Archive for July 23rd, 2009

School kitchens cost millions

School kitchens cost millions

| 23/07/2009 | 38 Comments

(CNS): According to Hunter Jones (left) of Tom Jones International (TJI), the general contractor building Cayman’s two new schools, many of what he termed the “Cadillac items” in the design are too late to change as the projects are so far advanced. However, hedid say that his firm is working hard with the new government to help them shave some of the costs. Last week Rolston Anglin told the press that government is looking at a bill of $1.5 million for the school kitchens alone, which he said were five star restaurant grade fit-outs.

Anglin told the press at Friday’s media briefing that managing the situation surrounding the schools was literally a full time job for his ministry and that the priority was to get a team in place to deal with the litany of problems — one of which was the fact that the schools were rife with excesses.

“The PPM had promised us new schools but what they have given us is an operational mess,” he said. The new education minster explained that the lack of a project management team from the start had contributed further to the wider problems, from architects not being paid to sub-contractors walking off the job.

He said that a team and a reporting structure were being put together but the ministry was now seeking a manager to lead the project management team. He said a steering committee made up of people from the construction industry has also been established to work with TJI to reduce some of the costs, which he said were unnecessary and excessive.

“The kitchens cost more than most 5 star hotel kitchens at about $750,000 for each school,” he said. “We really need to get some semblance of sanity and some clarity on these projects,” the minister added.

Jones told CNS that there were a lot of custom designed items on the project that were part of the plans, which in many cases had already been made and paid for, and therefore it would not be possible to reduce a lot of the state-of-the-art facilities. “We are working with the government to change some of the Cadillac items to reduce costs, but the projects are so far advanced a lot of things just can’t be changed,” Jones said.

The question of overruns is also still outstanding as Jones has said that it could be as much as $17 million. However, the former education minster and the driving force behind the need to create state-of-the-art learning facilities, Alden McLaughlin, said that figure was absurdly high and that he believed the contractor was just trying to get more money than originally contracted. He told CNS last month that there could not possibly be any legitimate claims for such high overruns.

“I very much hope that the new government is not going to concede just because the developer makes a claim,” McLaughlin had said. “Up until I left office matters were still under discussion and no concessions had been made about the claims as webelieved that, by and large, they were not entirely genuine. We believed that the developer was taking advantage of the election to get more money, thinking government would give in to any demand.”

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More dolphins held captive

More dolphins held captive

| 23/07/2009 | 39 Comments

(CNS): Two more dolphins have arrived in the Cayman Islands and have been taken to the captive facility at Dolphin Discovery in North West Point Road. According to a release from the company the two Atlantic Bottlenose marine mammals arrived last Friday, bringing the total number of Dolphins held at the marine facility to eight. The Department of Environment confirmed that the two marine mammals, which have reportedly come from Tortola, had CITES certificates. However, the facility still does not have an operating license.

There are now 14 dolphins held in captivity in the Cayman Islands at two different facilities in West Bay, both of which have caused considerable controversy as a result of the declining acceptability world wide for what is seen by many as an exceptionally cruel form of entertainment.

Billy Adam, Cayman’s leading activist against what he calls the dolphin ‘abusement’ industry, said he was sickened by the arrival of yet more dolphins in Cayman and continues to be appalled by the government’s failure to uphold the law surrounding the facilities. “The attorney general, the police, the Department of Agriculture and now the new government are all allowing a blatant disregard of the law, as this facility as well as Dolphin Cove are carrying on their abusive entertainment business without operating licences as required under the law,” he said.

He also noted that the standards by which the two facilities are supposed to be operating are still a secret. Adam explained that the two facilities say they adhere to the standards set by the US Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks, a private association which will not publicize what those standards are.

“This business is an appalling, corrupt, deceptive and cruel trade and we are allowing these people to operate in contravention of our laws and we are not even able to see what standards it is that they are supposed to abide by,” Adam added.

Although the latest two dolphins have arrived from Tortola from the firm’s facility there with CITES certificates, Adam lamented the fact that the Cayman government is not conducting audits regarding the real origin of the creatures, tracking exactly where they came from and how they were actually captured.

“We are dependant on what other nations say is the case when it comes to the CITES certificate. There is no audit done to see if the governments from where these dolphins come from have been honest about their origins. As a result there can be no guarantee that these creatures do meet CITES standards. No one in our government wants to ask difficult questions so they cancontinue with this plausible deniability.”

Adam stated that the entire industry is dependent on corrupt practices but it seems that the government denies the brutality and those making the money do not care about it. “This cruel industry could not operate without corruption, and anyone who saw the showing of the ‘Cove’ recently can testify to that,” he said.  “We cannot know that these animals did not leave young dolphins who are still dependent on their mothers, even after that have stopped feeding, to learn things like migration routes and feeding grounds. Left without their mothers the baby dolphins will starve to death.”

The DoA has confirm that staff from the department were there to check the dolphins on arrival and that the paperwork was in order. DoA vet Dr. Gikonyo checked the  well-being of the dolphins  and said they were  exhibiting normal behavior including eating. The DoA however is responsible for the Operating Licenses for the facilities and it has not yet drawn up the regulations that will ultimately provide the legal framework should they ever be granted in accordance with the law.

The Water Authority confirmed that they had been contacted about the new dolphins and that both facilities currently have permits. The Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF) received its permit in October 2008 and a variation was made in February 2009 to include the flows from Dolphin Discovery. The Water Authority said that the CTF is in compliance with the terms of their permit, which expires in September 2009. Dolphin Cove also has a permit and is also in compliance, the Authority confirmed, noting that permit expires in August 2009.

There have, however, been some concerns raised in the West Bay community about an excessive build up of algae in the dolphin pool water at Dolphin Discovery, which is released back into the ocean. This was a problem that a number of people against the facilities had warned about as a result of its potential detrimental impact on the surrounding reefs. The facility admits that over 12 million gallons of water are pumped daily, equating to some 4 and a half transfers of the lagoon every day.

Despite the operating licensing issues and the controversy, General Manager Carlos Moreno said that business is booming at the facility, and that is why they have brought in two more dolphins. “It just made good business sense to bring two more dolphins from our wonderful facility in Tortola,” he said. Morena added that, as well as stay over and cruise ship guests, people from the Cayman community were visiting the facility, including residents with special needs and school children through its “Dolphins and Me” programme.

Mareno also noted that a number of young Caymanians were working at Dolphin Discovery on the summer intern programme.  “We are pleased to be able to offer the opportunity to further their education by learning the various aspects of our state-of-the-art research facility and about this important element of our tourism product,” he said.

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