JOCC: Parliament was under external ‘remote control’
(CNS): The new premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, has said that parliament has been under external “remote control” from those with economic and financial influence and that it was “time for change” under the newly formed United People’s Movement. Implying that previous leaders were being controlled by external forces, the premier said she expected to be bullied and threatened, but MPs should be loyal to the voters, not parties or individuals.
In her first public appearance as the new leader of the UPM on Radio Cayman Monday, O’Connor-Connolly gave her version of the events that led to the departure last week of the former premier and climate minister, Wayne Panton, and the return of McKeeva Bush and Dwayne Seymour to the government benches. O’Connor-Connolly said that she had nothing to lose and owed no obligation to anyone except to the people of the Cayman Islands, and especially Cayman Brac East.
“You will never see a ‘for sale’ sign on me,” she told the listening audience, adding that no one could call her to make her vote one way or another.
It has been no secret that Panton was under pressure from the developer class and donors who had contributed to several of his ministers’ campaigns and were seeking payback. Since day one of his administration, Panton had been battling with his Cabinet and Caucus and powerbrokers in the private sector behind some of his ministers to steer his sustainable agenda through, as many of them had opposed it.
These external efforts were not new. They started around a decade ago when the developer lobby tried to prevent Panton from steering the National Conservation Law through parliament, and have continued, reflected more recently in the efforts to fight the need for an environmental impact assessment for the East-West Arterial Road extension.
O’Connor-Connolly did not explain how she was going to handle those external forces, which will still be influencing her new government when caucus meets for the first time next week, nor did she say how she would prevent those who have “remote control” over ministers and MPs, swaying their votes, as she accepted that not everyone would be happy.
She said that she would no longer allow members of caucus to bully civil servants but did not indicate which MPs were guilty of doing so.
As she outlined how she became premier and the formation of the new government, O’Connor-Connolly said that PACT was faced with several options after the no-confidence motion had failed in parliament. The motion had seen both O’Connor-Connolly and André Ebanks abstain on the vote, leaving Panton in an untenable position as leader with a hung parliament. She said that of the choices before them, she had ruled out a new election. Despite the rising public support for a new national poll, she said it was an easy decision as they had to complete a budget before 31 December.
O’Connor-Connolly said that she was asked to be leader unanimously, otherwise she would not have taken the job. She had wanted Ebanks as her deputy and to allow him to continue on his work dealing with the financial services sector and the international stage.
The premier said she had invited back former PACT members Bush and Seymour because if PACT was to reform, it would need the numbers to address the hung parliament. She noted that while Chris Saunders was at the first meeting following the adjournment of parliament, he choose not to join the new government; he will support it but remain outside.
O’Connor-Connolly said Panton had agreed to step down and out of Cabinet but she revealed that he had blocked the UPM’s original decision to give Seymour the environment portfolio. As a result, they had asked Kathy Ebanks-Wilks to take on the former premier’s ministerial portfolio of sustainability and climate resiliency.
At the time of her appearance she was still unaware whether or not Panton was going to accept the speaker’s job. She did reveal that there was an alternative option, but did not say what that was. With Panton making the decision to take to the back-benches, where he can retain his voice and advocate for the environment, the premier will, no doubt, soon reveal what the UPM intends to do about the position of speaker, which could go to one of her backbenchers, to an external appointee, or even a member of the opposition.
See JOCC’s first appearance on Radio Cayman as the leader of the UPM government and premier below:
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Category: Local News, Politics
Premier Juliann O’Connor -Connolly is most misguided if she believes that her Cabinet will fare off any better than her predecessor’s or, for that matter previous ones. How can the situation change when the same lobbyists have access to the same Ministers. I wait with bated breath to see how the UPM will curb this rot. Perhaps there was more than a grain of truth in Ira Walton’s 1968 statement:
“The moral standards of our country are fast deteriorating [or has deteriorated] and if some strong hand does not intervene to stay ,or detour this moral and financial rape, then God have mercy on the people of the Cayman Islands.”
