West Bay North MP Bernie Bush has been stripped of the Home Affairs ministry and will be sent on two weeks leave without pay after comments about the fire service which violated the Constitution and Ministerial Code of Conduct, Premier Wayne Panton announced late Sunday night.
Bush, who will stay on as Minister of Sports, apologised for his comments and accepted the censure. Health Minister Sabrina Turner will assume responsibility for Home Affairs, which covers fire, prison and other uniformed services.
The reshuffle comes days short of the anniversary of government’s first year in office.
Panton, in a statement, said the decision follows Bush’s recent “infringements of Section 55 of the Constitution and breaches to two sections of the Ministerial Code of Conduct”.
Bush told the Cayman News Service this week that he had put a stop to ‘unacceptable bonuses’ being paid to fire chief Paul Walker to train Caymanians.
In the article, he argued this should be part of his job anyway.
He acknowledged ministers have no say in human resource issues for the civil service but said they do control the funding and indicated he used this power to end the payments.
Additionally, in comments to CNS Bush asserted that he refused to sign off on funding for a UK trip for Walker with Chief Fire Officer-in waiting Randy Rankin.
Section 55 of the Constitution, referred to by Panton in his statement, gives the Governor sole authority for the terms of employment of public officers, including salaries and bonuses. This is delegated to the Deputy Governor, Franz Manderson, as head of the Civil Service.
Ministerial Code of Conduct will be upheld
Panton, in his statement said, “Minister Bush’s conduct and comments in relation to the staffing of the Fire Service are infringements of Section 55 of the Constitution and breach Section 2.4 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct. Furthermore, other comments he made as Minister contravene Section 2.6.3 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.”
Panton, in addressing the situation, reminded that the PACT Government adopted a Ministerial Code of Conduct on July 27, 2021 and “in so doing, made a commitment to not only uphold the Code of Conduct, but to accept consequences if the Code was breached by a Minister”.
“We all agreed to hold ourselves to certain standards of conduct when adopting the Ministerial Code of Conduct last year. The consequence for this breach is, in part, that the responsibility for the Ministry of Home Affairs will be reassigned to Minister Sabrina Turner, effective Monday April 11th, 2022,” he added.
Bush, through the statement, accepted the decision.
“This has been a valuable lesson for me and I accept the consequence of my actions. The Premier continues to have my full confidence and support,” he said.
In addition to losing the Home Affairs portfolio, the Premier also required Minister Bush to apologise for his conduct to the Governor, Deputy Governor and the former Acting Chief Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs Michael Ebanks.
He will go on a two-week unpaid leave of absence from Cabinet from April 18, during which time East End MP Isaac Rankine will temporarily take over the Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage portfolio.
Since last Thursday there have been rumblings on the local political scene that the Home Affairs portfolio would be changing hands after Chief Officer Michael Ebanks suddenly tendered his resignation.
The Cayman Compass was informed that Ebanks, in his resignation letter to Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and Governor Martyn Roper, expressed concerns about his working relationship with Bush.
Manderson, in response to Compass queries Friday, said he was not in a position to comment.
As Chief Officer, Ebanks oversaw strategy, policy, operations and the administration of the Ministry of Home Affairs since taking up his appointment May last year.
Prior to that he was the deputy Chief Officer in the Ministry of Employment and Border Control, where he served just shy of four years.
Panton expressed confidence in Bush’s ability to continue to contribute to the country.
“I believe Minister Bush can make a substantial contribution to the good of our country in the areas of youth, sports, culture and heritage. These subjects align well with his interests and experience and his passion. I am optimistic that the unfortunate events of the past will bear no reflection on his future performance,” he said.
Public Service entities operating the Ministry of Home Affairs include the Cayman Islands Fire Service, Prison Service, Cadet Corps, Cayman Islands Regiment, Department of Community Rehabilitation and Department of Public Safety Communications (911).
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