🏛️ Bernie Bush moves to backbench in UPM government reshuffle

Bernie Bush MP, former minister for culture, has given up his Cabinet post in the new government line-up, moving to the backbenches. According to a press release, Bush voluntarily gave up his ministry to make a Cabinet seat available for his West Bay colleague following Kathy Ebanks-Wilks' decision to give up the speaker’s chair. Bush's tenure in the PACT Cabinet was marked by controversy, including allegations of interference in the recruitment of a new fire chief. His portfolio has now been passed on to Isaac Rankine, who replaced Dwayne John-John Seymour at the ministry of border control and labour after Seymour's resignation from PACT in September.

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In the reshuffle, Ebanks-Wilks will take on the former ministry of climate and sustainability. Premier Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, who now also takes on the responsibility of premier and the various additional departments included in that office as well as the ministry of finance and economics, said the new line-up was committed to being innovative and accelerating results for the people of the Cayman Islands. Meanwhile, McKeeva Bush has returned to the newly named group as a member of the backbench, describing himself as "the people’s watch dog".

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According to the official press release, the government’s reconfiguration of roles was intended to emphasize shared ideals and secure the numbers to regain the lost majority. The group said they would be pursuing five broad outcomes, including improving the quality of life for Caymanians, enhancing competitiveness, improving public sector performance, future proofing, and protecting Caymanian culture.

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