Archive for May, 2011
Jamaican air strikes disrupt local flights
(CNS): Update – Cayman Airways says that flights disrupted by industrial action by Air Traffic Controllers in Jamaica were rescheduled and have now all left the Cayman Islands and service has resumed. Despite being ordered back to work by the courts, workers remained off the job Monday. Several flights were impacted but Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) managers were said to be staffing the towers in the afternoon. The action by the air traffic staff is believed to be as a result of pay. The strike led to delays and cancelations of flights into Kingston and the tourist resort town of Montego Bay, as well as a backlog of hundreds of passengers trying to get in and out of the island's two major international airports.
The adjusted flight numbers and times for CAL as a result of the industrial action are as follows:
KX 2620 departs Grand Cayman at 1.55pm and arrives in Montego Bay at 2.45pm.
KX 2621 departs Montego Bay at 3.35pm and arrives in Grand Cayman at 4.25pm.
KX 2614 departs Grand Cayman at 3.00pm and arrives in Kingston at 2.45pm.
KX 2615 departs Kingston at 5.00pm and arrives in Grand Cayman at 6.00pm.
Passengers should contact Cayman Airways as necessary on 949 2311.
Perez faces murder retrial
(CNS): The man who was acquitted in July last year for the killing of Martin Gareau faced trial for the same crime again Monday, three years after the Canadian’s beaten body was found in his Beach Bay home. Josue Carillo Perez was found not guilty of the crime in a judge alone trial. However, the decision was overturned by the Cayman Islands Appeal Court based on the judgement delivered by Justice Anderson. As a result Perez found himself in the dock for the second time charged with murder. Opening for the crown, prosecuting counsel Trevor Ward presented the same case against the Honduran national based on the discovery of two finger prints on the door frame at the murder scene.
Perez has persistently denied the murder and stated that he had been to Gareau’s home only a few weeks before to attend a BBQ, which would explain the presence of his prints which he had given to the police voluntarily before becoming a suspect.
Ward, in his opening address to the judge, emphasised that forensic experts suggest the prints were made in the victim’s blood when it was still wet, placing Perez at the scene at the time of the killing. He said that this print evidence, coupled with other circumstantial evidence, would allow the judge to draw the reasonable inference that Perez was the murderer.
Gareau’s body was discovered early in the morning of Tuesday 20 May 2008 by his cousins when he had failed to show up for work after the holiday weekend. Gareau was last known to be alive on the previous Sunday lunchtime when he had spoken with one of the cousins on the phone about attending a family event that evening. However, Gareau did not turn up to the party and was never spoken to or seen alive again.
The pathologist had confirmed that Gareau had been killed sometime between 24-72 hours before his body was found, fitting in with the crown’s theory that Perez killed him sometime Sunday afternoon. Gareau had suffered multiple traumas from both blunt and sharp instruments and he had been beaten over the head, which experts said was the cause of death.
Meanwhile, in another ongoing murder trial, the crown’s case against 18-year-old Jordon Manderson for the murder of Ecuadorian national Marcus Duran went into its second week. The crown presented telecommunications evidence that it says places Manderson in the area at the time of the fatal shooting and ties him to Razail Jeffers, who the crown says was the mastermind behind the robbery gone wrong, as well as Craig Johnson, who it believes picked-up Manderson, who was shot in the leg, from the crime scene.
Various witness evidence was also read to the court by Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Richards, having being agreed by the defence. This included statements from people who knew Duran, police testimony and expert witnesses. The report by the pathologist revealed that Duran had received three gunshot wounds. The fatal bullet had gone straight through his head and fragments were recovered at the scene. The second was through the eye and the bullet was removed by the pathologist, and the third was through the victim’s hand.
The crown will be presenting DNA evidence as well as calling police witnesses that were involved in the interviews when Manderson was arrested and the senior investigating officers as the trial continues this week. The defence is expected to answer before the end of this week. The trial continues in court 5 Tuesday morning as a result of video evidence being presented by the crown.
Digicel accuses LIME of ‘grossly misleading’ 4G claim
(CNS): In the wake of LIME’s recent announcement that it will be the first telecommunication’s company to bring 4G technology to the Caribbean its regional competitor has accused the firm of misleading messages. In a letter to the Jamaican Observer, Monday, Mark Linehan CEO, of Digicel stated thatthis claim to be the first was not the case. He said LIME would be using HSPA+ technology for the services it is calling 4G but it is not the first to deploy this technology. He said the technology was previously described as 3G+ when launched by Digicel but it has since been reclassified by the ITU.
