The premier has failed and should resign
“Sad” writes: Alden McLaughlin should resign immediately from the Office of Premier. This comment may sound politically motivated, but it is not. In fact, it is expected in politics that when a politically elected leader fails in the performance of his duty on a level that is so detrimental to the very persons to whom he owes his appointment as leader, that he resigns immediately to 1) save face and 2) to show respect for the persons they have failed. While many may not share this view, I ask that you consider the following facts:
1) The current Unity government and previous PPM government were led by the same Hon. Premier Alden McLaughlin.
2) Under both administrations, the country was given assurances that the government was working on a strategy which would protect our financial services from the unfair and unscrupulous attacks leveled at it by the UK and other jurisdictions. We were also told that we would not implement public registers of beneficial ownership until it became the global standard.
In one fell swoop the UK has done it for us, and despite the premier having no control over the House of Commons, his assurances that we were in good standing with the UK given the recent announcements of being in compliance with the FFR and the recent changes to implement a central registry for law enforcement purposes speak volumes about his inability to represent these islands and to protect our interests.
Some may say that this statement is unfair, however it was the premier who offered us assurances that our financial services were in capable hands, and perhaps he would deserve more credit had he been more transparent in his dealings with the UK, instead of creating the illusion that all was indeed well. It is therefore his own failures and inability to either recognise a credible threat or to prepare the country for the impending destruction that has brought his leadership to a shattering halt. How can he continue to lead the government in the face of such an embarrassing failure?
3) Following the amendments in the UK Parliament, the premier’s initial reaction was to announce that he was going to fight the decision in the courts. Again, this is flawed leadership because any experienced politician knows, or should know, about the sovereignty of Parliament. Since the beginning of democracy, Parliament has always been the supreme authority and the courts were created to enforce and interpret the laws created by Parliament.
There is no court in the developed world who has the authority to overturn the decision on public registers voted by the House of Commons. The premier knows this and has insisted on pursuing this very expensive and futile course of action. One therefore must question not only his motive but his ability to make sensible decisions in the face of formidable adversity.
Why pursue a course of action that in the end will not render a positive outcome? The logical conclusions are that he is either buying time, confused, frozen in fear or desperate. None of the above qualifies him to be premier. By now, his colleagues must be questioning his ability to lead. In case there is any doubt, the following was taken from the UK Supreme Court’s website under the FAQ section, where the question is asked, can the Supreme Court overrule the UK Parliament? Here is the posted guidance:
“No it cannot. Unlike some supreme courts in other parts of the world, the UK Supreme Court does not have the power to ‘strike down’ legislation passed by the UK parliament. It is not the court’s role to formulate public policy, but to interpret law and develop it where necessary, through well-established processes and methods of reasoning.”
4) The Minister for Financial Services Tara Rivers is not engaged. She has now travelled to Brussels to deal with another matter. This signals that the premier and his minister are not on the same page, and he has removed her from this assignment and sent her elsewhere. Whether he or she is to blame is debatable, however the current situation is a classic case of the premier micromanaging and dictating to his minister and getting in the way of her constitutional responsibilities.
No issue in the Financial Services Ministry could be more important than the issue of public registers and the minister with constitutional responsibility is conspicuously absent. It is even more sinister to hear that the premier has engaged the services of opposition member MLA Christopher Saunders and that Mr Saunders accompanied him to the UK and is in the process of assembling a legal team of local lawyers including his former running-mate, Mrs Theresa Pitcairn to fight the decision in the UK courts.
What becomes even more puzzling is the absence of not only Minister Rivers, but it appears that the Minister of Finance Roy McTaggart is also not in attendance, and the premier seems to have only been accompanied by MLA Eugene Ebanks. MLA Ebanks’ ability to offer any semblance of a noteworthy comment on this issue would possibly shock the UK into rescinding the amendments, so we may yet become pleasantly surprised.
Again, this very odd behaviour and lack of any form of public statement by the premier calls for his immediate resignation from office. He has accused the UK of constitutional overreach when he has committed the same sin right here in Cayman.
