We publish below in its entirety a Statement by the Premier and Minister of Finance that was made in Finance Committee on 27^th Aug 2012 and sent to us on Tue 28^th.

The statement concerns a front page article in the Caymanian Compass they published on Monday 27^th Aug and an article that appeared online on Cayman News Service (CNS) entitled “Mac stripped of finance job”.

After seeking to put the “record straight” Bush concludes:

“the front page article in Monday’s Caymanian Compass, its Editorial and the article by CNS entitled, “Mac stripped of finance job” are serious lies and bereft of professional                                                                                              journalism which the Caymanian Compass has been reduced   to, and CNS has always been.”

 

 

Statement by the Premier and Minister of Finance

Made in Finance Committee  27 August 2012

The front page article in the Caymanian Compass of 27 August 2012, its editorial and the article by Cayman News Service (CNS), are tragedies in reporting.

The articles are tragedies because: they are viciously inaccurate; and viciously misleading. It is easy to demonstrate why the articles are inaccurate and misleading.

Let us start with seemingly trivial and unimportant points.

The Caymanian Compass’ front page article is written by Mr Brent Fuller. The article states that a news conference was held outside the Legislative Assembly building on Friday (24 August 2012). This is incorrect: the Press Briefing was held inside the Legislative Assembly. Although the front page article is written by Mr Fuller, he was not present at the Press Briefing because the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly ruled that Mr Fuller must apologise for inaccurate reporting before he is allowed to return to the Legislative Assembly, and Mr Fuller and his employer, the Caymanian Compass, have refused to do so, to date.

The front page story in the Caymanian Compass speaks to the establishment of a “budget board” whilst its Editorial refers to a “financial oversight board”. Neither are correct: the letter from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (the “FCO”) requests the establishment of a “Budget Delivery Board”.

These seemingly trivial discrepancies point to an important area of concern that the Caymanian Compass ought to address: proper research and attention to detail to be its “modus operandi” – not sensational reporting and a rush to print.

The CNS article is misleading because its caption of “Mac stripped of finance job” is without foundation.

Let me now tell the Cayman Islands and the entire world, the truth in respect of the recent agreement between the Government of the Cayman Islands (the “Government”) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The FCO made a request and the Government has agreed to that request.

The FCO has requested the establishment of a Budget Delivery Board – under the leadership of the Deputy Governor, to drive delivery of Government’s budget commitments. The Government has agreed to this request.

The reason the Budget Delivery Board is to be headed by the Deputy Governor is quite simple: the vast majority of the Government’s budgetary commitments to restrain costs in this, and future, fiscal years emanate from changes that impact Civil Servants’ remuneration. Examples of the main commitments that impact Civil Servants’ remuneration are as follows:

1.         The Civil Service is to refrain from filling 80% of the posts that were budgeted in the 2012/13 fiscal year;

2.         The continuation of strict hiring moratorium in future years;

3.         Reduction in headcount of the Civil Service by 360 over the next 5 years;

4.         Establish a pay freeze on all Civil Service salaries;

5.         Implementation of a voluntary separation scheme;

6.         Implementation of a revised health plan for new Civil Servants;

7.         All fixed term contracts for Civil Servants over the age of 60 to be assessed at point 1 on the salary scale;

8.         New Police Officers joining the Civil Service are to have revised housing allowance; and

9.         The centralization of Finance and Human Resource functions.

The Deputy Governor has delegated responsibility from the Governor, for the entire Civil Service. It is therefore wholly appropriate for the Deputy Governor, who is also a Member of Cabinet, to head the Budget Delivery Board.

The Minister of Finance, which is an elected position and other Elected Ministers do not have any domain over the Civil Service: it is for this simple reason that the Minister of Finance does not head up this Board.

For the Editorial article in today’s Caymanian Compass to make the quantum leap from the truthful explanation I have provided in the two preceding paragraphs, to “stripping the responsibility of financial matters from the locally elected Minister of Finance”, is unbefitting of a newspaper that has been established since 1965.

Similarly, the CNS article purports that the Leader of the Opposition has said that “the conditions imposed on the Cayman Government’s 2012/13 budget by the UK have essentially removed most of the functions of the Finance Minister from the Premier.”

I have demonstrated that this view is incorrect.

