08 October, 2004 - Published 21:18 GMT

Caymans seek more from UK

The Cayman Islands' leading government official has criticised the British government for the way the territory was treated in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.

McKeeva Bush, leader of government business in the Cayman Islands is in London for talks with British government officials about aid to the territory which suffered major damage when Hurricane Ivan struck on September 12.

"We hope to be able to get some assistance from them," he said. "There's still time for the British government to redeem themselves in terms of what they can do to help us as an overseas territory," he said.

"When you look at the devastation we have, the least I expected was one of the government ministers to put the island on the front burner and be there to see for himself what the extent of the devastation is."

Mr Bush said there are more than 6,000 people homeless as a result of Hurricane Ivan, as well as substantial damage to schools, roads and government buildings.

He said an assessment is being conducted with help from the UK government to determine the level of assistance the territory will receive.

The Cayman Islands is one of the world's leading financial centres and in the days following the hurricane’s passage there were reports that the true extent of the devastation was being played down to protect the territory's image.

Mr Bush denied this but said getting the financial sector back in operation quickly after the hurricane was a priority.

"We do have an international business sector we can run quickly and without getting business up and running, you won't have any money to help the people that need to be helped," he said.

"We were always on top of the needs for people, making sure they had water and they had food. But at the same time, the other prong of the approach had to be that we got business up and running. Anyone giving an impression that we were only concerned about our image is making a big mistake and has given a wrong impression."

Political tension

After Hurricane Ivan, the Cayman Islands was placed under a state of emergency for three weeks, and the territory was under the control of the British-appointed Governor Bruce Dinwiddy and a hurricane committee.

The state of emergency was lifted last week and Mr Bush was asked whether this arrangement caused any conflict between the government and the governor.

"I can't say there is tension," he said. "We're back as a cabinet and we've told him exactly how we felt about the whole thing," Mr Bush said.

"The politics, likes and dislikes have to be put aside because first and foremost are the needs of our people and our people have tremendous needs right now. Politics as far as I'm concerned is out of the window."

On the island of Grand Cayman which was hardest hit by Hurricane Ivan, most of the hotels were damaged, but despite the cleanup operation still underway, Mr Bush said the sector should be welcoming guests by the end of November.

He stressed however, that the Cayman Islands is still in need of assistance and accounts have been set up to receive donations at the diplomatic offices in London and New York.