Dear CMR,
I read your recent article on Edlin Myles being appointed to the Transport Board and elective criticism that followed from largely Caymanians. I must admit that at first, I was also critical of the need to report on this until I listened to the talk show with the Minister defending his decision. After carefully considering all sides I must agree with you and think that it is high time that we set standards across all boards for everyone regardless of who the person is. To be honest this stinks of nepotism!
Why do we have to recycle the same people on boards anyway? Is it because we don't have anyone else qualified or willing to do the job? It's the same recycled political wannabes. They fail on one board and we bring them back to fail on other boards as well – no wonder we can never get any further ahead and continue to fail our people!
PACT should be ashamed of themselves for this decision and I don't care if the minister believes he can take personal responsibility for this or not. Did he not get the memo about collective responsibility? That's the type of government system he's a part of – COLLECTIVE NOT INDIVIDUAL! Isn't accountability somewhere in their name? How exactly is this accountable to the people of Cayman – allowing the fox back in the hen house?
They had better take heed that people are paying attention and this type of decision is sending a clear message.
It's easy for everyone to want to shoot the messenger just because a person is likable. Well as you have often said on your talk program “Ted Bundy was also a likable person – but without a doubt, he was also a serial killer”.
You are 100 percent correct – a dishonesty offense in a person's capacity as a board member should mean they NEVER have that privilege again. In life, there are times when you only get one opportunity, and regardless of our so-called Christian values, you do not allow someone to be placed in a board position again. I also appreciate you pointing out during the program the numerous lawsuits that he faced dating back 20+ years which could really explain his apparent desire to take money from poor people and abuse his position as a board deputy chairman.
Do people not know the scope of what he did and to this take has taken ZERO accountability for his actions? He sought to have his sentence overturned and never apologized to those poor people or the people of the Cayman Islands – this is someone deserving of another board appointment? Seems to me your reads should read their bibles and the case file while they are at it:
If he stole from a bank you'd better believe he could never work in a bank again! Certain behavior eliminates one's future opportunities. Simple as that and it's a lesson that we all should learn!
What makes him so special in terms of public transport? What expertise or knowledge is he bringing to the board? If I were on that board I would encourage all other board members to be resign in mass protest.
Not of this has anything to do with his charisma and likeability. He's still likable but yet he's also a thief and one of the lowest forms too – stealing from people who the judge said did not even have the money he was taking from them. How can so-called Christians excuse this behavior? A man living the apparent high life and nice cars with a full-time job taking advantage of people begging the government for a home for their families?
Forgiveness is one thing but it does not require one forgetting all the facts of what actually transpired.
Another point I wish to make is people talking about “oh if this was an expat we would know nothing about it”. Are these the same people who read CMR on a regular basis? My God, I recall every time you post an article about an American, Canadian, Filipino or Jamaican thief or fraudster people start cussing you about how you do not like foreigners. Seems to me that CMR hardly cares who the thief actually is but wants to expose them.
Now, their selective memories are talking about how you don't like your own people? Is this a joke? How many other Caymanians have you highlighted before that they had nothing to say about? Was it acceptable to highlight them because they have no historical political ties? Was it acceptable to highlight them because they are not members of Lodge? Was it acceptable to highlight them because they are not former party leaders in the UDP?
Someone needs to explain the obvious biases here from some of your readers because it's not based on logic.
One thing I noticed that you did not mention in all of this is our international reputation – what about that? Has the minister and all those defending this decision wondered why we have a reputation for lawlessness? In the world of compliance, he automatically becomes a politically exposed person (PEP) because of this appointment. What sort of message does this send to the rest of the world about how Cayman operates? We would rather be seen as a “forgiving” Christian society as opposed to one that falls accepted international best practices and standards?
In the corporate world this is the equivalent of acting dishonestly and guess what happens? It precludes you from ever holding a director role again. That's the seriousness of the offense even if there was no jail time attached to it.
The real question then becomes – how is it possible that for some boards there is a requirement to sign a declaration that specifically says you have not been convicted of a dishonesty offense but on the Transport Board that does not exist? This should be the universal standard across the board. When you have set standards that removes the ability for political favors and missteps.
Why are board appointments so disjointed and all over the place?
Is it no wonder that other former board members who were asked to be fired by the previous Public Accounts Committee can now come to his rescue as through they were the epitome of respectfulness. Guess he will soon be sitting on another board as well.
We often hear the saying that Cayman is not a real place. What that means is that some of the madness that goes on here defies logic – this is but yet another example of why Cayman is not a real place!
As far as CMR is concerned – keep calling them out regardless of who they are or where they are from. I, for one, am very grateful for the exposing that you do at all levels.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
