André: Let’s get this show on the road

| 06/05/2025 | 125 Comments
André Ebanks makes his first speech as premier

(CNS): In his first public address as the Cayman Islands’ new leader after he was sworn into office on Tuesday, Premier André Ebanks made a call for advocatory, as opposed to adversarial, politics. Ebanks was elected premier with eleven votes, along party lines, after the final attempt by the PPM to have Joey Hew elected as premier failed, as the opposition did not have the numbers to succeed.

In a speech more about the style of governance the new National Coalition for Caymanians (NCFC) will be following rather than policy, Ebanks said, “Let’s get this show on the road.” However, it’s not entirely clear yet how that show will be driven.

As he called for a more professional, polite approach to government, Ebanks gave a tribute to the late Judiann Myles, his close colleague and deputy head of CIMA, who was killed in mysterious circumstances last month.

He said it matters how people show up and how they behave, as he stressed the inherently polite and kind nature of the Caymanian people that had been lost in political office. The premier urged people to join the government in sweeping away the unpleasant behaviour that has evolved over the past two decades.

He spoke about putting an end to some of the worst behaviour, saying that Caymanians do not “bully and grab… man or woman”, in reference to some of the more salacious incidents relating to elected representatives over the last few years.

Ebanks said, “We have got a lot of work to do, not just as a parliament but as a country.”

Speaking after the official ceremony to Radio Cayman’s Orrett Connor, Ebanks explained that the parliament will meet tomorrow afternoon to establish the committee memberships.

However, he explained that before that, the new NCFC would be meeting the senior civil service management teams to begin finalising the ministries and get updates on the status of various issues, including the public finances, which Ebanks has previously stated will be a priority for the new coalition.

See the full swearing-in ceremony and the premier’s address on CIGTV below:


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Category: Politics

Comments (125)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Mattel CEO says toy manufacturing won’t come to America, but price hikes will

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/05/06/mattel-ceo-toy-manufacturing-trump-tariffs.html

    One of the goals of President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs against China is to drive manufacturing back to America.

    But the odds of that are low, at least when it comes to toys.

    “We don’t see that happening,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday, less than a day after the company withdrew annual financial targets.

    As shipping container numbers are reduced coming from China, to banks offering lower interest rates and now new out of the box innovation with paying no mortgage payments for the first three months for new home owners to settle into the new home; to the private sector recessionary lay off’s.

    The US President Thrump administration seem to be very focused on the World Bank prediction of 1.2b school leavers entering the work force over the next 10 years with only 400m jobs created, an estimated 50% to 60% un-employment rate

    https://live.worldbank.org/en/event/2025/spring-meetings-jobs-the-path-to-prosperity

    The Trump Administration seem to be taking a very strong strategic global internal Micro n Macro Economic look and aporoach into the entire United States to bring back manufacturing and curb those potential future un-employment numbers to aviod another 1930’s Great Depression that may see a huge amount of un-employed idol youth sitting around doing nothing

    Therfore, it looks more and more to me each day as i see it, that the former US President Franklin Roosevelt strategy to enlist young men and women into the Armed Forces where they can learn a trade, receive training in there academic field or just simply have a job for money to circulate in the economy to recover from the Depression, is drawing closer and closer to becoming a reality.

    https://youtu.be/gqx2E5qIV9s?si=AFeePecpskdeemSj

    Therfore, from a long term perspective, it is very important for our beloved Cayman Islands, our leaders and our people to pay close attention to the Global Internal driving Micro n Macro Economic Factors in and out of our economy and how it affects us

    Considering that we are facing a possible double quarterly deficit despite New Revenue Streams being identified at CINICO with New Home & Auto Insurance, along with the Cayman Islands Water Authority Water Expansion on the Brac; may be it might be wise and prudent for us to seriously consider issuing Tax Free Treasury Bonds or Tax Free Cayman Islands Development Bank Bonds

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce85rl65j48o

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    • Anonymous says:

      CINICO and revenue stream don’t belong in the same sentence, maybe replace it with black hole.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    Long may the clown show continue.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Suggestions:

    1. Enforce the child maintenance law without the mother needing to show up in court. Thr court office shod chase the father as the father wastes time and efforts. Jail thr fathers and remove their passports and drivers licence

    2. Stop granting work permits temporary or full for Nannie’s. Incentivise and subsidise opening daycares with security cameras for parents to see their children. Have at minimum 10 opened by the second year of running. Parents have no where to put their children under 12 months.

