Archive for June 13th, 2009

Edna Moyle given royal gong

Edna Moyle given royal gong

| 13/06/2009 | 15 Comments

(CNS): Former speaker of the House, Edna Moyle, has received an OBE in the Queen’s 2009 Birthday Honours list. Moyle  was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the  British Empire (Civil Division) (OBE) for her “substantial contributions to politics in the Cayman Islands”, GIS said. In addition, Michael Needham the former head of the FCU has received the Colonial Police Medal (CPM) for meritorious service.

Governor Stuart Jack has also named three Caymanians to receive the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour (Cert. Hon.) — Dr Elsa Marie Cummings, Sharon Marie Martin and Julian Nicholas Reddyhough — for services to education and the community. The announcements were made at this morning’s Queen’s Birthday celebrations by Deputy Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks following the presentation of awards to previous honourees.

Moyle first ran for public office in 1984 and was elected the member for North Side on her third attempt in 1992 and remained an MLA until May this year. She also served as the House Deputy Speaker for eight years before becoming the Minister of Community Development, Sports, Women’s Affairs and Youth. In May 2005 she was elected Speaker of the House, a post she retained until her retirement this April.

Moyle has championed a number of causes, including an end to discrimination against women in the civil service. “I will never forget the day when Governor Gore called, advising me of my success,” she said.

She was also largely responsible for government establishing a women’s affairs office and she was a guiding force in the launching of Cayman’s Legal Befrienders Clinic, through which needy women can obtain free legal advice. Moyle also moved a Private Member’s Motion that resulted in the Family Support Unit and Cayman’s Crisis Centre.

Commenting on her OBE, Moyle said she was humbled to be recognised. “I am also grateful to my nominators for thinking my accomplishments were sufficiently worthy. I accepted on behalf of all the people and I want everyone to know that I will always be involved in the welfare of women, youth and children and will be happy to get involved in any way that government wants me to,” she said.

Needham began serving in the police force in the UK when he was only 17 and joined the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) in 1999 with a wealth of experience. Needham served as a detective inspector with the RCIPS and focused on reducing financial crime. He spearheaded the Financial Crimes Unit (FCU), dedicated to investigating fraud, money laundering, corruption and similar offences, and says it is one of his more treasured accomplishments.  

“In 2000 Cayman was blacklisted by the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce. Through our professional investigating officers, we were able to restore credibility to Cayman as a place to invest money and do business,” he said.

Needham also worked as head of the Marine Unit and was instrumental in acquiring additional boats and in establishing the marine base. He said he does not know why he was singled out to receive the Colonial Police Medal but ten previous commendations saw colleagues and others laud his professionalism, perseverance, devotion to duty, speed of investigations and conduct.

He said, “I always wanted to be a policeman. I had an uncle in the force and I was fascinated by the fact that officers were able to assist people and help communities feel safe. Although policing is risky and difficult, solving crime is exciting and rewarding. I would certainly do it all over again.” Needham is now Chief Compliance Officer at Butterfield Bank.

Dr Elsa Maria Cummings has been a driving force behind Cayman’s tertiary education for more than three decades and is being recognized with the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour for her services to local education. International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) opened its doors in 1970 to fill the local void in tertiary education by providing affordable, quality college-level study, Dr Cummins explained. 

Teaching Spanish and serving as chief examiner for the GED programme, Dr Cummins played a central role in the college’s administration, first as director of admissions, then dean, followed by the executive vice president’s post. And in 1990, after Dr Hugh’s retirement, she was appointed president of the college.

“The ICCI project became and remained a major focus in my life and I dedicated most of my energies to it,” she said. “We live in an era that requires you to hold vast amounts of knowledge – so get out there, become literate and progress beyond that. If you are educated, you can help yourself, and more importantly, you will be an asset to your community.”

Sharon Marie Martin’s recognition via the Queen’s Certificate and Badge of Honour comes at the end of a school term that crowns her 31 years of teaching. Martin’s career in education began in 1978 as a Spot Bay Primary School teacher, and she is now Principal of George Town Primary School (GTPS). In the face of her school’s challenges, including structural damage caused by Hurricane Ivan and an at-capacity compound, Martin has continued to lead, cheer and push her students from one success to another.

The Certificate and Badge of Honour also goes to Attorney Julian Reddyhough (below), Joint Managing Partner at Maples and Calder a long supporter of The Pines Retirement Home. Reddyhough has been on the Pines Board since 1991, and in 2002 he was appointed chairman, a position to which he has currently been reappointed. He is currently focused on raising $3 million to fund a new two-storey block that will add urgently-needed space to the Pines, at a total cost of $6 million.

Speaking about the award, he acclaimed his staff and said,  “I am merely the figurehead. I am just grateful that The Pines is sufficiently important to the Cayman community that the chairman is considered worthy of this honour.”

He is also quick to acknowledge the generosity of local individuals, of government, and of business and corporate entities, which has combined to keep The Pines functioning over the years.

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Manderson promoted to Deputy Chief Secretary

Manderson promoted to Deputy Chief Secretary

| 13/06/2009 | 22 Comments

(CNS): Franz Manderson, the current chief immigration officer, has been promoted to Deputy Chief Secretary. He will take up his new position on 1 July, the same day that the current holder of the post, Donovan Ebanks, steps into his new role as Chief Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. When the new Constitution is fully implemented these two posts will not exist. However, it does provide for the position of deputy governor, who will also be head of the civil service and must be Caymanian.

A release from the Chief Secretary’s Office said that Manderson was one of two people who applied for the post of Deputy CS as part of an open recruitment process with a recruitment panel consisting of Pastor Winston Rose, Donovan Ebanks and Peter Gough and chaired by the current Chief Secretary George McCarthy.

Manderson has a long and distinguished public service career spanning 28 years, having joined the Immigration Department as a clerical officer in 1981, the release states. He moved through the Immigration Department rapidly, and within 10 years was promoted to the post of assistant chief immigration officer. Four years later, in 1996, he was promoted to deputy chief immigration officer.
During his immigration career, Manderson pursued legal studies through the Cayman Islands Law School, obtaining his law degree with honours.

He was then granted a one-year leave of absence by the government in order to undergo training at the law firm of Walkers to qualify as an attorney-at-law, and was called to the Cayman Bar in 2004. That same year, he assumed the position of chief immigration officer. In the ensuing five years Manderson transformed the Immigration Department by introducing policies, systems and procedures that significantly increased its efficiency.

His focus on customer service and staff training also has contributed greatly to changing the department’s atmosphere and culture.

McCarthy said he was pleased to have such a competent and experienced person appointed as the next Deputy Chief Secretary, “especially in these economic times, and with the introduction of the new Constitution that will have a significant impact on the public service.”

Manderson said in the release, “I am delighted to have been chosen for the position, and I thank all the people who mentored me, had faith in me, and supported me during my civil service career. I also thank the dedicated staff at Immigration for their tremendous support throughout my career in the department, and especially during my tenure as chief immigration officer. I will bring the same dedication and enthusiasm to my new post. I am looking forward to working under the new Chief Secretary, Mr Ebanks; the managers and staff of the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs; and my fellow chief officers.”

Ebanks acknowledged the significant contributions that Manderson made at the helm of Immigration, both for the staff and the community. “However, in his new position, Mr Manderson will have even greater opportunities to influence the provision of public services to the community,” he said. “Based on his track record, I also expect that he will have a positive impact on the wider civil service.” He emphasised that the Immigration Department will still fall under the wider remit of the post of deputy chief secretary.

An open recruitment process for the post of chief immigration officer will commence shortly.

 

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