Archive for June, 2011
Palfrey swims ashore in world’s longest ever sea swim
(CNS): Update Monday 7am – International open water swimmer Penny Palfrey has achieved her goal and completed the longest ever unassisted open water swim from Little Cayman to Grand Cayman in around 40 hours and 40 minutes. In an incredible feat of endurance Palfrey completed the more than 68 mile swim, which included a few marine encounters, on Sunday night at around 10.10pm. Although not believed to be suffering unduly, Palfrey was taken to hospital for observation. The British-Australian mother of three began her swim in Little Caymanin the early hours of Saturday morning and arrived in Grand Cayman’s East End the following night hoping to break the world record for an open water swim. (Photo from helicopter)
Palfrey was followed by a support 
team in Kayaks and boards to pull a shark shield –which only gives limited protection — as well as giving her food and water and to be ready for emergencies. They were also tweeting and giving live updates on the conditions and commentary on Palfrey’s marathon ocean journey.
On completing what is expected to be registered as an official world record, Palfrey was greeted by a cheering crown at the Morritts Tortuga, which included the country's premier among other dignitaries, as well her friends and fans.
More gongs awarded on queen’s birthday
(CNS): As Cayman looked forward to a long weekend more royal awards were handed out to celebrate the British queen’s 85th birthday on Saturday. During the official celebrations in George Town past recipients of various royal awards were given their medals and five new Caymanians were named by the deputy governor to receive the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour. The new royal gongs go to Marjorie Jane Bodden for the Air Ambulance Service, twins Maxine Ethel and Maureen Helen Bodden for services to the people, especially the poor and needy, Lendell Albert Layman for services to the community and Philip David Glanmor Thomas for services to the electricity industry.
As Queen Elizabeth enjoyed her official birthday in the UK (her real one is in April) Cayman’s officials, dignitaries, government workers and the public gathered for a little local pomp and circumstance and to see previous gong recipients get their medals in front of the Legislative Assembly building in George Town.
After the traditional parade by uniformed services, a royal salute, 21-gun salute and three cheers for Queen Elizabeth II. The former leader of the opposition and leader of government business Kurt Tibbetts got his OBE and Kemuel Jackson, a local catboat expert, Mary Lawrence the speaker of the LA, and the now leader of the opposition Alden McLaughlin all received their MBE medals.
Doorly McLaughlin was awarded the Colonial Police and Fire Service Medal while Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honours were given to Jackie Balls, Mary Blake, Celeste Broderick, Reba Dilbert, Penny McDowall and Ellen Sherman.
The governor is currently in the UK so the ceremony was conducted by Donovan Ebanks, the deputy governor. This year as a result of cutbacks the traditional garden party held at Government House after the ceremony was cancelled.
Finance law drops standards
(CNS): Planned changes to the law which regulates public finances will allow government to avoid meeting “generally accepted accounting standards” for its reports for the fiscal years 2004/5 to 2010/11 and the requirement to have government’s consolidated accounts audited for the years 2004/5 to 2007/8. Amendments to the Public Management and Finance Law (2010 Revision), which will be brought to the Legislative Assembly in the current budget meeting, will also relax the volume, frequency and formatting of reporting to enable government to tackle the myriad difficulties it has with its financial accountability.
Government has opted to drop the standards to enable it to meet them and produce some form of financial reporting for the missing seven years.
Despite spending significant time and financial resources, the efforts of the former Public Accounts Committee chair, bringing in a task force, the contracting of a consultant from the UK’s Foreign And Commonwealth Office and having the full attention of the Office of the Auditor General, the problem of managing public accounts has still not been resolved. As a result the government is changing the law to meet what it can do rather than trying to meet the requirements of the law.
This means that government will be offering unaudited – which means unverified – consolidated financial reports for its spending up to the end of 2008 and will also avoid other stringent standards for the remaining outstanding accounts right up to this financial year, which finishes and the end of June.
In future, chief financial officers in government ministries, portfolios, authorities and companies will no longer have to make quarterly or half yearly formal financial reports, which officials hope will enable the government’s bean counters to keep up with the annual accounts for future fiscal years.
Since the introduction of the PMFL, which required higher standards of financial accounting, government has failed to produce any audited financial accounts. The last time government presented accounts to the people was for the 2004 financial year. Since then the people of the Cayman Islands have gone through two general elections without knowing how government had been spending public funds or if it was getting value for money. There has been no documentation that can tell the people if government has been spending either wisely or even honestly when it comes to public cash.
