Minister blames ‘environment’ for planning delays
(CNS): Planning Minister Jay Ebanks pointed the finger at the Department of Environment on Wednesday, maintaining that environmental input was delaying planning applications, though he offered no evidence to support the accusation. That same day, several MPs once again indirectly railed against the National Conservation Law and the environmental impact assessment for the East-West Arterial Road extension.
With Premier Wayne Panton presiding over a Finance Committee meeting for the first time in his new role as finance minister, its members, mostly on his own PACT government’s benches, picked up where they left off from the last parliamentary meeting in April, attacking the conservation law and criticising the need to deal with environmental considerations.
As MPs worked their way through a supplementary appropriations bill to realign public spending across most of the ministries for 2022 and make the additional expenditure lawful, Chris Saunders MP (BTW) asked the planning minister about the number of applications the planning department was dealing with.
Ebanks said that between January and May last year, the department had handled 1,711 applications, while during the same period this year, there were 1,344 applications. He said the decline had a “lot to do” with high interest rates and developers waiting on PlanCayman, the new national development plan.
The minister then added, “There’s just been a lot of… I don’t know what would be the best word to use, but more environmentals’ input that has slowed a lot of this stuff down also.”
Ebanks offered no evidence to explain his comments, given that no more than 1% of applications have required an environmental impact assessment since the conservation legislation was passed. The DoE also has a strong track record of submitting its comments on planning applications on time, demonstrated by the fact that its submissions are always included in the published agendas of Central Planning Authority meetings, which is not always the case for other agencies.
As questions continued on the changes to the budget for Ebanks’ ministry, other members also took aim at the EIA for the East-West Arterial extension. Once again using traffic congestion as part of their arguments, members also raised the point that the road would give access to development in the Eastern Districts.
Saunders and McKeeva Bush MP (WBW), who brought the motion in April calling for the government to drop the EIA for part of the road, both challenged the legality of the Environmental Assessment Board, a sub-committee of the National Conservation Council established to oversee the EIA for the controversial road.
Saunders said that because the NCC was no longer functioning as it is currently not fully appointed, the authority of the EAB could be called into question.
Bush warned the premier that there were people and lawyers in the community who were likely to challenge the EAB because the NCC was obsolete. He said he did not have any money but would support them.
Panton said the attorney general had advised that the EAB was lawful as it was not currently in a decision-making role but an advisory one. He added that the board had recently engaged with all the other agencies involved in the road project. The outcome of these discussions was the conclusion that the construction period for the EWA could be cut by several months, so the extension to the Will T area should be completed in 2024, he said.
The premier pointed out that two studies that are separate from the EIA, one by the National Roads Authority and another by consultants are not yet finished, so even if the government decided not to wait for the EIA, construction would still not begin for some time.
As MPs continued to challenge the situation relating to the failure to appoint new NCC members, Panton said it was a problem “that is ours to resolve”. Although the premier did not spell out the problem, CNS understands that there is yet another Cabinet split over the selection of members to fill the vacant seats.
Panton said there were plans for a press conference on the EIA for the road, which would include all of the agencies involved so they could explain the current situation and how the project could be moved forward more quickly.
However, Labour Minister Dwayne Seymour (BTE) agreed with the PACT faction opposing the EIA. He said that only a hydrological study was needed and the NRA engineers had built roads before, adding that the government should follow the will of the House because it represented all 19 constituents.
“We have had high time to make a decision,” the minister said, once again undermining in plain sight the principle of Cabinet members’ collective responsibility.
See Wednesday’s discussions during Finance Committee below on CIGTV:
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Category: development, Local News, Politics
At one stage we had a Cayman Protection Law. This was enacted to Protect Caymanians from Caymanians. Can we please bring that back.
Never thought I would have to say it, but under WP I miss Alden. WP has been such a disappointment and its so obvious he is holding back the progressive thinking of his Team.
Progressive thinking? You are joking, aren’t you?
The East-West highway should have been done 50 years ago. If west bay got there’s how can the largest majority of the population not have one yet?
