Referendum bill passes 13-5 after PPM backs UPM
(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan successfully steered through the bill for a government referendum to take place on Election Day, 30 April, after he secured the support of the official opposition. All five members of the Progressives and independent opposition MP Chris Saunders voted ‘yes’, while all five members of TCCP gave the bill a thumbs down.
The debate was as contentious as the issues addressed in the referendum questions, but for the third time in the history of the Cayman Islands, voters will be asked directly to express their opinion on government policy.
During the debate, which began on Monday and continued Wednesday afternoon, Opposition Leader Joey Hew
Joey Hew (GTN incumbent) is the leader of the PPM (aka Progressives). He served as opposition leader from October 2024 until the dissolution of parliament. More justified the PPM’s decision to support the UPM minority government’s bid to secure a national vote on the issues of cruise, gambling and ganja, regardless of the controversy surrounding the vagueness of the cruise berthing question and lack of equal funding for the ‘no’ campaign.
When the UPM lost its majority, the PPM had said it would not support the lame-duck government’s efforts to steer through any contentious legislation or policies. However, Hew indicated that he was really thinking about their attempts to amend the National Conservation Act. The referendum was a different matter, he said, and the PPM had always supported putting this issue to the people.
He said it was the members of TCCP who had made it contentious — though local environmentalists have always argued that the cruise question is too vague and that it is unfair for the government to use state power to promote a ‘yes’ while they do not have the same funding to make their argument for a ‘no’ vote.
While Hew admitted that it is not the way that the PPM would have handled a national vote on the topic, he said they had supported the principle when the tourism minister brought the motion for the bill last October. He accepted that some people think the referendum issues are contentious, but that’s the reason why voters should be asked their views.
“We, the official opposition, have continued to consider the position we would take,” he said as he spoke about public attitudes towards the referendum and, in particular, the cruise question. “Some in the public may insist that this referendum is controversial and that is… their right…. These three topics are controversial by nature, hence the reason why the referendum is being sought.”
He said the PPM had given the issue a lot of thought. “We must not merely think of politics but what is the right thing to do,” he said. After supporting the motion last October and to honour the democratic process, he said, “We have agreed to support the referendum bill.”
Hew disputed claims they had reneged on their stated position not to allow the government to pass controversial law and suggested that they had always supported the vote, despite his criticisms when the motion was brought in October.
Bryan gave a long and impassioned introduction to the bill as he wrapped up the debate. He was extremely critical of the five TCCP members who opposed the bill but offered his gratitude to the PPM after they made it clear that they would help the minority steer the bill through.
It is estimated that it will cost an additional CI$600,000 for the Elections Office to add the referendum questions to the Election Day process.
Voters will cast their ballot for their constituency MPs before moving to another area of the polling station where they will cast their vote in the referendum. They will be able to vote in just the election or just the referendum if they choose, but it is hoped the majority will vote in both.
The referendum questions will be as follows:
- “Should the Cayman Islands develop cruise berthing infrastructure?”
- “Do you support the introduction of a National Lottery in the Islands?”
- “Do you support the decriminalisation of the consumption and possession of small amounts of cannabis?”
There have been two previous referendums in the Cayman Islands. On 20 May 2009, a referendum on the new Constitution was held alongside general elections and approved by 63% of voters. In 2012, as a petition was gaining ground for a people-initiated referendum, then-premier McKeeva Bush
McKeeva Bush (WBW incumbent) is the longest-serving member of parliament (the “Father of the House”), having represented West Bay continuously for three decades. More announced that there would be a government referendum asking voters if they wanted to change from multi-member to single-member constituencies.
It was held on 18 July that year. Although 65% of people who voted said ‘yes’, their numbers did not reach the required 50% of all registered voters, and so Bush, who opposed OMOV, did not introduce it for the 2013 elections. However, his UDP party lost, and the winning PPM introduced single-member constituencies for the 2017 elections.
See the full bill below and watch the debate on Monday and Wednesday on CIGTV:
Check out the CNS Election Section interactive map to see who is running in each constituency.
See the list of candidates and their party affiliations here.
Category: Referendum
I hope no PPMer comes knocking on my door lookin’ vote this year. If they do, they’ll be walking away with a strip torn off their backside because they gonna get a tongue lashing!
