Archive for August 16th, 2010

Kids escape injury but woman hospitalized in crash

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Four children escaped unharmed from a two car smash on Sunday evening but the 33-year-old female driver is recovering in hospital following a head-on collision on Shamrock Road. Police said that a 27-year-old male driver of a Ford motor vehicle was not injured in the crash but was arrested on suspicion of DUI. At about 9.45 pm on 15 August the woman was driving her Toyota Prado east on Shamrock Road. As the vehicle approached Savannah Avenue it collided with a Ford motor vehicle which was turning right into Savannah Avenue from the westbound carriageway of Shamrock Road.

The woman was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital where she is being treated for head and hip injuries. Enquiries into the collision are ongoing and any witnesses should contact PC Tim Balls at the RCIPS Traffic Department on 946-6254.

Officials prepare for next CAFTA assessment

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): With the Cayman Islands facing increasing international pressure over transparency a group of government delegates from a number of government departments recently attended a pre-assessment workshop hosted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). The goal was to prepare for the fourth round of mutual evaluations by CFATF which will take place in 2012. Officials from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), Financial Reporting Authority, Financial Services Secretariat and the Legal Department heard from experts in financial crime legislation, Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance and financial intelligence and investigation.

The presenters identified areas which should be reviewed in order to determine whether improvements are needed prior to the onsite visits by CFATF. Deputy Head of the Policy and Development Division at CIMA and financial examiner during the third round of CFATF mutual evaluations, Francis Arana said that the workshophighlighted areas that will be given a higher degree of prominence during the fourth round of evaluations.

“The overwhelming message received was that jurisdictions will need to demonstrate tangible evidence of effective implementation of the 40 plus 9 Recommendations during the fourth round,” Arana said.

The Cayman Islands completed its third round evaluation by the CFATF in June 2007. The assessors found that overall there was a strong compliance culture through pro-active cooperation with the authorities in implementing AML/CFT measures.

Since that time,the relevant Cayman Islands Government authorities have done considerable work to implement the CFATFâ€Ÿs recommendations and are actively monitoring global developments to ensure that Cayman stays at the forefront of international standards, government officials stated

The workshop was held in El Salvador from 19-23 July 2010 and was sponsored by the International Monetary Fund.

No one hurt in car and light pole collision

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Police have confirmed that a car collided with a light pole in the early hours of Saturday morning despite the evidence of extensive debris in the smash. The vehicle reportedly left the road as it was as it was travelling in Shamrock Road towards George Town and hit the pole around 2.50am on 14 August pole in the vicinity of Selkirk Drive. Police said the male driver of the car was uninjured and no other vehicle was involved. Police have not said if the driver was arrested for DUI, if the car was travelling at high speed when it hit the pole or what other issue may have caused the smash which reportedly caused significant damage to the vehicle.

Householder catches burglar after chase

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 26 Comments

(CNS): Police said this morning that a 46- year-old man has been arrested and is currently in custody following a break-in at a home in George Town this weekend. At around 5.30 am on Saturday morning, 14 August, a man reported that he woke up to find an intruder inside the bedroom of his home in Success Circle, Crewe Road. While the man’s wife called the emergency services, the householder chased the intruder outside and then detained the man until the police arrived at his home. The alleged burglar was arrested on suspicion of burglary and is currently in police custody.

Police said that enquiries into the circumstances of the burglary are now ongoing.

Local pros back young Caymanian investment firm

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Two local finance companies are putting their weight behind a group of young Caymanians in a bid to launch them into the world of investment and high finance. Saxon Administration Ltd and its affiliate company dms Corporate Services Ltd are mentoring a group of former John Gray High School students and helping them set up and incorporate the Caymanite Organization. The two firms will be lending their support and advice tot he group of 19-23 year olds as they try their hand in the investment industry with their company which started earlier this yea as well as waving the usual incorporation and service fees.

The local firms say they will be offering some tricks of the trade as well as financial support to set up the firm officially on 31 August.

“It is our pleasure to lend our industry expertise and assist this budding group of entrepreneurs to get their structure off the ground and learn how to identify potential profitable opportunities,” said dms Senior Financial Analyst Craig Scott.

CEO of Saxon Brian Williams said the youngsters had needed to put together a formal structure for the purposes of investing and a corporation would provide maximum flexibility allowing them to do more than stock market investing, but also generate local business opportunity. With the fees associated with setting up a business often posing as an obstacle, both companies elected to absorb the costs and offer their services free of charge to ensure that the young professionals could capitalize on the opportunity.

