Miller: Sink dock, float education

| 01/11/2017 | 90 Comments
Cayman News Service

Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller delivers his contribution to the budget debate, 1 November 2017

(CNS): The opposition leader has taken aim at the government for its decision to press ahead with the costly and controversial cruise berthing facility in George Town while under-funding education, and called on the administration to “sink the dock and float education”. Ezzard Miller said government had claimed last week during the budget presentation that education was a priority, but he said the actual budget documents tell a different story, with the spending on school operations and maintenance cut when compared to 2017 and nowhere near enough cash injection into education to pay for the capital projects and other initiatives.

In the official response to the government’s 2018/19 financial spending plan, the leader of the opposition spent a considerable amount of time on education, insisting that government was not funding schools properly and the investment in capital spending and equity injections was woefully inadequate for the list of things that the government said it wants to achieve.

In his response he also broadly criticised the budget for not offering anything for regular people. He said there was a lot of “fancy words …but no matter how they try to dress it up, this is a plan that is simply not good for the average Caymanian”.

Miller described the budget as a continuation of the regressive policies of the former government by the new one — “policies that cater to the elite class of Caymanians, the foreign businesses, the foreign worker, which will lead to the continued erosion of the middle class and the increased suffering and hopelessness of the poor Caymanians”.

Speaking at length about the contradictions between the speeches with the actual numbers, he said that Secondary Education Services had been allocated just over $23.5 million for 2018, a 0.02% reduction on 2017, and the budgets for primary school operations were largely the same as last year, which means there is no room to increase teachers’ salaries to at least $5,000 each per month.

“Another promise, proclamation and public announcement not kept,” he said.

He indicated things were worse for the maintenance budget, which has been cut by more than $1.1 million when compared to 2017.  “All the schools need more maintenance, not less,” he said, as he pointed to the more than $11 million increase on prison spending in comparison. He said government was spending 100% more on prisoners, “most of whom were failed by the very education system we are continuing to under-fund”.

Miller frequently referred to the proposed $300 million “secret cruise pier” while government under-funded schools. The cost was disputed by Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell, but when Miller asked him to reveal the true price tag, he said he would deal with it in his own contribution to the debate.

As Miller continued to call on government to “sink the port and float education”, the premier interjected and accused Miller of misleading the public. Alden McLaughlin claimed that government was not going to pay for the construction of the piers and that only $3 million had been set aside in the 2018/19 budgets to cover government costs for progressing the project.

Despite Miller’s disputes with the House Speaker McKeeva Bush about the $300 million price tag, one of several spats they engaged in, which eventually led to Miller refusing to complete his contribution to the budget debate, he pointed out that whatever the cruise facility was going to cost, it was education that was suffering when cash went elsewhere.

He also noted that the government bench covers all of the constituencies within the catchment area for John Gray High School but they were happy to fund the private schools to the tune of $1 million and not build John Gray, even after boasting about an operating surplus for 2017 of $141 million.

“Yet they expect the parents in their constituencies to accept that they would rather build an unnecessary, unjustified and unknown port at a cost of more than six times what the new John Gray High School would cost, while their children and their teachers suffer great health risk in mould-infested classrooms,” Miller added.

He accused government of not offering anywhere near enough cash investment for the capital projects planned for education or the services it claims it wants to enhance, from improving IT equipment to adding more special needs and STEM teachers.

Reminding his colleagues that he was one of a very small number of MLAs whose children actually attended government rather than private schools, Miller said he was speaking from experience about the problems plaguing all government schools, which were in a poor state of repair, under-resourced and under-staffed.

Check back to CNS for more coverage of the LA budget debate.

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Category: Education, Government Finance, Politics

Comments (90)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    many kids coming back from college and cant find work….glad mine have foreign passports…..? as well as cayman…to return when britain institutes direct rule?