“Digicel launched HSPA+ technology in Bermuda and the French West Indies last year (under the banner 3G+). The reason we called it 3G+ is that, at the time, HSPA+ was not considered a 4G technology. However, HSPA+ has since been reclassified by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) to be counted as 4G,” Linehan wrote in his letter to the Jamaican press.
He said that Digicel already delivers 4G technology – using HSPA+ technology and WiMAX both classified as 4G technologies by the ITU – in the Caribbean and specifically in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica and was the "first" to do so.
The Jamaican Digicel boss said it was gearing up to launch the same technology across the Dutch Caribbean in a matter of weeks and to other markets in the near future.
“LIME's announcement actually raises more questions than answers as to its commitment to the customers of the Caribbean. Here is a company that is making a big deal out of upgrading its outdated 2G networks to EDGE. Meanwhile, Digicel has been delivering EDGE services across all of its 32 markets across the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific since 2008,” Linehan added about his firm’s rival.
Digicel had already invested $85 million in rolling out HSPA+ and WiMAX services across the region, he said in the correspondence. Last week Cayman’s LIME boss Tony Ritch said that his company would be investing around $80million to roll out what is said was 4G technology.
Describing the service as lightening fast, Ritch claimed LIME was the first in the Caribbean to launch the service. In response to queries on CNS about the technology and whether phones in existing use would work on the new network LIME confirmed that it would not be deploying CDM and admitted that the technology was based on HSPA+.
CNS contacted LIME for comment in connection with the letter from Lineham but the firm said it did not wish to comment at this time.
Mosquito plane taking off following first rains
(CNS): Following the first heavy rainfall of this year's wet season at the weekend government officials said the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) will be carrying out aerial control operations against the aedes aegypti starting this week. The programme will be focusing on Grand Cayman's two main population centers, central George Town and West Bay in order to keep down the numbers of the mosquito which carries the dengue virus and tends to breed in urban environments .Depending on the weather conditions operations are expected to begin early Friday evening with initial flights focusing on the George Town area. Flights will continue for several weeks at around 6 pm every night.
Experts at the MRCU said that the aedes aegypti mosquito’s numbers are expected to increase with the start of the rains and while dengue is not endemic in the Cayman Islands the population of this mosquito needs to be minimized as there is always the possibility of travellers introducing the virus into the islands.
The public can help the MRCU in its control efforts against this type of mosquito by keeping yards free from any containers where rainwater can accumulate. The aedes aegypti mosquito is commonly found breeding in water drums, buckets, discarded car tyres and any other vessel capable of holdingwater.
Any questions or concerns about aedes aegypti can be directed to Dr Alan Wheeler (alan.wheeler@gov.ky) or by phoning the Mosquito Research & Control Unit (949 2557).
Miller calls meeting in wake of EE port announcement
(CNS): Following Monday’s Throne Speech in which the governor said government would be going ahead with the development of a cargo facility in East End, the independent member for North Side has called a public meeting for tomorrow evening (Tuesday 24 May). In the presentation to the Legislative Assembly this morning Duncan Taylor said the East End Sea Port would be one of the projects included in government’s development plans for this financial year. Despite the dangers pointed out in the Environmental Impact Assessment, which has been posted online, and the significant risks that the report points out, the project appears to have been given the green light.
Miller told CNS last week in the wake of the publication of the EIA by the developer, Joseph Imparato, that it was quiet clear that the development posed considerable risk to the natural, marine and social environment of both East End and North Side. Given the significant dangers revealed in the EIA without any real necessity or genuine justification, Miller had said that it was clear the project should be rejected.
However, with the statement by the governor this morning that the proposed cargo facility was now on government’s project agenda, Miller is calling on all North Siders and interested parties to attend a meeting at 8pm Tuesday evening to discuss the announcement and, importantly, the content of the EIA.
The meeting will take place at 8pm at the North Side Civic Centre.
Bush leaves for Trinidad for regional bank meeting
(CNS):With no budget to deliver to his legislative colleagues yet, the premier left the country Monday afternoon for a meeting in Trinidad & Tobago. The Premier's Office said that McKeeva Bush set off for the 41st Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in Port-of-Spain. The meeting takes place on Wednesday and Thursday of this week (May 25 and 26). Bush is currently the chairman-elect of the CDB Board of Governors and Cayman will be hosting next year's meeting. At this year's meeting the Cayman premier will be delivering the closing remarks at the end of the two day meeting.
