Friday,
September 4th, 2020 was indeed a sad day for the Cayman Islands and
its people. It was the day that saw the culmination of the Governor’s
and the Premier’s ill-conceived plan to impose the Domestic
Partnership Bill (DPB) into law using colonial heavy handedness.
Indeed, it is now obvious that this was planned well in advance of
the proposed legislation being introduced by the Premier to the
Legislature. As early as February 2020, it was reported in the House
of Commons that the Premier was preparing to introduce the
legislation, this year.

The
Premier asserts that, “As
Premier, I am utterly humiliated that because of our failure to do
our duty as a Legislature, the UK Government has been forced to
legislate for us”.

The
Official Opposition would like to assure the Premier, that like a
great many Caymanians, we too are humiliated by his lack of
leadership and petulant behaviour which has now resulted in this
unfortunate set of circumstances,

Leader
of the Opposition, Hon. V. Arden McLean states:

“The
Premier’s attempt to blame the opposition and other members has not
gone unnoticed. We remind the Premier of the fundamental tenet of
democracy that ‘majority rules’. He has leadership of the
majority in the Legislature; hence he is the Premier and accordingly
the Legislature is subject to his direction.”

Mr.
McLean adds:

“It
speaks volumes of the Premier’s ability to lead the country and
lose a vote in the Legislature. We therefore suggest to the Premier,
stop blaming everyone else, and undertake some introspection.”

The
Governor must bear no less blame. Despite his protestations that he
did not want to find himself in this position and his love for the
people of this country, it is alarmingly obvious that he too used
this opportunity to fulfil a personal agenda. This is borne out by
his total lack of respect for the members of the Legislature who
voted against a bill that was flawed and rushed. That lack of respect
was further exacerbated by him having received a letter addressed to
the Leader of the Opposition and making the letter public without
consulting the Leader of the Opposition. Further, the same letter
which was written by Baroness Sugg on August 28th,
2020 and curiously, was not sent to the Leader of the Opposition by
the Governor’s Office until August 31st,
2020.

The
Governor’s actions and disregard for our Caymanian way of life,
attests to the saying, “A man can’t serve two masters.”. While
the Cayman Islands public purse is paying for his salary and
lifestyle, he remains very much a devoted UK public servant.

Not
having allowed proper time for consultation, the Premier and his
Government introducing the DPB to the Legislature knowing that the
majority were not in support, and the subsequent actions of the
Premier and the Governor to implement a law regardless of the publics
views, speaks volumes of their disregard for the people of the Cayman
Islands.

It
should be noted that the Opposition assisted with a survey on the
question of whether the people supported the DPB in its original
form, and of the over 1000 people who responded 90+% rejected the
proposed legislation.

The
Premier is elected to serve the people, and in the case of the
Governor he is appointed to ensure good governance. The
Premier needs to put his personal ego and pride aside and instead
feel some level of humiliation for the many Caymanians that are:

• 
  Marginalized
  and discriminated against in the workforce.
  
• 
  Struggling
  to make ends meet from the high costs of living.
  
• 
  Living
  pay-check to pay-check and in some cases, no pay-check.
  
• 
  Being
  told they must go to the Immigration Department to prove they are
  Caymanians.
  
• 
  Leaving
  school and cannot find employment.
  
  
• 
  Still
  unable to receive their pension payments.
  
• 
  Stuck
  in traffic on a daily basis.
  
• 
  Facing
  an increase in insurance costs.
  
• 
  Losing
  their homes or have lost their homes.
  
• 
  Living
  below the poverty line from an inadequate minimum wage.
  
• 
  Worried
  about the future direction for our beloved islands
  
  

It
is clear that we need leadership that will put egos aside, place
Caymanians first and serve the Caymanian interest.”

Mr.
McLean concludes:

“Yes
Mr. Premier, we are all humiliated, but more importantly disappointed
in your lack of leadership in defending the very people you purport
to love and defend.”

In
keeping with the Official Opposition’s commitment to honesty,
openness, and transparency we are also releasing the letter received
from Baroness Sugg along with the Leader of the Opposition’s
response thereto. We believe that outside of issues involving our
National Security, the public’s business cannot be done in private.

END

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