CIPP begins work on membership
(CNS): The Cayman Islands People’s Party is now making a concerted effort to encourage Caymanians to join its ranks and help find candidates who can offer accountable, transparent and ethical representation in as many of the nineteen parliamentary seats as possible. Speaking at the first of a series of public meetings in George Town on Monday, party chairman Donnie Ebanks said it was time for a different approach to local politics.
Well aware that time is against the new party, Ebanks was realistic about the number of candidates that the CIPP will be able to field in the May 2021 general election. But he said that even if they could find just a few people to run, that would be the first step in making that change. He said the current membership was not focused purely on 2021 but on developing the credibility of this new approach.
Ebanks said the challenge was “getting people to have faith” in their ability to make a difference. He said people had lost confidence in the system, though the Cruise Port Referendum campaign had proved that the people had the ability to make a change.
“We are going to give it our best shot,” he said, as he urged people to sign up to join the CIPP. He explained that the approach had enormous potential to change politics in Cayman and put democracy back in the hands of the people, but it needed public support to work.
Given the huge gap between the needs of the people and the interests of the current government and political leadership, Ebanks stressed the pressing need for a change in approach because currently major national decisions are being made by just ten people and a handful of special interests supporting them, referring to government’s front bench and their financial backers.
While CIPP is not laying out a specific policy platform at present, Ezzard Miller MP, the interim party leader, explained at the meeting on Monday night that a shared philosophy among the membership was the priority.
Miller said the aim was to “start a conversation about doing things differently”. He added, “We have to get back to a place where our people are involved in politics and restore faith in government because right now people really believe that government is actively working against them.”
Category: 2021 General Elections, Elections, Politics
This party should be called the HTTN party. Hell To The No.
If a Political Party does not have its foundation and the determination to advanced a cause that is right and that is moral ; then it is not a political party ; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.. (Do any of these strung up puppet local political parties pass muster?)
Dwight Eisenhower
The return of Ezzard Miller would be a great blessing to Cayman.
An honest intelligent hard working representative who is sorely needed to bring a sense of duty to Parliament.
What he lacks in bedside manner is more than compensated by his integrity and honesty.
BonnieAnglin for Premier!! No doubt✊👊
“NATIONAL VOTE” TIME TO STOP THIS PARTY BULL#$%$.
I am very pleased to see another political party established. We need competent people to make themselves available as candidates. I hope there will not be those who aspire to be career politicians but well trained business and professional men and women who have vision wisdom to lead this country.
I don’t want a turkey or a fridge. The stakes are higher now. I want an iPhone12 and at least a 65″ Samsung.
TV’s really good price at Price Right….I hope they bought a lot of them!!!
Your all crazy on here we dont need a third party we need to get all the old farts out of the building time for the younger generation to be in there so they can listen to the people no more longer than two terms in there so they dont get to corrupt more people into their ranks they all have to go in every department of our government they are only looking out for their benefits, XXXX
Politics of the last 25 years has been with MacKeeva or against Mac….no matter who , so long as it would not give Mac/UDP any power..Hence PPM Unity government.
So now we will have Pro Mac, Anti Mac, Pro Ezzard, anti Ezzard, pro and anti PPM, then the general Rabble who want to turn us into Jamaica, politically and ethnically.
Choose wisely my friends.
There’s two Bodden town politicians who are in the let’s become Jamaica camp.
Which party do I choose now? Ummm…none! Another group of old men that will tell us what to do, should be fun!
Jesus, what a fizzle to the start of the CIPP, they literally begging now. Give it up guys
Ezzard has been forming this party since two years ago. Wonder if he can say how many have joined up so far?
Will enough “good” candidates be found? It won’t be easy. Honesty is the trait I will be looking for.
I VOTE WE GET RID OF MR. DART!
What’s good for one Caymanian is good for them all. You out too Bobo
Maybe we could elect a “”GIMMIE” party that would give things to people who vote for them. Wait….. we already have that.
To 4.44pm What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that why we vote for candidates, so that they can give us things such as a chance at a good education, good roads, good hospitals, job opportunities etc? I don’t believe we should be voting for them to take things from us.
Well, you have not been getting any of those things you listed, so what do you do about it?
Any new party needs to incorporate and focus on people under the ages of 50 and 60
We don’t need any more regular Crosstalk callers or longtime political agitators jumping from ship to ship looking for opportunities
There are real issues in this country and the PPM and CDP both refuse to make way for new visions for Cayman
If this party forms a 3rd right wing coalition of 55-70 year olds shouting at the sky and living in the past then it will get nowhere
Finding enough accountable, transparent and ethical candidates is like trying to find a civil servant who answers their phone. Good luck!.
