With a storm of almost hurricane strength hitting the donations that have been given to churches by the government is would appear the reason is that many persons feel it is a form of election bribery.

I do not think the majority of persons in the Cayman Islands have major objections to churches getting donations from the public purse, even though the sums given out over a relatively short period of time (since 2010) total more than $4.5M (out of $10M), it is the way the donations have been dished out.

The current government has supported the Nation Building Fund that was the brainchild of ex-premier McKeeva Bush. Bush set up the Fund to help church and other important local cultural establishments, as well as students who are unable to get scholarships through the normal channels.

On the surface it would seem to be a reasonable thing to set up.

Unfortunately, as was common with nearly everything that Bush set up, the control and the say who got the funds lay with the premier. There was supposed to be a committee formed to examine applications to the fund but I cannot find any record of an announcement who these committee members are and if they ever even met.

Current premier, Hon. Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, said last Thursday (11) at the Press Briefing that the decision to give a grant from the Fund or not, and how much, was at the discretion of the former premier, McKeeva Bush.

Despite some MLA’s saying that churches play a significant lead role in the community, and it is cheaper for government to give money to churches so they can repair and upgrade their buildings to become hurricane shelters and/or set up after school programmes rather than run everything via the public sector, the storm is gathering strength.

No explanation has been given why one church gets hundreds of thousands of dollars, another just a few thousand, and others zero.

Where was the value for money tests? Were they ever done?

With an election just around the corner, the new premier, who comes and is one of the elected members from Cayman Brac, hands out a church in Cayman Brac, $50,000 from the Fund. She next personally announces to the congregation of a church she attends in Red Bay that it would be receiving  $100,000 from the fund!

Is the premier so naïve that she couldn’t see how all this could and has been construed?

The church on Cayman Brac has returned the money because of the outcry and it is understood the Red Bay church are now considering doing the same.

And has it influenced the election?

Or will all of the above blow over?