Archive for February, 2009
Pedro staff in fuel scandal
(CNS): Following the emergence of irregularities regarding the Pedro St James fuel account at the Texaco Gas station in Savannah, the Auditor General’s Office has undertaken an investigation and found that the fuel purchased may not have all been above board. In a special report Auditor General Dan Duguay reveals that gas purchased by staff, and in particular the general manager, may not all have been used for official business.
According to the report, there was an increase in fuel charges of 177% between the end of 2003 through to 2006. Even allowing for the increase in the cost of gas, the auditor general found the increase excessive and stated that inflation alone was not responsible for the significant increase in costs.
Following the destruction of Pedro’s truck in 2004, employees were allowed to charge fuel for their own personal vehicles on the basis that they were using them for Pedro business. As a result the average fuel cost went from $244 per month to $677 a month over a three year period. In his report Duguay indicated that the change in policy to allow staff to charge their fuel costs to their own cars was done without adequate policies or controls to monitor how fuel was being used and charged.
“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.
Duguay says that the sum in question is $18,513, and although not a significant amount in terms of overall government spending it is still public money that may have been misappropriated. The AG noted that it is the mismanagement of the funds that is the issue, which is something he says the public needs to know about.
“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 told CNS. “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 decision to investigate the matter came as a result of the CEO of the Tourism Attraction Board (TAB) discovering the irregularities in the fuel system during a budget review, after whichthe system was stopped in May 2007.
The report notes that in many cases the signatures were unreadable, making it impossible to tell who had purchased the fuel. Over the period investigated Duguay found that 52% of the fuel charges had been made by Carson Ebanks, Pedro’s general manager, 32% was charged by illegible signatures, and the remaining 16% by 8 other named members of staff.
“Granting employees permission to charge fuel to a company account with the only requirement being a signature opens up the considerable risk of misappropriations,” Duguay states in the report. He notes that at the very least the minimum requirement should have been printed names as well as registration numbers of the vehicles being fuelled up.
“Being able to use the PSJ charge account without formal identification to acquire gas for private vehicles presented opportunities for persons not employed at PSJ to use the account,” Duguay wrote.
He explained that managers of government companies are responsible for government resources. It is their job to prevent waste and account for all spending. However, according to Duguay’s report, in this case not only did the general manager not do that with regard to the fuel account, he himself was using the account when he was already entitled to a fuel allowance as a result of his position. Duguay found that Ebanks had not taken the fuel allowance but used the Texaco company account instead. This resulted in him receiving almost $4,000 worth of fuel above the amount he would have received if he had used his fuel allowance as per his contract.
The AG’s reported concluded that it was unacceptable for the general manager to give verbal permission to employees to incur company expenses and to personally use the account in a way that resulted in excessive fuel expenditure. “Such excesses could have been avoided if management at PSJ had ensured that an appropriate system of internal controls was in operation,” Duguay stated.
CNS contacted the TAB, which oversees Pedro’s, and was informed that the board chair had only just received the final report and was assessing its findings and was hoping to provide comment sometime on Monday afternoon.
To read the full report go to www.gov.ky
Immigration officer arrested
(CNS): An immigration officer has reportedly been arrested and charged for employing a person without a work permit and obstructing an immigration officer in the execution of his duties. The report came from Government Information Services on Friday evening, which said the officer, who is a female officer was not named, was charged on Wednesday, 4 February, for offences under the Immigration Law. She was arrested by Immigration Enforcement at the headquarters on Elgin Avenue and has been released on bail, and scheduled to appear in court. The immigration department has said it will not give any more details or name the officer.
Cops plan high profile policing for Mardi Gras
(CNS): Police will be monitoring this year’s Mardi Gras party at Kaibo’s from the water and on land to ensure that there is no breach of the peace or public order and marine offences or traffic violations committed before, during or after the event, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has said. The party will take place on Wednesday, 25 February — a public holiday — and Area Commander, Chief Inspector Richard Barrow, says he hopes the continuing situation of incident free Mardi Gras events continues.
“We don’t want people not to have fun,” CI Barrow said. “But we want to make sure they enjoy themselves safely, responsibly and decently. We have been working with the organisers to ensure adequate security and such like is in place, and now I’m calling on the public for their cooperation also.
“As usual, the hosts have put in place measures to ferry people to and from the event and taxis should be on hand for the return journey, so there is no reason for anyone to get behind the wheel if they have had a drink. Barrow warned revellers who do drink and drive that they will be caught.
The joint Customs and RCIPS Marine Unit is also warning boaters to act sensibly on the water. People are reminded that they should not operate their vessels if they are under the influence of alcohol. In addition, boats should not be overloaded with passengers and all the necessary safety equipment should be on board at all times. The Marine Unit will be policing the event and officers will be looking out for unsafe boats and other dangerous water activities.
“We want everybody to have a safe and happy holiday and this starts with responsible behaviour,” added Mr Barrow.
Anyone with information about crime 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.
