Saunders fired over staff harassment, says Panton

| 27/03/2023 | 98 Comments
Premier Wayne Panton on Radio Cayman, Cayman News Service
Premier Wayne Panton on Radio Cayman Monday morning

(CNS): Premier Wayne Panton has said he fired Chris Saunders MP (BTW) because of his conduct in relation to civil servants working with him and not because of a row between the former deputy premier and Governor Martyn Roper amid allegations of racism. CNS has learned that several public sector workers in Saunders’ offices are on leave after making complaints about what Panton has now implied was bullying and even sexual harassment.

The premier opted not to allow the press to ask questions when he made a statement to the country last week following Saunders’ departure from the government, and none of the questions submitted by CNS been answered. However, Panton chose to go on the government-owned Radio Cayman to address the issue.

Speaking on For the Record on Monday, the premier said he had asked Saunders to resign, which he had failed to do. Panton was therefore forced to revoke his appointment as minister. He said the decision was not about “material differences” on political issues, as Saunders has implied, but was due to “issues of conduct” by the former minister.

Panton said he has a responsibility to ensure that people are able to work in a safe environment and not be subjected to “unwanted approaches”, as he implied there were considerable problems in the workplace at the ministry. He said it was important to protect the identity of those involved because there were concerns about people facing retribution.

“Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe environment,” he said, pointing out that while he has no involvement in the civil service, he was the only person who could address an issue to an elected representative serving in a government office.

“I take my responsibility seriously to protect the identity and safety of individuals,” he said, as he danced around the issue that Saunders had allegedly bullied, disrespected and sexually harassed government staff.

Panton told the radio audience that we need a country where people respect each other, and where there is fairness and equal opportunity. He pointed out that the government is bringing legislation to support social justice in the workplace, including the sexual harassment bill.

He said he was really bothered by bullying and harassment and safety issues in the workplace, adding that he had no choice but to address it.

“There was a pattern, I think, of disrespectful behaviour and a lack of respect being shown to people… I was really concerned about it,” he said. The premier said it was important to have a culture of openness and fairness at work so that people felt comfortable expressing their views without having to “worry about unwanted attention”.

Panton said the row between Saunders and Roper had nothing to do with the decision.

Roper had appeared on For the Record on Friday when he also denied that the tensions between Saunders and himself were the cause. He admitted that or several months there had been significant disagreements between them over areas that fall under the governor’s responsibility.

Referring indirectly to the allegations that Saunders had accused Roper of racism and imperialism, the governor said he had raised concerns about law enforcement issues, including illegal gambling, that he felt should be addressed, as well as the strengthening of the anti-corruption legislation. But he implied that Saunders had tried to delay and block those moves, which had triggered their disagreement.

“The outburst towards me from MP Saunders… many people around that table apologised to me, were embarrassed and, frankly, I think even those close to him didn’t believe or accept what he was saying,” Roper said, adding he did not want to say any more.

Panton said that when he had asked Saunders to resign, he had made it clear that it was not over his row with Roper, as the governor could handle himself. He had told Saunders that the decision was about “making sure we have a culture of respect”.

The premier stressed that this was a difficult decision but it was about safety and respect.

“The government is continuing. We are committed to addressing the needs of our people,” he said. “This is uncomfortable; this is very sad and unfortunate but it happens,” he said, citing as an example the removal of a minister in the Turks and Caicos Islands. “But we continue to be committed to the people of Cayman.”

However, on Monday Saunders released a message on social media indicating that there were definitely material differences between himself and the premier over the ReGen project. He said that as minister of finance, he had refused to support the project, which he warned would cost CI$2 billion.

See related story here.

See Panton’s appearance on FTR below:


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Category: Politics

Comments (98)

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  1. Ringmaster says:

    Well the honeymoon is over. Pact partners in arranged marriage now know each others weaknesses. Power play has begun. Game on! The knives are out. There is no going back on this one, it’s a potentially fatal blow to the head. Makes me think that there must be more to this breakup than we currently know. Panton has throw Saunders out of the ring with an almighty sucker punch before the first bell. Well the referee has left the building on his way to London to see the King. Checking the bathrooms and hospitals to see where the opponent is.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    Panton-PACTless Clown Car (PPCC) Supreme Leader Panton addresses the press, controls the dialogue and allows no questions.