It is clear from the above points that we have a serious situation on our hands. The UK has taken steps to end the era of financial Services in all the Overseas Territories. This action will effectively wipe out 50% of the country’s GDP, countless jobs will be lost, the real-estate markets will slump, the cost of living will rise, and as government turns to increased taxes in order to maintain its massively inflated and over-emphasized operating costs, the future will not reflect the bright positive outlook that the current and former administration has promised us and the bleak reality of what is to come will drive fear through the most stable of nerves.
With crime already out of control and simple services such as garbage collection failing, it is hard to see the silver lining that the government so often brags about.
Premier Alden McLaughlin now needs to do what all honourable leaders must do when they have failed. He must resign from his office and give someone else the opportunity to lead. His policies and strategies have failed, and due to the virtue of his dictatorial leadership style, he has no one to blame but himself.
Leadership is not about electing nice guys, or the guys that have a drink with you at the bar on Friday. Leadership demands an undying commitment and respect for the people you were chosen to represent. Misrepresenting the truth to those people every step of the way as you lead them down the path of ultimate destruction like sheep to the slaughter is not the type of leadership this country now needs.
We need a leader who is not afraid to tell us the truth, and not afraid to ask for help, a leader who respects the country and our people enough to admit when he or she is wrong and to take corrective action when needed. In short, we no longer need Mr McLaughlin to lead us.
Out of this debacle, a new leader must rise, someone with courage, knowledge, intelligence, morals, and the ability to look Prime Minister May in the eye and tell her, without blinking, exactly what we think of her and her government. Someone who will tell the story of how the UK is sacrificing its Overseas Territories for the sake of holding a political party together, how the thousands of lives that will be destroyed in the Caribbean also matter.
Mr McLaughlin ran off to England, taking an entire performing troupe with him to celebrate our Coat of Arms with the same people who are destroying these islands. That act alone was ample proof that he is not fit for leadership and must now step down or be removed from office.
I have but one thing to say to Mr McLaughlin: “Have some pride, man.”
This comment was posted in response to Boris calls for another 60 years of British rule in Cayman
Category: Business, Financial Services, Viewpoint
That featured post from “Sad” is so utterly stupid and without merit because very simply the fight has only just started. That legislation may well be totally unconstitutional, and end up in the waste bin. There are significant numbers in the House of Lords with legal and constitutional credentials who do not really support this bill, and simply let is pass as is, rather than embarrass the government, and knowing damn well that it will eventually be ruled unconstitutional, and they will be accused of playing Brutus to Theresa May. Think on this, it is subtle, and stereotypical politics! The Premier is doing the right thing in the right way. That featured post is just more of what I call “Stone throwing”.
If we could just stop our MLAs from jumping on every flight available to every imaginable jurisdiction and living it up 5 star on their govt credit cards all of our financial issues would be solved. There are people with private jets who fly less than Tara, Mac JOCC and their ludicrous entourages.
@ 11:46
Nope.
Actually, none of the above.
Instead the clear ignorance of the reality that Alden nor any Cayman Premier had any influence whatsoever on what transpired in the House of Parliament 2 few weeks ago.
E.g. The British government could literally declare us a protected zone in the morning, dispossess all Caymanians of their birthright, uproot and displace us to some foreign land, only to hand over access and control to a foreign country – and it would all be legal…and we would be powerless to stop it.
They have done it before – recently, and to their own “British citizens”.
Therefore, please spare us the grossly misinformed and short-sighted viewpoints.
– Whodatis
Great job PPM heads up high the people are failing like the past governance UDP
Complete nonsense. Totally illegal. Back to usual form.
Illegal?
I suggest you pen an advisory letter to your beloved UK government then.
– Who
“Crabs in a bucket”.
Definition………
Another name for Caymanians..one who continually tears his fellow country men down..native only to the Cayman Islands… mentally lacking in unity
This is what is “SAD”
I’ll bet they don’t even like President Trump!!!!
Dart has feneigled himself into such a position of power in the Cayman Islands that even the country’s leaders are incapable of resisting his will for fear of exposure.
