Archive for March, 2009
High Rock residents voice concerns to cops
“The residents were afforded the opportunity to voice their concerns and air their expectations of the RCIPS,” said Barrow. “The main component that came to light is a renewed awareness of their vulnerabilities as a result of recent occurrences.”
Issues discussed at the meeting included lighting and the need for additional lights at strategic locations, additional police patrols in the area, information sharing among residents, PC McIntosh’s role as the RCIPS liaison to the community and how he can help with regard to neighbourhood watch, inexpensive security measures and how people can help ‘design’ out crime through assessing their property and surrounding area.
“We had an excellent turn out with all households represented bar one and the meeting was extremely constructive,” Barrow added. “The neighbourhood watch presentation was very well received and residents were enthusiastic about working together and in partnership with police and other agencies to help minimize their vulnerabilities.”
Barrow commended the residents for taking the initiative and seizing this opportunity to revitalize their community spirit and commitment towards the preservation of a quality of life that a law abiding society deserves.
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.
SPIT marks first anniversary
(CNS): Twelve months and over $6 million later, the people of the Cayman Islands are still no wiser when it comes to the actions and purpose of the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) than they were one year ago. Although the exact arrival date of the team remains uncertain, their presence was officially revealed on 27 March 2008 – making today the team’s first official anniversary. On that day the governor called an emergency briefing to tell the Cayman people that an undercover police team from Scotland Yard was working here, that three senior police officers including the commissioner were suspended from duty and Lyndon Martin had been arrested.
Since that day the Cayman Islands coffers are now down around $6.5million, the RCIPS morale is at an all time low, the elected government is divided from the governor, and the country’s judiciary, once considered the best in the region, has been brought into question. However, despite this the Cayman people have been given little to no information regarding the so-called corruption investigation which has cost so much. The real target, purpose or intentions of SPIT and Operation Tempura, as the investigation was named, still remains something of a mystery.
To mark the year anniversary Cayman News Service submitted questions to Acting Commissioner James Smith, Governor Stuart jack and to SIO of SPIT, Martin Bridger, asking what the team considered to be the successes and failures of the investigation, what they would do differently if they had their time over, and for some explanation to be provided about what has happened over the last year and where the Cayman tax payers money has gone. Needless to say, we continue to wait for a response.
From the arrest and search of a Grand Court Judge for an unarrestable offence with a warrant signed by a Justice of the Peace which resulted in a damages payment of $1.3 million dollars to the twelve month suspension on full pay of two senior police officers, the investigation has been plagued with controversy and expense.
Despite the expenditure and the high profile arrests, the seemingly never-ending suspensions and the dismissal of the police commissioner, the only charges brought have been against Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon for unrelated offences and Lyndon Martin for making a false allegation against a police officer.
Following the recent announcement that the lead investigator Martin Bridger would be leaving the island (a condition that was elicited by the elected members of Cabinet before they would allow the most recent request for funding to go before the Finance Committee) the governor issued a short statement lauding the work of Bridger.
“Let us not forget that the original Tempura investigation has succeeded in clearing the names of people who were unjustly accused of wrongdoing. Many of us in the Cayman Islands – including myself – have acknowledged that some mistakes were made later on, as unfortunately sometimes happens with the best of intentions. But I feel sure that many of the people who came forward with information are glad that Martin Bridger came to the Cayman Islands,” the governor said on 11 March.
During Finance Committee on Friday, the Legislative Assembly voted on an appropriation for the investigation of over CI$4.4 million, which, added to money that was allocated in the last financial year of well over $1.6 million, takes the money spent from the public purse to well in excess of $6 million at a time when the islands’ operating budget is running at an expected deficit of almost $29 million.
With the recent postponement of Martin’s trial and no further news on the situation regarding Kernohan and Jones forthcoming, it is likely to remain a long time before the Cayman people are offered anything like an explanation. The next most likely development in this saga of intrigue and mystery will come from the Auditor General’s Office as Dan Duguay is close to finishing his first draft of a value for money study. And while this AG report is unlikely to offer any insight into the details or purpose of Operation Tempura, Duguay is trying to establish if the Cayman people have achieved value for money on their $6 million commitment.
