Archive for February 13th, 2009
50 killed in plane crash
(New York Times): A Continental flight from Newark to Buffalo crashed into a house about five miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Thursday night, killing 50 people, officials said. The plane carried 44 passengers, a crew of 4 and an off-duty crew member, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Continental Airlines. All the people aboard the plane and one person in the house were killed in the crash, which occurred in the hamlet of Clarence Center, N.Y., said Chris Collins, the Erie County executive. Go to article
Drivers break law with tints
(CNS): With a growing number of vehicles coming to its attention with very dark, black, or reflective tint the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing (DVDL) has said that vehicle owners should be aware that the legal limit for window tint is 35 per cent light transmission. For safety reasons vehicle windows must let in enough light.
“Very dark tint is a safety hazard,” DVDL Deputy Director Richard Simms explained. “If the tint is too dark, a driver may have difficulty seeing a cyclist or pedestrian.”
The DVDL also said that despite inspectors compelling vehicle owners to remove excessively dark tint during annual inspections, some drivers are illegally replacing the dark tints once their cars have been passed through the inspection. The DVDL said people who do this and are caught with tint that lets in less than 35 per cent light can be fined $500 and imprisoned for six months, according to the Traffic Law (2003) part 8, clause 115.
Moreover, a number of international road safety groups suggest that there is a lack of evidence that tinting provides any significant benefits in keeping a car cool but there is evidence to show visibility is significantly reduced. Concerns are that even with light tints driver vision at twilight and night-time is reduced which presents a safety risk to both the occupants of vehicles with tinted windows, as well as to other road users. Another area of concern is the potential loss of eye contact between drivers on the road.
Cayman prepares for potential disaster
“Some of the skills that will be taught in the training sessions will not be entirely new to some of the participants, but have already been put into practice in past disaster drills and exercises, such as the simulated plane crash on Shamrock Road,” said HMCI Deputy Director Omar Afflick.
“However, the country must always maintain a state of maximum readiness for a major incident and this training will seek to improve the country’s overall preparedness and response capacity." He explained that a Mass Casualty Incident is any event where the number of victims is large enough to disrupt the normal course of emergency health care services.
“For example we could be looking at an emergency on a large scale following a situation such as an earthquake or a major fire, or perhaps something like a multi-car traffic accident. It is important to have pre-established procedures in place for rescue mobilization, incident site management and hospital reception to meet any specific challenges we face here in Cayman,” he added.
Stanford faces investigation
(Bloomberg): Stanford Group Co. a Houston-based investment firm led by billionaire Allen Stanford the founder of the failed 20-20 cricket tournament, is under investigation by US securities regulators over sales of certificates of deposit in its affiliated offshore bank and the consistent, above-average returns those investments pay. Investigators have visited six Stanford Group offices last month, downloaded information from computer hard drives and looked through files, people familiar with the events said. Go to article.
Leader hits out at HRC
(CNS): The Leader of Government Business has criticised the Human Rights Committee over its rejection of Section 16 in the Bill of Rights within the new constitution and accused its members of attempting to derail the final approval. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly following the arrival of the agreed constitution from London, Kurt Tibbetts said that he was disappointed with the position the HRC has taken and asked them not to destroy the consensus that has taken years to achieve.
However, the HRC has not said it in intends to campaign against the entire constitution but is asking government to give voters a choice. They would like to see the referendum ask if people would like Section 16 to be a free standing right to apply across everyday life, as was originally intended, or one confined only to the bill itself.
LoGB said in the LA that the HRC is undermining a deal which was a long time in coming, and given Cayman’s current lack of human rights, the compromise reached over the Bill of Rights has created a way to enable the UK’s obligations to be met and satisfy the church while ensuring the first step on the road to a human rights culture for the islands.
Tibbetts reminded the HRC that the most controversial aspect of the entire constitutional modernization exercise has been the content of the Bill of Rights. “The struggle has always been to draft a Bill of Rights which would satisfy the UK that it met all its international obligations under the various conventions and treaties to which it is a signatory, while at the same time respecting Caymanian sensitivities, moral standards and values. It has taken eight years, but we have done so,” he added.
