Port board deputy chairing procurement committee
Port Authority of the Cayman Islands security
(CNS): The current deputy of the port authority board, Arek Joseph, has been appointed as the chair of the new Public Procurement Committee, set to replace the Central Tenders Committee under the new regime that will oversee government’s major projects and acquisitions. CNS has seen correspondence which confirms that Premier Alden McLaughlin appointed Joseph to head up this important new board, despite the fact that the first public project it will deal with is the development of the cruise berthing facility. The membership of the new committee is expected to be gazetted this week, though there are still two vacant posts to be nominated by the premier.
The leaked correspondence, seen by CNS, appeared to relate to an inquiry that had been made by Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller to government about committee nominations.
Government officials identified Joseph as chair; Bobby Bodden as a member, also nominated by the premier; Dr Sidney Ebanks, who was nominated by the opposition leader; Troy Whorms, the facilities manager, nominated by the deputy governor; and Laura Panades-Estruct, a law school lecturer and procurement specialist, who was also nominated by the deputy governor.
After seeing the document, CNS contacted Miller, who confirmed that he had made the inquiry. He said he had made his nomination to the committee last March and had been extremely concerned that, although the CTC ceased to exist last May following the passage of the new procurement legislation, there was still no sign of the new committee being formally constituted.
“I had a number of concerns about this committee not being gazetted some ten months after I had submitted my single nomination,” he told CNS. “This appears to be because there are still two vacant positions which should have been appointed by the premier, but he has not yet named any more nominees.
“However, I then learned that he has appointed the deputy of the port board as chair, which must be by design and is of real concern, given (the cruise port) will be the first and biggest tender this new committee is expected to deal with.”
Miller pointed out that Joseph has been, and remains, on the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands Board for some time, which in law should have been steering the government’s proposed controversial cruise berthing project.
While questions remain about the legality of the ministry taking over this project, the port board has still been very much involved in the process. The project is government policy and it is quite clear that Joseph must support that policy position because he did not resign his seat on the PACI board.
The opposition leader questioned how an ungazetted and as yet not fully constituted committee was able to carry out its work, now that the government has reached the tendering phase on the cruise berthing project and is said to be considering the final bids.
Miller said this is supposed to be the job of the Public Procurement Committee under the new law, and it must be doing so, not only with a port board member at the helm, but without being lawfully formed.
“The optics on this are terrible,” Miller said, as he railed against the constant bending of rules, process and protocol by the government. “Even if the new procurement committee chair was to resign from the port board, it would not change the fact that he has been directly involved to date and clearly backs the project,” Miller said, as he called for Joseph’s removal from the board because of the obvious conflict he has.
He said that these latest moves by government was yet another issue that underscored the absolutely pressing need for the Standards in Public Life Law to be enacted. But in the interim, he demanded transparency in the process and the appointment of a procurement committee that is not conflicted.
Category: Government Finance, Government oversight, Politics
Legge was right. The system and those that run it is packed with cronyism and favours, yet everyone likes to pretend it is not corrupt. We have become so used to this sort of stuff we just shrug it off. Yet if we were honest with ourselves we would agree it is simply not right, but we prefer to find excuses rather than accept the dark truth about the motivation of those involved.
The Cayman Islands: Small Islands, BIG Problems. Welcome to paradise!
Weak anticorruption measures and enforcement systems. Kinships and family ties play a larger role in politics in this village size country to the detriment of transparency and impartiality. “Closely knit” and “highly personalized” relationships characterize these small bureaucracies that erode the social, political, and economic fabric.
High dependence on the global economy, combined with remoteness, isolation, and vulnerability to natural disasters might have debilitating effects on the country’s small economy, even though the it has relatively high per-capita incomes.
Mr Jospeh comes from the private sector. How could anything be wrong with his appointment.
I have been reading CNS for months now and all I can read about how much better people in the private sector is.
Hopefully it’s the same 3 idiots posting all these ignorant, ill informed, and negative comments. It looks like an agenda to try and discredit anything and everything our Government does. Wannabe politicians perhaps? Sour grapes?