SMB properties trend up in value
(CNS): A drop in the Cayman property market in 2008 was part of a downward trend and the global financial crisis has so far been less of a factor than the longer term pattern, an analysis by property consultants Charterland has found. However, most of the Seven Mile Beach condominiums continued to show a steady increase in values on previous years and, as of the end of 2008, demonstrated no signs of a slowing of this rate of increase, a review by property consultants Charterland has found. (Left: review authors Ian Barnard, Simon Watson and Stewart Connolly)
Overall, the value of properties, which has been trending down for the past three years, remains significantly higher than pre-2005 figures, though the total number of property transfers was lower in 2008 than any year since 1995.
According to Simon Watson, the main author of the Cayman Property Review 2008 and Charterland Director, the Cayman Property Market really consist of two parts: the SMB properties which had not demonstrated a downturn, as of the end of 2008, and the more local market where there certainly seemed to be a peak in 2006 and generally more of a market stabilisation since then, which has resulted in a decrease in values in certain sectors. “This decrease was most prominent in the two-bed town house sector, which I think most people in the profession saw coming, due to the large numbers of similar properties being developed, in recent years, creating an oversupply,” Watson said.
“The current slow-down is certainly part of a longer pattern, going back to a peak in 2006; however, it should be noted that because of the time-lag between sales contracts being agreed and the actual date of the registration of these sales at the Land Registry, from where our data is obtained, it may be that the full impact of the financial crisis in the last quarter of 2008 would not have been reflected in the transfers registered by the end of that year,” he said.
The report comes in the wake of the passing in the Legislative Assembly of amendments to the Customs Tariff and the Stamp Duty bills in a bid to boost development and the real estate industry. Duty on construction materials is to be reduced by 5% and stamp duty is being cut across the island by as much as 2.5% for buyers in the Seven Mile Beach area and 1% elsewhere.
This means that the stamp duty has been reduced for SMB properties from 7.5% to 5%, Watson noted, adding, “A few years back it was 9%, so this is a very significant difference.”
According to the report, the total number of property transfers in 2008 fell by over 5% from 1,786 in 2007 to 1,691 in 2008. This drop was the third annual drop in a row since an all-time high in 2005 of 2,640: a total drop in transfers of over 35%. The slow-down in the property market in 2008 is also reflected in the decrease in the total value of properties being transferred for a monetary consideration. 2008 saw a total value of transfers of CI$489 million, down nearly 11% from 2007 and nearly 25% from the highest on record.
The review is not intended to predict future trends but to be a fact-based unbiased retrospective, Watson told CNS. The information on which the analysis is based is taken directly from government departments, including the Land Registry, Valuation Office, Planning Department and Economic and Statistics Office, rather than third party sources, he said. For the review, they collated all the information and presented it in an easily readable format.
While the overview is based on all transfers, the report only focuses on areas of the market where there are a significant number of sales, such as Seven Mile Beach and condominiums in the George Town area. In areas where there are relatively few sales, such as the Sister Islands, the limiteddata available can be easily skewed by a small anomaly, Watson noted.
However, the data did show a boost to the Savannah district after the construction of the Countryside Shopping Centre and the new road, indicating that the real estate market benefitted from those two factors. Watson also noted that the higher end properties were still increasing in value, which may indicate that buyers should purchase the most expensive property they can.
Cayman Property Review 2008 can be downloaded from the Charterland website in electronic PDF format.