It has been unfair for that long. People owning land on the Central Mangrove will have a road east to west, but so what?? The road has been needed since growth is going east. There is no land for low to middle class people coming in to the job market. We still don’t have trade schools, yet. That why we are hiring third world people to work here. we still don’t have proper drainage from east to west on the island yet. An example this last week in Cayman Brac that produced major flooding on a small island. There was a water fall. We have to stop the narrative about the environment period. If the whole of Cayman Islands, and all of the past UK island were to sink in the sea, it won’t stop climate change.
We need to fill in this island, especially on the south side. In the past all beaches were at least 8 feet higher than they are today. That was the natural way how these islands recovered from large storms like hurricanes.
All rain historically come from the East to the West. All drainage in the Central Mangroves flow into the North Sound. That is why the sound turns a different colour after a heavy rain. The rain bands in the summer months is subject to the southeast winds that blow the band to the North. Any pilot or sailor on the 7 mile beach can attest to this weather pattern. You don’t need a EIA. You need common sense and experienced people who need to watch the weather who use the sea and who fly planes everyday.
Lets start moving those dump trucks a lot faster, thank you
Sod off, developer bot
And it’s very easy to tell what type / nationality of bot you are!
I didn’t realise the majority of Cayman’s population lived in EE.
It’s amazing the dump is in GT, when the majority of trash comes from EE
More of a case to build a new dump in Bodden Town, without an pesky environmental reports done, to slow down the process
Fine then. Import the designers, engineers, and builders who are experts in elevated roads and bridges from China if you want it done right and on time.
Elevate the road, no need to unlock parcels.
Jay Ebanks is a disgrace to the seat he sits in. Actually most of them are. Only one I have faith in is Andre.
Woke Premier issues.
Go woke, go broke.
Wayne has destroyed this country with his “gang” of wannabe ministers
As I have said before, build the EW arterial as an elevated road on widely spaced pilings. This will allow for water to flow freely underneath, and will minimise the disruption to the local ecology.
Anyone who supports this, genuinely wants the road for its purpose, which is to ease traffic congestion.
Those opposed to it, will want a road that’s not elevated so they can get access to their land, for subdivision development.
A good test to separate the schools of thought.
I’m in agreement that the road should be elevated in areas called for by the EIA, which will be much but not all of it.
let’s face it – there is hardly a government run organisation that forms part of the civil service that is performing. Planning – ridiculous, WORC – taking 12 months to make a decision, NRA – useless, DOE – I’ve been trying to give them money for months… it’s just all rotten to the core. And by the way, these are just the services I’ve personally touched upon. I’m sure everyone has other they could add to the list. As nice a guy as Franz is, I think it’s time for someone to sort this bull$>!t out
But you cant sort the bull out, can you, without motivating the civil service, where there are absolutely no consequences for not doing your job and apparently no service ethic. And what politician is going to beat on the civil service, when its a major voting block. Turkeys dont vote for Christmas.
CIMA! There’s a government department whose incompetence and intransigence poses an existential threat to 1/2 of our economy!
for the last 2 months o am trying to get a building permit.
Nobody answers the phone and nobody replies to emails.
It’s an absolute disgrace.
same with companies registry and CIMA
2 months? Thats all? You’re still at the bottom of the pile my friend! I know people who submitted in January for a single family home and still waiting! That department is hopelessly broken.
Maybe if you put an ad in the Compost that you intend to mow down some mangroves without planning permission you might just get a swift call back. And you might just get the go ahead if you slip the right politician a few hundred grand in a brown paper bag.
nothing compared to the 2 years of more on waiting residency applications.
If you ve ever had an electrical inspection or submitted drawings you ll know planning broken
we had some really good inspectors here from the states and they were replaced with locals
The Planning Minister needs visit Balboa Beach where cement has been poured into the sea and on the ironshore.for the past six weeks or more. Several complaints with photographs have been sent to the CPA and guess what. They did nothing.
I made a similar complaint to the DOE who responded immediately and explained in great detail that the law precludes them was taking any action. They are as frustrated as I am.
