Archive for June, 2009
Brown on the brink
(The Independent): Gordon Brown was hit by another ministerial backlash today as he battled to stay in No 10. Jane Kennedy said she was not re-appointed as an environment minister because she refused to give a pledge of loyalty to Mr Brown. She said she told him in a "frank and honest" phone call this morning that "I could not offer him the support he was asking for". And she hit out at "smears" of colleagues by people associated with No 10 and said if Mr Brown stayed on to the bitter end, it would be "to the bitter end of the Labour Party". Mr Brown’s spokesman flatly denied he had asked her, or any other minister, for a loyalty pledge as another day of Whitehall drama unfolded.
The Great Divide: Expats vs. Caymanians
I find it highly disturbing that there is such contention between Caymanians and expats and "paper Caymanians". The more we concentrate on "us" vs. "them", the more we will find to divide us.
To bring it home, for women who go to that salon where your stylist knows exactly how you like your hair done or how you always have your toenails done, do you realize that they will be rolled over too? Which Caymanian do you see fighting for that job? How frustrated do you think you will be having to explain yourself over and over till you find another stylist or nail technician who learns just how you like your hair and nails done?
For those with helpers that you and your kids love, for those whose children are learning much better from the teachers and tutors … how can you not see that in 4, 5, 7 years from now when that teacher or that tutor gets rolled over, your child’s life, and your customer service experience will negatively be affected? How do you think the tourist feels when they come to check in and no one knows that they’ve been coming to Cayman every year for the past 15 years?
How many Caymanians do you know that are clamouring to be housekeepers and make US$4 an hour? But a clean room is essential to tourism dollars, one of two economic pillars of which we all enjoy the benefits. What happens when Jamaicans, Hondurans and Filipinos no longer feel welcomed in our country and leave for home where they make just as little money but are far more welcome? What happens when your favourite bartender leaves and returns to Canada? These things add up people.
Yes, it is quite true that if there are capable, willing, reliable and qualified Caymanians, they should get the job. But in some cases, one (or more) of these elements is missing – Caymanian business owners, you know it’s true. Our own people sometimes want to pick and choose aspects of their job and tell the boss what they will do! And you know it’s true. Yes, immigrants need to be managed–diversity in immigrants should be encouraged as a means of enriching the pot and not being overly-dependent on workers from any one nationality. It is never a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket. Any finance person will tell you that. But you don’t need a rollover policy to accomplish that.
It should be a wake-up call to Caymanians that despite the fact that Government has a rollover policy, and has both raised the cost of work permits and made it harder to justify getting a work permit, that both Government and private sector businesses alike find it more beneficial to hire expats in many cases. Wake up, Cayman. The Government has put stringent measures in place and still expats are hired. Do you think businesses wouldn’t love to have fewer expenses and more profits?Do you think businesses and Government would do that if there were capable, willing, reliable and qualified Caymanians to fill the positions?
I cannot understand for the life of me why we cannot look at the bigger picture. For crying out loud, can’t you see that we all, expats and Caymanians, have a role to play in making Cayman successful? The more successful Cayman is, the more opportunities there are for everyone, Caymanian and non-Caymanian alike. Like other Caymanians, I am tired of hearing a lot of expats speaking ill of us and our country. However, I am sick and tired of hearing Caymanians doing to same to expats. If we treat expats negatively, mimicking how some of them treat us, we are no better than how we perceive them to be.
I challenge expats to find the good in Caymanians. Don’t be so quick to believe the worst of what you hear or see. Caymanians are still a good people and you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you. And as long as you are working in Cayman, Cayman is the hand that feeds you. You are just as dependent on Cayman’s success as Caymanians are. So learn to work with us. By the same token, Caymanians, please, for love of God, stop being so hostile to expats. I wish that we would stop blaming others for where we are as individuals today. If you really want something, you can find a way to get it with integrity. To me, that is where we as Caymanians are failing. We are losing our integrity. And that saddens me. When we drive away people who help us make our country successful and who we can learn from, we do ourselves a disservice. Business will go elsewhere. When business goes elsewhere there will be fewer jobs which means there will be less jobs for all – Caymanians included.