Independents carry on regardless
(CNS): Despite the failure of the thirteen independent candidates to gain allbut one of the seats in the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 elections, this time around twenty-two people are still going it alone for the 2009 polling day. Last election, Moses Kirkconnell in the Sister Islands was the only candidate who made it through the ballot as an independent and then became a member of the People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) within a few weeks of being elected. In spite of recent political history, this year’s ballot shows that Cayman remains unconvinced that the indpendent candidate is a thing of the past. (Left Theresa Lewis Pitcairn – Indpt Bodden Town)
Even though the 2005 election campaign seemed to solidify the party system in the Cayman Islands, three former United Democratic Party candidates have ditched the party colours for Election 2009 and are taking to the hustings as independents. While four mixed candidates are running in a loose group in West Bay, three are returning to the political fray to do it all again, alone, despite their failure to gain seats outside the party system the last time.
Given the results of 2005, it is surprising that only one who contested the 2005 election and failed to win a seat as an independent has joined the party system, that being Ellio Solomon. Speaking after the polls closed in 2005 Solomon had said that while he recognized the trend towards the party system he did not believe that this necessarily eliminated other options for the future.
Sandra Catron who is seeking a seat in the district of Bodden Town says that the independent surge for this election is a reaction to what the candidates hear people want from the doorteps. “Despite what happened in 2005 the people of Cayman have not bought into the party system. People should not be fooled by the result as it owed much to a ground swell of people wanted to remove the UDP purely because of the status grants,” she added. “Many voters are saying they will not vote straight ever again and that they intend to spread their vote not just between a party representative and independents but even across party lines.”
This time around West Bay has the highest number of independents on the ballot, with four people running in a loose group but with very different agendas and three more individuals, including Bernie Bush, who was one of districts the highest polling independent candidates in 2009, taking their places along side the four incumbents from the UDP
In North Side, an interesting battle is already brewing as there is no incumbent fighting for that seat. Joey Ebanks will be taking the mantle from Edna Moyle for the PPM and will be facing off against two independents — Oswell Rankine and Ezzard Miller, a veteran politician who has said he will help the UDP over the PPM to form a government but refuses to pledge allegiance to the party.
In the Sister Islands former UDP MLA Lyndon Martin is choosing to go it alone in the political battlefield despite having a tumultuous and difficult year. Maxine McCoy-Moore is also trying her hand again, even though she was unable to poll enough votes the last time around to keep her deposit.
Meanwhile in East End, John McLean Jr is following in his father’s footsteps and is taking his chances against incumbent Arden McLean, the PPM Minister for Communications Works and Infrastructure, who has a significant majority in the district.
In Bodden Town, one of the districts where this year’s election is likely to be won or lost Theresa Lewis Pitcairn, who offered an intelligent start to her bid for election last night, lines up against the three PPMincumbents, two UDP hopefuls, as well as four other independents — the former UDP member and Health Minister Gilbert McLean, Sandra Catron, Justin Wood and Vincent Frederick. Although new to the political scene, Pitcairn has been courted by the UDP and is seen by that party as a possible convert, but she insists that she will remain independent.
Bodden Town’s three seats will provide a hard and interesting fight for all those who are contesting them. With the safest seat in the country it will take a gargantuan effort for anyone to remove Anthony Eden, though the other two seats are considerably more vulnerable and as a result could produce some interesting surprises.
The nation’s capital, however, is likely to be where the hardest battle of all will be fought. Currently, the PPM‘s home ground, to form the next government the PPM will need to hold on to all four seats. However, the UDP is clearly keen to take these seats away and that party will need to secure at least two to give it a chance at political power. With 13 candidates and the largest percentage of the newly registered voters, it is likely to be, as they say, anyone’s game. In George Town the five independent candidates are lining up against four brand new UDP candidates and the four PPM incumbents. Dr Frank McField, the former controversial UDP minister, will be battling along side newcomers Eddie Thompson, Burns Connolly, Walling Whittaker and former North Side independent candidate Bo Miller.
The issue of party vs independent candidates will not lie down in Cayman and the question of horse trading before or after election day remains at issue as, in the end, people need to co-operate in order to get down to the business of government. Last year, even before he crossed the floor to join the PPM, Moses Kirkconnell was extolling the virtues of the party system when he said, “The positive side of the party system is that voters already know the proposed policies of the new government.”
