Peanut oozes confidence in engaging GTS forum
(CNS): In an engaging Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum on Friday night, the three contenders battling it out for the open seat of George Town South all delivered a lively performance. Gary Rutty, who is running with the Cayman Islands National Party, oozed confidence throughout and told his opponents they were going to lose, but Alric Lindsay (IND) and Craig Frederick (PPM) are clearly not giving up so easily.
Displaying a friendly rivalry, the three candidates all spoke articulately and with passion as they took on the twelve often loaded Chamber questions. They were the first contenders to be questioned about the recent news that whoever takes office on 1 May will be faced with an operating deficit of more than $26 million instead of the $55 million surplus forecast at the time of the budget.
Lindsay was the first to refer to the news of the deficit when he spoke about his reasons for running, pointing out that aside from the unwelcome turnaround in the budget prediction, the Cayman Islands Government is not recording its pension liabilities that amount to CI$2.4 billion.
Asked directly about the forecast that the CIG will miss the targets in its own public finance law, Lindsay said that the government has consistently breached accounting rules and is producing fake accounts.
Frederick claimed that the Progressives would bring back fiscal responsibility because the party has experience with political finances, as he revealed Roy McTaggart would once again become finance minister in a PPM government.
However, Rutty said it would take a man like Dan Scott
Dan Scott (CBE candidate) is the leader of the Cayman Islands National Party. He was EY regional manager until his retirement in June 2023. More, the CINP leader, to get the government finances sorted. “We can’t continue to sit back and watch the overspending,” he said, noting that Cayman doesn’t have a revenue problem but an overspending one.
He said that when the CINP and Scott take over the accounts, with his 40 years in the finance industry, he can “straighten this mess out” and put Cayman back on a sound footing, as he urged people to vote for him and all the CINP candidates if people wanted the finance issue sorted.
The pace and impact of development in GTS and multi-storey housing were also discussed. Alongside the coastal areas of West Bay, South Sound is also suffering massive over-development that is unaffordable to most Caymanians, leading to concerns about the impact on the environment and a lack of housing for ordinary people. However, none of the candidates appeared to favour tall buildings in the constituency to deliver affordable apartments.
Lindsay said the question was putting the cart before the horse as Cayman needs a long-term national development plan first to address questions about what people want the area to look like. He was also the only candidate to raise the elephant in the GTS room: the desperate need for a stormwater management plan for the area, given the constant encroachment into the wetlands, which causes increasingly problematic flooding across the constituency.
Asked about a cruise dock, Frederick was the only one who offered his support for berthing facilities in George Town. He suggested that by not building a dock, we are telling people who depend on cruise tourism for their living that they are not important.
However, Rutty raised significant concerns about berthing facilities. He said there were many issues that people believe are more important. He also said the current tourism product needs real work because “it is utter garbage”.
Lindsay pointed out the massive potential problems that would come with a cruise dock and quantity over quality. He questioned who would benefit and suggested that the cruise lines are the driving force behind it because they want to control the whole cruise tourism product.
Asked about what ministerial role they would like if they find themselves in government, neither Lindsay nor Frederick were keen to take on a ministry in the first term. Rutty, on the other hand, was more than confident he would be sitting in Cabinet come next month.
He said he was sorry for his opponents as they wouldn’t get the chance to do what they wanted because he would be elected on 30 April. He said he had not entered the race to sit on a bench but to make decisions and to make a difference.
Outlining his long career in tourism running a hotel, he said there “would be no better tourism minister than this country has seen… when I take over”, with his CINP colleagues by his side. As a backup, he said he would be interested in border control and immigration because he felt he could make a difference with technology, and he promised to look after the best interests of all Caymanians, whichever of those ministries he took up.
As the men wrapped up the forum with their closing speeches, Frederick stressed the unity and experience of the PPM as he urged people not to vote for a party with no political experience, saying that you can’t run a country like a business. But Rutty shot back, outlining all of the problems that experience has created, as he urged people to vote for him in GTS and CINP candidates in other constituencies.
“We can’t continue to keep voting for the same people and parties and the same tired politicians… and expect a different result,” he said. “Let’s not forget, the same people who couldn’t work together and who changed leadership at least three times in four years are now all cozied up together and asking you to join them. Come on, Caymanians! We are all smarter than that. I know I wouldn’t get in that bed.”
