Rift over presentation in House of draft Policy Paper riles Hon Roy Bodden

Bodden Town MLA and
Minister of Education, Human
Resources and Culture, Hon
Roy Bodden

Tuesday, August 3, 2004

A dispute over a Draft Policy Paper presented by the Leader of Government Business, Hon McKeeva Bush, in the Legislative Assembly last Thursday created a rift in the Government when two Cabinet ministers spoke out publicly in the House against the document’s presentation.

Bodden Town MLAs and Cabinet Ministers, Hon Roy Bodden, and Hon Gilbert McLean, who is also the Deputy Leader of Government Business, both challenged the Policy Paper, entitled ‘Protecting, Enhancing and Promoting the Cayman Islands’.

In an interview with Cayman Net News, Mr Bodden, said he was upset that the presentation of the Paper, which Mr Bush said was made on behalf of the United Democratic Party, had not been dealt with in Cabinet.
He added that he felt it was inappropriate for Mr Bush to table the Paper to the House without the Cabinet’s approval, and particularly before all of the members had an ample opportunity to review the document.

Mr Bodden also was upset that the new financial newspaper, the Cayman Observer, had been supplied with details of the Policy Paper before Cabinet ministers. “This was supposed to be a confidential document until it was tabled and here were the details in the newspaper.”

“I had expressed reservations before about the Paper,” said Mr Bodden, “ so I was surprised that Mr Bush presented it the way he did. If he had presented it and said it was his own personal opinion, I wouldn’t have had any problem with it. I could have accepted that.”

Mr Bodden indicated that he did not agree with some of the contents of the Policy Paper. “I cannot support it,” he said. “My constituency won’t allow me to support it, and my own conscience won’t let me support it.”

Among the issues of the Policy Paper with which Mr Bodden disagrees were the formation of a Senate, and the proposed method by which the Cabinet would be elected in the future. Instead of being elected by the 15 members of the Legislature, the Cabinet under the Policy Paper proposal would be chosen by the Chief Minister in cooperation with his party. “I believe the Cabinet should be selected by a majority of your peers,” said Mr Bodden.

While saying that the dispute was a “serious matter” Mr Bodden said it would not stop the government from functioning. “It is incumbent on us to work together for the good of the country,” he said.

However, Mr Bodden said he did think there is work to be done to resolve the issue. “My position is firm,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be the end of the world, but it depends on how it is handled. I would expect someone to come to me and try to ameliorate the situation. It will have to be addressed between now and the election.”

As for his position in Government, Mr Bodden said he did not see his or Mr McLean’s defiance of Mr Bush’s Policy Paper as a reason to change anything. “This was not a matter where we were bound by collective responsibility,” he said. “If this had happened in Cabinet, we would have had to leave the government.”

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