PACT looking for ‘sensible’ way forward
(CNS): In an extremely brief statement on Friday, Wayne Panton said the remaining members of PACT were looking for a sensible way forward. He said almost nothing about the turmoil surrounding his government in the wake of the resignation of McKeeva Bush MP yesterday. Despite leading a hung parliament, at 3pm Panton remained as premier.
He told the country in the short audio statement, lasting less than one minute, that he believed the PACT Government represented the best way forward for Cayman.
Nevertheless, Panton has few choices and is in a very tight spot. He is currently unable to form a quorum to call a meeting of parliament without the support of at least one member of the opposition or one of the former PACT members who have crossed the floor.
As rumours spread that Panton had stepped down Friday morning, the premier finally issued the brief statement at around 2pm, almost 24 hours after Bush had publicized his decision to leave PACT. But when it came, the brief audio statement offered little information about how Panton plans to remain at the helm or if he will step down before he is forced from office.
“In light of yesterday’s development, there is obviously a change in the government’s composition,” he said. “However, I still believe that the members of this government represent the best way forward for the people of the Cayman Islands.”
The premier added, “In these uncertain times, we need steady, principled, disciplined leadership, leadership that is loyal and wholly committed to the best interests of the country. I will not waiver on these principles because they represent the best of who we are as Caymanians and what is in the best interests of this and future generations. Accordingly, we will be working today to forge a sensible way forward, and I will update the country soonest.”
Yesterday, Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart called on Panton to step down as premier by 3pm Friday, otherwise he would seek a special sitting of parliament next week for a no-confidence vote. It has not yet been confirmed if that meeting will go ahead.
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Category: Politics
My biggest issue is the environment. Premier Panton should lead by example and cease being driven around in that huge big black mafia style SUV and instead ride in a tiny smart car. What do we have if Mother Nature is no more. Save the environment I tell you n lead by example
You therefore be pleased to know that Mr. Panton does in fact drive around in his PERSONAL EV, an Audi Etron.
And deep sea fishes in his electric Hatteras?
Mining the raw materials for EV batteries causes more damage to the environment than by petrol vehicles…
You may however not want to be bothered by facts.
It’s true that an EV uses considerably more energy and materials to build than an equivalent ICE car however over its lifespan it will use considerably less energy in total and in most of the world the batteries are recyclable. Obviously the case for EVs in Cayman is weak where we produce out electricity from diesel and can’t recycle the battery or even ship it off island.
“Ride in a tiny car”!!! have you seen the man lately ?
Yes I have and I’ve also seen the Flintstones and Barney Rubble could drive just fine in his tiny environmentally safe car.
Than I suggest you go to China India Russia Indonesia and have a word with them.
Our coral outcrop is not ready for you to use us to salve your treehugger conscience.
Your language is offensive but stimulating. Perhaps you should behoove yourself to the roadside and do your part in picking up the trash to preserve motha nature on this island. #captainPlanet
The bulletproof SUVs that the Premier, Deputy Premier and the Attorney General are chauffeured around in are for safety (not environmental) purposes.
Yeah, because they are at serious risk of assassination 🙄. Get a grip bobo.
LMAO
Many people accept the definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
How can you expect a sensible way forward when you keep putting people who ain’t got no sense in charge of Ministries?
Anyone other than Heather left to take charge of a Ministry for PACT?
Correct, but she is currently Deputy Speaker. So, if she were to take on a Ministry, she would have to resign as DS.
Anybody notice development stopped completely when UDPact came into power..?
Exactly.
Stop with the stupid PPM development mafia comments, Wayne made lots of woke “sustainable development “ noises, but development continued unabated….
Don’t be fooled, development WILL continue , irrespective of which government is in power…unless the planning laws are changed.
Development is booming. Drive around the island. There are projects on every corner of Grand Cayman, from West Bay to Northside to SouthSound.
Well well karma comes to Town. Please do not forget how he enticed most of the Pack who were already aligning with the Progressives to “Come over to his side. Word on the street back then was that he spent a whole lot of money to get them. I guess now he will have to pay them again to stay. The saying “what you sow you will reap” if I was the leader of the Progressives I would not be offering them any money to come over. If they cannot come over for “love of country” then they should stay where they are. All of this one side paying politicians to join the other side to do the work that they get a monthly salary to do should not be happening. It is corruption and should be stomped out immediately. Most of them are hardly worth the monthly salary anyway. Not to mention the other funds they get from wherever.
Looking for sensible ways? Surely you mush have heard that common sense is not so common. Where will you look?
And mush is alwats mush LOL
A machievellian black unicorn put this mess together.
Get the dredging going in North Sound and allow the Dart channel from the NS thru to 7 mile beach. Change the law to allow 30 story towers and lets get more rich people here. Sir Alden knows how to do it, lets move it fella’s
Caymanians outnumbered.
Please, please people are hurting, do what is right. The next Government please for God’s sake have your Caymanian peoples interest at heart. Especially the indigenous Cayamians , the pensioners, veterans and unemployed. We all need a financial boost due to the high cost of living, high rent , food bill, etc Please get a grip of the statistics of crime happening in Cayman. Please back some form of normalcy to our beloved Cayman Islands.
This is New Cayman. Soldier crabs can’t even find a decent house these days.
Government is just a representation of the people who vote in that area. What does that say about the people who can vote on this little island? Lots of good ones versus lots of bad ones. No one wins. Just an ongoing war that waste all effort and money. Lots of disappearing money. Basically a free for all for anyone in government to get their share any way possible with obsoletely no chance of getting caught and held accountable. Government Caymanian style. Am I wrong?