  2. Anonymous says:

    We need to give more money to education. How can my 2nd cousin’s twice-removed fly by night company survive without doing a crap job to create leaky roofs with mold, terrible wifi, and paper thin walls to hear the bass thumping pot smoking students in the parking lot. Half the under-performing faculty wont be able to hide when a well built structure is in place, so remember we are also sustaining edumacational jobs for my 3rd cousin who is only one removed -education needs its standards.Plus if we give money to education know, then all the management can look like sugar daddies who saved the day, even though they are responsible for all the problems.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Why cant they alter the budget so that there a smaller/more payments towards the dock so that they can do what they need for Education? The dock is a one off project! Education is ab indefinite situation. I say this only on the basis that I assume this is possible. I am no politician, accountant or economist. Positive responses are welcome in this regard.

    • Anonymous says:

      Only a few million is budgeted over next 18mos for continued dithering, “consultants”, and political appearance of advancing the dock project. We spend 10 times that amount on routine CAL and Turtle Farm subsidies.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Spening more & more & more on education each year is not really the answer. Yes the country has to commit sufficient resources to education. BUT most of the success will come from our students wanting to learn, realising that they have to learn, working hard to learn, parents encouraging their child(ren) to learn, etc.
    No amount of funding can overcome that.After all a lot of us learnt and have done OK with a lot less being spent.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Education budget is over double the cost per pupil of our excellent private schools… money evidently isn’t the issue.

  5. Anonymous says:

    We are lucky that the east Caribbean is damaged or we would see less ships this year.
    We still missing out though because the Oasis ships cant stop here and most of what we getting is the cheap carnivals.
    We need that dock to get the best ships

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Ezzard is an excellent leader of the opposition. And if for whatever reason this government does not complete its term or loses the next election, he will make an excellent… Speaker of the House.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    We need the dock!

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  8. SSM345 says:

    The PPM should know by now they cannot handle big projects so should stay away form them; and someone needs to remind Alden and his cohorts of their favorite campaign word; transparency. They going sink this country or sell the final piece of he jigsaw to DART if they go ahead with this. Do they even know where Falmouth is?

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    • Anonymous says:

      PPM is delivering quite successfully on one of the biggest projects in our history— our new airport.

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      • Foreign Consultant says:

        Airport budgeted at 55m

        Clifton Hunter High School cost 110m

        John Gray High School currently incomplete after ten years but it will cost an estimated 95-110m to complete

        Beulah Smith primary school in WB is incomplete but 7m paid for marl

        The GT landfill and GT Dock will be the largest and most expensive projects.

        You might want to check the facts before defending the mismanagement and waste of the PPM.

      • And the airport’s final price is going to come in way over budget.

    • PD says:

      It is in Camana Bay, 2nd floor!

  9. Anonymous says:

    Premier McLoughlin should be ashamed of himself he hasn’t learnt a single lesson from previous mistakes made. These mistakes will be his legacy.

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    • Diogenes says:

      Gonna be hard to give a damn about his legacy when he is sitting back on the 20 years of MLA (in his case 8 years of Premier) pay and occasionally going to his farm, The man will be living large after he steps down, he doesn’t care what the serfs think, he can’t see the peasants sweating from the tallest tower of his metaphorical castle.

      Diogenes

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      • PD says:

        Spend, spend, spend – our Premier likes that.
        Get the dam school you started finished up pronto and quit the smoke and mirrors.

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  10. Revelations 3:45 says:

    After reading the latest Auditor General’s report on how government attempts to manage capital projects. I can only imagine what the expensive mega disaster that will be the cruise port in GT harbor will end up like and costing the country. At this rate it will make CHHS & JGHS look like well managed projects and value for money. Given the track record of leadership.

    Dear God please help the people of the Cayman Islands because its leaders seem determined to take the country into 4th world status due to poor decisions, poor management and no idea as to the meaning of accountability.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    You know what makes me laugh, the problems with education and mismanagement of projects like the high schools was created by the same idiot Premier that wants to build this cruise ship pier! What is worse is that he has followers who support his every decision.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Come on Ezzard, this is like saying Quit work, Get new car! We need the dock to pay for better education!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Really? How long do you think it’ll take to pay back for this? How many generations will not have money spent on their education because Government will lose the revenue from whoever agrees to pay for it to pay back for their spending?

