With Invest 99L slowly developing and heading in our direction – see iWeather – there are two already festering and getting bigger.

The first one, Invest 99L was at this time (Tuesday 31 morning) according to our friend, Rob Lightbown at www.crownweather.com, gradually becoming organised and he expects it to become a tropical Storm as early as late Thursday.

Whether is comes here is very uncertain and although a lot of the models show it entering the Caribbean Sea, Rob still thinks it will turn and track near the island of Barbados on Saturday.

What is certain is that we have two storms already on our doorstep.

The first of these is already at Hurricane Strength and is called “Expat Income Tax” and its first winds were expected on Monday (30) evening at the public meeting the premier had called at Mary Miller Hall, Red Bay.

A Facebook page under the name “Caymanians and Ex-pats United Against Taxation” was created by Nick Pitman, and in a matter of days has attracted over 10,200 members and steadily growing. The membership does not only include expats because a lot of Caymanians fear this is the start of the wheel turning towards taxation for all.

Instead of going ahead with his public meeting to outline the plans for his “Community Enhancement Fee” and to put the blame for its introduction on the previous PPM government and the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Bush decided to “cut and run” and at the very last hour cancelled the meeting.

The aforementioned protest group had announced they were going to hold a “Peaceful Rally” to protest and try to dissuade the premier from introducing the tax. I wish them the best of luck with that!

In the light of their announcement Bush issued a short statement saying,

“There appears to be an ill-temper abroad that suggests we would not get the calm and measured discussion that these issues require. There is too much influence being exercised on people’s minds by those who mean the country no good. Hopefully the disquiet they have generated will lessen enough that in a couple of days we can have a proper public reception and discussion of what we have to say.”

A new public meeting is planned for Wednesday (Aug1) at 7:30pm at the Sir John A. Cumber school hall, in the District of West Bay – the premier and his UDP party’s stronghold.

Whilst, I am sure, he feels he will be on safer ground, these disruptive elements have said they will reorganize and PEACEFULLY protest at the new venue, so it might not be a good decision.

Most big storms, when they stop, they actually get stronger, and unless there are strong resisting currents as opposing forces, I don’t see Hurricane Expat Income Tax dissipating. Yes, there will be some winds on Mr. Bush’s side but they may be swept aside. I pray that all remains peaceful but it only takes a spark to ignite a powder keg.

The second storm is the announcement from Michael Ryan ordering the watersports operators and boat captains to remove themselves from the SafeHaven dock to make way for construction of a Port Authority marina on the site and giving them only two weeks to make other arrangements.

The way most of the injured parties found out was through an advertisement Mr. Ryan placed in the Caymanian Compass and by direct contact by the media house asking for their comments. No prior private communication and/or meetings. How is that for diplomacy?

If government didn’t have enough hot potatoes on their hands!

Even Wayne Panton, the former chairman of the Port Authority Board, and the man who in the developer’s (Silverfin Development Company) press release states was part of the negotiations and signed the Agreement in 2009, said in a Compass article on the subject, that the order to vacate SafeHaven was “heavy-handed.”

Not surprisingly, this has started in a major storm brewing.

Although, Ryan has said interim sites located within the SafeHaven project had been made available to the existing water sports service operations that occupy the site from 28 July, why hasn’t he actually met with them face to face?

So many storms could be avoided if communication takes place PRIOR to any announcements.

Now where have I said that before?

Now we don’t have a teacup big enough to hold all these storms.