The lack of proper published financial reports has not only presented problems for proper management of finances for government ministers but it has also left the public sector vulnerable to accusations of fraud because there has been no way to verify how money was spent, wiith a lack of supporting information for a significant amount of government spending, particularly in ministries and portfolios, for more than seven years.
The public will now have to wait until 2013, if government is able to meet the financial deadlines for this year, before it will be able to see a consolidated set of financial accounts that have been properly audited and verified, enabling them to make a real judgement about how government spent tax payers money and managed the public purse.
See proposed amendments to PMFL below.
Budget promises CUC cut
(CNS): The premier has said that the introduction of a new fee for certain types of hedge funds, which will now be regulated by CIMA, will be converted into a subsidy to cut CUC duty charges on residential bills. Delivering his long awaited budget address late on Friday evening, McKeeva Bush spoke about the need for fiscal prudence and revealed a surplus budget for the 2011/12 year of $12 million. In a two and a half hour address he remained tight lipped on specific plans for the forthcoming year but said his government would be seeking to increase the country’s population and enter into more public-private partnerships to address Cayman’s infrastructure needs.
The long anticipated presentation was far more low key than expected,with the premier staying away from announcing any details on the various projects that his government is depending upon to boost the local economy. He did, however, talk about possible equity schemes for local people to gain a stake in some of these public-private partnerships and offered the George Town cruise port as an example that local people would be able to invest in the upland element of the project.
The premier spoke in particular about his intention to work with the Dart group to get things done and give Caymanians jobs. Although he mentioned the George Town cruise port, medical tourism, the special economic zone and the relocation of the dump, which he said would also be managed by Dart, he remained vague on the plans for all of these proposed developments.
Bush also gave little away on how his government had arrived at a budget surplus as he stressed how challenging it had been to deliver this year’s spending plan. Nevertheless, he did say that he was committed to no new borrowing during this and the next financial year. It appears the UK’s demands that government turn around what was an expected approximate $8 million deficit last week into a surplus was met as it is now predicting $12 million surplus for the 2011/12 year. This represents a change of some $20 milllion in a matter few weeks but government has not revealed what cuts have been made to public services.
With no budget documents available during his address because of the last minute changes, the premier told the opposition they would be delivered to them by Sunday.
Check back to CNS over the weekend for more on the premier’s budget address.
Vocalist takes young musician title
(CNS): Isabella Rooney of Cayman Prep & High School has won the 4th Annual Butterfield Young Musician of the Year Award. The young vocalist won over the judges to beat Shanique Ayres from John Gray High School who took 2nd place and Kenroy Millwood of Nicole Bodden’s Studio. This year’s competition showcased a variety of strong musical talent. The top three young musicians received cash awards of CI$500, CI$300, and CI$100. During the awards ceremony all twelve student competitors performed as well as the two guest judges, pianist Glen Inanga and violinist John McLaughlin Williams.
“The NCFA Committee appreciated the great interest that Butterfield showed in establishing standards of participation and promoting the competition. The Butterfield ad that was specifically designed for the programme was beautiful and the statement “We are committed” helped us to believe that our efforts are not in vain,” said the Ministry of Education’s Angela McLaughlin. “We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all teachers/private tutors and parents who took the time to prepare the students. The children’s performances confirmed that teachers and parents showed great interest in our young vocalists and instrumentalists.”
Sheree Ebanks, a director at Butterfield congratulated the young musicians. “Seeing the level of such amazing talent in our youth truly inspires us to continue supporting this great award. At Butterfield, we take pridein enriching our community and supporting arts and culture in the Cayman Islands,” she said.
Ugland House tenants re-brand and upgrade
(CNS): Offshore legal and financial services firm the Maples Group has been rebranded its corporate image and upgraded its website to offer more services online to clients. In a release this week the firm said the rebrand launched on Monday also enhanced its client service giving them multiple ways in which to access core information. The residents of Ugland House in George Town, Cayman Islands said the rebrand comprises updated websites, improved technology and focused client services to meet changing demands. The law firm is also introducing new functionality to its eServices platform which will provide greater accessibility to entity information, as well as providing more useful and convenient ways to interact with the firm, it said.
