Premier says CTC board will change
A private member’s motion debated
this week in the Legislative Assembly sought government’s agreement on
requiring all actions of the Central Tenders Committee to be conducted in
public.
North Side legislator Ezzard Miller
also asked in his motion that all project bids be made public “at the time they
are opened by the Central Tenders Committee”.
“I believe it’s time for government
to open up the tendering process,” Mr. Miller said, adding that it is
especially important “in this age of transparency and everybody wanting to make
sure they have full knowledge of all and sundry that goes on in government.”
Premier McKeeva Bush said that
government would consider Mr. Miller’s motion, but he declined to make any
promises since the government’s current bid process is undergoing a review by
the auditor general’s office.
“I would support this motion, but I
would like to…put in the word ‘consider’, so that the review will consider it,”
Mr. Bush said.
The motion follows two high-profile
controversies involving bids on government projects. Auditors began a review of
the bidding process for the proposed nationwide public closed-circuit
television surveillance system more than a month ago.
While that review was quietly
proceeding, a major controversy erupted over bids for US$185 million in
borrowing that government sought to fund ongoing operations.
Premier Bush has acknowledged that
he ignored recommendations of the Central Tenders Committee to select a joint
bid of two locally operating banks for the financing package. Rather, Mr. Bush
chose a New York-based investment firm in private negotiations.
Mr. Bush said he did so because the
agreement reached with Cohen and Company Ltd was the best deal for the Cayman Islands.
“The fact is, the government of the
country was elected to run the country,” Mr. Bush said. “Cabinet must be the
final arbiter…not an appointed board.”
Mr. Bush said there would be
changes to the Central Tenders Committee.
“We have agreed that the current
process needs to be changed…there will be a whole new reworking of the
membership,” the premier continued, adding that he hoped that reworking would
occur before the auditor general’s review is completed in April.
Aside from the ongoing disputes
over the recent bids, Mr. Bush noted that total openness and transparency with
regard to certain government bids is likely impossible.
Mr. Bush said it also might be
difficult to get individuals to serve on various appointed boards and
committees if meetings all had to be held in public.
In July 2007, when he was
opposition leader, Mr. Bush put forth a private member’s motion asking for the
meetings of several appointed boards to be open to the public.
“This is something the public has
been asking for,” Mr. Bush said during his Legislative Assembly debate in 2007.
“We’ve heard many times…especially in relation to the Central Planning
Authority board, that this must be done.”
Then-Leader of Government Business
Kurt Tibbetts said the People’s Progressive Movement party would seriously consider
the motion. However, Mr. Tibbetts said such a move might be impractical.
“This motion…calls for costs to be
incurred, costs which have not been accounted for,” Mr. Tibbetts said.
Of Cayman’s more than 100 appointed
government or quasi-government boards, only four currently hold open meetings.
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