OFFICIAL OPPOSITION PPM TARGETED BY TCCP AND CINP IN LEADERS DEBATE

It was the only ‘debate’ (in the true sense of the word) of the 2025 Chamber of Commerce Election Candidate Forums, and it lined up the leaders of the three parties competing to form the next government of the Cayman Islands.

Joey Hew, leader of the main opposition People’s Progressive Movement (PPM/Progressives), Andre Ebanks leader of The Cayman Community Party(TCCP), and Dan Scott of the Cayman Islands National Party showed up to show why they should lead the next government.

Cayman will have a new government following the April 30th election as in an unusual twist of political circumstances, the current United Peoples Movement(UPM) government leader, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, was not present or represented in the Leaders Debate having joined the ranks of the main opposition PPM along with two of her ministers. Another member is campaigning as an independent.

For the most part, the debating party leaders reinforced policy positions they had expressed on the main recurring issues during their previous appearances in the forum.

But it was the targeting of the PPM which characterised the Leaders Debate more than any policy differences - or similarities - expressed by the participating leaders.

Elements of that repeatedly surfaced, especially with CINP leader Dan Scott constantly referring to what he called ‘the PPM-led government’ when questioning the policies of the outgoing UPM administration. He persisted despite PPM leader Hew stressing that his party has been out of government since 2021.

That effectively overshadowed the rest of the debate and was particularly noticeable during the closing statements with PPM/Progressives’ Mr Hew himself questioning if the TCCP which was formed out of a UPM fracture, and the new CINP were themselves forming an alliance.

“We are not working with anyone else. I can’t say the same for my opponents. But then again after tonight’s debate it’s quite obvious that they are one team because both of them are on the same page fighting against the PPM. They have no interest in debating each other but the PPM. Even though we were not in power for the last four years they are still crediting us for everything negative, whilst one has never been in government and the other was actually in the government for the last three and a half years as a minister and went on for another year as Deputy Premier of that government. Yet everything that has happened seems to be the PPM’s fault.”

TCCP Andre Ebanks doubled down on the PPM attack in his closing remarks claiming that the spectre of the party hung over the two governments he was part of since the 2021 elections.

Mr Ebanks was a minister in the PACT coalition of Wayne Panton (who is now a member of his TCCP). When PACT collapsed he joined its replacement UPM as Deputy Premier. Mr Ebanks and three others subsequently quit the UPM last year out of which he established the TCCP.

Referring to his government experiences since 2021, he observed: “Although there were successes, it is proven that the same sort of interests that are all now aligned transparently was going to block the transformative process to take Cayman to new heights. It isn’t that Dan Scott and I are working together. It could be and most likely is the fact that both groups recognise that the future is not with the Progressives. It’s more probable when all the evidence is stacked that the country is bursting to go into a new era.”

CINP’s Dan Scott maintained the unrelenting assault on the  PPM/Progressives when it was his turn to wrap up, again referring to the last government as being PPM-led. “Let’s be honest. After years of the PPM leadership, Cayman has had enough. As the current PPM-led government leaves office, they’re handing us a ticking time bomb…The Progressives like to talk about experience. They are indeed experienced in failure as a party, and if re-elected, they will deliver for you more of the same. CINP has a different vision.”

With the ruling UPM out of the runnings with its key members absorbed into the main opposition PPM, suggestions of a possible TCCP/CINP accommodation, and independents hedging their bets, the gloves are clearly off heading into the April 30th election.

Campaigning is expected to ramp up significantly after the Easter break.