Lindsay said that a government cannot be run on emotions but on accountability, good governance and transparency, as he also took aim at the legacy of the PPM. He urged voters to vote for him based on his skills and competency as well as the policies he set out in a manifesto that he published back in February.
See the full forum on YouTube below:
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: Election News
We are in for a rough four years. None of them convinced me they deserve to win. What a mess. Too arrogant, too meek, too party-dependent.
Peanut talking about the problems with processed foods hoping we all forget that he owned Burger King for years is comical.
Anyone with any sense in the middle to lower income bracket would NOT vote for Rutty. He is elitist and does not care about the issues of the working class. He does not live in the area. GTS will never see him again after elections are done if you’ve seen him at all during the campaign time.
Vote Alric or Vote Craig. Just do not vote Rutty.
You obviously don’t know Mr. Rutty at all. A more genuine human being you will not meet, one who loves his country and only wants best for all Caymanians. And for the record, I don’t vote GTS.
Maybe the message is finally getting thru, we cannot keep voting in the same candidates. Nothing will change, and it will only get worse for most. Joey, Kenny, Cjew-Chew and da rest need ousting, now.
They said this the last election and voted in a PACT government which turned out to be the most unstable and inept government Cayman has ever seen. The same would happen with CINP, an elitist government where one member has never stepped foot in Parliament. Be careful what you wish for.
3.04…Every single MP had never stepped foot in parliament until they were elected.
Time to be rid of PPM, we’ve experienced their experience, and it was not good. They are now trying to inflict more experience on us with Kenneth Mac Juju and Dumbdum.
Time for new educated principled representation like Rutty.
You can really tell the people that don’t have much between their ears and drink the PPM Kool aid. How can you judge on a potential MP having no experience. Every single one of them came in with little to no experience. To hear Kenneth Bryan say that is laughable. Does anyone remember when he first started? Surely not a polished with public speech as he is today. FFS Dwayne still can’t speak publicly after all his years of experience.
How you act when you are arrogant!
Very arrogant.
If you’re a no nonsense speak your mind to fix problems kind of person you’re labeled “arrogant”.?
If so then bring on more arrogance , to clean out those who are scared to lose their jobs by saying/doing what is needed to clean up the mess.
Speak up Rutty for all our sakes.
Alric did himself a diservice running as a independent. we’ve seen that experiment and nobody wants to try that again.
Alric , for all of his pious demeanor, will jump ship to whoever offers the biggest carrot.
Rutty was arrogant not confident. I found it ironic that he spoke on the issue of minimum wage and taxing unhealthy food when his family made millions off this same business model Burger King. Convenient now to address unhealthy food that you sold the business.
Rutty had verbal diarrhea and had no tangible solutions
Peanut is the best!!!!
The PPM are a “party” of at least 7 independents/non-PPM candidates: Justin (former IND), Pearlina (former UDP), Alva (former IND), Dwayne (former PACT/UPM), kenneth (former PACT/UPM), julianna (former PACT/UPM), Delmira (former IND).
And another 5 persons that are running for Parliament for the first time with no experience in Parliament: Lonny, Crystal, Craig, Donna, Roy Tatum.
How again are the PPM stable?
Dan Scott’s party has NO ONE with experience. Thanks for allowing space to point that out again. Out of the 13 candidates PPM has 8 with experience and 5 newbies. So your point was?????
The experienced ppl in PPM are mostly independents, seven out of 9 candidates. Therefore, PPM are a party of independents.
Alden and PPM talk about the experiment of independents, and that is exactly what the PPM are now, an experiment of huge policy differences and contradictions with their own candidates’ track records, under a PPM umbrella.
Kenneth crying about Imm Reform, while Dwayne was the Minister. Suckoo crying about poor Education system, while Julianna was the minister. Crystal complaining about traffic, but Kenneth, Dwayne and Julianna did nothing about it fir the last 4yrs. Craig F complaining that GTSouth had no representation for the last 8 yrs, but PPM Barbara was the GTS rep.
Thanks for allowing us to point those facts out again too.
You make no sense. They are a party. The Rutty bots are trying to do damage control
Kenneth and Alva were PPM before they were independents, while that was popular for a hot minute.
Hey Slick, tell us about why you quit the NRA.
Alric wouldn’t last 5 minutes in a Cabinet meeting.
Festa, let’s not even go there.
Peanut is really the only valid option here.
Truth!
Truth!