Archive for September, 2010

Cops clear up 8 robberies

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 16 Comments

(CNS): Of the more than forty armed robberies that have taken place in Grand Cayman this year so far, the police have revealed that they have charged people in only eight of the incidents. Since January, gas stations, liquor stores, fast food joints, grocery stores and homes have all fallen victim to armed villains. Cash, wallets, phones, even pizzas and sodas have been stolen at knife and gun point by a mixture of robbers. Men and women, girls and boys, Caymanians and foreign nationals have used, or threatened to use, violence in the execution of the crimes which have shocked the community. So far, seven men, two teenage boys and three teenage girls have been charged with robbery and are are now going though the court system (Photo Dennie Warren jr)

One of the most serious robberies occurred in June when police were fired upon following the robbery at Mostyn’s gas station in Bodden Town by three men armed with guns, but only one teenage boy has been charged so far.

Four teenagers have been charged and have pleaded guilty in the Domino’s Pizza robbery in Savannah, which also took place in June. They remain in custody and are awaiting sentencing.

Police have recently charged 27-year-old Norvell Barret with two robberies which occurred in George Town in August: first, the Tortuga liquor store at the junction of Boilers Road & South Church Street, which was robbed in broad daylight on 17 August, and the following night at the Esso station at the junction of Shedden Road & Thomas Russell Way.

Four men have also been charged with robbing a pizza delivery man in West Bay in July and another man has been charged over a daylight robbery of a store in West Bay in the same month.

The police also said they have charged a man regarding an incident which occurred in Maple Road, George Town on 19 April.

Despite only clearing up eight of the robberies, the police said that other arrests have been made in a number of the outstanding cases and police enquiries are ongoing in all of the unsolved robberies.

Although the community has voiced enormous concern about the increase in violent crime and the spike in robberies since May, the police commissioner has accused the media on many occasions of sensationalising the problem.

Wellness Centre offers autism awareness training

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): All pre-school teachers and public health nurses are invited to learn more about autism spectrum disorders at a training session this month provided free through a partnership between the Ministry of Education, Training and Employment and The Wellness Centre. The developmental disabilities and autism awareness training start 23 September, in the George Town Library Conference Room from 9:00am to 12 noon. Thereafter they are scheduled for the first and third Thursday of each month, between October 2010 and March 2011. Training will focus on improving overall autism awareness and will give participants the necessary knowledge to recognise early warning signs.

The referral process for children exhibiting autism-like symptoms will also be outlined.

Noting that his ministry’s focus on professionals who work with young children is a strategic one, Education Minister Rolston Anglinsaid,” These individuals are the first point of contact for most children and the ministry believes that they can play important roles in shaping the community’s response to autism. The programme was developed because it came to my ministry’s attention that we were unable to properly identify kids with autism spectrum disorders. As such we do not know the numbers with which we are dealing and cannot offer appropriate services such as speech and language, occupational, or behaviour modification services.”

Autism, the abbreviated name for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), is a group of developmental brain disorders that can cause significant social, behavioural and communication challenges. It affects each person differently, and can range from very mild to severe. However, persons with ASDs do share common symptoms such as problems with social interaction, repeat behaviours such as twirling fingers, flapping arms or wringing hands, and they may experience intense areas of interest.

According to the US-based Centre for Disease Control, the prevalence of autism is estimated at one in 150. Research has found that early identification and intervention are key factors in helping to ensure the best possible outcome for children with ASD.

Pre-school teachers and public health nurses are encouraged to call the Wellness Centre on 949-9355 or email info@wellnesscentre.ky for registration information.

Blue Iguana & Ghost Orchid featured in London event

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 11 Comments

(CNS): Cayman’s rare flora and fauna will be featured at a Cayman Islands event at the London offices of one of the the UK’s leading broadsheet newspapers on 28 September. Blue Iguana Recovery Programme Director Fred Burton, who was awarded an MBE for preventing the extinction of Cayman’s famous endemic reptile, will be talking to 100 Telegraph readers about the history of the Blue Iguana and his desperate fight for their survival. Also at the event, John Lawrus, manager of the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, will be talking about the floral treasures that can be found within the 65-acre park, including the world’s rarest orchid, the Ghost Orchid, and the new Orchid Garden, as well as native plants and trees and abundant bird life.

