Kindly permit me space in your publication to respond what amounted to half-truths and a bunch of lies in a letter to the editor written by the tourism minister and published on 6 March under the title CAL no political football.
We are not the ones playing political football with Cayman Airways or any other issue. On the contrary, Mr. Clifford is the one who was and continues to play political football with CAL. He has been doing so since 2004 when he left his job in a rush and began writing long misleading letters to the press and clouding the issues in his speeches during the general election campaign.
Every one knows of the persistent problems at Cayman Airways.
During 2001, at the time of the meeting to which he referred, Cayman Airways was under the portfolio responsibilities of Kurt Tibbetts. The losses were tremendous.
At that time there was a hue and cry from the public about CAL’s state of affairs. The tourism sector held a large public meeting about tourism and the matter of CAL was raised.
We then found it necessary to respond to the people’s call and begin leadership of the government because Mr. Tibbetts was taking us nowhere.
My colleagues and I set to work immediately. We did hold a public meeting and asked the public for their views and a vote of their support or not for the airline.
The result was an indication that they would support it, but by a smaller margin than we had expected.
We therefore knew that to do the things we wanted to do to help CAL survive, we would have to convince many others of its viability.
I appointed a new board of directors and a new business model for the board was completed. We contracted Deloitte to do a study to determine just how much CAL was helping the Cayman Islands. We then got Government to agree to support the business plan.
This support entailed acquiring better equipment; improving routes; improving the booking mechanism (reservation system) and supporting the staff. Most of this was achieved by government increasing its subsidy and a bank guarantee allowing us to acquire the two new 737-300s; creating the Cayman Brac Express by leasing of aircraft dedicated to the Brac route; opening up new routes to Boston, Havana, Chicago, Montego Bay and Fort Lauderdale.
We included in our budget an increase for staff salaries. This was removed by Mr. Clifford, who ironically has voted to approve a raise for himself and all members of the Legislative Assembly.
We also decided on, and started the process, to acquire the new reservation system – the same one that is being messed up today.
The accounts up to 2003 were completed by CAL’s auditors. That was when CAL moved to an accounting period to coincide with government’s budget period.
This is the kind of political football that Charles Clifford and his colleagues were kicking around after he left the Ministry overnight and during the election campaign.
He very well knows that the meeting with Air Jamaica was to explore what efficiencies and savings we could achieve by working together, such as bulk purchase of fuel, insurance purchasing, cargo handling in airports that both airlines served and use of Air Jamaica’s holidays reservation system, which was successful. This meeting was attended by some board members, including Mike Adam and myself.
His charge is a lie as all those who attended the meeting know.
Why would there be a discussion about a sale of CAL to Air Jamaica when that entity was having its own problems, which everyone knew about and none of which we wanted?
Charles Clifford, you must stop deliberately misleading the public.
While he is casting aspersions on the stewardship of Cayman Airways during my administration, he does not seem to realize that the public knows that he was on CAL’s board during this time and his accusations now must also be shooting arrows at himself.
Regarding his reference to my personal account with Cayman Airways, the record will show that my bill was being paid down and was eventually paid in full and in fact left in a credit position.
Charles Clifford and his set up questions in the House only served to cost CAL loss of business from people who believed what he did was nothing less than playing politics.
Today, under his leadership, there is much that is wrong with Cayman Airways. The problems that have existed for years have been compounded by him and his colleagues.
How can anyone trust them, when they say there will be no loss of jobs!
How can you trust them when they say Sammy’s Airport Inn is a good deal, but there is no building?
I certainly cannot trust them. I questioned Charles Clifford in the House about who did the study on Sammy’s Inn and what were the costs of renovations. He promised to get back to me. He has not!
What I get instead are attempts to scandalize me in the press.
His letter to the press has done nothing to assure anyone that he is successfully handling CAL’s problems. We will wait to see what happens next.
Meanwhile CAL is in a state of upheaval. Staff morale is at its lowest, fares are the highest they have ever been and the airline is becoming even more costly to the Caymanian people because of his policies.
Tourism will continue to suffer and the Caymanian people will be the worse off.
W. McKeeva Bush
Leader of the Opposition
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