Yes, I did say that. One day the truth will spill out.
You have absolutely no idea what you are saying, unless of course you are Moses Kirkconnell.
Do you wish for the final nail in your own coffin?
Oh come on. Alden McLaughlin is taking advantage of a system that ensures his personal wealth, but at a massive cost to his personal integrity.
The democratic system needs to be overhauled and guess what, everyones’ votes need to be public.
This is the only way to eliminate cheating.
If you are ashamed of saying who you voted for, either they should not be standing or you have something to hide.
The system is not accurate and we are suckers.
I agree with the point about Tara Rivers, like Trump, here is someone that is way out of their depth. Bring back Wayne!
Whilst I don’t necessarily agree with these comments although I understand where the writer is coming from, what does concern me is the excessive government spending on capital projects we can ill afford. The airport, the roads, the schools and the port are significant lay out of funds that we simply don’t have. our debt is only increasing. And if this goes the way the Clifton Hunter school went as well as the Airport we know it will be way over budget. I really hope he knows what hes doing as I have to say I think he is a great statesman, probably one of the best we have had but sure hope he doesn’t leave us in debt and ruin. Together with our crime escalating we could turn into Jamaica overnight.
I think the write is lost and confused. And another thing, if the Government can’t afford to build schools, redevelop the Airport build a cruise Port, build roads, how do we progress our infrastructure for future generations? These major capital projects will all play a major part in the development of the economy and will prove to be, not capital expense but an investment in the future. The Cayman Government have a debt service ratio of less than 4%. Certainly we need to spend less on Police and Prisons and more on schools and roads, docks and local infrastructure if we want to provide sustainable jobs for our youngsters.
YOu don’t leave them with unsustainable debt as their future inheritance! That could never sustain our youth. The numbers of our Caymanian youth could never justify the sums we have spent to date just on buildings. This is the wrong way of thinking. An investment in education doesn’t mean buildings you cant afford or a dock that you really don’t need and cant afford. You put it in good teachers and you manage the infrastructure you have within your budget. But to say what you have said and not care about the debt that you will leave for future generations is a disservice to them and to us. It will eventually ruin us all.
Possibly. On the other hand it could also attract business from other jurisdictions that investors, rightly or wrongly, don’t want to be associated with. I am on the BOR and have no intention of moving my fund from Cayman when it becomes public.
Good comment. Hedge Funds are by far the biggest part of Cayman’s financial services industry and this is not an issue for them. Not sure where the author got “This action will effectively wipe out 50% of the country’s GDP, countless jobs will be lost” but that sounds like scaremongering to me.
Cayman Exempt co’s contribute >$110mln to CIG annual revenue. By contrast, the entire cruise ship and airport landing fee receipts are around $60mln.
We have enough bushes here without the trouble that comes with hedges.
Please, a good trim. Thanks.
People, we need UNITY instead of attacking each other and calling for heads to roll! That don’t make any sense. We can always point the finger and judge the Primier from what we see from the outside, but do we know what’s happening in the inside? Until you know, you shouldn’t be quick to judge!
I think we should be more concern on whether or not the Primier is planning a national team to prepare this country for the inevitable!
Why?
Because it would be a terrible disaster if Cayman Islands prematurely slips into Independence, and have not prepared and made strong alliances!
IF YOU WANT A PRIMIER WHO WILL LEAD – I THINK THIS IS THE SORT OF LEADERSHIP WE SHOULD EXPECT FROM HIM AT THIS TIME, AND WE SHOULD SEEK A UNITIVE EFFORT.
Forgive me if I don’t take advice from someone who repeatedly misspelled a word as simple as “Premier”
Education standards in Cayman really are down the drain
More of the same garbage , we should just buddy up because we are Caymanians, and no one should be held accountable for their actions because we have to stick together and blah blah blah
We only criticize outsiders and never our own, which is a dangerous precedent but putting that aside
Whether you agree with the comment fully or not ( which I don’t for many reasons) the Premier has made certain assertions which have now proven to be false about the state of relations and communication on this particular issue between Cayman and the UK
He has tried at every opportunity to brag about how wonderful everything was going and how great the PPM was doing in relation to representing Cayman up until the very day had to wake up and feign betrayal and shock.
