Miller steps down from PAC
Ezzard Miller sits as PAC chairman
(CNS): The outgoing opposition leader, Ezzard Miller, has announced his intention to also resign from the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Following his resignation last week as the formal opposition leader, he has also decided to step down from one of the most important parliamentary committees regarding government accountability. Miller, who has held the job three times over the last three administrations, told the committee of his decision at yesterday’s closed-door meeting with the auditor general.
In a press release revealing his decision to step down, he said he was grateful to the members of the PAC and the staff of the Legislative Assembly for their support and assistance during his tenure.
“It has been an honour to serve the people of the Cayman Islands in this capacity and in that of the leader of the opposition for the past two years,” he said. “I am confident that I have moved both institutions substantially towards this goal.”
Miller said that his goal had been to strengthen respect, effectiveness and efficiency of both democratic institutions and he would “remain vigilant as a legislator in holding government to account in ensuring that the best interests of the people of the Cayman Islands are safeguarded”.
He will formally hand over the chairmanship to whomever is appointed during the next meeting of the 2019 session of the Legislative Assembly, which is expected to take place in early June.
In a statement following Miller’s resignation as leader of the opposition, Premier Alden McLaughlin had implied that government had supported his nomination as PAC chair because of his role as opposition leader. In his latest release, Miller appeared to agree.
“Cayman tends to follow the conventions accepted in the Westminster system of government developed in the UK,” Miller said, as he indicated that whoever replaces him as opposition leader would assume the chairmanship of the PAC.
However, while the job has generally been held by an opposition member, given the committee’s remit of scrutinizing government spending and how it reports that to the public, Miller was the only opposition leader to hold the post.
Before Miller returned to the post, the chairmanship was held by Roy McTaggart, who, despite sitting on the government bench at the time, nevertheless maintained that he was an independent member.
The current deputy premier, Moses Kirkconnell, held the chairmanship during the UDP administration, and before him it was held by Osbourne Bodden. Neither of them were the opposition leader and the committee rarely sat under either of those two chairmen.
Miller has been widely seen as the most successful PAC chair, having played a hand in ensuring transparency and accountability when it comes to the public purse and helping to clear-up what was a significant backlog of missing and messy public books just a few years ago.
Category: Government oversight, Politics
Ezzard did not do a good job as Chair of PAC. PAC’s job is not to reinforce what the auditor general said about a civil service entity. Its job is to determine whether what the auditor general said was merited. Ezzard, like those before him simply rubber stamp that office’s findings, without ever questioning that office when necessary. To be sure the auditor general has issued many accurate findings, but there have also been many cases in which the testimony of the govt entities revealed clear inaccuracies on the part of the auditors. Nothing has ever been said to them by any politician. I always wonder why and can’t help but to wonder whether it is simply that we are so indoctrinated to not question the white foreigner but to take what he or she says all of the time. I don’t make this point to bash white expats at all, it is a comment on our Caymanian culture only.
I beg to differ..Tell me of one other PAC chairman that did as good of a job as he did?
Or the opposition leader (after the fight) nominates MLA Saunders to chair PAC. (If he doesn’t and I were a politician on the other side I would. A ‘good’ nomination and tweaks the opposition.)
Well Ezzard no longer opposition leader and now no longer PAC chairman. God help us. No accountability the criminals will run free now and waste even more of our money. There was only one in the whole sad and corrupt bunch that was fit to sit in the LA and his name is Ezzard.
The irony with the PAC is that the majority of MLAs that hold office have been part of the problem due to their length in time in office. The PAC never ensured that the recommendations of the Auditor General were implemented or improved as the MLAs are auditing their own performance too. See the irony here? Ezzard made some progress here but let’s not forget that he himself wasted tax payers money when he signed the contract for his friend’s construction company Hurlston to construct the new hospital just before the election knowing full well there was a lot of opposition in the house. The end result was after the general election the new Government had to settle with Hurlston for millions of dollars to due breach of contract. Is that good governance?
Seems to me the composition of the PAC needs to have external independent members on the committee as well to ensure that the PAC isn’t cherry picking the issues for political gain and attention. There does not appear to be any consequences for not implementing or addressing the Auditor General’s recommendations within the various civil servant departments. The SAGCs are governed by a board of directors and as such their CEOs can and have been removed while the same doesn’t apply in the civil service itself.
Food for thought.
