I didn’t think I would be writing another Editorial featuring the number one burning and smoking Cayman topic – THE DUMP.

Once again Grand Cayman’s George Town Landfill site (the Dump) is front page.

This time it is not because it is burning again but it has become personal.

It started first with what I thought was a perfectly reasonable letter from the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce to Minister Osbourne Bodden and signed by its President, Johann Moxam questioning the need for another committee to “evaluate strategies, the management of public waste, recycling and waste-to-energy options” at the Dump.

I said as much in my Editorial on February 20 2014 – see http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/the-editor-speaks-chamber-is-right-there-is-no-need-for-anymore-dump-committees/ if you missed it or want to read it again.

In our Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin’s “State of the Nation Address” at the Cayman Economic Outlook Forum on 20th February, 2014”, which I thought generally was an excellent address and covered all the pertinent topics, he naturally highlighted the Dump.

He started of very well and I have no problem with anyone disagreeing with me. He feels we need another committee and he starts off with “While we fully acknowledge the urgency of this issue, we cannot be reasonably expected to resolve it overnight.” Of course not.

The Chamber and a lot of people here, however, are questioning the need for another committee, which we all know is going to take weeks, even months or God help us years to come up with a proposition that everyone is even half comfortable with.

The Premier gave us all the reasons why a decision cannot be put into place immediately because of a whole host of rules and regulations imposed on us outside our control. We know.

We even accepted his nice dig at the previous government blaming them. Heaven forbid he has had to put up with that jibe from former Premier McKeeva Bush every time Bush got up to speak. I smiled.

Due “in large part because of the disastrous consequences of the last tendering exercise conducted by government for a waste management solution.,” he said.

What was totally unnecessary was the next sentence.

“I am sure my good friend,” he started (now we all know when someone says this in a speech to the masses this person he is referring to is definitely not his friend), “the President of the Chamber, will recall this well, as he was involved in that tendering exercise.”

Oh dear. Hopefully, Johann Moxam will not react too much from that. We all live in hope, don’t we?

No such luck. It is amazing how a sentence comprising 23 words can produce  a TWO PAGE response.

Hasn’t the Chamber president ever heard the quote, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks”? It comes from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”.

My mind now is working overtime and I am working overtime to find out more.

Quite frankly it was unfortunate and entirely unnecessary for the premier to have made that comment. It even more ridiculous for the Chamber President to make a mountain as big as Trashmore over it.

In his letter – see today’s iNews Cayman under the heading “Chamber President disturbed at Cayman Premier’s address regarding dump” he challenges “the Premier and Minister Bodden to demonstrate mature leadership”. I challenge him that he himself has not been mature in his response.

His first letter was excellent regarding the dump but this one belongs on it.