The owner of the land has breached the law on numerous occasions and continues to do so.
It appears the enforcement section of the CPA has no interest in upholding the law. On the other hand the DOE is doing their best in the circumstances.
Thank you for posting that Chris, for sure an insight but frustratingly not sure if you’re at the same time arming the robbers 🤠
No one does anything about anything here. I have seen more than 5 automotive shops that just pour oil onto the ground. Damaged coral without consequence. Batteries at the garbage dump just hurled into piles. It’s pathetic. All of it.
I don’t believe that CPA cares about our petty little worries; they embrace the trickle-down model, in which wealthy foreign investors get a pass to do whatever they want, make their money, leave and somehow a miracle occurs and the working class get a few crumbs from the plate.
This is a fraudulent model, and it allows CIG to assuage their guilt by hoping that Cayman benefits. It doesn’t. Not really.
However, it’s okay, as long as the various Caymanian entities make their own personal wealth. To hell with all of us who are struggling and wish we could trust the government to do the right thing for us.
DOE has our best interests at heart. I believe that. The very least we should be doing is preserving the environment and our resources.
I don’t believe you understand the role of the CPA.
Who owns the land and which construction company is responsible? Name and shame.
Thompson family own Balboa beach. They do not care about environment.
Enemies of the environment then. Not cool.
Planning applications cannot be denied due process by overly zealous environmentalists.
Óverly zealous lol. So asking people to apply the laws and rules is “overly zealous”? Overly zealous in your dictionary means getting in the way of your making a dollar at an expense to others, the environment and future generations. Here’s an idea – why not actually apply the law and rules? Because if you are going to break some of them because its commercially expedient, where do you stop? Why don’t employers just stop paying their employees pension deductions over to pension schemes – that’s commercially advantageous for the employer. Why ignore the work permit rules and let cheap labor run amok. That’s commercially advantageous. Why not let vendors run riot on SMB. Oh wait. You see the point, right. Heres my idea. lets have an overly zealous government service, from Immigration through to RCIPS. So the rule of law applies rather than rule of favours or people just not bothering.
These overly zealous environmentalists ( your discreptions) are trying to save the little bit of sustainability that is left. I will pick overly zealous environmentals over morons any day. Just imagine, the Minister is complaining that 1344 applications being processed is not enough compared to this time last year on this little 2×4 rock.! These morons believe that MORE is better. I had the misfortune to tune in to CIGTV earlier this week- what a horror that was. Chris was sitting in the back row of the opposition with one or two chairs between him and the Progressives- on his phone, seemingly, oblivious to the discussions. Mckeeva was making his nonsensical remarks that added nothing worthwhile, the Premier was mumbling as usual, Jay was breathing like someone going through an attach of asthma, others snickering and giggling like 2nd graders. Sir Alden jump in and tried to pulled the discussions back to plant earth. I found so hard to watch, It was a total disgrace.
If you believe what the Minister said he is relieved. He wasn’t sure anyone was fool enough to buy it.
#theydontrepresentme
“The premier pointed out that two studies that are separate from the EIA, one by the National Roads Authority and the other by the Water Authority, are not yet finished, so even if the government decided not to wait for the EIA, construction would still not begin for some time.” (Quote from article)
@CNS – this is incorrect. While the Water Authority is a member of the EAB, they are not conducting any studies. The incomplete studies are all with NRA and their consultants.
A people get the government they deserve.
Agree, however it would take profound revolution to acquire the government we need. We are too rich a territory to embrace revolution, so therefore the class divide between rich and poor will continue to winnow the middle class, until finally, there are only two classes — the entitled, and their servants.
True but not everyone of us. I certainly did not vote for either of these morons.
Jay Ebanks and Planning Minister should not be equated with the same value. Neither should Director of Planning and Mr. Pandohie be equated with the same value.
The Planning Department has been mismanaged, micromanaged and ineptly managed for the past few years. Cabinet in its infinite wisdom does not seem to understand that the Planning Department needs more employees and that there should be some minimum standards for a person to become a Planning Minister.