Dwight D. Eisenhover in his farewell address to the American people upon demitting the Office of President of the United States in 1961,issued this stark warning, “Beware of the military industrial complex.” Premier O’connor-Connolly is correct in warning us of the dangers of those with “economic and financial influence”(the economic and financial complex). I fear however that ‘the genie is already out of the bottle’ and this being the case ,it will never again be forced back, from whence it came.
What did you do about it? We’ll wait.
Mr. Bodden say itwasnt so even when you were in the Parliament. Manyof usaregone but some still yaw who remember and who know where the bones are ole boy. Until wepast and present transform ourselves theshiiite will continue. Every where is War{ Robert NestorMarley}
For the record, only the last few words “everywhere is war” were Robert Nesta Marley”, the rest are your own.
If she is aware of corruption, is it not her place to report it?
Just to be clear this is the same Julianna O’Connor Connolly who sat back and served a almost a full 4 years in Cabinet between 2017 and 2019 under the PPM led ‘Unity Government’ as they tried to among other things hand Dart a sweetheart deal on the Dump, pay millions to establish overseas offices and appoint their chums to cushy do-nothing jobs at the last-minute right before elections?
The same Julianna O’Connor Connolly who sat back while the PPM administration that she was a part of as they tried to force through an unpopular and undemocratic port deal that they eventually had to back down from once the threshold to call a referendum was met because it would have benefited their donors, and business interests and cruise lines?
Julianna O’Connor Connolly lecturing anyone about ‘external control’ and private sector ‘Special interests’
I for one would love to know where the PPM got the $480,000 they blew on the 12 candidates they ran in 2021 since she is so concerned with external influence in Parliament – she can start with explaining that
Speaker may face ACC probe
“In his latest report Alastair Swarbrick pointed to what could be a “breach of trust” by Julianna O’Connor-Connolly”
https://caymannewsservice.com/2015/07/speaker-may-face-acc-probe/
Read the comments to this article as well
Ah, the legendary ACC probe, a true testament to their unparalleled efficiency and unwavering commitment to justice. It’s no wonder that it remains shrouded in mystery and obscurity, leaving us all in awe of their remarkable ability to investigate without actually investigating. The results, or lack thereof, speak for themselves!”
Nothing will happen, and I will tell you why: It would involve members of Cabinet to support the ACC, and despite their differences, they ALL have an unwritten agreement to stick together just long enough to keep them all in office.
That smell is the pressing turtle head of the United People’s Movement coming on. What a relief it will be to finally pass these thick old logs and tidy up. Can almost anticipate how much lighter we will feel. Light a candle of hope, and get your plungers at the ready.
wtf did i just read
An odd claim, as the only reason she is premier is due to external forces forcing the collapse of the last government, when they the external forces couldn’t have their own way with uncontrolled development.
This woman has done nothing for years!! Someone must have let her out of the closet.
Most of us are familiar with remote controls, having had them at home for TV for many years. But it really doesn’t matter which family member is holding the TV control and changing the channels if there’s nothing but crap on TV and nothing worth watching.
JuJu’s supporters who get their driveways paved, and their houses renovated every time a squall passes by Cayman Brac may be impressed with her rhetoric, but I don’t feel inspired by her insinuation that she will be pushing the buttons when it is the same set of imbeciles she is trying to direct.
lol. Wayne wasn’t the one being controlled by the developers tho, was he? Just look at who voted against the EIA for the First ast West and you have the perfect list of those in developers pockets or acting on financial self interest.
Umm Wayne voted for it. Please pay attention. He debated against it then voted for it, which tells me he didn’t vote his conscience and was remotely controlled
Not that special interest groups influencing government is new. But I would really like to learn what the ministers or former Premier actually did for any of them. This subject has been mentioned at length especially by CNS with the narrative of the “developer lobby” which I do not see actually and would appreciate some concrete proof for once.
As far as I can see, the CPA is approving less controversial projects than its predecessor (not perfect still and fighting over boggy sands but you can’t argue it’s not stricter than before).
As far as I see, PR and Status applications are basically not being heard by boards at all and WORC is being more stringent on that front.
AML/KYC compliance is stricter than ever and got us off the grey list.
Minimum wage is going up (I believe) which I’m sure very few powerbrokers want.
So where exactly is all this outside influence by the “development lobby” and other “power brokers”. I don’t see any laws or policy getting passed that supports that theory at all.