    3. Mandatory internships of 100 hours with businesses to graduate from high school. Force Cayman companies to take on Cayman children if not, no work permits approved.

    4. 60 hours community service for children to graduate high school with a registered charity that is not walking dogs. They can walk dogs but that requires 120 hours and should include cleaning the cages.

    5. Divers on work permits should have to bring in garbage from the ocean and video where they picked it up from and weigh the amounts.

    6. Similar all expats should have monthly amounts of garbage they should pick up and it should be weighed and shown the origin.

    7. To maintain your work permit you should do 60 hours of community service a year.

    8. The law should be changed to must instead of may for training Caymanians in order to renew a work permit.

    9. Make Cayman a university town. Govt shoukd incentivise universities to come to Cayman – marine biology department, a proper business university, a large satellite university of some sort. Look for three universities. Put one in West Bay, East End, and one in Bodden/Savannah or the Brac. If it’s the Brac then the new building can get good use from international students.

    10 Scrap the Scranton Park! Waste of money. Put in trees and benches. Don’t make another concrete jungle. Or just don’t do it period. Complete waste of money.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You obviously not a business owner.

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    • Anonymous says:

      So expats should collect the garbage, then take it to the dump that keeps growing and intoxicating everybody because the Caymanians are unable to fix it? That’s Caymanian thinking at its best

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    • Anonymous says:

      Or, Caymanians could stop breeding, abusing and dumping the dogs, leaving none to need to be walked.

      See how easy that problem is to solve?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Caymanians are outnumbered at least 2:1 in their own country. What insight do you have available to you that others may not that would lead you to place that blame exclusively on the shoulders of Caymanians?

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        • Anonymous says:

          Us being outnumbered isn’t the issue. Expats having to pick up after our nasty selves is. The expats are the ones doing beach clean ups. Stop littering.

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          • Anon says:

            True, however if this didn’t help their mission to accumulate more points for their immigration game, this wouldn’t be a thing.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Janaicans should have to paticipate in clean-ups if they want a permit since 3/4 of litter is theirs.

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          • Anonymous says:

            If you think that Caymanians don’t clean our own beaches, and specifically that we don’t have to clean up after impoverished immigrants, I am certain that there is nothing Caymanian about you and we would appreciate if you would stop pretending. It absolutely goes both ways.

            It’s also worth noting that the person I replied to was talking about breeding dogs, not littering.

    • Anonymous says:

      And what are you doing….?

    • Anonymous says:

      ‘Parents have no where to put their children under 12 months.’

      Try home with parents!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Sadly, many only have one parent , as baby daddy gone back ayaaad.
        Thanks Mac.

      • Anonymous says:

        Yeah, guys – have you ever tried just not being born into poverty? Why don’t you just start pulling from your trust funds like the rest of us?

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Imagine publicly calling for an end to bullying after funding and using Cayman Marl Road as your political mouthpiece for the last 6 months!!

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    • Anonymous says:

      If it wasn’t for Marl road, the public would never know the sleazy details about your heroes Mac, Seriously Dumb , and Snakey Saunders’ disgraceful activities.

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      • Anonymous says:

        She is selective in her righteousness. Did you hear her speak of Rolstons past indiscretions at all during the election campaign? Cause he he some real bangers, but she was all buddy buddy.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    The elections are over! It is now time for all elected officials—whether in government or opposition—as well as those who were not successful, to demonstrate their commitment to the people and the country. This is a moment to set aside personal ambition and ego, and to work collaboratively for the betterment of the Cayman Islands—not only for this generation, but for generations to come.

    We are among the most prosperous nations in the region. Rather than measuring our progress against countries plagued by corruption and underdevelopment, we should aspire to the standards of global leaders like Finland. Let us build a future that works for all our people—families, workers, small entrepreneurs, businesses, and the most vulnerable in our society.

    We will be watching you.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Actually… the USA politics are RED Republican and Blue Democratic … around long before there was independent Jamaica …

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    • Diogenes of Cayman says:

      Unfortunately, the trend of people boldly declaring their opinions as fact and being wrong about it continues.