The LoGB said that representatives from virtually all churches in the Cayman Islands were on board with the newly revised bill, which had been no mean feat. “It has taken tremendous perseverance, forbearance, creativity, intellect and a willingness to compromise on the part of all concerned,” Tibbetts noted, adding that it was disappointing that despite the involvement of the Human Rights Committee in every step of the process, including their attendance and contribution at all three rounds of the Constitutional Talks with the United Kingdom, they are determined to campaign against the draft Bill of Rights on the basis that it does not go far enough.
The HRC has said that Section 16 of the Bill of Rights is unacceptable as the compromise position adopted at the end of the second round of talks to accommodate the churches’ desire to discriminate against homosexuals had created a non-discrimination section which is limited to application only within the Bill of Rights. The HRC explained that the original Section 16 of the draft Bill of Rights stated that the government should not discriminate against anyone at any time.
“The right to equality was originally included as a ‘free-standing’ right and applied in all areas of daily life, including healthcare, housing and employment. This meant that it could not be restricted and made to apply only to certain rights and not to others,” the committee said, explaining that by restricting its application to the bill Caymanians would not be protected from discrimination in many areas.
However, the Leader of Government Business said that allparties made concessions in order to reach agreement on a document that everyone could support. “The government has not achieved everything it pushed for, neither has the Opposition, the Chamber of Commerce, the Cayman Ministers Association, the Conference of Seventh Day Adventists or, indeed, the Human Rights Committee. I believe it is fair to say that in some instances even the UK gave more than it would have preferred. But that is the way negotiations work,” he added.
Tibbetts said it was wrong for the HRC to now attempt to derail the final approval of the new constitution because they have not succeeded in obtaining all they pushed for. He accused the HRC of saying that if it cannot have the Bill of Rights it wants, it is better to have none at all.
“Cayman presently has no constitutional provision for human rights. Whatever its perceived shortcomings by the HRC, the present draft bill significantly advances human rights protection in this jurisdiction and, importantly, it has the support of both the Cayman delegation and the United Kingdom Government,” Tibbetts added. “I say to the HRC, half a loaf is better than no bread at all. Let’s hasten slowly. Do not attempt to destroy the national consensus which has taken 8 years and millions of the country’s money to achieve.”
The committee is however not campaigning against the entire bill of rights but is now starting a petition to get generate support to persuade government to give voters a choice in the referendum in May. The committee has proposed simply asking the voters if they would like to see the referendum offer a choice and ask if people would like Section 16 as a free standing right to apply across everyday life or one confined only to the bill itself.
Moreover, the committee has also noted that while compromise on political issues is to be expected, compromise on fundamental rights is very difficult. “At the heart of every valuable constitution or bill of rights throughout history, there has been the principle that all persons are equal and entitled to equal treatment before the law. The draft Cayman Constitution has abandoned that idea,” the committee said this week.
Police round up burglars
(CNS): Burglaries in the islands’ capital in particular have been on the increase since the start of the year, but police say they are making headway in the fight against this crime. The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) said that twenty people have been arrested and property has been recovered in the last few weeks. Police said that since 1 January, the number of break-ins taking place have been on the increase, with George Town being the most effected district.
“Burglary has been a problem in the Cayman Islands for a long time and it’s something we continually work hard to address,” said Detective Inspector Kim Evans of the Criminal Investigation Department. “The start of the year saw a spike in offences but we have arrested 20 people over the last few weeks and I am pleased to say that only a few break-ins have been reported so far this week, with some days resulting in nothing being reported. I hope this is a trend that will continue.”
The RCIPS has been employing various measures to tackle the burglaries, most of which have centred on targeting known offenders. Areas which have been hardest hit, such as Walkers Road and Windsor Park, have also been the subject of increased police patrols and high visibility policing.
Evans said there are many things the public can do to help address the problem, including ensuring properties are secure by locking doors and windows, keeping and eye on their neighbourhoods, reporting suspicious behaviour to police and looking out for stolen goods.
“One of the things we are always conscious of is what happens to the stolen goods,” Evans added. “One of the most common items stolen is laptops. What happens to these? If you are offered something for sale at a low price or without all its attachments or manuals for instance, an alarm bell should sound. It should be remembered that handling stolen goods is an offence.”
Anyone with information about burglaries taking place in the Cayman Islands should contact their local police station or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS). All persons calling Crime Stoppers remain anonymous, and are eligible for a reward of up to $1000, should their information lead to an arrest or recovery of property/drugs.
