Archive for March, 2009

Clifford laments enquiry

(CNS): Having faced a considerable amount of controversy during his tenure in political office, Minister Charles Clifford chose to speak about the most controversial time of all in his farewell speech to the House — the Commission of Enquiry — and lamented the negative message it sent to civil servants who wanted to blow the whistle on what they perceived as corruption. The enquiry concerned documents he took with him when he left his civil service post as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism.

When he joined the People’s Progressive Movement as a candidate in the 2005 election, the documents that Clifford took, which concerned the financing and management issues surrounding of the Royal Watler Port, Cayman Airways, Turtle Farm and the Boggy Sands Project, were leaked to the press and used on the 2005 campaign trail.

During his final presentation to the House, following his thank yous and a justification of his time in office, Clifford turned to the circumstances of the enquiry and said he had never had anything to hide. “What I did in 2004 when I resigned from public office is no secret to the people of this country," he said. “I spoke about it very publicly from the campaign platform, and when allegations were made against me about removing files, I admitted I had taken my files with me.”

He explained that he had even written about the documents to the governor at the time, Bruce Dinwiddy, who saw nothing wrong with his actions, Clifford said.

Following intense speculation regarding the documents that Clifford took, Governor Stuart Jack announced the enquiry in November 2007 when he said that after considering legal advice he had decided that the public interest would be best served by facilitating a full enquiry into the circumstances relating to the alleged unauthorised removal of files.

Clifford said when he heard this he was happy to go along with the process as he knew he had nothing to hide, but said there were times when he questioned whether he should have raised those irregularities he saw as permanent secretary, given what was happening, and asked himself if it was indeed worth it.

“But I came to the conclusion that it was worth it. It was more important to stick to the principles of honesty and integrity. I feared that this country was heading down the road of institutionalized corruption and it was not something I could ignore. While it was a challenging time, I believe I did the right thing. No one can tell me the people of these islands have lost their moral compass. I think they needed that knowledge when they went into the last general election,” he said.

Chaired by Sir Richard Tucker, the enquiry began on 21 January 2008 and concluded that Clifford should not have taken confidential files, and although no sanction was handed down recommendations were made.

Clifford said that the enquiry had sent the worst possible message to anyone who was serving in public office who saw wrongdoing as they would now be far less likely to reveal what they have seen. "They have heard: If you see irregularities don’t you dare expose it or you too will face a commission,” he said. ”But I want to say to civil servants, if you see it expose it!”

He emphasised the PPM administration’s introduction of the Freedom of Information Law and that the message from the enquiry may be unfortunate but public servants could be confident under a PPM administration that there were now channels for them to expose any wrongdoing.

Unbelievably, the commission investigated the leak instead of the corruption it revealed, he said. “Why was there not an enquiry into the irregularities?" he asked. “There are a whole case load of auditor general’s reports and I wonder why they have not been properly investigated?”

He said he believed that, had there not been a change in government in 2005, the Cayman Islands could be in the same position as the Turks and Caicos Islands, where the UK government has suspended the constitution as a result of the level of corruption.

Despite being concluded in January of 2008, the Commission of Enquiry is likely to find itself a tool in the May election campaigns 2009 for both sides. The UDP began making use of it in its first campaign meeting in Bodden Town on Tuesday evening with regards to its findings and the declaration that Clifford was wrong to leak the documents. The PPM, on the other hand, will be lamenting the fact that the contents of the documents and the reasons for the leak were as they see it never properly investigated.

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MLAs make long goodbyes

(CNS): Governor Stuart Jack officially dissolved the Legislative Assembly at one minute past midnight on Tuesday morning, 24 March, but not before the members said their goodbyes to the House and Madame Speaker, who is retiring from the political arena. The dissolution of parliament paves the way for the general elections on 20 May, and given the long goodbye speeches by the departing members, signalled the real beginning of the 2009 election campaign. (Left – Clerk of the LA Wendy Lauer reads the dissolution order).

Under Section 47 of the Constitution, it is the role of the governor to dissolve the House. “At the end of the four year term, the governor dissolves the House and a general election shall be held within two months following dissolution. Upon dissolution, all pending business comes to an end and Members of the House cease to be Members. Ministers of the Cabinet, however, continue in office until the Members of the new Parliament are sworn in at the first meeting of a new term of Parliament,” explained Lauer.

As the house business drew to a close on Monday afternoon following the passing of the Supplementary Appropriations bill the Leader of Government Business, Kurt Tibbetts stood to move the adjournment.

