Securing Cayman'sFuture Through Participation and Endearment
H.E. The Governor, Mr. Peter John Smith, CBEUp Front
Securing Cayman'sFuture Through Participation and EndearmentH.E. The Governor, Mr. Peter John Smith, CBE
High above the commercial district of GeorgeTown, the fourth floor executive suite of the Governor's officein the Government Administration Building (The Glass House) affordsa sweeping view of the hustle and bustle of the streets below.
The commanding view provides something ofa metaphor for the role of the Governor, the man who heads thegovernment of the Cayman Islands and represents its sovereign,Her Majesty the Queen.
It is clear that the Governor, His Excellency,Mr. John Peter Smith, CBE, is ever conscious of the magnitudeof his task, and approaches it with the enthusiasm of a zealot- from selling the Cayman Islands to family and friends, to astudied appreciation for the needs of the territory and what mustbe achieved now, for its future growth.
Last week, Cayman Net Newswas privileged to meet with the Governor at his office, just fivedays after he delivered the Throne Speech for the opening of thenew session of the Legislative Assembly.
At once relaxed - yet businesslike, it wasclear that His Excellency was having one of his typical days -a schedule packed with meetings and official functions, whichwould end, he revealed, late at night with his bedside reading- a large stack of files of parole cases.
It is a seminal moment to be Governor.
With the specter of the end of his termof office looming in just about a year, presiding over a still-newgovernment and contending with troublesome issues such as theFinancial Action Task Force's (FATF) blacklisting of the CaymanIslands, the Governor is, understandably, focused on action andresults.
Below, he shares with Cayman Net News, hisoutlook on and ambitions for the Cayman Islands for its immediatefuture.
Cayman Net News:
What would you say are the most pressing priorities for the governanceof the Cayman Islands within the next 12-18 months?
HE the Governor:
In terms of governance, what we would hope to achieve is outlinedin the Throne Speech. But I would add my personal view that weneed to get the budget (which has since been presented in theLegislature 21 March) back on track, and this is being addressed.
We need to continue to work constructivelytowards meeting the requirements of the FATF.
I'm also very keen on the growth managementplan, which the Leader of Government Business is now wedded to.I sense there really is an overpowering need for some idea ofgrowth management across the board. I have copies of former plansgoing back eight to 12 years and can't see much in one sense thathas happened from them.
But I do sense from the present governmentthat this is a particularly important element of the way forward.I am confident that we will progress that idea of growth managementfaster than we might have thought possible.
I think the Youth Commission that has beenset up to implement the Youth Policy is very good and timely andneeds to be carried forward with a great sense of realism. Thereare so many good kids on the islands and I was again impressedwith the Youth Parliament (held on Commonwealth Day, 12 March).
I very much welcome the idea of the Governmentcalling for a task force on youth violence and I hope that theappointment of Dr. Frank McField to look into the deeper causescan be set in motion pretty quickly.
CNN:The process for the modernisation of the Cayman Islands constitutionhas been put in train, now with the setting up of the ConstitutionalReview Committee. How adequately do you consider that a three-manCommittee will canvass and represent the views of the people?
HE:We're wedded to making it largely, if not wholly, a Caymanianteam, rather than importing some very wise people from whereverlike last time. I recall the commendable public consultation processyou did with Vision 2008. I don't have any reservations, as longas I pick the right three people, that they will be able to consultas widely and as deeply as possible.
CNN:Will the public have the opportunity to debate any constitutionalchanges by way of district fora?
HE: Districtconsultation will be part of the whole process. The three-mangroup will, jointly and severally, take testimony from peoplein a wholly public consultation process. That's the way it's gotto be, and the people to be appointed to this commission are peoplewho know and have lived in the Cayman Islands. Two of the threeshall be Caymanian, including the Chairman, and one, not necessarilythe Chairman, shall be a lawyer. And I am getting names in frommembers of the public, and some very interesting ones too...
CNN:Is the submission of names purely on a voluntary basis?
HE:Absolutely! It's open government. Anybody can drop me a line orcall in.
CNN:How will the final process for implementing changes to the constitutionbe handled?
HE:It's full consultation here but at the end of the day, when anychanges are accepted, as determined by Cayman, then it has togo back to the UK, to be assessed and once this is done, thenthe implementation methodology is by Order in Council. I reallywould have no specific input at that stage, unless I saw thatthere were glaring errors or impossibilities.
CNN:Do you have any directives or notion at this time as to the directionthat the UK Government would want to see for a modernised constitution?
HE:No. The only direction I have, which is already public - partof my open government - is the 18-point checklist on constitutionalmodernisation, which has been circulated to the press, the Chamberof Commerce and other people.
CNN: Comparedto other overseas territories, how does the Cayman Islands rankin having a constitution that reflects modern realities of theterritory?
HE:I don't want to get into subjective evaluations of ranking, butI would say that in terms of the White Paper obligation for amodernisation process, the Falkland Islands have appointed theirreview committee sometime ago and they're well advanced in theprocess; the British Virgin Islands carried out a review overthe last couple of years, culminating in an Order in Council beingeffected last year;
In Bermuda, there's no commission so far,but the government is, of its own volition, carrying out its in-houseconstitutional review. Anguilla has now appointed a chairman forits commission, and has drawn up terms of reference but has notyet appointed the other members of the commission. Montserratwill be establishing a commission, directly after elections on2nd April. I don't know about the Turks and Caicos Islands yet.
CNN: Couldthere be room for a referendum in the process of addressing changesto the constitution?
