Bryan pressing ahead with referendum bill
(CNS): Now that the date for the 2025 General Election has been set for 30 April, the UPM minority government has just over three months before parliament is prorogued and the official election campaign begins, leaving them very little time to steer through the catalogue of legislation and policies the beleaguered coalition has promised voters, including the proposed referendum.
Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon on Thursday, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said he still plans to bring the necessary legislation for the referendum on Election Day, hoping the opposition will support it.
However, following the minister’s address, Opposition Leader Joey Hew said the Progressives had not yet made a decision about the referendum.
Speaking to CNS, Hew said it would depend on the draft bill, which must be published soon for the government to meet the public consultation period and steer the legislation through when parliament meets next month. Hew said that while the PPM members had supported the government motion, the vote could be considered contentious, and the opposition was still discussing their position.
The four MPs who recently resigned from the UPM are unlikely to support the referendum bill, given their concerns about the unsatisfactory question on the cruise port. This means that Bryan needs the PPM’s support to get it passed.
André Ebanks told CNS that they would not dismiss the draft bill out of hand until they had a chance to look at it. However, they remain concerned about the cruise question and would be more inclined to support a referendum on the other two questions — a position shared by Hew — as the questions on the decriminalization of ganja and the rollout of a national lottery are both far less contentious and believed to have public support.
There are deep concerns that the proposed question on cruise berthing, a simplistic ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on whether or not a dock should be built, will not resolve the issue because the location, size and scale, cost, ownership and type of project are far more important questions.
There are also concerns about how campaign financing would be managed for that question — a point that has already been raised by advocacy groups. The government is supporting a ‘yes’ vote, and even as a minority administration, the UPM will have access to the public purse to promote its position.
Bryan has previously indicated that he had no plans to give Cruise Port Referendum Cayman (CPR), the leading advocacy group opposing the development of cruise berthing facilities, access to public finances.
However, despite the potential trouble ahead for Bryan over the full referendum, it could galvanise eligible individuals who have not registered to vote and give them a reason to engage in the democratic process, boosting the electoral roll for the general election as well as the referendum. There are around 2,000 people who turned 18 over the last five years, as well as several hundred new status holders and thousands more who have just never registered.
The Elections Office announced this week that the deadline, which would have been 1 January 2025, has been extended until 15 January to give eligible but unregistered Caymanians ample opportunity to exercise their democratic right.
“We believe in the importance of every eligible citizen having the opportunity to vote and make their voice heard in this critical democratic process,” said Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell.
Anyone unsure of their current registration status or who needs to update their personal information can visit the Elections Office website.
The form to register to vote can be found here.
For more information, email office@elections.ky or call 949-8047.
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Category: 2025 General Elections, Elections, Politics
They are not proceeding with it this year. Parliament starts next month and no Bill has been published. Neither has the National Conservation Bill been published. The alleged controversial legislation.
With no plan to present, this whole Referendum is a scam and a joke, sadly kenneth knows this and will press on to appear to be a brilliant leader. I really wonder if he is fooling the GTC voters yet again.
How can one have a referendum on a massive capital project costing millions with no idea how much it is going to cost nor know how / who is going to finance the project?
With so many unknowns this referendum is beyond stupidity.
its like Trump is taking a page from the UPM Govt and appointing all the d***heads in charge of everything they should never be in charge of…
Referendum. Yeah.
Unbelievable! He is told not to waste money on a non-binding Referendum but instead they make him the Deputy Premier. Juliana must be totally smitten with her new pimp!
We need to remember that the cruise industry as we know it is not going away, they are loosing to dramatically expand it with larger vessels. The people here won’t be without work if the pier is not built but we will require many more low paid workers if it is.
VOTE NO.
Why no Education or Debates on the pros n cons of Weed and Gambling Questions?
Eg. Who will be allowed to supply / sell / buy Ganja?
Will it be smoked freely in parks and beaches, as it already isn’t some areas of Cayman?
Will employers and car insurance companies have to accept it’s use?