The delays, setbacks and frustration of dealing with Planning is solely to due with the leadership. Change both two at the top and start fresh.
To this commenter, you obviously do not know Jay Ebanks.If you did you would know that he is well qualified to lead Planning. . . with a lifetime of education, training and experience all related to what he does in Planning — punch line – which isn’t much.
Jay Ebanks is way in over his head with being Planning Minister, but he is savvy enough to recognize travelling to a foreign country with Mac is a great grooming opportunity.
Can we have a peoples referendum to remove Jay Ebanks from this portolio?
These bad actors were put in Parliament by political patronage. Most don’t see it as a crime, it needs to be outlawed, deterrently fined and attract a minimum 10 year jail sentence. Same needs to apply to donors too.
Their constituents were either duped or rewarded in exchange for their vote. The ones who were rewarded are too themselves complicit in the corruption.
We need nothing short of a miraculous paradigm shift in electoral culture to effect a positive political outcome in the next election.
There are some intelligent would be voters out there that are so disillusioned so as to abstain from casting a vote since there are no viable candidates in most districts. The only effective solution is to revert from the failed system of One Man One Vote before it’s to late.
Mac, Jay, DuhWayne, greedy, ignorant political thugs hell bent on the destruction of Cayman for their own political and financial gain.
RIP Cayman
And they will ride into the sunset on a heard of donkeys!
6.09 A ‘heard’of donkeys? Wow.What a jackass. I guess one of them will be riding you then.
Dont forget Heather she’s part of this Cartel.
She is in a class of her own, always appear flustered. She doesn’t do anything/say anything so it is a stretch to gauge her mindset. That is until her world famous defense on why she voted to ignore the EIA recently. We could push the entire PACK inside a wet paper bag and neither one will be able to find the exit!
-There is Sufficiency in the World For Man’s Need But Not For Man’s Greed.- ~Gandhi
“criticising the need to deal with environmental considerations.” oh boo-boo 😭
Well, that’s just too bad, Mr. MP’s.
I can’t believe I’m having to quote George W. Bush, but whoever wrote these words for him understands why it’s important, or at least writes convincing words (whether it’s meaningful to him/her/George is any matter) the quote below resonates with me & many more.
“Good stewardship of the environment is not just a personal responsibility, it is a public value… Our duty is to use the land well, and sometimes not to use it at all. This is our responsibility as citizens, but more than that, it is our calling as stewards of the earth.”
[Remarks made for the National Parks Legacy Project, May 30, 2001]
“Bush warned the premier that there were people and lawyers in the community who were likely to challenge the EAB because the NCC was obsolete. He said he did not have any money but would support them.”
I’ll call Hon. Bush’s bluff. The CPA and the NCC are already in court over a JR to see how the laws actually work (they say). So the Parliament (who are a Govt entity) could file the JR. There you go Hon. Bush, problem solved.
Please, Parliament, file the JR. – If they don’t we will all know that they are just blowing hot air trying the old ‘environmental boogeyman’ scare tactics that the developers always trot out when they are afraid that someone will notice the emperor has no clothes.
CAYMANIANS – Demand environmental protections be legislated and supported by our Government!
Make your voice loud and official by commenting in the Climate Chage Policy Survey currently open. The survey comments are official documents of public opinion and can be used to show these fools that VOTERS WANT TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/climatechangepolicyfeedback
2.10 Unfortunately the survey you linked to is not limited to voters only.
Cayman’s MPs still believe that lying is one of the Nolan Principles. It’s not.
Yes, someone please JR the road / EIA decision.
That should speed things along nicely.
Time for an election Wayne. Things are getting ridiculous.
As political ambition attempts to carve up more of our precious assets there are organisations and efforts to protect it. Environment, sustainability, recycling are not dirty words- they are critical to our future and MPs need to take note.
We can do better, we must do better and if you have intelligence then don’t be afraid to tell them.
Say the tepee dweller, pitched in the bush. Right?
The only logical answer to ministers putting aside environmental concerns and pushing for more and more development, is because they or their families will be benefiting from it personally.
