Juliana O’Connor-Connolly is the new leader of the Cayman Islands. Embattled Premier Wayne Panton agreed to step down after his leadership was widely condemned in a vote of no confidence in Parliament Tuesday.
His successor, and former deputy, was sworn in at the Governor’s Office Wednesday evening following a day of negotiations to establish a new United People’s Movement from the embers of the PACT coalition.
Governor Jane Owen confirmed the much publicised news at 8pm Tuesday saying, “I have received a clear proposal to form a new Government, led by Premier Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and Deputy Premier, Hon. Andre Ebanks.
“This group enjoys a clear majority of support from the elected members of Parliament.
“I have accepted this proposal and am looking forward to working with the new Government. We have a busy agenda going forward and we need to focus on that effort in the coming weeks.”
West Bay West MP McKeeva Bush released the new line-up to the Cayman Compass around 6pm and said that all the new Cabinet members had been sworn in and were now immediately getting to work.
O’Connor-Connolly’s deputy in the new administration will be André Ebanks. Both abstained in Tuesday’s vote, opting not to support the government.
Panton has resigned as premier and is not in Cabinet or caucus in this new group. He will be nominated as Speaker in place of Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, who will take over his old ministerial position leading the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency.
The reshuffle has persuaded previous PACT defectors – Dwayne Seymour and McKeeva Bush – to come back to the fold. Chris Saunders remains as an independent on the Opposition bench.
The new formulation, put together following discussions which went on through the night Tuesday, gives government an 11-7 majority in the House, with Panton in the Speaker’s chair – subject to his election in the house – and officially neutral.
The government press release paid tribute to Panton, who later issued his own statement of thanks to the country.
O’Connor-Connolly said in a press release, “One of the key aspects of this smooth transition is the retention of the existing Cabinet Ministers, as a testament to the group’s commitment to continuity and stability.
“The UPM is determined to be innovative and to accelerate the delivery of results for the people of the Cayman Islands.”
The new United People’s Movement Cabinet is:
- Juliana O’Connor-Connolly – Premier and Minister for Finance, Education, District Administration, Lands and Cabinet Office
- André Ebanks – Deputy Premier, Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, and Investment, Innovation and Social Development
- Katherine Ebanks-Wilks – Minister for Sustainability and Climate Resiliency
- Dwayne Seymour – Minister for Border Control, Labour and Culture
- Isaac Rankine – Minister for Youth, Sports and Heritage
- Sabrina Turner – Minister for Health, Wellness and Home Affairs
- Kenneth Bryan – Minister for Tourism and Ports
- Johany ‘Jay’ Ebanks – Minister for Planning, Agriculture, Housing, Infrastructure and Transport and Development
Bernie Bush loses his Cabinet post in the reshuffle, having apparently stepped aside to free up a Cabinet seat for Ebanks-Wilks, but will support the new government from the back benches, along with Heather Bodden and McKeeva Bush, whose defection from PACT last week was the catalyst that ultimately toppled Panton.
The new government, in its first press release, outlined five broad priorities:
- Improve the quality of life for Caymanians;
- Enhance competitiveness while meeting international standards;
- Modernise the government to improve public sector performance;
- Future proofing to increase resilience; and
- Protect and promote Caymanian culture, heritage and identity.
Former Premier and Speaker Bush said he was happy to be “father of the House” and “the people’s watchdog”, and would provide support and experience to the new grouping.
He said the name signified the need for unity in the islands, and expressed confidence that the new coalition would get the priorities right.
“There is a lot to be done for our people and to keep Cayman better off economically, socially, and to strengthen our foundation against the negatives of a developing small island state, especially one that has been as successful as our islands,” he said.
The new coalition will have a short space of time to finalise its budget and get it passed before the end of the year.
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, speaking to the Compass outside the Government Administration Building, said all 12 members had made a commitment to co-operate and keep this new government together through the budget to the next general election.
He said the public could expect a new atmosphere of transparency where the group would be regularly accessible to the press and public.
He said the new premier and deputy premier planned to hold a press briefing to explain the government’s direction.
“Much of the spirit of the PACT administration is still there but in the interests of moving forward in a slightly different direction, we have changed the categorisation… and it’s now called the United People’s Movement.
“We found that one thing that kept us together is staying united for Cayman people and, in order for us to reflect and show a difference between the PACT and this new group, going forward, it was important to change the name as well, to reflect and show the difference between the PACT and this new group.”
Seymour, who is returning to the role of labour and border control minster that he gave up when he resigned from PACT in September, told the Compass in a brief statement, “I am truly pleased with how hard the team worked all night in putting a government together to ensure that the country got the necessary reset that was needed to ensure our people get the best opportunities and support possible.”
Second time as premier for political survivor
O’Connor-Connolly, who ran in the 2021 general election as a member of the Progressives, having been the party’s education minister for four years, is now in her second term as premier.
She previously became leader of the country in 2012 at the helm of a minority government, following the ousting of McKeeva Bush as premier after he was charged with corruption in relation to credit card expenses (he was later cleared in court).
At that time, O’Connor-Connolly had been a member of Bush’s United Democratic Party, but broke away to form a minority government with other UDP defectors for a short-lived spell as premier in the run up to the 2013 general election.
O’Connor-Connolly ran in that election under the banner of the People’s National Alliance.
She was the only one of that group to get re-elected. She opted to become Speaker after the vote in a move which helped the Progressives form a majority government.
She then joined the Progressives, becoming education minister in 2017, before crossing the aisle once more after the 2021 vote to help shore up the PACT coalition and retain the education ministry.
She became deputy premier when Chris Saunders stepped down earlier this year and has now ascended to the top job.
Now she has reached the top job again – once more in the wake of a no-confidence motion against an elected premier – and this time at the helm of a new group, her fifth affiliation in the past decade, having gone from the UDP, to the PNA, to independent, to the Progressives, to PACT and now to the new UPM, which has largely the same membership as PACT.
André Ebanks, the financial services and social development minister, in his first term as a politician, has quickly progressed to the deputy leadership.
He has developed a strong reputation in his short term in office, leading government’s efforts to stay off the Financial Action Task Force ‘grey list’ and putting forward long-needed reforms to the welfare system.
Ebanks was one of only three PACT members to speak during Tuesday’s vote of no confidence, indicating his plan to abstain, but encouraging the group to come together and “exceed expectations”.
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