“This is it,” he said. “For better or for worse I have to move for an adjournment of this House.” Opening the floor for debate Madame Speaker asked, knowing full well they did, if any other members wished to speak.  As a result most of the members took the opportunity to make closing remarks and bid farewell to the house and Madame Speaker. Some chose to keep their thanks and good-byes fairly short while others seized the moment to begin their campaigns.

Each of the back benchers gave fairly lengthy swansongs, although most said they were optimistic about their chances of return as they declared themselves to have achieved many things during their time in officer without elaboration. Captain Eugene Ebanks and Moses Kirkconnell were the exceptions to the long good-byes from the back bench and the opposition. Ebanks, the fourth elected member for West Bay, congratulated Moyle on her service as Speaker and said althoughthere were many challenges he had enjoyed his time in the House over the last two terms and hoped he would get to serve the people of West Bay for a third time. Kirkconnell offered his thanks to the Speaker and said her retirement from politics was a great loss. He thanked his constituents in the Sister Islands, spoke about the need to rebuild after Hurricane Paloma and recalled the camaraderie he had enjoyed in the LA.

The non-elected officials, represented by the third official member Ken Jefferson and the stand-in first official member Donovan Ebanks, who had been sworn in earlier, also kept their parting speeches short. With no need to play for the crowds, as it were, the two gave thanks to the Speaker for her work and thanked their elected colleagues. Jefferson called Moyle a mother hen who “pushed us a long to get work done.” Ebanks said he wasn’t offended, as an occasional visitor to the house, that Madame Speaker always checked his allegiance every time he came.

The PPM George Town backbenchers, however, made more of the opportunity and after thanking everyone, the fourth elected member for George Town, Alfonso Wright, called on the 1646 people who voted for himin 2005 to do so again, as he said he said he was a more enlightened and mature individual who had made a positive contribution and improved the lives of the people of George Town.  He berated the independents who were running for office and said he was a convert to party politics as it was impossible for independents to run the country.

“You can’t even bring a private motion to the house without the support of at least one other member he said,” he said adding that if a large number of independents were to be elected the country would be compromised by the horse trading that would have to follow.

The third elected member, Lucille Seymour, said her goodbyes but said she would be back as a lot was still not done. She said members were in the House to work for the people and she had learned a lot. “I have learned that politics is a nasty business, with some nasty politicians,” but she added she had found much fraternity with the PPM members. “I was 99.9% happy here,” Seymour said. Speaking to her constituents she said her journey was not finished and she wanted to continue fighting for them.

Osbourne Bodden said he hoped he would be part of the next government and was confident that the PPM would win as there was a silent majority that supported the government and not necessarily the people running their mouths on talk shows. He said the number one priority of the PPM had been to find ways to improve the lot of Caymanians.

Anthony Eden kept his address short, clearly confident in his seat as first elected member for Bodden Town. He recalled his two decades of Legislative Service and he said the people of his district knew him, where he was from and what he stood for. He said they knew he would never compromise his standards. His district colleague however, Charles Clifford the second elected member with a much smaller margin spent considerably longer on his feet justifying his first four years not only as an MLA but as a Minister who also faced a controversial commission of enquiry.

Rolston Anglin, Second Elected Member for West Bay, led the opposition charge with a speech outlining the failings of the PPM administration and the dire circumstances in which he said the country’s finances were now in. He listed some of government’s more recent embarrassing moments, which included the helicopter fiasco, the failure of the Caribbean Insurance policy to pay up for Paloma, the lack of governmentaccounts, and the last ditch attempts to deal with the massive problems faced by the financial services industry.

He said that the West Bay UDP team was facing a record with the prospect of the same four MLA’s making a clean sweep in the district for a third time. “I can say unequivocally I am going to go into this campaign season and give it everything I have got to see that there is a change in government.”

First Elected Member for the Sister Islands, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, also confident in her seat, offered her thanks to everyone, and Arden McLean, another incumbent very likely to be returned, even took time to thank and jest with members of the press. Third Elected Member for West Bay Cline Glidden ended the evening’s proceedings with a little more campaigning, before Madame Speaker made her final ruling to her chickens that the hour was late and enough was enough.

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Plans still afoot to extend airport runway

(CNS): Despite government spending cuts and an operating deficit of around CI$29 million, according to the Minister for Tourism the redevelopment of Owen Roberts International Airport is still going ahead, including plans for a 2,000 foot extension to the runway. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on the last day of business, Monday 23 March, Charles Clifford said the redevelopment was a public-private partnership with the ongoing tendering process for the financing package due to close on 3 April 2009.