No other Caymanian or resident wants this continuing destruction of our islands to continue. Why can’t the people stop it? Because the people with money have the power and are greedy for more money and more power.
The rest of us be damned.
Sorry, you’ve got it backwards. All voters hold POWER in a democracy, but Cayman’s still do nothing to speak as one voice. Not a single voter has initiated the petition to change the Elections Law and ban the crooks that achieve high office with a margin as few as a couple dozen votes. Only one segment of the Caymanian voter register is allowed the privilege to serve our islands, and what special allegiance and honesty do those rules deliver to us? This. Thick entrenched corruption and openly willing co-conspirators peddling their influence for whatever they are being paid. Do something about it.
Look at where campaign contributions came from. Commercial businesses have their employees contribute.
Quid pro quo is expected and certainly is given. It is quite blatant. Connect the dots.
Wayne actually said on the live telecast yesterday that if he forced banks to decrease interest rates then that means the banks would also decrease the savings rates!!! are you kidding me Wayne? the savings rates are in the ZERO’s and have never moved! You is a big klaffy as we say! Savanah people hold this L (LOSS) for the whole country!
That would harm the people who have a lot of zeroes in their bank account. Rich people get priority around here.
I had exactly two credit memos from all my cash “savings” accounts at banks last year that amounted to $0.28, against monthly fees of $10/mo per account, on 5 figure liquid balance. Money in the bank is dead money being graded at by rats.
I agree! Butterfield’s term deposit rates get me upset every time I see it considering how much money deposit holders should be receiving. Butterfield and other banks on island are lightning fast at raising the mortgage rates (next day notification after USA Fed Jay Powell announces a rate increase) yet SLOOOOW as a turtle to raise term deposits interest rates currently ONLY 1.0% yield!!! Disgraceful! The interest rate should be around 4% right now. If politicians really cared they implement legislation that when banks raise mortgage rates they must raise term deposits at the same time and same basis point hike.
What savings? He must be referring to his and the other rich people’s saving. The rest of us can hardly pay our monthly bills. Go ahead Wayne and ask the banks to decrease the interest rates. We won’t hold it against you.
Fellow Caymanians PACT members included,
There is a growing feeling within our BelovedCayman z islands, from amongst us and within immigrant circles ; that we have elected a bunch of morons who cannot work together and therefore cannot lead this country forward. Your lack of cohesiveness serves to give major credence to the concept of “Crabs in a Barrel”. Is it because you are naive, stupid, egotistical etc ( or all of them together) that you fail to understand what collective responsibility means.
The Rabble grouping within PACT supported by has been kiki and wanna be premier dough boy seem hell bent on this road for the people of the Eastern districts, but, if you truly analyze past and present statements it is clearly evident that there is or are many subtle nuances that is driving their fervor ( wonder who is holding the bag for them and who amongst the big 3,is pulling their ever so greedy little heads to the bag).
They have said that the Premier only favor certain people and certain projects but it’s only this roads project they have come out publicly or rather have made their desire known.
Quite frankly it doesn’t make much sense to talk about or criticize stupidity for stupid us stupid remains even when shown how stupid stupid is. So I ask the people of these Beloved Islands to start seeking men and women of valor, common sense, education and dedication and national pride to run against these stupidi pact members, because if you don’t have change from them or the incorrigible Peoples Past Mistakes (PPM) the future of these Islands and the progress that has been made over the years will all be nought and surely there will be no Middle class in these z islands and we will be cast aside like coconut trash . Straighten up and fly right Cayman, straighten up!
More talk…start the petition to change Elections rules and disqualify the nomination of anyone with a criminal record. Basic due diligence at any private sector HR department.
And outlaw political patronage and manipulation of elections by donors.
Do Cayman voters still want convicted criminals intervening on sustainable policy? The Elections Law needs changes to clear these representatives out of the house. Voters have to initiate the petition.
And add uneducated persons too, cause this Cabinet has 3 and possibly 4 that didn’t do so well in the classroom. Ask them to give the opposite of ‘hero’, they would probably reply with ‘Shero”🙈
PACT comedy gold.