Two local lawmakers raised the spectre of the Turks and Caicos Islands over Cayman on Friday after statements were made by Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush upbraiding territorial Governor Duncan Taylor.
A story that relates Mr. Bush’s and Mr. Taylor’s various remarks can be found elsewhere on this page.
North Side Member of the Legislative Assembly Ezzard Miller and East End MLA Arden McLean said Friday in a joint statement that they viewed the premier’s comments “with great concern”, stating the verbal attack on Mr. Taylor had been done in a most “vitriolic and inappropriate way”.
“This is a typically arrogant and misguided attempt by the premier to deflect attention from the position he has found himself in,” the joint statement read. “It is not Mr. Taylor’s signature that is on a demand letter to [Atlanta, Georgia-based developer] Stan Thomas, it is Mr. Bush’s. It is not Mr. Taylor who is allegedly caught up in an illegal attempt to import explosives into the Cayman Islands, it is Mr. Bush.”
The MLAs said they feared Premier Bush, by making such statements, was risking the “long-established and mutually beneficial relationship that Cayman and the UK have enjoyed”.
“We are extremely concerned that Mr. Bush’s approach draws eerie similarities to what happened in the Turks and Caicos Islands, which led to the suspension of their constitution, the removal of their elected government and multiple persons being charged with corruption and other abuses of power.”
Both MLAs urged Mr. Bush once again to “explain his relationship” to the three ongoing police investigations.
Opposition Leader Alden McLaughlin did not go so far as to liken Cayman’s situation to the one now faced by the Turks and Caicos Islands. However, he said Saturday that it was crucial for Mr. Bush to either explain his actions or step aside.
“He has offered the country no credible explanation for why he’s being investigated after more than two years since the disclosure of this Stan Thomas letter, other than to say at one time that it was a real estate bill,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “What is his relationship to Stan Thomas? What services did he provide to Stan Thomas? These are the questions the public deserves some answer to.
“Mr. Bush at this stage only has two choices: Either he tells the public what these investigations are about or failing that, his continuing in office and increasingly bringing the Cayman Islands into disrepute should be resolved by him stepping down.”
United Kingdom Overseas Territories Minister Henry Bellingham revealed last month the massive scale of Britain’s criminal investigation within the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Mr. Bellingham told the Turks and Caicos media that the criminal probe on the heels of a 2009 Commission of Inquiry that found a “high probability of systemic corruption in the former Turks and Caicos Islands government” was making good progress.
“Thirteen people have been charged with corruption, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering,” Mr. Bellingham said.
The costs of the UK Special Investigation and Prosecution Team’s work in Turks were nearly US$6.9 million during the Islands 2010/11 budget year and US$7.6 million for the 2011/12 year. Those costs were paid by the local government.
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