Of course we see all these politicians doing what they want for themselves and their districts/portfolios/pockets but that’s true off all of them across the board so I would not call that anything new.
Inside influences….Chamber of Commerce, Banks and Dart.
What did Dart get from PACT?
Chamber never gets anything from government and let’s not forget that chamber represents businesses which includes the employees of said businesses and presumably voters. But again what did Chamber get from PACT?
What have the banks gotten from PACT?
Is Dwayne JonJon Seymour a member of her Government?
Is McKeeva Bush a member of her Government?
Is Kenneth Bryan a member of her Government?
Is Jay Ebanks a member of her Government?
Is Kathy Ebanks a member of her Government?
Is Isaac Rankine a member of her Government?
Who thinks they are independent and free from the paymasters’ remote control?
DART were stone-walled by PACT’s sensible restraint to withhold their signature from bad deals like the PAD project at Yacht Club and expensive Regen waste metrics. We shouldn’t have to pay for ReGen to accept free WTE feedstock, and we shouldn’t pay again full utility rates for that resulting power. The Chamber represents business owners not consumers. There are no local banks, and no regulation of fees applied to our consumers. It’s open season – that banking climate we owe to PPM/Unity, not PACT.
The Developer lobby remote controlled Dwayne Seymour and McKeeva Bush walking across the aisle to bring down Wayne Panton.
Those who have been holding the remote control will be paraded, naked in front of the the parliament building; lashed 40 times while praises to God drown out their screams.
The public will be encouraged to attend. Note: ladies must wear grey or black dresses, well below knee level.
Call a snap election! ELVIS 2024!
#freetheweed
She speaks with a forked tongue. Always using religion to mask her duplicitous ways. She is loyal to nothing and no one. Those that follow her are fools. She was always going to double cross Wayne Panton a blind man in China could have seen that one happening.
Can confirm. I saw that coming.
#metoo
Given her consistent failure now spanning decades as Minister of Education, my flippant comment would be – Long may it continue as it is better than Juju being in charge.
But seriously how stupid is this woman? Wayne was pushed out as he couldn’t control the “Party” and the Cabinet. There was no one controlling anything, just a collection of individual pigs at the trough. And surprise, surprise, surprise they are all still there with the King of the Pigs and Puppet Master from West Bay in an even stronger position now.
50 Storey buildings here we come!
Juju has some oddly large cajones! I’ll say that!
But sadly she has no memory at all! Her old cronies (UDP) of which she was a proud spokesperson for – were the number one BOUGHT OUT government to ever grace these islands.
Please all remind her of this fact whenever you see her.
Jon Jon was influenced by a donkey and Jack Daniels.
You forgot Heineken.
I wonder what countries will be on Julie’s itinerary this time around..Hope she puts a good chunk in the budget for those..
If Moses and Julianna had a causeway to their districts they’d be relegated to the backwaters of Cayman like Ezzard and Arden. Duplication of services as an indicator of progress has kept them in perpetual office.
The Police Commissioner must summon her to provide testimony of the corruption she is talking about. It’s a crime not to report it. It’s a crime not to investigate it. File the reports, follow them up, make the arrests.
Enough of this nonsense. Who is it, in the new government, responsible for completing the negotiations with Dart on the ReGen project?
FIX THE DUMP!
Too late. We are now looking to build technology that is 20 years old, that won’t be up and running for 5 years.
We need to look at shutting down Mt Trashmore and mitigated the runoff and methane. A new engineered landfill needs to be built in the originally proposed BT location with methane recapture that can be used to produce energy. This is not a new path and has been put in place in many locations around the globe.
CNS can you publish the agreements PPM signed with Dart?
CNS: All of the agreements that we have managed to get hold of over the years relating to Dart are already posted on the site in our extensive document library. There are tons of other important dox in this section too. Have a browse. If anyone would like to sponsor that section, email info@caymannewsservice.com
The $ doesnt launder itself bro
Forcing a bad deal is not progress. Cancel and retender the whole thing and ban this actor from bidding.
PACT being controlled by external forces will benothing compared to how PPM have been and continue to be so.