    Kim Jong-un must have advised the PPCC on how to handle the news when things get dicey and people want answers.

    Just a reminder people: The “T” in PACT stands for Transparency. Yeah, riiiight!
    Even their name, PACT, is a lie.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Wayne himself knows that Chris isn’t the only one harassing and discriminating against women in GAB. How about him and his crew denying women their jobs, insisting on moving people around that they don’t like and screwing up your face when you see them.

    This is all happening and people are scared of you and your crew. Sir you yourself have been treating people poorly. People in GAB say hello or good morning and you don’t even show the respect because certain ones you don’t like. These are hardworking civil servants who have worked for many years, serving many administrations without bias and with high performance standards yet you’ve denied them opportunities from the very start to do their jobs. Don’t try to act innocent when you know first hand it’s happening. You can’t call everyone out because that would mean losing control of the government. Women have been especially targeted by this government.

    Fair is fair, leave people alone and worry about doing your job and let them do theirs.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Some Government workers do not work. They have a job, but they don’t do it. They warm up seats, sit talking and ignore customers standing in long lines, and think that they rule. Maybe Chris was trying to get the individuals who complained to perform the jobs that the Public is playing them to do.

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  4. Ooooo La La says:

    Mr Panton I agree with your integrity above board even if you have to fire another two and lose your government and the premiership? Will you?

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Now why would Saunders want to delay and block enforcement of gambling laws and strengthening anti corruption laws?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Which is the killer question and why no doubt he was fired. Staff harassment my ass. Telling the Gov to take a hike in something the UK actual is sufficient interested in to raise at Cabinet, different story. Trying to avoid another BVI.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    serious allegations by wayne and surprised he made them on air. will there be an official investigation and charges brought?
    if not, chris has the right to sue for defamation.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Only if it’s not true. Besides I hardly think the ex-GMP of Walkers needs anonymous legal advice! I suspect Panton is aware of the details of what appear to be multiple complaints and I doubt Saunders wants the details of each complaint public knowledge.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Bring it on, would love to see his dirty laundry in public and can’t wait to see his ‘evidence’.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Go ahead, dying to hear the evidence against him.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Panton is not above the law either. If there are claims of sexual harassment he should be encouraging charges to be made, not just removing him from one well paid post to another.

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    • Anonymous says:

      If the Premier is aware of the details of a crime and does not report it to the Police he is also committing a crime!

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  8. Bravo says:

    Now if only the Premier would force Derek Byrne to fire those in the RCIPS who are guilty of harassment as well. He knows who and how often but has done NOTHING. Many will be glad when he leaves next month.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Wait – when and where was it announced that the chief of police is leaving next month? Who is replacement?

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      • Anonymous says:

        I’ve not seen anything either but he is on a 4 year contract which was last renewed in 2019, so (to my calculations) unless he renews again, he should be leaving summer/autumn of this year?

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  9. Anonymous says:

    A lil birdie told me that there was interesting talk in the elevators today.

    Apparently the Caucus meeting today didn’t last more than 10 minutes.

    Heated words were exchanged.

    The tides divided into three different groupings, all leaving in different directions.

    Can’t wait to hear what that story is about.

    Could the PACT actually be turning into smaller “pacts” within itself.

    Tuning into TCHT on Tuesday to hear what Premier has to say!

    Maybe Chris will have another sorry-sob tale of a lie spun for us to hear…….

    Will keep my Vodka and Gin handy. Coffee won’t cut it tomorrow.

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  10. Junior says:

    Plenty so called managers bullying. No one reports it for fear of reprisal

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Alden should have fired Ossie for the disgraceful Ahearn abuse but instead faffed around in a cowardly fashion and elevated Seymour out of the swamp of ignorance he lives in.

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  12. Not A EZ Road says:

    So if all he says is true why did we get and still to this day get the run around with Mr bush? Am not saying its not true but why diffrent treatment for one than the other? Why no formal report made like bush. Why no release to say this is now under police investigation

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    • Anonymous says:

      He removed McKeeva from the only position he could – Speaker – for an incident within 3 weeks of the incident. Premier cannot remove him as MP, only the voting public can do that. McKeeva is not a Parliamentary Secretary What else he could do?