Executives from the companies also serve as advisors to The Caymanite Organization, which already has a board of directors and an executive team, and identified two key objectives for this endeavour; to invest in the global stock markets and private businesses and events locally.

Demonstrating a long-term commitment to this venture, each shareholder is committing $100 every month from their own pockets, and has signed on to honour the contract whereby they cannot redeem or withdraw funds for a minimum of five years.

“Providing local youth with the insight and expertise to steer their future has been a practice inherent to Saxon for several years,” Williams said. “This particular group has already made great strides in mastering a sound understanding of what lies ahead once the corporation is formally set up, and we look forward to continuing on this journey with them. What I have found very impressive is the level of reception that we continue to receive by Cayman’s young people to get in the driver’s seat and secure their future.”

This endeavour comes on the heels of the first installment of the Saxon Investment Competition whereby Saxon coached 75 year 10 to 12 high school students during a six-month investment competition whereby they chose, analyzed and hypothetically traded stocks in accordance with real-time stock market information

Swimmers beat personal best times at Youth Olympics

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 5 Comments

(CNS): The Cayman team at the Youth Olympics in Singapore got off to a great start with both swimmers making personal best times. Yesterday (15 August) Lara Butler, competing in the Youth Woman’s 100m Backstroke, had a strong race and finished in 1:08.98. Earlier today in the Youth Men’s 200m Individual Medley Seiji Groome finished in 2:16.84, slashing his previous best (2:18.21) by more than 1½ seconds. Butler now has a few days to rest and prepare for her next race, the Youth Woman’s 100m Butterfly, on 19 August, while Groome is focused on his next race in the Youth Men’s 200 Breastroke on 18 August. (Left: Seiji Groome hits his stride in the Youth Olympics)

The Youth Olympic Sailing Events will begin on 17 August. Lizzy Wauchope has had two solid days of training at the Singapore National Sailing Centre and is set to complete the official practice race on 16 August. From 17 through 25 August Wauchope will compete in 16 races against 31 other countries in the Byte CII Class.

Cayman Islands News, Cayman Sports News, Youth Olympics Cayman team Of the Opening Ceremony, Roffey says in her report, “Singapore put together a fantastic show to kick off the Youth Olympic Games. The show started exactly at 20:10 after all of the athletes marched across the stage and took their seats in the VIP section of the floating arena. With the Singapore financial district skyline as the backdrop, the all youth cast had the audience on the edge of their seats during the show. Seiji Groome carried the Cayman Islands flag into the stadium shortly before the Olympic Flag was raised and the Games were officially declared open. The ceremony finished with the spectacular lighting of the Youth Olympic Games torch.” (Right: Lara Butler)

The Chef de Mission also described the experience for the athletes aside from the competitions. “The Youth Olympic Village is great! There is a lot going on with all of the CEP activities, movie theatre, pool hall and Olympic Gallery. The athletes have the opportunity to meet other athletes their age from 204 different nations around the globe. The World Cultural Village is a great place for everyone, athletes and officials, to learn about all of the nations taking part in the First Youth Cayman Islands News, Cayman Sports News, Youth Olympics Cayman team Olympic Games. The Cayman Team is excited to see what East View Primary and Secondary School will have on display in their Cayman Islands booth opening in The World Cultural Village on August 20th. East View has been working with Savannah Primary, each learning about Cayman and Singapore respectively.” (Left: Lizzy Wauchope)

Roffey said that, as well as preparing fro his next race, Groome is also determined to complete The Culture and Education Programme and earn a limited edition Singapore 2010 Swatch watch.

To keep track of our athletes’ performances and see pictures from the Opening Ceremony, visit the Singapore 2010 website www.singapore2010.sg

Water Authority to be leased

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 59 Comments

(CNS): Speculation surrounding government plans to lease one of its most valuable assets is raising concern from local staff and the opposition. Although government has not yet released the details of its intentions regarding the Water Authority, back-bencher and would be Cabinet minister, Cline Glidden, has said that it intends to lease the entity for 25 years to raise money. However, the terms of that lease have not been revealed and the opposition said that if government intends to divest its most successful asset on a long term lease, which aside from making a profit and keeping water costs down employs significant numbers of Caymanians, it would have to secure a significant amount of money each year for the public purse to make it worthwhile. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)

Last week rumours mounted that the government was intending to sell off the Water Authority, which had caused considerable concern among the authority’s staff, CNS learned. However, government representatives visited the authority in an effort to reassure employees that jobs would not be lost. When CNS contacted the authority to ask about its future and that of employees, WA Director Dr Gelia Frederick-van Genderen said she was passing the enquiry on to the ministry, which has not yet answered the questions submitted.