Will there be more penalties imposed on Gummies, Cookies, Brownies etc that are already commercially available to kids even?
Will locals be allowed to grow it personally,and in what quantities?
Will Weed Shacks be allowed like in Colorado or Amsterdam?
Will more Drug Counsellors be hired?
Will Ganja Smugglers then switch to more coke and guns when weed is freely available here?
Sort the roads out before anything else.
Kleptocracy
A form of government in which the leaders, known as kleptocrats, use their political positions of power to gain or increase their personal wealth by stealing money and valuable resources from the countries they rule.
ACT and developers like Shilling must be bankrolling Bryan’s elections plans before he sells out to Royal, Carnival and the big cruise lines
I personally don’t believe that Shilling cares a whit for Cayman politics or politicians. I think he is mostly a self-serving playboy who might just decide to eventually build something in the Brac. I think he is his own person and perfectly immune to political influence.
Don’t worry Andre Sabrina travelling Kathy and Heather will save us. If you really believe this then you should stop smoking.
Follow the money
Mac will show him how best to do that.
Kenneth is not very smart we’ve seen this before with ppm who have not learnt the clear lesson.
VOTE NO Cayman
A cruise port is not a top five national priority.
We will become like our politicians prostitutes to our pimps the cruise lines that will smack us around for decades after this vanity project aids the bankrupting of Cayman.
Kenny is a power hungry delusional idiot! We can all agree on that without a referendum
There are lots of jobs in the service industry for e.g. waiting staff, security guards, etc.
Presently, these are done by expats, but Caymanians could do them.
Yes, if Jon-Jon hadn’t kicked the minimum wage can down the road. Again. Expats can choose to live in difficult situations and benefit from the exchange rate between here and wherever they came from. Caymanians don’t have that option, and we can’t support ourselves — let alone a family — on the ridiculously low minimum wage.
Various government administrations don’t care about that, though. What they see is the value of work permits fluffing up the CIG coffers. You want to find a politician that is for the people? He or she will want to raise the minimum wage to that of a living wage. Chamber of Commerce and business owners will cry and scream bloody murder and pretend that they will fold under such constraints.
The whole system is broken.
But they won’t because a lot of Caymanians (not all) see it as beneath them and think they should all be CEOs or Directors. Working at the coal face/shop floor/in the trenches isn’t for them. That’s for the criminally underpaid Filipinos, Hondurans, Indians and everyone but Caymanians.
You just said it, criminally underpaid. Your kind want to pay Caymanians the same even though there are no permit fees. The difference is you cannot cancel a Caymanians permit.
Vote No !
Vote No !
I’m 71 only God knows how long I will be allowed to live. But when I die the next generation are screwed. Instead of asking questions about where the dock will be? Ask what will happen to the thousands of people who work in the tourism industry? Is there a plan “B”? Doubt it. You all are not seeing the future, “We don’t want the island to change? Well unfortunately it changed while you all were partying, drinking etc. Grand Cayman has changed and will continue to change. Money begets money, what will you do if “AI” takes over your job your career? People who come here are looking to get away from progress of human technology. They want to see nature like Turtles, stingrays fish and corals. They want to see how people live on the islands. But they don’t want to use a net or row a boat to dive, snorkel or fish. They still want their fast food restaurants and drink liquor. We are not catering for the religious to come here and pray unless we are dying or suffering. They want adventure and excitement that won’t hurt their children. They want a trip to remember them!! Thats what they are paying for. If they wanted a backward or primitive vacation they wouldn’t come here.
Please go to Cayman Brac to see what Grand Cayman isn’t. They are not moving with the times. Their products and services is on par with the 1970’s no dock no modern shipping. It takes 2 days to receive food, products and services. A cargo ship, even a small one could get there in 6-8 hours depending on weather. Why don’t they want it? If you can live like that? Then live there.
But I’m sure the children graduating are looking elsewhere to go and work? Why? Is that what we want for our children’s future?
Most Cayman Brackers live here and visit on the weekends or special occasions. So we know they need industry. What, which, when? If they wanted to do banking they would go broke grocery stores need volume to maintain business anyway I hope you get my point.