The fact of the matter is, the Premier has no way to actually represent Cayman’s interests abroad, they (UK Representatives and Members of the Government) likely look at him as nothing more than an overpaid and fluffed up mayor of a small city
We have no actual representation and somehow we are shocked when they act in accordance to their interests and not ours
Somehow we actually expected that our voices would be louder than theirs almost, 5000 miles away
Sometimes I wonder just what is in the water around here
Diogenes
just another crab in the Cayman bucket…
So we must spend time playing politics to get rid of the Premier? That is your solution for a country that maybe forced into independence???
You know your run on sentences and no full stops, merely show to us you’re just as bad. It is only pride that feels no need and think its better than everybody.
We have to work with what we got, and I believe that is what “born Caymanian” is saying. And instead of playing politics, we should be preparing for worse case scenarios.
Careful what you wish for, you may end up with Mac back….
Bring on the Big Mac attack!
“Sad’s” vitriolic diatribe is a poor attempt at discrediting the Elected Premier of the Cayman Islands and indeed smacks of political malice, envy and vengeance.
It is downright obvious by his and/or her writings are those of a Person who never has (and perhaps never will ) been involved in negotiations of any kind, as the writings do not recognize that in true negotiations there will never be an instant win for one side.
So “sad” me feel sorry fe ya, obviously you don’t read much, or listen for that matter as world negotiation events are in constant flow through the various world media houses and your mind is strictly on your personal vendetta .
My Brother me sister Take warning and respect ya leaders as you should . Shalom.
He wasn’t elected Premier – that was a misguided self-appointment involving slithering, back-stabbing and at least one deliberately-opaque deal with the current speaker.
1:31 pm I dare you go take it back from him. Not today bubu.
I wonder who this new mythical leader will be who will emerge out of nowhere once McLaughlin resigns
My money is on King Arthur
Diogenes
Cayman would be a great present for Harry and Meghan…doncha think?
9:48 I and I man forward cene,
The absence of any action on crime is very concerning but the Premier’s position on the public registry seems sensible particularly as there is a long time before it would come into effect.
Two years is not a long time my friend
2 years! I think the point the writer makes is that it is actually 6 years.
What the fuss about public registry? If you have nothing to hide then what the problem is!
privacy
Stop being foolish! ..Would you want your bank accounts public so that everyone could see?. What I have in my bank account is my business, not yours nor the public’s for that matter….and by the way I have nothing to hide, I work damn hard for every penny I own..
Poor analogy. It’s not like knowing the content of your account, more like knowing where you have an account; so what? I’m on the current BOR and couldn’t care less if it’s made public.
If you are happy to make it public than maybe you should make your name public on here…Some how I don’t think you will…like your privacy eh?
Good points. But…..
Alden would never resign, that would be admission of guilt.
Alden made a bad call, when he allowed Jamaicans under 15 and over 70 of age to come to Cayman without need to have Visa and did not get the same for Caymanians of that ages, shame on you Mr Premier.
If this is really a democracy, the voters (whom the elected must answer to) can petition to have people removed, laws enacted (ie Standards in Public Life Law 2014), eligibility requirements changed, kleptocrat department heads and ministers held to account, and by-elections called. Nobody seems to have the balls to call out the litany of abuse using their real name.
7:26am is Anonymous your real name?
I do get your point though but don’t ask others to do what you will not do. It’s unfair.
Sadly, it’s not a simple as being a voter. One must be born into a multi-generational church-going Caymanian family (that has somehow not ripped off, or violated other families going back a couple generations) to actually matter to politicians around here.
So note it be 1:42
the whole country has gone to s#!+ … under Alden and Mckeeva. Please vote sensibly next time people!
I can see that the next election is going to be blood sweat and tears , and so muck eyewater it would look like had just rained .
How do you vote sensibly when there are no qualified candidates?
And you vote out some of the most intelligent such as past Ministers Panton and Archer.
