Opposition members of the Legislative Assembly have questioned the wisdom of Cayman dealing with a Chinese government-owned company to build cruise port berthing facilities.
People’s Progressive Movement MLA for East End Arden McLean, citing the Cayman Islands Constitution, which states that the government needed permission from the governor and the secretary of state to negotiate with foreign governments, asked on what authority Premier McKeeva Bush’s government was negotiating with China Harbour Engineering, a state-owned firm.
“I would like to know if the governor, through the secretary of state, has given the premier authority to negotiate with a foreign country,” Mr. McLean said.
Opposition members, during their speeches as part of a debate on the budget, also raised concerns that China Harbour Engineering was subject to an investigation by the contractor general in Jamaica in relation to the spending of about US$9 million to build one kilometre, or 0.625 miles, of road in Christiana in Manchester, Jamaica.
Mr. McLean said: “There is nothing indicating there is anything untoward. All I know is the contractor general has requested information on these people. Now, I don’t know if that’s the same company… we should at least put two and two together and get four out of it – that this is the same company.”
He added: “I ask the government to be extremely careful and hasten slowly on this.”
Member for North Side Ezzard Miller also urged the government to be careful when entering into a contractual relationship with the Chinese company. He argued that in other countries where China Harbour Engineering had contracts, the company added nothing to the local economy and did not hire local labour as it brought its own workers and building supplies from China.
Mr. Miller told legislators that from what he had gathered from media reports in overseas countries where the company worked, its modus operandi was to lend money for the relevant project, bring in its own workers, who live on a compound and send their earned money back home, import its own supplies from China, and then the country that worked with the company still had to pay back the loan with interest.
In his response to the speeches by opposition members during the budget debate, Premier McKeeva Bush said the United Kingdom, United States and the European Union were working with the People’s Republic of China on multi-million deals and there was no reason why Cayman should not also deal with the Chinese government and its state-owned companies.
He said he had contacted the head of Jamaica’s National Works Agency, Patrick Wong, and reading from a letter from Mr. Wong, said that the Chinese company was not under investigation by the contractor general. He quoted the letter as saying: “It is standard procedure for Office of the Contractor General to request information from the National Works Agency on various projects on [the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme]. As far was we are aware, [China Harbour Engineering] is not under any investigation by the contractor general and the two contacts awarded to them were approved by Cabinet of Jamaica, which is the highest contracting authority of the country.”
Leader of the Opposition Alden McLaughlin criticised a series of failures to finalise deals to begin construction work on cruise berths in George Town. China Harbour Engineering is the fourth company that has been mooted to build the cruise berthing facility in George Town in three years.
“It has long been recognised that in order to continue to compete for the cruise ship business, Cayman must have modern berthing facilities. Because we do not have those facilities, many of the cruise lines are opting to bypass Cayman entirely or to significantly reduce the number of calls to the George Town port,” Mr. McLaughlin said.
He continued: “Businesses are dying, taxi drivers and tour operators are unable to pay their loans and mortgages,” adding that the sources had told the opposition that it is unlikely that cruise ship berthing could be completed in George Town before 2014.
Premier Bush announced last week that he had signed a ministerial memorandum of understanding with China Harbour Engineering to build a cruise berthing facilities in George Town, at Spotts Jetty and at the Cayman Turtle Farm in West Bay.
A ministerial memorandum of understanding is a non-binding agreement that has not yet been sent to Cabinet.
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The Chinese Government is notoriously corrupt and has shameful human rights for their citizens. On an ethical ground alone, Cayman should not be dealing with them. Knowing their track record, and with questionable accounting / billing practices with our neighbouring island should also have told them not to do business with them. Did they even check their references? Should have let DART Do it — the proof is in the pudding — look how they have handled every other project on the island — you see the quality of their work and the project completions, the standard of their work, and the fact that they treat their workers well. Well, I can only say — you get what you pay for. If the Cayman government is ripped off — they deserve what they get. No-one in their right mind would deal with the Chinese Government.
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