      The use of red and blue as solid colours for political parties in the US is a relatively modern invention the colours have only really stuck and been used consistently since about 2000, prior to that different networks and press associations used differing colour schemes to refer to the Democrats and the Republicans and their states. The parties would also publish their own maps and usually paint the other side as red because during the cold war no side wanted to be red for obvious reasons.

      For example NBC used red for states won by Democratic President Jimmy Carter in 1976. There are also examples of Reagan using blue in his runs and campaigns into the 80s.

      Feel free to do even the tiniest amount of research:

      https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/democrat-republican-blue-red/

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  7. Anonymous says:

    1. Fix the damn dump.
    2. Cap work permits.
    3. Make Cayman companies justify years of experience requirements instead of hiring Caymanians and training them and deny work permits where caymanians have applied and those companies have chosen not to train them.
    4. Electoral system- give each voter 19 votes, one per constituency.
    5.Buy big buses and require one day per week for each non-Caymanian household not to use cars or pay a KYD 250 congestion charge.
    6.Stop the school in the brac.
    7. Increase the required spend to obtain permanent
    residency from CI 2 million to 10 million.
    8. remove duty on all produce: fruits, vegetables, fish and meats.
    9. Fix budget deficit.
    10. Increase required length of time to become caymanian from 15 years to 25 years.

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    • Anonymous says:

      agree with all of this and let all Caymanians run to be MPs to widen the field of candidates. Some constituencies only had two people running!

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    • Anonymous says:

      you forgot

      11. give a giant middle finger to all non-Caymanians on the island.

      important step, that.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Hardly a middle finger. More like a country rightly taking care of its citizens first. Trump putting Americans first is the same idea as Andre’s party putting Caymanians first. Or else you risk being like the UK where you have in many cases 500+ applicants for each job, competing with half of asia which has moved in and you have no priority for being British!

        In the USA there is literally a green card visa lottery with a 1 in 100 probability of getting a visa. It is far too easy to get a work permit in Cayman by comparison. I agree with 12:55pm.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Would prefer if you used two middle fingers, but I mean, baby steps, right?

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      • Anonymous says:

        3.11 You’re a troll and troublemaker.

      • Anonymous says:

        Weenie!

    • Anonymous says:

      And STOP spending.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What are Caymanians doing?

      ‘Big buses..’ LOL and the wheels go around and around.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Let’s take a minute to laugh at Kenneth Bryan.

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  9. Caymanian says:

    I’m so happy that I voted for Andre. For the first time in my voting life, I feel like my vote actually will make a difference and will result in good and meaningful change for Caymanians. Good luck to our new Premier.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Hopefully, when the new Govt meets with senior Civil Service teams they put Franz and his COs on notice to deliver good advice, good performance and better control over projects and spending.

    Riot Act is needed for the Civil Service

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    • Anonymous says:

      If you believe the laws that govern the civil service should be overhauled, then e-mail the Governor and lobby for it. governorsoffice.cayman@fcdo.gov.uk Only she can do it. She is Franz and the Attorney General’s boss.

    • Billie says:

      8:43 Are you okay? it was the civil service that kept this country from imploding during the past 4 years.

      They have their hands full with private sector contractors who constantly overcharge the Government on contracts and then complain about public expenditure.

      I sleep good at night knowing the DG and AG are at the helm.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    GTS voted against a National Lottery, their wishes must be respected.

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    • Anonymous says:

      However, 8:02am, GTS is not the entire country. “Democracy is the tyranny of the majority.”—Alexis de Tocqueville

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    • Anonymous says:

      Them and them alone. Nationally we said yes.

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      • Anonymous says:

        You’ll soon find out that you can’t afford it. Right after your government shell out a couple 100k on a consultants report to tell them that.

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        • Anonymous says:

          It was a free vote for a change, well done KB and cohorts backfired on you! Your government spent…..???

    • Anonymous says:

      No problem, GTS isn’t able to partake once implemented. Win/win.

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    • Anonymous says:

      an dit will be, there will be lottery offices there and if they show their voter ID we can deny them service, but better yet… they can not buy any tickets! democracy for all!