Whatever you think of the current Government, we have had far worse in recent times and looking at the crowd that wants power, things could get much worse if we don’t all pay attention and stick to the facts.
How can you put people who have their hands in every pie that provides government with advice to good and services This place is a international disgrace.
The Masonic Lodge was mentioned by Old Cayman Captain, and I have to question why members of a a secret society are allowed to sit on government boards, or for that matter, to serve in law enforcement or the judiciary.
because its secret so you can’t prove they’re part of it to ban them?
Well it wouldn’t be the first time. Look at the CEO of credit union, who is also on the CIMA board and CINICO board…
That is also wrong there are many examples look at the family members that sit on the same boards. Many PPM puppets are scattered throughout political appointed boards in key senior position for important strategic decisions. They reward their party diehards with jobs and paid board appointments to guarantee agendas are successfully pushed thru.
What’s your point?
It appears the system and persons making decisions have deliberately attempted to rig everything in the system to their advantage for specific purposes. Corruption takes many different forms and involves willing participants. Corruption in Cayman is Systemic.
Confused.
Port authority has no decision making powers wether the piers are or are not built.They merely manage the facility.
The PPC has no powers in deciding on anything other than recommendations put before it, and is there to see that the procurement process is properly followed.
Mr.Ezzard must know this .
You’re very naive on the second sentence.
Confused you need to read the Public Authorities law and the Procurement law as a matter of urgency. Mr. Miller obviously has and knows what he is talking about not to mention the Standards in Public Life law.
Arek is a good choice for this role, a man of integrity but he is immediately placed in a position of conflict if his first assignment is the port expansion project. They may as well have hired him as the architect! Arek, perhaps you should recuse yourself, eh?
Arek knew he was up for the positions and should have refused the procurement committee appointment due to clear conflict of interests. Failure to do so speaks directly to integrity and character of all parties involved in this scandalous decision.
Transparency International, you have a very valid point , but integrity kind of gets lost when it fits right into everyone’s plan and agenda . That’s why appointees should always be so carefully selected .. But here’s our chance to have a voice in our democracy. This one is going to cost over 300 million dollars .
Another reason why every voter should rush to sign the Port Referendum Petition.
The referendum will give us a voice.
A man of integrity would not sit on any of the current boards.
2:57pm not usally when there’s conflicts of interest . It would take a very good man and those you can count on one hand today .
Arek Joseph proves himself to be a puppet for the ppm machinery
Not yet. Why don’t you wait and see the mettle of the man, rather than prejudging?
Fair comment.
5:04 pm: You are missing the point: even if he could conceivably remain unbiased, which would be difficult given his leadership role at the Port Authority Board, the appearances alone would require him to recuse himself.
12 :51 pm that’s why he was appointed , taking care of them the lodge . Conflicts and corruption is a live and we’ll .
He is not a lodge member.
Wrong. Brac Lodge…
You will find that he has on many occasions declared a conflict of interest and walked out of meetings .
Agreed. I have seen it myself. His integrity should not be in doubt.
so why accept the appointment?
Because maybe if the actual roles and responsibilities are understood, there is no inherent conflict?
The Port contract will be only one of hundreds of other procurement needs none of which will have anything to do with the port.
Vehicles for police, engines for fire dept. equipment for schools and hospital etc.etc.
I find it amazing that Cabinet and the Deputy Governor would allow Dart to sell KAABOO tickets at the Govt Admin Bldg yet they will not allow the volunteers for the Port Referendum to set up a desk so Civil Servants can Sign-Up
The answer to that is simple – Dart owns the government so he can do what ever he dam well feels like.
Dart is selling Kaaboo tickets? I bought mine from Kaaboo, should I be concerned as to their validity?
#FyreFestival
Well that was a shocker. Could not believe it when I heard about that.
Sounds kind of like double dipping to guarantee the project gets rubber stamped at procurement committee. Everyday more scandal around how the government is managing this project and the process.
You approve our projects and give them to who we want to and we will give you the cruise port.
Glad to see a group of highly qualified Caymanians filling these roles!
What part of Cayman is Arek from?
The part that worked together with others, including many sons and daughters of this soil, to build the very foundation that you so glibly sit on today.
