Parliament opens new session just to debate referendum
(CNS): Legislators will meet in parliament for the First Meeting of the 2024-2025 Session on 7 October after the governor officially prorogued the previous session and paved the way for the last of this administration. However, in this first meeting, MPs will not debate any new legislation but focus instead on the government’s motion for a referendum on whether or not Cayman should develop cruise berthing facilities.
A press release from Speaker of the House of Parliament Sir Alden McLaughlin indicated that the Information and Communications Technology (Validation) Bill will be the only one that MPs will steer through the parliament to correct what appears to have been a past problem with the validity of past licence fees government has collected over the last two decades from communication firms.
McLaughlin explained that the constitution requires bills to undergo a 28-day consultation period before being debated in the House, so time has run out for the government to present any new legislation. Therefore, it will be limited to presenting papers and reports and its motion on the cruise berthing vote.
Any new bills and any other bills the government publishes going forward will now be considered during the second meeting. Meanwhile, all members still have until 30 September to present any other motions to be debated or questions for ministers.
Reflecting on the 2023/24 parliamentary year when he became the speaker, McLaughlin said it had been a dynamic and eventful session. “We witnessed significant shifts in Government leadership and key portfolios, tackled important legislation, and engaged in essential debate over the Government’s budget, spending, and policies,” he said. “Now, we look forward to a fresh start and the important work ahead for our nation.”
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Category: Politics
According to a recently published OpEd by an apparently disgruntled new Caymanian wannabe Voter on the cruise port referendum, this separate but related issue is a harbinger of things to come next year.
It is an interesting, frank yet convoluted Commentary.
Even so it is obviously unaware or uncaring about the facts, and thereby sideswipes the real issues.
If indeed we don’t have full control (as a Parliamentary Democracy, with the administering power..being the Monarchy) then why are we pointing fingers at each other around our Islands, when most locals don’t know the name of the current UK Prime Minister ..or the UK “Friends” in the House of Parliament, whom we would be petitioning on a regular basis.
..And where most pseudo elitists feel it conveniently below their means to converse and educate us of their systems.. especially our fellow citizens from the UK? The Americans too for that matter. And ehatbof the many teachers also unwilling or unable to teach history , ethics and civics?
PM is Sir Keir Starmer — and didn’t the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, just visit Cayman last month!
That 23,000 or so voters is about the number of locals left here..so then, are the New Caymanians not voting? It’s very easy to see on the Voters List.
Is the public service on juries too high a cost to exact in exchange?
Why gripe about our Constitution “stripping out the expats” then?
Why cry of “Voter Supression” in this peaceful and orderly place..then insist on your kind having their obviously prejudiced say?
If you want to vote in the cruise referendum you should have registered when/if you got Status.. as you propose.
A blatanty heavy handed greedy Plutocracy is what we have. With no anti-trust legislation I know of, and with a haveful of Mega Monopolies emboldened by Concessions and Red Carpets laid out by my own people..who I once would have reconed did this in ignorance.
Yes, many PR holders are waiting to run and vote, yet with the cream of the jobs and opportunities like housing and child education (in deference to their one sided top Cayman wages and perks) are well set. What more do they want? They are taking over the civil service to either extent that MPs are demanding local staff protection.
This attempt at the writer’s argument or defense of expat rights doesn’t quite Fit, in a roundabout kinda way.
It’s more like begrudgeful potshots coming from someone who I guess has his feet and posterior well inside the Cayman “door” — unless he is one of many who were denied.
Your quips of when we were villages is patently ignorant and misinformed. Yet these quaint parochial settings surely exist today from whence you came. Nothing wrong with that.
Ours were the quiet people who devised the financial laws that attracted global interest. I was there working with Sir Vassel and Mr Jim way back then! You know.. when Bahamas went indie and many professionals relocated here.
One thing Caymanians are great at ignoring is the past.. unless it’s some slur or scandal.
Of the little that I understand about politics, it’s only inevirable that the over entitled majority in the wings will soon have their way, with another mass of Status and PR grants on the horizon.
So ..for now.. Please just sit and wait your turn.
But first.. what about taxes on mega incomes and luxe properties?! What about means tests for scholarships and other benefits?
