Cayman Island Deputy Premier and three legislators quit ruling coalition

The government of the Cayman Islands is facing  significant crisis as three Cabinet ministers and a parliamentary secretary have resigned, leaving the ruling coalition without a working majority.

Deputy Premier André Ebanks, Sustainability and Climate Resiliency Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, Health Minister Sabrina Turner, and Parliamentary Secretary Heather Bodden announced their immediate departure from the United People’s Movement.

In a press release, the former Deputy Premier cited four key factors that led to their decision to resign.

“In recent months in particular, the level of dysfunction and disorganization, and a lack of professionalism, places the country at risk of erroneous decision-making and reputational damage which could have long-term adverse consequences,” the release noted.

The four criticized a lack of parity between ministers, who are “not afforded the same level of transparency and involvement to make informed decisions in the best interests of the people and the country as a whole which is leading to the erosion of due process.”

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Critiquing “unchecked disrespect, particularly towards women in Caucus,” the departing government members hit out at the atmosphere in meetings, for failing to “foster objective analysis or provide a forum for a respectful exchange of differing views.”

Denouncing “increasingly self-interest above country interest,” they lambasted the administration’s decision-making process, which it said, “diverts funding, time and efforts from addressing national priorities and hinders equitable resolution of constituency needs.”

The decision leaves the ruling party – the United People’s (UPM), with just seven members, three short of the majority needed to govern.

This is the second time in the current four-year cycle that the coalition government has collapsed.