Conversely, George Town independent Burns Connolly recently said that an independent candidate has the advantage of being able to debate and vote completely in accordance with their constituents wishes or interests and not be forced to toe the party line. “They do not have to follow any party consensus or the party leader’s wishes,” he said. “The truly independent candidate is free to vote for or against any proposal put forward to ensure that it is in the best interest of people.”
Whether, 2009 will see the return of the independents of consolidate the party system remains to be seen but there is no doubt that during this election the 22 candidates without party affiliations will play an important part in the political battleground.
Ezzard throws down gauntlet
(CNS): One of the most unpredictable campaigns of the 2009 Election is likely to unfold in a district that has been conversely one of the most predictable in recent times. Over in the quiet, genteel community of North Side a firestorm is brewing as three candidates begin the battle for a now empty seat following the retirement of Madame Speaker Edna Moyle. Facing off against the People’s Progressive Movement’s late selection and director of the Turtle Farm, Joey Ebanks, as well as Oswell Rankine, Ezzard Miller has already offered “a head to head to head” challenge to his opponents.
At his first district meeting on Thursday evening, Miller, a political veteran and former health minster, asked his opponents to join him at some point on the campaign trail in front of the people of North Side where they could openly answer and debate the questions that the electorate put to them. “I am asking them to come and stand here with me and debate. I’ll even pay for the hall,” he said last night in front of a small but supportive crowd.
Whoever wins the North Side seat could have a significant influence on the formation of the next administration, a vote for Ebanks is a vote for the PPM, and although Miller is running as an independent he has stated openly that he will support a the formation of a UDP government. However, he said it will then have to win his support for each and every bill as he will not join the party ranks under any circumstances.
A plain speaking candidate who has even included a testimonial in an advertisement campaign that said he wasn’t very likeable, Miller believes that aside from his experience and track record his honesty, integrity and straight talking attitude will see him through to seat in the Legislative Assembly.
At his first public meeting, moving away from the topic of immigration on which he is normally very outspoken, Miller chose to speak about education and the need to include disaffected young people and to be more inclusive with those in trouble. He said the community had to be more creative and committed to dealing with young people
He criticised the Minister of Education, Alden McLaughlin for not debating the entire contents of the Education Bill with the public at large before it was passed and said he would like to see the people of North Side taking more control of their district and suggested leasing North Side Primary School from government to make it the first charter school in the Cayman Islands.
Although the new Cayman Islands Constitution, if passed, will provide for the election of district councils, Miller has already created one and is proposing to work through them to organise the needs of the district of North Side and, promising a new kind of democracy, he says he will discuss all of his parliamentary decisions with the residents in the district.
“I intend to come back here and discuss everything that I will do in parliament with the people of North Side,” he said. “We need to make sure that what government does is good for North Side and good for Cayman.”
Demonstrating his democratic credentials he also faced a question and answer session last night jumping from the problems of excluding students from the school bus to the state of the North Side Hurricane Shelter. Running on the slogan "Cayman for Caymanians", Miller, a former chair of the Immigration Board has been exceptionally critical of the number of work permit holders in Cayman, which he says is committed to reducing. He has also raised the idea of a national lottery to help raise revenue for government coffers.
Turks and Caicos democracy “under threat”
(Jamaica Observer): The Caribbean Community (Caricom) is concerned that democracy is under threat in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), which is an associate member of the 15-nation regional grouping. In a statement Tuesday, Caricom broke its silence on the recent political developments in the British-administered territory, where the United Kingdom government is preparing to resort to direct rule. The drastic move comes in the wake of a scathing interim report released by a commission of inquiry, led by Sir Robin Auld, which has pointed to "clear signs of political amorality and immaturity and general administrative incompetence" in the territory.