My vote will be a resounding NO to the referendum AND a HELL NO to a vote for Kenneth Bryan! I’m aware of 2 new candidates running in his/my constituency and any of the 2 with no prior political experience one will get my full support. For 1 reason and q reason only…to see to it that a pawn like Kenneth go down I history as getting his 2 terms…his first and his last. Disappointment is an understatement.
Self-admited Stupid Boy Kenny is as bad if not worse than McKeeva. I never believed I would ever think that possible in Cayman politics. The fact that the PPM is now working with him means I will never vote for him for a PPM member again (I’ll admit I held my nose and did so in 2017, but only because the other option was UDP!)
🚨 Stand Up, Speak Out – VOTE NO! 🚨
Make your voice heard by updating your profile picture with our Vote NO frame!
Here’s how to create yours:
1️⃣ Copy and paste the link ➡ http://bit.ly/3Q5jmn1
2️⃣ Click “Use Template” (you may need a free Canva account).
3️⃣ Tap the sample image and replace or upload your own picture.
4️⃣ Resize and adjust as needed.
5️⃣ Click “Share” → “Download” and save it as a PNG or JPG.
6️⃣ Upload it as your new Facebook profile picture and let everyone know: You’re Voting NO! 🛑
⚡ Spread the word! Encourage others to do the same by tagging your friends and using #VoteNO #NOT4SALE
Let’s make sure our voices are heard! 🔴✊
Had the misfortune of listening to both of Mr Bryan’s initial and closing contributions to the debate he has basically just wholesale adopted the PPM playbook from 2019. The lies, dishonest and bluster, swallowing entirely the idea that we are at the mercy of cruise lines and have no option but to comply with their ‘requests’.
Pretending that every business, operator or attraction exists solely on cruise ships and that without cruise ships ALL tourism related business will go bust which is a flat out a lie, one that basically no Opposition MP challenged him on from what I heard. The entire premise of the pier backers now is basically ignoring stayover visitors who spend more, do more local activities and actually have good experiences of Cayman past the Waterfront. They are for all intents and purposes now pretending that a vote against berthing is a vote to stop all tourism.
Of course, persons like myself who are against piers almost universal prefer that we focus instead on attracting and appealing to those same stay over tourists that Mr Bryan would prefer to ignore. Something that the government and Mr Bryan, should have been doing from the day the borders reopened following the pandemic closures, instead they have recommitted to this farce for one simple reason, the piers are not about sustaining the tourism industry – they are about shoveling as many people into duty free shops on the waterfront. The reason why they now act as if there is not clear alternative path (focusing on stayover tourists) is because at the end of the day, the primary driving force behind the piers is duty free merchants who want to essentially subsidise their businesses and line their pockets using a major public infrastructure project. I won’t pretend a transition to primarily stay over tourists will happen overnight or will be easy or painless, some businesses will close, some persons will leave the industry, but making the best choice for Cayman in the long term is worth more than simply taking the easy route and submitting to the will of corporations who do not have our interests in mind.
I did find it interesting that he admitted that the reason why they are so heavily pushing this vote now is because of the fact that there are no concrete plans – i.e the intention of the government and groups like ‘ACT’ and other monied interests is now to push this vote as hard as they can saying that its just about whether we are open to the idea, getting a win for yes without having to provide any details on a plan and then using that vote to years later push through something that will probably end up being similar to the 2019 proposal. They have no interest in a vote on a specific proposal because then they will have to defend the expenditure and destruction of the environment along with the return of clogged streets that no local dare venture during the day in George Town.
Don’t believe the lies, we can have a sustainable tourism industry without hundreds of millions pissed away in service of a few families seeking to line their pockets for a generation.
cras es noster
Dio
Cola Kenny is a dangerous man Cayman, stay alert.
I’m glad you’re using alert and not woke. Woke died when we got Trump back!
Being awake certainly seems to have died in AmeriKKKa, yes. At least now you have an illegal immigrant South African nazi oligarch pulling the strings; that’s sure to fix things. “My heart goes out to all of you”, indeed.
