NUMBERS COUNT IN THE GEORGE TOWN EAST FORUM

By Staff Writers

Former Minister of Finance and until recently Leader of the Opposition, Roy McTaggart came up against three challengers in the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum for the George Town East seat.

Aiming to take over control of the People’s Progressive Movement (PPM/Progressives) stronghold are Vassel Johnson Jr of the Cayman Islands National Party(CINP), Emily DeCou of The Cayman Community Party(TCCP) and independent candidate Oscar Bodden.

Views often diverged on how to tackle some of the seemingly intractable problems facing Cayman from traffic congestion to flood control, beach erosion, education, health insurance, pensions, immigration and the cruise pier referendum, among others.

MP Roy McTaggart, finance minister in a previous PPM government, did not mince words in his bid for re-election and a return to the post.

“I believe firmly the country needs someone like me back in the Ministry of Finance and as Minister of Finance to re-establish fiscal responsibility. What I’m seeing now deeply disturbs me and is worrisome.”

Vassel Johnson(CINP) who has come out of retirement to contest the seat, said if elected, the national debt, the management of the permanent status system, population growth and traffic congestion would get his immediate attention.

“The Caymanian way of life is quickly disappearing. We have a looming financial crisis. Our children are unable to find jobs, and young Caymanians cannot find housing, cannot afford housing.”

Oscar Bodden(IND) made his objectives clear: “To give our Caymanian people a better way of life. For far too long, we have been treated like citizens in our own islands. At the top of my agenda is education and apprenticeship programs. Affordable homes is another thing that is near and dear to my heart.”

A strident and targeted pitch against her opponents came from the TCCP’s Emily DeCou. “You can see from the table of people before you that I do stand out as a little bit different from the rest. I was not a part of the generation, and certainly not the previous governments that made some of the most dangerous decisions in our country’s recent history. Serving you is not a career break for me...Serving you is not a retirement game for me.”

The four George Town East contenders then proceeded to drill down into the issues confronting Cayman.

Johnson(CINP) reported on feedback from the public about their concerns: “Far and above any other issue, the national spending and national debt has to be number one. Other major issues raised were the rate of grants of Caymanian status and the growth of our population through immigration. We would be looking to slow that down. And the third one was traffic congestion.”

Independent candidate Bodden stated: “Without education there’s not much hope. Immigration, jobs for Caymanians and housing…The work permit situation is out of control. What I believe that we need to open a dialogue with some of these companies. And if you need 10 work permits, let’s go 50-50...It shouldn’t be a one-way street where we only get 10 work permits and no Caymanians employed. Also, focus really hard on succession planning with jobs for Caymanians.”

TCCP’s DeCou listed the landfill, education and renewable energy: “The landfill is not only an eyesore, but it is a heavy impact on our public health. Our environmental health could impact our economy, if it has not already begun to do so. When it comes to education, as it stands, we are haemorrhaging, quite frankly, at both ends when it comes to brain drain, as well as primary school students. A recent report showed that 74% of them are leaving primary school having not attained in core subjects. And when it comes to the rollout of utility-scale renewable energy, this speaks to overall sustainable development.”

PPM’s Roy McTaggart invoked his track record as finance minister to dramatically highlight his point about maintaining his seat and regaining control of the government’s finances.

“The country is going to have a fiscal deficit. We’re going to be spending more money than we actually take in. And what they’re projecting is that at the end of 2025, we will have a $26.2 million deficit…The end result of all of this, ladies and gentlemen, is that at the end of 2025 the government will fall afoul of the fifth framework for fiscal responsibility that we have successfully steered clear of for well over a decade…This needs to be addressed immediately, and when I’m elected, I hope to be there to be the one to lead it.”

Several other areas of financial management were addressed during the forum including shortcomings in the health insurance scheme impacting its affordability. Equally worrying concerns were outlined about pensions - especially the depletion of personal pension pots from withdrawals, and how pension funds are invested.

And with the financial services industry underpinning over half of the economy, the three George Town East candidates also put forward their views on supporting the long-term viability of the vital sector. Diversification into other sub-sectors such as reinsurance, ensuring career opportunities for Caymanians and maintaining compliance were also discussed.