      In contrast, the Progressive KEPT McKeeva for nearly 1400 days after McKeeva was CONVICTED. They kept him not on the backbench, but in the high office of Speaker, with the autonomy that office has, the budget that office has and the high profile that office has.

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      • Anonymous says:

        He removed McKeeva from the only position he could – Speaker – for an incident within 3 weeks of the incident.

        Yes, I removed the fox from the hen house as soon as he ate the first chicken. Never in my life did I suspect that a fox would eat a chicken, or I never would have put him in charge of the hen house.

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      • Anonymous says:

        This is a blatant lie. 1400 days…what nonsense.

    • Anonymous says:

      Good riddance..,

      Message to PACT

      Stop lying
      Stop acting like you are still a teenager
      Try to act like a Minister

      Leave civil servants alone. We don’t want you.

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Whenever politicians take long to become ‘transparent’ there are political ‘fish’ frying .
    The smell stinks ti high heavens
    There is more to come.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Jamacian culture got no place in Cayman Politics!!! Or Cayman!
    I hope we learn our lesson and let the cleansing begin!

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Wayne well done, long time coming!

    Saunders was an arrogant bully and got what he deserved. He might be more successful in Jamaican politics!

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  16. #SheisSupported says:

    Bravo Premier👏🏽. It’s a disgrace how the egostical dirty minded oppressive politicians have been allowed to behave for so long and finally women in civil service subjected to years of abuse will see that they should no longer feel persecuted. Sexual harassment is not subjective.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Now if only non-politician senior management within the civil service were held to the same standards because the DG does not hold his friends accountable. It’s easier to send the victims to EAP or counseling services and leave them with no choice but to leave.

      Believe me everything being said about Saunders is culturally embedded within the civil service.

      Proud of the Premier for the action he took.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Good riddance! Some of them got too big for their britches! On to the next one!

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  18. Anonymous says:

    Somehow- somewhere, something is not smelling right (very fishy, it’s beginning to rot), with that speech the Premier gave this morning.
    Who is lying, Sandra or him? Remember CMR reported “Honey child, he (meaning Chris) did not resign, he was fired by the HE, for the disrespect of Chris towards the HE, Among other things. This was bigger than the Premier “

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  19. Anonymous says:

    Wayne is the ultimate school yard bully.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You forgetting his predecessor.

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      • Anonymous says:

        His predecessor to oust Mac, but Kenneth Bryan was the one who refused to go along , and Mac was kept on because of Kenneth.
        Remember that when bashing the PPM, blame the plotting Kenny.

    • Anonymous says:

      @3:09pm..How is a he a bully? He is doing his job. No other Premier has done this before. One may say he has balls but is no bully..Alden was a bully but could never ever bring himself to let Mckeeva go..In fact he called a new election to try to save his ass. I applaud this Premier for kicking ass when necessary..It is called discipline not bullying..

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  20. Anonymous says:

    If this is going to be the official PACT story, then explain months of non-response to McKeeva. Grounds for termination, or just out of Cabinet (eventually) with pay and MP position? Which is it?

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    • Anonymous says:

      McKeeva was not a minister and PACT held him responsible. The last administration couldn’t or wouldn’t do so with multiple issues.

      Good for you Panton. 3rd person he has reprimanded.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I tend to believe Panton, although Saunders sounds like a right loose cannon. On the question of legal action on harrassment allegations, I believe that would be up to the alleged victims, not Panton. It sounds to me that Panton took the appropriate action.

      The workplace allegations would be serious impediments to accomplishing the work and needed to be addressed asap.

      I think the context is different enough to other instances that took place outside the workplace although neither is to be condoned, excused or ignored.

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      • Anonymous says:

        @7:08pm..I couldn’t have said it better..Leadership has been sorely lacking in these Cayman Islands..Good on the Premier for taking action.

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      • Caymanian says:

        The real question is, can both be true? Can Saunders be an arse BUT also right about the material difference AND could not both but 1 really be the reason for his termination while using the other as cover??

