Anyone who has lived in the Cayman
Islands for more than a month or two knows about the Marl Road, the
metaphorical rumour highway that weaves its way through the society here.
Although marl road gossip is often entertaining
and sometimes even factual, the information gleaned from this byway is often
merely the inventions of mischief makers. Regardless, once word travels down
the Marl Road, it can be difficult to change people’s minds about what is true
and what isn’t. For this reason,
politicians often use the Marl Road to disseminate misinformation about
something in an effort to gain an edge over political opponents. As a result,
people can end up making up their minds on important issues based on incorrect
information.
The Cayman public is now faced with
a similar situation with the East End seaport.
Every large-scale project proposed here has its detractors, but such
projects particularly draw objections from the opposition party, whichever it
might be. For one thing, it’s the job of the opposition to point out potential
pitfalls of the actions of government. In addition, political parties here just
don’t like to see their opponents get a feather in their cap for completing any
kind of big project.
It is important for the public to
push aside the political rhetoric to try and determine for themselves what the
facts are about the East End seaport. Misinformation
already abounds about the project and it would be a shame if people decided it
was a bad thing based on false rumours.
Make no mistake: A project like the
East End seaport could bring many economic benefits to the Cayman Islands. In a
time when Cayman is fighting to increase tourism and maintain its share of the
offshore financial industry market, the proposed port facility would also offer
a tangible way for Cayman to diversify its economy.
Like any large project, however,
the proposed seaport could have some negative impacts as well. What the public must do is weigh the
potential benefits against the potential detriments, but it should do so
possessed of the facts, not Marl Road rumour.
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