The Publishers Pointof View
24 Years ago in History...
November 1976 Commentary from The Nor'wester Magazine
The leadership we choosemakes our future
The Future of the CaymanIslands is in the hands of the voters who will be going to thepolls on November 10th to choose the 12 persons who will in turndecide for the next four years the type of legislative and administrativepolicies that will affect - for better or worse - the economy,stability and social development of this country.
No-one can predict for sure how Cayman will develop in the nextfour years ... much less for the long-term 15 years as proposedin the Development Plan. Political changes by our immediate neighbours- the United States, Jamaica, Cuba and Costa rica - can dictatechanges here. And so can natural or man-made disasters, anotherworldwide recession, and, of course, false pride, stubbornessand egotistical whims of legislators who will not listen or takeaction and sound advice.
Just as the candidates, have been saying, the electorate wouldlike to maintain a stable government and see a resuscitation ofthe economy. These objects, however, are easier expressed thanachieved.
Some of the legislation passed early in the past four years hasset a pattern for growth in population and the economy. Unfortun-ately,no contingency legislation was introduced in that period to meetthe problems of the world recession and collapse of Interbankthat so widely affected many businesses and individuals.
Not many would deny that because of the caution exercised by theprevious legislators, Cayman has maintained and in some ways improvedits position as one of the few remaining stable, tax-free andsafe places left in the entire world. Hopefully, "this toowill not pass too quickly".
But nothing... absolutely nothing ... stays the same. This includesthe economy of any country. It either goes up or goes down. Oureconomy has been sliding downhill for far too long.
Despite valiant efforts, it is still sluggish. And, sadly everytime a resident leaves whether a Caymanian or an expatriate whocould become a "new Caymanian" if certain administrativerestrictions were relaxed - it hurts.
It must be remembered that only fools (and mules) do not changetheir opinions.