Referendum petition collects 800 signatures
Organisers of the petition for a referendum on the cruise port collect signatures at Grand Harbour Saturday 1 September
(CNS): More than 1,000 people came out this weekend to show their support for a referendum on the government’s proposal to build a cruise berthing facility in the George Town Harbour. As the government and a group of supporters of the project increase their spending on advertising and the wider campaign in favour of the development, the public is making it clear that they should be the ones to decide the future of this costly and controversial proposal. Meanwhile, as it becomes increasingly clear that the people want a say in this decision, civil servants have been given the green light to sign the petition calling for a national vote.
Organisers campaigning for the referendum said that during this first weekend of collecting signatures more than 800 registered voters signed and another 200 residents who are unable to vote in the referendum petition but who still believe the project should be decided democratically signed a separate petition.
The early boost to the campaign for a national vote follows news that the DoE is no longer on the steering committee formed to oversee the project.
In order to trigger a people-initiated referendum the petition will need the signatures of at least 5,200 voters. The deputy governor’s office has said that civil servants and public employees can sign the petition, which will help the campaign, given the large number of voters who work in the public sector. Only senior government employees directly involved in policy making or work related to the cruise project are prohibited from signing the petition.
Organisers said they were grateful for the clarification and encouraged public servants not involved in the process to sign up.
Volunteers will continue to campaign for signatures, and the petition is available at Pure Art and Cathy Church’s Photo Centre on South Church Street.
If you would like to assist with collecting signatures, email cprcayman@gmail.com. Visit the Cruise Port Referendum Cayman Facebook page for more details.
Organisers are encouraging people not registered to vote but eligible to do so and are interested in participating to now register. Visit the Cayman Islands Elections Office to find out how.
Voters currently living overseas, especially students, are also encouraged to contact the group via email to find out how they can sign up.
Category: development, Local News
I think this needs to be made clear:
Whether you are FOR the port or AGAINST the port, you should sign the petition for the referendum.
That way EVERYONE has their say – whether you are for or against the port.
EVERY registered voter can vote in the referendum – they can vote FOR the port or they can vote AGAINST the port – but every voter in Cayman should have the opportunity to have their say.
Do not let Government make a decision for you – let us all vote so we make the decision.
Sign the petition and hold the referendum – let Government hear OUR decision!
Absolutely correct TNB. Too many Caymanian sheeple blindly following the muppets they elected. Just because a politician says something doesn’t mean it is true and/or right. An old boss of mine used to say “trust AND verify”. The problem here is you can’t trust them and they won’t allow you to verify anything.
People believe politicians are special and in some cases anointed. Anyone can be a politician, I could be a politician if enough people voted for me but that doesn’t mean I would be a good politician and I know I wouldn’t because I don’t have the patience to deal with the BS. Besides, the other MLA’s would hate me because I would do/support things that only benefit Caymanians and not my pocket or anyone else for that matter.
Sign the petition and speak your mind when the time comes and be part of a real democratic process and not the sham we currently call government.
– Muppet Hunter
If you sign the petition you are voting against thousands of caymanian jobs and third families. Most hotel business is not owned by caymanians and I don’t know one caymanian hotel manager.
Moses Kirkconnell and his sycophant press speak only for themselves.
does the populace try to educate themselves on things like this? Just a bit of reading or speaking with the wealth of knowledge that our seamen can share would be a great start,
this dock as proposed will not be the right thing to do.
all for money!!!
in 20 to 30 years from now the West Bay Beach will be history. Alden and Moses had better do their research on the effects of what will happen. Take it from the people that know what they are talking about.
all this just to get your name go down in history as having built a dock.
@3:38 20 – 30 years? Oh no Bo Bo, SMB is almost gone now. more like 5- 10 years,
Here we go again. Unna remember that time Mac say he don’t care how much signatures they get, the road gonna close? Just reminiscing. So nostalgic and depressing at the same time.
CNS, could you please tell us whether or not civil servants would be able to collect signatures in addition to signing?
CNS: I’m going to pass this question onto Auntie so it doesn’t get lost.
When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.
DoE booted off cruise port steering committee…
How many red flags do you need!?? Rise up and be counted! Sign the petition people!
If you want shocking…put one online and let your stayover stakeholders weigh-in.
A thousand signatures… Now a thousand voices… Keep pushing. We know paper don’t cut it… judging from the past.
