Archive for November 24th, 2009
Prison boss says education important
(CNS): Although there are very high levels of illiteracy in the Cayman Islands prison system, some 120 inmates from both the young offenders institute as well as the male and female prisons are still participating in a number of educational courses. Those Inmates were recognised for their efforts recently during the Prisoner Learning and Development Unit’s (PLDU) third annual awards ceremony. The event took place at HMP Northward, where the Commissioner of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Dr William Rattray, said that education was a critical component of sentence-planning.
Rattray said prison education should not be defined just in terms of contributing to reducing recidivism, although that is a fundamental goal, but also because it is “the right thing to do”. He also spoke about the harsh realities of prison life. “Contrary to popular belief, this is far from a hotel,” the prison boss said.
The event was held in the Northward Prison Chapel. In attendance, along with the usual government officials and dignitaries, was motivational speaker Jacqueline Morris, who gave the keynote address. She encouraged inmates to maintain hope in the face of uncertainly and difficulty. “Education is only successful if it results in the self-discovery that can change and empower you,” she said. “The greatest service you can do is to fulfil your own potential.”
She further urged them to be responsible, to be the best they can be, and to find their unique places in the world.
Deputy Governor Donovan Ebanks described the ceremony as a “significant occasion”, and said he was grateful to see the progress that inmates had made. “As adults you are responsible for yourselves, and no one owes you a ticket through life. Think of the impact your situations have on your families on the outside – do you think your children are proud that you are in here?”
Comparing his own life experiences to theirs, he further advised the inmates to avoid taking shortcuts and instead to bring positive focus to personal plans. “Appreciate what you need to do, and be willing to commit to help yourselves,” he added.
Prison Director Dwight Scott presented the Director’s Award to Hasani Levy, and commended those involved in the PLDU. He congratulated those inmates who had taken advantage of the learning opportunities. Other inmate students received certificates as Most Outstanding (John Bernard), Most Improved (Allan Ebanks) and for Best Attendance (Terrance Bryan).
As drug abuse prevention is a key component of rehabilitation, Cayman Against Substance Abuse (CASA) certificates were also awarded to inmates from all three facilities for their completion of the basic drug education course.
Hospital project will not be built on government land
(CNS): The proposed development of a health city in the Cayman Islands by Dr Devi Shetty will be an entirely private project, a spokesperson for the organisation has confirmed. Despite reports in The Times of India that the Cayman Islands government has offered the pioneering cardiac surgeon a 100-acre plot on which to construction his medical facility, David Legge, who is speaking for the organisation in Cayman, said this was not the case as a plot has not yet been identified for the project. Legge said the report’s suggestion that Cayman Airways would be offering low cost flights to potential patients was premature as no agreement has yet been negotiated.
He added that the project was still in the early stages and there were several issues still to address. Above all, he said, it was not a public-privatepartnership with government but was an entirely private sector project. The project director in Cayman is Gene Thompson, and while government is supporting the initiative, it will not be investing money or land.
In an interview with the Indian daily, however, Dr Shetty said that construction on the city was due to start before June 2010, and within a year the hospital would be commissioning 200 to 300 beds.
"Initially, we will start with cardiac services and then move on to orthopaedic, organ transplants, neurology and others.” Dr Shetty told the paper. “We will have 500 beds first and then scale it up to 2,000 beds. There will be a medical college, a hospital and a lot of academic activities.” The doctor also stated that he had made a presentation to the Cayman Island parliament, “after which they invited us to set this up. ..(the) Cayman Islands’ PM will be in Bangalore on December 17 to inaugurate the cancer hospital," Dr Shetty added.
So far, neither Premier McKeeva Bush nor Health Minister Mark Scotland has made any official comment regarding the project, but CNS has submitted a number of questions to the ministry and is awaiting a response.
The initiative, which was first announced last week, is intended to offer low cost health care to patients from North America and offer the Cayman Islands the chance to develop medical tourism as a third arm of its economy.
Northward inmate on trial for murder
(CNS): The trial of a serving prisoner accused of the murder of Sabrina Schirn (left) opens in Cayman’s Grand Court One this morning (Tuesday 24 November). Randy Martin (38), who has pleaded not guilty to the crime, was charged with the murder of the 21-year old woman in April of this year, following the discovery of Schirn’s body in High Rock, East End in March. Martin, who is already serving a seven year prison sentence at HMP Northward, was one of a number of inmates allowed to work on the prison farm, which is located in the vicinity of where the body was found. The trial is scheduled to last three weeks.
