Referendum in question as law will be contentious

(CNS): The proposed referendum the UPM was planning to hold on General Election Day is now in question. Without a majority, the lame-duck government is unlikely to secure support to steer through the legislation required to pave the way for the national vote. With grave concerns regarding the cruise dock question and issues over campaign financing and fairness, the premier will struggle to rally a majority for the referendum.

Activists opposed to cruise berthing have said the government now needs to focus on more pressing matters, including the general elections, to restore confidence in our country’s leadership.

“As we have previously stated, it is clear that there are better uses for public funds, given the many more important infrastructure and social needs that would benefit the entire population,” a spokesperson for the Cruise Port Referendum campaign told CNS Tuesday. “Our concerns remain with the government referendum process, particularly the proposed question about support for cruise berthing infrastructure.”

The activists, who secured a people’s referendum when the PPM had a specific and controversial project on the table, have demonstrated that no government should attempt to undertake a cruise berthing project without asking the people first and that any vote should be undertaken only when there is a specific proposal in the works.

CPR noted that this proposed referendum would have asked voters to support a vague idea rather than a tangible proposal.

“The public is being asked to vote on a project without any information being provided by the government regarding the scope of the proposed project, environmental concerns being addressed, or estimated costs of the project that the government are proposing, which will encumber Cayman’s financial position and negatively affect the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) with significant long-term liabilities,” the spokesperson added.

Since the PPM’s position is that they will not now support anything contentious, it would be hard for them to support the legislation required to set the three questions relating to cruise berthing, ganja and gambling, all of which could be considered contentious. CPR said the idea of cruise berthing facilities is one of the single most contentious issues that the country is grappling with, and any further discussion should be on hold until a new government is selected after the upcoming elections.

CNS has reached out to Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan regarding the proposed national poll that he has spearheaded, and we are awaiting a response. Bryan had successfully managed to persuade his colleagues to support the vote, which was originally planned for this month and then pushed back to what was shaping up to be a June general election.

However, not everyone in caucus was behind the idea. While the remaining members of the UPM who were not strong supporters of the referendum have kept quiet, McKeeva Bush has been extremely vocal about his opposition to the idea.

Bush has frequently stated that he believes the government should simply go ahead and build the dock. While that may not be a position shared by all of the UPM, given his alleged influence, it will likely be enough to tank the referendum with or without opposition support.