McKeeva Bush

| 26/07/2020

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 is the “Father of the House”, having represented the district of West Bay in the Legislative Assembly continuously since 1984. In November 2001, he was a founding member and leader of the United Democratic Party, following a coup that ousted the government of Kurt Tibbetts. The UDP has since been renamed the Cayman Democratic Party.

He served on Executive Councils (renamed Cabinet in 2003) as Minister for Health and Human Services, 1992-94; Minister for Community Development, Sports, Women’s and Youth Affairs and Culture 1994-97; Minister for Tourism, Environment and Transport, 2000-2001; and as Leader of Government Business and Minister for Tourism, Environment, Development and Commerce, 2001-2005.

Bush was the first Premier of the Cayman Islands, as well as Minister of Finance, Tourism and Development, 2009-2012.

Controversies:

On 11 December 2012, Bush was arrested over allegations of misuse of a government credit card and abuse of office regarding his involvement with a consignment of dynamite, which was imported by Midland Acres, a local quarry and property business based in Bodden Town, without the correct permits and licenses. He was eventually found not guilty of all charges by a jury.

However, after his arrest, his former Cabinet colleagues supported a no-confidence motion filed by the opposition in the Legislative Assembly, which resulted in the downfall of the UDP administration. The PPM, then in opposition, agreed to support the remaining Cabinet members in a minority government by offering to ensure that there would be a quorum in the Legislative Assembly. The governor agreed to appoint then deputy premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly as the new premier to head the government until the general election on 22 May 2013.

With the disintegration of the UDP, Bush formed a new party, the Cayman Democratic Party, in 2013.

In April 2020, Bush was charged with three counts of common assault and one count of disorderly conduct under the liquor licensing law in connection with a well-documented violent incident at a Seven Mile Beach bar, where he physically assaulted the bar manager at the Coral Beach bar on the night of 21 February.

Bush pleaded guilty to assault on 3 December 2020, and was sentenced to serve a 60-day curfew in the evenings between 6pm and 6am, beginning 21 December 2020. He has so far suffered no further consequences.

See all statements following the alleged assault in the CNS Library

Bush has been involved in a number of other scandals during his time in politics, including:

  • Denied buying $1M PhD
  • His position as a non-executive director of Qatar-based Gulf Union Bank, which was investigated for fraud in 1997. Its local subsidiary, Cayman First Bank, which had an estimated 3,000 local accounts, was shut down by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.
  • Arrested for allegedly groping a waitress in Florida
  • Reneged on a deal with US-based waste-management firm Wheelabrator to start sorting out the dump, for which the CIG paid damages
  • Negotiated, then dropped, a deal to refinance the national debt through New York-based finance firm, Cohen & Company Capital Markets LLC
  • Gave the developer of the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman a $10M duty waiver
  • Family real estate business was given the concession to sell Ritz condos
  • Created the controversial Nation Building Fund
  • Oversaw as premier the mass status grants in 2003, given to more than 3,370 people through a haphazard selection process
  • Stan Thomas letter
  • Sought a deal with a state-run Chinese company to build a cruise port
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Category:

Comments are closed.

«
»