Editorial
Please, LetDemocracy Prevail
Back in 1992, the Cayman Islands had theopportunity to accept a modernised charter, which was the outcomeof discussions conducted with the then Members of the LegislativeAssembly and many individuals and entities with a stake in ourfuture. This would have undoubtedly advanced us towards politicaland social maturity.
The way we know it: There was a great dealof difficulty in deciding, among other things, who will be thefirst Chief Minister. The net result? We ended up with an out-of-datecompromise title, that of Leader of Government Business which was confirmed by the Governor to be "equivalent tothat of Chief Minister" during a visit of other heads ofCaribbean Heads of Overseas Territories last year.
Why did the people of the Cayman Islandshave to continue suffering the indignity of not even having theacknowledged head of Government denied the proper designationdeserved for the responsibilities entrusted to him?
We dare say it is because of selfish motivationsand no regard for the protocols attendant to the responsibilitiesentrusted to politicians by the electorate. Instead of takingadvantage of modernising the Constitution of the Cayman Islandsback then, without any public input, we are forced to suffer theconsequences as we are witnessing today.
One can recall that similar consequencescan be attributed to the reason why we have been forced to giveup the arrangements for a master ground transportation plan anda brand new modern hospital.
Because of previous House politics, we havebeen denied the orderly, yet encouraged growth and long term benefitsof having a proper plan in place for vehicular traffic throughoutthe island; and we would have had a purpose-built modern hospitalwhich could have cost half the amount that it took and iscontinuing to take, to try and make the renovated facility costefficient.
At the time the master ground transportationplans (MGTP) were aborted, the main argument was that the costsattendant to this development would have saddled too huge a debtfor the country to bear. Back then though in the late 80s, therewas such an abundance of confidence in Cayman's high profile andperformance as a success, that it would have been a breeze tofund the MGTP or just about anything the Government wanted tobuild from international or local financial entities.
This is not so these days.
We could be heading down the same path ofshortsightedness which is costing us dearly with far more direconsequences if the apathy and fear which reigns in our societyare not put aside to ensure that the Cayman Islands gets a newConstitution which reflects the will of the majority of the people,and not that of the politicians who are in the House of Assemblytoday.
At times, we need to be reminded, what isthe true meaning of a democracy. A look at the current meaningreveals:
1. the free and equal right of every person to participate ina system of government, often practiced by electing representativesof the people by the people;
2. a country with a government that has been elected freely andequally by all its citizens;
3. a system of government based on the principle of majority decision-making;and
4. the control of an organization by its members, who have a freeand equal right to participate in decision-making processes.
It is for this reason we offer encouragementin support of perpetuating current debate surrounding some majorpoints raised in the draft Constitution proffered. We have saidit before, and we will continue doing so.
A new constitution for the Cayman Islandscannot be trifled with. It is bigger, far bigger than rash decisionssuch has been arrived at by politicians with the power to do so.We have suffered, and are still paying for these errors becauseof the lack of prudence when the master ground transportationplan and the Horter Memorial Hospital were abandoned.
Given this history, what then comes first,a new Constitution or confidence in our leaders. In the name ofdemocracy: Let the people decide.