Archive for January 14th, 2013
CBO will miss Mac’s annual address
(CNS): After three years of major announcements and controversies during his annual ‘state of the nation’ address at the Cayman Business Outlook (CBO), McKeeva Bush will be missed as a key speaker at one of Cayman’s most widely attended business conferences. The new premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, will be delivering the address, but given her minority government’s position, she is unlikely to stir up the type of surprises and controversies associated with her predecessor, who had helped to boost attendance at the event. However, organisers are planning to round off the one day conference with a political debate, which could see the former premier return to the CBO platform. Read more and comment on CNS Business
New voters get last chance
(CNS): Following a request made by the new premier and a motion in the Legislative Assembly, which gained the support of all of the members last week, the governor has agreed to extend the voter registration period for the next election, but only by one more week and not until the end of January as had been requested by the House. People who are qualified to vote now have until midnight on 22 January to get their names on the register in time for the May General Election. Supervisor of Elections, Kearney Gomez, saidthose people who came to register after the original 2 January cut-off point will now make the list in time for the national poll on 22 May and people could continue to come until the end of next Tuesday, 22 January, and still make the list.
Legislators hoped that, since the Christmas and New Year holiday made it difficult for some people to get the necessary documentation ready in time, the extra week would help to enfranchise even more Caymanians for the ever-growing voters' list. The forthcoming election is likely to see the largest percentage of the population for several decades being entitled to go to the polls on election day if they choose, and expectations are high that most of them will take advantage of their democratic right.
Despite the various divisions now in the Legislative Assembly and the problems faced by the new premier with a minority government, the legislators debated and voted unanimously last Thursday in favour of extending the registration period. It was apparent that, regardless of their differences, all of the politicians agreed that it was in the best interests of Cayman that as many people as possible participate in the next election.
In response to the premier’s request and the vote, the governor, who has the power to make the decision and issue any orders regarding the timelines and process regarding the election, agreed to an extension for the voting period..
“I understand that there are still some people in the Cayman Islands who are eligible to vote but had not been able to register before the 2 January deadline,” Duncan Taylor said in a short statement released by his office. “In order that they are not disenfranchised, I have today taken the decision to issue an Order for the registration period to be extended until 22 January. I decided to limit registration to this date as I did not want the date for the register of elections coming into force to slip from 1 April. If this date were to slip it could make it more difficult for students and other eligible people off island to apply for and send in their postal votes.”
He said he was confident that the extension would give anyone who did not register but wished to the time to do so and make them eligible to vote in the forthcoming General Election. He urged those applicants who have been requested by the registering officers to provide additional documentation or information to take advantage of this opportunity to do so as well.
It is hoped that the register, which currently stands at approximately 18,150, may increase by a few hundred more names as a result of the extension, as there are believed to be still several thousand more people in Cayman who are qualified to vote but have chosen not to do so.
The Elections Office is encouraging everyone to take advantage of the extension as it really will be the last chance because the register must be checked and finalised and formally approved before the beginning of April in order to give absentee voters the opportunity to vote by post.
A registration station will be established in the reception at the Smith Road office and more details on the documents needed to become a registered voter are available at www.electionsoffice.ky
See notice from ther elections office below
2012/2013 PFL playoffs review
(CUC-PFL) The second day of playoff games in the 2012/2013 CUC Primary Football League (PFL) took place this past Saturday, January 12, at the T.E. McField Sports Field (Annex Field). In the Under 9 Consolation Cup, George Town Primary blanked Bodden Town Primary 4-0 and Truth For Youth defeated Prospect Primary by a similar scoreline. In the Under 9 Champions Cup, Cayman Prep defeated St. Ignatius Prep 3-0 thanks to three second-half goals, two from Igor Magalhaes and a solitary strike from Joshua Small. Savannah Primary topped Red Bay Primary 2-0 with Jawan Wray and Jeremy Scott contributing a goal each.
South Sound Schools overcame Cayman International School 5-3 with goals from Kiran Conolly-Basdeo, Lucas Carter (2), Lemar McLean and Diondre Wright, with Wills Dolbier and Francisco Magno (2) replying for CIS. NorthEast Schools had to forfeit their game to Sir John A. Cumber Primary due to transportation problems.
In the Under 11 Consolation Cup, Truth For Youth defeated South Sound Schools 3-1 and Cayman International School downed Prospect Primary 2-1.
