Cabinet approves C$1.2M for cruise referendum
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has approved a CI$1.2 million increase in the budget of the Elections Office to cover the cost of holding a referendum later this year on the question of whether to develop cruise berthing facilities. Cabinet cleared the spending of the additional cash at its regular weekly meeting on 30 July.
If the CIG waited just a few months until the 2025 General Election, which is expected to be held in April, the additional cost would be far less. It would also give the government a chance to add further questions on ganja and gambling.
The date for this national poll has not yet been set, but Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, who is leading the charge to hold it, has suggested on several occasions that it could be in October or November, less than six months before the general election.
Holding the vote in the autumn will also mean that people who register to vote now will not be able to take part in the referendum because of the long administrative period between a person signing on to the Cayman Islands electoral roll and appearing on the register.
However, if the CIG conducted the referendum at the same time as the general elections, dozens more people, especially younger Caymanians who have recently become eligible to vote, would be able to take part. Given that younger voters will be more impacted by a costly and environmentally unsustainable project with broad socio-economic implications for future generations, critics of the decision to go for a stand-alone poll are arguing that the government should wait.
The concept of a vote is broadly welcomed, and the opposition has already offered its support. Before the pandemic, the PPM administration was planning to develop piers in the George Town Harbour without taking the idea to the people to vote on until it was presented with a petition for a people-initiated referendum, which, under the Constitution, forces the government’s hand to hold a poll.
But the PPM then attempted to manipulate the question and the timing, and were forced into court by the Cruise Port Referendum campaigners.
Critics are now accusing the tourism minister of also attempting to manipulate the vote, despite his claims that the current government does not hold a specific position on cruise berthing. Bryan has said the poll on the cruise issue is for the CIG to seek a directive from voters about whether or not the people want piers, but the UPM administration does not yet have a specific project in mind.
While there is no indication as to whether the question will be about developing piers in George Town Harbour or elsewhere, there has been mounting speculation that the cruise facility could be developed in tandem with the government’s latest controversial project, a cargo port in Breakers.
The decision to proceed with a referendum on a cruise dock could have also provided an opportunity for a vote on other matters, such as the decriminalisation of the use of marijuana and changing the gambling laws to legalize a lottery. However, it appears that the government is not going to ask these questions in the referendum, despite indications that it would do so earlier in the administration.
Government back-bench MP McKeeva Bush told CNS recently there is a feeling that holding an election and a referendum together or alongside additional questions could be “too confusing” for the electorate.
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Category: Politics
Yes give me a holiday for me to respond “NO”
If you do have your stupid referendum, for goodness sake DO NOT make it a public holiday. Thank you.
I don’t get the hold up with the gambling law. If we had a national lottery the government could tax the hell out of it. Then they wouldn’t solely rely on work permit fees. So many people are struggling financially it’s a win win. Let’s get the ball rolling and include this question!!!!
No end to their spending. Just ridiculous.
What a waste of government money.
An almost entirely useless poll
We as the public don’t have a plan to review, or even a set of proposals to consider, a proposed location, the scale of the project NOTHING – its a vote about hot air
It’s just a general open question that hasn’t even been published yet despite the fact that we have already entered a 2-month approach of the earliest of the proposed date(s) which in and of itself is outrageous. All that is without mentioning the fact that due to our archaic and undemocratic election laws people who have registered this year or who are interested in registering since the announcement will not be able to take part. Hundreds of young Caymanian university students will be overseas in the US and UK when the vote is held which serves the convenient purpose of disenfranchising some of the people who will be most affected by the decision and some of the voters who are most likely to care deeply about protecting the environment, funny how that works.
I am sure we will see active campaigns by the usual monied interested as they have done in years past who can forget the organised campaigns run previously including certain businesses getting their employees to all provide ‘public feedback’ all on the same day.
I have a sinking feeling that whatever form the next government coming out of the 2025 election takes it will likely disregard this vote due to the fact that it was never a concrete vote on anything – they will easily just be able to say ‘yes there was a vote in 2024 but our plan and our vision was never directly rejected at that vote and we are a government that is forward-looking, we will not bind our hands because of eventsprior to our taking office’.
