CIG confirms Bush to head up new ministry
Eric Bush in London
(CNS): Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has officially confirmed that Eric Bush will head up the new Ministry of International Trade, Investment, Aviation and Maritime Affairs, which will fall under Premier Alden McLaughlin’s ever-growing portfolio of responsibilities. It is understood that the post was “advertised among chief officers and persons at chief officer level”. The deputy governor said that Bush, who has been the Cayman Islands representative in London since July 2016, was the only current chief officer to express interest in a transfer to the new ministry. Manderson then made the appointment following consultation with McLaughlin.
Bush’s appointment took effect last Monday, but a press release on Monday, 11 February, stated that he will remain in London representing the Cayman Islands in the UK and Europe until July, when he returns to Cayman.
According to the deputy governor’s office, the priorities for the new ministry include the opening of a Cayman office in Hong Kong, recruiting a small core team, and creating strategic plans in global communication and international trade and investment.
Manderson said there were no plans to recruit staff outside of the civil service. Instead, secondment opportunities will be available to existing civil servants until the needs of the new ministry are better defined.
Explaining the importance of the appointment, Manderson said, “It was vital that the new ministry have a chief officer as soon as possible, to finalise its development, appoint staff and arrange a budget.” He added, “I congratulate Mr Bush on this new role and look forward to his return to the civil service leadership team.”
Outlining what he expected to be working on in the new post, Bush said, “The ministry will focus on capitalising on our current successes whilst identifying new opportunities to secure the future of the Cayman Islands. We will aim to broaden and enhance our international image and to ensure that government’s interactions across the globe, in areas like financial services, tourism or our aviation and maritime registries, are conducted with one voice.”
Over the last two and a half years in London, Bush has coordinating the recent constitutional discussions, organised the the Celebrate Cayman launch, revived the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Cayman Islands and has travelled frequently across the UK to promote the Cayman Islands.
He is the current chairperson of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) and has served as the Cayman Islands liaison to the European Union, attending meetings of the Overseas Countries and Territories in Brussels.
McLaughlin, who will add this new ministry to what is already the largest portfolio of any Cabinet member, said Bush’s past experience as a chief officer and the diplomatic skills that he displayed during his time in the UK made him the perfect choice for the new role.
“Over the last few years Eric has helped to raise Cayman’s profile in the political, private and other sectors of United Kingdom society. This new ministry will give his skills even wider scope and help the Cayman Islands stand strong in the world as we move forward into the 21st Century,” the premier said.
Before going to London Bush worked with the premier as the chief officer with responsibility for the Ministry of Home Affairs. Before that he served as deputy CO responsible for the prison, police and immigration, in what was then known as the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs.
Category: Government Administration, Politics
Looks like the CIG plans are now gone Rated R.
The PG plans have blown up in their faces and they still cant see it.
Cough-Cough
Eric is the same person that appointed the UK Fire Chief and then he ran off to the UK and of course that ended well too didn’t it just last month.
Listen I love to promote and hire Caymanians but lets go through the transparent process the DG talks about all the time. The same process the DG said occurred with the appointment of the HR Director at the Min Education where the man was 5th on the list and got the job!
I am sorry Franz I think you messed this one up. Eric is not the man for this job I see a lot of upcoming Caymanians in the Civil service with multiple degrees years of financial experience that would be much more suitable for this job including much more qualified Caymanians in the private sector.
DG you have again disappointed me and the Cayman public by this appointment!
I think this is a fantastic appointment. Eric time in London makes him most qualified for this post.
We all know that the decison with the HR Director while not the popular decision was the right decision.
Thank you DG for all that you do for
Caymanians.
ROTF ask the DG if he still stands behind that decision made for Education! I think not! Ironic how the Chief Officer who signed of that mess up has now been moved to another agency! An agency unrelated to his experience I might add!
Wish I had peeps like this looking out for me like this!
Now we have idiots in the comments squabbling over where the man went to school…damn near 30 years ago.
That mindset is why all of you will ALWAYS be working for someone else.
6:13. So true. So many negative comments when something good happens to a Caymanian.
I know, why cant we all just be connected and enjoy unearned benefits. I am about to clutch my pearls.
6:13 and 6:44, So many Caymanians so better qualified for the job. A degree in psychology simply does not cut it in international trade. Would you hire a lawyer to undertake heart surgery?
Eric went to University before his teenage years? Must be smart after all.
Throw a stone – and the one that yelps…
London Office appointment was a “time-out” which has now been served.
Congratulations Mr Bush and welcome home. Pay no mind to the haters, just jealously and ignorance
Everyone knows this was a put-up job. Eric is one of Franz favorites. He is in the club that gets looked after..
Add to that he’s effectively a civil service rep of the Progressive party and then there’s the lodge connection….
Joke.
2:18. I think the DG has 3800 favourites and they are called civil servants. I have never seen more Caymanians hired, promoted on given internal secondments in the last 2 years than in the past 15 years. Go DG . When you have haters you know for sure you are doing a good job.