If the objective is to decrease the time that passengers spend arriving and departing (and improving their experience thereof), why not redesign the present port terminal into a two story building and handle arrival and departures in the same way as the airport, with customs officers doing their function just as they do at the airport? Passengers arriving come in one way and step out into an area where they can book their tours, while those departing go a different way passing through an area where duty free reps hand them their purchases before they board their tenders and au revoir, mes amis. The tourism attractions could advertise in the arrival areas, and the hotels could advertise in the departure lounge. Brainstorm, anyone?
Because that is not the objective.
In order to understand their real motivation you have to understand the basic reality of mass cruise tourism as a business that is: cruise tourists spend so little and have such a short time on shore regardless of piers that the only way to make the system viable is to cram as many bodies on the island per year as possible so that despite those facts you can still squeeze out a viable business model. The ships also have 0 incentive to stay in port overnight or to give tourists longer on shore – they want those tourists spending ON THEIR SHIPS.
People also need to really understand what approving a pier project would mean for Cayman’s future – at a minimum they want to get back to the 2019 peak, their actual desire is to go far past that they want to get as many people as they can, which is also why they want the Cargo port moved to another location (see the Gov’s cargo port public meetings from last summer).
They don’t care for environmental damage, congestion, or the continued designation of a good chunk of our capital as a tourist trap that serves no purpose for locals and is deserted at night.
Part of reimagining Cayman’s future is rejecting their premise entirely.
Dio
Redesign the port to handle the arrival amd departure of who? If the ships cant come there will be no passengers to handle.
Interesting how the ‘no sayers’refer to the duty free merchants but ignore the fact that the tender compantly owner gets $6 PER PASSENGER whether they get off the ship or not. That is the biggest incentive to keep the status quo and is why the tender company is spending plenty $$$ pushing the no vote.
FACTS!
ppm are proven liars now.
they should never be trusted. shame on ppm and joey.
A simple online survey would not have sufficed? The results could simply have gone to the relevant ministry (whether health, infrastructure or finance) to be collated and then published in the media before the elections.
Remember now: this referendum is not binding, so regardless of the eventual result, future administrations will not be obligated to act on it. Also, not enough people are coming out to get informed, so many will be voting blind. In other words,
we tax payers are about to waste at least 1 million for Bryan’s pie in the sky. Thank you all who voted yes. We will remember you…
Totally agree that the referendum is a waste of money but I will vote no.
FACT CHECK: The elections supervisor has stated that the cost of the referendum will be near to nothing since it is being held with the election.
Ask him yourself if you didn’t hear him say it the first time.
I will vote no. My wife will vote no. However, the government will likely spend millions of public money convincing people to vote yes. And all of the spend won’t be above board I am sure.
The Cayman Islands shouldn’t be subsidizing a dollar of the exploitive multi-billion-dollar market cap cruise line industry, even if there was appetite for a pier (and there isn’t). The liners should have to fund all phases of their own infrastructure build-out via the capital markets, just like they did for various passenger embarkation terminals, including (likely) disaster coverage, imperative maintenance and dredging costs, and posting of an end-of-life decommissioning and remediation bond. There are no other blue water pier structures of this kind anywhere in the world. Theoretically, it would be a first of kind engineering marvel, for as long as it lasted – probably not long with hurricanes and nor’westers. The coup de gras is that it would also cut onshore arrivals from 5-6 ships down to 2. There is no way to make this make sense, except to analyze which vulture capitalist stands to benefit from the CIG taking on unserviceable debt loads…some names should come to mind. No to all of this, including those playing for the opposite team.
Lady Governor: No PLANS, No Financing of these random plans, Please!
https://caymannewsservice.com/2025/02/upm-stalled-work-on-economic-plan-because-of-election/
In the best year ever, 2019, cruise tourism brought in under $3mln in head taxes. More was spent on Xmas NICE programs that year. We don’t gain anything by building a destructive cruise facility for Fortune 500 NYSE cruise liners, especially those grinding margins of the limited number of Caymanians still in that industry. The potential loss and maintenance of such a boondoggle is long and deep. We don’t work for the lobby group, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, and we really shouldn’t be electing parliamentarians that do. This minority government’s question, now approved thanks to the PPM, is designed to swing the “it depends on the proposal” camp into a “yes” vote. Don’t fall for it. Vote no, and more importantly, do not return these crooks to our House.