The day’s biggest upset came in the Under 11 Champions Cup as an energetic NorthEast Schools knocked-off the Opening Rally champions, Sir John A. Cumber Primary, 1-0. The boys and girls from the east gave the boys from the west all they could handle for the entire 60 minutes. Clear goal-scoring opportunities were few for both schools but the speedy Lamoy Moody punished the Sir John A. Cumber rearguard with a strike in the 36th minute, which proved to be the winner.
Sir John A. Cumber’s talismanic midfielder Barry-Dre Tibbetts could not motivate his troops as they could not find a way past a resilient NorthEast defence. As the game wore on, the boys from the west were limited to long-range efforts as Jaharion Bodden whistled a few just over the bar on more than one occasion.
In other Under 11 games, Red Bay Primary’s Jamaal Whittaker scored the first hat-trick of the Playoffs and Ciaron Haylock added a fourth as they downed St. Ignatius Prep 4-0. In the final game of the day, George Town Primary were down 1-0 to Bodden Town Primary after only six minutes as Breshawn Watson opened the scoring from a corner, but a solitary strike from Cyrus Conolly in the 11th minute and a double from Joshua O’Garro in the 14th and 31st minutes sealed the win for the boys from the capital.
The 2012/2013 PFL Playoffs continue this Saturday, January 19 at the T.E. McField Sports Field beginning at 9:00 a.m.
In the Under 9 Consolation Cup, Truth For Youth face Triple C (9:00 am) and George Town Primary go up against Prospect Primary (10:00 am).
New government takes Cabinet to the Brac
(CNS): With their local MLA now at the helm of the Cayman Islands government, the Cabinet will be meeting on Cayman Brac this week. The new premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who is the second elected member for the Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, will be taking her new minority government and the governor to her constituency for a special meeting on Tuesday. Brackers will be able to meet the new government members atthe Aston Rutty Centre today between 7.00-8.30pm, prior to the meeting tomorrow. Officials said Cabinet traditionally assembles in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman at least once every administration to familiarise itself with the concerns unique to those islands.
The delegation will include Governor Duncan Taylor, the premier, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, Deputy Premier Rolston Anglin, Tourism Minister,Cline Glidden, Health Minister Mark Scotland, and Community Affairs Minister Dwayne Seymour, as well as Attorney General Sam Bulgin.
Officials urge residents of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman to take advantage of the opportunity to meet the senior government leaders who make the major policy decisions for the Cayman Islands.
Credit risk
The Report: Loans to households increased by 13.1% (or $216 million) as at June 2012, according to the Semi-Annual Economic report 2012 issued by the Economic and Statistics office. In light of current economic conditions and the absence of realistic economic stimulus, the demand for domestic credit will continue to increase for2013. Industry players may argue that this is normal, but my concern is the pace of growth (domestic credit) in light of flat or declining wages.
The report also noted the significant increase in miscellaneous credit which includes short term lending products such as credit cards and overdrafts.
The Risk: Existing borrowers will seek additional credit particularly during tough economic periods as their savings become depleted and the strength of their pay check is weakened. The increases in credit requests will be used particularly for meeting recurring monthly expenditure. This is a dangerous practice as these monthly expenses should be settled with funds from monthly earnings. If this trend continues Lenders, Credit Providers and Borrowers may find themselves in less desirable situations resulting in financial ruin.
The Solution: The levels of Credit Risk of existing and future borrowers must be analyzed carefully. In addition borrowers should be educated on those respective levels and related remedies if necessary. Accurate credit checks must be completed, which also should include reports from Financial Institutions and local credit reporting agencies.
The monitoring and management of personal credit levels is everyone’s duty. However, lenders should pay close attention to the quality of their loan portfolio with special attention given to short term lending such as credit cards, overdrafts and cash advances as these products can be easily abused and will result in significant losses if not addressed.
Ralph Lewis is a Financial Counselor with LCMoneyPlan.
Miller vows to keep road open
(CNS): Ezzard Miller, the Independent member for North Side, has promised that if he forms part of the next government he will ensure that the West Bay Road remains open, and if it has already been closed by May, he will re-open it. Miller said that he has three issues which he will not compromise on, and one of them is the road that is under imminent threat of closure. The Dart Group has almost completed the parallel strip of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, which will enable the developer to close some 4000 feet of the West Bay Road and divert traffic, possibly as soon as February, according to public comments made by the company’s officials.
