Archive for April, 2009
Cayman offers helping hand
(CNS): Children in Jamaica living with HIV/AIDS were dealt another blow to their young lives when their home was destroyed by fire on Monday, 16 March. However, after a plea from Father Gregory Ramkissoon, the founder of charitable organisation Mustard Seed Communities, a container in Grand Cayman has been filled with toys, clothes shoes, bedding, and many other essentials and will soon be leaving for Jamaica.
Fortunately, none of the thirty children living at Martha’s House, one of the Mustardseed homes for children, was hurt, though two employees suffered injuries while rescuing the children. According to Father Ramkissoon, a caregiver, Dawn Mansfield, broke her leg while jumping through a window with two of the children and is currently hospitalized. A security guard was treated for minor burns to his legs and hands.
However, the damage was estimated at $15 million and neither the building on North Street downtown Kingston nor its contents were insured. Responding to the needs of these children, the Catholic Church on Grand Cayman, which was approached by Father Ramkissoon through some parishioners here, and local charity, the I AM CO Foundation, agreed to finance the container to take donations to Jamaica next week. Donations are being received up to Wednesday, 8 April, at 535 South Church Street between Pure Art and the Montessori school of Cayman, and the Jamaican Consulate will accept goods at their offices. Anyone wishing to donate can email Bron at bronjoe@nbnet.nb.ca or contact the Jamaican Consulate office between 8:30-2:30 Monday through Friday.
Items needed are: used clothing sizes 2 to 16, small toys, shoes, towels, sheets, shampoos ointments, toothpaste, soaps, crayons, plates, cups or canned meat, etc.
The children have been relocated to Dare to Care and Matthew 25:40, temporarily, until the charity is able to build a new home for them. According to Father Ramkissoon, they are trying to settle in their new environment and are receiving counseling after having watched their home being destroyed by fire. “We have done everything to assure them that they will always have shelter and food and will not be abandoned a second time,” he said in an appeals letter.
For more information, visit www.mustardseed.com
Hurricane forecast falls
(CNS): The Hurricane experts at Colorado State University have scaled back their earlier predictions for this coming season in the Atlantic and now say it will be an average season with 12 named storms, including six hurricanes but warn two of them could be major. Researchers William Gray and Phil Klotzbach earlier predicted an above-average season with 14 named storms — seven of them hurricanes and three major.
Today, Gray said the forecast was dialed down because of improved chances of El Nino conditions that suppress hurricane formation. This is Gray’s 26th year of forecasting hurricanes and his predictions are watched closely by emergency responders and others but critics say such long-range forecasts have little practical value beyond focusing public attention on the danger.
Despite the critics however, the prediction goes on and various other forecasters have predicted the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30, will be less active than last year but busier than an average season. Last year was one of the most active seasons on record, with 16 tropical storms. Eight of those became hurricanes and five grew to Category 3 or higher, the most destructive type.
NOAA, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will issue a pre-season forecast on 21 May 21. Gray and Klotzbach will update on 2 June 2 and the UK Met Office will issue a forecast in June.
Drive to stop sexual assault
(CNS): Talking about the issue of sexual assault is one of the messages that the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation (ESRF) wants to get across to the Cayman Islands community as it joins with other groups around the world this April to support Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2009 (SAAM). “To increase public awareness about the problem of sexual assault and to encourage community involvement, ESRF has adopted the theme: Believe, Talk, Act,” the foundation said.
Manderson warns of prison investigation
(CNS): Although silent for several weeks regarding the issue that the prime suspect in Sabrina Schirn’s murder was a serving prisoner at Northward, the HMCIPS is now breaking the silence and, according to Acting Chief Officer in the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, Franz Manderson, prison officials are affording their full cooperation to the ongoing police investigation into the brutal murder of the twenty-one year old last month and indicated that an investigation would take place into what happened.
“Prison officials are fully supporting the police investigation,” Manderson said yesterday. “Once the police and judicial proceedings are complete, all events and actions taken by prison officers will be reviewed to determine whether any further action is necessary within the prison service. In the meantime, we are respecting the process which is underway, and allowing the law to take its proper course.”