  13. Anonymous says:

    Miller is a joke and most of the opposition including the member of the jlp are a joke.
    Education is not a joke though.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    God bless the Honourable Mr Ezzard Miller for standing up for his Caymanian people. The cruise dock should not be paid for by Government. There are other options that continue to be ignored by the Government bench. Be sensible and think this through. Please!

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Education is the most important thing that this island needs to get right!!!
    Education doesn’t pay for itself though and we need the tourism industry to help pay for our youth to get that education.
    We can’t afford to only rely on hotel tourists, we have to have a balanced product and we desperately need this dock. We need the finance sector but we can’t rely on that alone.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Diversifying, or expanding, the economy is a sensible strategy. I see a possible bottleneck and some areas of friction that could result from the Port build. First let’s review the bottleneck potential. A new 5 star resort to be built at Pageant Beach. A possible other 5 star resort to be constructed by the Dart Group. A continued inching up of the stay over clientele on island who will arrive with certain expectations of experience and services.

      How will the increased cruise passengers mix with this new upper class of tourists? Is their enough public beach to satisfy the number of cruise visitors? How will traffic be impacted? How does that impact the experience of stay over guests?

      What happens at Sting Ray City- how many more visitors can it withstand? Or put another way, do we understand the carrying capacity of the North Sound in general for snorkelling, Sting Ray city and the boat traffic?

      The Cruise business served an important role after 9/11 when Americans quit flying and again post Ivan. They did bring visitors and $’s at a time when stay over guests waned.

      How are other “high end” islands balancing the cruise and stay over guests? Are there lessons to be learned? I am not convinced that “high end” Cayman stay over visitors are compatible with ‘cruise’ passengers. Whether cruise passengers deserve a derogatory reference or not, perceptions tell a lot.

      It feels like another crossroads for Cayman. Tourism is a fickle industry and guests can be fickle. Serious work on the management of the projected growth in both streams of the tourism industry is vital.

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      • Anonymous says:

        There is an easier solution. Raise prices and focus on bringing in affluent visitors to our shores. A certain land barron is way ahead of you all.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Miller and arden are just big hot air balloons that object to anything they dont control. If they werent so selfish and power hungry they would have been part of the ruling government but for obvious reasons they arent.

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    • West bay Premier says:

      I think that the Taxpayers should demand some answers about what this 3 million dollars would be spent on except saying cruise ship dock . I believe that this is going to be another 3 million dollars of more studies done in the name of cruise ship dock . Maybe he will change the name of study to research . But Mr McLaughlin shouldn’t be allowed to stay tight lip about THIS 3 million after spending so many millions of dollars and no cruise ship dock yet .
      Pepole it’s time to hold your Government accountable .

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  17. Anonymous says:

    All the little caymanians that can’t afford to go off island for college are going to be pushed to poverty if we don’t get this dock soon. Cayman is going to be the island that time forgot and the only jobs left are for those foreigners in the big finance positions.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Everything ppm touches turns to shit. At this rate Cayman will become the Greece of the Caribbean. This is another expensive mistake driven by greed, ego and special interests

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      • Marked says:

        Fear not. We have resident vulture fund specialists that collect the debt of countries like Greece

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      • Diogenes says:

        Not just the PPM, the CDP is their half brother, the political parties here are two sides of the same coin, I have yet to meet anyone who off the top of their head can offer me definitive evidence of any major differences between the CDP and PPM. The only slight difference can be found if you look at their respective manifestos and published policy documents even then it is mostly in execution rather than actual policy.
        They dislike each other personally due to past experiences, competitions and egos but policy-wise they are pepsi and coke (same basic drink with a different flavor)

        Maybe time for a liberal party in Cayman (invisible God knows we need one)

        Diogenes

    • Anonymous says:

