No confidence debate gets off to slow start
(CNS): The opposition leader called on members of the PACT bench to start the process of forming a new government by voting theirs down Tuesday in parliament. Roy McTaggart said there were two ways that could happen, one was for some PACT members to cross the floor and join a Progressives led coalition and the other was to reform PACT under a new leader.
The special meeting to debate a no confidence motion in PACT however, got off to a slow start, with no comment on the issue from any of the government members before the sitting was adjourned for lunch.
The meeting started at around 10:30am but was almost immediately adjourned after, McKeeva Bush (WBW) said he wanted to move an amendment to the PPM leader’s no confidence motion in government, just after McTaggart presented it to the members. Bush said he wanted it to be changed to a lack of confidence in the leadership, specifically targeting Premier Wayne Panton.
McTaggart revealed that Bush had not discussed this with him and so asked for an adjournment to enable that discussion to take place. As a result the members were behind closed doors for another 30 minutes before returning to debate the original motion, shelving Bush’s amendment.
The opposition leader spoke for less than forty minutes as he outlined the reasons why the opposition had called for the special meeting. He said he liked and respected the premier, a former PPM colleague, but he needed to step down as it was clear things were not working.
Government, he added, had been going through a slow process of disintegration, fueled by the divisions and disagreements that had been allowed to grow and fester because of poor leadership from the premier.
With Bush’s resignation last week McTaggart said it was no longer viable and the “buck stops with the premier as he is captain of PACT ship.”
A lack of confidence, the opposition leader said, was a tool not to be used lightly. But he explained that with PACT no longer commanding a majority it was dependent on the opposition to call a meeting of parliament and get its business through. Given that he said the first thing that needed to happen to restore stable government to the country was for those on the government benches to vote this government down.
He said even if the current speaker steps down and returns to the government back bench paving the way for a speaker from outside the parliament, he said, Panton would still have only a knife edge majority. This wouldn’t address the problem of his leadership and the continued divisions in Cabinet over the forthcoming budget and the clock was ticking on the legal requirement to have the legislation for that budget completed and implemented before the end of the year.
“We are here today because the PACT can’t even carry out the most fundamental functions of government and this all lies at the premier’s door,” McTaggart said, adding that all the evidence suggested Panton was not up to the job of premier.
Well aware that the PACT members were going to be reluctant to vote for their own demise the opposition leader said they should put the country first and start the process of forming a new stable government.
He laid out two choices.
The first he said was for some PACT members to join a Progrssive led government. McTaggart named no names but said there were a few people still on the PACT bench that the PPM would be very happy to work with who he said he knew had already been to Panton and asked him to step down. The alternative, he said, was if the premier stepped down and another PACT member took over as premier the group may be able to form a new more stable government by recruiting back old members.
But either way to get there they would need to support McTaggart’s motion. If they did not, he said, they would be voting to support a failed premier and would be tied to that choice which would come back to haunt them at the next election.
“Now is time for those on government benches who know the truth to speak the truth in public,” McTaggart said. “The country needs and deserves stability,” he added.
He was then followed by a long and rambling contribution from Chis Saunders (BTW) who said very little about why he would be voting for or against the motion or the current situation in government. He said it was not his practice to say bad things about Caymanians.
Instead he used up almost all of his two hour allotted time to talk about his own political career and opinions on one subject after another that did not relate to the motion.
He said however, his vote on the no confidence motion would be dependent on whether or not parliament would meet again next week to pass legislation for his recent private member’s motion allowing people to withdraw money from their pension to pay off their mortgage could be brought and debated.
After Saunders wrapped up his speech the house was adjourned and was expected to return at 1:45pm.
See the morning session on CIGTV below
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Category: Local News
Is this bunch of morons the best that cayman can do offer to govern these tiny islands ….
This should be a wake up call for all of us voters. The Motion did not pass, but those of us who elected the Opposition need to bring it home to them that we pay them to work, not to cause mayhem. You lost, Roy, Alden!! Get over it. Chris, you are not squeaky clean. Mac, you are done, and you know it; the bunch of you, sit down and earn your god —- salaries! We are sick of your BS!
The motion received the majority of the votes. Two government ministers refused to vote to support Wayne. Minister Andre said yes there were issues and the Opposition was right. It did not succeed in Parliament but it ultimately succeeded. There is new leadership tonight because Wayne had long lost the majority support in his Caucus. He was not leading. He had the budget in a mess. The Opposition were right.
Armed robberies on a daily basis, home invasions, women being raped, and a bunch of worthless politicians bickering over how to grab as much money and power as they can as quickly as they can. All of them, with the possible exception of Andre, need to go.
And be replaced by….?
God help us, Juliana….I would rather kept Panton as permier
To:PPM,
😂😂🤬🤬🤮🤮.
Regards,
Kurt Ellington Christian
Ps. Small mAcK you included.
What a charade…
You have to give Chris credit. What a busy morning he had. Pinned on his favourite patriotic turtle broach. Took a call from Mummy. Sat on the Spotts dock. And still found time to warble and warble and warble. I assume he eventually reclined…
A shining example of why the Caymans are not a country and never will be.