The Telegraph, which has an average daily circulation of nearly 850,000, says the Cayman Islands have "an astonishing diversity of species across the three islands including two of the rarest species on earth – the spectacular giant Blue Iguana and the delicate and mysterious Ghost Orchid."

The paper will be allocating the free tickets for the Cayman Islands event on a first-come, first-served basis to 100 readers. Guests will receive free Cayman Islands bumper packs, Caribbean drinks and food.

Go to the Telegraph for more details.

The story of the struggle to bring the Blue Iguanas back from the edge of extinction is told in Burton’s book, published earlier this year, The Little Blue Book.

Workers returning soon to school site

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 31 Comments

(CNS): Following the announcement by the education minister that the construction management contract on the two public high schools has been awarded to a local consortium of companies, workers are expected to return to the site in significant numbers in a matter of weeks. One local subcontractor said the most important next step in the process was for the new construction manager (CM) to figure out a schedule which will dictate the manning levels at thesite and get people back to work. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly this morning, Rolston Anglin said he expected work at the site to be fully mobilized within 30 days.

Allen Roffey of Caribbean Mechanical congratulated government on finalizing the tender and said he was looking forward to seeing the project back on rack. He said his firm had continued to do a considerable amount of work on the sites during the period since work officially stopped almost one year ago.

The announcement that the Central Tenders Committee had accepted the recommendation of the ministry on the bid from the local company made up of McAlpine, DECCO Ltd and Arch & Godfrey was made in the Legislative Assembly this morning.

The contract was a re-tender and it is worth just under $2.3 million, which the minister said represented the best value for money for government. This contract is awarded following revised plans for the schools project, which will see them finished over a phased period.

The consortium had put in a bid for the original tender but had been one of the most expensive bids. However, at that time the consortium included Hadsphaltic which has since gone into receivership.

With the contract now sorted Anglin said this not only had positive implications for the construction of the two government high schools, it was also good news for the local construction industry. “This award will stimulate the local construction industry, as contracts will be let for various works. It is the intention to sub-contract as many small construction packages as possible, with the aim of maximizing opportunity for the local contractors,” he stated.

He said his ministry, unlike his predecessor, had obligated the contractor to use local subcontractors who employed Caymanians and that the government would be monitoring staff lists of those working on the project to make sure that unemployed Cayman construction workers would be employed.

The Clifton Hunter site in Frank Sound will be the first of the two schools to be completed and the construction manager will assume responsibility for supervising the trade contractors and the day-to-day construction activities at both sites, which will, at that point, be increased to levels necessary to complete the projects. He explained that work at John Gray will focus on particular buildings which educators have prioritized.

Aside from the work undertaken by Caribbean Mechanical and other smaller jobs that have been undertaken to maintain the sites the school projects have been stopped for ten months.

The original general contractor Tom Jones International walked off the job in November 2009. The government is now engaged in what is likely to be an expensive and lengthy legal fight with the contractor. In the first round of the court room battle last month government wholly failed in its attempts to have TJI’s legal claim against it thrown out and was forced to pay costs.

Cayman still leading hedge fund domocile, survey says

Guest Writer | 15/09/2010 | 1 Comment

(hedgeweek): The Cayman Islands are still the predominant domicile for hedge funds, according to a survey of European hedge fund managers by Citigroup. There is no widespread move to re-domicile funds onshore ahead of final clarity on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. Onshore Ucits launches are prevalent among the larger managers, but still account for a small portion of overall hedge industry assets. There is ongoing demand for managed accounts, particularly from large institutional investors. Operational complexity is increasing as hedge fund managers offer a variety of products spanning traditional offshore domiciles, managed accounts and onshore domiciles.

Go to article

Civil liberties under attack

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 21 Comments

(CNS): The combination of the forthcoming enactment of the police bill, further changes to the Court of Appeal bill and other recent legislative changes have been criticised in the wider community as undermining civil liberties. George Town MLA MLA Alden McLaughlin told the Legislative Assembly that there was an “emerging trend” in changes to legislation that appeared to be designed to strengthen the hand of the prosecution and give the crown a better chance at conviction. McLaughlin pointed out that this ran counter to the principle that the state is already more powerful than the accused, and was now making it even more difficult for people to defend themselves.

The opposition MLA and lawyer pointed out that, given the attitude of the current administration towards legal aid, the continued tweaking of legislation in favour of the crown was very worrying.