He said that having secured revenue streams through the Passenger Facilities Charge to augment its operating surpluses, the Cayman Islands Airport Authority had enlisted the services of Deloitte to assist it in reviewing various financing options. The initial Request For Proposal (RFP) for the financing package was issued in December 2008 but a decision has been taken to repeat the tender process so as to “refine and maximize the competitiveness amongst financial institutions,” the minister said. “The process is similar to the process utilised by the Cayman Islands Government.  The revised RFP has been issued to local Class A banks and one overseas bank.  The Central Tenders Committee (CTC) is providing oversight on this project to ensure value for money and necessary due diligence.”

He said the financing package is also expected to facilitate the construction of the required new airport in Little Cayman and some enhancements at the General Aviation Terminal.

“The next steps call for the tendering process for the six pre-qualified local contractors to commence at the end of April 2009 once the designs are finalised by architects Chalmers Gibbs Martin Joseph (CGMJ) and RS&H,” Clifford added. “Construction is scheduled to commence in September 2009 and is expected to conclude in 2012.  The redevelopment of the main terminal will result in the tripling of the floor space from 80,000 to 220,000 square feet to accommodate projected traffic levels for approximately 20 years.”

He said the redevelopment include an expanded ticketing and flight check-in hall, a new arrivals hall, a domestic arrivals and departures hall, a new international departures hall on the second floor and an expanded tarmac to accommodate three additional aircraft parking slots.

“Additionally, the Government is presently involved in discussions that could lead to a public/private sector partnership that would facilitate a 2,000 foot extension to the runway at the Owen Roberts International Airport,” Clifford explained.

He said that he believed the proposed facility would better reflect Cayman’s market position as a high-end tourist destination and as a major global financial centre. “The contemporary design will improve the aesthetic appeal and will assist in expanding passenger and airline capacity as overcrowding regularly occurs when passenger and aircraft movements are high,” he added. “Our islands’ airports are the first and last part of the tourism product that people see whether they are here for leisure or investment purposes and, in 2012, I expect that we will have a much larger, modern, user-friendly airport for the comfort of our visitors and residents that will pave the way for the continued development of the Cayman Islands.”

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Fear real for GT residents

(CNS):  George Town residents have made it clear to the police that they have a real fear of crime and are demanding that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service do something about community policing and neighbourhood schemes to help them deal with that fear and tackle crime in the district. Coming after another violent weekend, the George Town RCIPS meeting saw residents raise their concerns about crime in terms of its causes as well as how it was being policed.

Recidivism, the allocation of police resources, the shortage of officers, the levels of risk police officers face in the course of their work, drug related problems, the fundamental causes of crime and the continued problem of the security of information given to officers were just some of the issues discussed.  Residents were clearly very keen to help police but expressed their concerns about the perception of increasing crime.

Facing residents in the country’s capital for the first time, Acting Commissioner James Smith heard what are becoming familiar complaints after his island-wide cop road show regarding the security of information given to the RCIPS and a lack of visible policing. He said that community policing was a priority for him and explained it wasn’t something that should just be a department in the RCIPS but be part of the service across the board. He said it would take time as officers needed to be trained.

“Community policing is still in its embryonic stages here in Cayman but we are committed to improving that and we are working on plans. We need to ensure officers are trained to react to the needs and understand the needs of the communities they work in as well as building the trust of the neighbourhoods.”

Residents spoke about the genuine feeling of fear, and despite claims that the Cayman Islands is still a relatively low-crime jurisdiction, the fear of crime is very real especially for women. One local resident, Marilyn Connolly, articulated the fears many women now have in the community just walking to a meeting like the very one they were attending, across dark car parks and public areas. She said the climate of fear, perceived or otherwise, should not be dismissed as it was negatively impacting everyone’s day to day life.

Residents also criticised the lack of information from the police, which they felt fuelled the fear. They said residents needed to know if violent crimes were random, whether the same people were involved, were they related and what were the underlying causes. With a number of residents complaining that in the most recent incidents this weekend no officers had been in the neighbourhoods reassuring them, they said the fear of crime was increased.

The ACP said the police could not always give as much information as they would like because of the integrity of investigations but he acknowledged the need to communicate. “We do think that we need to get more localised information to people and improve communication to reassure residents,” said Smith. “These things can’t happen overnight, however. We need to put systems in place.”