TAB says fuel issue resolved
(CNS): In the wake of the auditor general’s report that raised concerns about mismanagement of public money regarding a fuel reimbursement system at Pedro St James, the CEO of the Tourism Attraction Board (TAB) has said that the problem was resolved and the practice of staff using the Savannah account for their own vehicles stopped long before the AG conducted the investigation, which he notes was requested by the board.
“The practice of Pedro St. James staff charging gas to Pedro’s account at the Savannah Texaco Starmart for use in their personal vehicles was first discovered by the TAB senior management in January 2007. Following an internal review of the practice, it was determined that it was inadequate and not in keeping with accepted practices within other government agencies,” Gilbert Connolly told CNS.
“The board immediately made the decision in February 2007 to issue a directive to all Pedro staff to stop the practice of charging gas to the Pedro account and to introduce a more effective and accountable system.”
Connolly explained that the new system requires all fuel purchases to be authorised in advance, with a printed name and signature, as well as an explanation for the purchase. “In May 2007, the TAB introduced a Staff Handbook and Policy Manual which contained an updated and more efficient Mileage Reimbursement Policy and System to deal with any employee who had to use his/her personal vehicle to perform work-related duties,” he added.
Connolly said that the TAB took corrective action to stop the inappropriate practice and to introduce its new Mileage Reimbursement Policy before the auditor general was even asked by the board to conduct an investigation.
“On May 28, 2007 I signed a Letter of Engagement with the auditor general to conduct a special investigation into the fuel charging practice. The main reason for requesting the auditor general to conduct this specialinvestigation was to have an independent body assess the evidence of the case which had been collected and to review the procedure used to charge gas to the Pedro account,” Connolly added.
He noted that the Special Report essentially confirms his own assessment that there was a lack of proper policies and procedures to control the practice by staff to charge gas to the Pedro account and allowed for the possible abuse of the account.
“It is important to note that the Special Report delivered by the auditor general on January 30, 2009 did not find any evidence that fraud was intendedor committed by Pedro staff in the charging of gas. Equally important, there were no recommendations for any disciplinary action to be taken against the general manager or any other member of staff involved in this investigation,” Connolly said, adding that it made no suggestions for any specific corrective action be taken to further improve policies and procedures currently in place.
However, Connolly said that a directive has been issued to the general manager to repay the TAB the total amount of CI$3,869.00, which is the amount calculated by the auditor general to be in excess of the Motor Vehicle Allowance he should have received for the period investigated.
“Furthermore, the general manager has been formally reprimanded and served with a written warning for misconduct, which includes a proviso that any repeat of any unauthorised charge of gasoline to the Pedro account by him or his staff will result in the termination of his employment,” Connolly said.
General Manager Carson Ebanks has cooperated with the disciplinary measures imposed and has accepted full responsibility for the inadequate gas charging procedure that was implemented under his management, Connolly said. He added that once the problem was identified the board was proactive and followed proper procedures to resolve the issues and eliminate any further loss to Government.
“Given that the matter was referred to the Auditor General Office, it is unfortunate that the report failed to fully recognize these corrective efforts undertaken by the TAB,” he added, stating that it was regrettable that report’s findings have been sensationalized in the press and by others to reflect negatively on the entire staff at Pedro. “The vast majority of staff at Pedro St. James is hard working and committed to the mission of making Pedro St James a national historical site we can all enjoy and be proud of,” Connolly said.
Auditor General Dan Duguay released the report to the Legislative Assembly making it a public document on 4 February. Explaining his decision to CNS last week, Duguay said while the sum in question was not a significant amount in terms of overall government spending, it is still public money and the mismanagement of public funds is an issue that cannot be covered up.
“The reason why we decided to make this report public by sending it to the Legislative Assembly is because we believe all public expenditure should be scrutinized and it is important that the management of public funds is improved upon,” Duguay said. “It is not a large amount but it is an example of how things can be mismanaged and we are trying to emphasis better controls.”
The report found that following the writing off of the company truck in a road accident in 2004 staff members were allowed to fill up on fuel at a company account established at Savannah Texaco. However, they were doing so without necessarily accounting for their use of the fuel and were able to fill up their vehicles with just a signature. During the period when this system of reimbursement was being used fuel costs increased by 177%.
“The process was conducted in a haphazard manner with employees in some instances being given only verbal approval to charge gas and not being required to provide any formal documentation or identification other than a signature at the gas station,” the report states.