“There has been a trend by the attorney general over the course of the past few years to continuously and consistently adjust and amend the various pieces of legislation or to create new provisions to constantly strengthen the hand of the prosecution in relation to its conduct,” McLaughlin said following the presentation of the Court of Appeal Amendment 2010.

This particular change will allow the state to appeal cases withdrawn or closed by a judge on wider issues than just on a point of law. Attorney General Sam Bulgin said when presenting the bill that there had already been cases where the Court of Appeal had indicated it would have overturned a judge’s decision to throw out a case if the law had provided for it but the language had prevented them from doing so. Consequently, the AG said the wording needed to be changed.

However, concerns about this bill have already been aired in the wider legal community as at least one man is facing a second trial for the same crime after a judge had already acquitted him of murder. The fear is that by giving the Court of Appeal even wider powers to overturn a trial judge’s decision, there will be more defendants facing double jeopardy – having to face trial more than once for the same crime with no new evidence in the case of judge alone trials or where proceedings have been halted by a judge part way through.

McLaughlin noted that, while the AG might claim this latest change is merely a tidying up exercise, it did in fact go much further. He said the trend to keep amending legislation to make it easier for the state to get a conviction was very worrying to all lawyers and those who cared about civil liberties.

He pointed out that the state already had all the resources and the majority of people that come before the courts accused of serious crimes have very little and that was being constantly eroded, resulting in an inequality of arms in the court room.

Implying that he was well aware that as an opposition member he could do little to prevent the passage of the bill and the forthcoming police bill among others, he said he wanted his concerns to be recorded as this trend of loading the legal system in favour of the state could undermine the country’s system of justice and democracy.

Minister asks for more culture for less money

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): With budget constraints impacting all government departments, the minister with responsibility for culture has asked the Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) to try to do more for less by co-ordinating their promotional and education efforts with other related bodies such as the National Museum, the National Archive, the National Gallery and the National Trust. On a recent visit to the foundation Mark Scotland urged Cayman’s cultural organisations to also identify an overall cultural philosophy to promote local culture. “Coordinating efforts will enable us to do more with less – something that is more important than ever as budgets and private donations continue to shrink,” Scotland said.

Artistic Director for CNCF Henry Muttoo said he appreciated the government’s concern for cultural development and sustainability through education and training, and told him that coordinated efforts were already part of the work of the foundation.

“The Foundation also supports a coordinated effort and, as such, we are already working closely with our sister organisations and the ministry to realise the common goals of developing, preserving and celebrating arts and culture in these islands,” he said, adding that Cayfest and the National Arts & Culture Awards were just two such examples.

The CNCF is a non-profit organization that was created to “stimulate, facilitate and preserve cultural and artistic expression generally, particularly the preservation and exploration of Caymanian performing, visual and literary arts.”

It is funded by an annual government grant from the Ministry of Health, Environment, Youth, Sports and Culture. Additional funding comes from corporate sponsorship, event ticket sales and rental of the Harquail Theatre and Studio Theatre.

The work of the Cultural Foundation incorporates arts and cultural preservation, cultural festivals, the National Theatre, artistic development, youth arts, and special projects.

“Volunteers are always needed to assist with various programmes and projects and we invite people to join in preserving our unique traditions,” Mr. Muttoo said.

See ongoing & Coming CNCF Events

Former teacher reveals court ordeal

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 95 Comments

(CNS): Last month the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal upheld the Grand Court’s decision to overturn the conviction of Marius Voiculescu for possession of drugs, ending the former teacher’s long ordeal. After the controversial courtroom saga over a half burned spliff Voiculescu agreed to a candid interview with CNS about his experience with the judicial system and how he and his family have suffered as a result of thecrown’s apparently relentless pursuit of a conviction over 0.004 of ganja. Voiculescu faced five court cases and significant expense, which all started when he found a cigarette packet in the car park of the condo complex where he lived.

CNS Q:1. Why did you go through 5 trials, when you could have simply walked away?

MV: Initially, I stood up for myself and my family out of principle. I simply could not bring myself to admit to something that I did not do. Very early in the proceedings I was presented with the opportunity to plead guilty and not have a conviction entered on my record. I refused the offer. I was not going to allow them to convict an innocent person. Once they convicted me, I was not prepared to allow the injustice to stand. The fact that I had full confidence in my attorney, Nicholas Dixey of Mourant, helped tremendously. I trusted that he would get the job done, despite the enormous odds that we faced.

