Archive for March 12th, 2009
South Africa ignores rapes
(The Guardian): The partially clothed body of Eudy Simelane, former star of South Africa’s acclaimed Banyana Banyana national female football squad, was found in a creek in a park in Kwa Thema, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Simelane had been gang-raped and brutally beaten before being stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs. As well as being one of South Africa’s best-known female footballers, Simelane was a voracious equality rights campaigner and one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian in Kwa Thema. Her brutal murder took place last April, and since then a tide of violence against lesbian women in South Africa has continued to rise.
The decline of newspapers
(New York Times): The history of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer stretches back more than two decades before Washington became a state, but after 146 years of publishing, the paper is expected to print its last issue next week, perhaps surviving only in a much smaller online version. And it is not alone. The Rocky Mountain News shut down two weeks ago, and The Tucson Citizen is expected to fold next week. At least Denver, Seattle and Tucson still have daily papers. But now, some economists and newspaper executives sayit is only a matter of time — and probably not much time at that — before some major American city is left with no prominent local newspaper at all.
OECD submits tax haven list
(Reuters): Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and many offshore finance centers could face intensified pressure to reduce bank secrecy and shake the tax haven label as G20 leaders seek to reform the global financial system. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has supplied governments with a long list of places where bank secrecy rules are deemed undesirable, and those three countries plus others feature prominently in OECD records. "We’ve made information available to the G20," a spokesman for the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Wednesday.
Downturn hits Sesame Street
(Financial Times): The recession has spread from Wall Street to Sesame Street. The home of Elmo and Oscar the Grouch announced on Wednesday that it would eliminate a fifth of its 355-strong workforce as market turmoil ate into its income and assets. Sesame Workshop, the 41-year-old non-profit educational organisation behind the Sesame Street television programmes, toys and community projects, said on Wednesday it was “not immune to the unprecedented challenges of today’s economic environment”.
Butterfield: Rumours are untrue
(CNS): Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Managing Director Conor O’Dea today sought to dispel rumours that the bank was in financial trouble, which he described as “unfortunate and unsubstantiated”. He said these rumours had been circulating since last Friday when the parent bank announced the audited financial results for the year end at December 2008, together with news of a $200 million capital raise guaranteed by the Bermuda government. “Since that time some of the reporting has not brought clarity as to the financial condition of Butterfield,” O’Dea added.
Referring to a headline story in Thursday’s edition of The Caymanian Compass, O’Dea said the tone of the reporting was headline-grabbing and misleading, and he wanted to get the facts out correctly and unemotionally. The article mixed information about Butterfield Group and Butterfield Bank (Cayman), which was confusing, he said. Furthermore, he noted, the Cayman bank was not a branch of the parent company, as suggested in the article.
He said some people had been taking rumours that the bank was in trouble at face value, but the facts were being misenterpreted. He pointed out, “Most banks are relying on governments to provide debt or equity funding to ensure they meet their regulatory capital ratios. In the case of Butterfield we comfortably meet the regulatory capital ratios as a Group and in every jurisdiction in which we operate. The $200 million of new capital is therefore truly to protect against the future impact of the global economic recession.”
He said that rumours, both here and in Bermuda, had led to people withdrawing funds from Butterfield. In fact, in Bermuda one ATM machine had no cash left in it. However, at Butterfield (Cayman), withdrawal of funds had been matched by deposits.
“Since last Friday morning’s announcements, and despite the unsubstantiated rumours, our banking customers have remained loyal and supportive. We cannot deny that some customers have diversified their risk and reduced balances. However, other customers have increased their balances, resulting in net customer banking deposits remaining static up to close of business overall,” O’Dea stated.
O’Dea said, “While I understand the nervousness of the Cayman community in these difficult economic times, at such a time it is important to ensure that you have the facts because right now we are a typical bank in an untypical economic environment. We haveremained conservative, prudent and our parent bank’s actions in raising the additional capital is to provide against future impacts of the deepening global economic recession. It creates a level of robustness for our customers and the communities in which we operate as well as helping to sustain shareholder value.”
O’Dea said considerable information had been provided by Butterfield to its customers, shareholders and the community, including a press release last Friday detailing the Standard & Poors rating agency’s assessment of the Bank, which has Butterfield on an A-rating, an independent endorsement of the strength of Butterfield’s financial position.
Over the last year many household name banks have sought capital in the capital markets with varying degrees of success but since the failure of US investment firm Lehman Bros in September 2008, numerous banks around the world have had to rely on government funding, either in the form of debt or equity.
Speaking to the strong growth of the Bank over the last few years O’Dea said the bank had remained true to their prudent management of the Bank and the outstanding focus on customer service, with total assets of Butterfield Cayman $3.3 billion up 22% year over year. Noting the conservative nature of the Bank in Cayman, he said that 67 cents of every dollar of customer deposits are held in cash or cash equivalents with only 16 cents of every dollar being lent out to customers.