      You guys will stop at nothing to get your damn dock built…that’s it, bring in the racist card…try the economics-it does work. You could spend a lot less developing the runway and encouraging more hotels for stayover tourism which benefits all Cayman as opposed to the shops in Georgetown. If all I was offered was the shops, I would go elsewhere, you can shop anywhere in the world and with better cheaper choices…

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      • Anonymous says:

        Exactly!! They will get the dock, they will have thousands more tourist running to and fro like crabs, the wealthy tourist will not like the experience, because there won’t be space to turn around, the stores will be stacked wall to wall with more tourist, most of the inventory will be too expensive for the poorer travelers to buy, the rich tourist really don’t want more stuff and will not make any expensive purchase with all the poor tourist looking over their shoulders, the poor tourist will not want the cheap looking figurines made in china. They will dredge the bay and the storms will push the water accross George Town, through the stores. The roads in George Town and its surrounding areas cannot accommodate all the taxis, busses etc. that the mega ships will need to carry their passengers, the food in George Town is mostly horrible and mega ships passengers will not want the regular burgers and fried chicken. They will be looking for a very nice upscale restaurants with good local fresh, healthy cuisine. There is no place to operate such a place, because all the owners of the rinkydink crappy restaurants will not rent the premises because they will be looking to make a killing off the usual stale crappy food that they have been serving,for years. Same old hard over cooked pasta, sounds depressing and negative, I agree but I also think it is how it will be for awhile, until the mega ships owners decide there are other places to go with more space, less crowds, better food and they can have a little privacy. George Town could be nice, tree lined streets for pedestrians only if some of the store owners would give up a little space to put in the trees, nice canopies in certain places, outside cafes and did I say good food. Do they even know that many people travel just to be able to sample great food, unusual food, iguanas, lionfish, turtle steak, agouti etc. breadfruit, cassava- yes breadfruitvand cassava is healthy- some of us might turn up our noses at that but international travelers will love it. Anyway, I guess the government can’t even wrap their minds around this, they can only see the mega ships and mega dock because they promised it on the campaign trails even to the detriment of the populace.

        • All aboard says:

          They won’t need to eat overpriced crappy food – they can walk straight back into the ship for all inclusive food and booze.

          • Anonymous says:

            Of course they can but then all the spin off restaurant jobs will not happen. So all we will get out of the mega millions dock will be the landing fee.remember there will be Magem on the roads and they probably won’t even bother to come ashore. Still think the dock will be profitable.?

  18. West bay Premier says:

    I have to also say that Mr Miller’s opposition to the new budget is the smartest thing he has done in a long time.
    We the voters of the Cayman Islands better wake up and see what Mr Miller is talking about and referring to.
    How are the Islands going to sustain all the debt that Government is putting on the Taxpayers today ? We need to realize that all the debt that Government is accumulating will follow our great grandchildren generations .

    We shouldn’t allow the Government to be like drunken sailors with Taxpayers money .
    What I am seeing is Government is destroying the money faster than it’s coming in , and the most important issues are being ignored.

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  19. Real345talk says:

    K so why invest in this long term investment aka education. Education is important but how will it be useful without oppertunities on island? Everyone is ‘sinking’ this great oppertunity to actually next income to the country other than tourism.

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    • Anonymous says:

      If we educate our children then they can take up some of these work permit top jobs. Remember Cayman does not have an employment problem we have a work permit problem. Educate our people and there will still be enough jobs to go around for a long time. We do not have to sacrifice our kids future to build this dock.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Passing a Standards in Public Life Bill will help to initiate the long-deferred process of removing temptations, abuse, and conflicts of serving public officials. If MLAs can’t be trusted to agree on a very basic code of conduct for themselves, then Lord help us all – none of the rest matters. This should be the number one priority for ALL Caymanians and residents, including the MLAs themselves. Call your MLA and tell them so!

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Sustainable development and sustainable tourism clearly needs to be taught to our young school children to break this cycle of destruction we are currently in.