Following the murder, Wilderness Farm, the prison agricultural facility where inmates routinely worked outside of the prison, has been closed and a recent report recommended that it should not re-open.
Schirn was reported missing to the RCIPS on 12 March and her body was found in bush land off High Rock Road by her friends and family on the 17 March. A local farmer had discovered, less than a mile away, the car she had last been seen driving a few days before. The case caused considerable controversy in the local community, which included criticism of the local police and the prison service. Speculation that a prisoner on the work release programme at the Wilderness Farm had committed the murder began even before Schirn’s body was discovered. The family and friends of the murdered girl have been vociferous in their condemnation of the way the investigation was handled.
Following the charges against Martin, Commissioner of Corrections and Rehabilitation William Rattray denied that the Cayman Islands Prison Service (HMCIPS) was negligent and that before any prisoner can work outside the secure perimeter of HMP Northward a thorough security risk assessment is undertaken. Defending the prison policy to allow inmates to work in the community, he said that the risk assessment was the most sophisticated available. “HMCIPS conducted an international review of available security risk assessment instruments and settled on the instrument currently used. It is impossible to find, let alone create, a risk assessment instrument that can possibly predict, with 100% certainty, human behaviour,” he said at a press briefing in May.
Port board brings in CTC
(CNS): In a move to advance the transparency regarding the development of the George Town cruise berthing facilities, the chairman of the Port Authority said that he and members of the board have now met with both the Auditor General’s Office and the Central Tenders Committee to appraise them of the current situation. Stefan Baraud told CNS on Monday that the board would be keeping both the AG, Dan Duguay, and the CTC chair, Ronnie Dunn, informed about the progress of the negotiations. Baraud also noted that if all goes to plan, work could start on the development during the first quarter of 2010.
The chair of the authority said that, with the finance for the port development coming from the private sector, the CTC would not need to play a roll as no government assets will be bought or sold, but in the interests of transparency and clarity he wanted to involve the committee.
Baraud confirmed that at this stage the MOU and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) were being reviewed and the negotiations between the Port Authority, the developer and the cruise lines were ongoing, as the parties move toward an agreement and a final contract to make the project a reality.
Government recently entered into an MOU with DECCO, the Dart Group’s construction company, to build and finance a cruise facility in George Town Harbour with two piers capable of berthing up to four ships. The project will reportedly be financed entirely by Dart, which will return their investment through an arrangement with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. The Port Authority will, however, still has full ownership of the facility.
Baraud explained that, now the MOU was almost ready to be signed, there would be a period of time where the finer details would be worked out, firstly for the EIA and then the parameters of the contract.
“There will be a pretty thorough review process over the next few weeks with regards to the MOU and the EIA before anything else happens,” Baraud said, adding that the negotiations between the potential developer (DECCO), the client (the cruise association), and the Port Authority would be examining the construction details of the actual facility. He explained that the EIA was now with the DoE and stated that, despite recent news reports, it was not a reduced version of the previous EIA, as proposed under the last administration, but a different assessment because the entire project was different since it did not propose moving the site or developing a cargo facility.
“The piers will be constructed in the area of the port, which has already been devastated by the mooring of cruise vessels over the years. The main goal of the EIA now is to ensure that Seven Mile Beach will be protected,” Baraud said.
The new terms of reference will now be agreed between the DoE and the developer, but he said he did not know which firm would be asked to conduct the study. He said, however, that he believed the EIA was imminent and it was a key factor in getting the whole project moving forward.
Baraud said that, at this stage, the CTC had effectively given its blessing to the project as government was neither selling an asset nor purchasing an asset and, as a private finance initiative, it would not affect government revenue.
Ronnie Dunn, the CTC chair, told CNS that representatives from the Port Board had met with the committee on Friday of last week and updated them on the details of the project and the story so far. Dunn agreed that there was no reason for the CTC to be involved at this stage as only an MOU had been signed and there had been no exchange of goods or services with government. He said it was not a matter of giving a green light but there was simply nothing for the CTC to be involved with yet.
Nevertheless, Dunn said that once a contract was signed the CTC would determine what process would needed to be followed. Dunn said that the CTC was happy to have been appraised of the situation and was pleased with the commitment to open dialogue.
Baraud told CNS that the Port Authority was keen to ensure that this project, which he said was extremely positive, was not marred in anyway and he wanted the process to be as open and transparent as possible, with everyone who had an interest involved in each stage.
Duguay also said he was very happy that his office was also now appraised of the current situation and that the port had agreed to keep him informed of developments as the negotiations progress towards a contract.