Up Front
West Bay District Council launched
West Bay's team 'Better Balance' led byMinister of Tourism, Environment and Transport, the Hon. W. McKeevaBush, has constituted a 'West Bay District Council' as promisedin its manifesto for the 2000 General Elections held 8th Novemberlast.
The Committee, which already has 50 members,was established last Monday evening (15th January) during theTeam's first public meeting since the Elections, when a numberof issues ranging from the state of the country's finances tothe environment and the cruise ship industry were discussed.
The meeting was held at the West Bay TownHall and reportedly drew a lively audience of approximately 110persons. All four members comprising the Team, namely MinisterBush, Mr. Rolston Anglin, Capt. Eugene Ebanks and Mr. Cline GliddenJr. were present.
It has been proposed that the newly-constitutedCouncil should be subdivided into seven sub-committees, each focussingon various aspects of life in West Bay.
According to a release submitted by theTeam, committee member Ms. Jeana Ebanks, had suggested in a presentationduring the meeting that the Council should comprise primarilyof "West Bay leaders, residents and local business people."
It is hoped that the group would meet regularlyto identify solutions to the district's problems, as well as towork on the general improvement of the quality of life in thecommunity.
Ms. Ebanks reportedly urged the residentspresent to get involved and to sign up immediately after the meeting,which accounts for membership already reaching the half-centurymark, so soon after the formation of the Council.
According to the release, "the Councilis to be an apolitical body without a political agenda. The aim,instead, is to put aside political differences and for West Bayersto work together."
Among some of the socio-economic problemspeculiar to West Bay which need to be urgently addressed, sourcessay, are those having to do with crime and drug-related issues,such as drug abuse.
It is also felt that the council shouldaddress "revitalising commerce in the district," thusreverting West Bay to its former glory when it was considereda prime commercial district.
Besides issues pertaining to commerce anddrug-related crime, it is said, the sub-committees are also expectedto address such environment-related matters as organising districtclean-ups, as well as revitalising family life in such ways aswill increase the quantity and quality of extra-curricula activitiesavailable to the kids in the neighbourhood.
They will also look at improving the district'sinfrastructure, and push for the establishment of a district libraryand instituting programmes that will be run out of the new districtCivic Centre.
No one has been appointed as yet to headthe sub-committees but it has been agreed that those persons willbe selected from among the the membership. The Council alreadyhas a draft constitution, awaiting approval by the membership.
According to the release, all four 'BetterBalance' representatives took the opportunity to thank the publicfor its their support during the elections and their committeefor their hard work and dedication.
Each representative stated that the 'Team'would keep their promises and aspire to achieve the goals as setin their Manifesto, and that a few promises had already been met.
The first representative to speak was Mr.Rolston Anglin said that since the elections the team had beeninvolved in such activities as the Spelling Bee contest at theJohn Gray High School, the LightHouse School's opening day, thepresentation of the KPMG report, the Finance Committee meetingsand the visit to John A. Cumber Primary School with the Ministerof Education, the Hon. Roy Bodden.
Mr. Anglin also spoke about the FinanceCommittee meetings and expressed his concern of the country'sfinancial position. He said that a major issue within the Financemeetings was the outstanding medical bills that were requestedto be written off.
Capt. Eugene Ebanks spoke of the resultsof the tourism ministry's meeting with the Cruise Ship Industryand the Government's intent to work with smaller tour operators,including tour boat operators.
He said by the end of the month, a planshould be put in place that will give the smaller tour operatorsa fair share of the cruise ship business. He spoke about the newlyformed Land and Sea Co-operative, an initiative of the West Bayrepresentatives
Capt. Eugene also noted that the MarineConservation Board and the Department of Environment, both planto have meetings to form new laws and strengthen the existinglaws to protect the marine environment.
He also addressed the Health Insurance laws,indicating that it is his opinion Caymanians are not getting enoughcoverage for what they pay for and that this would be looked atin more detail in the near future.
Mr. Cline Glidden said that in the meetingswith the cruise ship industry, they had discussed ways of allowingcruise ship passengers more time on the island, which would resultin the possibility of more money being spent and more time forthem to explore the different parts of the island.
He stated that after discussions with theImmigration Department and Customs, a policy has now been putin place to reduce the time that the cruse ship passengers spendwith the formalities but without weakening the important aspectsof the process.
Mr. Glidden also discussed the $12 millionthat needed ratification from Finance Committee, but yet had alreadybeen spent by the previous government on items such as roadwork.He indicated that the budget for roadwork started at $12M, butanother $8M was added out of other projects such as schools, etc.without prior approval. There was additional government expenditurewhich had not been previously approved, he said.
He also pointed out that the Finance Committeehad to increase the overdraft facility to $15M for the first timein many years, in order that the Government could pay their bills.
Minister of Tourism, Hon. McKeeva Bush,spoke last and addressed a number of issues relating to tourism,among other matters.
For tourism to be successful in the future,a partnership will be needed between the country and the tourist,he said.
He noted that the airport and port facilitiesneed to be upgraded and that the Civil Aviation Authority wasasked to submit a five to ten year strategic plan for the upgradingof the airport and the Port Authority is working on a plan forthe port.
Mr. Bush stated that taxi and bus operatorsare a very important part of the Tourism industry, as they arethe first people that tourist make contact with. His intentionsare to have all operators in uniforms and properly prepared todeliver a quality experience to our tourists.
Regarding the environment, Mr. Bush indicatedthat restrictions are to be enforced and tightened on fishingand the protection of reef fish.
Mr. Bush also addressed the problems ofthe country's finances and stated that he expects a deficit ofnear $20 million for the end of 2000.
Overall, the meeting was very informativeand the public also had a chance to ask questions at the end.The Team also announced that their office is open on a full-timebasis and that they can be contacted there each weekday at 949-8660.