Speaking to CNS on Saturday via telephone, as he was unable to attend the protest rally that took place on the road facing closure, Miller told CNS that he remained a staunch supporter of the campaign. Keeping the road open would be one of three conditions Miller said has to give his support to any government, along with the introduction of one man, one vote, and the move from April elections back to November. The closure of the West Bay Road, Miller said, was a deal breaker, and if it was already closed by the time of the elections, then, if he is in government, he would ensure it was reopened.
Miller said it had been wrong to attempt to close the road when noone knew the details of the ForCayman Investment Alliance and when government was using a part of the law never intended for this purpose to give up the people’s land. The North Side MLA also questioned what authority a representative from Dart – a private company — had to make announcements in the press that a public road was set for closure next month when there had not been a word from the government about this controversial deal.
The outspoken independent member, who has been a staunch supporter of the activists campaigning to keep the road open and prevent the relocation of the dump, said that the activists needed to step up their protests as the talking wasn’t working, adding that neither the developer nor government were listening.
“There has been enough talking,” Miller said. “The protesters need to step up the campaign, and if the road is closed then the people should literally block the road to Camana Bay and make the developer listen,” he said.
Efforts by Paul Rivers, one of the leading campaigners against the road closure, said efforts to block the West Bay Road were thwarted by local police on Saturday, after he called on the people who were in attendance at the rally to step up their campaign. He did, however, warn that the campaigners were committed to more serious disruption in order to make both government and Dart listen.
There were no elected politicians on the stage at Saturday’s protest, which attracted around 200 people during the course of the afternoon, but several of the People’s Progressive Movement’s proposed candidates, as well as members of the Coalition for Cayman, were in attendance.
While the PPM was accused of sitting on the fence regarding the situation, Ray Farrington, who will be running for office on the PPM ticket in West Bay, made it clear that he would not support the road closure.
“I do not see any need for the road to close,” Farrington told CNS, adding that the most important issue was that the people needed to see the full details of the proposed deal and the review, which was undertaken by PWC but remains under wraps. Farrington said one of the biggest problems surrounding the whole deal was the lack of transparency. “No one knows what is really going on and the people need to know,” he added.
During the protest some of Cayman’s community elders spoke about the historical significance of the West Bay Road and protesters bemoaned the secrecy and the many questions regarding value for money. They also demanded that the report be released. The campaigners said that Caymanian traditions were being disrespected as developers were continually allowed to boost their own coffers at the expense of the local people’s resources.
Although the current premier has stated that she has no plans to bring any controversial legislation to the House between now and March, when parliament will be prorogued in preparation for the elections, it is understood that the Dart Deal will be handled entirely through Cabinet and will not require the support of legislators.
Cop accused of corruption to be tried in September
(CNS): The police officer accused of asking for a bribe from a Filipino national in exchange for not pursuing an investigation into a possible theft will face trial later this year. Elvis Ebanks, who pleaded not guilty to four charges in relation to the alleged bribe, will be tried by jury on 30 September. The 28-year-old police officer from George Town, who is currently suspended from duty, denies taking more than CI$500 from a man in connection with a lost or possibly stolen phone. Ebanks is the first serving police officer charged under the relatively new anti-corruption law after he was arrested in Savannah as a result of information given to the police by his alleged victim.
Related article on CNS:
21 year old local man denies killing Jamaican
(CNS): Tareek Ricketts has denied murdering Jackson Rainford (23) in the only fatal shooting of 2012. The killing, which was believed to be over a woman, took place in George Town on 16 December. The 21 year old man is accused of shooting Rainford multiple times as he sat in a car parked on Printer’s Way off Sheddon Road. Ricketts was arrested in the early hours of the next day. He pleaded not guilty to murder and not guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm when he made his first grand court appearance on Friday. Ricketts was remanded in custody after being denied bail and a trial is expected to be set at his next court appearance in February (Photo Dennie Warren Jr).
Meanwhile, both Chadwick Dale and Chaz Powery from West Bay denied charges regarding two separate street muggings. Dale, who is currently in custody, pleaded not guilty to a robbery and wounding, which occurred in the Seven Mile Beach area on the 9 December. He is accused of stealing $40 from a woman and assaulting her during the course of the offence. Powery, who is also in custody, pleaded not guilty to a mugging in West Bay in November. Accused of stealing a back pack and $350, he is expected to stand trial on 19 June.