Though Premier Wayne Panton was aware of a complaint lodged against Sports Minister Bernie Bush by a female civil servant in February, it was only following the intervention, months later, by Deputy Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, that the MP issued an apology.
O’Connor-Connolly, in a statement to the Cayman Compass Friday, sought to clear the air on her role in controversy surrounding Bush.
While she was acting premier in May, when Panton was off island, she said, it was brought to her attention that “a Minister was accused of making unwelcome remarks to a civil servant earlier in the year”.
Those remarks, which the Compass reported on Friday, involved lewd comments Bush had made to a female Caymanian civil servant on 28 Feb., which she reported to her seniors, who in turn reported it to the premier.
The minister, in a 4 May apology letter to the civil servant, referred to his comments as a “joke”, which he said had no “malintent”, though he accepted that it was “unprofessional”.
Despite this, the civil servant said the incident has left her upset and she has had to seek mental health support.
O’Connor-Connolly, in her statement to the Compass, indicated the matter was not dealt with until she intervened when it was brought to her attention in May.
She said she was informed at that time that the civil servant “was not happy that nothing appeared to have been happening about her written complaint”.
The deputy premier added,”I immediately contacted the said Minister and asked him to attend my office and he promptly did so. He maintained that his comment was a joke, but agreed that, out of the abundance of caution, he would offer his apology,” she said.
Following that, she said, she was “reliably informed” that a meeting was held in the premier’s conference room with Panton’s senior staff the same afternoon – 4 May – and that a written apology was tendered by the minister and received by the civil servant. Though Panton was not on island at that time, she said he was notified and had indicated he was already aware of the complaint against the minister.
“The Honorable Premier was consulted from the time I was notified and, in fact, intimated that he was familiar with the original complaint. He was also fully briefed by his office that same afternoon,” she said.
When asked why no action had been taken prior to her intervention, the deputy premier said, “I have no idea. All I know is that when it was brought to my attention that afternoon, I immediately called the Minister in.”
Bush, who had been repeatedly contacted for a response, has not responded to requests for comment.
The minister is alleged to have made comments about the size of his private parts to the woman, and made reference to condoms while gesturing towards his crotch.
Bush issued his apology in person and in writing.
He said, in the letter to the civil servant, “with the benefit of hindsight, I wish that I had not pursued comments which were meant to invoke jovialness and a moment of light-heartedness. Certainly, there was no malintent with respect to my comments. I previously apologized to you in person and offer this in writing as well. I give you my full assurance that it will not happen again.”
The woman has pressed the premier and civil service leaders to take the incident more seriously.
So far the only comment Panton has made in response to Compass questions over the past two weeks is a general claim that he has an unparalleled record of “holding members of government accountable for inappropriate behaviour”.
In response to our questions about a potential case of harassment, he wrote, “I do not tolerate matters such as harassment. Other than what is already in the public domain and which has previously been the subject of action and commentary, I am not aware of any other such matters levelled against any member of Government.”
Following further messages clarifying the exact nature of the incident, he did not respond.
He did not respond to questions on Friday regarding the deputy premier’s comments about his knowledge of the incident.
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