If your Government department or business/company doesn’t have succession planning, demand it. It creates a business structure that helps people understudy key positions, learn the ropes and get experience with the idea that one day they will be in a position to take over jobs as capable, deserving, experienced and hopefully educated individuals who also happen to be, guess what, Caymanian. Remember when you accept a position with any entity, it is because they found something beneficial in hiring you and you found something beneficial in being with them. It is not just about money for the employee. So, if your department or company doesn’t have succession planning and your demands for it aren’t going anywhere, let me share this with you:
My former (Caymanian boss) once told me, sometimes the journey to the top is not always straight. And she was right. We might have to become an expat in someone else’s country to get the world experience we need to assume the job at the helm. These days you have to be competitive, you have to think strategy. Victor Frankl said, "When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." We should be flexible, resilient, determined. We should remain true to wholesome, Godly values. The way we treat some expats … it can hardly be called wholesome or Godly and for that we should be ashamed.
I am not yet 30, I am a woman, I am Caymanian. When I first started working in 2006, I was underpaid; my degrees did nothing to get me extra money. But I didn’t bash expats; I didn’t kick up a fuss and demand better pay or a better position. I learned all I could for two years at that job and then I applied for another job. The pay was better. There again, I took in as much as I could before applying for yet another job. This year, I started another job. Am I where I would like to be? No. Am I in management? No. But I am sure as heck on my way there. I take knowledge and work where I can get it. And guess what? Expats are very willing to share what they know and contribute to my development. I have to say, the pay is not at all shabby either. So you see, if one young female Caymanian can do it, others can as well.
This is hardly the time to tear eachother down. Bring down the divide and let’slearn to work together already because all this bickering between expats and Caymanians is only creating tension, dissent and an awfully hard pill to swallow. The rollover policy only reinforces that divide and an increasing sense of expat alienation. Let’s either modify the rollover policy or create something that effectively targets the true issues. Stop focusing on expats vs. Caymanians and create a business marketplace and community where we can all coexist harmoniously. I hope we can all be mature and move forward for the betterment of the Cayman Islands. Otherwise, these words will prove true: "United we stand; divided we fall."
May God bless the Cayman Islands and guide us–now and always.
Pirate Party wins seat in EU
(BBC): Sweden’s Pirate Party has won a seat in the European Parliament. The group – which campaigned on reformation of copyright and patent law – secured 7.1% of the Swedish vote. The result puts the Pirate Party in fifth place, behind the Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals and the Moderate Party. Rickard Falkvinge, the party leader, told the BBC the win was "gigantic" and that they were now negotiating with four different EU Parliamentary groups. "Last night, we gained political credibility," said Mr Falkvinge. "People were not taken in by the establishment and we got political trust from the citizens."
Controversial policy renewed
(CNS): Despite the failure of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility to pay up in the wake of Hurricane Paloma last year and the resulting controversy, the government has still renewed the policy, along with the fifteen other regional countries in the pool. The premium was reportedly reduced by 10% this year because of the global financial crisis. Last year when it failed to trigger over the impact of Paloma, the then PPM government said it needed to review Cayman’s continued participation.
The policy was renewed on 1 June, the start of this year’s hurricane season, with the newly reduced premium. CNS has contacted the Financial Secretary’s Office to see if the Cayman Islands has altered the arrangements it had, and whether the Sister Islands would be covered in future. Following Paloma’s strike on Cayman Brac, the CI government discovered that the payment is only triggered when the damage caused by the catastrophe, on this occasion a hurricane, has a direct impact on the areas of economic activity. Given that Paloma hit Cayman Brac, it therefore did not payout as the winds hitting George Town during Paloma were not high enough to make a claim.
The insurance pool did, however, pay out more than $6 million last year to the Turks and Caicos Islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, and in 2007 it paid $1 million to Dominica and St. Lucia after a magnitude-7.4 earthquake shook the Eastern Caribbean.