Our framework is continued in favor of foreigners that’s its a wonder we don’t slide into the trench. All because a few of ours also benefit from this arrangement.
Do I disagree with everything stated? Of course not.
We have our own share of innovative thinkers and doers here. The high flyers are stuck on their platinum tracks..but I and others would live to have a smaller leaner national government, instead of the regressive OMOV SMC system we unfortunately adopted a while back.
But for now we..and you.. should just make the best of it, yet educate and prepare for the next evolutionary stage of the Cayman Miracle.
Hi there CNS – just an FYI, the Summary Jurisdiction (Amendment) Act, 2024 was already passed by Parliament.
CNS: Thanks.
Let’s add retuning Public Beach to the Public to this referendum and ban all vendors from the beach.
LOL. Too late. Remember that nice Campground that we were promised by the highway?!
Can the 2 hotels serve their guests there then? 😉
I think this is needed. we put this thing to rest one way or the other. if most vote for the port then the majority has spoken and if they vote against the port, the majority has spoken.
my big concern is that they are forming it as a simply question. if they win the vote will we have a major problem deciding where?
Where is the tip of the Iceberg. Supporters for the port love this idea for the question because they can avoid any of the complications of the project.
The price?
Style and form of the project?
Method of financing?
Delivery date?
Cruise line guarantees?
Environmental impact?
Impact mitigation and interim measures?
Where will thousands of people pouring out of ships at the same time go?
What are the infrastructural enhancements that will be made to accommodate the increases of people?
There are a million and a half questions and Caymanians would have to be fools to approve a project in the form of a ?
Alden was the legal mastermind for the CIG that argued the fact that the LA/Parliament hadn’t done their job to propose and pass a Referendum Bill into Law to deny CPR the vote on this very subject four years ago. There still hasn’t been a Bill proposed, not even by Alden, to provide the necessary framework and oversight for this democratic Constitutional provision. Cuts both ways, Sir.
expected voter turn out for this circus? 15 – 20? Does anyone care if we don’t know cost, location etc.
It’s just Kenny trying to get his picture in the paper again. And spending 1.5m of our money to do it.
I can’t vote. I’m just driftwood, here 10 years and enjoying and contributing to the island. If I could vote my vote would be ‘No’ . What is the economic benefit for all residents? What is the cost? This isn’t a short term impact, the vote, either way, has long term consequences. Does the country need quantity over quality, in my view, no. Who will benefit? Who will not? Will GT bars and shops gain any appreciable increase in revenue? Will tour operators have more customers for Stingray City tours and trips to Hell. Maybe, maybe not. Will the additional expense to provide more facilities be warranted with increased revenue and increased profit or will the cost of meeting the ‘promised’ demand price out the smaller, more personal operator? One of the many beautiful aspects of the islands is the diversity of the tourism offering. Give cruise operators a stronger foothold and they will price out the quality tourist experience, reducing it to ‘what everyone else does’. Keep the Cayman Islands different. Keep the Cayman Islands for the stay over visitors so they can take the time to enjoy what is available to them. Because then they will come back and they will bring friends and family with them and they will say ‘its not like the rest of the Caribbean, its special’. I’m not against progress or change but please make it for the benefit of everyone. I’ve been here long enough to see change that has lined a few pockets but done nothing for the majority.
The cruise industry benefits 3000 people who either run taxis, tour busses, Stingray city busses and boats, shops, Botanical Gardens, Pedro St James, Coral Beach, Crystal Caves,Turtle Center, Hell, diesel fuel stations, new tours going East. These people are your family and friends. These businesses that started as boat building, going to sea. This is our history and culture. You should be proud of it. What do you think if there is no more cruise ship businesses.
Well let’s take a look after 5-6 years of lower and lower volumes. Hard Rock is closed. Paradise bar and grill hasn’t been built back? Atlantis has gone to another island. When the larger stores go, what do you think in your superior mind is going to happen next? I believe someone will find a really good deal for a what? A developer !! Who do you think that will be? You? You got money to build a 10-15 story building ?? So what do you think will go there?
