PPM candidates listen to their leader Hon Kurt Tibbetts as he addresses the party’s official campaign launch on North Sound Road on Tuesday night. (Seated R-L) Osbourne Bodden, Moses Kirkconnell, Hon Anthony Eden, Joey Ebanks and Alfonso Wright.

Exhorting a crowd of at least 1,000 to vote for continued progress, the ruling People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) launched its campaign for the 20 May elections on Tuesday night.

The rally, headed by Leader of Government Business, Hon Kurt Tibbetts, sought primarily to counter charges by opposition candidates, including the United Democratic Party (UDP) and what Mr Tibbetts consistently referred to as the “not-so-independent” candidates, focusing primarily on fiscal management.

“No one, neither the UDP nor the not-so-independents, no one, can accuse us of corruption,” Mr Tibbetts said, leading off speeches by each of the 10 PPM hopefuls at the George Town gathering near the Compass Centre.

“We are open and transparent and people know where the money is going and how it is spent,” he said referring to ongoing accounting arrears throughout Ministries, Portfolios and government-owned companies, most of which have failed to close their annual books for at least four years, leaving unaccounted nearly $1.5 billion in expenditures.

“These accusations have never been substantiated by facts,” he said, explaining to the crowd the process of annual revenue collections, expenditures and operating expenses in a sort of government budgeting primer.

“We have forecast an operating deficit, but there has been no reduction in services to the public. There has been no new hiring, but no layoffs of civil servants,” he said.

A $13 million surplus originally projected had been offset by unpredictable expenses such as Hurricane Paloma recovery, overseas medical costs, the anti-corruption Special Police Investigation Team and a Commission of Inquiry “called by His Excellency the Governor”, Mr Tibbets said, pointing out it had been convened against the advice of the elected Government.

Revenue shortfalls had compounded the problem, creating a $13 million deficit, but Government was scheduled to record $126 million in cash holdings by the 30 June end of the fiscal year, he said.

He called local economic fundamentals “very strong”, saying “we are weathering the economic storm far better than many neighbouring countries – and some of the pictures are not very pretty”.

A series of speeches by district candidates essentially reinforced Mr Tibbetts message of reliability, experience and practiced managerial professionalism, exhorting voters: “Don’t stop the progress.”
Accompanying the addresses was a 28-page glossy brochure titled “From Promise to Performance”, outlining PPM accomplishments across a wide range of sectors from financial services to sports, environment, healthcare, public safety and road improvements.

Missing was discussion of Cayman Airways, health insurance, the cost of living, Caribbean Utilities Company or job and vocational training.

Answering UDP criticism about overspending, however, Minister for Infrastructure Hon Arden McLean rhetorically asked the opposition what projects they would not have undertaken.

“The UDP is great on talking. They talk the talk, in fact, but the PPM walks the walk. Tell me,” he said, “what are the projects we should not have done?

The Esterley Tibbetts Highway extension?

The schools they broke ground on, but never built?

The East-West Arterial Highway?

Tell the people you would not have built them,” he said.

“There is much more to be done in this country,” Mr McLean said, “and I need to work with people I can trust. If you put the UDP back in power, you will put your country back 30 years.”