If a newly arrived visitor to the Cayman Islands had called in at the Harquail Theatre last Thursday (9) they would have been astonished to learn that the whole island has been fuming and almost going to war over the current budget crisis we are in. At first sight it looked like there were more panelists on the stage than actual attendees.

Billed as a Forum on “Cayman’s Budgetary Crisis – The Way Forward” and following hot on the heels after the premier’s Public Meeting on the new Budget proposals, after the announcement the expat income tax had been removed, one could have expected a full house and not the forty or so attendees scattered around the auditorium. The majority, I must confess, looked most of the time bored with the whole thing.

The Forum was organised by the Generation NOW committee and the panelists on display were:

Richard Coles (Chair, Cayman Finance), Donovan Ebanks (Fmr. Dep. Governor), Hon. Alden McLaughlin (Leader of Opp.), Ezzard Miller (MLA, Ind. For N.S.) and Dr. Robert Weishan (Chair & Prof. of Bus. Studies, UCCI).

A very distinguished panel and the promotion flyer announced: “the UDP Government was invited but indicated they are unable to participate.”

The strangest piece on the flyer was “(NOT AIRED ON RADIO CAYMAN)”.  Did that mean it was supposed to have been, even though the Forum had not actually taken place? That would have been amazing if Radio Cayman had managed it.

The reason for the public’s almost disinterest in the Forum was maybe they couldn’t fork out the $10 being charged for entrance which I have to say, although not much, was a deterrent and an unusual request. A bucket by the door for contributions to defray expenses would have been a better and more appropriate method, even though “refreshments would be provided.”

Now what did come out from the Forum?

The consensus of agreement was the UDP’s failure to make long-term plans, compounded by the failure to follow short-term plans. The solution lay in developing a strategic plan to eventually cut the size of government and allow the economy to grow in new directions. The number one concern was the UDP had made a long term strategic plan but had not taken any notice of it. A plan once put forward and approved MUST be kept.

Ezzard Miller said, “We need sound long term planning based on sound economic analysis.” He called for wider public consultation by government to create a five-year economic plan for government’s finances.

All the panelists agreed that the civil service could, over the next three years, be reduced to the target in the Miller-Shaw report of around 3,300.

The word ‘efficiency’ kept coming up but no real solutions to achieve efficiency were put forward. The unwillingness of politicians to cut the size of the civil servants being employed was seen to be the real cause of the problem and not the Governor’s as is the cry of McKeeva Bush.

“Ministers have the ultimate tool, which is the appropriations,” Donovan Ebanks said. “Civil servants can only spend what is appropriated to their department and nothing more.”

Miller agreed: “The ministers have the power to alter policies and lead the cuts’”

Ebanks also said by government not having their annual budget in place in a timely manner was the reason they now had to resort to additional revenues.

Professor Weishan said, “I cannot subscribe to new fees or budget cuts for the civil service until someone determines whether government is getting value for money out of all the services it provides now. The key question is ‘how does Cayman grow in the future?’ It seems to me we’re just hoping that we’ll get back to the good old days and maybe the good Lord will take care of us.”

He also made the poignant statement, “All governments introduce new policies but old ones never seem to die.”

Mr. McLaughlin said he agreed a 10 per cent payroll tax for work permit holders would have been ‘fiscal suicide’.

Everyone also agreed the payroll tax should not have been suggested let alone tried to be implemented but some form of fee increases or taxes was inevitable to keep the country afloat in the short term.

Richard Coles said it was “too late in the day” to make serious expenditure cuts in the 2012/13 budget. “Additional revenue is unavoidable,” he said. “We recognise that. It is our industry [the financial services industry] that is going to bear the brunt of that. We’ve got to be very careful though, if you squeeze too hard, you might actually kill it.”

The final words I leave for Miller who noted that government’s first proposed budget (2012/13 year) was $498 million in expenditures, while the most recent draft sent to the UK totaled $592 million. He asked, “Why?”