Miller laments lack of collaboration
(CNS): The opposition leader has expressed his disappointment with the National Unity government’s failure to engage or collaborate with the opposition benches on some of the most pressing national issues of the day. Ezzard Miller said his group had offered to work with government on addressing legislation or policy on a wide range of issues, from health care and education to the current crime wave, but he said the government is simply not responding. “They have just turned us down,” he said.
Opposition members are no more aware of government’s plans on a range of policy proposals and plans or their medium-term legislative objectives than the public because there is so little communication coming from the government, Miller said, adding, “There has been no hands across the aisle on any issue at all.”
He told CNS that he has suggested at the very least a regular meeting between the premier and opposition leader to discuss potential areas where the opposition could support government plans or make suggestions and offer solutions to some of Cayman’s more challenging issues. But Miller said that most of his offers are either turned down or simply ignored.
The Unity government has a clear majority and does not need any opposition support, but Miller said he and the other members on the opposition benches were still representatives of the people, and while the two sides are not going to agree on everything, there are areas where they can come to broad agreement and help with the workload.
Miller is currently keen to see government join forces with the opposition to create a select committee of the whole house to address crime, but so far the elected branch of government has made no comment on his call. The only person in government to speak about the crime spree was Deputy Governor Franz Manderson.
The opposition leader said he believes that cooperation could go much further than the national issue of crime, but so far there has been no communication between the two sides of the Legislative Assembly. He noted that the only communication coming from government to the opposition is, again, from the deputy governor, who Miller said had been very good at keeping the opposition abreast of developments in the administrative side and changes regarding the civil service.
The opposition leader said he and his colleagues have to use the media to raise policy proposals or potential solutions to the issues in the media in order to have government listen to their suggestions. He also lamented government’s failure to follow up on issues raised in parliament, such as the challenges over mortgages and home loans that the government said it was going to examine.
“But nothing happens and there are no updates for the public as well as opposition politicians,” he said. “There is no follow-up on anything and no replies back to parliament about what is going on.”
This is why the opposition’s motto has become “The public’s business can’t be done in private”, Miller said.
Category: Politics
Cayman people really have short memories or just don’t understand the political landscape. If Ezzard and Arden wanted to play a real part in actually doing something, both would have united with the independents when talks were ongoing to form the next government. But of course not! Both wanted no ministry position that was offered to them to form the government.. and bluntly refused under any terms to work with some of the new elected members and also with the previous Premier. At the end of the day Ezzard got exactly what he wanted… and that is to continue being a mouth champion. So stop complaining about not being involved in government when you had the best chance to be the government.
@Coldhardtruth
It is no small wonder that productivity in this country gone down to hell. Look at the amount of idle hands that spend time on this site at all hours of the day. My my I wonder who ona work for can’t be at the Dump,. Anyway I’m on my legally allowed) 15 minute break , and I only take one either on the
Ark bench or in the lu reading ona crap. What a Stinki,
Government- derived from the Latin verb, Guverno, Guvernare meaning, “To Control” and the Latin noun ‘Mente. Mentis”, meaning “Mind” = To Control the Mind. One must be under a form of mind control to support being governed(controlled).
as bible says….pray for the politicans?
A lot of moronic comments here – explains exactly why we have the kind of leadership that we do! Ezzard Miller is Leader of the Opposition. The role of that post is to work with the sitting Government to keep it in check, for the benefit of the people. A good Government should be willing to work with an Opposition where it can – not simply block or exclude for political purpose.
Anyone who thinks Ezzard is an obstructionist is a moron! However, Alden is another story!
Oh dear. Ezzard is not an obstructionist, all of us are morons besides you and Alden is another story.
The Government has no duty to work with the opposition. The Governments duty is to govern in the best interest of the country. The duty of the opposition is to be a check on the government by addressing things that they feel they have wrong or are not addressing at all. Collaboration is something that can happen and perhaps should happen more often but it is definitely not what is expected as the norm and nor should it be. Governing and politics is adversarial by nature unless you live in a communist country or a dictatorship! Putting forward opposite views and the other side of the coin is what makes democracy work.
So lets face some facts here, Ezzard is an obstructionist. That is largely his job just now. He is usually that way by nature too though.. Alden is capable of being an obstructionist but that is not his job now. His job is to govern within the rules. His job is not to play footsie with the opposition.
It seems to me that Alden is doing his job fairly well. Close to perfect? No – he has issues of his own too. Better than the current set of alternatives? By a long shot!
Serious question: what is the purpose of having non-Cabinet members sit in the Legislative Assembly when they are elected as representives of a district and are rudely ignored? Are they supposed to sit quietly and nod in agreement for four years on our dime? Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.
True. Does anyone else see the folly and conflict of having a Speaker aligned with a serving Cabinet?
Too busy cutting secret deals and making money. Sorry Ezzard you ain’t DART or any of the other billionaires that have now taken up residence here now! Health, Education and Crime are problems for and of the poor the rich ain’t suffering any such inconveniences here now.