The issue of secure communications was also raised and Smith said he was working on improvements to the RCIPS intelligence gathering and the security of that information. He also vowed that the information given to the SIO of the Special Police Investigation Team, Martin Bridger, who will be leaving in April would remain secure.  Around 80 people from the community have reportedly given information to Bridger since he invited people to come forward last year. This will now form the basis of Operation Cealt, which Smith has said will be led by another senior officer whose identity has still not been revealed.

The shortage of officers was another major talking point as the service is currently down around 33% in terms of manpower and Smith said officers were being recruited. The problems of attracting staff to the force was questioned by Mike Adam, the only new candidate running for office in the district that attended the meeting.  Manyof the officers present talked about the challenges of the job, and Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis explained that the difficulty of recruiting was compounded by competition from the high paying offshore services sectors. He spelt out many of the challenges officers face, from the long hours and the pressures to the risks of the job.

Adam queried whether policing was any more high risk than other professions, such as pilots, but officers present assured him that the job was indeed very risky and they all risked their lives in the course of their work on a day to day basis. Although no officers have lost their lives in the line of duty here, Area Commander, Chief Inspector Harlan Powery put the dangers into perspective: “When you are faced at 3:00 am in the morning with an angry crack cocaine addict with a knife, who is HIV positive, let me tell you it’s a high risk job,” he said. Kurt Walton, a long serving RCIPS officer and now head of the Drugs Task Force, said he faced many dangerous situations and was lucky to be alive following one incident when he was stabbed in the arm as he defended himself against a knife attack.

The meeting also saw a number of people looking at the philosophical issues surrounding crime, such as what happened to those who went to prison and the poor rehabilitation rates. Powery noted that he would like to see the day when everyone sent to prison because of drug related crimes or with drug problems had access to proper counselling and rehabilitation services. He said the standard response was we should lock people up and throw away the key but that was unrealistic and that the community should not just give up on these people.

Lucille Seymour, the third elected member for George Town, who left the Legislative Assembly’s closing debate especially to attend the meeting, raised the issue of why Cayman’s boy children were so violent and that the community needed to address how they were being socialised. Many residents agreed that the causes of crime were as important, if not more important, than the cure and there was a pressing need to address that issue. Smith agreed and said the police alone cannot solve societal problems and that it required inter-agency cooperation.

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Needham retires from RCIPS

(CNS): The stability of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) leadership has taken another hit with the retirement of Superintendent Mike Needham, who has served for more than ten years in the Cayman Islands as part of his 41 year policing career but will be leaving at the end of this week. Most recently he has held two crucial positions within the RCIPS — as head of the Financial Crimes and the Marine Unit. Almost at the compulsory police retirement age, Needham said that it was still one of the hardest decisions he has ever had to make.

“I served with the UK police for 32 years and with the RCIPS for a further 10 years. I am very proud of the Financial Crime Unit which I helped to re-form after the Euro Bank affair and also the new marine base and police boats we commissioned recently. I have really enjoyed being a police officer and I will miss all my colleagues dearly. I wish them well,” he said.

Needham has been instrumental in a number of police initiatives and has assisted in modernizing many aspects of the service. Most recently, he oversaw the two year project to upgrade and boost marine capabilities with new vessels, additional staff and a dedicated marine base. He joined the RCIPS  in January 1999 as the Detective Chief Inspector in charge of the Commercial Crime Branch, following a 31-year career with Lancashire Police in the United Kingdom. He has worked in a number of roles including head of the Joint Intelligence Unit, a unit he established in 2001 comprising police, customs and immigration in. Promoted to Detective Superintendent in May 2003 he then established the Financial Crime Unit (FCU) – a unit dedicated to investigating serious fraud, money laundering and corruption offences. Amalgamated from the Commercial Crime Branch, the FCU has grown to be one of the most recognized in the region and has twice been awarded the highest marks for any North American and Caribbean country following inspections by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force.

Needham has received a total of ten commendations for his work, ranging from his conduct during investigations, the speed of investigations, his perseverance, professionalism and his devotion to duty.

Acting Commissioner of Police,  James Smith said that although he has not known Needham very long, he will be missed. “Mr Needham has clearly achieved a great deal during the course of his 40-year career and he should leave policing feeling extremely proud. I wish him all the best for the future,” said Mr Smith.

Needham although retiring from the force is believed to be taking up a position in the private sector.

For more information about a career in policing, visit the RCIPS website at www.rcips.ky.

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