Opposition MLA for George Town, Alden McLaughlin, said that, while he has not seen the details of this proposition, as the Water Authority had been a great success for government, paying money into the public purse, employing significant numbers of local people and keeping the cost of water at a very reasonable level, it would have to be a very good deal indeed to be worthwhile.

“Obviously before we can take a position and support this we would need to see the terms of the proposal, which government has not yet seen fit to reveal, but knowing what I already do I am struggling to see how this would improve government’s bottom line,” McLaughlin stated. He added that a one-off upfront payment may seem attractive to put cash in the treasury now but if there was not a regular yearly payment to government it would defeat the purpose.

“It may be an attractive proposition to government now to take in a lump sum, but what happens the year after and the year after that,” he asked rhetorically, noting that the jobs and the low price of water also offered a valuable contribution to the local economy. He said the authority was one of the few government owned entities that was profitable and did not put a strain on government and actually added to the coffers each year. “I remain to be persuaded that this will be beneficial to government in the long term and we would have to be concerned about the local jobs as the Water Authority employs a lot of Caymanians, and many in very senior posts.”

Glidden appeared on Rooster’s morning talk radio show on Friday and stated that the government was considering an unsolicited offer to lease the authority for twenty-five years in order to raise cash for government. He did not reveal any details about the offer or where it came from but he said that Consolidated Water pays out some $8 million to its shareholders each year but government, the only shareholder in the Water Authority, did not even receive ten percent of that. Glidden said if government went ahead with the lease arrangement, it would still own the entity and regulate the authority.

CNS understand the offer is coming from Consolidated Water, which supplies water to residents in West Bay (who pay more than Water Authority customers) and which recently announced a fall in its second quarter profits this year as a result of problems it has encountered during a project it was contracted to do for the Water Authority. (See Consolidated Water Q2 results here)

Although government had made no secret that it would entertain offers for divestment of any number of public sector entities, when it came to the Water Authority the government had focused on attracting investors for the development of the sewage treatment plant, which has reportedly attracted no significant interest. As a result it appears government is now entertaining the idea of offering up the entire authority in some shape or form in order to generate cash.

Corporate Karting League underway

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Over 200 drivers are taking part in the AI Group Summer Corporate Karting League being held at the Cayman Karting track off Sparky’s Drive. In a very competitive season Cayman Airways took the initial lead before Deloitte seized control. Now at the halfway point of the ten race season the table is topped by two law firms: Harneys hold the lead, whilst Maples sit two points behind them. The first five weeks of the league have seen some very competitive racing with record lap times, a variety of pit-stop strategies, controversial manoeuvres and a couple of disqualifications. (Left: Daron Mclean and George Manderson – seated)

This league has also involved racing on the reverse track for the first time which has presented a whole new challenge for drivers. The change of track has, however, only reinforced the reputation of the fastest karters on island with the lap record being swapped around the same individuals it was on the regular track: Daron Mclean, George Manderson and Alexander Conolly. George Manderson is the current holder and the only person to have driven the reverse track in under 31 seconds.

Last week’s fifth round of races saw the top two teams, Harneys and Maples, face off on the track. After a particularly feisty battle including each team spinning the other off the track in the early stages the pace of Kieron O’Rourke and Jenny Deacon saw Harneys emerge victorious and steal the league lead from Maples. Team Valvoline sit menacingly in third place and after a shaky start are looking increasingly confident in their quest to depose the lawyers from the top of the table. They combine the out and out speed of Ajoni Ambersley with the local racing pedigree of Keith Tibbetts and consistency throughout the rest of the team. (Above: KX Sky Riders: Cayman Airways were the early league leaders.)

Team Parker’s and Automotive Art sit in fourth and fifth positions and are littered with more of the island’s racing veterans including Bobby Hulse, Michael Weatherford, Andy Bodden, the Kirkconnell brothers as well as three representatives from the Huggins family

In sixth place Deloitte sit first amongst accountancy rivals. The pace of Michael Pearson and Andy Childe helped secured a couple of early wins for the team. KPMG occupy twelth and fifteenth spots with their twoteams and Ernst and Young sit just behind them in sixteenth.

The format of the league is a series of 50 lap races with each team having to use three pitstops to change over their four drivers. A minimum of one female must drive for each team each week although Harneys have shown their strength in depth by winning races with two females in their team.

League racing continues on Monday and Tuesday nights. A Premier League will run from September to November and a Winter Corporate League will start in December. For those who haven’t made it down to the track yet Saturday 21 August is the perfect opportunity. For one evening only you can have the chance to try karting for $9.99. You can drive 10 laps and take part in a time trial. There will be music and food as well as two Cayman Airways tickets to any of their destinations up for grabs. More details are available at www.caymankarting.com.