CNS Q2 Can you describe how this incident impacted your life?

MV: This incident not only impacted my life but my entire family’s lives. Shortly after my wrongful conviction, my father passed away as a result of a major heart attack. My parents were unaware of the trial until a few days after I was convicted. I did not wish to worry them needlessly. I believe that the stress and worry played a role in his death.

Soon after his funeral, the Department of Education sent me a letter of termination. During the seven plus years that I served the department, I gave the department close to a thousand hours of my personal time. My volunteer work included soccer, track and field, chess, NCFA, math and language fairs, community clean-ups, computer and media club, PTA teacher representative, school blogger and photographer, among many other things. I was also a registered blood donor at the government hospital.

Because I was fired we were forced to leave Grand Cayman (my wife was on my contract) in the middle of winter, in the midst of a world-wide recession, with no house or work to go to, and few prospects; with a two and a half year old to take care of. We left behind many friends, as well as our dog, Buddy, which we had raised for over 5 years. Buddy belonged to a local family whose boy was attending school in the US — he was not ours to take. Monetarily, the incident has cost us approximately $100,000 US (legal fees, lost wages, associated moving costs, etc.).

Caedan, my son, who was two at the time, was expelled from the only home he knew. The two and a half years of litigation and never ending stress also had a tremendous impact on my family’s physical, mental and emotional health.

CNS Q3. How did you feel throughout the various trials?

MV: To begin with, I must say that I had no idea what I was in for. Although I’m fairly well read, reasonably educated, well-traveled, and have lived in various countries around the world, I was quite unprepared and inexperienced for the things that came at me. By the time that all was said and done, I felt like I had been trapped in some Orwellian or Kafkaesque nightmare. In the beginning I believed, somewhat naively,that everyone was interested in the truth, in justice being served, that as long as I provided an honest explanation and provided proof of my innocence, people would act reasonably, come to the proper conclusions and things could return to normal. That is not at all what happened.

After my wrongful conviction I was absolutely disgusted with the events of the trial and the verdict. By then, any morsel of naivety had been beaten out of me. I was well aware that once I was convicted, I would face a long, uphill battle to clear my name. The roller coaster ride that followed, the two Grand Court and Court of Appeal battles, were mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. In the end, it was well worth it. The Grand Court and the Court of Appeal did their job.

CNS Q4. At what point in this long saga do you think this should have been halted or the situation handled differently?

MV: Soon after my urine test came back negative for any drugs, customs advised me that this would have normally ended any further proceedings, but because I was a primary school teacher my case was referred to the Legal Department. The Legal Department refused to do a DNA test despite the fact that I offered to pay for all associated costs.

In all likelihood, they were not interested in any further evidence that would damage their case against me. After the crown charged me for possession we sent the spliff to an independent laboratory in California for testing. The test came back in my favour and conclusively excluded me as a contributor to the DNA found on the spliff. My attorney then wrote to the crown to reconsider its case against me. I suspect that they had me confused with Pablo Escobar because they refused to consider what I would argue was a sensible suggestion. It is at this point that I believe that the case should have stopped.

Common sense indicates that if the half-smoked spliff was mine, my DNA would have been all over it and the ganja would have shown up in my urine. Common sense would also indicate that financial gain could not have been a motive and that I was not about to traffic a half-smoked spliff.

CNS Q5. Would you consider returning to Cayman?

MV: Without a doubt I would love to return to Cayman. There are many people and things that I miss. I would love to go for a swim with Buddy, jog down South Sound road, take my little boy to Dart Park and teach at my old schools again. Realistically speaking, it’s not going to happen, not after this experience. “Justice” may have been served but the cost has been immense.

I’m quite certain that I would never want to expose my family to a system that ignores the vultures, the hyenas and the jackals, yet goes rabbit hunting loaded for bear. At this time, I’m quite satisfied with my life in Canada. On occasion, I reflect about the many positive experiences that I have had in the Cayman Islands, and that is good enough for me.

CNS Q6. It is apparent that this has cost you a significant amount of money as well as the Cayman tax payer. What message do you feel it sends and what lessons do you think need to be learned?

The Caymanian Compass recently ran an article which stated that at least 38 cases of possession of an unlicensed firearm were dismissed in the Cayman Islands Summary Court and Grand Court between 2005 and May 2010 (July 13, 2010). In August 2010, the Cayman Island Court of Appeal castigated the crown for appearing unprepared in front of the court – the case involved a firearm.

