PITCHING FOR PROSPECT

By Staff Writer

In a generally collegiate atmosphere on Monday evening, the three candidates vying for the Prospect seat shared their views in response to a series of questions in the third Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum for this election season.

It’s a straight three-party race for Prospect.

Sabrina Turner, the incumbent and past health minister in the PACT and UPM(United People’s Movement) governments since 2021, now sits on the opposition benches and is running as a candidate with the newly-formed The Cayman Community Party(TCCP).

Michael Myles, who was edged out by Turner for the Prospect seat in the last election is making another bid, this time with another new political group, the Cayman Islands National Party(CINP).

Making her debut run is Crystal Gomez-Wilson of the main opposition People’s Progressive Party(PPM/Progressives).

Fielding a dozen questions the candidates addressed issues ranging from the cost of living, to road safety, reforming the pension system, healthcare improvement, flooding, the labour market, long-term development planning, the landfill, cruise and cargo port improvement and flood control. Among those several other pressing concerns emerged during their responses in the question-and-answer format.

TCCP candidate Turner, the incumbent MP, sought to project her achievements on areas within her previous portfolio, especially while she was minister of health in both PACT and UPM.

Notably on the issue of pensions, TCCP’s Turner lamented what she felt was the precarious financial situation of many pensioners impacted by the cost of living. Referring to pensioners resorting to early withdrawals from their pension under government-approved schemes, she cautioned that “short-term removals don’t help long-term needs.” and called for innovative solutions to safeguard the pension system.

PPM candidate Crystal Gomez-Wilson also said that current pension payments were inadequate to cope with the current cost of living demands. She said that this will be occupying her party’s policy agenda if they form the next government.

Michael Myles who is again challenging Sabrina Turner for the Prospect seat, said that alarm bells need to be sounded on the state of the entire pensions system. He suggested that the early withdrawals scheme during the COVID pandemic might have compounded the problem and urged that pension funds be invested in Cayman rather than in external markets to yield direct national benefits.

Immigration management and how that impacts jobs for Caymanians also came to the fore. The three candidates agreed that Caymanians should be both prepared and prioritised for jobs, especially in senior management positions when they become available.

The issue of the high cost of living which surfaced across several topics, saw the competing candidates agreeing that high electricity bills especially is a main factor. Incumbent Turner spoke of lowering the cost of fuel, making homes more energy efficient, and addressing regulatory issues “in a timely manner”.

But CINP challenger Myles pounced on that blaming the previous government of which Turner was a part. He said it had failed to renegotiate the electricity supply contract with the supplier Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) to get a better deal for consumers. Mr Myles said his party is committed to enacting a consumer protection law to which PPM’s Gomez-Wilson concurred.

“The CUC bills are absolutely astronomical!” she declared. “There has to be some protection around that.” The PPM candidate also said the high cost of health insurance is another concern that her party would look into.