        I mean I hate bullies as much as the next guy BUT I know in politics when you trying to push something through FOR WHATEVER REASON, sometimes you just need to remove roadblock by WHATEVER MEANS NECRSSARY.

        I would say we need not lose sight of either matter here. YES Saunders might be an ARSE BUT he might also be right on the dump issue.

        How does that saying go, “even a broken clock is right twice a day”

        JUST SAYING!!!

        Don’t make the magicians hands fool you.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I don’t believe Saunders is being truthful. Right from the start he did not want to disclose reasons.

      If he had valid reasons that prompted him to walk away he would have disclosed them right from the start.

      He only fudged reasons because he realized that the public were seeing through his attempts at hiding the real reasons.

      The public is aware that there would always be disagreement among Cabinet on plans and policies but usually these can be resolved by negotiation and compromise.

      When, as it appears in this cases, there are serious concerns that prohibit the necessary working relationships and camaraderie for the work to be accomplished, then the parting of the ways becomes almost inevitable.

      I believe the Premier.

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    • Anonymous says:

      These days if a suervisor/boss ask someone to come in to work on time and try to do some work, its bullying. But if they comes to work late and spends lots of time on their personal phones its seems to be ok. What a mess we have become to.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    When the tender was up, the French company came up second behind Dart. Their proposal was in the 200M range. May be they need to be given a shot

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    • Anonymous says:

      CIG doesn’t know how or where to publish open and fair international RFPs that conform to industry practice. Their lucrative government awards are issued on obscure gov.ky websites, by appointment to a shortlist of neighbourhood participants willing to kickback a cut of the action. Had this been a truly open RFP, there would be competing proposals from dozens of the leading international waste management firms, each with entire departments of professionals that respond to international waste management RFPs as their full-time occupation. The PPM/Unity deal should be scrapped and retendered internationally and openly. That’s why we voted for independent candidates at the last election.

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      • Miami Dave says:

        3:17, Yeah, just like the CIG screwed up on not having the Canadians build our airport. The Canadians were not prepared to pay the kick back game.

        By the way, the public still has not seen the final costs on our new airport.

        Probably never will.

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    • Anonymous says:

      The shadow Caymanian behind the “French company” has entered the chat.

      200M my ass.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    I assume that there will be an enquiry into these sexual harassment allegations followed by the appropriate consequences if found to be true.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    Ban leaf blowers

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  24. Anonymous says:

    Does everyone PACT ends up in issues with have a sexual harassment habit or something?

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  25. Anonymous says:

    There are many sides to every story and I thank the Premier for coming forward and disclosing “the other side”. In light of MP Saunders two releases via email. Let me say up front that I am certainly not the Premier’s fan. However, having read this and listened to the Premier, I am inclined to believe him. Rumours of the harassment referred to by the Premier have been circulating for sometime, and that is definitely not ok and needed to be dealt with. Let the truth come out.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I agree with you anon.@1:55 p,m. As I said before I didn’t believe the story that Saunders was peddling. He would never have resigned from such a prestigious position for the made up foolishness he was spouting. Anyone with a grain of common sense could see right through that. Some unsavory stories were swirling around for months – I cannot believe he didn’t know / hear about this. His reason didn’t even pass the smell test. Unfortunately according to “rumours” he is not the only one but as an old saying goes. It takes time to find ants guts.

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  26. Anonymous says:

    How many other politicians and civil servants will be fired as a result of harassing staff or sexual harassment?

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  27. Anonymous says:

    The reply from Saunders will be no doubt be epic.

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  28. Anonymous says:

    Wayne pretending to be a leader

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    • Anonymous says:

      @1:48pm Shame on you..when we finally get someone that stands up to these types of people and their behaviors you say they are pretending to lead..well my friend, past Premiers lead by just standing by and letting it happen or by bringing down and entire government in order to not confront it straight on..

      Wayne is showing good leadership only you are so used to the kind of leadership(if you can call it that) we had in the past..Good to see someone calling it as it is instead of toppling a government to cover it up.