“He hath founded upon the Seas”, are we forgetting our history, culture? Our forefathers didn’t want a hard life for us so they did all they could do to make it better. They were improving this little islands from the first day they built cat boats, sloops and schooners. When that died they went allover the world and worked for foreigner flagged ships companies. So we know that ships tie to a pier. We saw it everywhere in the world.
Why not here?????
The reason the next generation are screwed is because of the terrible decisions the past generation made so the young generation know not to be delussional and preach foolishness, nor do they want a beggars society.
The Brac is our ‘retirement’ home, a little backward place that enjoys the slow pace. Grand Cayman has built itself up and outward to the point that it has destroyed a third of itself and what people come here to see. Before you go ahead and destroy what little is left, why not spend some of that retirement time and figure out how you can ensure a living for those hundred or so Caymanians who are working in cruise.
Like how to stop the taxis overcharging, polluting and speeding along our roadways, how to stop foreigners peddling rubbish, how to get the fishermen a decent fish market, how to get the shore front more accessible for swimming, how to improve GT traffic, how to create a craftmarket that can sell genuine Cayman crafts and food and how we can smarten up the face of George Town. Until we fight to be proud and unique, no construction in GT is going to make a notch of difference and will be the nail in the coffin of a declining industry.
The writer says if they wanted a backward or primitive vacation…… then goes on to mention Cayman Brac.
I for one am glad that we are not moving with the times over here on Cayman Brac.
We don’t need cruise tourism over here on the Brac. We don’t need to copy Grand Cayman – no thanks.
I can drive to the grocery store here and leave my car unlocked – I can go to the shops/restaurants after dark and not worry about getting robbed.
I can leave from spot bay and go all the way to west end without being in traffic for hours.
I can drive all over the Brac in a normal day of rain and still be able to go anywhere on the island.
Yes, talk about us being a drain on the government, that the government does everything for us here on the Brac. Keeping talking about it.
Will you be one of the many new Grand Cayman refugees over here – parents sending their kids to school here, workers coming here to be part of the year round road crew, whole construction crews relocating here for business,retirees moving here to get away from all the hustle/bustle, people buying second homes over here – escaping Grand Cayman for a peaceful retreat.
Cayman Brac is a choice – backwards, peaceful, quiet, pricy, safe – it is what it is.
Frank, most of us don’t want what you are offering, however we don’t really have a choice, do we? You are super rich and have bought property on the Brac and you will do as you please, and we will bear the consequences.
What you see as backward, we see as stable, and mostly resistant to the bullshit of the “modern” world. Yes, we occasionally go to Grand Cayman for goodies. Yes, many of us rely to a large degree upon Amazon for our goods. We don’t want the elevated crime and drugs and loud music thumping all the time that your advancements will bring.
Brackers have a stable economy, and inasmuch as some of your accuse us of being a welfare state, in truth there are no more or less by capita of NAU dependents than Caymanians in Grand Cayman. What IS different is that most of us work together as a community, and you can’t buy that. No, you can only screw it up by forcing “progress” upon us. The same is true and more of Little Cayman. Not everybody can stand to live there. Not everybody can stand to live in Cayman Brac. Most Caymanians don’t want it to grow; it is primarily expats who live here that wish things to explode. People who don’t respect the culture they are working in.
Deputy Premier position has really gone to this man’s ever swelling pinhead. The sooner this narcissist is driven out of Cayman politics the better. This idiot simply doesn’t understand that a majority have said and still say NO.
But he does understand that this will get him votes from his Windsor park and GTC Jamaican taxi driver supporters, not to mention those who consider him to be their new Mac Bush.
If the majority no longer wants cruise tourism, fine.
Then, we need to brainstorm to find an alternative source of income for the people who make a living out of it today. We who live here need to spend more money supporting their businesses, restaurants, souvenir stores, etc. We are a village and those people need to know that we are not going to piss off to Miami or buy from Amazon or go to Disneyworld while their businesses die off.