The Cayman Islands, buddy. Get it right.
There is no such place as “the Caymans”. It can only be assumed that you live or visit the Cayman Islands, so I invite you to refer to them accurately.
English is not a strong point in the Caymans, is it?
Go home to the USA or wherever you came from! Clearly you are not from Cayman if you call it the “Caymans”!
Play play parliament.
The Independents took the majority in the election. Most of us Caymanians don’t want the party system. Roy McTaggard declared that he won as Premier. He was wrong. How can these ministers overturn that the voters wanted the Independents to win. I’m not happy with the current government, but why should we as Caymanians be forced to take steps backward? I don’t believe Roy would be a better Premier and fully in the interests of Caymanians. To my knowledge he hasn’t accomplished much to date.
McTaggart is only Alden’s flunky, plain and simple.
Remember the Port, the high-rise buildings on SMB, the development, the destruction? That’s how. They’re being true to form and trample all over us again and again.
Never mind these spasmodic adjournments, adjourn the house indefinitely until there’s new candidates capable of running it 😵💫
You’re onto something. The country would probably run better if we shut down parliament until the next elections. Nothing would get done but more importantly nothing more would get destroyed.
Blah..Blah..Blah.Blah.Blah…..BLAH.
Waste of time from the Opposition Government. I can’t be bothered to give anymore credence to their proposed cause.
Wimps, wannabes, waste of space.
It seems every time these MPs go to Parliament, they’re just discussing how to oust each other and talk trash about each other….
Why don’t they focus on the pressing issues at hand? We will remember this in the upcoming election…
“Why don’t they focus on the pressing issues at hand?” – mostly because they don’t care plus a healthy portion of ‘nuttin in it for dem’
Chris Saunders. Good lord. Someone needs to have a word with him.
Nobody should be able to ramble on like that for so long. I’d rather he was hammered drunk because at least it would be interesting.
He bounced between Christian institutions he admitted to not practicing, independence and how bad the UK was. How racist the governor was. How the Caribbean this and that (he’s a Caymanian politician) and how they were exploited – this should tell you all you need to know about what him and Kenny B want from our fair islands.
Then he went on to drop an egregious amount of Christian shite that he himself admitted to not practicing (he forgot he previous comment no doubt) and then said fronting was ok on island as long as Caymanians benifited (caymanian read Jamaican), he even had the sheer bollocks to say bodden towners were hard working honest people….
Maybe 50 years ago before his lot imported 40k foreigners.
The guy is a circus clown.
John John said that people were trying to make the PPM out to be the worst thing since sliced bread. Play it back, I kid you not.
And yet an elected one. What does that say about the integrity or intelligence of his supporters.
I think Chris’s spearhead was too long and sometimes redundant, but I think is message was GOOD. Maybe more of your should have a “face to face” conversation with your conscience.
What a bunch of children…
If we’re going to be real, André must be the only member of the LA that anyone could possibly have confidence in. We either need another 18 André’s, or changes to the Elections Law.
clear as mud.
idiots can’t even get this right.
to think ppm can form a stable, successful government with the flip-flopping rats who left pact is laughable….
welcome to wonderland…..
I can’t listen to Saunders for two minutes much less two hours, but did he make any mention of mashup de dally ‘ouse?
Waffling Wayne on a roll today. A jelly roll.
Do the nation a favor Roy and your “progressive” members: put the nation first instead of acting like a power hungry Mafia.
Many are sick and tired of your sellout cronyism with developers and large landowners.
Unless and until you put the burden of infrastructure costs and affordable housing for Caymanians, on the developer/rich landowners WHERE IT BELONGS, you and yours will accurately be considered shills and pimps with no moral authority to lead this country.
There is another way too… You all for the interest of the country in mind as you all proclaim!
Ask the Governor to rule remaining time till next election…
Problem solved…
Pathetic, every last one of them.
Roy does not hold authority to lay out choices for the standing government. He just wishes he did, so their party could run amuck again, making sneaky backroom deals that serve PPM and backer’s registers of interests.
Saunders confirmed his self interest , at a time when some demonstration of concern for National well being would have been the appropriate stance.
I could not believe it when he admitted telling his son that he was a part of a racist government.
What a fine example to set your child, who should be allowed to go into the world untainted by his father’s prejudices. Shame on you Chris Saunders for spouting division at a time for unity.
What a fiasco, led by old Roy, fat Mac & blow-bag Saunders, all we need now is for Seymour to make a donkey and full moon speech.
Just call for a new election and lets rid ourselves of this whole bunch of refuse.
Well just heard Seymour and his self gratification back slapping ramble speech. These are our esteemed leaders; want to make a person vomit!
Surely it’s up to the speaker to curtail rambling and irrelevant content by a member. So another function that can’t be carried out in the house. A lame duck parliament if ever there was one.
Need a big roll of duct tape to tape shut the mouths on these self gratifying self centered fools. Please bring on the snap election.