Archive for February, 2009
Lion’s push important reading message
(CNS): As part of their extensive community work the Lions Club of Tropical Gardens recently hosted a ‘Reading Is Cool project’ for thirteen children aged between 6 and 8 years old where the kids had a day of reading, nutrition, craft, learning and fun. The day started with a nutritious breakfast of fruits, sandwiches and yogurt, before dental hygienist, Alice Jolley spoke to them about taking care of their teeth.
Afghans beat Cayman Islands
(VideosFromIndia): Afghanistan’s national cricket team was welcomed home in Kabul on Tuesday by ecstatic crowd after reaching the final stage of the 2011 World Cup qualifiers.Last week the team reached the final qualifying stage by beating the Cayman Islands in Argentina. Among the fans were several members of Afghanistan’s parliament who had braved the cold weather to greet their national team. (Left: Norooz Mangal, Afghanistan’s cricket team captain, was carried on the shoulders of fans after returning to Kabul from Argentina — Musadeq Sadeq/AP) Go to video
Contractor trouble slows Brac recovery
(CNS): The National Recovery Fund says it has received over 200 applications from residents on Cayman Brac in need of repairs to their homes but has only managed to complete five projects so far. It has another 15 under construction and is assessing a further 100 projects, but says the lack of available contractors on the Brac is seriously hampering progress in the post Paloma reconstruction.
The NRF said it is working to get through all the applications as speedily as possible, and while work has been going well, the contractor situation is reminiscent of that on Grand Cayman in the wake of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
“This is a similar situation to what we saw after Hurricane Ivan, where there was a higher need than available contractors to do the work,” said Dr Mark Laskin, Director of the NRF.
“We trust that very soon we will have a balance of contractors and work available so as many people can be helped at the earliest date.”
“The NRF welcomes HRH Prince Edward to the Cayman Islands and (we) are extremely grateful that he is able to increase the visibility of both the continuing needs and the work that is being done there,” Laskin added.
Top Cop to meet the people
(CNS): The Royal Cayman Islands Police has announced the dates for the next round of community meetings with the latest Acting Commissioner during February and March 2009. All residents of Grand Cayman will have the chance to meet with AC James Smith, senior police officers and the men and women who police their local neighbourhood.
The police said that these meetings allow officers to meet with the public face-to-face to discuss thoughts, issues and concerns about policing in the CaymanIslands.
All meetings will commence at 7pm and conclude by 9pm. Refreshments will be provided. The meetings will be held as follows:
West Bay Tuesday, 17 February John A Cumber Primary School Hall
George Town Thursday, 19 February South Sound Community Centre
Bodden Town Monday, 23 February Bodden Town Primary School Hall
North Side Thursday, 26 February North Side Civic Centre
East End Tuesday, 3 March East End United Church Hall
Dates for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are still being confirmed.
For more information on your local meeting please contact your local police station.
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
Hypocrisy and the double standard
President Obama and his team are showing that their applied standards of ethics and legal compliance (not to mention their due diligence) when it comes to matters of tax are sorely lacking and continue the well trodden path of hypocrisy and double standards in government.
His appointment of Treasury Secretary (who has responsibility for the IRS tax collector and enforcer), Mr Geithner, has shown that it is acceptable to break the tax laws, to remedy the failing ex post facto without meaningful sanction and still to attain high Government office. His proposed healthcare Tsar, Mr Daschle, and proposed Tsarina, Ms Killefer, to oversee budget and spending reform (oxymorons right now) have sensibly concluded that it is better to withdraw rather than face further questioning and scrutiny on ‘limo’ and ‘nanny’ taxes.
There are various ways of looking at this conduct, none of them justifiable. The three were arrogant (i.e. we did not have to abide by the law as we are special), careless (i.e. we did not have the time to think about these de minimis matters) or just plain ignorant (i.e. we did not know). None of these are good defences under law, let alone under normal ethical standards. So, whatever the reason, none of them should even have been considered, let alone appointed, to high office in a democratic government that respects the rule of law. And certainly not the Treasury Secretary.
All this is particularly ironic as Mr Obama has on a number of very public occasions said that his administration will go after tax cheats and the offshore centres that he claims facilitate the behaviour of tax cheats and are perceived by him to be lightly and therefore inadequately regulated. That is his prerogative. He has also said he wants to close down the legitimate use of offshore centres by US taxpayers. That is his prerogative, even if it makes no sense from a long term US economic standpoint (there is a serious risk the US will deprive itself of much needed foreign investment and make its multinationals less competitive). But if he is really serious and genuine about the issues of tax cheats and lightly regulated jurisdictions he should look a lot closer to home in Washington DC and at Delaware, the home State of his Vice President, Joe Biden. Time for Matthew Chapter 7, verse 3 again?
dms bucks job cutting trend with new local hires
(CNS): As the recession starts to bite and unemployment rises local business conglomerate dms Organization Ltd is bucking the trend having hired 16 new Caymanian employees in recent weeks. The new recruits are spread throughout the organisation in the real estate, financial and media branches of the company.