Despite global economic conditions and the early outflows of the recession that are beginning to be felt in Cayman, O’Dea said he believed the conservative practices, not only of Butterfield, but of the banking community in Cayman when compared to the practices of US and European banks over the last ten years, would stand the Cayman economy in good stead as the country deals with the impact of the global recession.
O’Dea added, “We remain strong and committed to our customers with their full support. The investments that we have made in the last three years allied to significant investments being made in new banking systems will ensure that we become increasingly competitive not only in the local market place but ion all the jurisdiction in which we operate. While we acknowledge that the recession creates challenges not only for the bank but for our customers we will be working to help our customers deal with their personal financial challenges.”
Panel to choose top cop
(CNS): Following a tumultuous year for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) which saw four police commissioners following the suspension of Stuart Kernohan (left) from the post 27 March 2008, Governor Stuart Jack has announced that the new police commissioner will be selected, not solely by the UK through his office as done previously, but by a panel that will include private sector representatives which will take community input into account.
The position, which has been advertised locally, regionally and internationally, has attracted 37 applicants from eleven different countries, including the current Acting PC James Smith and former RCIPS Detective Chief Superintendent Derek Haines. Short-listed candidates will go through a two-day recruitment process on island in March and April. It is anticipated that the successful candidate will take up his or her duties in June or July 2009.
At Cabinet press briefing this morning, Minister Alden McLaughlin described the recruitment panel as "a step in the right direction", and pointed out that under the new proposed Constitution, the Cayman Islands would have a National Security Council which would appoint police commissioners.
Describing the new recruitment process as “a move towards greater community involvement in Cayman’s policing”, the Governor’s Office announced this morning, Thursday 12 March, that Governor Jack will chair the panel, which comprises lawyer and partner with the Maitland Group, Sara Collins; accountant and Regional Managing Partner with Ernst and Young, Dan Scott; Deputy Chief Secretary for the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, Donovan Ebanks, who will serve as deputy chair; and Strategic Advisor for the portfolio, Peter Gough.
The panel will also include policing expert, David Blakey from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in the UK. Blakey was formerly Chief Constable of West Mercia Constabulary and President of the Association of Chief Police Officers. He also inspected the Bermuda Police Service and the Gibraltar Police. Blakey recently produced a report for the Prison Service in 2008 on how illicit drugs get into prisons and is a Commissioner with the United Kingdom Drugs Policy Commission.
The release from the governor said he had given the task of recruitment to the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, which had established the new process and would assist the panel to take soundings from the community and other stakeholders so that they could hear what the community considers important in the area of policing.
The governor said in his release, “I recognize that community stakeholder involvement is critical to the development of a modern effective police force. In this regard, the process and the recruitment panel for the new commissioner of police reflect those stakeholders.” He added, “An important part of modern policing world-wide increasingly involves citizens and customers in shaping the way they operate and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is no exception.”
Deputy Chief Secretary Ebanks added, “We are extremely fortunate to have the services of Sara Collins and Dan Scott; they will bring a broad range of expertise to the selection process.” Gough predicted that the community soundings would provide very useful information to the selection panel and underscored the importance of empowering citizens through an enhanced role for the public’s voice in policing.
Alert device for sunburn
(BBC): Researchers have developed an indicator that turns an appropriate shade of pink to alert wearers of sunburn. The thin film device could be worn as a wrist band to warnwearers they risk receiving a potentially harmful dose of ultraviolet rays. UV rays drive a chemical reaction in the indicator, releasing an acid into a dye, and causing it to change colour. The researchteam from the University of Strathclyde report their work in the journal Chemical Communications. Professor of chemistry, Andrew Mills, who led the team, describes this combination of a UV-driven reaction with an acid-sensitive dye as "intelligent ink".
Aid workers kidnapped
(BBC): Three foreign staff of Medecins sans Frontieres’ Belgian branch have been kidnapped in Sudan’s Darfur region. MSF said the three were abducted, along with two local staff who were later released, on Wednesday in North Darfur. The kidnappings come after Sudan ordered the expulsion of 13 aid groups, including the French and Dutch chapters of MSF, earlier this month. They were told to leave after President Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Police focus on young people
(CNS): The need to engage and communicate with young people to keep them out of trouble has seen police officers in West Bay look for new ways to reach out. Last weekend (Saturday, 7 March) officers held a focus group with members of Future Under-15 Football Club to find out what issues are affecting them. “We want toreach out to everyone in the community and that means coming up with new ways to identify and communicate with people,” said Area Commander Angelique Howell.