Thanks Ezzard for a job well done and certainly you will be a hard act to follow. Perhaps Cayman needs to see the difference in leadership or the lack of it which I am sure will follow your departure. We as Caymanian voters need to take a hard look at ourselves and start to support MLAs that have Cayman First and are able and capable to take us forward. Not backward into the darkness of bigotry and hate.
Sad times for these islands when we have mediocre opposition members and others who are clearly owned by some very sinister interest from abroad who are running things from both ends of the political spectrum
Naya Boy you are right. The sinister ploy and interest is entrenched in some of the opposition members as well. They just believe that they are smarter that the govt.
Give it to Dwayne. I’m sure he’ll do just a good a job.
Mac, politics do make strange bedfellows, it was only in 2015 when Alden kicked you off the PAC, now the two of you share ruling our Cayman Islands and are critical of the good job MLA Miller did as PAC Chairman. He is one of the few MLAs in which I have an ounce of trust.
Cayman Islands Alden will now appoint some mealy mouth person to dumb down the function of PAC – our loss for the growing political corruption.
Thanks Ezzard you are the only PAC chairman who did a good job.
MLA Ezzard has been to first and only PAC Chairman that was fit for purpose.
Roy, Ozzy and Moses were useless wimps at the job. The three of them put together would not even add up to 1 Cent alongside the One Dollar class of the job Ezzard did.
If it were not for Ezzard chairing the PAC most government entities would not have received audits. Regrettably Franz has been utterly useless to clamp down on the deadbeat entities and Chief Officers who cannot produce accounts. Successive Governors also failed to execute their good governance responsibilities to fire Chief Officers and Financial Officers who failed to produce annual accounts.
Instead fo firing the deadbeats they fired Mr. Dan Douguay who was responsible to be the first Auditor General who was fit for purpose – he actually did what he was paid to do.
The public will now be worse off with the loss of MLA Miller from his PAC Chairmanship role.
Mac and Alden you both will no doubt rejoice at his departure, your “special” deals and operations will now stay hidden.
Franz you complained that your Civil Servants shuddered when they knew they had to appear before the PAC, that was good because for too long we have had too much poor governance and the belief that they were not accountable to the governed.
If the opposition had two dots of sense they would ask you to reconsider and stay on as PAC Chairman – the Cayman Islands needs such a person as a watchdog over wasteful government spending of taxpayers’ money.
If you really do go then thank you Mr. MLA Ezzard Miller for the excellent standard setting work you did as PAC Chairman you will not be replaced with anyone currently in the LA who has your knowledge, dedication, spirit, discernment, wisdom and understanding of the very important functions of PAC.
9:51 come on now the next thing you will have us believe is that Ezzard walks on water.
He has boasted that Goverment accounts have dramatically improved over the past few years and he is correct. However Ezzard made the noise and the civil service reacted. In fact Ezzard rewarded civil servants in a special session of the PAC.
This seems like democracy at work PAC doing its job the civil service responding and the public benefitting.
But Ezzard does not walk on water and has made huge errors in judgement. He is human.
Thank you Mr Miller for your service.
Oh and Dan Dugay was no where near as effective as our last 2 AG’s.
Change is good.
9:51 pm: No, dear, only one man walked on water and even He could not in the end get the support of the people.
Ezzard is not perfect, but who is?
Bullying and intimidation have no place in the PAC. Have we forgotten the attack on Ms Ahearn and the nervous breakdown of a female public servant?
I am hopeful that a true leader like Mr Eden will take over the Opposition and lead the PAC.
That’s a joke! What is Eden going to do?? Preach them into confessing the accounts don’t balance? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Pleeease!
I cannot believe that anyone would recommend Eden – the most mealy mouthed of the four — except when it comes to same sex marriage.
Oh no. Arden Mclean will be the PAC Chairman.
Arden as PAC chair — talk about spewing anger and creating confusion. All the naysayers would be wishing to have Ezzard back.
6:34 am: Ahearn? you mean the one who gave answers that were incorrect, ahem, as admitted at the highest levels of the civil service? Try another example, please.
GOD HELP US, PLEASE?
So what you are all saying is that no one among the four can do the job? But they are chomping at the bit for power and responsibility — the PAC is all that — so what is the problem?
Say what you like Ezzard turns the PAC into what it needed to be .He asked pointed questions and brought a lot of things to light that would never have been…Before the PAC would hardly even meet..Sorry to see him go in this position..
Let’s not forget that I’m 2013 Miller refused to Chair PAC because Mackeeva was a member! This shows what kind of person he is and how he will carry on to get his way. Who is he to refuse to work on a committee with a person elected by the people ?