So what happens if we just don’t make the registry public? I read that they will ‘draft orders’, can we just ignore it?
I’m not a huge fan of our Premier either, but this author needs to gain an understanding of our “constitution” and relationship with the UK.
– Who
You mean the part that says we should roll over and play dead? Or the part that says we should spend thousands of dollars traveling with the Swanky Band to entertain the same people that are trying to wipe us out ? Or the part that says we should initiate legal proceedings at a huge expense knowing that they will not work?
The trip was planned before the UK vote.
Thank you.
– Who
Not politically motivated. Yeah sure.
Why will a public registry destroy Cayman’s financial sector? It won’t.
And you can back that up with …..?
And you can prove it will? It is a fuss about nothing. Cayman has long ceased to be a place for people to hide wealth in, regulation, tax information exchange agreements, OECD and other oversite saw to that. If you have nothing to hide, it should not worry you.
Supposed they said the Doctor/patient confidentiality goes out the window. Whether you are doing something wrong or not, you really want people to be able to just casually stick their nose in your business?
I agree. It’s not just your name on the report but your address/date of birth/passport info.
I pay my taxes & have nothing to hide except I don’t deny people to know which companies I own.
Like Dart I’m here after being afraid of being s target (his house in Florida burnt in suspicious circumstances). I want my kids safe & nig the target of potential kifnsppers.
I don’t want my identity stolen!
Yes I will be moving my companies. First to Isle of Man & if Uk makes them provide the same registers I will look into Delaware….
but it will put a ‘dent’ in it though, wouldn’t it?
Because clients want there assets protected and will simply move their businesses to more favorable jurisdictions.
“There” assets protected from whom?
Every person who calls themself a “Caymanian” should read this. It’s time to look inwards. We must demand more of ourselves and of our leaders. No more “business as usual” to enrich everyone else but our own countrymen. Take your blinders off. They are pushing us into the swamp.
If he stay as premier he’s a failure and if he leaves the same still applies! We are stuck with him and the shenanigans until 2021… another 3 years! Talk about having the wrong people in these positions at the wrong time. In case Alden never realize… you aren’t very well liked…. and the number of followers you have on social media is irrelevant! Putting on a suit, having a position or being driven in a range rover don’t change who you are (or are not!). The only thing we can do is grin and bear it and hope that there is better ahead and the right people get elected in future elections to really help and protect these islands. I miss Kurt and think he made a big mistake in selecting you Alden as his protege! Sad!
Valid argument. The entire govt is failing under Alden. Every department is in shambles.
I like the way this epistle starts “this is not politically motivated.” Methinks thou goth protest too much.
Good point, we need to get the goths out of the dodgem cars; nothing funnier.
What is “sad” are your arguments—as a support for your pitch that your piece is not politically motivated you jump to an assertion that the premier should resign. That says nothing about your motivation.
But perhaps you need not have done so. Your motivation is clear.
I agree that the opinion of the Premier is spot on . But we can’t. replace him with dumber . A good leader don’t sit down and let a problem get bigger like he has done with everything from crime at home to the UK making decisions for us . I would also say that he and his Administration is something else and too political to be good ethical leaders and representatives for the Islands and people .
The team that he took to England don’t say that he went there to fight anything else but a party and good time .
I think that there are too many flaws in his leadership to count, and he should run , not step down . I see many thing that is done wrong under his leadership from thousands of miles away .
If this opinion was on President Trump , he would have tweeted 24 hours ago in response . But you see that the Premier is having too much of good time to reply .
In the Brac all Govt.Departments in in Shambles, people not showing up for work on time, sometimes not showing up at all, and if they show up does very little, for 3 people are hired to do on person job, at 9 am they are in the shops eating and talking and doing their weekly shopping, sad very sad, no leaders in the Brac that are doing their job, thats the problem.
So here the is another example of the failure of performance management. Do you not know yet that if you are Caymanian you have a job no matter what.