Participating governments are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The insurance policy is based on the sixteen Caribbean nations and territories pooling their risk through the programme, cutting the individual premiums by about 40 percent. It was established by the World Bank in 2006 after Caribbean leaders had sought World Bank after Hurricane Ivan caused widespread devastation in the region in 2004.
Travers hits back at Financial Times
(CNS): Making good on his promise to tackle criticisms of the Cayman Islands Financial Services sector whenever it occurs, Anthony Travers, the chair of the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association, has written to the UK’s leading financial newspaper to respond to a critical article which ran on 1 June which suggested that this jurisdiction was at the heart of a number of US investigations. Travers told the Financial Times that the article gave a misleading impression.
The article, which Travers says gives “the impression of an opaque, crime-ridden regime”, entitled US probes target British business was published on 1 June and revealed the details of a report by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which states that British-linked businesses are the prime foreign targets of US corporate bribery probes and how UK companies and executives are being caught up in Washington’s purge on international corporate corruption.
The story states that companies based in the UK, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands account for 16 of the 29 ongoing investigations in Washington and uses a large image of Cayman as its photographic support, something which Travers was directly critical of. In his response to the paper, which was published on 5 June, Travers says the presentation of the story would lead “readers to suspect that an avalanche of US-inspired investigations is about to descend on the Cayman Islands. A photo of Cayman that takes up more space than the copy lends much weight to this illusion.”
Travers writes: “Only three unfortunate cases are reported in the Cayman Islands; the fewest of all the countries noted in the article and seemingly therefore undeserving of the prominence of your picture illustration. Bearing in mind the recent strenuous attempts by the Cayman Islands to raise awareness of its long-standing transparent tax information agreements with the US and all 27 European Union member states, it is unfortunate that the Financial Times gives the impression of an opaque, crime-ridden regime. Rather than pretty pictures of the Cayman Islands, perhaps pictures of the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben would have been more fitting.”
Since taking up the reins of the jurisdiction’s financial PR Travers has utilised a number of platforms in his bid to get a positive message out to the world about he Cayman Islands while trying to dispel the more negative perceptions that had prevailed in recent years. Aside from writing to President Barack Obama and visiting Washington’s tax academics himself, Travers has been taking up a number of opportunities to engage the international press.
Last month Travers told CNS that he intends to “deal immediately with erroneous and negative comment” about Cayman’s Financial sector wherever it occurs. He explained that there was a pressing need for a proactive rebuttal mechanism that will take effect right across the internet.
Former governors visit Cayman for eco-conference
(CNS): Michael Gore and Bruce Dinwiddy, two former governors with a strong interest in the environment, came back to Cayman last week to take part in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF). The two men joined visitors from across the UK’s Overseas Territories, various dignitaries and Cayman’s own delegation from the Department of the Environment to discuss a number of common conservation issues, from invasive species to environmental education.
The conference was held 30 May to 5 June at the Ritz Carlton, Cayman, where Huw Irranca-Davies, the UK’s Minister for the Natural and Marine Environment, Wildlife and Rural Affairs at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), also made time on a two-day visit to Cayman to give a presentation.
Dinwiddy, who was on his first return trip to the Cayman Islands since his tour as governor ended, said he was very pleased to be back and thought the conference had been a great success. Chair of the Wider Caribbean Working Group of UKOTCF, Dinwiddy said he had an interest in conservation and environmental issues that went back to his days as a biology student.
“There was some excellent discussion, and I believe the issues relating to climate change and bio-diversity were particularly interesting. There are strong common interests across the territories which was highlighted by the conference theme, ‘Making the right connections’. It was also good to see the minister give a presentation, which was very good and helps to enforce the commitment of the UK to the projects going on in the OTs,” he added.
Dinwiddy noted that it was good to see so many young people at the conference and said that the issue of education regarding conservation and environmental issue had also been a key discussion point.
More than one hundred people from all of the Overseas Territories including a number of stakeholders from Cayman took part in the conference.