The inmate arrested on suspicion of murder was one of the prisoners allowed to work on the prison’s farm, located in East End. In a statement from GIS, it was revealed that following the discovery of the victim on a nearby property on 17 March, the use of prisoners on the farm was discontinued on 18 March and has not resumed. Commissioner of Corrections and Rehabilitation Dr William Rattray said that inmates working on Wilderness Farm have been reassigned to other programmes within the prison and stated that administrative procedures at Wilderness Farm are being reviewed as a separate exercise from the RCIPS investigation.
Speculation that a prisoner could be responsible for Sabrina’s death was raised within days of the murder but the inmate was not arrested until 3 April. The announcement was then made to the media by Acting Police Commissioner James Smith later that same day.
UDP vows jobs and prosperity
(CNS): The United Democratic Party national campaign began last night in the car park of AL Thompson’s where party members each made promises on what a future UDP government would bring. At a meeting where every candidate and the partychair also spoke, the voters had a long wait for Cayman’s longest serving legislative member and party leader McKeeva Bush. Once on the podium Bush promised jobs and prosperity and told people to vote straight as a split vote would benefit the PPM.
He told the audience that they knew he could lead the country to prosperity again. “When we voted him out last time he said the country was broke but we made the money,” said Bush referring to the Kurt Tibbetts the Leader of Government Business. “We can bring back jobs and prosperity for everyone,” he promised.
Although he criticised the current administration Bush also criticised those who were standing as independents and said they should declare who they were for and that the electorate should not trust what they said. He said that voting for independents would only benefit the PPM. However, it was apparent that not all independents are created equal as he told the electorate that Ezzard Miller was willing to work with the UDP and the electorate in North Side should give him their vote. He also advised that East Enders give John McLean Jr. a chance in East End, but above all he said voters needed to vote straight.
During his address Bush continued the night’s theme of making promises to the electorate about what he would do if a UDP government was elected. Focusing on the Tourism sector he said the industry has had a virtual minister. “Our tourism industry is haemorrhaging, and the PPM has no plan,” Bush said. He added that his government would move quickly to set up an interim Tourism Advisory Council to develop and implement tourism repair and recovery plan. He promised a number of initiatives for the industry, including fully integrating Cayman Airways with the department of tourism, putting a permanent director in place and implementing a National Tourism Management Plan that includes appropriate initiatives for the eastern districts to bring the right kind of tourism.
Speaking about the failure to pass the National Conservation Bill he picked upon the recent words of the Director of that department, reported on CNS, who had warned that the window of opportunity to embrace sustainable development will soon be lost. Bush said his government would, “…. take steps to bring the right balanced environmental legislation to the House and get it approved within the first 12-18 months.” He added that sensitivity to the environment is needed but it must not be confused with ‘opposition to development’.
Bush also focused on the problems in the financial services and criticised the government’s failure to act until the last minute regarding G20. He accused the PPM of being like Rip van Winkle who fell asleep and when he woke up his gun was rusty. He said they had failed to follow through on the deals he had made when in office and he was concerned Cayman was still not out of the woods. He said he would elaborate on his plans to save the financial services in West Bay at the next UDP meet on Wednesday night.
Bush however, added that businesses were in a better financial position when he was leader – than they are the under of leadership of Alden McLaughlin and Kurt Tibbetts. “I fought for this country on the international stage and I will continue to fight for our economic interests no matter who is sitting across the table.” he noted.
Throughout the evening’s presentations the other ten candidates made various policy commitments but no one talked of revenue raising measures or cuts in spending to fund the new policies. However, the audience was promised jobs, wealth, vocational training, opportunities, strategies for small business, help for the poor, better health care, better drug counselling services, a transport plan and a resolution to the helicopter fiasco among others.
Two of the West Bay candidates likely to become ministers under a UDP government also made promises regarding education and energy. Rolston Anglin criticised the Minister for Education’s tenure and accused him of rushing the Education Bill through parliament without consulting the people even when there was no provision in the law for a truancy office. He said, “His arrogant style of leadership has gotten us nowhere,” and he described the PPM as pathologically incapable of accepting responsibility for their failure. He said the voters should give them a failing grade at the polls. He promised a focus on technical vocational training and an education system that would meet the needs of the workforce, as well as better pay for teachers. Cline Glidden spoke about energy and waste management and promised not only to address the infamous ‘Mount Trashmore’ but also to look at new cleaner, cheaper sources of energy. Julianna O’Connor Connolly who is also likely to be a minster once again, under a UDP government, lauded Bush’s continued promise to provide the Sister Islands with Cabinet representation which the PPM had failed to do. She spoke about the need for change and divine providence. She spoke of going into spiritual warfare in the last days of the Legislative Assembly to save the requirement to teach religious education in the new education law.
