Today, Friday 6 November 2009, the new constitution of the Cayman Islands comes into effect, bringing with it significantly increased powers for elected ministers.

Also this week came the announcement of the first step in the construction of the proposed new cruise ship berths – the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dart Group for the design and negotiation of the construction contract itself.

It is therefore more than regrettable in a week of accomplishments that the new Premier, when still Leader of Government Business, Hon. McKeeva Bush, has once again sought to restrict or limit the ability of this newspaper to publish the news of the day – this time by denying us access to certain documentary information freely made available to other local media.

Furthermore, in a continuation of his propensity to try to besmirch the good name of anyone that disagrees with him, Mr Bush at the same time took a turn on the Auditor General, referring to Mr Dan Duguay in terms that attempt to demean the Auditor General but in reality demean the office of the Leader of Government Business, now Premier.

The effect of this is that instead of looking forward to the constitutional advancement of the Cayman Islands with positive anticipation, there must be considerable trepidation with regard to the new and increased powers to be assumed, especially by the Premier.

At this time, we do not propose to go into any more detail regarding the denial of information to Cayman Net News and instead attempt to move on in a spirit of positive accomplishment rather than negative confrontation and recriminations.

In the meantime, the expected news that the cruise port construction project will involve a local company, DECCO, a Dart Enterprises company, is indeed welcome and all concerned in the process are to be applauded in not, for once, favouring a foreign company for unidentified reasons and at the same time making it difficult for local entrepreneurs to succeed.

There is no doubt that the Dart Group has embraced – or one can safely say, graced the Cayman Islands in many ways and they have certainly demonstrated in giving back to the community that they are not here just to make as much money as possible.

We wish that other wealthy and influential residents would show as much social responsibility in this hour of economic need, including a willingness to come forward publicly with constructive criticism as well as suggestions where the government is perceived to be going adrift – or for that matter enhance our daily life.

Of course, no one is going to criticise the Dart Group’s tangible contributions to the Cayman community in the shape of the public parks and other charitable endeavours, but surely the motive behind public philanthropy and constructive criticism of perceived mistakes is still the same – the greater good of society as a whole. One might say that this is also part of a desirable entrepreneurial spirit of wanting the best economic environment in which local business of all descriptions may flourish.

The question is will the government -- any government -- ever embrace well-intentioned criticism with the same enthusiasm as it readily accepts community contributions in cash or kind.

It was to be hoped that the maturing of our political system embodied in our new constitution would have at least encouraged a correspondingly increased level of maturity among our politicians but, alas, instead of getting better, the situation sadly seems to be getting worse.

At a time when we are experiencing the worst economic slump in recent memory, when not even the government can pay its bills, one would have expected a spirit of conciliation and co-operation to be engendered, instead of the more usual “my way or the highway” approach.

Just in recent days we have seen public acrimony on display between our leaders and financial professionals; between the government and the media; and now between what should be government colleagues.

If the new Premier wants the country to rejoice with him on the occasion of the commencement of the new constitution and his elevated position and prestige, then he should start treating others with respect in a statesmanlike manner, not indulging in petty gutter politics and uttering unsavoury pronouncements.

His failure to do so has tarnished what should have been a gratifying moment for the entire country instead of just a select few.