Largs Bay stops in Cayman
(CNS): The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Largs Bay arrived in the Cayman Islands on Friday and Captain Trevor Iles accompanied by the ship’s Warrant Officer 2, Dave Nickerson paid a courtesy call on the Chief and Deputy Secretaries, George McCarthy and Donovan Ebanks at their offices while the ship was in port. The ship is part of a civilian manned support for the Royal Navy and it is currently deployed in the Caribbean.
Teenagers charged with fuel station burglary
(CNS): An 18-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy have been charged with burglary by detectives from the Eastern districts following a break in at the East End Texaco, Sea View Road last month. Following investigations the two teenagers were arrested and have now each been charged with one count of burglary and one count of damage to property. The two teenagers appeared in court on Friday morning.
Police began their investigations into the burglary follow their attendance at the scene at 2.30am on Thursday, 25 May. Detectives found that the rear door to the premises had been forced open and food items and cigarettes had been taken. A search had also been made for cash, but there was none held on the premises.
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.
Police tell residents to number their properties
(CNS): A long standing complaint by the emergency services that missing house numbers cause them undue delays has resurfaced following a statement by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service that in an emergency every second counts and all residents need to ensure house numbers are clearly posted and easily visible on their properties. “We often have cases where police officers have to spend time trying to find houses,” said Superintendent Marlon Bodden. “This can mean assistance takes longer to get to you which could result in you being in danger unnecessarily.”
911 Emergency Communications Manager Brent Finster stressed that clearly readable numbers can save precious time. “In an emergency, response time is crucial. Seconds or minutes can be lost if personnel cannot find an address. This time can mean the difference between life and death,” he said.
Residents are being urged to install numbers where they are not present and make sure those that are installed can be seen. Tenants who do not have house numbers should speak with their landlords.
“Make sure your number is not obstructed by bushes or trees,” said Finster. “And use actual numbers rather than spelling it out in words as this makes it easier for emergency personnel to read as they pass by.”
In addition, residents are being urged to prepare themselves for emergencies and think about what they need to know in advance of an incident taking place. For example, all residents should know their complete and exact address, not just their community, district, strata or building name – this will assist in getting help to you as quickly as possible.
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.
Navy crew beaten by Brackers
(CNS): Crew members from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Largs Bay, which was on a two-day visit to the Cayman Islands, were challenged to a friendly football match on Cayman Brac – the first organised sporting event the crew had participated in since the ship left the UK in November. The ten navy crewmembers, drawn from a total ships crew of 59, together with a couple of Brackers making up the full team were beaten 6-2 by the Cayman Brac Football Club (CBFC) squad. “It was great to get off the ship,” said Ships Warrant Officer John Kelly, captain of the navy football team, but with an age range of 26 to 61, he said the visitors had to work hard to keep up with the youngsters in the home team.
CBFC fielded a select squad from their Under-15, Under-17 and Men’s teams to contest the RFA Largs Bay team.
“The visit and friendly football match was the second for the Brac in 13 months,” said Brac Coach Mitchum Sanford, who along with coach Lawrence Nelson and a few other adult players played with the Largs Bay crew as they were a little short in players for the game. “These friendly recreational football matches are fantastic for development and social opportunities for our community to interact and enjoy a fun game filled with laughter and excitement for the whole family.”
Sanford went with four U-15 players, six U-17, and four adults for the game, the youngest player being Striker Jacob Scott at 13 years old, followed by Brac goalkeeping sensation Roshaun Frederick at 14 years old.
“It’s a recreational game and we have to treat it like one, where everyone comes together to enjoy a fun, casual game of football. It also served as a development tool for my youngsters with more of them getting the call-up rather than the men’s squad due to poor support,” Sanford said.
Neil Birleson and Kev Brown made the two goals scored by the navy team, while goalkeeper Ian “Bam Bam” Voller stopped several near-goals from the Brac players.
Brac coaches Sanford and Coach Sanford and Nelson joined the crew for a luncheon at Bucky’s Restaurant after the match.