HE:At what stage there is a referendum, or if there is one, is againa matter for the public. The Chamber of Commerce's constitutionalreview task force raised an interesting point about what constitutesthe will of the people, if there are serious changes, becauseone can point to episodes elsewhere in the Caribbean, where thesupposed will of the people for change is actually not backed.So the concept of a referendum is an option. But the final mechanismunder agreement would be the Order in Council to effect any changes.
CNN:How long will take from appointment of the Commission to completionof the review?
HE: Idid mention nine months from start up, but if it went even a littlebit past that I wouldn't mind, because it would be inexcusableto end up with a feeling that one had rushed things. I take advicefrom other people external to here and the view is that nine to10 months would be enough.
My only personal interest is that my termis coming to an end here, in May of next year. I would love tohave this come out before I go.
CNN: Therecently published Census has raised concerns about the accuracyof the data and there have been contentions that there are morethan the 40,000 reported living here. What can you tell us aboutthis?
HE:Not a great deal, really. I think the figure that came out atthe end was as much a surprise to us as it was to everybody elseand Mr. Boxill (Chief Statistician) came to go through the processto reassure us that things had been done in the way it ought tohave been done. There are ways as you know statistically to doublecheck and those figures seem to be pretty accurate. They're inline - in fact, almost bang on with the forward projections formedium growth after the last census, 10 years ago.
CNN:The General Elections last November brought into public debatethe question of who can vote (roughly 11,000 out of a populationof 40,000) and whether the franchise should be extended to statusholders. Do you see this as a valid concern? If, so what shouldthe Cayman Islands be doing in response to it?
HE: It'snot a very impressive statistic at all. I think I've made my viewsfairly clear, that I would welcome a more inclusive approach tothe whole status concept. I know there are various elements thatare very passionate about it, but there are so many people, withwhat I would call strong Caymanian connections that don't getstatus or absorbed into the system, and natural justice must havea problem with that.
I think it will be addressed, but how farwe change the system, I don't know. That is up to the Government.I think this Government is already keen to address the questionof immigration.
CNN: Doyou see that security of tenure for long-term residents will beaddressed in the near future?
HE: TheThrone Speech did in fact highlight the need to address urgentlythe Caymanian connection and long-term residency. So I just repeat,that we should not lose the benefit of the findings of the lastSelect Committee. Let's not reinvent the wheel all over again.
CNN:We note from your Throne Speech that the proposal for an Ombudsmanis now being accelerated. What is your timetable for full implementationof this office?
HE: I'mactually trying to catch up. I promised this over a year ago.It's a good idea that came out of the last Government in one senseto bring somebody here who is a real, live Ombudsman who can talkto people to demystify things. So Justice James Kerr (of Jamaica)is well known... (he's coming in this week).
He'll be speaking to the LA backbenchers,Executive Council, the public service through the Cayman IslandsCivil Service Association, the Chamber of Commerce and legal people.I will set up on his last day (Friday, 23 March), a press conferenceto entertain questions. I hope that thereafter we can move onthis.
CNN:There has been some talk that there will be another portfolioadded to Executive Council. Can you comment?
HE:It would take a change constitutionally, and might have to goas part of the constitutional review process.
CNN:Are there security/investigative personnel attached to the Governor'soffice who do not report to the Commissioner of Police, but directlyto you as the official representative of the British Government?
HE:You know who my team is, and that's all there is to it!
CNN:As the President of the Executive Council, has it ever been necessaryfor you to use your right of veto, in a past or the present Government?
HE: Theanswer would be no, both for past and present. I've always workedon the basis of persuasion, argument, logic and reason, if I don'tappreciate the way that the debate goes. The use of the veto issomething very, very serious...it has to be for something criticallyimportant.
I had a number of really good debates inExCo, even in areas that are not my reserve to answer at all,but where I felt I had really good experience. I have thrown myhat into the ring. In some cases I would win, in others I wouldlose, but that's how it should be.
The worst thing possible for a governorto do, I would think, is to exercise the right of veto for somethingother than something really serious. You can't debase the currency,in that sense.
CNN:What are your desires and recommendations for seeing the CaymanIslands achieve the goals set by you, the British Government,and the Cayman Islands Government?
HE:· I do want get in the Ombudsman.
· I want to complete a genuine, comprehensive, publicconsultation on the
constitution.
· I want to get us off this ridiculous FATF listing, that'sfor sure.
· I'd like to see some kind of Bill of Rights coming outof the constitutional review, but that will remain your (Cayman's)choice.
· I would like to see progress on the immigration statusconcerns, and that the process becomes more inclusive rather thanexclusive.
· I would hope for more attention given to the fact that2003 is your 500th anniversary of the first sighting of Cayman.I have already brought this up with London to get, if possible,some royal visit to mark the occasion, if the people wish that.
What I would not like to happen is that it goes by unnoticed.You are now a significant international player and that sort ofevent presents benefits to tourism.
I also like looking ahead, because it isa personal passion of mine, to see the Jimmy Powell Cricket Ovalin West Bay succeed in attracting at least one match here in 2007when the World Cup is held in the West Indies. Again, it wouldbe tremendous tourism benefit.
I would like to see significant progresstowards a secure juvenile place of safety, which would mean thatwe could stop using the West Bay lock up. I find it an affrontand appalling shame, and everyone I talk to agree with me; andnothing has been done.
My final and most deep-seated desire, whichI'm not going get, but I can still wish might come about, is atotal end to the phrase in print, "Name withheld by request."I have never come across something like this, anywhere in theworld.
If we can progress again this year withthe Freedom of Information Act, which is an important adjunctin any case to the position of Ombudsman, then slowly, slowly,I think, there might be a change.