WBA talks tough in campaign fight

Mario Ebanks addresses the WBA rally

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Thursday 7 April saw the West Bay Alliance (WBA) stage its major campaign rally for the upcoming 11 May General Elections two days after their main opponents, the United Democratic Party (UDP), held its West Bay rally.

Throughout their presentations to a crowd of almost 200 gathered on the vacant lot at the corner of Willie Farrington Drive, speakers Mario Ebanks and Leonard Ebanks referred to the questions and statements throughout the previous UDP event.

Positioning UDP Leader, Hon McKeeva Bush, directly in the line of fire for most comments, Mr M. Ebanks said, “People thought Goliath was too big to hit. But David thought Goliath was too big to miss.”

Mr L Ebanks reminded the crowd of how many scholarships Mr Bush had handed down over the last few years. “But when he asked how many the WBA had distributed, Mr Bush should remember that he used Government funds to do this.”

“So what is this about me giving scholarships? We give from our own funds without standing on a roof top and talking about it,” Mr Ebanks said.

He broke his presentation frequently to say “two, seven, eight and ten, four good men,” – reference to the numbers held by WBA candidates in the district - a refrain that brought cheers and honking horns from the crowd.

In keeping with the methods used by their opponents two days earlier to keep audience enthusiasm at fever pitch, the WBA members used refrains such as “Don’t get tangled with the Bush,” “Send Anglin back to Accountin’,” “Call Glidden back to his football career,” and “Send Captain Eugene Ebanks to his fishing.”

Mr M Ebanks’ address was based on what he termed “solutions to immigration issues.”

“Section 83, subsections 1 and 2 state that an employer can’t discriminate based on national extraction and this is not beneficial to the Caymanian. This is reverse discrimination for Caymanians.

“Also, I would restructure the Immigration Department as now, too many areas are covered under this Department.”

Mr Ebanks also spoke of establishing a new Human Resources Authority and a National Training Institute – the latter to “provide all willing and able Caymanians with what they need to propel their careers.”

Underpinning Mr M Ebanks’ presentation was the refrain, “It’s time for us to roll, it’s time for them to go.”

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