But to pretend that external forces have not influenced our beloved nation for decades would be farcical.
In the 90’s, anyone could set up business in a 60-40 with a Caymanian ‘partner’ and that still exists today.
the real development problem (or at least, the fuel to its fire) happened when certain CIREBA members and an MLA managed to push through the change in strata voting laws regarding re-development of existing properties (which many still consider to have been illegal and open to challenge) where majority rule managed to pave the way for the dreadful development of SMB in the past 15 years or so.
Like she’s not under remote control when she spends money on a whim?
Let’s arbitrarily pay every teacher, that’s failing the children and producing failing test scores, a bunch more money? Bases on what?
What’s the ROI on all those laptops? Anyone tracking/inventorying them?
Says the politician that spent god knows how much on a 2 week junket to NY, London and Dubai to accept an award for best small country post office. Which everyone who has dealt with the Cayman Postal Service knows is total BS.
And is now Premier and Minister of Finance! God help us. 🤮
Not “of” Finance, she’s “for” Finance; in Brac-speak, a proponent in favour of more and greater Financial stuff (or whatever clears the cheques). Of and For mean different things. All of the Minister titles have now devolved to the word “for”, which also removes any notion of qualification or acceptance of responsibility.
Where to begin. So much crap there.
1. “No for sale sign on me” – Ooh my precious Lord and Savior please help me. Are we really talking about “Jump Ship Juju?. Maybe not to private sector per say but darn sure to political parties. You always flowed to who is in.
2. Bullying – Ooh yeah. Welcome to the clown show. Half of your squad are bought and paid for. Why do you think Panton had so many issues? A party divided cannot stand and PACT is or was as divided as you can get and so will UPM. It’s built on PACT and is very fluid.
DART controls so much of the underbelly here in Cayman.
Why she wearing a mask? Isn’t that too sciency for her? Does she even believe viruses are real?
Ridiculous that your focus more on her mask than her message
She has a message?
Only if you speak tongues (not the good kind).
She has halitosis
Someone should wash her feet for her then.
Apparently she believes the bacteria laden but magical porous piece of paper strapped across her face will save her. It’s not science, it’s religion.
I think Julie was referring to Sandra Hill, Don S from Bobo radio and the environment lobby. Just sayin
So, you think the environment is something we should ignore?
Agreed… as well as the big Real Estate brokerages. Anyone else notice how many foreign agents they are being allowed to bring in on work permit? Take a look at the new hires. A few have sprinkled in a couple of Caymanian agents here or there, to meet the necessary quota, however, majority are foreign.
How is that even being allowed. Bringing in someone from overseas to sell local real estate when they know next to nothing about Cayman?
Exactly! That is what i called a travesty of justice. There should have never been a work permit issued to sell real estate. I remember a family member did the training ( if that is even a thing) took the test and was told he failed by 5 percent. I was working for a trust company and had a client who wanted to sell a property. I got a valuation, I placed the ad, , did the showings, sold the property and wired the funds to the client. That was it! I had no experience and I had no problem doing it.
“the developer class and donors who had contributed to several of his ministers’ campaigns and were seeking payback….who have “remote control” over ministers and MPs”, including sitting caucus members. This should be a police matter now.
and the Governor should be stepping in.
This is exactly the case. The finger pointing is in the wrong direction – the pressure was coming straight from the White House in GT, all allowed and orchestrated by WP.
And Dart
If there are dirty MPs, she has a duty to report them to the ACC. But first, let’s have a look at everyone’s declarations of interest…
Hang in there, Julie. There are those of us who know what you say is TRUTH.
Be a citizen of the soil. If you do your fellow Cayamanians right, we will stick by you. Let us see what real representation of Caymanians brings to our families and budgets.
She’ll pave the way to success, no doubt!
Playing the long game. She doesn’t even have any competition as she’s ensured that the younger generations are dumbed down. Clever!
#Pavingjokes
The finance minister in charge of the allocation of ~ USD 1 billion still wears a mask two years after covid?
Flabbergasting.
Why are you more focused on the fact that she’s wearing a mask, as an individual with immune issues, instead of what she’s saying in the article. It is about damn time that someone within our government admits that there have been external forces driving the government.