The British Overseas Territories of Cayman Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos Islands are collectively regarded as one member of the Board of Governors.
The CDB was established in the late sixties and opened in 1970 to assist member countries with socio-economic development programmes and to reduce poverty in the region.
Where are the “bean counting” police?
The following will show that 46% of Caymanians do not have jobs. Last week the ESO (Economics and Statistics Office) released employment figures based on the recent Census 2010, although they claim this is a preliminary report because the final results of the census will not be known until the end of 2011. According to the ESO, the current unemployment rate in Cayman is 6.7%.
That doesn’t sound too bad until you see how they used “creative license” in arriving at this figure. The 6.7% figure just seemed too low and too good to be true, which caused me to do some digging. Here’s what I found:
ESO reported the following numbers (I rounded them off to make this easier):
The total population is 54,400 people.
The total labour forcein Cayman is 35,860 (people ages 15 and up).
The number of unemployed is 2,400.
Therefore the unemployment rate is 6.7% (2400 divided by 35,860 = 6.7%).
This all seems okay at first glance. However, don’t forget that there are 21,000 work permit holders (foreigners) who are wrongfully included in the labour force figures. Remember, the total population figure includes foreign workers (work permit holders) as does the labour force figure. By definition, work permit holders cannot be counted as unemployed when they lose their jobs because they must leave Cayman if they are no longer are permitted to work.
In other words, they are not hanging around to be counted as unemployed. They are gone. Since work permit holders cannot be counted amongst the unemployed, it is only fair not to count them as employed either. It is unfair and dishonest to count them on one side of the employment equation and not on the other. This skews the data in ways that mis-represent the truth and make the unemployment rate look better than it is. Therefore, I propose that to arrive at a realistic unemployment figure we exclude the 21,000 work permit holders, which leaves us with an all Caymanian work force figure of 14,860.
Now let’s calculate the unemployment rate of the Caymanian work force.
Total Caymanian Labour Force = 14,860
The number of unemployed = 2,400
The unemployment rate is (2,400 divided by 14,860) = 16.2%
Also shown in the ESO report was a figure of 8,000 people of working age who were not included in the labour force figures. I eagerly await an explanation as to why people of working age are not considered a part of the labour force when the term “Labour Force” is defined by the ESO only as people greater than 14 years old. It does not say people who chose not to work or are unable to work or gave up looking for work. Therefore, it is only fair to include these 8,000 people of working age in the labour force figure. Look what happens when we include them:
Caymanian Labour Force (14,860) + (8,000) = New total Labour Force of 22,860 people.
Unemployed = the original (2,400) + (8,000) = New unemployed figure of 10,400 people.
Total unemployed Caymanians (10,400 divided by 22,860) = 46%
WOW! Imagine that, 46% of all Caymanians above age 14 do not work. This is a fact!
It doesn’t mean the unemployment rate is 46%, it just shows that 46% are not presently working either by choice or other circumstance. The 16.7% unemployment rate amongst those willing and able to work is reasonable. Another way to justify the exclusion of work permit holders (foreigners) from the employment picture is because they are taking jobs that Caymanians either don’t want or are unqualified to fill. These jobs are not available generally to the local work force. To include these jobs in the labour force picture only gives results in a lower unemployment number. In the ESO report, comparisons were made between 2010 and 2009. Similarly, 2009 figures included foreign labour which should not have been done.
In hindsight, it is beginning to look more like politics as usual rather than giving the public a true picture of how dire the situation is here. I would like to know the reason ESO presented such a rosy figure at this time and who ordered it to be done when the report states that the final 2010 Census figures won’t be finished until the end of this year.
It would be helpful in future reporting to break down the work force figures into detailed sub categories in order to show Caymanians the truest picture of their employment and how the sliding economy is affecting this country.
Budget painful says governor
(CNS): Full story – Delivering the government's Throne Speech this morning, the governor described the budget for 2011/12 as a “painful process". Addressing the Legislative Assembly Monday morning, Duncan Taylor said that government was facing challenges in its efforts to cut costs in order to bring government finances back to a sustainable level while still delivering quality services. He said government's planned surplus this year was brought about as a result of not paying into the pension liability and thatin reality government was still spending more than it earned. Against the backdrop of the UK's request that civil service costs be cut, the speech was delivered by Taylor in isolation without the fiscal plans for 2011/12.