Officers met with the team and coach on the Ed Bush playing field. Coach Patrick O’Neill said it was an excellent initiative by the police “There are many factors that can influence young people from environmental pressures to peer pressure and it’s important that everyone recognizes the elements which effect young people and provide them with all the assistance they need to overcome these influences,” O’Neill added.
Areas covered during the session included job expos for young people, tutoring programmes and the need for a place for young people to go, such as a games room and community centre that can be the main base for youth based activities.
Chief Inspector Howell stressed that initiatives such as this can only be successful if there is support and partnership from within the community. “We need to work together,” she said. “This session was a great start to the programme which aims to identify the views and concerns of young people.”
The second session will take place this coming Saturday, at the Government Homes Park in West Bay from 4pm. Young people and parents and guardians are invited to attend.
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.
Governor talks transparency
(CNS): Describing the global economic recession as “rough and tumble times” the governor Stuart Jack told the Chamber of Commerce yesterday it was important for Cayman to maintain its reputation for quality and to be transparent. He also said that his controversial commissions and enquiries were not airing dirty laundry that was undermining the jurisdiction as he had heard. “Countries do not suffer by admitting that someone has erred, or a system has failed. Their reputations suffer because they try to cover up misconduct, or ignore processes that don’t work.”
He noted that Cayman needed to make the best use of its advantages and address the weaknesses but that Cayman had a number of blessings including a solid and reliable judiciary. “Let us not forget our many blessings,” Jack stated at the Chamber of Commerce Governor’s Luncheon on Wednesday 11 March. “We have solid and reliable laws and judiciary. We have world class accountants, auditors and attorneys. For a small country we have first rate businesses across different sectors. We have beautiful islands that people want to live in and visit. I am optimistic about the future.”
He said he knew there was anxiety regarding what the G20 might conclude about global financial regulation, in particular about offshore centres. “We cannot simply ignore this pressure. As the international financial system is reformed Cayman should be seen as part of the solution, not the problem.”
He said Cayman had to adapt to the emerging emphasis on transparency. “Cayman now has a good record on anti-money laundering and, in practice, on cooperating with other jurisdictions, notably the US, on criminal tax matters. But we need to get that message across more clearly. Cayman must seek to conclude tax information exchange agreements with more countries, including the UK – Government is now working actively on this. And we should look again at any practices or laws that reinforce preconceptions about excessive secrecy, such as the Confidential Relationships Preservation Law, while accelerating work on data protection legislation,” he added.
The governor also noted that Cayman must not be too inward-looking as it had prospered because it looked to the wider world – for markets, for supplies, for staff.
He also pointed the finger of responsibility at the elected government and said the Cayman Islands need a sustainable development strategy that integrates in balanced way economic, environmental and social issues. “To achieve that we need leadership and good governance,” he added. “The main responsibility must lie with the country’s elected representatives – that is what democracy is all about. The role of a Governor of an Overseas Territory is a strange mix of being powerful and powerless. Constitutionally, I have a lot of power over a lot of things. New laws require my signature. I have a good deal of responsibility for lofty objectives – good governance and law and order.”
He said he had tried to do promote a culture of quality, particularly in the civil service and the police. “I know that many people will see my tenure here as a period of Commissions and Enquiries and investigations. Many of these actions have been controversial,” he added. “But I believe that where there are serious allegations – not just frivolous remarks – but serious allegations, they should be addressed. In most cases, on a small island like this, it is not always possible to get an objective and fair viewpoint on an allegation. We need a new, more distanced judgement. This is why I set up the Commission of Enquiry, the special police investigations and the Judicial Tribunal – in each case only where there appeared to be prima facie evidence backed up by legal advice.”
He said the primary objective has been to focus on a specific allegation, an external viewpoint can also teach us a lot about our culture, and what steps we need to take to raise our quality.
“The Commission of Enquiry provided some useful lessons on the civil service which have been followed up. Operation Cealt is as much focussed on how we can improve systems as on how we deal with alleged misbehaviour by a few individuals,” the Governor noted. He said that by being open about the problems in Cayman the country demonstrated a determination to solve them, which he thought would retain confidence in brand Cayman.
He said that Cayman’s older sea fairing generation could teach us how to withstand the current turbulence. “These Caymanians had to look outwards for their own survival, and in the process became knowledgeable about the rest of the world. It was their insights that laid the foundations for Cayman’s prosperity, that I fear too many now take for granted,” he said. “They also knew that their reputation as sailors depended more upon their ability to navigate stormy seas, than the calm. That required a clear sense of destination, flexibility, and above all hard work.”
He said that was an important lesson for the here and now. “We need to show the same resilience and skill in the face of adversity, as the seafaring founders of the nation. And, of course, as the resourceful women who looked after Cayman while they were away,” the Governor added.