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  29. Wha Ya Say says:

    This will only get uglier as both men spin the narrative to suit their agenda.
    These are two big egos that do not understand the concept of mutual respect both pretending to be pleasant guys. They proved they would do anything for power to get it and retain it. No different from Alden and McKeeva.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’m still on the fence with Panton because I think he has good intentions but is helpless when surrounded by arrogance, greed, narcism and ineptitude. Why? Because on the face of it, he’s the one trying to deal with all the platitudes of the previous administrations. He’s in a tough position because everyone else seems to be working against him.

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      • Anonymous says:

        …that is why, single-seat constituencies with a first past the post, west minster style elections, fostering “independents” have been an unmitigated disaster for these islands.

        Why in God’s name did the people of this little group of islands think they knew better than the rest of the world and believe that the answer was “Independents”. If so, the question was posed by a fool (as the only way to rid us of the Lord of West Bay (West) and his little fries…).

        Independents = herding cats.

        Multi-seat constituencies, proportional representation and political parties based upon a right-middle-left-environmental view of society & the world, is what is required.

        Hey, it works most everywhere else in the universe, so why not here?

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      • Anonymous says:

        He may have had good intentions but he got in bed with these people to form this government and is getting what anybody with any sense would have expected to happen.

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  30. Anonymous says:

    Re the $2 billion for ReGen project – hopefully we will be recycling what can be recycled and not burning perfectly recyclable material too.

    Cayman needs to invest in machinery that can convert recycled paper, plastic and metals in to useful items.

    Paper can be made in to paper cups, plates, boxes and recycled again. These can be sold to local restaurants and eliminate importing.

    Crushed cans can become bottles tops or beer tops for the CI brewery…

    How are we serious about sustainability if we are not investing a small $50k in to a machine for converting recycled paper in to useful, everyday items?

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    • Anonymous says:

      $2 billion over how long? A long-range forecast of this amount is quite normal for a facility this sophisticated and will save us from an environmental black hole. To me this is money well spent.

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      • Anonymous says:

        To put in context, the cost to remediate GT landfill, ie. move the pile, remediate base, install a liner, sort and replace the heap, circa 2005, was approx $20mln. $20mln the CIG didn’t have to spend, or wanted to borrow to fix it. Sure, some inflation, but come on. The whole site is only 40 acres.

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      • Anonymous says:

        We currently spend around $7-10M/year on waste collection and disposal. Even on a 50-year contract, $2B is quadrupling that.

        Admittedly, the status quo is pile it up and push some dirt on it, but the proposal to push the new piles into a furnace and sell electricity really isn’t that much more innovative… Also unclear if the $2B is inclusive of all revenue streams?

        Too little information from the Whatsapp rant to go by. We should hope to hear more from government, where possible.

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    • Anonymous says:

      For that price can we expect molten glass from the incinerator to be piped into a glassware factory? Or maybe the figure of 2 billion dollars was actually Dart’s bid for purchasing the Cayman Islands, not just for building a measly ISWMS?

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    • Anonymous says:

      This could be a sound and sensible investment when one considers the population will soon be 100k and then on its way to 200k.

      Infrastructure is vital.

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  31. Anonymous says:

    When we said “fix the dump” this isn’t exactly what we had in mind…

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    • Anonymous says:

      When you ask Government to fix anything, always prepare to be surprised by what they come up with – be prepared for you, your children, grandchildren and great, great, great…. to pay for it too.

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  32. Anonymous says:

    So anyone else would be terminated from there job, and arrested for sexual harassment…why is he still being paid by us?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Where is the official investigation and evidence to support any potential criminal charges from the DPP?

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    • Anonymous says:

      No law equals no crime last time I checked.

    • Anonymous says:

      @1:16pm..Unfortunately Cayman has no recall law. Hje could sit there for 2 years and do nothing and we still have to pay him,.

      The people of BTW need to get a petition going asking him to resign. He is a lame duck politician and will just sit there an agitate the government for his own personal reasons..I agree it’s time for him to go and we Cayamnians should not have to continue to pay his salary.

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      • Bravo says:

        He can keep his stale fruitcake which he insists on handing out at Christmas believing his constituents will accept this as a hero’s accomplishments for the year.

  33. Anonymous says:

    Finally, the truth is out, should have just been forthright from the beginning.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Too much is at stake on both sides here, each side will spin the truth for their own purposes and reasons to protect themselves. Surely there is to uncover and deflection has occurred.

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