    The old fools currently running government probably won’t learn or change their greedy ways but there is hope for the future if we educate the children on better practices at an early age.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    Lip service as usual. Germany was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War but within a few short years, it was an economic power again. Why? They had and still have the most important resource a country needs for progress – the human resource. We have to begin by providing the resources for teachers and by recruiting quality teachers. Unfortunately, the Cayman Islands does not offer an attractive package for teachers and that’s why we end up with second and third tiers teachers.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    Where exactly does me Miller think the money comes from to pay for education?

    Our government schools are all free to the public and that gets paid for by the money that come into the island especially from the cruises and tourism.

    Go watch the chamber of commerce videos

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    • Anonymous says:

      There is a surplus, it should come out of that and not by spending on something that is only going to create debt, and in all likelihood be a white elephant whilst destroying the reefs, which is actually the main reason for sustainable stayover tourism.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Good luck with that, ever seen anyone of these clowns with an original thought? ever?

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      • Diogenes says:

        The “surplus” doesn’t exist yet that is dependent on next year’s fees and government transactions, they are making plans with money they don’t have yet (kinda how budgets work) Look at the specifics of the budget the expansion of jobs aka work permits aka government revenue

        Diogenes

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    • Anonymous says:

      The problem with watching the camber videos is that most if the MLAs are incapable of comprehdung the concept. The perfer handouts to pander votes. They understand that concept very well.

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      • Anonymous says:

        It is disgraceful that Alden McLaughlin and Moses Kirkconnell are prepared to spend millions on relocating coral while public schools, the teachers and students lack basic resources everyday.This is a sick joke and tells you all you need to know about their priorities as leaders and character as politicians.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Looks like you are giving a problem with sentences structure and spelling?

  24. Anonymous says:

    All I have to say is that this is the same guy that wants Cayman to be independent.
    Everything that comes out of his mouth is garbage.

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    • Diogenes says:

      I’ll agree with you that independence is a laughable proposal (take a look at the trend of independent Caribbean Countries if you disagree) but occasionally Mr. Miller does highlight good points and this is one of them, The Finance Minister Roy McTaggart said something along the lines of there has been an increase in the education budget (which is true) but then he said the important bit, where the money is going is the issue and the cause for concern. The opposition is questioning the allocation of the funding along with the proposed increase not being anywhere near enough to cover the necessary costs and improvement.

      I personally would rather have education be funded to the fullest extent possible instead of spending 3 million dollars during the next two years deciding how best to destroy our marine environments and with the proposed National Conservation Law amendments I doubt the government will even have to do an Environmental Impact Assessment before they start their grandiose plans

      Diogenes

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  25. Anonymous says:

    What they need to sink is these waste of space MLAs who can’t muster more than about 200 votes every 4 years.

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  26. Anonymous says:

    Thank you Mr. Miller! Keeping it real!

    AMEN!

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  27. Anonymous says:

    And the North wind is blowing

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  28. Anonymous says:

    There is no greater enemy to the Cayman Islands than the parents and grandparents. Election after election I watch the promises, the alligator tears for our under educate youth, Why can’t the adult voters say ‘enough’. We want our children to have at least a middle class life. We will not settle for anything less. We will pay for the next generation’s prosperity with our sacrifices. Make education of Cayman’s young the only priority.
    I think, at times the Gov. wants to keep Cayman’s general public under educated and ignorant so as have a next generation who are dumb enough to bring the present into the future. The only cost of SIDD (same island different day) is your children’s, this islands future.

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    • Why can’t we have a vocational / trade school to train the Caymanian unemployed youth? Use the budgetary surplus to train and put unemployed Caymanians back to work.

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  29. Anonymous says:

    The speeches from the opposition members to the budget debate was the most coherent and sensible in years. Thank you Mr Miller for leading the charge and speaking up for Cayman and Caymanians.

    Mr Saunders, PLEASE keep up the fight for mortgage protection. It is shocking that the Government is ignoring the largest expense for most households. To know that an illness or change in income can make you homeless despite paying for years on time should worry us all.