Regional Health experts offer support to Cayman
(CNS): Members of the Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC) have commended some of the work going on in the health sector in the Cayman Islands on a recent visit. CHRC Director Dr. Donald T. Simeon and Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Elizabeth Lloyd visited Grand Cayman last month at the invitation of Minister for Health and Human Services who said he wanted to strengthen ties with the council. “My Ministry is very interested in utilizing CHRC’s technical expertise to inform the development of policy,” Minister Anthony Eden said.
In addition to the Minister and the ministry officials, Dr. Simeon and Ms. Lloyd met with ministry heads of departments, Chief Executive Officers, as well as representatives from the Nurses’ Association, Medical and Dental Council, and Cayman’s HIV/AIDS programme.
“I am very pleased with the number of developments within the Cayman Islands, especially the recently enacted smoking legislation, which is currently only being discussed in other Caribbean countries,” Dr. Simeon said. “This development is especially important in the context of the public health and primary health care initiatives.”
The representatives said they were pleased that the Cayman Islands will make two presentations this year at the CHRC annual health research conference in St. Lucia. Lloyd encouraged local practitioners to submit research papers for next year’s conference. “Good research is being generated in the Cayman Islands,” she said.
During the visit, staff of the Ministry and the Health Services Authority did presentations on primary healthcare and public health initiatives. CHRC representatives then offered feedback on how to further develop these initiatives, by incorporating monitoring and evaluation techniques into the plans.
Dr Simeon said it was encouraging to see that the Ministry recognises the multi-sectoral nature of health impacts, and have involved various partner agencies in addressing health issues.
He and Lloyd also proposed to assist the Ministry and its agencies through training workshops on building research, and monitoring and evaluating capacity.
Radio station introduces basketball show
(CNS): Local radio station Hot 104.1 has introduced an hour of sport to DJ
“I am thrilled about the new HOT 104.1 line up,” he said. “CIBA will be an exciting addition to Midday Moods and I look forward to meeting with the best coaches and players on the island in the studio.”
Local talent underwater
(CNS): Updated with photos — Local amateur photographers took their place alongside international film makers recently when they were invited to submit underwater images that best depict Cayman. The “Eyes Wide Shut” photo competition, with categories of “Images with Strong Eye Contact” and “Images with No Eye Contact,” attracted nearly 200 entries as part of the 6th annual Cayman Islands International Underwater Film Festival on 30 January 30. (Left: Photo by Patrick Weir)
All of the photos submitted were shown during a slide show and displayed at the event where celebrity judges Cathy Church and Geri Murphy announced the winners. “Choosing the winners was a difficult decision as all of the photos submitted were winners in their own right,” said Church. “There is an incredible amount of talent on this Island.”
She added that CITA had confirmed that the Photo Competition will become an annual event along with the Film Festival. (Right: Photo by Mike Johnston)
Winners of the “Images with Strong Eye Contact” section were: First Place – Patrick Weir; Second Place – Cynthia Abgarian and an honorable mention went to Jack Cudworth, Michael Brown, Mike Johnston, Chris Alpers, Jonathon Dietz, Nancy Mowbray-Cook, J. Syson, Ash McKnoght, Dave McKay, Hugo Segura, Cynthia Abgarian, and Younghwa Lee.
The winner of the “Images with No Eye Contact” was Mike Johnston with Jonathon Dietz taking the second place. Honorable mentions went to Gary Redfern, Susan Kerr, Jack Cudworth, Miklos Ujhelyi, Jonathon Dietz, and David Colli.
As well as presenting an audio/video feast of beautiful imagery guests enjoyed stories from around the globe. The Film Festival, organized by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), was the second event in a high profile week for scuba divers around the world, which kicked off with the annual Induction Ceremony for the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame which was held at Pedro St. James the evening before. (Left: Photo by Cynthia Abgarian)
Each presenter at the Film Festival was a Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductee. Howard Rosenstein kicked off the evening with a fascinating presentation highlighting his experiences in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean Atolls, followed by Casey Smith speaking on behalf of his father, the late Larry Smith, showing a film featuring Larry muck diving in Indonesia and New Guinea. Renowned underwater photographer, Geri Murphy, presented an Al Gidding’s classic film entitled “Silent Warrior,” about divers searching for the famous I-169 submarine.
Dr. Alex Mustard, a previous Film Festival presenter and guaranteed crowd pleaser, ended with a slide show highlighting the role of the underwater photographer. The evening also included a fundraising silent auction where artwork, hotel, diving, restaurant and other exciting certificates donated by CITA members were sold for the benefit of CITA’s marine conservation efforts. (Right: Photo by Jonathon Dietz)
Young entrepreneurs cash in on Valentines
(CNS): Demonstrating that the programme clearly works, Junior Achievement firm Sugar Rush has introduced a new line of confectionary arrangements for Valentine’s Day. One of two JA companies mentored by dms Organization Ltd., Sugar Rush is busy preparing its upcoming selections which are now available to the public in anticipation of a surge in sales.
The student entrepreneurs said that the new line of products are thoughtfully named Sweeties, A Kiss Squared, Love Squared and XOXO.