Let’s not forget that none of us voted for this Unity government which was pieced together from fragments of PPM and CDP/UDP last May, with undisclosed deals and a thorough public back-stabbing of the Independents the voters actually gave a mandate to. Welcome to democracy in the Cayman Islands.
it was the best option available….the last thing cayman needs is a bunch of small minded backward independents in power
Maybe so, but former PPM/CDP shouldn’t pretend that the people voted for their ambitions. If anything, the opposite was what transpired at the ballot box. I support Ezzard’s willingness to keep things in check.
We may not have voted for them to form a government together but each MLA elected to the LA was elected at least by a plurality if not an outright majority. By virtue of their election to the LA they have the right to group in any way they choose that they think is best for the governance of the Cayman islands. They are elected and the people expect them to form the best stable group for the job of governing.
You are correct in saying that the PPM/CDP and independent coalition has no mandate as in none of them ran on one singular platform and then got the majority of the seats for themselves but with this hellish government they do have some semblance of a mandate in the sense that they decided to form a coalition majority. This is the Westminster system, if no group can form a government on their own they have to join together or risk a secondary election. Would you have rather had a second election due to a hung parliament which would have been much more chaotic and horrible for these islands?
Make no mistake, this grouping that we have now, was the nuclear option, both Mac and Alden have spend the better part of 15 years at each other’s throats. This is the definition of talking out of both sides of their mouths. In April each of them to the other was worse than the devil and by the end of May they were hand in hand singing “kumbaya”. I honestly can’t wait for 2021, I want to see who will get the blame for the state of the islands then?
As bad as this PPM/CDP entente is, it could have been much worse, I prefer the cuckoldry and lacklustre leadership of Alden and Mckeeva to the spastic leadership of the 3 elderly amigos (Eden, Miller and Mclean) That Triumvirate would be 10 steps back for Cayman, when we ought to be looking forward. Mr Miller at times asks the right questions and he has some good ideas and lots of experience, but he also knows how to play the game well. Eden, should have been voted out 20 years ago he is a relic from a bygone age who is the prime example of what we aspire to move away from. Mclean, in all honesty I haven’t the slightest idea where he is on any issues, he’s the silent one in all this, but I wouldn’t gamble with it in the Government.
Cayman needs to vote all of those career politicians out of office in my opinion, they have been at the reigns for the better part of 20 years (some of them even longer) and Cayman has been in a downward spiral
Instate a 4-5 term limit for MLAs, the Baby Boomers have had their run, it’s time for a new generation to take the helm, are we going to wait for them all to drop dead before we decide we need new MLAs?
Retirement age is long gone for some of those MLAs and they are still going strong, when they would have long been forced to step down from the private sector.
We need to slash MLA pay at least 30%, these people put into place a pittance as the minimum wage while they are being paid like princes, with titles and recognition abound. In a perfect world these MLAs would be making what the average Caymanian makes but then they would cry about how the best persons would just stay in the private sector ( the LA is filled to the brim with lawyers
Mac is somehow proud to be the longest serving MLA in our history at a time when Caymanians feel ignored by the government. When government approval is likely in the gutter and when people are sick and tired of the same old same old.
Their time is up, the old boys club need to transition to the old men’s club (maybe located in a retirement home)
Diogenes
We need to start work now to expand the field of eligibility and/or define better criteria ahead of next round, otherwise we will again lament the reshuffling of the same old club members. We could also start with enacting the “Standards in Public Life law” that none of the self-interested kleptocrats will pull the trigger on. Perhaps one for the Dep Gov’s desk.
In disregarding the leader of the Opposition’s objections, the Speaker has abandoned due process, is demonstrating colluding solidarity with Cabinet, and should be removed from that position (frankly, he should be removed from politics altogether for a long list of reasons, this being just the latest).
Sorry Ezzard. Until you have a majority you are unimportant. You are the same as any single member of the public except you get paid well for little work.
Anonymous 7:04 pm , why should Miller have to have a majority to get anything done for the benefits of the Islands and the people ? They are all elected to work for the benefit of the Islands , and not their own . What I am seeing and reading in the above article, is that the Leader and Speaker are both acting like little spoiled boys when they’re refussing to work with the minority on such motions as CRIME AND EDUCATION for the Cayman Islands.
They all should be a shame of themselves, and the people who vote for them should be able to see that they don’t have your intrest or the Islands in their agenda , when the Leader of Government refuses to work on a motion that is brought to the LA by the minority Leader such as CRIME today in C.I . I say it’s time for him to go .
The Speaker should (at least) pretend to be impartial. If he is shutting down MLAs that are trying to work for their supper, it is more on him than the Premier. The public can’t be content to have all of the expensive non-Cabinet elected reps sitting in the LA like mushrooms for 4 years, just because a Cabinet wants a clear path to throttle their ambitions through unilaterally. The UK should warn or step in if that’s the case, and it looks like it is.
This man thinks he is somehow relevant? How cute.
Funny that may be, but he is the Leader of the (expensive) Opposition members and they are duty-bound to be doing something for the public that elected them for the next three years. It’s more than just fiscally imprudent to ignore him (and them), the Speaker has an essential obligation to non-partisanship. If the Speaker can’t perform his duties, the UK should step in and remove him because the Legislative apparatus is broken. Trusting BigMac to this sacred role was always going to be problematic with all the “Carrots and Milk” swirling around off-stage and failure to enact the Standards in Public Life Law. It’s like watching a train crash in slow motion.