Ebanks warns recruits to guard integrity and borders

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 14 Comments

(CNS): The deputy governor has told the country’s most recent immigration recruits that, as guardians of the country, their job is not about becoming wealthy or popular. At the latest graduation of newly trained officers Donovan Ebanks warned the class that their integrity and reputation were more valuable than anything else. The latest addition of ten recruits to the department, which the chief officer recently stated is considerably understaffed, is the first new group since 2007 and they will replace officers who have been promoted or have left the department.

Having completed three months training in various parts of the job, from forgery detection and interview techniques to behaviour analysis and intelligence, the new recruits will now join the frontline enforcement officers at the sea and airports.

“Learn to manage your new level of importance – especially as perceived by other people. While you will hold special privileges and powers, your integrity and reputation are more valuable than anything else,” Ebanks said at the graduation, emphasising the importance of intelligence-gathering and continuing education.

Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans encouraged the officers to surpass expectations. “Excellence, a positive attitude, especially in the face of challenges; teamwork and open dialogue; and respect for authority and the public are some qualities of a professional officer,” she said, adding that while their recent course was intense it was only the start of a very demanding road. She also encouraged the graduates to continue to develop their knowledge base, especially by learning immigration laws, regulations and policies.

In his remarks, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer Bruce Smith (Border control) reminded the new officers to be “firm, fair and courteous. The final – and most important – examination will be the proving grounds, where you apply your knowledge.”

The class address was presented by graduate Erika Bodden, who pledged her classmates’ “honour, duty and personal character in upholding the laws and making a positive difference in the country.” Bodden received the class’ Spirit Award, Brian Ebanks was named most outstanding in theory and practical application and James Whittaker was noted for his academic achievement.

Perez faces second murder trial in September

Cayman News | 16/08/2010 | 1 Comment

(CNS): The man who was acquitted of the murder of Canadian national Marty Gareau will be tried for the crime a second time next month. Josue Carillo Perez will stand trial again on 20 September although there is no new evidence in the case. Perez was acquitted following a judge alone trial in front of Justice Roy Anderson last year but following an appeal by the prosecution based on the wording of the judge’s ruling in March, the appeal was allowed and a new trial ordered. Five months after his acquittal, Perez a Honduran national who lives in the Cayman Islands, was re-arrested and has remained in custody since at HMP Northward.

Gareau’s beaten body was discovered in his home in Beach Bay in May 2008 and with no witnesses to the murder two faint finger prints belonging to Perez which the crown said were made in Gateau’s blood were the basis for the crown’s case. However, Perez, who took the stand in his own defence, had said he was friends with the defendant, said he had been at Gareau’s home a few weeks before the murder for a barbeque which would explain the presence of the prints.

The crown had offered no other forensic evidence and the circumstantial evidence was based on the fact that Perez had a window of opportunity on the afternoon of the Sunday before the body was found to commit the crime. The exact time of death was unclear as Gareau had spoken to a family member on the Sunday morning but had not been seen or hear from again until his body was found on Tuesday May 2008.

The judge said in his ruling that it was possible that Perez had killed Gareau and the latent prints indicated he could have been at the scene but the crown failed to prove he had committed the murder.

During the appeal against the judge’s not guilty verdict the crown argued that when he delivered his verdict the judge had engaged in speculation without fully expressing the reasons for his doubts and had directed himself that the burden of proof "was enhanced" because it was a murder trial. The crown said that if the judge had acquitted the accused man on the basis of a theory not presented to the court or because he had raised the level of the burden of proof, it would be an error in law.

As a result of the word “enhanced” the appeal court judges allowed the crown’s appeal and sent the case back to the Grand Court for a retrial.

Meanwhile, the current Cayman Islands Court of Appeal session will be hearing appeals in two other murder cases this week. On Tuesday William McLaughlin-Martinez who was convicted by a jury last year of murdering Brian Rankine in George will appear for his appeal against that conviction. Then on Friday Randy Martin who was convicted of murdering Sabrina Schirn at the prison farm, following a judge alone trial in front of Justice Charles Quin in January will make his appeal.

Archive for August 16th, 2010

Kids escape injury but woman hospitalized in crash

Officials prepare for next CAFTA assessment

No one hurt in car and light pole collision

Householder catches burglar after chase

Local pros back young Caymanian investment firm

Swimmers beat personal best times at Youth Olympics

Water Authority to be leased

Corporate Karting League underway

Ebanks warns recruits to guard integrity and borders

Perez faces second murder trial in September

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