PPM fights back on finances and immigration

Former finance minister Roy McTaggart has dismissed suggestions that the People’s Progressive Movement is to blame for the state of the country’s finances and urged his rivals to accept responsibility and “take the heat”.

Speaking to the Compass following a sobering pre-election financial forecast, McTaggart fired back at his political opponents, saying it defied logic to blame the opposition for the decisions of the government.

He said “blatant untruths” had crept into the campaign trail, and he defended his party’s record in managing the country’s finances during its time in office. 

McTaggart said the blame lay with the two independent coalitions – the Wayne Panton-led PACT and Juliana O’Connor-Connolly-led United People’s Movement – that have held the reins of power since the last election.

“Since 2021, we have been sitting in opposition to the government. This is their budget. These are their figures,” he insisted.

“We have no influence over a sitting government … to do anything with their budget. Their attempt to blame us for it is just an act of desperation on their part.”

McTaggart defended the Progressives’ decision to take on three members of the current government – Premier O’Connor-Connolly, Deputy Premier Kenneth Bryan and cabinet minister Dwayne Seymour – but insisted that did not tie his party to their record over the past four years. He said they would operate differently within a party structure rather than the chaos of an independent coalition.

And he pointed out that five members of The Caymanian Community Party – including its leader André Ebanks – were also influential members of the two independent-led coalitions that have run the country since 2021. He said they should take responsibility for their decisions and “quit trying to pass the blame”.

Fighting back against accusations that the PPM must also shoulder responsibility for the surge in work permits, McTaggart added that the population had grown by 19,000 in the three years since his party left office.

“That was the work of the PACT government, not the PPM,” he said. “So they have to accept responsibility for the results of the policies that they put in place. They have to accept it and take whatever political heat needs to be heaped on them because of it.”

PPM Release

Budget forecast projects deficit

The pre-election budget forecast indicates government will likely end the next financial year in deficit – meaning cuts to government services or new revenue measures will be needed.

The updated forecast released by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development shows that there is likely to be an operating deficit of $26.2 million by the end of 2025, instead of a projected surplus of more than $50 million.

Following those projections, both The Caymanian Community Party and the Cayman Islands National Party pointed the finger at the PPM.

TCCP leader Ebanks, in a press release earlier this month, blamed “overspending on vanity projects, broken promises, and the failure to implement planned revenue measures” as key drivers of the shortfall.

Ebanks criticised the PPM for embracing figures from the United People’s Movement who played central roles in creating the current financial situation.

“The PPM can’t claim to be a responsible alternative while they elevate the very individuals who pushed Cayman into this deficit,” said Ebanks. “This isn’t a fresh start – it’s the same players, same tactics, and same consequences under a different banner.”

Ebanks has previously stated that divisions over spending – including the $60 million allocation for a new school in Cayman Brac – were among the reasons he and his fellow breakaway MPs resigned in October 2024. He suggests much of the spending that led to the current state of affairs came after his departure from government last year.

However, McTaggart insists the budget issues are tied to Ebanks and his fellow TCCP members.

“When you follow the numbers, the projected deficit is tied to spending and commitments by the ministers who quit,” he claimed.

Dan Scott, the leader of the Cayman Islands National Party, has pointedly described the current government as a “PPM-led administration”. During the leadership debate earlier this month, he repeatedly sought to tie the PPM to the decisions of the current government, because of their partnership with Bryan, O’Connor-Connolly and Seymour.

He said Cayman’s finances were in a “scary place”, and suggested the PPM has a generally poor track record on running the country’s finances, something the party has refuted, pointing to its record of running budget surpluses and curtailing borrowing.

McTaggart does not accept the premise that working with those three MPs ties his party to their performance record over the past four years.

“That’s just a real long stretch to blame us now for this, because we have no influence, nor do we try to influence them in how they operate in their government,” he said.

“How they performed over the past four years was a different construct from what we would have going forward, where they are a part of the team and subject to the policies of the party, rather than having a situation where they’re all acting as independents in their own interests.

“It just was never a healthy situation. There was no unity amongst them. And so it’s a totally different construct, this time going forward with them.”

Balancing the budget

McTaggart believes that clamping down on wasteful spending would be enough to bring the budget back from the brink. But he acknowledged compromises would be needed.

He said the situation was concerning, but is something that could be managed. And he said a PPM administration would look to bring the budget back into balance swiftly.

The PPM, in a press release Tuesday, pointed to its record of increasing budget surpluses from $56 million in 2013 to $143 million in 2019, before COVID-19 impacted the country’s financial position. It added that government’s overall debt stood around $220 million when it left office.

“Within two years under PACT, that figure doubled to over $450 million,” it added.

“The PPM was not in charge when the country’s finances were being mismanaged.

“Under the last PPM-led Government, Cayman achieved a strong and stable financial position, recording consistent surpluses, maintaining healthy reserves, and keeping public debt under control. We are the only party that has successfully navigated the country through past financial crises and emerged stronger.”