More recently, the Complaints Commissioner has called the regulation of the country’s private sector pension system a “systemic failure”. (CNS, September 12, 2010) In view of these matters I find it difficult to understand how the crown was able to justify their crusade against my family.

It’s one thing to chase innocent people half-way around the globe and notable dog lovers in Cayman if there was nothing better to do, it’s another thing to do it when, among other things, firearm cases are routinely being dismissed or lost, and private sector pension rules are not being enforced. Is it possible, and I’m no expert in the field of time management, could the effort, time, and money that was wasted on my case and other similar cases somehow have been put to better use? I do not know what it has cost the crown to prosecute my case but I hope that a recent FOI request will shed some light on this.

CNS Q7. Are you planning to pursue any sort of legal action of your own?

Definitely. People need to be held accountable.

Jury must acquit, says lawyer

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): The crown’s evidence is insufficient to warrant a conviction in the case against Brandon Leslie-Ebanks and his co-defendants, Osbourne Douglas and Patrick McField, for the murder of Omar Samuels, the jury was told on Tuesday by Nicholas Rhodes QC, who said, as he made his closing statement, that they must acquit. The trial of the three men for that crime is now complete and the judge in the case, Justice Charles Quin, began his summing up on Wednesday morning. In the final closing statement on Tuesday, Rhodes said the crown’s key witnesses had lied and forreasons that may never be known had chosen to frame his client and his co-defendants.

He said the crown was asking the jury to accept evidence from two eyewitnesses who described the crime in such a fashion at such a time and place that was not supported by the forensic and other evidence. He said the case presented by the crown could never be accepted as sufficient in a democratic society to convict a man for murder.

As he made his closing remarks, Rhodes, in alignment with his fellow defence attorneys, Alastair Malcolm QC and Trevor Burke QC, also pointed to the significant inconsistencies in the eye witness accounts given by the two teenagers, whom he accused of being “gangster’s girls who were willing to do their bidding”. The defence attorney not only noted the differences between the girls’ testimony and the rest of the crown’s evidence but also pointed out to the jury that the girls had given very different accounts to the police compared to the stories they told in court.

He noted, in contrast, to the consistent account his client had given since his arrest, which had not wavered since last July. The lawyer criticised the police for not immediately following up Leslie-Ebanks’ alibis and phone evidence. He pointed out, however, the dilemma the police and the prosecution had faced once the alleged eyewitnesses turned up.

Despite their inconsistencies with other evidence, the police could not afford to ignore them. While forensic and other witness statements may have pointed in the direction of a number of other potential suspects, once the girls identified the three men on trial the police would struggle to bring a case against anyone else, the attorney noted, as these eyewitnesses’ testimonies would threaten those cases.

Rhodes said, as unattractive as it was, it was clear the girls had lied; they had evidently lied in the court room under oath and to the police. He said that while one could never be certain why it was they had chosen to lie and frame the defendants, it was still apparent that they had.

The attorney pointed to what he said was the honesty of his own client. If he had been the murderer, Rhodes suggested, he would have been able to come up with better false alibis than the crown suggested he had. Rhodes said that, in reality, his client would “have to be a moron” if he had really committed the murder and chose a former criminal and his girlfriend as his alibis. Not only that, Rhodes said, Leslie-Ebanks had put himself at the scene some time before the murder and admitted to seeing the three defendants, all of which, the lawyer said, added up to what had to be an honest account.

“The real murderer would distance himself for more than that,” the lawyer noted adding that in both interviews and on the stand, in the court Leslie- Ebanks had never once wavered in his account of his own movements that night.

He said his client had given the police his cell phone information and alibis from the very first interview after his arrest but the officers “had washed their hands of it” and never investigated his account or tried to even break his alibi. One year later, he said, the crown had only been able to suggest the alibi witnesses were lying because they were his friends but had not brought any evidence that the alibis were untruthful.

Rhodes also noted the concern which the jury and the community should have about the failure of the police to investigate the truth of Leslie-Ebanks’ alibis as it was something that could affect anyone who was arrested. He told the jury that everyone, if they were arrested for a crime that they did not commit and offered an alibi, should at the very least expect that the police had a duty to follow it up and prove or disprove that evidence, not just ignore it, as was the case here. He reminded the court that Leslie-Ebanks was arrested on the 27 July but the alibi witnesses were not interviewed until some six weeks later.