  12. Anonymous says:

    Still emanates a level of slime that just won’t go away

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  13. Caymanian says:

    Let me be CRYSTAL CLEAR.

    I wish the new government all the very best.

    What I will say here is talk is cheap. Let’s see words turned into actions.

    PPM had its faults and one of those was the three lovers they picked up instead and trying to find new better quality candidates. John John, Julianna and Kenneth may have been secured seats but even the bibles states what does a man profiteth that he gains the world but loses his soul. More or less.

    PPM that move hurts a lot.

    I want to give the devil his due. PPM did a miraculous job with Covid. Financially we came out strong. Health wise the losses were limited.

    A small thank you for that.

    Now let’s see what this new team can do.

    We are rooting for you. Do not let us down.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Dog and pony show. Let’s go!

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Well done that man! the sort of politician Cayman has been crying out for. Garrison politics of the PPM needs banishing for good. We are not Jamaicans and we don’t want to be.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You are sooo right.

      Start by getting rid of all this colour coding. PPM in red, etc. that came direct from Jamaica. Don’t forget who gave them their free status grant. When McBeater did that was when we started going downhill. Start rounding them up like Jim Bodden used to do and send the illegal ones back!

      Take our own Country back.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    What a cheap and deplorable act by the PPM in nominating Hew for Premier!

    Hew publicly conceded defeat after the election results were known last week. So why did Dear Kenneth Bryan have to take such a cheap shot at the last minute? Just goes to show the character and quality of the man and who the PPM have now included in their numbers game.

    It also displays what the majority already knows that Hew cannot and will not be able to control him and his other rabble rousers.

    André’s speech was spot on in calling for non-adversarial politics. Of course dear Kenneth would need to go back to school to try to learn what that means.

    Get it together guys. The election is over. “Let’s get on with the show!”

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    • Caymanian says:

      This is a really really naive post.

      This is a move every party does whether they have the numbers or not.

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      • Anonymous says:

        They thought the independents would reconsider and vote for them. Ha! The independents would have been lynched by their electorate if they had turned so fool. Any way you look at it the majority of the electorate rejected the PPM, and if the independents want to get re-elected, they will stay with the NCFC for the full term and find ways to deliver the country’s mandate.

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        • Anonymous says:

          No, it’s called sticking together as a party. Something you will very quickly realize this NCFC will be incapable of, the same as PACT. Opposition parties always vote for their leader, it’s nothing new unless you don’t follow politics.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Agreed, it was more procedural than anything. There is alot to take issue with the PPM/KB gang but this point is a non-starter.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Kenneth just continues to demonstrate how uncouth and ignorant he is. It won’t be long when he will undermine little Joey along with his rabble of John John and Julie and the other Jamaican, dear Saunters.

      Then they will make a move on the weaker ones currently in the current Government. He won’t stop until he gets to be Premier. God help us all if that ever happens.

      This new coalition deserves the full support of the electorate. Take Cayman back and put a stop to the class differential that the Jamaican class mentality has created.

      Get this show on the road. Quickly!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Because they have been and still are cheap and deplorable, they won’t change, thankful they did not get in again, Cayman would not have been finished by that rabble!

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    • Anonymous says:

      I thought it was lovely having the opportunity to watch Joey’s face when he was told definitively that the people do not want him to lead the country directly into Dart’s clutches. Absolutely delectable.

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    • Anonymous says:

      3.25. PPM did nothing wrong in nominating Joey, after all they represent over 5200 voters. The Premier was not appointed until after the ballot was held in Parliament. I repeat Andre was not appointed on Thursday when he was recommended by the new coalition but only after he was successful in winning the secret ballot in the Parliament (which is called for in the Constitution Section 49.3).

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      • Anonymous says:

        Many barely scraped through and would not have done if not for strategic vote splitting. Together with all their family ties and friends they collected up 5200 votes. That is not country representation.

    • Anonymous says:

      @3.25 It was not a cheap or dirty trick just because CMR says it is. It is allowed in the Constitution.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    “ he called for a more professional, polite approach to government”

    No CNS that is only part of it. He addressed the common courtesies we are losing in our society as a whole and way of life like “Good Morning” and the way we Caymanians are used to keeping our surroundings. And we need to correct our littering from those not from here.

