MP Hew sets the record straight on George Town Landfill project Loop Cayman Islands

Black Immigrant Daily News

Responding to previous remarks made in Parliament on the George Town Landfill project by the Premier, Wayne Panton, MP Joey Hew, the Deputy Leader of The Opposition, released a statement on October 13, 2022 explaining that the Opposition wished to set the record straight.

Overall, MP Hew said that “the Premier’s attempts to smear both the Progressives and the project are regrettable and must not go uncorrected.”

The true story, according to MP Hew, is that the Premier caused delays and “rather than seeking to explain his own delays and the risks they have caused, the Premier sought to deflect attention by manufacturing claims about the Progressives’ actions in government.”

On the point of misleading the country, MP Hew clarified that the Opposition has “never said there was a ‘fully negotiated contract’ that PACT could get on and execute as the Premier claims.”

Instead, the Opposition was clear from the outset “that more work was needed to complete the contracting process.”

As evidence of this, MP Hew provided a link to a YouTube video containing the statements previously made in March 2021 (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UUJNnxfb1g).

In relation to project delays, MP Hew intimated that the Premier and PACT government left the project to “one side. “

MP Hew continued: “The difference is that we would have gotten on and done the hard work, but the Premier and PACT essentially did nothing. The Premier himself refers to a document from legal advisors setting out the outstanding issues which he was given in August 2021. That was 4 months into the PACT government and meant 4 of the 6 months to get to financial close had passed before the Premier, as Minister responsible, even looked at the work that needed doing.”

In relation to the Auditor General’s report on whether value for money was obtained for the project, MP Hew said: “The Premier says the AG reviewed the project as it stood when we signed and concluded it did not represent value for money. We have not seen that report, so it is difficult to comment in detail. The Leader of the Opposition will ask for a copy since it has been brought up by the Premier.”

In the meantime, MP Hew suggested that “the delays and dithering” by the Premier “have created new financial risks in the project.”

The full statement can be viewed in the link below:

https://tinyurl.com/mpur9csy

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