Members of the Opposition will be taking the cruise pier debate to the people of the Cayman Islands in a series of Island-wide public meetings beginning Monday (October 1, 2018) when they will be unveiling their strategy for the continued well-being of the cruise industry sector.

The objective of the meetings will be to elucidate key concerns to assist members of the Cayman community to arrive at an informed decision about the construction of the controversial multi-million-dollar cruise berthing facility.  A further aim is to garner support for the people-initiated referendum.

“Putting the project to the test of a national referendum will have the effect of forcing Government to disclose more of the well documented evidence, for and against, entering into this project,” Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Ezzard Miller said, adding: “In the interim, at these upcoming meetings we will be sharing what our own research has revealed so that  the people, who will ultimately bear the burden of the outcome, will be properly prepared to come to their own informed conclusions.”

While disputing the necessity of Government’s proposed pier as a prime feature of cruise industry continued growth, Mr. Miller underscored that the Opposition is keenly aware of the role that the cruise industry plays in the Islands’ economy and of the sector’s importance to its workers and businesses.

“We support and will continue to advocate for interventions that contribute to the vibrancy of cruise ship business as a whole,” he said, “but only in so far as those initiatives are in the long-term best interest of the Cayman Islands and its people.”

Mr. Miller said that he was inviting persons of both persuasions to come to the meeting and to share their views.

“Unlike the Government, who have been seeking to influence public opinion on the basis of fear-mongering, we believe that in a controversial project of this nature and magnitude the people should have their say, both in our upcoming meetings and in the people-initiated referendum,” Mr. Miller said, adding: “As the Opposition, we are unreservedly committed to facilitating that understanding by openly and unreservedly sharing the facts as we know them.”

The schedule for the island-wide district meetings, which all begin at 7:30 pm, is as follows: Monday, Oct. 1, East End Civic Centre; Tuesday, Oct. 2, North Side Civic Centre; Wednesday, Oct. 3, Bodden Town Civic Centre; Thursday, Oct. 4, Savannah Primary School Hall; Monday, Oct. 8, West Bay Primary School Hall; Tuesday, Oct. 9, South Sound Community Hall, George Town; Wednesday, Oct. 10, Seafarer Association meeting hall, Prospect, George Town.

The Opposition was particularly keen on conducting the meetings, Mr. Miller said, because of the sparsity of up-to-date public information for which the public is clamouring. He was also concerned that people fully understood the consequences of a decision that has been attracting so much economic and environmental disquiet.

“Our people are capable of making up their own minds, and they deserve the respect due to them as concerned citizens,” Mr. Miller said.

The anticipated robust debate facilitated by the referendum process would provide the necessary scope for that full and open debate,” Mr. Miller said, adding: “Conversely, with the people-initiated referendum currently reaching almost 50% of its required 5,200 signatures of registered voters, an information-sharing exercise of that nature will make the mandate for the initiation of the referendum achievable.”

This move by the Opposition follows a motion calling for a Government-initiated referendum in the recent Legislative Assembly meetings in Cayman Brac.

Although the motion unfortunately did not attract the support of the Government Bench, it did succeed in extracting some information that has been useful in contributing to a revealing snapshot of the deleterious impacts and costs of the project, Mr. Miller observed.

“And the information we garnered only served to reinforce our position that the cruise berthing project must be carefully considered,” he said.

In the process of that informational role, Mr. Miller said, the Opposition will unveil its strategy to ensure the continued growth of the tourism sector.

“The Opposition’s ultimate goal is to safeguard the continued environmental and economic wellbeing of the Cayman Islands for present and future generations of Caymanians,” the Leader of the Opposition said.