You have your facts wrong Ezzard was never asked to chair the PAC with Mac as a member he was asked to chair the PAC after Alden moved a motion to remove Mac because of his disgraceful behavior as the deputy Chair of the PAC under Ro McTaggert as Chairman.
Since anon 9:13 you forgot let me remind you. Alden put Mac on the committee with Roy although Ezzard was nominated as a Member. Once on the PAC Mac made himself deputy Chair a post that does not exist under standing Orders, Got himself called as a witness before the PAC while the deputy chair so he could attack the AG a member of the committee.
Good example of Alden and Mac working in unity
9:13 — possibly his refusal may have had something to do with character — and I am not talking about Miller’s.
So the options for Leader are Suckoo, Eden and Mclean
Is none of the above a valid option?
The idea of any of them being the leader or the PAC chairman turns my stomach
when the going get tough…ezzard gets going…
7:46 pm: Did you not see how long Miller took to make the decision to give up the Leader of the Opposition position? Did you not read the letter from the four to him, including the two who were verbally reassuring him that he had their support?
Do you not know what the Constitution says about the Leader of the Opposition having majority support of opposition MLAs?
Think before you write such buzz words drivel.
7:46 pm: you are obviously not up to date on political affairs. Read this from April 15 Compass: https://www.caymancompass.com/2019/04/15/miller-holds-on-to-opposition-leadership/
Mr. Miller was a good chairman. He has done enough to help person like Mr. ….take over.
No doubt he is matured enough to support both Oposition Leader and PAC Chairman. These should be different persons to help spread the heavy load.
7:38 pm: So you are suggesting that Miller stays on the committee to shore up the new PAC chair/new Leader of the Opposition? I thought the group of four and Kenneth were ready for the responsibilities that came with these high offices? That is what they said — why are you doubting them?
I am confident that Arden as Leader of the Opposition and chairman of PAC will intimidate all the civil servants in to doing the right thing after all he is known as the “Action Man” and given his capacity to shout and his mantra of adversarial politics.
Go Arden show Ezzard how it should be done.
omg…i think this sums up how messed up cayman is…
What a joke. Surely you jest.
You meant to say the Non-Action man….
What can Arden lead? He beats up his chest, behaves like a twat in the LA and to make matters worst, files motions under the guise of helping Eastern Districts entrepreneurs while in reality he is undercover using it to support his foreign friends.
East End beware…all is not what it seems.
😂 – oh you.
Well, now the group of four can show their stuff; now is their big chance.
I hope it won’t be a case of, “The higher monkey climb, the more he expose”.
7:20. Shame on you. Intimidation is in no one’s Job Description.
Plus all of the Government accounts are in order and even the AG has seen the need to commend our civil service.
The new chair needs to focus on the run away SACS’s starting with CIMA.
Say what you will, Ezzard did read most of the literature before class and often asked some of the most glaring questions, while the other members sat silent. Who will do that now? Can anyone else read?
Why stop now? Just one more resignation to go. You can do it Ezz
6:37 — you are really vacant, aren’t you? The rest of us are worried about the future and the uncertainty we now face, and that is all you can say? If there is any time that we as a country needed leadership it is now — we need to keep Miller aboard so that he can at least influence direction.
The fact that you think Ezzard Miller has any benefit to our beloved Cayman Islands, speaks volumes to your vacancy. Quite the contrary, BoBo.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown!
Thanks Al! Smh.
Al, ah boi…you have disappointed me and my family. Sorry to say but 2021 is just around the corner.
I can’t wait for 2021 to vote for Suckoo, I wish I had 100 votes to give him
Al? Smh you ever saw Ezzard Miller allow anyone to force him to do anything ? Blame miller for quitting nobody held a gun to his head! All of this is Miller throwing his toys out the pram because he can’t get his way!
9.09pm You just showed how little you know about the workings of the LA. And how prejudiced you are against Ezzard.
9:09 — the Constitution dictates the Leader of the Opposition must have majority support to remain leader. Mr. Miller is now making way for the new Leader of the Opposition to take centre stage as chair of the PAC and show his proficiency. This is an opportunity for the new Leader — or are you saying Miller is throwing him to the wolves? Why would you think so?
SMH. It is one thing to not have a cohesive opposition, but it is totally a shambles to have the PAC go back to its former glory of not even meeting.
Let the big hearted ones, who want to be head and in-charge, show their silly faces. It’s time to oust those wasters.
I am really disappointed, but you cannot keep a good man down. Thank you for your service, Ezzard.