All MLAs to review district council law
(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin and opposition MLA Kenneth Bryan (GTC) came to a compromise in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday over a private member’s motion to immediately implement the long outstanding legislation providing for district councils. Bryan brought the motion because there is popular demand for these MLA advisory bodies, but the law, passed in 2011, has never been implemented.
The concept of a district council, or a small advisory body made up of local constituents, was negotiated by the PPM administration during the constitutional talks that led to the 2009 document. The law to provide for them was then passed under the UDP administration that followed but was never properly implemented, not least because of the controversies over the Cabinet getting to pick the membership.
During the 2017 campaign the premier said that a review of the law was high on the agenda for a new PPM administration, as the change to single-member constituencies meant the law had to be amended, but once it was, he was committed to funding them.
Despite this election commitment, however, the law has not been addressed throughout this administration.
But last week the premier agreed to establish a parliamentary committee of all MLAs to review the legislation and re-draft it to meet the new environment of single-member constituencies. He argued that it would not be possible to implement the law immediately, as Bryan had asked for in his private member’s motion, because the legislation was not longer fit for purpose.
Bryan argued that this was a constitutional requirement that government had neglected to address and it needed to deal with this without delay, as it was designed to improve democracy.
However, the premier said that although he supported district councils it was simply not a priority. “A lot of water has gone under the bridge,” he noted, pointing to the changes in the political landscape since 2011 when it was passed.
“Members have five months left in office and now… is not the time to be focusing on creating advisory district councils… This is properly the work for the next administration,” he added.
While there was nothing to stop members creating unofficial district councils of their own, Ezzard Miller is the only one who has a council in North Side with a membership that is nominated by his constituents at open public meetings, who also vote for members in the same way.
See the debate in the LA on CIGTV below:
Category: Politics
Caymanians please don’t vote for drug pushers, women beaters, child molesters, Lodge members, Drunk drivers, kick backers that’s only thinking of filling their own pockets. Let’s be sensible come voting day may next year. Like the old sayings, be a fool sometimes but don’t make a career our of it. So lets vote sensible next May, please
So what you are saying is, don’t vote?
mickey mouse talk-shops…..zzzz
@6:53 I would like to know why we need to fund another useless exercise of political handouts
Do the council members get paid?
Yep. Big money.
Alden can outfox Kenneth anytime..this is politricks folks and Alden and Mac have written the book.
Looking for a Donkey to ride to Town on the next full moon, should be fun.
Accept the PMM essentially at the end of the term
Knowing full well that no parliament can bind another parliament
and the PMM will be shelved in a few months with little change having been made
The premier is the man that made promise on this.
I would really like to know the reason why the law was never finalized . Why the semantics?
Because it was a bad law. The proposed Councils were undemocratic. If they get implemented they need to be done better (more democratically) than what was proposed.
Where there is no vision the people shall surely perish.
District councils are not a waste of time as some on this post have intimated. Councils have a role to play in any society, for by this means more voices and ideas on not just area butalso national matters that are important to a “ majority” of the people. This process which should be by election only gives a wider mix of the populace the means to exchange and bring forth ideas and priorities to be executed rather than have run away politicians who only focus on getting re-elected leaving big items near to the end of their term to get a vote.
Notwithstanding the above, the councils need to have intelligent people on it and does not have to follow the politicized process now in place for boards .
People of These islands need To become even more politically knowledgeable in many respects but mainly in how to ensure their elected paid for politicians are held accountable for not only their actions but also for their inaction. I say give District Council a chance provided that there is a framework put in place that is fair and which allows the Preservation And Protection of the people’s rights to put the politicos in check before the end of a 4 year term.
We are so used to MLA maladministration that we would agree to almost any incremental advance from the tone deaf status quo. The fact remains that a couple thousand un-polled district voters have every right to be polled, and to instruct their hired MLA directly, without making appeals to a go-between of biased and unelected District Council. It’s the MLA’s job to represent those voters, not a party line, and not a district council. Our MLAs are not currently too busy with service errands for their constituents, that I can guarantee you.
Dream on, JH.
Election time voter appeasement laws are more often than not never enacted.
What they need to be reviewing is the eligibility of individuals who have been convicted of crimes to hold elected office.
Oh no not another private sector board. Look at Offreg and CPA etc.
Both public boards
I think we all understand the endless supply of civil servants on this island by now. So who will sit and not answer these phones is the next question because I would like to apply for that job.
Private sector not much better unless the “menial work” falls in their pay grade or customer service make or breaks their gravy train.
(Except for the TravelTime disaster) Please stop bullying easy targets. In 2020, please let me know the last time you received an urgent message by telegraph or by courier pigeon.
I think you’ll find the reason civil service is so packed is because the ability to go above and beyond their work title isn’t a private sector problem. Well, unless its hard to fire you because of where your grandparents we’re born. 🙃
The 19 voting districts are each small enough that all MLA should be doing their jobs – taking straw-polls and listening to all their constituents, not just a handful of extra special favorite biases that align with their party dogma. District Councils disenfranchise the other 300-400 constituents. Do your jobs properly.
This is no time for jokes, 2:36 pm.
Isn’t the LA our district council? Why create more layers of useless public servants?
Certainly wheb you can get elected by 300 votes it is ridiculous in the extreme to even consider the need for another layer. There’ll be some form of politician every other person at this rate. Bozo’s dreaming this rubbish up. It shows how detached from the world they really are.
Need to create even more jobs for Caymanians in the public service. Never ending in a place with only 65,000 people.
I think the goal is to ultimately have one civil servant per Caymanian.
Lol I spit out my vodka. Cause now I drink at 3:30pm because everyday there’s something new to be depressed about.
Kenneth is one of a number of MLA’s who are excellent social workers and hopeless politicians.
Can some publish the MLA/Minsters that was convicted of crimes like Deaing in Drugs , women beaters and other crookedness that against the law, so the people won’t vote for them again.
I’m okay with reformed drug dealers just not the ones that don’t understand how to properly poll their constituents.
3:30 pm, Are you sure they are reformed, and do you think of the young people lives that may have been ruined by them
Yes and not really.
If everyone were perfect life would be great, but it’s not that way so live in real life and try to realize someone who has done something bad in their past can move on.
The most popular demand which has been around for much longer than district councils, is legislation that ensures civil servants answer their telephones.Mr Manderson please note.
Accountability for the civil service? It’ll never happen
And for CIMA analysts to respond to emails with something other than “the Authority acknowledges receipt of your email…..”
Bryan knows he’s on his way out and is looking for a new job in a district council to get paid doing nothing!
This is most likely the truth. Kenneth committed political suicide by saving Mac from facing the consequences of his drunken actions but no doubt he has a fat reward coming his way.
Please, let’s hope you’re right!
He’s not, Kenneth will get back in, and you have OMOV and the blistering imbeciles that pushed for it to thank.
Ghetto politics is now the way of the future.
Don’t forget Alden who actually condoned the Mac’s behaviour by doing nothing when he has the ability to replace him as speaker. But Alden will do anything, say anything, and tolerate anything to be called premier, even if he is hopeless at his job. A few press conferences to say stay home cannot make up for arrogance and incompetence. Remember the cruise dock and his arrogant statement that only a miracle could stop it? Come to think of it, he said the same thing as Education Minister when building the schools. See how well they turned out? I hope someone good runs against him in Red Bay.
Our dear Premier kicking the can down the road as usual….zero surprize.