The new manifesto was also handed out to those who attended which sets out seventeen areas which the UDP says it will address, as well as message from the leader and the party’s vision for the future.
No tax havens on black list
(BBC): The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has removed all four countries from its blacklist of tax havens. The blacklist published last week included Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay. OECD chief Angel Gurria said in Paris that all four countries had now agreed to adopt its regulations. The list was a part of efforts agreed at the G20 summit to clamp down on non-cooperative tax havens.
Cayman needs a child advocate program
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect in the Cayman Islands – a topic that is often ignored.
It has been my ongoing objective to keep this issue in the forefront of our minds so that we may begin to work on a holistic set of community-based solutions to this problem. The final objective is to put a set of measures in place that will offer our children optimal protectionso that they may grow up to be well adjusted adults.
Recently I attended the RCIP Bodden Town district meeting. When I inquired about the police’s approach to prioritizing this issue within the force I was told that there are not that many child abuse cases in the Cayman Islands. We should all bear in mind that this is the most under-reported type of crime, with at least 90% of cases never being reported to the authorities. This nonchalant attitude would explain why even when allegations are made very few result in a successful prosecution. If the senior members of the RCIP believe this is a minor matter because it does not affect that many people then they are not investing the money and resources to make sure that staff are properly trained to handle such cases.
In most jurisdictions it is customary to have police officers who have undergone extensive training as child abuse specialists. They comprise a special unit that deals with these delicate issues and have the necessary interviewing skills, evidence collection and an appropriate response list of criteria to be met.
During an investigation of alleged child sexual abuse there are so many factors that have to be taken into consideration. One of the most significant has to be the additional trauma that can be caused to a child and the actual investigation being handled as professionally as possible.
Since the safety and well being of the child has to be the most paramount consideration, I would like to advocate that we explore a legally appointed guardian for all children that have to go through the judicial system. In particular, this would be an extremely useful advocacy tool for child abuse victims. This child advocate is court-appointed, independent minded and has a specific legal ambit. Often referred to as a guardian ad litem, this individual’s only responsibility is to represent the child’s best interest.
These guardians are held to a very high legal standard – of fiduciary. This is such an important role as it gives a child a voice while being involved in the court system. The guardian ad litem represents the child’s interests even as it pertains to the judiciary proceedings. This person guarantees that the child has fair representation. In recent cases we could well question the efficacy of the legal department and even police officers in bringing the case to a successful conclusion. The guardian would be instrumental in keeping an eye on all of these aspects of the matter. If the child’s interests are jeopardized the guardian can bring that to the attention of the court.
When the court is making decisions that will affect a child’s future, the child needs and deserves a responsible and capable spokesperson – an objective adult to provide independent information about the best interests of the child. While other parties in the case may have their own interests to protect, the guardian ad litem is the only person in the case whose sole concern is the best interest of the child.
Our recent Child’s Law was a perfect opportunity to include the legal framework for such a program to be setup in the Cayman Islands. The logistics of the program could mean that the guardians are either paid or volunteer workers. They need specific training on how best to handle the child’s affairs in court. I would suggest an overseas advocacy qualification and additional child abuse training.
In addition, the police staff requires specially trained staff to deal with child trauma and abuse. This would include a focus on interviewing skills, internal case coordination and creating an instant response team.
For all of these efforts to work there needs to be a specific Child’s Unit created in Cayman to address all matters dealing with the welfare of children. Otherwise, the effort would be haphazard at best and not properly organized for maximum use of resources. There are far too many cases where the child falls through the proverbial crack. Sometimes I look around and I see person’s who are struggling in their adult lives. When I begin to scratch beneath the surface it becomes readily apparent that they were child victims of abuse and there was never any benefit of counseling and treatment – they will struggle their entire lives to live achieve some level of normalcy. Our focus has to be collective – prevention and education, treatment and counseling and, of course, the successful handling of child abuse cases through the court system.
As we continue to focus on our economy and other important aspects of this country’s development, I hope that we do not forget that unless we protect our children – our future – we are developing this country for naught.
