Up Front
Proposed Members who will formthe Executive Council in the new Government
Coalition To Rule
Kurt Tibbetts to be Leaderof Government Business, with McKeeva Bush as Deputy
Capt. Mabry Kirkconnell
Re-appointed Interim Speaker
At least four combinationsof newly-elected Members of the Legislative Assembly have beenconsidered to form the Government of the Cayman Islands for thenext four years, reliable sources told Cayman Net News.
Five of the recently elected members will join the Official members- The Chief Secretary, Mr. James Ryan, the Attorney General, Mr.David Ballantyne and the Financial Secretary, Mr. George McCarthy-- who are automatically are appointed.
The possible line-up for Executive Council is as follows:
Mr. Kurt Tibbetts, who racked up three straight consecutive winsin George Town races; Mr. Mc Keeva Bush, former ExCo member andnow the Father of House; Mrs. Edna Moyle, another three time consecutivewinner; Mr. Linford Pierson and Mr. Roy Bodden.
The position of Deputy Leader of Government, which, sources saywill be taken by Mr. Bush, appears to be a departure from previousgovernments.
Mr. Bush, who enters his fifth term as an elected representativeof the House of Assembly, now becomes Father of the House followingJohn McLean's defeat, after 24 years, by Arden McLean in EastEnd.
According to a well informed source, "there have been a coupleof occasions where some people have been expecting to receivethe required number of votes to get them on to Excecutive Counciland did."
In today's order of doing business, it is expected that some formof written agreement will be put in place, to hedge against recalcitrantsupporters of the appointment of ExCo members.
This is particularly acute following the outcome of this year'selection which reverted to 'independent' campaigning, insteadof the 'team' politics that have dominated the voting processfor the past six elections between 1976 and 2000.
The exceptions were1988 and 1992 when a coalition government wasformed by Mr. Norman Bodden and Mr. Linford Pierson (George Town),Mr. Benson Ebanks (West Bay), and Mr. Ezzard Miller (North Side)
Not expected to be left out of the formality of the peer electionprocess for appointment of five of their own to the ExecutiveCouncil when the House convenes on Wedesday, 15 November, willbe the new Father of the House, West Bay MLA, Mr. McKeeva Bush,whose 'Better Balance Team' took all four seats in a landslidevictory in that district.
Inquiries made by this publication as to what constitutes a bindingagreement among the victors to proceed with the agreed leadership,have confirmed that while there is a 'gentleman's agreement' tosupport the five members chosen to ExCo, there may also be a writtenagreement signed off on by at least the majority of eight requiredto moot the selection.
There will be expected changes in the assignment of portfoiloresponsibilities, which are agreed upon among the ExCo membersdesignate. These will then go to His Excellency, the Governorof the Cayman Islands, Mr. Peter Smith who will assent with aformal ratification of the suggested designations.
The high-profile portfolios of Education and Aviation will mostlikely fall to Mr. Kurt Tibbetts, who was consistent in his criticismof the previous Minister's handling of these subjects. Sourcessay that Mr. McKeeva Bush will end up with the Tourism portfolio.
Defeated candidate Mr. Truman Bodden's longevity in the Houseand his appointment to Executive Council was favoured by his colleaguesand the Financial community because of his prominence as a lawyer.However, attorney-at-law Alden McLaughlin, newcomer and runningmate to Kurt Tibbetts who garnered over 80 percent of the populatvote, will bring to the Assembly his experience as a practisingattorney and president of the Caymanian Bar Association.
As Cayman Net News goes to press, indications are that the variousgroups will continue to make and receive further offers and counteroffers to form the goverment.