Addressing corruption a priority for Miller
(CNS): The most serious national issue for the Cayman Islands right now is corruption, Ezzard Miller said at the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum in North Side on Tuesday. The candidates were asked about the priorities the next government must address, and, bucking the trend of answers from his challengers in the district that traffic or education are the most important issues, Miller pointed out that until the issue of corruption is addressed, no other policy changes can succeed. “If we do not stamp out corruption in this country… it will decay into a Third World country,” he said.
Appearing alongside the three candidates hoping to unseat the experienced and outspoken incumbent. Miller said corruption was undermining access to social welfare and jobs in the private and public arenas and that the current coalition government itself was a corruption of politics. He also spoke about the need to encourage local entrepreneurs and to address the “morass” of the current health insurance, as he made a pitch for the role of health minister should he find himself in the next government.
Miller’s main challenger in this four-way race is believed to be Jay Ebanks, as he appears to have the backing of the PPM/Coalition, but it was Justin Ebanks, who came fourth in the 2017 four-way race with only 12.63% of the vote, who had the better night among the challengers.
While Miller’s experience and knowledge placed him in a position to address the questions competently, his main rival at times appeared unprepared and unaware of the current situation on many key issues, especially the dump, despite stating it would be a priority for him. Debra Broderick also struggled to find a moment during the evening to shine and, like Jay Ebanks, at times seemed ill-prepared for the questions.
Justin Ebanks took a leaf out of Tony Blair’s 1997 election campaign, adopting the slogan of “education, education, education”. But despite his competent performance, the young hopeful may have lost the support of environmentalists with his policy position on developing North Side’s pristine habitat. Ebanks spoke on several occasion about the need for more roads so that people can access the as yet untouched land that is locked away in the district to make a living or build homes.
At this forum the candidates were more supportive of the Civil Partnership Law than those in East End, with Miller emphatically offering his support. The other three shuffled around the issue but they all managed not to condemn members of the LGBT community, with Broderick going as far as pointing out that we should love the LGBT community just the same.
Meanwhile, the issue of the coalition and alliances came up at this forum but no one made any commitments about who they actually will be working with.
Miller has stated on numerous occasions he will not form a government with McKeeva Bush
McKeeva Bush (CDP), West Bay West MLA Speaker of the LA, Leader of the Cayman Democratic Party. Biography: Bush is the longest serving member and... More. However, he pointed out that there is a big difference between working with a government, as he always has done, and agreeing with one so as to undermine one’s own principles. He said he would not join any government that does not have the principles and commitment to Caymanians that he said representatives should have.
“We must not confuse ‘working with’ and ‘agreeing with’. We have so polluted and corrupted the process of a coalition government… with what we did the last time,” he said, as he explained the wider Westminster principles of a coalition government. “We are all still waiting to see that secret agreement that was signed by the Unity government.”
Justin Ebanks and Broderick said they would consult with the people but were not very specific. Jay Ebanks said he wanted to be part of the next government, but did not directly indicate he was supporting the government alliance.
See the full forum on YouTube below:
Category: Election News
