What an injustice was done last Tuesday evening (24) when two members of the UDP (United Democratic Party) were missing WOL! What did they miss? A meeting called by the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free at the Bodden Town Civic Centre. The missing members are two of the three elected MLA’s for Bodden Town and they were invited. Hon. Mark Scotland (Minister of Health, Environment, Youth, Sports and Culture) and Dwayne Seymour stayed away resulting in much anger from their very own constituents. The only Bodden Town MLA who was present was PPM (People’s Progressive Movement) Anthony Eden who also partly hosted the meeting with other leaders of the coalition.

Vincent Frederick, a coalition leader, said the movement to oppose the dump relocation was not political. They were against the Government’s proposal to move the landfill to Bodden Town and despite repeated requests from the coalition Scotland and Seymour were not prepared to come and answer the people’s questions.

I can certainly understand why the two MLA’s would not want to attend. They would have had to face an angry crowd. It would have felt like Daniel going into the Lions Den. But didn’t Daniel return unscathed? Aren’t MLA’s elected to serve their various Districts whom elected them. They are servants of their Districts. Yes, they belong to a party but it wasn’t their party who elected them it was their constituents! Haven’t we all faced at some time in our lives a meeting we would have liked to avoid? A meeting where we would be questioned and our answers would not be what the questioner and listeners would want to hear? That is life and that is why MLA’s get paid.

The reason why Scotland and Seymour went AWOL was because they are members of a party and it was a party decision. It was not their own making. They did not put their Bodden Town District constituents first; they in fact dumped them like the trash the coalition is opposing on their front door.

This is the bad side of having political parties and it was a big mistake by these two MLA’s.

There are some important changes being addressed to the immigration law that include making it easier for the grandchildren of Caymanians living overseas to claim status and the introduction of a visitors work visa. These changes, say Government, are needed to: “promote inward investment by offering residency to the wealthy, assist local businesses by introducing streamlined entry procedures and address anomalies in relation to caregivers’ certificates.”

At the next LA it is presumed the premier Hon. McKeeva Bush will bring amendments that will see the number of people who can sit as tribunal chairs increased from two to five and the membership from 12 people to an undefined panel of persons. However, the quorum has been reduced from five to only two people plus the chair, leaving as few as three people to have the final say on disputed immigration decisions.

North Side MLA. Ezzard Miller, has said government has removed the requirement to take minutes at tribunals, which “could have serious implications especially for future freedom of information requests by people affected by closed door decisions.”

I can certainly agree with him when he said this was preposterous. “You must have a record for an appeals process when a decision made by the immigration board could be reversed by as little as two people,” he said. “Not to have a record of the what, when and why of that decision is an outrage.”

I can support some of the proposed amendments but there is always some other things added that are put in in the hope people will only see the good. Mr. Miller has very sharp eyes.

By the way …… Mr. Miller doesn’t belong to either of the parties – he is an Independent.