The Legislative Assembly was adjourned by the premier shortly after the governor left the parliament.
“I am praying I will have a budget to present next week,” McKeeva Bush told the House as he moved the adjournment for a date to be fixed.
The delivery of the actual spending plans and revenue expectations has been delayed as a result of concerns raised by the UK government that the personnel costs for the public sector are still too high. However, Bush has stated he does not want to cut salaries or benefits to civil servants and therefore cuts must be made elsewhere.
Delivering his second throne speech in his role as governor, Taylor said far more needed to be done when it came to government expenditure. He added that the past year had been a challenging one for the Cayman Islands because of the continuing recession and the impact of this on public finances.
“We are still feeling the impact of the global financial crisis and the recession which it provoked. Like most countries around the world, we are having to take difficult decisions to cut costs, in order to bring government finances back onto a sustainable track. It is a painful process,” he said.
With the UK still having the last word on this year's government spending, Talylor described the process of setting this budget as “stressful and prolonged” as he thanked all those who had worked on it. He added that the Portfolio of the Civil Service would continue supporting the steering group and teams that are carrying out the public sector reviews looking for spending cuts in government, but gave no more information on the most recent results of that team's work.
The governor also revealed that the Auditor General's Office intended to provide the Legislative Assembly with the six financial and performance government audit reports, which are currently outstanding, in the coming financial year and stated that the AG would make a difference by “holding government accountable for its spending and for providing value-for-money in publicservices,” but did not refer to the current empty chair on the Public Accounts Committee.
Although government was not in a position to reveal the actual numbers for the next financial year, the governor delivered a broad outline of the plans by the UDP administration and the official arm for the next twelve months.
He spoke at length about the implementation of e-services across government, from on-line training for civil servants to e-tickets being delivered by police.
Tackling crime would be a key objective during the next year to secure borders and prevent organised crime from gaining a foothold on these islands, Taylor said but noted the challenges. Although crime figures were down, he said, just one crime was one too many and the increase in robberies was of particular concern.
'Public confidence remains an elusive goal,” Taylor said. 'The RCIPS recognises the key benefits of having officers at neighbourhood level, known and trusted by those they serve and key to the securing of public confidence. This year, resources permitting, the RCIPS will increase the number of officers working with and at the heart of our communities.”
He also said that the new crime prevention strategy would soon be released to the public and that phase one of the national CCTV programme public surveillance camera system would be rolled out in the near future.
The governor listed a number of further policy plans and legislative changes that would come before the country's parliament in this financial year. These included necessary changes because of the Bill of Rights, which would be implemented in 18 months. He also pointed to planned amendments to the Judicature Law to widen the list of people eligible to serve on juries, and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Law, as well as a new law for the Commission of Standards in Public Life Bill. He also said there would be a new traffic law coming but there was no mention of the national conservation law, merely a policy intent to have EIAs conducted before developments begin.
Hedge fund exit requests up in wake of oil rout
(Reuters): Investors asked for more of their money back from hedge funds in the immediate aftermath of this month's commodities rout, data from hedge fund services firm GlobeOp (GO.L) on Monday shows. The firm's monthly snapshot of hedge fund redemption requests was taken on May 17, less than two weeks after oil lost as much as $13 a barrel on May 5, causing heavy losses at a number of funds.The GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator — a snapshot of clients giving advance notice they want to pull out their cash as a percentage of GlobeOp's assets under administration — rose to 3.92 percent from 2.45 percent.
This is the highest level so far this year and the second highest since last summer, though it is likely to have also been boosted by clients wanting to withdraw money at the half-year point.
UK private jail owners send profits to tax havens
(Daily Mirror): Private jail bosses paid from the public purse are putting profits offshore to avoid tax, MPs will be told this week. Firms making millions out of the privatisation of British justice are not paying their due, says a Prison Officers’ Association report. Taxpayers pick up the bills for land and buildings of these jails. But the people running them have parent companies which the POA has traced to tax havens. The report says: “Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being diverted from essential public service provision that could benefit society as a whole. Often those that benefit most are registered in tax havens.” POA general secretary Steve Gillan said it was “a national scandal”.
The report says: “Making a profit out of incarceration is morally repugnant. Companies have a vested interest in keeping the prison population high to maximise profits.” It says firms have no incentive to go along with Mr Clarke’s “rehab¬¬ilitation revolution” – aimed at cutting the ¬crippling expense of ¬prisons by ¬reducing the number of inmates.