So what about the people who were in the businesses? Sell their busses and boats?? The fastest business one could offer is more old houses renting rooms? That would be what I would get into if I have a house so I can pay the mortgage. Would that be something you could stop? What about crime?? Well what about the older people? Would they be able to afford medical insurance? Probably not. Do you have family involved with this industry? I could go on with more scenarios of why? But hopefully your brain is thinking about this from another side.
How about a scenario of the possibilities of opportunities to that brain? Do see any ideas where you could benefit from this industry?
Very telling that there are so many question marks, it feels like you already know what to do…something else my friend, something else. Go sit under a tree and figure your $#!% out.
The industry benefits 2,750 minimum wage expats.
The 249 locals who are currently employed in it can and will get more lucrative employment in stay over tourism.
The 1 who owns the tenders can be grateful for all the good years, and watch their tens of millions grow without them.
Very legitimate concerns but CIG is unable to provide any data that supports those numbers. They were able to give us data on construction permits but somehow not able to do the same for cruise tourism. Caymanians deserve the right to earn a living in the cruise sector but if you just hire WP holders to work for you what is the benefit to Cayman? How many Caymanians directly benefit? Let CIG make the case. I am open to understanding how this impacts Caymanians.
It’s well past time to submit a draft Referendum Bill with 28 days notice to amend and later vote into Law. At the moment, nothing has changed since 2020 when it was found that there was no Gazetted Law in regards to this democratic Constitutional mechanism on the books. We can pretend that has happened, run a sham vote, and then loose on appeal, but better if there actually is one, given this point has already seen it’s day in court.
These guys are all terrible. Can only pray we get a few new and competent faces in the next election. Our current bunch are not fit for purpose.
The Elections Law was designed by them, modelled after Jamaica, to keep them in place until they decide to step aside, so nothing changes without amendments to prevent convicted criminals, the career dishonest, and serial abusers from office.
Yep. If only the white status holders on Island had the minerals to put aside their greed for the almighty dollar to challenge the law regarding running for politics on this Island with the FCDO and the United Kingdom.
Not going to happen as they value their money and the abilities to bugger off back home if it gets bad enough.
Strange how in Cayman we literally have the definition of Apartheid. We are all Caymanians, and are all equal, it’s just some are more Caymanian and equal than others.
Specifically, you could be less Caymanian than I am, purely because of your parents’ origin. Think about that, you, as a Caymanian, knowing nothing other than our blessed Islands, are less able to participate in our glorious corrupt garrison democracy because of your parents background.
Strange that.
You are talking pure bollocks. You and all the new Caymanians can piss off back to the UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and anywhere else that you come from where life is better and there is no apartheid system.
You left out Jamaicans, they will be the largest number of “New Caymanians” to go back….unless of course you believe the Jamaicans have made more positive social (Crime) and commercial (Drug boats) contributions to Cayman, than those listed.
Don’t talk. Didn’t your friends ship 2 nice boats from US to Jamaica, take them off and sailed to Grand via Brac, and shipped the 2 trailers alone to Cayman..so no duty taxes were paid??!
The majority only want “terrible guys
The majority of voters continue to vote for “terrible guys” to represent them. Their only criteria is getting a handout. They are certainly not interested in competence, education nor honesty. SO SAD.
How did the immigration reform work out Kenny?
Need more billboards Kenny to blight our streets.
Enjoying the hatorade?
I think they realized this May cull their voter base of imported NAU dependents.
total clown show.
any comment mrs governor?
the Brits won’t do anything….
It’s their circus, after all. anyone else remember those old anti-drug commercials? “I learned it from you, dad!”
They’ll step in when it gets out of hand, like Taylor and FCO did when after due process the port contract was awarded to a Dutch consortium, only to have it cancelled by an arbitrary award to CHEC.
Taylor is gone but the dangers of it happening again are still with us.
That was MC Beater who canceled it.
because he made his own ‘deal’ with CHEC.
shes the one who made the decision anyway.
Yes CHEC can be very generous and rewarding…keep an eye on the award process.
Yes that due process award will be held aboard Wonder Woman’s jet.
Can someone or CNS please answer me this, why is Kenneth building a parking lot in scranton for cricket square employees?
