When Parliament resumes sittings next week, government will face a barrage of Opposition questions, the most pressing being the status of the ReGen project and its financial close.
With the swirling uncertainty around both the costs and the progress of the project, Leader of the Opposition Roy McTaggart has filed a parliamentary question seeking an update from Premier Wayne Panton on the new date for the financial close for ReGen.
Questions remain
He is also asking that the House be advised whether the scope of the project has changed since the March 2021 contract-signing between the Dart-led consortium and the previous Progressives-led government, and if so, what those changes were.
The financial close date has been moved several times, with no final timeline yet announced.
The project has been a source of contention in recent weeks following the sudden departure of Deputy Premier Chris Saunders from the PACT administration.
Saunders objected to the project as he pointed to the $2 billion financial burden it would place on the nation.
That figure was disputed by Panton who suggested it would cost in excess of $1.5 billion.
To date, there has been no clarity on the reasons for the escalating costs.
George Town North MP Joey Hew, in whose constituency the George Town landfill sits, is also taking aim at the management of the existing dump.
He has filed a parliamentary question to Health and Wellness Minister Sabrina Turner asking her to advise whether any improvements have been made to the management of the George Town landfill – including compacting and covering the waste material – and whether the Department of Environmental Health regularly douses the landfill with water in an effort to prevent fires.
Earlier this month, a Cayman Compass special investigation pointed out that there have been more than 50 fires at the George Town landfill and another 600,000 tons of waste added to the site since government announced in 2017 that a deal had been struck to fix the long-running issue.
In addition, Opposition MPs David Wight and Barbara Conolly are seeking answers on the status of the motion on increased assistance to Caymanian home buyers, education policy and teaching standards.
Road safety concerns
Red Bay MP Alden McLaughlin is also looking for updates on projects including the mental health facility, the Seafarers Park in the heart of George Town, and the Eddie Sanchez Park in Prospect.
He has also filed two motions relating to road safety and traffic.
McLaughlin, through a private member’s motion, is asking government to consider “authorizing and instructing the responsible agency or agencies to provide sidewalks in heavily travelled areas and suitable traffic calming measures, including speed humps as required generally, but especially along Selkirk Drive, Abbey Way and Marina Drive”.
He said this was to ensure the safety of the roads in the Red Bay and Prospect communities.
“The constituencies of Red Bay and Prospect Park have been the scene of fatal motor vehicle accidents over the years, the most recent being a fatal single car collision on Mangrove Avenue in February 2022,” he said in his motion.
In the recently released annual Crime and Traffic Statistical Report from the RCIPS, 2,915 motor vehicle collisions were recorded, 14 of which were fatal, involving the deaths of 15 people.
McLaughlin’s motion also follows up on concerns raised by community members last week at a constituency meeting hosted by the MP, together with the RCIPS, at the Seafarers Hall.
The Red Bay MP is seeking, as “a matter of urgency”, that the government consider mandating private schools provide bus options for their students through either purchasing their own school buses or utilising the services of private-sector companies.
In addition, McLaughlin is asking government to consider offering duty-concession incentives to private schools to purchase their own buses.
The third meeting of Parliament is set for 26 April, starting at 10am.
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