Ezzard complaining about others being uncooperative, now I’ve heard it all!
Poor leadership and tribalism are major reasons why Caymanians are second class citizens and the Cayman is losing its charm. The future looks bleak for locals because of your leaders who lack vision.
Agree with you for the most part about leadership, but like other countries we can only vote for the best of those that come forward. Please NAME the countries with elected representatives, that have leadership of vision for all it’s people, they are all puppets for the special interest groups, full stop. AKA, corporations.
3:38pm. Our highest bidder DART. When are we being moved to the reservation?
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
Do you ever get bored of yourself? zzzzzzzzzzz
you can’t bored in a place where nothing makes sense….
Miller and Co. like to try to fool the public in to thinking they care but they are all just a bunch of hot air.
All they want to do is sit in opposition without power and make a bunch of noise. none of them really want responsibility because they don’t want to be accountable. They just want to keep collection checks and set up their pension and call it a day.
Really ? So why did they come out and say anything, that is the biggest pile of crap I’ve ever heard you crab
Dear Ezzard
Wake up the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Alden McLaughlin and McKeeva Bush loathe Ezzard Miller and are united in their hatred of him and Arden McLean. Hence the politically expedient creation of Government of National Unity in May 2017. After twenty years of defamatory verbal sparring, innuendo, political warfare with frequent accusations of corruption, lawsuits and counter suits they buried the hatchet in order to unite against Ezzard and all independents because the status quo and corporate interests who finance them must be protected at all costs.
If the leaders of PPM and CDP are prepared to unite and as consequence destroy their own parties to satisfy their own personal ambitions and greed; Ezzard Miller is either politically naive or highly religious to think this current administration are interested in working with him or any member of the opposition. This was never about working in the best interests of the country. There is no solution or proposal that Alden McLaughlin is interested in hearing about from Ezzard Miller or anybody else. His ego and narcissistic leadership abilities prevent him from thinking about what’s best for Cayman. Integrity is a myth amongst this lot. The Premier will do what is best for him. The union with McKeeva Bush is all the evidence one needs to judge his political legacy and understand everybody has a price.
Unfortunately, he is not the only leader who behaves in this manner and posses those core traits. With great power comes great responsibility but personal agendas supersede all else with the leadership options currently available to the voters. Their primary objectives are protecting the status quo, settling personal grievances and political vendettas. Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance are buzz words used to bamboolze a public that is deliberately kept uneducated, desperate, dependent on the handouts and money that floods the impoverished and working class areas particularly during campaign season.
That is the state of Cayman politics in 2018. The public are pawns in a greater game played by 20-50 elected and non-elected individuals who finance the local politics and ultimately run the Cayman Islands with the approval of the UK.
All very well, but you failed to mention MI6, Her Majesty, President Maduro, President Castro, Donny T.Rump and all the others obviously colluding for the downfall and repression of the Cayman Popular Front and the repression of the working classes.
You think that they spend much time considering the Cayman Islands? You are mistaken.
Exactly my point. There are some here who see UK conspiracies everywhere. Truth is, UK just wants Cayman to have its own stable government, elected by the Cayman people, and not to stick its nose in. The price of having the Union Jack in the corner of our flag, Cayman govt must run its financial affairs responsibly, the UK is not in the business of bailing out territories whose leaders misuse or or incompetently run up debts. If Caymanians ever voted for independence, the UK would welcome it. All other theories, gobbledygook.
Smart person !
Well I guess they don’t want to listen to anything that may be contrary to their benefactors Dart’s plans.
allow status holders to be elected. problem solved.
NEVER go back to your country and tell me if we are allowed to be elected there first. Cayman is Caymanians like how Israel is for Jews.
What?
yes if you have status in my country you can be elected. welcome to the real world.
ok…well keep on electing the likes of miller, bush, whogene, seymour , mclean….etc……zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
No Way!! We are all a product of where we grow up and our surroundings. Your children if born and grow up here, and do not have a criminal record can choose to become a candidate. Look at the current crop!!.
well said…cayman is turning its back on wealth of knowledge, experience and real world qualifications ….
I think you will find that every elected official in Cayman is a status holder.
Where are all the people criticizing the Premier for his lack of a statement on this issue?
Only attacking the DG, I see, if only there was a clear specific reason why?
Maybe recent statements you dislike so greatly you try to use any justification to lambaste him regardless of whether it’s logical or not
As a Caymanian… we are embarassed of our elected politicians!
the opposition says everything you need to know about the standard of mla’s in cayman.
if i was caymanian i would be very embarrassed.
Good thing you are not! We don’t need your kind here
Love it, acceptance of bad mediocrity instead of striving to improve. That, dear people, is the issue in Cayman, that and in certain corners the blatant xenophobia of a non nation.
Your kind? What, someone critical of the standard of MLA? Because that’s a hell of a lot of people and they are not just expats.