A Case for District Councils
The idea of constitutional change for theCayman Islands has frequently been mooted with varying degreesof resistance to or acceptance of such a shift from existing arrangements.
In the past, constitutional change, for some has been synonymouswith independence, which has raised alarm bells in the minds ofmany.
It may be that Caymanians look to some of their independent Caribbeanneighbours and the political and socio-economic problems theyface decades after political independence, and say to themselves,if that is what it is, no thank you.
The advent of the UK Partnership for Progress and Prosperity (theWhite Paper) has once again brought the idea of political or constitutionalchange to the forefront of the debate on the future governanceof the territory.
The UK government has indicated that these islands and its otherterritories remain British Overseas Territories, as long as thatis the expressed wish of their people.
Nevertheless, with the call for new standards of responsivenessand accountability in Government, it may well emerge that newpolitical arrangements will receive wider consideration.
The case for voting at large, or territorial voting - where thesix districts are treated as a single constituency for electoralpurposes, has been aired as part of the search for solutions.
As part of this exploration with the view of change, Cayman maywish to draw from systems that have worked in some well run democracies.It is possible that District Councils - in effect, a local governmentsystem - may be an option for improving Governance at the locallevel.
Such Councils would comprise representatives elected to servefor a fixed term, say, two years - whose mandate would be theadministrative management of the district, with their own budgetsfor carrying out civic work in the districts.
Certainly, transparency and accountability would be far easierto press for at this level and the participation of a wider crosssection of persons in government would be assured.
It may also be argued that such Councils could also serve as atraining ground for future political leaders who, by virtue oftheir leadership experience at the local level, would been preparedfor representation at the national level.
These District Councils - it may be further argued, would alsoserve to foster positive inter-district rivalry and new standards.Recall, for example, days when contestants in the Miss CaymanIslands beauty pageant had to first compete against each otherat the district level - before they went on to the National contest.The same could be applied, with say, the best kept District.
As the General elections in November approach, these and otherissues may well come to the attention of the incumbent membersand prospective candidates to the Legislative Assembly.
Perhaps it may be that this suggestion could be a useful additionto the range of options under consideration for the constitutionalchange that seems increasingly more inevitable.