Qualifications to hold any job does not matter to Caymanians. What a joke.
Oh he’s got favorites alright. You right about that. In oh so many ways.
#metoo
#metootoo
For the many hard working Civil Servants, me included this is a slap in our face and a spitball on our cheeks. The DG must go and he must go with his cronies. Talk about World Class Civil Service and this type of favoritism is thrown at you…world class like a donkeys backside. I want to think this is a joke but unfortunately, this is real. Sad sad sad days for government employees.
A comment alluded to being a lodge man and it seems that this is certainly the case.
1:41 pure sour grapes. Exactly what were you expecting? Run a recuitment process so that the whole world could apply? Why would the DG do that? Oh you want more money wasted. This was a Chief Officer Post at least 2 chief officers are on secondment. So doesn’t it make sense to see if any of these persons wants the job first. This is not a promotion for them.
You talk negative about the DG but this exactly what a good leader does. Makes the right decision and does not worry about the illogical negative comments.
Congrats Eric. You will continue to make us proud.
5 years from now we will be wondering where we would be without the new Ministry.
1:41. Are you okay? Seriously engage brain before commenting. You cant be a civil servant
I am a civil servant and this is but another 1 of the unfairness and discriminatory actions that has been levied on us. This is a NEW ministry so there exist NO post for a CO. The position was required to be advertised but this was circumvented because of who he is and who wants him in the position.
7:23. The post was advertised. You cant be a civil servant
7: 23 come on grow up. Read a little.
1:41. Tell us what should have been done. I just dont understand what all the fuss is about. Premier 6 months ago signals the creation of a new Ministry. DG does an internal advert amongst Chief Officers a Chief Officer who later this year is coming home without a post applies and gets the job.
What in the world is wrong with that? Geeezze get a life.
No coincidence???
He was seconded so he can be appointed back to his post as Chief Officer if available….. and out the blue we create a Ministry for him with a new post of CO…. AL I can say I wish I could be taken care off all through my career like this by the DG. What Premier and dg wouldn’t do for this man given no previous or extensive background in the areas he has managed! I am all about promoting Caymanians yes…. but not incompetent ones…. and this is one I continue to see move up and up on who he knows and not on what he knows.
12:14. So happy i don’t live in your negative world. Stop being jealous.
12:14. To think like you do. Is so scary. Stop dragging cayman back wards. My Goodness BVI has a simliar Ministry .
Very sad that in the Cayman Islands the merit principle counts for zilch.
If anyone can explain to me how exactly Eric Bush is specifically qualified to head a nation’s Ministry of International Trade, I’m happy to listen.
If anyone can explain to me how exactly Eric Bush is specifically qualified to head a nation’s Ministry of Investment, I’m happy to listen.
If anyone can explain to me how exactly Eric Bush is specifically qualified to head a nation’s Ministry of Aviation, I’m happy to listen.
If anyone can explain to me how exactly Eric Bush is specifically qualified to head a nation’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs, I’m happy to listen.
If anyone can explain to me how exactly Eric Bush is specifically qualified to head a ministry that encompasses ALL of these critically important aspects of a nation’s development, I’m happy to listen!
Jeez, his wife is better qualified than he is. At least SHE has a law degree!
He is Premier Alden’s buddy that’s why!
An impressive PR photo but what knowledge does Mr Bush have of investments, aviation and maritime law?. He is yet another civil servant destined for promotion to the highest echelons of the CS based on a degree (in psychology!) from a backwoods Florida “University” that nobody has ever heard of.
Nevertheless he receives a round of plaudits from our local contributors because he is Caymanian, and this after all is his most importnat qualification.
Backwoods…… lmao
No one else was interested so
how would you know that if the damn post wasn’t advertised!
Can somebody please tell me what Cayman will export? Rum Cakes? We do not have a real export sector. We do have an import sector though. Making jobs for all the boys. That is what it is.
Jamaican rum cakes.
A bit confused.
In the last 2-3 years, the UK government has been like a game of musical chairs in respect to those occupying positions of “Minister”, “Secretary”, etc – roles with far greater power and significance than a Chief Minister, for example.
Why is there always an outrage when an appointment is made in this lowly overseas territory?
Outrage because somebody with a degree in psychology from a no name university in Florida, qualifies someone for the top job in International Trade.
He has no formal qualifications which is basic criteria for the positions he’s held
Well, David Cameron became British Prime Minister.
Jus sayin…
And 6:10 you must be stupid.
I see your David Cameron and raise you a McKeeva Bush.
God help us all. Hope he does a better job here than he did at the Fire Station !!!
Or the prison.
Or Cayman Airways HR
Sounds like everything he touches turns to crap.
Or the CCTV
Or as UK Liaison rep.
Or Immigration.
Or in the London office
Is there anymore “or’s” Left ? LMAO, ya’ll need to stop it, lol
Sounds like a lot of job hopping to me.
he was a Police officer too
Congrats Eric. You will continue to make Cayman proud. The compass has a much more balanced report and makes it clear that there was a recuitment process. If there was no process how would Eric know to express an interest.
