Archive for March 31st, 2009
Elections Office aims for access all voters
(CNS): The Cayman Islands can usually count on a very good turn out for its general elections and the Elections Office is working on making sure that in 2009 no one misses the chance to vote for their legislative representatives and in the Referendum for the new constitution. Aside from voters who will go tot he polls in person the office also has to make provisions for those that are absent from the islands on the day of the poll as well as those who are housebound or unable to make it to their local station, to exercise their franchise.
Mobile polling stations will also be used for the first time in the Cayman Islands, specifically for those unable to attend fixed polling stations and will offer those unable to make it to the polls under their own steam the opportunity to exercise their democratic right this May.
Anyone intending to vote by postal ballot in either the National Elections or the Constitutional Referendum, or requiring the services of a mobile polling station needs to apply in advance and time is running out. Completed application forms for both the postal ballots and the mobile stations should be returned to the registering officers of electoral districts as soon as possible. These forms can only be accepted until Thursday, 7 May 2009 (12 days before polling day).
Persons applying for postal ballots must each complete two copies of Form B, one for the election and the other for the referendum. Likewise, persons applying for mobile voting must complete two copies of Form BA, one for the election and one for the referendum.
Postal ballots may be obtained from, and be hand-delivered when complete to, respective registering officers. They may also be hand-delivered to the Elections Office at The Professional Centre, 150 Smith Road, or mailed to the Elections Office, PO Box 10120, Grand Cayman KY1-1001.
The first issue of postal ballots will be sent by Wednesday, 1 April. District Returning Officers will send them to applicants by registered mail. Voters should complete their ballots and return them by regular post, or by courier. A postal ballot will be accepted by a Returning Officer until the close of polls on Election Day (20 May).
For mobile station voters, the Elections Office will publish the list of all applicants and by 7 May 2009 a schedule for mobile stations in each district will be published.
Grand Cayman’s Registering Officers are as follows:
West Bay: Mrs. Darlene Owens-Elliott, 916-4402
George Town: Ms Kathryn Myles, 916-2117
Bodden Town: Mrs. Kerry Nixon, 916-4478
East End: Mrs. Vernicia Watler, 916-4647
North Side: Ms Esther Patricia Ebanks, 916-4349
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman – Georgina Lazzari, 948 0343
For more information on the constitution review process, contact the Constitutional Review Secretariat in Elizabethan Square, or call -244-3605, or visit its website, www.constitution.gov.ky.
For more information on the National Elections, contact the Elections Office on weekdays in person at The Professional Centre on Smith Road, George Town between 8:30am and 5:00pm, or call 949-8047. The public may also e-mail the office at elections@electionsoffice.ky, or visit its website: www.electionsoffice.ky
Hedge fund may go under liquidator’s protection
(Bloomberg): A Cayman Islands court may decide tomorrow to put Dynamic Decisions Capital Management Ltd.’s main hedge fund under the protection of an outside firm after investors accused the manager of “gross mismanagement and misfeasance,” according to people familiar with the case. The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands is set to consider a petition for a provisional liquidator to safeguard DD Growth Premium Master Fund, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to discuss the case.
Holding the press to ransom
Monday’s story about former Turtle Farm CEO Joey Ebanks and the possibility that he had been given a salary advance sparked some interesting debate, including whether we should have run the story at all until Mr Ebanks had responded.
However, we believe we made the right decision. It is common practice, especially here in the Cayman Islands, for those in the public eye who are uncomfortable about answering the media’s questions to simply ignore them and hope those pesky news people will go away. The idea that we simply wait until a public figure decides if and when they want to answer us would not bode well for our democratic future.
The role of the Fourth Estate is to keep the public informed, and while responsible media do their best to check all facts presented, we also have a duty to ask questions and to insist on answers. Sometimes, when it appears that a question could be easily put to bed with a suitable response, silence speaks volumes.
Like all media houses, when we receive information about something of public interest, we first weigh the source. If it seems credible, we pursue the lead, often by asking the person or entity that the information is about whether it is true. If it is misinformation, we are generally informed of this pretty quickly.
The story in question came to us from what we considered a very reputable source, and so questions were sent to both Mr Ebanks and the Turtle Farm Board chair. We did not get a response from Mr Ebanks (and still haven’t), even though a denial or an explanation would have been easy enough.
And while the board chair did respond, he did not deny the allegation but rather refused to comment on it. He also noted that a lawyer was involved, which indicated to us that the resignation was not a simple one.
The circumstances are still unclear and we believe that an explanation regarding the alleged salary advance should be forthcoming. Mr Ebanks is a public figure running for election who appears to have entered into some kind of deal regarding public money but has not declared what it is. The rights and wrongs of the situation are for our readers to decide, but they certainly have a right to know what that situation is.
More generally, if the media are as sure as they can be about a story but cannot get answers to their questions, one recourse open to them is to publish the questions – which is what we did here.
CNS does not have political allegiance (despite frequent accusations from party supporters that we support the other party) but we will openly admit to fully embracing at least two major policy initiatives of the PPM administration – the weekly press briefing and the enactment of the Freedom of Information Law. These initiatives, along with an increasingly rigorous media will only benefit these islands.
The idea that anyone in public office can avoid dealing with awkward situations and difficult questions by ignoring them holds the press – and therefore the people – to ransom. If we believe an issue should be in the public domain, it is our job to help it get there not to assist in the cover up. Waiting too long for a response when experience tells us it is unlikely to come anyway undermines the entire principle of an open press and we hope most of our readers will agree and continue to support us in our goal to give Cayman a reliable and speedy news service.