You don’t have to like her, but at least she’s coming out with facts
She has bad breath and is doing the host a favour
In other words juju outsmarted ppm and pact. Well played juju
If you think Juju is smart…. lol. She is a pawn for Bush.
Well done Julie a fresh start at telling the truth! Panton has his influencers as well make no mistake about it. He was controlled by a couple special interest groups himself.
Already doing more than Wayne.
She impunes the integrity of her own ramshackle caucus, while suggesting that corruption is normal, as she enables the continuation of this criminality. Pretty sure nobody will qualify for Heaven with that calibration.
Of course, that has NEVER happened to JuJu. Nope. Not possible.
The influence on the health Minister by the wise men of the east is so obvious, even a blind man can see. Those wise men also influence the moon man so they have at least two votes in Cabinet now.
And please don’t leave out the Wizard from the North! Handlers is an understatement.
She does not dare name the power brokers behind the scenes, otherwise her support will dry up.
Same old JOCC, mouth can say anything without being specific, and hope ppl will believe.
Why dont JOCC name the Ministers who are under remote control?
Sounds like bribery to me. Where is the Crimes Unit??
How do you know that she’s not making moves behind the scenes?
To speak out, ahead of having all of your ducks in a row is not a wise move. Anyone with common sense could tell you that
Juju isn’t a fool, let’s wait and see what is done.
moron.end of story.
external forces = bad juju
To quote a song that she should know “Oh be careful little lips what you say”. JOCC better watch this kind of talk before Panton and his support cross the Floor and leave her where he found himself a very short time ago.
Lmao, piss pot isn’t going to be missed. He had far less supporters than you think. Everybody knows that pact government had an issue with whiny Wayne, why do you think so many dropped out of the party.
The PPM will never take him back… Trust me!!
Unneh tink Alden Roy and Joey fool?
They were only too glad to get rid of that dead weight
how can someone so devoted to God tell such lies??
You are dumb as hell if you think she is speaking, lies in this message. Clearly you are like the ostrich, have your head in the sand.
@7:54pm Devoted to God?? She uses God to project her agenda and to gain the sympathy vote..
Maybe because Christianity has nothing to do with good morals? Read the Bible.
Slavery, racism, misogyny, war, prejudice, unjust execution, hate, bigotry, child abuse, rape, stealing. It’s all in there, and it’s all either required, condoned, or exemplified by the Christian god. Don’t believe it? Read the Bible.
So nothing has changed. We have the same people controlling the same ministers. Panton was the only one they couldnt control so they got him removed.
Yet Wayne was really the only one pushing the anti-development agenda.
Pants on fire. 🔥
here comes some absolute nonsense to our shore. one rode a truck paving concrete for gain and the other a donkey. smash and grab soon come.
“Paved paradise, put up a parking lot”
A parking lot, a high school, a paving plant, a 50-meter pool, a gymnasium, a hurricane shelter etc. etc. etc.
Smash and grab done happen. That’s how we got this current gowerment.
Cayman can thank their lucky stars that they have inherited this paragon of virtue as their savior. There is nobody more capable and adept at carrying out the their governmental duties in an ethical and effective manner.
Ps – the free paved driveways for constituents in the Brac was not corruption and vote buying. It was merely the physical enactment of the sacred duty bestowed upon her by destiny itself.
You should become her speech writer.
JuJu – not for sale. Not for cash maybe, but check how many times she has flipped to ensure she remains in government, even when she was invited in for the opposition party. As Mac knows to his cost, if you are standing on a window ledge better hope JuJu isn’t standing behind you.
God?
Well there you have it folks. Out of their cannibalizing each other and infighting, comes the truth about the destruction of the Cayman islands from the top. Now name and shame these power brokers who hide behind the scenes, utilizing politicians and lackeys to carry out their greedy deeds. If there is any truth to assertions…
You can probably guess a good handful of names
Cayman islands Government, best Government money can buy!
The Remote Controller list begins with DART.
You’d really like that wouldn’t you? You’d be dead wrong.
Not in this case. The power and influence came straight from a Mr. DS working with WP to put together this bunch to keep Progressives out of power.
100%. Private arm of the CIG.
And followed closely by Shilling.