Because he gets support for reelection from the developer of Cricket Square
Kenny’s Sponsor, that flowery family, were at the recent groundbreaking too i hear.
But why does Government have to use public money to build a carpark on Crown property for Cricket Square employees?
I thought the planning permission for the new Cricket Square buildings were subject to them having their own carpark, not to use public funds or Crown land.
Cricket Square is owned by one of the richest families in Cayman. They even own CNB.
Why is kenny using public money to support them?
Kenny B has proven himself to be a disaster as minister. This is another stupid idea.
Anyone who can read and write would agree with you 11.23, but that is not the case with GTC voters.
Unfortunately you r right.
Cayman has very smart and some very ignorant people but the most dunce are those in G T..every corner!
The reason the don’t want it to happen on election day is because they will make it so if you don’t vote no you will be counted as a yes. This is trademark voter suppression being carried out in full view of the public. Politicians haven’t been tarred and feathered in town square in a long time and it shows…
Why is the government led by Minister Bryan willing to leverage the country for the benefit of a few GT merchants and surrender our financial independence to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney and NCL cruise lines?
Time has come to vote them all out for following such foolish plans and expensive mistakes that will be detrimental to the Cayman Islands.
Because the main merchant has very deep pockets and will support him for reelection
How much will any cruise pier project cost the Caymanian people?
Why is the Minister facilitating the bullying tactics of the cruise lines to his government and people?
How is this a top ten priority for this government?
No 11.04. It is the TOP priority for our GTC, BTW , BTE and West bay MPs.
It’s all about keeping their overpaid snouts in the trough.
We are all held hostage by their unproductive voters who increasingly rely on those of us who provide for them.
What should cost $100m will end up costing initially; $500m
that’s BEFORE the addition of the “snouts in the trough” tax…so now we’re at;
$1bln.
add on to that incomptence, lack of qualifications, no relevant experience, change orders/additional vanity projects and a #WorldClass Civil Service and suddenly we’re at:
KYD 2.5 billion
AND ….that with an inferior end product.
…look at the schools, the airport and a myriad of other ill thought out, bloated, over priced, delayed, CIG/CI CS projects that are harbingers of another complete financial disater but one that will BREAK the islands’ economy, for generations to come.
For no other reason than I have zero confidence that this port project would be completed on time, on budget and even “well”…I will vote agaist this…what ever the merits of the port itself. Time and again CIG/CI CS have demonestrated they are incapable of delivering on projects; any, big or small.
The dollars are so huge that this project is an existential threat to the Cayman Islands economy, WHEN (not “if”) it all goes wrong.
The third world is but 45 minutes and one Port away.
Wait until the new prison proposal , currently underway, is announced.
It will make the Port expansion cost seem like petty cash money.
Why are government hiding these facts from us.?
Obviously the contract will go to Robson Construction. Heaven help us. They can as the company is owned by a local man of the cloth.
Thanks to him the town is just looking great. Then Scranton entrap Park will look just like the town. It is all happening just before erection time.
Seriously! They get nothing done the rest of the time, and now they spend time on a referendum nobody wants.
This lot deserves to be voted out of power like the PPM. It appears they do not want to be honest with the public. There must be a specific project scope for the Minister to pursue this idea why else go thru all of this?
When the cruise concession puppet masters say jump…
I will never vote yes to giving CIG carte blanche on any project. No one has put forwarded a design or plan, no one has stated how this project will be funded without incurring debt to foreign entities, no one has said how port operations will continue while this project is ongoing, no report has been made to state what % of Caymanians will be affected either way, no measures to reduce environmental impact have been proposed.
Until such time as these questions are adequately made and a reasonable argument made for why they should be built in the first place i will be voting NO.
Anonymous @ 11:02 I concur. I will not vote “yes” on any referendum for anything that does not outline the expected cost nor the necessity. I would like to know exactly why the numbers have fallen. On another note, the photo billboard of the Minister at the intersection of Shedden Rd and Eastern Ave is very intrusive, looks like he wants to jump into the cars passing by! Everything he does is “over-fhe-top madness”
No weed? No vote.