"Justice for children cannot be sought, let alone achieved, if their voice is not represented in the hearings that determine their fate. Guardians ad Litem are that voice." -Former Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz, Minnesota Supreme Court
Financial services’ PR and lobbying contract renewed
(CNS): Despite the wide criticisms across the community that the Cayman Islands has not been best represented in Washington and in other important centres when it comes to getting across crucial messages regarding the financial services industry, the Central Tenders Committee has renewed the Portfolio of Finance and Economics public relations’ contract with Fleishman Hillard. The portfolio said the contract for global, strategic public and media relations, public affairs and lobbying services in relation to the sector was worth an estimated at US$662,000.
The Central Tenders Committee (CTC) has also awarded contracts for two related projects on the Basel II Framework for the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). The first in the sum of US$965,000 was awarded to Decisionsoft Ltd. (U.K.) for the provision of BaselII Electronic Data Reporting, with the mandate of providing a mechanism to collect Basel II regulatory data from CIMA regulated banks via electronic submission.
The Portfilio of Finance and Economics said that this project, upon completion, will facilitate effective supervision and monitoring of banks by CIMA and will produce an evaluation report based on the data collected.
The second contract was awarded to Celerus Inc. (Canada) in the sum of US$1,077,708 for the Basel II Data Warehousing and Analysis. This project involves the storage of data, data retrieval capabilities, reporting and analytic services. Both projects are expected to be complete by mid 2010.
The purpose of Basel II, initially published in June 2004, is to create an international standard for banking regulators to guarantee that policy and procedure effectively guard against various types of financial and operational banking risks. The framework is designed to ensure that a bank holds capital reserves appropriate to the risk that bank is exposed to (in its lending and investment practices).This functions to protect the international financial system from problems that might arise should a major bank or series of banks collapse.
Awarded contracts can be viewed on the CTC’s website, www.centraltenders.gov.ky. For further information, contact the CTC Secretary, Daun Alleyne on 244-2102 or email daun.alleyne@gov.ky
Elections office aims for efficiency with Voter ID cards
(CNS): The Elections Office has said that the elector’s registration cards programme has resumed and voters can get an ID card at the Elections Office daily between 9-5pm. The office said that although these cards are not compulsory for Election Day it will help speed up the process of identification at the polling stations. Without an Electors ID card voters will have to produce another form of ID or prove they are who they say they are.
In order to get card voters can either take their identification of a driver’s license or passport to either the elections office which is not situated on Smith Road at the Professional Centre or they can obtain a card at one of the mobile units in the districts and supermarkets.
On Saturday April 11th cards will be issued from the following locations between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M.Foster’s Food Fair – Savannah; Hurley’s – Grand Harbour; Foster’s Food Fair – The Strand Foster’s Food Fair – Republix; Elections Office – Smith Road Professional Centre.
The schedule for the districts stations which will operate from 5:30 – 9:00pm is as follows: West Bay 30th April, 1st and 2nd May at Foster’s Food Fair (Republix); George Town 23rd, 24th and 25th April at the Mary Miller Hall; Bodden Town 16th, 17th, and 18th April at the civic centre; East End & North Side 13th, 14th, and 15th April at the respective civic centres and on Cayman Brac 17 and 18 April at 9-4 pm at West End Post Office and Heritage House. Anyone on Little Cayman requiring cards should contact the Returning Officer for the Sister Islands, Dave Tatum or the Elections Office at 949-8047.
Forged notes appear on Cayman Brac
(CNS): Police said today (Monday 6 April) that residents and business owners in Cayman Brac need to be on the look out for forged cash as a result of reports made to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service from the island that counterfeit currency has been presented at businesses on the Island. Area Commander, Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay said that the most effected notes appear to be US notes at the moment, but that residents should look out for all kinds of counterfeit currency.
“In the event that you receive a counterfeit note, or suspect one to be counterfeit, we ask that you observe and note the appearance of the person passing the note, as well as that of any companions,” he said. “Do not return the note to the passer. Instead, tag the note with a copy of the transaction receipt and call the police.”
Kay said to keep the suspect note separate from others by placing it in an envelope or small bag and not to deposit it at the bank. The RCIPS form for reporting counterfeit money can be found on the CIMA website www.cimoney.com.ky, under “Currency.”
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.