    I am looking forward to the contribution from the opposition members who are proving that they are a credible government in waiting.

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    • Anonymous says:

      On the other hand, here are three alternative concepts: 1) no one owes you a damn house. 2) money management, 3) don’t buy property you can’t afford

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  30. Anonymous says:

    The speeches from the opposition members to the Budget debate was the most coherent and sensible contribution in years. Well done Mr Miller for leading the charge and speaking up for Cayman and Caymanians.

    Mr Saunders, PLEASE keep up the fight for mortgage protection. Shocking how the government is completely ignoring the biggest expense every household face in Cayman. To think an illness or change in income can make you homeless despite years of faithfully paying on time should worry all of us.

    I am looking forward to the contribution from the other opposition members who are proving they are a credible government in waiting.

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  31. Anonymous says:

    So WHO is going to own the dock???

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    • Anonymous says:

      Does CIG consult with the auditor general for guidance on transparency and good governance, before it actually does anything??

      Would save a lot of time,hassle and wasted money…unless of course there are things to hide which explains the secrecy of details on the project.

  32. Anonymous says:

    Cayman does not need a cruise dock. Greed is the only incentive fueling this horrible idea.

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  33. Cheese Face says:

    Wow, I actually agree with Miller for once! Only once though 😉

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  34. Anonymous says:

    Ezzard is right. This stupid idea of a port, isn’t worth the paper it is drawn on. Education should be the number one priority.

    If Caymanians don’t see the importance of education over a port, then they deserve to be inflicted with more of the same.

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    • Anonymous says:

      6:42am – Best comment here.

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    • Anonymous says:

      This is just a political game for Ezzard. He knows you need the revenues from the cruise tourists to pay for education. If he was being honest and really cared about education he would be saying ‘Build the Dock so we can afford a better Education’.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Agree. If you spend huge money, bigly, on the port, it may increase tourism jobs. But who are going to fill those jobs? Honestly? And who’s left with the bill to pay for it? Honestly now? Hint… remember government raises money from its people.

  35. Anonymous says:

    Your schools are not failing you. Your culture is. But go ahead with what you are doing as it is making lots of work available for expats.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s the infiltration of expat culture that is the problem. We’ll be happy to wave goodbye to you soon.

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      • Diogenes says:

        Unless you have 20,000 educated and qualified caymanians who are unemployed hiding up your ass. I honestly don’t get how you can be so deluded and so ignorant.

        Say what you want about expats culturally but don’t act like Cayman would be any better off without them, the government collects dozens of millions of dollars from work permit fees every year. without them our private sector and our government revenue would crumble.
        You think Cayman would be better off half of the workforce gone, clearly you have any common sense. Keep your hate filled nationalistic ignorance to yourself because our relationship with expats is mutually beneficial and as my Grandmother would say “I wouldn’t pay you to flush my toilet after a good mango shit”

        Coming from a “born and bred” Caymanian

        Diogenes of Cayman

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      • 11:10 You can get rid of all those expat plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, air conditioner service people, etc, if you build a trade / vocational school. Build it and expats will leave.

        • Jotnar says:

          What makes you think Caymanians would be any keener to be a plumber or ac serviceman than they are to be a bartender?

    • Anonymous says:

      @5:10 am – Either you are a Russian troll trying to create further discord, or you actually believe what you’ve said here. Either way, you should stop a minute to think about the cultural degradation in your own home country and how it got that way. Your country’s culture of white privilege, racism and social inequality is what you packed in your suitcase and brought along with you when you came here. This is what prevents you from actually getting to know Caymanian culture first hand, rather than from conversations with your expat friends or reading the crime reports in the local papers. That is to say, you cannot properly form an opinion of local culture until you’ve experienced it for yourself.

