As Mr. Franz Manderson takes up his appointment in the role of Deputy Governor, I wish to express a hearty welcome to him in my capacity as Premier, and to express the confidence of the elected Government, that his tenure in office will be a progressive one.

We have noted, too, that all civil servants may look forward to the enhancement of the civil servant’s perceived value, under Mr. Manderson’s leadership.

You may expect a heightened recognition of the value of the great service you all offer to the public of the Cayman Islands, as well as to our many short- and longer-term guests. He will no doubt call on you to keep to or exceed those standards.

Mr. Manderson is a dedicated, capable, and hard-working civil servant and goes out of his way to facilitate the application of similar qualities by those in public service.

We wish him every success in this, as we face our emerging challenges, and as we place renewed emphasis on pulling together for the common good.

We know Mr. Manderson will be a great asset as we strive to attain, and sustain, the dynamism and reliability, the insight and the foresight, that are necessary to establish peace, order and good government amongst and for the people of the Cayman Islands. In the mutual interests of that call to service, I welcome him.

Wednesday also marked the appointment of a first Chief of Staff to the Premier. I am particularly pleased at Mr. Donnie Ebanks’ announcement of Mr. Leonard Dilbert’s appointment to this position. I have worked closely with Mr. Dilbert, and have watched his entire career. No better or more capable person could have been chosen from within the civil service to support and assist me in the performance of the policy leadership role that falls to me as Premier; and to take forward the good governance of our Islands, working in conjunction with all chief officers.

I am also most pleased to note today the appointment by the new Deputy Governor of three new chief officers; three capable men who we are confident will bear well the large responsibilities assigned to them.

Altogether, with the new appointees, and existing Chief Officers Ms Jennifer Ahearn, Dr. Dax Basdeo, Mrs. Sonia McLaughlin, Mrs. Mary Rodrigues and Ms Dorine Whittaker, I fully expect that the new Deputy Governor will have a team equipped to meet the development challenges of the Cayman Islands at this time and to support and assist this and succeeding Governments. The challenge of course is to best provide within available and earned resources, for the betterment of the common good.

I welcome them all, in my dual capacity of

Premier and Minister, and on behalf of the entire elected Government with whom this team must work most closely. May God’s richest blessings fall on us all as we go about our work of stewardship.

Premier McKeeva Bush