The Port Authority board in any case pissed it all away with giving themselves pay increases and parties costing $100,000.
All aimed at self interest and getting their political handlers re-elected.
No. No and NOOOOO.
Easy Votes
The Absurdistan Coalition has officially completed its full-speed dive into legislative lunacy!
🚨 THE REFERENDUM BILL PASSES – 13 TO 5 🚨
✔ PPM backed the UPM’s barely-functioning administration.
✔ They pushed through a meaningless, vague, non-binding referendum.
✔ The people shouted NO!, but the politicians screamed “LA-LA-LA, CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
This was never about democracy. This was about giving themselves a blank check to do whatever they want.
THE NEW ORDER OF POLITICAL TREASON
✅ PPM & UPM join forces—like two sinking ships lashing together in a storm.
✅ They wrote a referendum so vague that they can claim any future decision is “the will of the people.”
✅ They ignored public outrage because, in their minds, the public only matters once every four years.
💀 THE REFERENDUM QUESTIONS: A COMPLETE FARCE 💀
1️⃣ Cruise Berthing – No location, no cost, no details, no logic.
2️⃣ Ganja – A desperate attempt to win over a younger demographic.
3️⃣ Lottery – A distraction, dangled in front of the public like a shiny object.
💥 FINAL VERDICT: A POLITICAL CRIME SCENE 💥
🔥 The UPM & PPM have fully merged into one grotesque mutant of incompetence.
🔥 This is not democracy—it’s a clown show in which the people are forced to watch in horror.
🔥 The Adeptus Ridiculous is already drafting the official decree of condemnation.
🚨 THE PEOPLE HAVE LOST—UNLESS THEY RISE UP. 🚨
The only way forward now is relentless pressure. The people must MAKE THEM AFRAID of the consequences.
Because if this stands?
The Cayman Islands just became a playground for the corrupt.
📜 POST SCRIPTUM: 📜
As predicted, Cayman’s political elite remains completely detached from reality. They govern with all the grace of a drunken pilot flying a plane held together by duct tape and wishful thinking—completely unfazed by massive public disapproval.
And yet… where is our dear Governor?
🧐 Has the Warp claimed her ?
📸 Is she trapped in an endless loop of photo ops and polite smiles?
🚪 Or has she simply locked the door, dimmed the lights, and pretended nobody is home?
Not a word, not a peep—just stoic silence as the island spirals deeper into legislative absurdity.
Perhaps the Adeptus Ridiculous was too kind in comparing the Governor to the Adeptus Arbites. At least the Arbites actually enforce the law. Here, we have a silent spectator while the island burns.
Final Note: If Cayman had a functioning democracy, today would have been a turning point. Instead, it is just another entry in the long, tragic saga of “Governance by Willful Incompetence.”
🚨 CONCLUSION: The people are on their own. 🚨
glad that PPM took this opportunity to remind the people that they are, in fact, cowardly liars who cannot be trusted to keep their word for more than a few weeks at best.
“will not pass any controversial legislation”, just another lie to pile atop the giant PPM pile.
And that pile is made of cow dung.
“Controversial “ as in $200,000,000 resort prison currently being worked on , under cover by foreign consultants.
Will require annual expenditure of millions , in imported foreign staff costs ,added to loan repayment.
PPM really going to agree to this..?
The PPM are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They cannot be trusted.
You need to apologize to wolves because at least they are loyal to their mates.
I am guessing that this secured a chunk of ‘election finance contributions’ from the favored port construction contractor. How do you say that in Mandarin?
I fact CHEC’d your comment and apparently it’s his mentor that’s first in line.
Hew is a fraud that knows he best listen to his financiers or else
Poor Kenny there are no words that describe the disappoint watching how he’s become the new McKeeva
The games that politicians like KB and Joey are playing will lead to expensive disasters for these islands
Like CARA was and CILPA is? How many millions were wasted again?
When will the people understand and demand that the UPM & PPM be honest with the public and confirm this is a NON-BINDING REFERENDUM?
This is an expensive exercise that cannot and does not bind any future government especially since the public have zero details and information about the scope, location and costs of any particular cruise berthing project.
Details matter yet elected politicians are playing fast and loose with the key details and the truth.
It’s been said many times in parliament this week. Many, many times.