Yeah what happened to that vote…crickets!
This referendum is a joke- save the public purse!! SAVE THE PUBLIC PURSE.
Cannabis legalisation has been a disaster in the US states which have tried it.
Do those advocating it have a death wish for Cayman (and Caymanian children in particular)?
Dude. The US experience has been totally groovy. Chill out, take a puff or two and stop going all Nancy Reagan on us.
Anon at 9:27 It is obvious that smoking weed is bad for your brain because yours seems to be stuck on that comment. Stop it and free your brain cells.
Do you feel the same way about “fix the dump” comments?
If Cayman was a functioning democracy, this issue would have been settled pre-pandemic (remember that?) and would have actually been binding on the government given that it was a PEOPLE initiated referendum.
If the referendum does happen, as a young Caymanian who’s currently overseas studying, will I even be able to vote on it? Why have a referendum when elections are around the corner? If we’re having a referendum just to waste $1.5 million, can we also vote on removing the “One Man, One Vote” system, prohibiting convicted criminals from holding elected office and instituting stronger campaign financing regulations? For democracy to work, there needs to be actual good governance AND people need to be engaged. It’s exhausting remaining engaged when MPs undermine democracy.
If you’re eligible to vote, please consider registering; the stakes are too high. Cayman’s future needs educated leaders who have good character.
To answer your question if you did not register to vote prior to July 01st – you will not be able to vote on any vote held this year.
To your point later in the comment:
‘If you’re eligible to vote, please consider registering; the stakes are too high. Cayman’s future needs educated leaders who have good character.’
I agree with the sentiment but unfortunately due to Cayman’s archaic voter registration laws and elections laws mean it is now too late for any new registrants to participate in the referendum if it happens this year.
Anyone who intends to vote (again assuming the referendum happens this year) will have to have been registered prior July 01st of this year. as they only publish a revised register starting on January and then every 3rd month (January, April, July and October)
In order to vote you have to spend a full quarter after publication on the provisional register first so anyone who registered now would not appear on the real voter register until January, because the next revised list is not being published until October 1st.
Further anyone who does not register prior to Oct 1st will not appear on the real register until April 01st of next year.
That is worth noting because if the election is called earlier than April 01st which is entirely possible you will not be eligible to vote.
TLDR: In order to vote in Cayman you have to register 4-6 months in advance.
One of the many tedious and undemocratic systems in place in Cayman to limit voter participation and inconvenience people.
Numbers don’t lie… The Port website shows about 157K passengers in Dec 2023, 166K for December 2024 and already booked for 170K in 2025…
Note that it is no coincidence that the cruise companies come and shake the tree during the summer months when the numbers are way lower and concerns running rife with the vendors as the experience the slow season.
They will NOT send more ships or passengers during these slow months – they know the cruise industry focuses on Europe and Alaska then.
They may send more in the winter months, but if the schedules are right, they are already meeting the demand with the smaller ships. They just want us to fund their economies of scale larger ships for their convenience.
Believe me, there is NO loyalty or benevolency in the cruise industry…
Please hurry home to take an active role in our government. You bring up many good points. Cayman is on the cusp of defining its future.
I pray all voting Caymanians take their responsibility seriously and vote for the future of our country. NOT for ways to enhance their power and wealth.
Well said.
If you are already a registered voter I believe provisions will be in place for mail-in ballots, similar to the general election.
It’s worse: there is STILL no gazetted Referendum Law, providing the voting framework required by the Constitution for the people to call a Referendum. That was the finding in 2020 and nothing has changed since. Does this government have the legal authority to call one? That is the question we should all be asking.
Im not sure why these keeps being repeated but the court held that the is NO requirement for a general referendum law for People’s initiated referendums – https://caymannewsservice.com/2021/05/privy-council-rejects-rascals-referendum-appeal/
The original finding that you are referring to was overturned by the Court of Appeal
I do not understand why they cannot understand that. All that is needed is a law to deal with the relevant referendum. We did that with single member constituencies.
When it is something they all want, they have no problem turning up for work. All they plan on doing is shoe this down our throat and work it out with CHEC
Simple answer – NO!
Bush to the rescue!