think many people out there do not realize how bad this COULD BE. If the fear mongers gather more power we could have a force against us we can’t fight and be lead headlong into something that could kill or do serious damage to our strongest pillar.

    I think we need relax and let cooler heads prevail. We need unite on this front and start waging a serious war against those who attack our financial sector.

  9. Anonymous says:

    The KING of opposition politics has spoken people!

  10. Anonymous says:

    LOL too busy to do their jobs!

  11. GT voter says:

    MLA’s Roy McTaggart and Joey Hew as ppm back bench members ARE NOT bound by “Collective Responsibility” as they are not in Cabinet.

    Therefore why are they not attending the next sitting of the LA and representing the people of the district of GT?

    • Anonymous says:

      Because Roy is a turncoat PPM ass kisser and Joey couldn’t win an election to save his life without Alden or Kurt. Pure politics. We keep electing these guys to stand up and be counted but the only person they can stand up and be counted for is Alden.

      If Alden doesn’t want to show up why doesn’t he release the rest of his cabinet from collective responsibility and allow them to attend the meeting..Sure all of them aren’t busy working on this UK thing..ie Tara, Marco, Ozzie…

      Roy and Joey are not bound by collective responsibility but have no balls and can’t speak for themselves so they will follow blindly whatever Alden says for them to do no matter that they were elected by the people and not Alden

      Oh for a few good statesmen! Men that could not be bought and sold. Men that have balls, guts and grit to stand on their own two feet, speak their minds openly and freely for the betterment of the people of my country without being beholding to their earthly god called Alden..

      Never again PPM…Never again!

  12. Anonymous says:

    If DART requested a full two days of meetings they would not be too busy I bet. PPM lack respect for Caymanians

  13. Anonymous says:

    I can’t wait for election time to come !!!!!!

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