The front page article by the Caymanian Compass quotes the Leader of the Opposition as saying “these financial requirements are very strict and it’s going to be a real challenge.” Does this mean that the Leader of the Opposition would not wish to abide by these requirements – including putting the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility into Law: a stance which the Opposition and the so-called independent Members of the Legislative Assembly have demanded? I hope the FCO is taking note of the significance of these remarks by the Leader of the Opposition because those remarks do not bode well for future acceptance of the requirements put forward by the FCO.

The Caymanian Compass also quotes the Leader of the Opposition as saying that “this Government has not taken the necessary steps to get expenditures and borrowing under control.”

This is a loose remark, if the Leader of the Opposition is quoted accurately by the Caymanian Compass, because the present Government does have borrowing under control: there was no increase in long-term borrowing in the fiscal year just ended on 30 June 2012 and there are no plans to incur any long-term borrowing in the year to 30 June 2013. There are not many Governments that can honestly say their Administration did not incur any long-term borrowing for 50%, or half, of their term – and it is certainly not a claim the previous PPM Administration can honestly make because that Government borrowed each year of its four-year term.

I also hope that the FCO notes the remark attributed to the Leader of the Opposition by the Caymanian Compass that “it’s a retrograde step” in respect of the FCO requirements made.

There are no matters existing in these islands on which the FCO would have grounds to remove any Minister from office or to remove responsibilities from any Minister.

In as far as my responsibilities as Minister of Finance – the Opposition, including the Compass, CNS and others would love to see me so embarrassed and are probably hoping for such an action, not caring what the consequences are for the Cayman Islands.

However, the UK has no such authority and no reasons under the Constitution which gives the powers of finance and section 54 – 1 which says, “The Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Premier, shall by directions in writing—

(a) charge any Minister with responsibility for the conduct (subject to this Constitution and any other law) of any business of the Government including responsibility for the administration of any department of government;

(b) designate the style by which any Minister so charged shall be known, but a Minister shall be charged with responsibility for finance.”

Let me repeat that: But a Minister shall be charged with responsibility for finance.

As to the Budget Delivery Board- the Constitution under section 54 – 6 gives the Minister powers to appoint such a board. Section 54 – 6 says, “A Minister charged under subsection (1) with responsibility for the conduct of any business of the Government may be assisted in the discharge of that responsibility by a board, committee or other similar body consisting wholly or partly of persons who are not public officers and established by a law made under this Constitution or by directions in writing given by the Minister concerned; and any such body shall have such advisory, consultative and administrative functions as may be conferred on it by such a law or directions, but, in exercising any such functions, the body shall be subject to the directions of the Minister concerned.”

What was that last part? (slowly) “…the body shall be subject to the directions of the Minister concerned.”

Section 111 and 112 also give general powers to the Minister of Finance:

Section 111 says:

“(1) The Legislature shall have the authority to levy or change the rates of revenue unless otherwise provided by law.

(2) All Government expenses, assets and the incurrence of liabilities shall require appropriation by the Legislature, unless otherwise provided by law.

(3) A law enacted by the Legislature shall govern the operation of the Government’s financial system and processes.

It should be noted that the Deputy Governor sits in the Legislative Assembly but does not have a vote in the Legislative Assembly nor in Cabinet.

Section 112 of the Constitution says:

“(1) At least one report annually shall be made to the Legislative Assembly on the Government’s financial performance and fiscal position.

(2) The content, timing and process for financial reporting and the agencies that are to report to the Legislative Assembly shall be prescribed by law.”

The UK would have to suspend these sections of the Constitution and also suspend the PMFL to strip me of my responsibilities as Minister for Finance. None of that has been done. It has not been done because there are no reasons to do so.

Certainly, if the FCO didn’t suspend any responsibilities when there was an 81 million dollar deficit and borrowing of over 400 million dollars by the last Government, then they have no reason… no powers even, to do so now; and I’m sure they would not be so spiteful as to suspend powers of a Government that has produced a budget with an 82 million dollar surplus and revenue of 90 million dollars with 25 percent reduced by them.

The whole matter of these media reports is vicious and deliberate in trying to hurt me and in so doing, harmful to country.

In conclusion, the front page article in Monday’s Caymanian Compass, its Editorial and the article by CNS entitled, “Mac stripped of finance job” are serious lies and bereft of professional journalism which the Caymanian Compass has been reduced to, and CNS has always been.

 

END