Among the many failings in the crown’s case, Rhodes said, it had completely failed to make any connection at all between the three men in the dock. “The crown has failed to show any association with these three men at all,” he said. No phone records or witnesses had been produced to support the crown’s theory that these men were close associates or friends. The crown had suggested in its case, however, that these three men were so close that they could have been recruited by Patrick McField for a joint enterprise and ordered to commit murder together.

Rhodes said his client had made it clear he knew his co-defendants from the neighbourhood where he lived but they were not close associates. Given the evidence presented by the crown and the evidence pointing away from it, the attorney told the jury it no choice and must acquit his client.

Following the closing statement from the final QC, the judge told the jury that he would begin summing up the case and direct them on points of law on Wednesday morning. The jury, which has heard evidence from some 28 crown witnesses as well as witnesses for the defence will be sent to deliberate once the judge finishes his directions. The twelve members must return a unanimous verdict to convict in case of murder or a majority to acquit. Although the three men have been tried together, the jury will be expected to examine each defendant separately and delivery a verdict on each one.

Ethics body hits early hurdles

Cayman News | 15/09/2010 | 26 Comments

(CNS): Although only a few months old, the Commission for Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has already encountered a number of hurdles preventing it from doing what it is supposed to do when it comes to supervising public ethics. Its primary role is to monitor the potential for corruption and conflict of interest among politicians and public servants, but according to its first report it needs a law to ensure compliance. The commission revealed that in an attempt to examine the register which requires politicians to declare their business interests it found no reports had been made by the Legislative Assembly clerk and a select committee created to deal with issues relating to the Register of Interests has never met.

This select committee is chaired by government backbencher and George Town MLA Ellio Solomon and is supposed to ensure members are following the Register of Interests Law 1996 (ROIL) by openly and honestly revealing their business, financial and other interests that could give rise to a conflict with their role as political representatives, as well as those of close relatives. However, the select committee has not actually met since its creation following the 2009 election.

According to the law, the Register of Interest should be open to the public for viewing every weekday during business hours. Although the commission said it was able to review the most recent entries into the register, when members visited the LA, no other records were available to be viewed.

“The CSPL was therefore unable to ascertain whether there are perceived conflicts of interest and/or anomalies in relation to any of the declarations mandated by the ROIL past or present,” the members charged with monitoring political ethics revealed. “The CPSL was unable to ascertain whether or not such registers were compliant with the Register of Interests Law 1996.”

The CSPL said in its report that legislation is needed to guide and support the commission in accordance with the requirements of the constitution. It said issues such as exactly who aside from elected politicians needs to declare their interests and which of their family members’ interests must be revealed and the need for some meaningful sanction was required to ensure disclosure as mandated by the Constitution and the ROIL.

“The lack of required … legislation renders the additional responsibilities of the CSPL under section 117 of the constitution meaningless in so far as it relates to the Commission’s ability to validate powers of compliance monitoring for standards in public life and investigations of potential breaches.”

The members concluded that there was little they could do until the law was in place and said it could not effectively meet its mandate without it.

The report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Friday morning by Deputy Governor Donovan Ebanks, who advised MLAs to read it. “I Invite members to read the report as it introduces some new considerations that members should make themselves aware of, especially the maintenance of the Register of Interests,” he said. “It is envisaged that this commission will in the near to medium term be putting forward proposals for legislation to give better effect to discharge of functions falling to them,” he told the House but did not indicate when that might be or indicate the urgency which the report had implied.

Ebanks explained the Commission for Standards in Public Life was one of six commissions established under the constitution. The Electoral Boundary Commission has already completed its work and been disbanded and the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, which will assist the governor with grants of clemency to prisoners, has yet to be formed. The others are the Judicial & Legal Services Commission the Human Rights Commission and the Constitutional Commission.

The CSPL is chaired by Karin Thompson and members include Nyda Mae Flatley, Roy McTaggart, Hedley Robinson and Winston Rose.

See the CSPL’s first report here

Archive for September, 2010

Cops clear up 8 robberies

Wellness Centre offers autism awareness training

Blue Iguana & Ghost Orchid featured in London event

Workers returning soon to school site

Cayman still leading hedge fund domocile, survey says

Civil liberties under attack

Minister asks for more culture for less money

Former teacher reveals court ordeal

Jury must acquit, says lawyer

Ethics body hits early hurdles

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