Each of the designs features an assortment of confectionary delights in decorative containers and packaging. Sugar Rush, in addition to their planned public sales at various local retailers, are also taking pre-orders for custom done arrangements. “Come on down to A.L. Thompson’s on the 7th of February fro, 10 am to 2 pm and purchase your very own sweet delight!” said Sugar Rush VP of Marketing, Kortney Remizowski “After all, who wouldn’t want to give or receive sweets on such a romantic day?”
The Sugar Rush team said it hopes its customers will enjoy the treats they have to offer and added; “Who says that you can’t get sweet things at sweet prices? No matter what you desire; Sugar Rush has a product you will love.”
Sugar Rush, a JA group, is a company solely run by high school students, mentored by dms Organization Ltd. advisors. Through the creation of its products, the student members of Sugar Rush are gaining valuable experience on how to operate a business and its different areas: production, marketing, finance, and human resources. Sugar Rush hopes its customers will enjoy the savory and unique treats they have to offer. Who says that you can’t get sweet things at sweet prices? No matter what you desire; Sugar Rush has a product you will love.
For Sugar Rush pre-orders for Valentine’s Day, or for more information on its products please contact Kortney Remizowski, VP of Marketing, via e-mail at sugarrush.ja@live.com or via telephone at (345)-928-7118
Poets, photographers and women heroes
(CNS): Formerly the Women’s Resource Centre the Empowerment Community & Development Agency (ECDA) has said it is looking for nominations for women heroes as part of the March observance of ‘Honouring Women’ month. The public is now invited to nominate exemplary women as candidates for a display. “This year’s theme for Honouring Women Month is Heroes Among Us,” said Programme Officer Miriam Foster, of the ECDA an appropraite theme following the dedication of a new statue in Heroes Sqaure to women.
“The theme symbolises the idea that ordinary women all around us are doing extraordinary things. Often the same women are constantly recognised in the local media, but there are so many women whose lives have been a heroic journey, and who are an example to us all,” Foster explained.
Along side the search for heroes the agency is also holding a photography and poetry contest on the same theme.
Foster explained that many women here in Cayman can offer inspiration by doing ordinary things."One doesn’t have to look very far to become inspired by the work of a single mother trying to clothe and feed her kids and yet still managing a smile on her face,” she said. Photography and poetry are mediums in which individuals are able to more freely express their feelings about topics that are otherwise hard to convey. “So by entering these competitions, participants will bring to light the many issues affecting women in our society,” Foster added.
There are two age categories 14 to 17 years, and 18 years and older. Everyone in those age ranges is invited to participate. “We expect that the contests should generate a lot of participation from community members,” Foster said.
Winning entries will be displayed at various Honouring Women’s Month events. First, second and third-prize winners will respectively collect $100, $75 and $50. Poetry contest awards are sponsored by Orchid Development, while an anonymous supporter has donated funds to cover the photography prizes.
The deadline for submission is Monday, 23 February at 5:00 pm and each entry must be accompanied by an entry form, which can be found online at www.wrc.gov.ky, or collected from the Empowerment Community & Development Agency (formerly the Women’s Resource Centre) office in Elizabethan Square, Ground Floor.
The deadline for nomination of heroes s is also 23 February nomination forms and a digital picture of the hero can be submitted by e-mail to Miriam.Foster@gov.ky or by hand to the office.
The forms are available online at www.wrc.gov.ky and at the ECDA office.
The photographic heroes display will be unveiled at the International Women’s Day Ceremony on Monday, 9 March.
‘Google Ocean’ launched
(The Telegraph): Google Ocean, which will be included in the newest version of Google Earth, will allow users to swim around underwater volcanoes, watch videos about exotic marine life, read about nearby shipwrecks, contribute photos and watch unseen footage of historic ocean expeditions – all from the comfort of their homes. Footage of polar bears, beluga whales, sea urchins and king penguins from the BBC’s award winning series Planet Earth and The Blue Planet will also be available. Go to article
Radio station to match-make lonely hearts
(CNS): Two local radio stations are hoping to help people looking for love find their soul mates with a singles speed dating night at Café Med next week. Kiss and Cayrock are bringing local singles together to find their perfect match. “With speed dating, you meet an abundance of single prospects and talk to them for just enough time to decipher if you would like to get to know them better,” said Chuck Taylor from Kiss.
“dms Broadcasting understands that your time is precious – so why not just cut to the chase. It’s dating made easy1 It’s bound to be an entertaining night, and it’s a fabulous way to break the ice and meet new people.”
The night is free to attend, and depending on the number of participants, speed dating consists of a select number of round robins. Each couple spends three minutes of one-on-one discussion time to make their impression, before moving on to the next person. At the end of the night, participants anonymously submit a list of names of the individuals whom they would like to get to know better. The organizers review the submissions and arrange for an exchange of contact details between couples who mutually selected one another.
Registration is between 7 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, 11 February and there will be prize giveaways at the door. “This event was a hit last year, and we find that with each time that we reintroduce events from the past, such as speed dating – the word spreads and the enthusiasm and participation grows with,” added Phil Vinciullo, dms Broadcasting’s network promotions and marketing manager.