By A. Steve McField

On Friday, 3 October 2009, His Excellency the Governor Mr Stuart Jack, in his delivery of The Throne Speech before the Legislative Assembly, declared that Friday, 6 November 2009, will be the Appointed Day in which the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 is to come into force pursuant to Section 1(2) of that Order.

On Friday, 6 November 2009, the Constitutional Office of Premier will be activated pursuant to Section 49 of The Constitution. The Governor will appoint the Cayman Islands’ First Premier on that day. Friday 6 November 2009 will be politically and constitutionally one of the most, or indeed the most significant day in the Cayman Islands’ constitutional and political history. Friday 6 November 2009 will be the day that the Cayman Islands people, through their elected government, will receive responsible government led by a Premier appointed from the political party that gained the majority in the Legislative Assembly -- the United Democratic Party.

There should be little doubt that the Leader of Government Business, the Hon. McKeeva Bush, will be appointed as the first Premier of The Cayman Islands. There is little doubt in the mind of the writer that that appointment is assured. Indeed, many years ago, in a satirical article written by the writer in the Caymanian newspaper, the writer satirized that the member of the legislature from the constituency of ‘Old Bush’ would emerge as the first constitutional premier of the country.

Section 49 of the Constitution clearly and unambiguously states that the Governor must appoint as Premier the person recommended to him by the political party that has gained a majority of the seats of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly. That majority is the UDP party. There should be no doubt that the UDP will recommend their leader to the Governor. The Hon. McKeeva Bush will be the Cayman Islands first Premier provided that there is no unforeseen impediment of illness or incapacity. The office of Premier is not one of those constitutional offices that will have to wait until the Legislative Assembly is next dissolved after the Appointed Day, Friday, 6 November, to be activated.

Constitutionally, the Premier is obliged to choose the other Cabinet Ministers who he deems qualified to serve in the Cabinet. Once the Premier performs that constitutional obligation and informs the Governor who will be Cabinet Ministers, the Governor is bound to appoint those Ministers to the Cabinet chosen by the Premier. The Governor is bound to do so by instrument under the public seal. The Premier will also be constitutionally responsible for the assignment of each Cabinet Minister’s portfolios. Once the Premier has assigned a portfolio to a Cabinet Minister, he is constitutionally bound to advise the Governor of that assignment.

The Premier also has the constitutional responsibility of choosing an elected member of the Legislative Assembly to be Deputy Premier. The Constitution does not state that the Deputy Premier must be a member of the party that has the majority of elected members of the Legislative Assembly. However, it is doubtful that the Premier will choose the Deputy Premier from a member of the opposition party, the PPM, or, the Independent candidate from North Side, MLA, Mr Ezzard Miller. So, it seems that the Deputy Premier will be Cabinet Minister the Hon. Julie O‘Conner Connolly. The Hon. Julie O’Connor Connolly the Legislative Member elected from the District of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman in the writer’s opinion will be the Cayman Islands’ first Deputy Premier and first woman Deputy Premier.

The Constitution gives the party that obtains the majority of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly the power to go ahead and form the government through the person they choose as Premier. The Appointed Day, Friday 6 November 2009, will bring to an end the long established backroom trading-off- policy of selecting a government by a swing in a hammock, or, over a pot of turtle stew; that is, so long as political parties remain the vehicles by which candidates are elected to the Legislative Assembly. Should political parties fail again, the eighteen members of the Legislative Assembly after the Appointed Day and after the next General Election would have to go through the old process of establishing a government by secret ballot in the Legislative Assembly supervised by the Honourable Speaker.

So, with the two-party system now in its infancy, it is incumbent on both the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition to show their elective leadership. The Premier is first among equals. The Premier is responsible for presiding over the Cabinet. Collective responsibility and unity will be the crucible on which policy and decisions will depend. Success and loyalty should be rewarded by the electorate with another term at the helm. Failure and clumsiness or dispirited direction will give the opposition strategy to attack and to rally.

For the Premier to effectively lead, he must have the support of his Cabinet to provide him on a collective basis with sound judgment. Cabinet members should not have their own axes to grind. On the reconstruction of Cabinet Government brought about on the Appointed Day Friday, 6 November 2009, the country needs to support the Constitution. Those of us who have followed the Cayman Islands’ constitutional development since 10 December 1831 should be proud, very proud, of where we have come from. We have traveled along the sometime rocky road of political rivalry and colonial subservience. Friday 6 November 2009 will make us a little better off constitutionally. The Constitution does not give us a great deal of advancement as some people believe. But at least it will give us a greater degree of responsibility. One must never forget that by section 43(1) of the Constitution the executive authority of the Cayman Islands is still vested in Her Majesty.

The Premier’s constitutional obligation to appoint the Cabinet Ministers does not mean that he can dismiss arbitrarily. Once the Ministers are appointed, the Premier must consider their views. He can and should dismiss a minister who may be incompetent or refuses to carry out Cabinet collective policy. However, the Premier must always be cognizant of his responsibility to keep his Cabinet intact, to shield the government from attack by no confidence motions, and threats of resignations. The Premier has a duty to keep a united and harmonious Cabinet.

The UDP party is the first political party in the Cayman Islands to govern under a more modern constitutional frame work. The first political party in the Cayman Islands to govern by a Premier and an appointed Cabinet has indeed made or will make history. But being the recipients of historical firsts also carries historical moral and political responsibilities. The UDP must continue to demonstrate that it can and will make tough decisions, and beneficial policies. Responsible government means that the UDP Cabinet will have wide powers to exercise for the better government of the country domestically, and limited power internationally.

The Hon. McKeeva Bush no doubt will assume his responsibilities as Premier and lead his people steadily but carefully. He will be primus inter pares -- the first among equals. We the people will look to him to blame for bad policy, and, to take the credit for good policy and sound judgment. The country has given his party its authority to govern. As a student of the Constitution, an elector and a proponent of constitutional modernisation, I simply request that the first Premier of the Cayman Islands and his appointed Cabinet, in interpreting their constitutional obligations give that interpretation the most beneficial view to the widest possible benefit of this country and to adopt connective polices that are harmonious.

A great Premier will share bad news and good news with his people. He should not succumb to rumours and personal non-constructive criticism from combatants in the political, social and economic arenas. A brilliant Premier will keep his Cabinet together and garnish his party’s support. The electorates will then reward him by providing favourable poll results. Opposition to such success and security is bound to be fractious and confused.

On Friday, 6 November 2009, if the great God so pleases, the Hon. McKeeva Bush will become the first Premier of the Cayman Islands with constitutional authority to lead this country. I wish the first Premier well and I prevail upon him to take on the constitutional mantle and lead this country vigorously and successfully. On Friday, 6 November 2009, the constitutional torch of leadership will pass to a Caymanian leader, out of ‘Old Bush’, born in a humble family; raised in the shadow of poverty and experienced by a long and sometime difficult road to leadership. It is fitting that the country gives its respect to such a man who came out of the underbelly of Caymanian politics. I give my respect to this man.

Will you do so also notwithstanding that we may not always agree with him and his party?

After all, those of us who owe our constitutional allegiance to this country are all in this constitutional boat together.