Krista Pell of dms’ Human Resources department said the group of talented individuals was a great addition to the firm’s team.
“We are so pleased to welcome these talented individuals to our team. As one of the most diverse workplaces on the island, dms is always looking for those interested in the fields of financial services, real estate and media,” she said.
Joining dms Organization is Fiona Chambers as the Manager of the Office Services department; Angelique Bodden as an Administrative Assistant; Lynne Danby as a Receptionist; Brittani Gendron as a Trainee HR Administrator; Chad Yates as Properties Manager; Eduard Scott properties team; Kimberly Fellman as Marketing Coordinator; Delicia M. Ebanks as a Trainee Corporate Administrator; Jordan Watler as a Trainee Corporate Administrator, and Tiffany Gould as an Account Receivables Administrator; Bailey-Lewis as Manager of Liquidations; Rolene Ebanks as Corporate Administrator; Melanie Lewis as Senior Client Administrator; Priscilla Lopez junior Corporate Administrator; Luijaney Boucher as a Street Team Member and Matthew Brown as Receptionist.
Civil servants reject ban
(CNS): The constitutional proposal to prevent senior public servants from standing as a political candidate in an election until 12 months has passed following their resignation has been rejected outright by the Cayman Islands Civil Service Association for being “fundamentally undemocratic”. In a letter to Sir Ian Hendry, the leader of the UK delegation, CICSA President James Watler said the proposal was unjustifiable discrimination.
The proposals was written into the final draft of the proposed constitutional document, which the negotiating teams are currently working from in London, and Watler says that this did not form part of the earlier consultation period. The association members have only recently had a chance to read the full proposal and have said they will not support the provision.
The proposal follows recommendations made by Sir Richard Tucker, who presided over the ‘Chuckiegate’ hearing, in which the Minister for Tourism, formerly the permanent secretary in that ministry, was accused of leaking confidential documents to the media. However, Watler insists that this issue of a hiatus should be part of the employment law governing civil servants and has no place in the constitution, which will be the highest law of the land. He wrote, “…to place such a broad and onerous restriction on a public officer in the constitution is both inappropriate and unreasonable.”
Watler stated that the time period would not necessarily provide a safeguard against dishonest disclosure of information as the individual would simple have longer before he or she used that material or could simply pass it to their future political colleagues anyway.
Watler further noted that by preventing civil servants from running for office it was limiting the right of the people of the Cayman Island to choose their own representatives. “The pool of qualified persons is already small and should not be further condensed by a period of disqualification.”
He also pointed out that the current wording of the proposal was ambiguous as it said the ban would apply to chief officers and other senior public servants to be determined by law. “This is a frightening proposition to say the least as it means that the people of this country will be asked to vote to restrict the eligibility of a group of citizens without knowing the size or composition of this group.”
The proposal would, Watler wrote, send a message to future young, talented Caymanian public servants that they are not to consider pursuing a political career and will serve as a disincentive to recruitment into the public service.
He noted that such a rule did not apply in the UK and that civil servants could be trusted to remain neutral during their time serving in public office. He said the proposal to so severely undermine the democratic rights of its members was unacceptable.
“We find this proposal repugnant as it seeks to expressly limit one class of Caymanians from freely exercising their civil and political rights tostand for the highest office in their land,” Watler wrote. He went on to say that to discriminate in such a ways was in direct conflict with the notions of equality and fairness that the country is aspiring to with the creation of a new constitution.
No licences at dolphinariums
(CNS): Accusations that neither of Cayman’s dolphin facilities have operating licences, contrary to the Animal Law, made by local activist Billy Adam have been confirmed by the Department of Agriculture. It stated that, in fact, no animal facility on the islandhas ever been issued with such a licence as the enabling regulations for the law have not been written. The department said, however, that the absence of operating licences did not mean that it was unable to regulate such facilities and ensure the welfare of the animals.
In response to the question about the licences, Acting Assistant Director Brian Crichlow explained on behalf of the department that, although the Animals Law does include a requirement for operating licences for a wide range of commercial activities such as kennels, guard dog services and zoos, to date no operating licences have ever been issued for any of these facilities because without the enabling regulations the licences can’t be given.
“The Ministry of District Administration, Planning, Agriculture and Housing and the Department of Agriculture agrees that this situation is undesirable and are working with the legal department to draft the necessary regulations. Once these are completed, the Department will begin the process of issuing operating licences,” Crichlow said. “The absence of such operating licences however does not mean that the Department of Agriculture is unable to regulate such facilities, as other sections of the Law provide the Department with the mechanisms for protecting animal health and welfare. “
He said that should any enterprise operate in such a way that the health or welfare of animals was put at risk the department has the power to address that situation.