7.50. You just beautifully described what the Port board have been up to..thank you.
we are f^*#d
Wayne made 2 big mistakes over the past 2 and a half years
1 – Ever forming a Government with Mckeeva
2 – not appointing an Speaker from outside of Parliament when Mckeeva stepped down to ensure that an issue with a thin majority like this could have been avoided
Don’t forget not allowing the plan for dredging the north sound, that was his last mistake as they took him down!
All them free lunch and dinner got the man delusional.
no-plan-pact with no plan…. who’s surprised?
they will cling to power as long as they can….then we have do-nothing-ppm to take over with support from the flip-flop rats….zzzzz
this place is a joke
Well, if you thought the budget was scr@wed before, it will be now. Wayne will have been offering those PACT members anything they want to stay in Government. He’ll have been like a teenager begging their other half not to leave them.
The issue is he simply can’t pay for it, so what’s he going to do? He can’t cut his cronies’ ridiculous demands or he loses his desperately clung to power, so he’s got to raise revenue somehow.
I don’t think he’s that stupid to consider income tax (but I wouldn’t bet on it) but I can see him having some desperate ideas to bail himself out.
He’s already cut stamp duty for Caymanians, (not bad for us Caymanians if he can afford it, but he simply can’t) so he’s got another deficit hole to fill too.
Duty increases, business license cost increases, work permit cost increases, stamp duty increases for expats all come to mind as ways Wayne could try and save his sinking ship. But at what cost to the future of Cayman? This Government has the potential to seriously affect Cayman for the next decade, and not in a good way.
There’s a $50 MILLION (at least) budget hole to fill.
Cancel your Woke $100Million (plus millions in fees) resort prison.
Cancel silly Kenny beach ego project.
Cancel not needed Kenny private jet terminal.
Get the Port board expenditures under control.
There’s $200Million for you.
Sure, except then Kenny walks and probably others too. What you’re missing is that since Wayne has no safety margin, he’s going to have to sell us out to his clown team to keep them under his tent. And it’s clear he’s willing to do so, because he’s developed a messiah complex.
Do I or any other thinking person care if Kenny walks..?
He can effin run as far as I am concerned, and as far away as possible. A favor to us all.
The word coming out of Cabinet is that they’ve already agreed increasing the stamp duty for expats to 10%. Watch this space!
The word is that Cabinet have already approved an increase in stamp duty for expats. Wonder what’s next.
Sensible? Someone should remind him he’s counting on Bernie, Kenny and Jay.
Sad state of affairs when your government needs that f#$%ard MacKeeva as a member.
If he is so principled then why form a government with Mceeva, why did he use Sandra Hill to bully other members into forming a government and why does he continue to act so self righteous when its is solely on him that are in the state we are in all because he thinks he knows better than everyone else and wanted to premier. He formed a government with loose cannons and they are all now blowing up in his face.
The Joker used Wayne to form a Government the Joker’s foot soldiers.
That was all he had to work with. The voters keep voting in people who aren’t suitable to lead us.
8.39am Unfortunately due to Status giveaway most voters are actually now from Jamaica. They only vote for “wha me can get” If you think most of them ever voted in their home country you are mistaken because there was nothing to get.
“The premier added, In these uncertain times, we need steady, principled, disciplined leadership”
You are none of those things.
Give it up Mr Premier you have let everyone down from day 1.
The best way Mr Premier is for you and the rest of PACT to leave the Parliament immediately and let Sir Alden take charge again. He is the smartest and best Premier and the King loves him as he is a Knight in shining Armour. He will appoint his team of brilliant people and get all these projects moving ASAP. You messed up when you never let that kind group dredge the NS for fill. Now that will be expedited and we can get the boom times rolling creating all kinds of great high paying jobs. Goodbye PACT
8:25 am. so he can raise his and the MP’s wages again like he did during Covid
Are you crazy?
its about time!!! him and his government has been a disaster for Cayman. Out of control development, crime, inflation, population crisis, the list goes on and on. That said PPM is not the way forward either, lets not forget the mess they were trying to get us in with the ports and back door questionable agreements. Cayman needs a serious set of business wise and prudent politicians or this island will be headed off the cliff of prosperity into the sea of sadness.
“Wise and prudent politicians”. Where the hell are you going to get these from, given the tiny pool of potential candidates and the mentality of far far far too many of the very limited electorate, 4:14?
Is spending CI$50,000,000 over the next two years on a high school for an island with 1,100 people and 175 students prudent?
The Brac population will grow as will the need for a new school.
Future construction costs will be much higher.
The current seafront school will be wiped by a big storm.
The current school is old and needs constant maintenance .
$50Million for a school will benefit generations, $100Million for a resort prison
will invite more crime.
Will never happen until Status holders are allowed to hold office.
Status grantees will never ever hold office for good reason.
Inflation is all over the world, not created here!
@4:14 Well, George Town voted out Marko in favor of Kenny. Think about that. Our electorate (voting fools are a larger group than the educated) is the root cause of our political problems. Unfortunately, this will continue to be the case for many, many more years and will totally ruin these islands.
Kenneth 》Marco
Our poor Premier. All these monkeys he ga, only know how to perform circus tricks.
Poor Wayne indeed.
He wrongly assumed he would be leading a group who would jointly work for a better Cayman.
It turns out they each worked to stoke their own egos and pursue their own greedy interests.
Their individual financial demands exceeded the combined funds generated by their ministries.
Childish irresponsible behavior and Wayne’s refusal to bend to their greed resulted in them throwing their toys out of their well padded playpens.
Good riddance to the lot of them.
I thought Mac was gone. Why is he still even spoken about? He should be a bad memory already.
Nah, he a stale blast of flatulence.
Mac is back, like a bad heart attack!