Will enough “good” candidates be found? It won’t be easy. Honesty is the trait I will be looking for.
Why is it that Caymanians never offer a constructive or analytical response to issues, but always go backwards by attacking someone’s character or history. Why? The issue here is not about Donny, or what he may or may not have done years ago, right or wrong, truth or false. The issue is: Does Cayman need a new Party and another alternative at the Polls? I believe we do and right or wrong, I can defend my beliefs and views.
We have had two (2) Political Parties for years, with neither of them truly having a different ideology of governance. They 2 Parties simply played on “personality politics”, and since we are so interested in character assassination, the electorate (us) fall for it, every election cycle. We do not vote on climate change, education priorities, gender equality, health insurance, unemployment, instead we vote for who we liked or who has the most entertaining campaign.
The last Election proved that running as an Independent does not change anything as the Independents won the last election and are the backbenchers – Why? The 2 Political Parties twho opposed each other, joined hands and blocked the Independents. Recognizing that this happened, and that the people’s wishes were not carried out in the composition of the Government, is in my view reason enough to have a discussion of a 3rd Party. Why not? You can’t run a country as a Single Proprietor, you need Partners who hold similar values and concerns about a myriad of issues.
For all those who run around brainwashed and bragging about how well we are doing, perhaps you should volunteer for a week at NAU and hear some horror stories about the poverty that exists in this country; as we have no social safety net system, such as unemployment insurance, free re-training programs, welfare to work programs, and until recently no vocational and technical training, to name a few.
In closing, thank you Ezzard and Donny for caring enough to at least try and do something, instead of sitting home on Facebook and posting Anonymously on CNS. Thank You! I support the establishment of a 3rd Party as there is no difference in the ideology of the 2 Parties (which became one (1) Party) when it was convenient to gain power.
CIPP can’t run on a “character matters” platform and then deride those that retain applicable memories. Own it, or lump it.
Bonnie, You don’t get it after all these years of political nonsense.
Perhaps if Ezzard and Donny came out with a clear policy platform people would not be so cynical and critical. We have seen this picture so many times before.
These guys are just trying the same thing again. That is why we make no progress here on a whole range of issues such as The Dump, our terrible public education system, medical insurance, the social safety net, etc.
@Bonnie Anglin
There are two old sayings that seem apt here, ‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it,’ and ‘A leopard can’t change its spots.’
If people with long memories don’t remind people with short memories (who risk being blinded by all this hubris) what happened in the past it’s simply going to happen again.
By all means let’s have an alternative ‘people’s party’ but let’s be certain those running it are really doing it for the ‘people’ and not for their own aggrandisement.
Well said Bonnie. I love the first sentence of your article. 🤓😎
Yeah Chris, why bother having a political party that has a policy on the environment, planning, The Dump, public education reform, the social safety net etc, etc?
You have learned nothing about how political history and politicians operate here after all these years, and as a result you are part of the big problem too.
And they don’t do that in England Chris ?
This will end with Ezzard Millerlosing his seat and his party gaining ONE (1) seat in the LA. Lay out your Tarot cards.
Go Ezzard. Make Cayman great again!!!
He does have similar immigration policies
Maybe Donnie Ebanks could start the ball rolling on accountable, transparent and ethical representation by telling us exactly how much he signed off on funding for Operation Tempura/Cealt and why he tried to block Dan Duguay’s 2009 investigation into that expenditure? Smoke and mirrors here.
When the swamp is drained, it will include Ezzard.
Amen. He has always been a willing participant in the farce that has been the Cayman Punch and Judy show with the UK pulling the strings.
Miller, you are REJECTED on the grounds of years of ineffectual representation.
Surely this is the Cayman Islands Pity Party?
I have an idea for a new party. 19 honest Caymanians who know exactly what is going on, are not afraid to speak the truth and cherish the heritage of their predecessors.
We will call this new party, TFT.
Team for Transparency.
Surely, we must all be sick and tired of being sick and tired? Caymanians, get your heads out of the sand and do something about this now or one very soon day, you will find yourselves a minority in your own piece of the planet.
While I am on the subject, what possessed you all to vote for Kenneth Bryan?
What does he have that Alden finds so valuable?
The problem is if you found 19 honest Caymanians who told the truth and said building more roads and bigger air ports etc is not the answer no one would vote for them. You get what you deserve.
Swamp won’t get drained because only poor people live there.