After reading today’s front-page story, we would suggest residents of the Cayman Islands be very afraid, not only of the dangers lurking in the toxic, combustible landfill, but also of believing the promises of politicians.
As chronicled in 25 years of Legislative Assembly records, elected officials have discoursed countless times about committees and subcommittees; studies, reports and consultants; overarching solid waste management strategies, recycling and waste-to-energy; and the stages and phases of proposed solutions that are, nonetheless, never enacted.
A succession of new governments have come along, each choosing to start over from square one with expensive, time-consuming and repetitive processes that always seem to include “fact-finding trips” abroad.
Self-styled environmentalists often raise a hue and cry about Grand Cayman not having a recycling program. Nonsense: Our politicians have been recycling rhetoric and landfill plans for decades.
Now Minister Bodden would like us to keep quiet and accept unquestioningly that his government is the one that’s finally going to resolve this crisis. In his letter, Minister Bodden makes the following claims:
Construction on a waste management plant “should” start in 2015, be finalized in 2016 and become operational in 2017 (a timeline two years shorter than the one posed by his own consultants).
“We don’t know what plant or what costs we will end up with,” but any plant will likely cost at least $100 million.
The plant won’t cost the Caymanian people anything, but will be funded by an investor who will be repaid over a long-term period of at least 20 years.
Minister Bodden does have a way with language – a fast and loose way, throwing words around with no regard for substantiating evidence.
Let’s translate the minister’s political-speak to reflect what he would like Cayman to believe: After 15 months of working on this problem, the government has not identified a solution. Whatever it is, it will cost at least $100 million – of which, however, the voting taxpayers will not pay one cent because the government thinks it can find an investor who can deliver the solution without expecting total payback for at least 20 years. Most importantly, all of this will happen by 2017, just in time for the next election.
Minister Bodden, process does not equate to progress. The George Town landfill is a serious issue with serious health and environmental implications, and our “agenda,” if that’s what you choose to call it, is to see that this threat is remedied as quickly as possible.
During last year’s campaign, you made your own electoral agenda perfectly clear, promising “the people of Bodden Town that, if elected, you would vote against any proposal in the Legislative Assembly which involves establishing a waste management facility in Bodden Town” – this according to a May 2013 statement from the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free.
Since you and your Bodden Town colleagues – Anthony Eden, Wayne Panton and Alva Suckoo – pledged to exempt your district from a waste management solution, you have been true to your word, notwithstanding the grander consequences.
Here’s a better pledge for you to sign, one based not on the concerns of a small special interest group, but on your own utterances: “I do solemnly swear that if a new waste management facility is not in operation in Grand Cayman by 2017, I will withdraw my name from consideration for reelection.”
Minister Bodden, you have made a vow in writing once before, for the benefit of your district. Are you willing to sign another one, for the benefit of your country?
Do your colleagues – especially the representatives from George Town, which has suffered the dump’s presence and pollutants for decades – have sufficient faith in your timeline to sign on as well?
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Politicians has no business in an engineers project folder. Sounds like a public works department’s responsibility to me. Matter of fact, if the management structure was functioning logically, there would not be a question as to what, how long, where, or cost, just the funding, allocation and access to the fund site. Politicians need to get out of engineering business, get the contracting office on line, give the public works department back their clout to manage the country’s national plan, look at the pretty pictures and get the money to get it done.
Public Works is the contingency in strategic planning for our national objectives. Their report card and annual evaluation should be based on milestones crossed, and objectives met as outlined in the national plan. How can we ever hold a politician accountable, media reports or by electing another novice. I would like to hear reports on the achievements of our national objectives, not just the achievements or failures of a political party’s agenda. Can you say, project flow charts and means catalog. Pass the business case to engineering, and look at the pretty pictures. By the way, why all these consultations, if we are lacking in the engineering department, we should request someone be seconded from the UK to help out. Temporary duty, anyone wants to go to Cayman for six months TDY. They are building an Air-Craft Carrier and need some help with the specifications. Sorry, no criminal investigative team this time.
How does he know that it will be started in 2015, finished in 2017 and that it will be funded by an investor who will be repaid over a long-term period of at least 20 years. If he doesn’t know what the solution will be yet?
Also how will this fairy tale investor get repaid, if it’s not coming from Tax payers ?
Oh yeah. my bad. They will make money selling or burning the garbage that’s laced with gold.
its not going to happen I can see it already. How long as this been an issue? forever someone really needs to address the matter.
As an annual visitor to your beautiful island, I was thrilled to take a helicopter tour last year. That is when I saw for the first time the extent of your refuse problem in the form of mount trashmore I sincerely hope your politicians have the will to tackle this problem sooner rather than later. I wish you all the very best.