The Premier’s support for the cruise dock will further harm government finances and result in long term debit repayments to Royal Caribbean, Carnival and the third party financier like DART while completely ignoring the threat to the marine environment and potential negative impact on SMB serve to compound our misery. Failure and mismanagement are common results of his leadership look at his flagship projects as education minister CHHS in Frank Sound. Cayman should prepare itself for the introduction of direct taxation and loss of its offshore financial industry as a direct result of his decision making abilities and narcissistic leadership.
The Cabinet Members must be voted out for supporting the dock arguably worst and most dangerous idea they’ve had since the last one. Imagine the current port board and management running this $300 million dollar project. SMH
Everyone else can see the disaster which is inevitable by pursuing the cruise dock project at all costs.
This government led by Premier Alden McLaughlin, Cabinet ministers Moses Kirkonnell, Roy McTaggart, Joseph Hew, Tara Rivers and Dwene Seymour are committed to mortgaging the financial and environmental future of Cayman to benefit a few gt duty free retailers.
They must all be voted out for failing to put this decision to a referendum and ignoring the concerns of the people.
Tell me who could have done a better job. You maybe. We are a colony and the only option we have is independence. What do you think that will do to the financial industry?
McKeeva is running this show. Alden is getting his just rewards for selling out caymanians
McKeeva is de-facto leader and Alden just has title of Premier.
7:12 pm , don’t try to tell us you’re the one for the job , and that you have better vision than our founding fathers who kept us out of that independence mess . And don’t you go and try leading the blind.
That’s a “damned if you do…damned if you don’t” question.
So then why is Alden planning a legal challenge ? do you finally get the point of the opinion piece?
And who will replace him?
Wayne Panton.
Moses for Premier!
lol..Wayne Panton couldn’t even get elected in the last election..He would have to be replaced with someone currently elected…get a grip!
No thank you he was rejected at the polls remember
First, “SAD” sounds like a Mac Bot. Secondly, I agree, anyone else might do better as long as it isn’t M. Bush.
Ken Dart
8:07 pm , don’t put the fox to watch the hen house he will eat all chickens.
Hate to say it be by his track record in success… He might do better.
6:40 pm, that’s a good question , looking at all pending and upcoming court cases and investigations , the search is big , but if you look hard enough there’s some that is qualified and have honesty and integrity left in them to .
Good idea! Have the Premier resign and have the government fall apart…that would be the best way to show the UK we got it together…Don’t be an ass!!! This isn’t Jamaica or some other third world country that changes government every time there is some issue.Stability is what has made us prosper and grow..
Could we have better representation?..Yes, most definitely, there is always room for improvement and I am no big supporter of either side but instead of continuing to have the “crabs in a barrel’ mentality that we Caymanians are fast becoming known, let’s rally together and support our government in times of crises like these…
For the record, I am proud of the Opposition Leader and his team for standing up and showing unity in the face of adversity..The writer of this piece should take a page out of his book.
This is not a time for being decisive and calling for heads to roll. It is a time to come together and support each other as one Cayman for the betterment of this place we call home…
Why? So he can continue messing up ?
6:37 pm , Why do we have the Assistant Premier ? Till next election. We wouldn’t be losing anything when we lose him . And don’t try and tell us that he is God’s gift to Cayman Islands , because he’s not.
Well said!..Time to come together! Too many of us Caymanians do nothing else but tear each other down and to our own detriment..
Agreed. If you take the job, you got to be prepared to man up. Too many ankle grabbers thought the PPM (and UDP) administration unfortunately. The baking industry is already destroyed. No one is setting up shop here. It’s just those poor fools working in banks don’t realize many of them they don’t have a job in soon horizon. Funds Are going bye bye!
Idiots . And You deserve it.
What does the “baking industry” have to do with anything? I thought the bakeries were all doing really well…
Maybe they miss the Wholesome bakery – I know I do.
This article is utter rubbish!
Love the way you back up your comment with facts and counter arguments. Well thought out response. Great job.
But there were no facts in the original piece. Merely supposition and hearsay. What needs to be rebutted exactly?
lol
That was not an article, but a comment, someone’s opinion.
But tell us what you really think?