“The current absence of operating licences is not unique to either of the dolphin facilities and is the case for all commercial animal operations,” Crichlow added. “In the specific case of the dolphin facilities, there are clear Conditions for ‘…Housing, Husbandry and Use of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Cayman Islands’ which have been agreed to by all parties and it is to these conditions that the facilities will be held to and evaluated against.”
Since the announcement that the controversial dolphinariums would go ahead in Cayman, there have been a number of concerns raised by local activists and those against the trade in dolphins, which is considered by many to be cruel and poorly regulated. While both the local dolphinariums Dolphin Discovery and Dolphin Cove have produced CITES papers to account for the history of the mammals that they have brought to Cayman, those against the trade have questioned the validity of the paperwork and raised concerns about how the treatment of the creatures will be regulated now they are here.
However, both Dolphin Discovery and Dolphin Cove have defended the shipment of the dolphins as legal and have said they are abiding to very high standards.
Philip Admire, Director of Zoological Operations at Dolphin Cove, said their mammals were exceptionally well taken care of and he had no doubts that once the regulations were written the facility would be offered a licence. “We already far exceed all the regulation standards for the US and Europe and I have no doubt that we will exceed the local regulations as well when they are written and therefore will get an operating licence,” he said, adding that Dr Colin Wakelin, the department’s senior vet, attends the facility regularly.
Dale Crighton of Dolphin Discovery has also said that his facility meets the very highest standards in the world and is confident that his dolphinarium would also be issued a licence.
Busy month for 911
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Emergency Communications Centre (CIEC911) answered just over 10,000 telephone calls in January and dispatched 970 police, ambulance and fire requests. There were over 4,300 9-1-1 calls that were either mis-dials or hang-up calls, the centre has said, releasing statistics on work activity for the month of January 2009 to comply with the spirit of the Freedom of Information Law. As part of Government’s commitment to FOI, CIEC911 will be publishing statistical information and reports on its website.
This will include a log of calls dispatched to RCIPS, ambulance and fire that will include the date, time, general location and the nature of the call. “Although formal reports are completed and maintained by the agency that we dispatch, such as RCIPS, our statistics are based on what information was available at the time the phone call was received by our telecommunicators”, said Emergency Communications Manager Brent Finster.
“When an officer arrives at a scene, oftentimes the situation is much different than what
was conveyed over a 9-1-1 call”, said Finster. CIEC911’s new website, www.911.gov.ky, contains information about FOI, some questions frequently asked of 9-1-1 telecommunicators, as well as documents such as the just released January 2009 statistics.
CIEC911 processes 9-1-1 emergency and non-emergency dispatches for public safety agencies, including police, fire and Emergency Medical Services on Grand Cayman, as well as the Sister Islands. Visit www.911.gov.ky for additional information about the Emergency Centre.
Details limited on progress of UK talks
(CNS): With the media banned from covering the constitutional talks currently taking place in London very little detail is emerging from the UK capital. Against a wintery backdrop of more than 15 centimetres of snow the Leader of Government Business said that talks had covered considerable ground.
The visiting Cayman Islands delegation joined the UK team yesterday under the Chairmanship of Gillian Merron, Overseas Territories Minister from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at Lancaster House for the first time, to begin discussions on the ten outstanding points from the second round of talks in January.
According to a release from Government Information Services (GIS) discussions on Cayman’s current stance on the points meant that some modified positions will be presented to Merron when talks continue on Wednesday.
FCO Team Leader Sir Ian Hendry has reportedly outlined the UK Government’s present positions, (reflecting the give-and-take of the negotiating table,) the points largely concern Cayman’s political relationship with the UK and civil society’s entitlements under a Bill of Rights.
The discussions also considered submissions by Cayman’s Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, QC, and the Civil Service Association (See lead CNS news story).
GIS said the first day began with the teams reviewing the present draft, correcting about a dozen omissions and typographical errors.
“I am delighted we have covered considerable ground and look forward to robust discussions over the next two days,” Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said.
Minister Alden McLaughlin explained that the Cayman delegation spent the first day reviewing the areas of disagreement among themselves to present a more united front to the UK.
“Since our arrival, we had discussions with team members to help narrow down remaining differences,” said McLaughlin. ”There now seems to be general agreement among the Cayman delegation on the content of the Bill of Rights. While there are still a couple of issues between the Government and the Opposition, I am confident that we will resolve these. Overall, I am pleased with the commitment of all parties to achieve the best possible constitution for the Cayman Islands.”