My proposals for future referendums in Cayman:
Do you the public support good things being done by the Government and oppose bad things? – its about as useful as this referendum will be
Ultimately we have a referendum every 4/5 years. If we’d only be able to find new candidates that actually mean what they say, not seasoned career politicians looking to continue banking $150K+ and all the perks.
Stop the whining. I am looking forward to casting my vote on the new pier and there won’t be any other issues used to distract us.
STOP WASTING OUR MONEY!!! FFS!!!
Sorry for the all caps CNS.
A miilion here, a miilion there, a million everywhere!
Agreed
Ernesto is heading for Bermuda so we better get another million or two ready to take to them as it passes. Cayman Airways, get your fleet in order to take the Government and McBeater north with the cheque!
Confucius say, politicians confused saying electorate confused!
Believe them when they tell you what they feel out loud.
They’re telling you they think the electorate is too dumb to be able to handle multiple ideas in their head at once.
They’re willing to disenfranchise voters that aren’t currently registered and younger voters that will be eligible next year for an extra $1.2 million because it’s worth that much for those people not to matter.
They’re telling you the quiet part out loud. Believe them.
Why not have the referendum next year at the same time as the voting for MPs ? that would save the tax payers lots of money .
This NEEDS to be on the general election ballot. Do not let them spend this money because they want to disenfranchise voters on the referendum. Let the people have their say on Cruise/Ganja/Gambling, we can all fill out a form with multiple questions on it. Are they really that scared to do as the people wish? Pathetic!
Scared? No, they’re not.
They’re simply unwilling to do as the people wish. Expect a manipulative question where a simple yes or no would suffice.
I have said it before and I will say it again. There are too many among the electorate who do not demand enough from our elected representatives, they only want a few dollars on Fridays, a load of fill if their yards if water settles in the rainy season and some plywood if they hear that a hurricane is approaching. They and their feeble representatives cannot think further than that. So I guess the rest of us who would like a protected well managed Pristine environment that encludes proper garbage disposal, a good education and medical service, top of the line public transport system etc. etc. will always be left out.
another day in wonderland….
what about the referndums on gambling and ganja…or was that just another lie?
The big boys are anxious for money snd their político minions are starving for campaign funds, so how can anyone be questioning whether this year, next year or whenever. Wake up people things are really what they seem. Geeeze.
I completely realise that on this platform the following comment is going to be met with downvotes and critical responses, but I do feel that we need a cruise pier and upgraded port (appreciating that the two are separate, but can also be combined).
For all those that berate the cruise industry, it is still providing a valuable revenue stream to Cayman, the cruise visitors come during the day and are then on their merry way before most people are getting out of work. There is no reason, why (if properly managed!) cruise tourism can’t fit into Cayman.
I would say that any new cruise pier needs to be coupled with better traffic management and activities for visitors, but why not embrace the opportunity – albeit it with daily/monthly passenger limits in place to avoid overburdening Cayman’s infrastructure.
I know there’s too much to be said on the topic in a comment, but thought I’d put it out there!
Either way, I think it’s a good thing that we’re having a referendum on the subject.
Have a great day all!
Confusing to the electorate? Not for this elector- I can read more than one question so please try to speak on my behalf. Fellow Caymanians please refuse to go out to vote on this referendum unless it is a
Confusing for whom? I have no problem reading and understanding more than one question on a single ballot so please do not speak on my behalf. Fellow Caymanians please do not go out to vote for this referendum unless it is included in the general election next year. Please, I implore you, let us us least prevent these buffoons from wasting our money on this rediculous idea. PLEASE BOYCOTT this craziness. Future generations of Caymanians will thank you!
It’s the politicians who can’t grasp more than one concept at a time. Saying yes to the pier will inevitably lead to huge traffic issues because the two will not be connected in any way, shape or form! Massive expense for the pier + huge congestion issues and possible decimation of the stayover tourists who already feel that we have lost our charm, all for what? The few dollars the cruise tourists spend here, if at all?