The Iranian part
Arek has been in Cayman at least 45 years that I know of. He is a perfect person for this board because of his qualifications. That is one of the problems in Cayman we usually pick people who are not.
PPMBOT go back to sleep.
More proof why this government will never given the Standards in Public Life Law any teeth. They should all be investigated and charged for clear conflicts of interests as public officials
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
Where is the Auditor General’s office and Governor’s office statement and investigation into these serious breaches of basic standards of good governance and international best practice for procurement processes?
If you are waiting on Martin the Timid Mouse to intervene then do not hold your breath.
It was Mac, Alden and Matthew Forbes (UK’S local bossman) who engineered to get rid of Governor Choudhury who would have cleanef things up in government and started the Standards in Public Life Law.
Martin the Timid Mouse will not make much of a difference, he will go like Helpless Helen did and noone misses her.
More Transparency and Good Governance PPM style. Disgraceful yet not one bit surprising.
why dont we just outsource all Board positions to India?
Or Iran.
This appointment should give anyone chills. Recycling the same yes men from the old boys club over and over again. A contaminated process which will lead to the perverse results this government wants. Shameless.
It is time for a no confidence motion in the Government, Mr Miller must now show us why he should be Premier next term
Followed immediately by a no confidence vote in the jurisdiction by the business community. Go for it.
For me, your post hits the nail on the head. It’s staggering what they blatantly, ignorantly and arrogantly get away with. One can’t help but worry how far this will continue unchecked. Very concerned.
The cabal within Government are ensuring that a compliant supporter is in place to push their agendas thru on yet another committee.
Why would the Port Board be deputy chairing the Procurement Committee, as the headline suggests?
The only way for these boards to be impartial is for them to consist entirely of non voting expats.
11:02am
Now how in the hell that would make any sense when they are the very same ones bidding for (and almost exclusively, winning) the bids!
Now you can hear some shit!
Wait and see, High School bid result coming out soon!
They’ll just do what expats want. If anyone thinks they won’t ruthlessly use any power they get to complete their takeover of this place they’re deluded beyond help.
Please do not generalize.
Who do you think gets the contracts now?
In a few years when all of the current government members have been voted out of office or have passed on (they never retire) voters in the Cayman Islands will suddenly see how corrupt this government actually is, and everyone will say “How did this happen?”, “we can’t believe we let this happen”, “who let all of the illegal insider activities happen?”.
Watch what is going on in the US were citizens are finding out their government is one of the most currupt ones around, and are finding out the US is just one great big Banana Republic.
What do you mean, in a few years?!? There is deliberately no access to the information that might otherwise put these guys in jail for corruption. They won’t enact the SIPL Law to make their current behavior indictable, let alone reviewable at any time, now or in the future. All CIG emails and paperwork are very deliberately deleted after 5 years and all phone records after 1 year – by obscure requirements deliberately embedded in the National Archives Law!
The logistics of government is already creaking under the National Archives & FOI Laws. If we were to try and retain more information longer we’d need a serious investment in capability. So the 5 year bracket is a balance between cost and all the reasons for keeping records in the first place.
Then they can use Gmail. Unlimited storage. 5 years is not long enough, but you knew that.
Is there any Board or Department that is not made up with conflicting Heads and Members .
In an Island this small it it not as easy to find people for these boards as you might think
Yes but maybe you can find one that is not in direct conflict..methinks something stinks…
By people, you must mean willing accomplices…
Alden’s PPM is proving to be as shady as Big Mac’s UDP with every decision he makes
Big Mac can not hold a candle to Premier and his group of cronies. This guy got the job because he is a yes man and will do as he is instructed. Any ties to CHEC in this?
Alden is the new Mac!
No, Alden is worse. With Mac, what you see is what you get. He is of limited education. Alden is well educated and very intelligent. He was elected on a platform of integrity and transparency, but seems to govern in the darkest of shadows. He has destroyed the credibility of his own party.
Moses is the Brac Mac
Hard to find people for these boards?
Me thinks you mean hard to find people who will blatantly do the government’s bidding on these boards
Huh??? We know absolutely that this is untrue!!
Yes honest people are hard to find but they don’t want that.