Home school kids go behind the police scenes
(CNS): While officers from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service are regular visitors to Cayman’s schools as a result of a number of initiatives, home school students don’t come into contact with police officers quite as much. As a result PC Gaunett Harvey recently spent time with a group of 8 youngsters who are outside the school system and gave them an inside look at life at George Town Police Station.
The RCIPS said that it is keen to reach out to all young people in the community and students who are tutored at home do not normally get the chance to interact with police in the same way children attending established schools do the special session was organised.
The youngsters completed a tour of George Town police station and were introduced to some of the different police departments including Scenes of Crime, K9 and CID. “This was a great opportunity to make connections with children who do not come into contact with the police through the regular channels such as the DARE programme,” said PC Harvey. “We got chance to talk about the vital role police officers play in society and the children were allowed time to ask questions about areas that interest them.”
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) is eager to reach all sectors of the community and welcomes any requests for police visits or talks. Residents are encouraged to email rcipsinfo@rcips.ky or contact their neighbourhood officers at their local police station for advice.
Anyone with information about crime takingplace 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.
Affordable Housing finance comes through
(CNS): The government said, Thursday, that the Central Tenders Committee has approved the issue of the US$14.5 million bond to be used for low cost housing on Grand Cayman. Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said that this is the second tranche of financing to the National Housing Development Trust (NHDT) and it will be used for completing site preparation and constructing of the affordable homes in all of the districts of Grand Cayman. (Left: an affordable home on Cayman Brac)
Speaking at the weekly media press briefing, Tibbetts announced that the NHDT was making arrangements with Bank of Butterfield for the award of the bond. “Today, NHDT authorities will be holding discussions with the bank to discuss the agreement further, reporting back to the CTC to ensure that all criteria of the bond arrangement are met,” he said.
Despite the confirmation of the next tranche of money, Tibbetts said it did not affect the government’s net debt ratio as the expectation to guarantee up to $28 million had been made at the very start of the project in 2001 and was therefore already accounted for in government guarantee borrowing, despite the fact that the money had not yet been borrowed.
Gaining access to financing would now however, allow the development of the much-needed affordable housing to proceed immediately on a number of sites around the island as there are currently 752 applications registered with the NHDT.
In East End, 59 single family lots are planned in Phase I on the 9.38 acre site off John McLean Drive. In West Bay. Tibbetts said a second site near the Lighthouse has been vested to the NHDT covering 8.5 acres, where a total of 50 single and multi-family lots are proposed. Meanwhile in Bodden Town, planning approval is being sought at the site where 55 single and multi-family lots are being proposed and in George Town, planning approval for the 71 lot subdivision for the Fairbanks site has been received and final survey work is now underway.
He also said that the existing affordable homes have not stood the test of time, and need to be replaced with new concrete structures. “The first site slated for this phased redevelopment is the Eastern Avenue site,” Tibbetts explained. “Planning approval will be submitted tomorrow (Friday, 27 March) for multi-family apartments contained in three-storey units. Tendering for construction is anticipated by July.
In North Side he said an eight-acre parcel of land had been identified, but because the owner is untraceable there will have to be a compulsory purchase order made before work on the homes as well as a planned seniors’ home can begin.
“We recognise that in these troubled economic times the need for affordable housing will become more urgent than ever, so the approval of the bond is very timely indeed. I look forward to seeing the new affordable homes under construction in fairly short order, and, perhaps more importantly, as these homes are completed, I look forward to seeing the families moving into their new affordable homes,” he said.
SIAHDC is a government-funded non-profit company that manages the affordable housing programme on the Brac and is a separate entity to NHDT.
Tibbetts said that other housing initiatives were also going well, in particular the Government Guaranteed Home Assisted Mortgage, or “GGHAM” programme. “The demand for the programme was so great that the initial $30 million that the banks agreed to lend over the first 5 years of the programme was used up in just one year,” he said, adding that the commitment from the banks had been doubled. “To date, close to 150 Caymanian families have been the beneficiaries of this programme, with some 60 applications pending.”
