OppositionSponsors Lecture on Constitution
Opposition Members of the Cayman IslandsLegislative Assembly invited a prominent Caribbean lawyer andpolitician to deliver a public lecture on critical aspects ofthe Report of the Constitution Commissioners.
Hon. David Thompson, a practicing Attorney,former Minister of Finance and current Leader of the Oppositionin the Parliament of Barbados will be arriving in Grand Caymanearly next week at the invitation of Mr. Kurt Tibbetts and othermembers of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Thompson will address members of theCaymanian public on issues relating to the proposed introductionof single member constituencies and the concept of one man, onevote.
MLA Kurt Tibbetts explained in a statementthat the public lecture, to be held on Wednesday May 1st at theMary Miller Memorial Hall, next to the Red Bay Primary School,represents the commencement of phase two of the public educationprogramme initiated by the opposition group three weeks ago.
Mr. Tibbetts said following the successof the first round of town hall meetings, in which he and fellowMLAs Arden McLean, Alden McLaughlin, Edna Moyle and Anthony Edenshared their views and perspectives on crucial aspects of thecommissioners' report, the public has been requesting furtherenlightenment on the contentious issue of the Cayman Islands expandingthe number of elected seats in the Legislative Assembly and alsothe introduction of single member constituencies.
He explained that Barbados was universallyrecognized as a model of parliamentary democracy, where the partysystem as well as the single member concept have thrived for manyyears.
Consequentially, Mr. Tibbetts said, hisopposition colleagues considered it desirable for a credible andexperienced Caribbean Parliamentarian of the calibre of Mr. Thompsonto visit the Cayman Islands and address residents on various aspectsof the operation of parliamentary systems similar to that proposedin the report of the local Commissioners.
The distinguished lecturer is an Attorneyat Law of fifteen years standing at the Bar in Barbados. He wasthe senior partner of the firm Thompson & Patterson for manyyears and has served as a Tutor in Administrative Law and Equityat the University of the West Indies Law Faculty.
Mr. Thompson is the youngest Member of Parliamentelected since independence in Barbados in 1966 and has the distinctionof having been the youngest Minister of Finance in the regionand the youngest political leader of one of Barbados' leadingpolitical parties, the Democratic Labour Party.
The current Leader of the Opposition inthe Barbados Parliament has edited many regional legal publications,including "Obiter" the journal of the students of theHugh Wooding Law School and "The Students Law Review"published by the students of the Law Faculty of the Universityof the West Indies. He currently writes on current issues in theMid-week Nation newspaper of Barbados.
In addition to his legal practice and Parliamentaryexperience, Mr. Thompson has provided consultancy services toCARICOM on the legal framework for trade in services within theCaribbean Community; for Caribbean Export on the legal regimeto facilitate Protocol Two to the CARICOM Treaty and for the CaribbeanPolicy Development Centre on the legal framework for charitiesand charitable giving in the Caribbean region.
Mr. Tibbetts said he is looking forwardto Caymanians attending this public event as though it is organisedand sponsored by a political grouping, in the form of oppositionparliamentarians, it is a national event, from which all Caymanianscan benefit.
The public lecture and discussion takesplace on Wednesday May 1st at 7:30 p.m. at the Mary Miller MemorialHall, next to the Red Bay Primary School.