Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush said Tuesday the controversy over the visa requirement for Jamaicans has caused disunity in the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Bush, who made the comments prior to the Government’s official announcement on the measure on Wednesday, also criticised the haste in which the Government implemented the measure.
‘The whole thing is half-cocked,’ he said. ‘It’s absolutely ridiculous. You can’t just spring this on both countries.
‘You can’t push a policy like this through without advance notice.’
Although he does not necessarily oppose a visa requirement for people from certain countries if there is truly a need and it is implemented fairly and in the correct way, Mr. Bush expressed concerns that Jamaicans were being unfairly singled out for the increasing crime problem in the Cayman Islands.
‘Of course this is aimed at Jamaicans,’ he said. ‘And that is a dangerous thing.
‘If the Government thinks it must implement a visa system for Jamaicans, then they should say what the reasons are. If it’s because of crime, they should show empirical evidence.
‘If they’re doing this based just on an opinion that Jamaicans are creating crime, then this is wrong.
‘If the Government thinks we need to protect our borders from some kind of threat, then let us know what it is.’
In making the announcement of the measure on Wednesday, the Government said the new visa requirements for the four countries including Jamaica were made for the reasons of better border control alone.
‘There is no reason for anyone to suggest reasons otherwise,’ said Chief Secretary George McCarthy.
Mr. Bush also said the measure needed to be implemented in the right way and with ample planning.
‘Where are the plans for how they’re going to do this?’ he asked. ‘How are they going to handle this? Are they going to have a Consular General in Jamaica to issue visas?’
The Government clarified those plans on Wednesday. Deputy Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks said the decision to implement a visa requirement for Jamaica and three other countries was made last summer, and the plans were made from then.
Mr. Bush said Cayman and Jamaica has a long relationship and that Cayman needs Jamaicans here.
‘We cannot build this country by ourselves,’ he said. ‘Jamaicans have been good to this country. Jamaica has provided us with teachers, doctors, lawyers, pastors, businessmen and even judges.’
The implementation of the visa requirement on Jamaicans without proper notice could negatively affect business, Mr. Bush said.
‘There are many Jamaican businessmen and others travelling here legitimately,’ he said.
The Government said on Wednesday that it is standard procedure for governments not to announce such measures in advance.
Mr. Bush also said the visa requirement could affect some of the churches here including the United Church of Jamaica.
‘We have a long-time and serious relationship between the United Church, and of course with the Seventh Day Adventist Church.’
Mr. Bush blamed the current Government for helping to foster hatred between Caymanians and Jamaicans.
‘(The Government) is far too willing to blame other people for our problems,’ he said, noting that Cayman has its own ‘home-grown criminals.’
‘They are blaming the crime wave on the previous government and on Jamaicans,’ he said.
Mr. Bush acknowledged that there have been problems with some Jamaicans committing crimes in Cayman.
‘But there is no evidence that Jamaicans are causing all the crime,’ he said.
The Opposition Leader noted the Government has blamed the previous administration for allowing Jamaicans without the proper police clearances to come to the Cayman Islands to work after Hurricane Ivan.
‘There is no truth to it. It is tremendously irresponsible to say that when there is no truth to it. They’re willing to say anything so they don’t get blamed for anything,’ he said.
Mr. Bush said he found it surprising, given the current crime situation, that Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts failed to address the issue of crime during the recent sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
‘Kurt didn’t say one word on crime,’ he said. ‘He’s the leader of this country. We should have heard from him.’
Mr. Bush also commented on the remarks made by Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson last Saturday at the Chamber of Commerce 40th Anniversary dinner, saying what Mr. Patterson said should not have surprised anyone.
‘He’s the Jamaican Head of State. What did they expect him to say?’
Mr. Bush said he was concerned about Mr. Patterson’s apparent threat to impose visa restrictions on Caymanians if the measure to require visas for Jamaicans travelling here is imposed.
‘If Caymanians have to get a visa to go to Jamaica to get a US visa, that would not be good,’ he said.
Chief Secretary George McCarthy said Wednesday that the Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs had not raised the issue of reciprocity of visa requirements when he had been informed of the visa requirement for Jamaicans coming to Cayman.
Mr. McCarthy did not speculate on whether the Jamaican government would make such a reciprocal visa requirement.
‘It is difficult to say at this time,’ he said.
Mr. Bush said he had already looked into the possibility of getting the US to set up an American Consulate office here that could issue visas for Caymanians. He raised the subject during a trip to Washington in 2003.
‘The American Consulate in Jamaica had stopped coming here to issue student visas and other kinds of visas, and I recognised that people were going to have to go to Jamaica for US visas.’
Mr. Bush said the Americans responded by saying they would not open a consulate here because the expense could not be justified.
‘We even offered to pay for it, but they said they would never allow another country to pay for a consulate.’
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