He also said that the Build on Your Own Property Programme continues to receive applications from those who own their own property but need a bit of assistance in getting their home built. “Two homes have been completed under this programme, and there are five more pre-approved applications which will be proceeding in short order,” LoGB added.
Cops in court class
(CNS): The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) said that it is making the most of its new training centre at Governor’s Square. With assistance from the Legal Department a course relating to case file completion and statement writing for the courts is currently underway for regular police officers. This course aims to refresh and update officer’s knowledge on the important work needed for the court room to help with successful prosections.
“We have a great training facility here at Governors Square and we’re taking full advantage of it,” said Inspector White head of the Training Department. “We’re doing everything we can to reach all staff, including carrying out courses on evenings and weekends so that it fits in around officers working hours.”
Auxiliary Constables who work at the Court House recently took part in a week long course that covered all aspects of conflict resolution. Inspector White said the course was designed to help staff meet the day to day challenges of working in an atmosphere which can be subject to areas of potential conflict. The course contained scenarios and role plays relevant to their roles and examined potential situations that could occur and the appropriate courses of action that could be taken in such a situation.
Anyone interested in a career with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service should visit the police website at www.rcips.ky.
Government says no decision over civil service benefits
(CNS): Nothing has been finalised regarding the escalating cost of providing health care benefits to more 3,800 civil servants, as well as pensioners, indigents, veterans and seamen, the leader of government business has said. Despite recent headlines and accusations on the campaign trail that civil servants will have to start contributing to their health care benefits, Kurt Tibbetts said that discussions were underway but absolutely no decisions had been made to make government workers contribute.
He admitted that meetings were taking place about how to deal with the growing burden of providing free health care to so many people but he said there were no plans in place to start cutting benefits or taking contributions.
“A meeting was held recently with the chief secretary to discuss the escalating cost of health care in order to stimulate discussions for proposals,” he said. “The Cayman Islands Civil Service Association was there and it will be aware that the process is ongoing and no decisions have been reached.”
He said all of the facts needed to be aired before any review of how benefits are offered takes place and absolutely no outcome has been determined. “I can assure all civil servants that their voices will be heard before any decision is reached,” Tibbetts added.
However, the LoGB said government was providing health benefits totalling CI$64 million per year. “We need to find ways and means for health benefits to come in at a lesser cost,” he added. Tibbetts explained that over 90 percent of the overseas medical care being paid for was dealt with in the United States and government needed to investigate other jurisdictions that could provide as good, if not better, health care in the region for less cost. He said there was a need to, review what was being provided and look at the entire picture.
Minister Alden McLaughlin reassured existing civil servants that government would be unlikely to take away any of their benefits as they formed part of their employment contract but that the plan would be to look at the package offered to new civil servants. He said in the same way that the full pension benefit had been addressed some ten years ago, the package for new recruits as oppose to existing staff could be changed.
“If the civil service continues to grow at the pace it has, combined with a very narrow tax base and increasing pressure on government revenue, we are going to have to do something about that,” he said. “But I would not support changing arrangements with existing civil servants as that would be a breach of contract.”
According to media reports, website comments and those on the hustings, members of the Civil Service Association are already protesting any move to make them contribute to benefits. The Association President James Watler has said any changes would be unacceptable.
“When we came on with the civil service, it was with the understanding that the medical care was free, with a portion of dental and a portion of optical. Now they have put a cap on it, but no one has given them permission. We contest this, we say it’s illegal. They are trying to cut benefits and we said to them you can’t,” Watler told Net News this week.
However, while civil servants are likely to want to protect their benefits as much as possible into the future, how much sympathy they will garner in the wider community remains to be seen as most regular workers in the private sector are expected to meet half the cost of their health care benefits. As the government goes into ever deeper budget deficit and CINICO, the health care provider for civil servants, continues to run at a loss, future public sector workers are unlikely to enjoy the benefits of those already in the service.