If your business is not viable, why do I need to support it?
Also, Kenneth is giving away $50,000 to anyone who applies to his ministry to start a new business so may be those people can get that money
Well if you are wiling to get ripped off with every purchase here be my guest.
We are a village that spends money like a city.Just imagine if the financial centre declines. A mere 10% decline would have a huge impact.
Government must stop wasting money. Fix the dump, fix the beach, fix the roads, fix the education.
It’s not that we no longer want a cruise tourism industry, it’s we don’t want to destroy the thing that draws people here. Don’t you not see what is happening on 7MB? Developement is destroying the thing that brings people here. Cruise tourism is pennys on the dollar compared to over night stay tourism.
Cayman tourism have 2 major issues.
#1 Over night stay tourism needs to be developed but not for the “high class” tourist.
When galleon and Holiday Inn was allowed to go away, there was a SERIOUS shift in government thinking on overnight guests and a serious impact on the spending money being spread in the economy. You think people that stay at the Kimpton is going to shop at the little stores when they can get everything they want from Kimpton or Camana Bay?
Those two hotels geared to middle/low class tourists who are the ones who actually buy. They are people who go on a Cayman trip maybe once every 5 – 10 years and will buy a bunch of souvenirs to remember it by. Those are the people we need here.
Cruise tourist, despite the much higher numbers, do not contribute nearly as much to the economy. Only a handfull of families/people benefit from them and they are the ones pushing for this. Those two hotels closing were the worst things to happen to Cayman tourism.
Do you know that when you apply to get a shop space at the port, you are given a list of item you CANNOT sell? Some on the list include:
Gold and silver jewelry
Alcohol
Ice Cream
Cigars
Food
Look who has these stores already there, who do not want competition to take a piece of the monopolies. Doubt me? Ask the Port for the list. It’s free trade unless it infringes on the big dogs. They regulate/limit you to T-shirt and other clothing and the usual cheap generic souvenirs.
We need a lower class of over night tourism to benefit everyone instead of feeding a select few. Taxi and tours are secondary in this game. The big dogs push that narrative to deflect the attention to them and how to help them only to make themselves more money. All the big, high class hotels on the island are one stop shopping for tourists.
#2 The thing that brings them here needs to be preserved, well, what’s left of it and destroying what is left of it needs to be stopped.
People (politicians and those pushing for the cruise terminals) will say there is nothing to do/see in Hog Sty Bay. There is a LOT to see in Hog Sty Bay and the building of the cruise terminal will destroy/severely damage it and that damage will NOT be contained to the port area.
Cayman said no to the cruise terminal because of the damage it will cause and the fact that a Chinese based company that had a track record of f’n countries with their contracts and bad construciton quality.
Cayman if they REALLY want to build a cruise terminal should really research and find companies that use alternative, pro eco-friendly methods that will be a better compromise instead of companies like CHEC who will push for terrible contracts that will screw us short and long term and will not involve a massive insertion of foreign workers that will have rights to stay like CHEC does in every country they go into.
But who am I right? I’m not a big dog with a stake in the game like certain people/families.
Can the whole island have a referendum on Kenneth and not just GT Central?
We can, if you are a member of the electorate and you are willing to help make the necessary changes to the CI constitution which shall see the implementation of a national vote as a now direly necessary evolution as it pertains to constituencies, cabinet positions, premiership, statutory authority leadership, civil servant authority leadership, law enforcement leadership and judicial leadership.
You can do that, or, you can continue doing what many if not most regard as the literal definition of insanity.
It’s a simple question in principle.
NO to a berth. FULL STOP!
It does not matter what you vote, yes or no matters not one iota, if the results are not legally binding upon any and/or all governmental administrations and the decision making processes therein.
This proposed scam of a referendum is just that, a scam.
If a referendum on this/these and/or any other subject matter of national importance is to be valid, then the decision making process shall be chosen on by the electorate themselves/ourselves to the explicit exclusion of any and/or all others, including the MP’s themselves.