Lawmakers voted to pass the 2011-2012 budget Monday night following four days of sometimes heated debate.
Government MLAs voted to pass the second reading of the Appropriation Bill, which effectively passes the budget. The individual budget items will now be voted on and signed off during a Finance Committee meeting of the Legislative Assembly, which continues this week before a third and final reading of the bill will be voted on.
Civil Service
Mr. Bush defended his government’s decision not to cut Civil Services jobs, despite calls by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office to make public sector cuts.
“Having budgeted for a deficit of $31.8 million for the entire public sector for the current fiscal year ending [30 June], we expect a small surplus of $5 million. By any standard, this is a remarkable performance, especially in the context of the three-year FCO plan in which we are engaged,” said Mr. Bush, adding that this was proof that the government’s “prudent fiscal management” was working.
Last year, the government committed to a three-year plan to reduce public debt and expenditure year on year to ensure it did not continue to incur operating deficits.
“We were certainly not prepared to interfere with personnel costs in a way that would lead to the detriment of the country’s employment level and the economy as a whole,” said Mr. Bush.
The premier said the government had cut expenditure while protecting jobs in the public sector for Caymanians.
He said the government’s operating expenses were now $489.9 million, which was below the targeted $490.2 million stipulated by the FCO.
The premier said more money was being spent in the coming fiscal year, which begins next month, on the budget on policing, teaching and healthcare services.
Demo
Nearing the end of his debate, Mr. Bush said he had just heard that a march would be held in George Town next week.
The march, organised by the People’s Progressive Movement party, independent North Side MLA Ezzard Miller, the Concerned Citizens Group, Save Cayman and others, is to protest against “the East End mega quarry, the North Sound dredging, and the planned closure of [a portion of] West Bay road”, according to a press release issued Monday.
The public demonstration is scheduled to be held at noon on Tuesday, 28 June.
“They want a demonstration? Let them go ahead. I will not buckle under that kind of pressure,” Mr. Bush said. He added: “They can go ahead and march until fowls cut teeth and they shall not be acknowledged by McKeeva Bush.”
Rollover
Leader of the Opposition Alden McLaughlin, in his speech during the debate last week, called for widespread changes to the term-limit policy, known as rollover. [See Caymanian Compass, 20 June].
Responding to those comments, Mr. Bush suggested that Mr. McLaughlin had undergone a transformation similar to that of “Saul to Paul” on the Road to Damascus, saying the Leader of the Opposition had previously said in a debate in 2008 when the PPM was in power that the rollover policy was “here to stay”.
He said Mr. McLaughlin was playing politics and looking to garner votes in the 2013 election when calling to abandon or change the rollover policy, and pointed out that the current Leader of the Opposition was on the Immigration Review Team that recommended a five-to-seven year rollover policy.
However, Mr. Bush agreed that the Islands’ immigration policy needed “to be re-examined to encourage business people to relocate to Cayman”. He said permanent residence status should not be reserved for white collar workers, saying blue collar workers, like gardeners or labourers, should also be granted the right to continue to live and work in Cayman beyond seven years.
The premier lashed out at the opposition, who he said were spreading rumour of corruption about him and calling his integrity into question, accusing its members of failing to understand economics and offering “no viable alternatives” to the budget items.
“The continual criticism continues to affect our economy and our people,” said Mr. Bush, who added: “With all the talk that has gone on here in the past week, I never heard one thing come across that said this will raise revenue or pay civil service or pay pensioners or pay for schools or create jobs – not one single idea.”
The budget bill was passed by nine votes – all on the UDP government’s side – with three abstentions from Kurt Tibbetts, Arden McLean and Ezzard Miller. Mr. McLaughlin, Moses Kirkconnell and Anthony Eden were absent for the vote.
Mr. Bush, who is chairman of the Finance Committee in his capacity as minister of finance, told members to expect several late nights ahead to complete the business of the committee.
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How can you defend a budget which changes from day to day? Does he even know the state of his country’s finances? How can you be a party to a financial system where audits are an endangered species?
To listen to our exhalted leader, he says so much about nothing as he knows nothing about anything. Every time he opens his mouth he speaks from a different side. So how do you trust or lend creedance to anything he says? Its simple, you dont and before this man who knows nothing about anyhting, get him out of power and people, please vote with your head and not your heart.
Well, we have seen this sort of thing before, not only in the Caribbean, but in other parts of the world, in countries large and small. It is, simply, frightening in its revelation of small-minded lack of competence, and unwillingness to put country before Party and self.