I think it is important to make it clear that just because you sign the petition, it does not necessarily mean that you are against the dock, just that you want to have more information available in order that you can make a valued judgment on this very important matter. The lack of transparency on this project to date is frankly shocking.
you people are getting soft stand like a man dock or no dock
not in between, what will you do with transparency ?
Another one of our openminded registered voters I see. And there you have it, Cayman’s real problem, education.
@12:26 “What will you do with transparency?”
1. Possibly stop a corrupt gaggle of muppets from selling this island out even more than they already have for one.
2. Possibly save the marine environment.
3. Possibly show the government muppets they work for us and that we can and will control them if needed.
4. Possibly save the economy $300 million plus in dollars and God knows what other concessions.
5. Possibly stop a highly disreputable company like CHEC which is known to willingly bribe government officials among other things from setting up a foot hold in Cayman.
6. Possible expose criminal/treasonous actions by those muppets we trust to lead us.
Need I continue?
– Muppet Hunter
I believe that the reason why we cannot get the information on the dock is because the government and in particular Moses, knows full well that they are going ahead with this against the will of the people. He knows the way he is going forward is not in the best interest of we the people and the country on a whole. Ask yourselves- why else would he not let us know the details. So yes we should be against the building of this dock. They are not going to be truthful, we have given them time for honesty and truthfulness so asking for more information is futile. If there is anyone out there who cares about the Cayman Islands and our children and grandchildren being saddled with this amount of debt then do them a favour and go out there and sign the petition. How much more are they going to stuff on this little 2×4 rock that we live on to benefit the few who are already rich while our children are suffering from depression and mental problems, while so many are going to bed hungry, while some parents are working two jobs to make ends meet and some cannot even find a job, some parents and being made homeless, homeless with struggles of sending their little ones to school, while some class rooms are bulging at the seams. If this government has money to burn, please do not blow it on an unnecessary dock at this time, but on the social issues mentioned above. Let this government know that we are disappointed and dissatisfied. If they value you and value your vote they will pull back from this disaster, if they don’t then they are taking you for fools. As for me and my house we are signing the petition.
Kirkbots on the attack! What a bunch of entitled losers
So we should just toss away the 100,000 man hours already expended on this project?
If it ain’t right, it aint right and all the spinning in the world wont make it so.
100,000 man hours wasted by a greedy few in government. They should be forced to pay that back out of their own pockets.
Much better than the alternative of tossing away our natural environment and our financial stability.
And here we have an almost textbook example of the sunk cost fallacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy
Or to put it more simply, “No matter how far down the wrong road you’ve gone, turn back!”
Can civil servants collect signatures for the refere0ndum?.
If they didn’t get to at least 2500 registered in that push there’s no way they are going to get the votes. They’ll be lucky if they find another 500 max.
Then you’ll get what you deserve. The Dump, light pollution from new street lights, environmental destruction from the port would reduce your quality of life and life span significantly.
Is your DoT minister a dictator or something? He seem to be invincible. What a legacy he will be leaving.
But again, he seem to have an uncontrollable power.
That was one supermarket for 8 hours. That’s not a push. That’s a tap. People are busy – it’s the start of September. Put it at every supermarket every Saturday for a month and then see. I was just waiting for a more convenient place and time to sign – I’m sure many others are too.
I’m sure the UK sees this as a red flag unless they’re paying out enough rope for our noose. Why brother having a DOE if they are not represented on the steering committee?
This sets a very dangerous precedent, in that future infrastructure and development projects will be steered by biased stakeholders with regard only to financial gain. They have just eliminated all checks and balances and given away custody of our environment to uber capitalists. Some third world countries are much further ahead of us in terms of environmental responsibility and stewardship and you would think we’d set an example as we don’t have much left to ruin.
This is truly a sad day in the history of Cayman.
Sounds like our Planning Board!….made up almost totally of pro-builders persons. Never mind having a few looking out for the environment there. See how that’s turning out – seven mile beach a prime example, where we can nor drive along the entire stretch and no sea views!
that’s 798 more than the 2 “transparent” guys driving the project and the PPM over the drop-off!
LOL week one – 800 signatures
Bye bye cruise berthing facilities
How many weeks left they have?
I’m going to sign today. We don’t need any stinking cruise port. This is an act of greed and irresponsible investment.
these are the same people that are suppose to tear down Dart tunnels.
job complete, not another word on the talk shows, all is well.
Thanks guy great job!