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    • Anonymous says:

      And stop Caymanian men approaching and trying to pull women in supermarket car parks when they are just doing their shopping. Wonder where that came from!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Jamaican men think that if a woman, particularly an expat woman, smiles at them, then she wants to have their babies.
        Go back to your baby-mommas in Jamaica and look after them.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Caymanuan men go back to your wives and stop aporoaching and assaulting us, nkt interested in your not so private parts!

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        • Anonymous says:

          Many Caymanian men are the most crude and rude and are still defended by their mothers or wives who know what they are doing. That’s why they get it away with it, shameful, disgusting specimens of how a ‘man’ should not be. Good luck Andre with that one.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Expat here, life is indeed a lot coarser now than when I arrived in the 90s. Would be great to go back to the culture of that time. There was less stuff and shiny places to go to, but people were nicer to each other. Everything seemed to change after Ivan and has been sliding downhill.

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      • Anonymous says:

        If you have lived here since the 90s then I presume you now have Caymanian citizenship (I dislike the status word). So don’t refer to yourself as “expat”. You are now one of us so please take part and engage in the process to improve your country.

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        • Anonymous says:

          If only others thought, said and acted the same towards us ‘expat citizens’. Plenty has been done in the process to improve Cayman, still receive same ole rhetoric from some. How about an ‘expat driftwood citizen’ Premier’…

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        • Anonymous says:

          See the thumbs down, why waste time anymore. What you shluld be concerned about is the new ones, especially the white female loud mouthed Americans/Canadians who think after a year or two here they rule the place and can assault a white female Caymanian by throwing water on her.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Two guilty thumbs down. Exactly right!

          • Anonymous says:

            If you’ve made it here since the 90s, surely you’re wise enough to understand that just because we don’t want you as Premier doesn’t mean we don’t want you around.

  18. Anonymous says:

    I wish Premier Andre, his Cabinet and indeed all elected MPs all the best in the next four years. This is a studious team with great talent that can do well for the Cayman Islands. I want ALL members to harness their collective responsibility and do well for our country.

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  19. Change says:

    I think if anyone can, he embodies Cayman Kind. I hope both sides of the aisle abandon the unsavory style of politics we have seen in the past four administrations.

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  20. Ọ̷̖́͘r̵͓̬̈́ḋ̸͎͜e̵͚͉̍r̴̬͆ ̵͙͓̈́̓o̶̳̖͌͂f̶̥̕̚ ̶̱̺̍͠t̵̥̍h̸͇̆̚e̵̥̓ ̷̡̔͋Ä̶̺́G̷͓̥̅͋I̴̧̒ ̸͉̮͝-̶̻̋̽ ̸̳̗̀3̶̣̝̃4̷̥͆5̷̢̛̑ says:

    It’s encouraging to hear Premier André Ebanks call for advocatory rather than adversarial politics as he leads the new National Coalition for Caymanians government, signaling a break from the intense partisanship of the recent campaign. With an eleven‐seat majority across two new parties and three independents, stabilizing public finances and addressing the cost‐of‐living crisis were rightly identified as top priorities from day one.

    I also welcome the heartfelt tribute to Judiann Myles, CIMA’s anti‐money‑laundering deputy head, whose tragic death in a burning vehicle last month remains unexplained and has left many Caymanians seeking answers. Ensuring that the RCIPS and CIMA provide regular, transparent updates on the forensic investigation is essential to honour her legacy and reassure the public that no avenue of inquiry is left unexplored.

    Yet aspirational calls like “Let’s get this show on the road” need substance in the form of a clear policy roadmap, including timelines for committee formation, ministry appointments, and specific measures to manage government spending. Introducing a binding parliamentary code of conduct with independent oversight could ensure that the promised shift to more “professional, polite” governance is backed by enforceable standards. Regular updates on both policy progress and the forensic investigation into Mrs. Myles’ death will be crucial for building public trust and honouring the commitment to transparency.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Courtesy and decorum have been long absent. It is absent in some of the expats that have come aboard. We desperately need a return to our former peaceful nation, both in government and in the residents. Chill out and get along.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    I wish Premier Ebanks the very best of luck. He is a genuinely nice, approachable, and modest individual with a remarkable talent that has positioned him as a Premier-in-waiting for quite some time. The future looks bright!

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