Gov’t failed on environment, says Panton
(CNS): The former environment minister took the government to task on Friday night at the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum for Newlands, where he said the administration had failed to show any commitment to the environment. Wayne Panton
Wayne Panton: Candidate for Newlands. He was Minister for Financial Services, Commerce and Environment (2013-2017). Biography: Panton successfully ran as a PPM candidate for one... More also pointed out that claims by the government that the marine parks expansion have been implemented were false because it is still not in place.
Panton said that even after making a promise in front of Prince Charles when he visited in 2018, the project, which he had worked to shape with broad support, was still not law, which was very disappointing. He warned that Cayman has already lost 80% of its marine species since 1979.
At the Chamber debate he said the terrestrial protections in place are being ignored, especially by the Central Planning Authority, which consistently rejects the advice it is given by the National Conservation Council. He also noted the recent situation where the NCC was not even in place when a major development came before the CPA.
“These things represent a failure of commitment to the environment for the future on behalf of the current government. It’s unfortunate but it is true,” he added.
By contrast, the incumbent, Alva Suckoo
Alva Suckoo: Newlands MP Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Political Career: • Deputy Leader of the Opposition- May 2017-Present• Elected Member of the district of... More, who has since the debate announced his decision to join the PPM-led alliance, said the government had done quite a lot to address the environment. Suckoo gave credit to Panton for steering the National Conservation Law through but said that while there was a need to improve enforcement, he did not want to go any further with legislation to protect because that would tip the balance.
Roydell Carter, the former director of the Department of Environmental Health, focused on the dump, stating that Cabinet ministers had failed. He criticised a number of ministers that he had worked under over his long career managing the dump before he was mysteriously removed and given an undisclosed pay-off. He said he would resolve the dump problem if he was elected.
Raul Gonzales, the fourth challenger in the district, said it was the planning laws that needed to be reviewed because the “laws are extinct now”. He said people were poaching because they had no jobs. It wasn’t right, he said, but they were in need.
Asked about the traffic congestion and whether eliminating some roundabouts would form part of the solution, Panton spoke about the need to control the volume of traffic by reducing the number of cars on the road as he said we have “way too many”. He said that was not the way to solve the issue and the idea of building more roads was not the solution. In addition to improving the local transport system, he said it was time to limit the ability of people on work permits to import cars until they had been here for a period of time.
Carter, however, pointed to rearrangement of road construction as a solution and suggested moving the roundabout Red Bay and introducing a park and ride system. Gonzales said work and school hours should be staggered and there should be a proper transport system. He also supported the idea of reducing imports rather than moving roads and roundabouts. Suckoo said rearranging roundabouts might help, as they work if used properly, but he also supported improving the public transport system.
Asked to judge the performance of the current government, based on what they did best and what they handled poorly, all of the candidates pointed to the administration’s competent handling of the pandemic, though none of them would give a rating on a scale of one to ten. Suckoo was reluctant to offer any criticism at all, the reasons for which became clear on Saturday night when it was announced that he had joined the alliance. However, he did say the government had handled the cruise port project badly, though it had “all worked out in the end” as they are now not going ahead with it.
Carter criticised them for calling early elections but not for any other specific issues. Gonzales said they were spending money on the wrong things and not on dealing with education and local unemployment. “They were forgetting the people,” he said.
Panton said he, too, felt the port was a “major failing” but he was the only candidate who raised the issue of how the administration had handled the situation relating to the speaker. He said they had handled that very poorly and that was why he left the party.
Watch the forum on the Chamber YouTube channel:
Category: Election News
