Still no start date for 5-year-old ethics bill
Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly
(CNS): There is still no commencement date for the much-anticipated Standards in Public Life Law, which has been passed, amended and passed again over the last five years but has still not come into effect. As Deputy Governor Franz Manderson presented the fifteenth report from the Commission for Standards in Public Life (CSPL), which deals with government ethics, to the Legislative Assembly on Friday, he summarised the content and said the commission was still liaising with the premier’s office about a commencement date.
Despite comments from the chief officer in the Portfolio of the Civil Service almost nine months ago that the regulations were almost ready, with implementation coming in the near future, her boss gave no indication when that ‘near future’ would be.
The law was first passed five years ago in 2013 but soon drew complaints from people serving on government boards. As a result, fearful that it would not be able to attract people from the private sector to serve on the many government company and statutory authority boards and commissions, government moved to amend the law.
In 2016 the amended bill was passed but almost three years later, the law is still not in force.
In the latest report the CSPL highlights its concerns over the lack of movement on a commencement date and noted that it was still trying to get updates on the status of legislation. The report, which was completed in July, said that the commission had not received any further updates from the Office of the Premier about the commencement date or regulations for the legislation. The CSPL said it would continue in its efforts to follow up with the premier.
The commission also reported that it had attempted to meet with the former governor, Anwar Choudhury, who was removed from his post in June.
“The chairman was therefore unable to discuss the commission’s concerns with the delay in securing a commencement date for the law and the amendment law and the drafting of regulations,” the report states. It is not clear if the CSPL has now sought to meet with the new governor, Martyn Roper, who arrived in Cayman at the end of last month.
Despite having no legislation in place to support its work, the commission continues in its efforts to deal with issues relating to the ethical behavior of public servants and politicians.
The secretariat is also still waiting for a response to its recommendations about a code of conduct for ministers and is continuing to review the allegations made by the Public Accounts Committee that the health ministry’s chief officer had lied to the committee when she was called to give evidence on a report by the Office of the Auditor General.
Category: Politics
All enqueries get the same response ‘ it’s with the Premier’s office” go figure!
The despot response to voter-initiated action, along with ongoing backroom Cruise Port, DECCO landfill and land-swap discussions, Honorary Jamaican Doctorates, airport expansions, other developer projects, and CIG medium-large infrastructure bids are all inter-related and predicated on the deferred enactment of this law. It is likely to be as dirty and ugly as we all worry it is – and maybe more so, knowing how some of these dossiers have performed in the past.
This is absolutely jaw-dropping. Even hell-holes like Pakistan have a “National Accountability Bureau” (NAB). We have no ethics or conflicts screening whatsoever. We are Nigeria. Worse – we have had idle Committees for years tasked with overseeing data from a Law that has deliberately not been enacted!
need sweep house….?
You know why they don’t want to inforce the bill well it’s because the want to be intimidating us everyday of our life when it gets enforced they won’t be able to get away with the corruption they always get away with!
They say they’re here to enforce law but who will enforce law on them when they commit an offence my fellow people they won’t handle their own how they handle us bottom line
“I’m talking about the police, politicians and many more government officials”
The Commission for the Standards in Public Life (CSPL), which has had little if anything to do but attend conferences, was created under section 117 of the Constitution Order (2009) to act as the agency to supervise the Law, which was finally approved by a much-reluctant LA (but not enacted) some 5 years after the Constitution came into effect. It wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that the intention of this section of the Constitution Order was to have had a corresponding Ethics law, governing all MLAs, and senior public officials, with effect from the date of enactment of the Constitutional order almost a decade ago. This isn’t an optional thing that can continue to be kicked down the road. If the LA cannot set a date for enactment, then the Governor should dissolve the LA and call early elections. All of the dissenting members should be under ACC surveillance, with charges pending review.
“The law was first passed five years ago in 2013 but soon drew complaints from people serving on government boards. As a result, fearful that it would not be able to attract people from the private sector to serve on the many government company and statutory authority boards and commissions, government moved to amend the law.”
More like fearful that it would attract decent and honest people to run these boards.
I know of a case at NHDT from 2012 where doing the right thing was NOT a priority for certain directors of the Board
All of you might have heard the howling coming from the Premier when the Opposition bench dared to ask a question on this subject. No doubt he is holding it up on purpose. The only thing he is focusing on is insulting the Opposition from offering him good suggestions. He is so self centered he should have his own kingdom and not the leader of a democratic island.
Leave the five year olds alone and focus on an ethics bill for adults instead.
And there will never be any start date.
Not so long as we have these same foul characters, and culture of theft, in office. We need to deepen the candidate pool by broadening Caymanian eligibility or this never ends.
If it ever progresses it should be renamed the Self Serving Bloodsuckers Law.
Don’t hold your breath on this one. Too many connected people have too much to lose here.
CNS we still await a start date for the much needed Residential Tenancies Law 2009. What’s happening with that? I would say the majority of renters on island are desperate for it.
I wonder why? Actually no I don’t….as it’s quite evident why!
Ethics from the unethical; like blood from stone.
WOW!?