If there was a recruitment process, very sad that there is no one except a Caymanian with a degree in psychology from a joke university in Florida, to fill a position in International Trade. Standards are just so low in the Cayman Islands.
More CCTV gate?
Here we go again, Caymanians putting down Caymanians.
Congrats Eric, well deserved and I’m sure you are going to do a good job representing our little Island.
Caymanians should be put down when they fill positions they are not qualified for. Caymanians should not stand for such nonsense because it brings all other well qualified Caymanians down.
another ppm move that flies in the face of the recommendations of the miller shaw and e&y reports….
The good old boy system at work here!
Guess being a lodge brother pays off.
Being a steady honest educated and well presented Caymanian is what pays off.
A few more of you should try it.
Lynn University does not count as being educated.
Don’t be a a**, Lynn is top tier unviersity and very competitive and expensive. Please keep you disdain directed towards Mr. Bush if that is your issue, and do not decay the benefits of an education. Isn’t that what got us to this point to begin with ? What is your alma mater for comparison sake ?
12:41, Rubbish. Any American private university with a 75% acceptance rate is not competitive. Unfortunately, Florida is loaded with third tier level private universities where everyone graduates with a degree after 4 years if you pay the money. Too many Caymanians get sucked into the Florida university private orbit.
Expensive has nothing to do with quality. It’s mildly competitive (76% acceptance rate) at best, and is nowhere near top tier – in fact it barely breaks mid-tier regionally (ranked #100 in the South, unranked nationally in the US).
However, you raise a very good point regarding decrying (I assume is word you intended) the benefits of education. Efforts made to improve oneself should always be lauded, albeit only to the point those efforts actually merit.
The point previous commenters appear to be making is that his educational background (let alone his working performance history) does not seem to support his successful appointment to this senior position, or any of the others he’s held, for that matter.
The most recent statistics from Lynn University for 2018 show an acceptance rate of 84.6%. That is not even considered mildly competitive for an American private university.
Florida is loaded with second and third tier private universities which turn out second and third class educated graduates.
12.41pm I’m amazed you did not rate “Lynn” along with Harvard, Yale and MIT. It’s not even anywhere near the top of “Southern Regional Universities” aka backwoods institutions for rednecks, where it ranks 100 out of 148.Nationally it must be in the bottom 10% and that’s being generous.
4:37, Don’t get it? 12:41 said Lynn U was not / not competitive. So why would he / she rate it with Harvard, Yale and MIT which are very competitive? You need to work on your reading skills.
Though I do agree with the rest of your point about Lynn U.
5.56pm 12.41 described Lynn as “top tier” and “very competitive”. Mr reading skills are also top tier but it is obvious yours do not include the concept of sarcasm.
Though I do agree with your last sentence.
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit 8:25.
Eric Bush has no formal qualifications from Lynn University or elsewhere. He does not have basic entry level qualifications for the positions he has held or will hold in the future. Check his HR files. Shirlaw’s courses do not make one qualified in today’s environment. Franz Manderson carries him and the system rewards the peter principle which makes a mockery of everyone working hard and qualified for the senior positions within the civil service.
Omg. Lolololololololololol. Wait. Hold on. Lolololololololololol!!!!
Perhaps steady and well presented fit.
Thought he was going to be the new fire chief.
” It is understood that there was no competitive recruitment process for the new top civil service job.” Anyone else have an issue with that?
The rules are just there if we want to use them, you know to slow things down or keep them secret. Otherwise, this is a small, fortunate territory, punching above its weight, that can’t become complacent and muss do big tings fast wid no time for none of dat bureaucracy business.
Clearly there was a process. How would Eric know to express an interest?
Secret handshake?
9:00 read the article again. It has been corrected. Congrats Eric
Stop the hate and appreciate.
Why is he still employed? Why is he being promoted even higher than his level of incompetence?
Heard him answering some questions at a meeting in London and I was sorry for him. A very poor speaker.
He talks like a lot of people in high places without a university degree: acutely aware that language can be used better than he knows how, but helpless to do anything about it.
Eric is not being promoted. He left Cayman has a chief officer and is returning as a chief officer. Stop being jealous
He is incompetent unqualified and has left a trail of disasters and scandals in every position he’s held as a Chief Officer. Fire Service, CCTV program, Immigration to name just a few. If Eric Bush is the face of a world class civil service at the highest levels Franz Manderson has failed the Cayman Islands
Three reasons.
1. Never question Alden
2. Never question Alden; and
3. Never question Alden.
Will he be purchasing more CCTVs that doesn’t serve a purpose. Another promotion!
Thank you Eric for CCTV it has been a game changer for law enforcement. You made Cayman proud in London. Welcome home
This is great news! Bush has served us very competently! Don’t mess with success!
Guessing they’ll need to install some CCTV systems early on.