      Since you are here now, why not take a bit of responsibility and make useful contributions to the society that you’ve adopted? This would be far more rewarding to you, and Cayman society, than slinging insults. CIIPA needs volunteers to act as teacher’s aides in their Primary School Numeracy Program. That’d be a good way to start.

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      • Anonymous says:

        White privilege eh.
        Okay, so who actually populated this island, remember their names, their nationality, their spirit of commerce, their spirit of survival, their religion and their culture. But most of all, remember their colour. White British and Jamaican settlers built this place, alongside those of African heritage pressed into service by slavery. Yes, that’s right, the hated British and the now equally despised Jamaicans founded and built these islands for human habitation. Followed by peoples from Honduras, Cuba and almost every other Caribbean nation who traded and settled here.

        Cayman, since the first arrival of white European settlers, has been formed by synergies of many different nationalities, races, religions and certainly colours. It’s cultural destruction has come from within as the turtle population was decimated, over fishing became a national sport, poaching became a ‘right’, education was dismissed as irrelevant to Caymanians who believed in their divine right to take without earning the privilege, and the selling of ancestral land became the national ATM.
        Add to the mix a social breakdown within your youth, including unmarried baby mama’s, the adoption of American gang cultures, drugs, alcoholism and domestic abuse, and you have few people to blame for your own lack of fortitude, imagination and self motivation.

        Cayman has grown since the 18th century through immigration. The massive new influx of immigrants from around the Carribean and beyond since the 60’s has formed this place and its people and its culture. It’s wealth formed by ancient marine commerce, foreign financial services, foreign tourism and most of all, foreign workers and their work permit fees.
        Match names to racial profiles and it is quite clear to see that a massive inter-racial mix has taken place, and Cayman is all the better for it.

        So before you attempt to claim that Caymanians are some kind of pure breed of down trodden super race, read your history, study your people and get that bigoted, nationalistic stick out of your ass.

        • Anonymous says:

          @9:00 am Wow. Clearly, you’ve either misread my post at 2:42 pm, or you’re making a lot of assumptions. Nothing in my post states that I absolve Caymanians of any responsibility for the current state of this Country. I’d be the first one to acknowledge that many Caymanians had/have a the same sense of entitlement that many white people have in Europe and North America. My post was intended to point out that many white expats come to Cayman with preconceived notions and prejudices, based on how they perceive brown/black people back in their own home country. This prohibits many white expats from experiencing Caymanian culture first hand, because they keep Caymanians at arms length.

          I would be the first Caymanian to point to poor parenting as the number one reason our Country is in the state that it’s in. Cayman parents should never allow local children to adopt and identify with the urban American culture. More Caymanian parents need to take responsibility for their kids, get more involved with the public schools, help their kids with their homework and take a real interest in their studies, give up the expensive car and put that money into their kids educations, stop blaming the foreigners for everything so that their kids don’t adopt the same mentality, encouraging their kids to become educated in accounting and law because that’s were the well paying jobs are and stop this ridiculous “not everybody can be a banker” defeatism. I could go on, but suffice it to say that I clearly understand that we are accountable for our own.

          I’m neither bigoted nor nationalistic sir. You can look to the US and Europe for that. Neither was my post intended to take a swipe at white people. If you read it again, I think you’ll see that. You’ll also note that I ended my post at 2:42 pm with a suggestion to @5:10 am to try making useful contributions to local society, rather than taking shots at it. I’d make that suggestion to you as well. We’d all be better off.

  36. Anonymous says:

    Yes Ezzard! Tell them!!

    Miller for Premier!

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  37. Anonymous says:

    If they want to get serious about information, they need to drain the swamp. That wont happen as there are too many incompetenets watching each other backs.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Incompetents racking up billions in debt for our children,grandchildren and great grandchildren to have to pay off but don’t want yo spend money to give them sufficient class rooms, books etc. how will we be able to pay for the dock,the dump, the airport,and all the other things they getting investors to provide.do they realise those bills will have to be paid. Let us not forget all the funding for prisoners and crimes which they will inadvertently create by refusing to educate and train the younger generation.

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