PHILLIP EBANKS RUNS INDEPENDENTLY FOR RED BAY

Cayman Conversations

Attorney and former police superintendent Phillip Ebanks has thrown his hat in the ring as an independent candidate for the Red Bay seat in the April 30th election.

In an appearance on the Caymanian Times podcast Cayman Conversations with Ralph Lewis, Mr Ebanks said even though he chose to run as an independent candidate, he is nonetheless prepared to work within a team as a parliamentarian or minister.

“It seemed to me that the most straightforward way for me to present myself to the country was as an independent. I present myself an independent on the basis that it seems fairly clear to me, given that we don’t have this well-entrenched form of party system in the country, that it looks like we’re going to be heading towards another coalition government.”

Mr Ebanks who has a combined 40 years experience as a practising attorney and in law enforcement, said he brings a practical solutions-oriented perspective to politics both at the district and national levels.

He cites Cayman’s residency and citizenship system as being in need of urgent overhaul alongside immigration and employment policies.

“We still have the issue of feeling that Caymanians do not get the best opportunities to enter the workforce, but more importantly, to progress within the workforce, to get the better jobs and the opportunity to thrive,” he stated.

Saying there’s a need to rebalance this situation, Mr Ebanks proposes that the current method where jobs are advertised only two weeks before a work permit expires be reviewed.

He strongly advocates for a six-month window in order to give Caymanians a better shot at those jobs rather than resort to overseas recruiting as a norm.

“There is scope for us to ensure that there’s an avenue available to Caymanians to progress. And I think the way to handle that is through the work permit system, to make sure that when permits are issued and they’re coming up to renewal, there is a way and an avenue for advertisement…not two weeks in advance, but six months in advance.

Mr Ebanks is worried that under the current system, “careers are being stifled”.

He is also campaigning to overhaul inconsistencies in the residency and citizenship system. The Red Bay independent candidate feels however that this issue must be handled with due care and attention.

“We must have real immigration reform and real changing and solidification of policy that allows us to achieve that end. It is a big subject, and it has a variety of elements to it, including, how long people should wait for permanent residency, how many statuses we should be giving out and that type of thing. And I think we really need to have an open conversation about that and find a way forward to do that. And I think the best way to do that is to handle that calmly, competently, once we have a new government in place. It’s not the issue that you’re going to resolve in four weeks before an election.”

Another big concern for Mr Ebanks has is that of access to housing for Caymanians, and he has some ideas how to resolve the shortage.

“We have a major issue there with that. Not enough people are able to get housing. And we need to think bigger in terms of how we’re producing housing in the country. There are many good ideas out there…For example, one of the ideas, I think is worth pursuing is to make sure that we try to enter more public-private partnerships in producing houses in the volume that the population can get access to housing.”

Phillip Ebanks, the independent candidate for Red Bay is vying for the seat last held by retiring Speaker and former premier Alden McLaughlin.