A response from someone who takes the opposite view (at least on the cruise port)
You concede that any potential port would require better traffic management and infrastructure upgrades – which is good to see but fail to see that unless those are done BEFORE the finalising of any port or cruise berthing – it won’t be done at all. We always have people claiming that ideally, we would have these issues handled but if your cruise port deal doesn’t come with that done first – it is never going to pass the smell test to anyone with a lick of sense, its like putting the cart before the horse, your idea is let them come and we will maybe scramble to build enough resources to deal with it – our DEMAND is build it, prove it works , prove you have a plan that incorporates our concerns and then execute that plan
Also you also fail to grapple with the fact that there is an inherent issue with cruise tourism, the tour operators and the waterfront merchants don’t want a properly managed balance of guests – their model by design is built on mass consumption getting as many people off the ships and onto the island as possible because they need thousands of people per day disembarking so they can make a handful of sales or book a handful of tours, their model is fundamentally incompatible with the general view and desires of most Caymanians which is why were likely cruising toward a stunning rebuke of the 2019 PPM cruise port proposal and why they tried every trick in the book to avoid taking it to a vote
We can see it every time the Government or tour operators make statements on the current state of the industry we still have hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting every month and its not enough – they don’t care about sustaining numbers they only care about reaching an SURPASSING the record set in 2019 – they do not want controlled managed numbers – they want as many millions as they could feasibly get per year
Fundamentally your idea for sustainable numbers is in conflict with every indication we have seen from backers of the cruise ports in their various forms – which is an issue you will have to reconcile. Our demands are logical, forward looking and put Cayman first, not individual tour operators, waterfront merchants and prominent political families who have interests in tourism spend.
BOY/GAL SHUSH!
So what happened to the cannabis poll?
We can allow a alcohol for recreational use 7 days a week but not a medically prescribed plant?
If cannabis was legalised then the profits would go to the government. That is the last thing drug dealers want, which is why legalisation will be a long time coming.
Excuse you, using common sense to call out gov BS is illegal here.
I heard civil servants could be hung for speaking out against their overlords (guaranteed to be re-elected by their family) in this so called democracy.
why cruise? When tourism Minimun Wage is still $4.50 per hour, and mainly cheap imported workers can manage to exist at this Below Starvation Wage?
It would only make sense to have a Referendum on multiple questions (cruise berthing, decriminalization of cannabis, gambling) at the same time that the general election happens.
What give Bush the right to say that putting this on the ballot with the general election would be to confusing? Maybe for morons like him and his cohorts it might confuse them but I guess even getting out of bed may be a strain in their brain. What an asinine comment.
That is the whole idea, not get that many new voters, hope people just forget about it and do not vote, give everyone another paid holiday (hope it makes them want to vote for Sweet Kenny) just another way to blow more of our tax dollars on crap. But hey, this is the Cayman Islands so what else would you expect!
Yes! Newly registered voters aren’t allowed to vote on this issue
holding an election and a referendum together or alongside additional questions could be “too confusing” for the electorate.
Who exactly is this electorate? if that’s too confusing then they shouldn’t even have a drivers license.
Perhaps he is speaking on behalf of his electorateand himself,definitely not for me. What a dunce ! He should not be allowed within ten feet of a voting booth for fear he will screw up the ballot!
Bush along with his buddies are a bunch of uneducated dumb asses. Just look at the pictures of all of them, wants to make a person vomit.
It wouldn’t even be the first time we had a joint General Election and Referendum – we had one in 2009 on a much more complex question
Mckeeva as usual is talking out of something – and its not his mouth
We can boycott!. Show them that “we the people means business” also please do not support anyone for election going forward unless he/she possess at least a bachelor’s degree in something, anything! Please stop electing uneducated, unethical,inarticulate, unable to reason persons to represent us. Let us raise the bar
caymanians are easily confused….although some east enders can walk with a limp and chew gum at the same time.