For the last several months, various members of our staff have heard growing concerns expressed from the business community and others.
They all go something like this: These businesses and individuals would like to have more information regarding the stability of the Cayman Islands. They have concerns about reports involving criminal investigations and the uncertainty surrounding these cases, which causes them to vacillate as to whether they should invest money in the country.
This newspaper now finds itself in the same position it was in during 2008/2009 – addressing the ill-fated Operation Tempura investigation. Frankly, this is not a good feeling.
It seems that, two years after the current criminal investigation into Premier McKeeva Bush was launched, there is no further clarity regarding what will happen. In the meantime, Cayman’s potential business investors are left feeling a bit uneasy about what might occur here in the future.
Criminal investigations, particularly those that involve financial matters and individuals in elected office, will obviously take time if a competent and thorough review is to be conducted. However, in the current case, it took roughly a year-and-a-half before anything became public and even then the governor’s office and police refused to discuss the matter. We’re told His Excellency even wondered – in a country where defamation is a criminal offence – why the press refused to speculate about serious allegations surrounding the Premier. This silence on behalf of officialdom, we believe, is doing more to damage the reputation and future prospects of the Cayman Islands than any particular revelations about the activities of any one elected official could ever do. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. There’s no point in trying to speed up a criminal probe, but matters have certainly reached the stage where something needs to be said by those in charge.
The longer the clouds of uncertainty hang over this country, the more the public, the economy and the Cayman Islands’ reputation will suffer. The lessons of Operation Tempura were hard-learned and expensive.
We hope those in charge don’t make the same mistakes a second time.