"Our primary goal is to continue to be a market leader and to provide excellent client service
in our core practice areas, delivering Cayman, Irish or British Virgin Islands legal services; and in our corporate formation, fiduciary and fund services businesses," Henry Smith, Global Managing Partner of Maples and Calder added. "Our new brand and website emphasises our firm's long standing core values of working together with our clients as a team and listening to their feedback so we can provide services which meet their needs and make their lives easier."
Scott Somerville, Chief Executive Officer of MaplesFS said there was symbiosis between MaplesFS and Maples and Calder, which offered clients a comprehensive range of legal, corporate, fiduciary and administration services. "We are confident that you will find our new look, our new websites and our new messaging demonstrate the professionalism and innovativeness for which our firm is recognized," he stated.
Local swimmer receives kudos for brain power
(CNS): Cayman’s swimming star Brett Fraser has earned recognition as an Academic All-American. According to the Florida University website, the two-time NCAA men’s swimming champion was named in the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America Men’s At-Large Third Team this week by the College Sports Information Directors of America. To be eligible for Academic All-America recognition, a student-athlete must have been named First Team Academic All-District. To be considered for that award, a student-athlete must have achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30, be at least a sophomore academically and be a starter or key player on the team.
Brett was named to the third team after achieving an impressive 3.43 GPA in finance, also making it onto the academic honour roll three times. He was named to the first team last season.
“Congratulations to Brett. He is the ultimate role model. Not only is he pushing the limits with his swimming, but he is showing every aspiring student that academics needn’t lag behind,” Sports Minister Mark Scotland said. “We are proud to have someone like Brett represent us on the world stage and wish him well for the future.”
Raph Harvey storms to victory in Stormchaser regatta
(CISC): The Cayman Islands Sailing Club was host to the 3rd annual Stormchaser dinghy regatta last weekend and the weather proved to be suitably stormy. The Stormchaser regatta was introduced to mark the arrival of the hurricane season and takes place in June every year. Sailors had been watching the forecast all week, which was showing winds up to 20 knots and above. On Saturday, the first day of the regatta, winds were high and the North Sound was white with wave action. The youth event was called off but the more intrepid adults made their way out to the race course and revelled in the strong conditions. The first race saw the coaches, Raph Harvey and Kelvin Brown, take the top two places but Rob Jackson bounced back to take the 2nd race.
Last year’s winner, Nick Taylor, had suffered equipment failure in the first race but after coming ashore to change boats rejoined the racing and took three third places. The course was fairly long and with the strong conditions there were some weary sailors on shore after racing was over. Raph was leading by just one point from Rob Jackson with Kelvin in third place.
Sunday saw no respite in the weather and the winds had actually become stronger. With three races still to sail the racers knew that they had to sail hard just to keep their rankings and harder still to overtake their opponents.
In the first race Rob Jackson had overcome a slow start and was storming through the field on the upwind beat when his mast broke and he had to be towed to land to replace it. Eduardo Bernal took advantage of the Jackson retirement to record a second place, his best result of the regatta. Christopher Delaney was also sailing much better and took two thirds and a second place. However there was no stopping Raph Harvey, who had come out determined to hold on to first place, and he sailed three great races, winning them all.
The trophy was presented by principal race officer Peta Adams, who made special mention of how dominant Raph had been. “The conditions were tough out there and fitness played a large part but the skills of all the sailors had shown vast improvements over the past couple of years and it was great to see a good turnout.”
Stormchaser is sponsored by Cayman Distributors and Red Stripe and club manager Rick Caley expressed his gratitude to Frank Roulstone and his team who had supplied refreshments. “The sailors gave their all out there and appreciated the Red Stripe after racing”.
The Cat Boats have traditionally joined in the Stormchaser regatta but the conditionswere just too much. Organisers hope to run a make up regatta for them in the near future. The Youth Stormchaser will be run this Sunday June 12th at 11 am.
For more information about the sailing programme at CISC, please contact us at 947 7913 or email admin@sailing.ky.
No evidence teen guilty of murder, says defence QC
(CNS): The prosecutors did not place any evidence before the court that proves Jordon Manderson(18) killed Marcus Duran, his legal counsel told the judge on Thursday as he summed up his defence against the crown's case. David Fisher QC admitted that his client lied and that there may be suspicions about what he was doing that night but there was no evidence that the defendant was guilty of murder. The QC noted that there were myriad possible reasons why his client chose to lie, but the crown had shown no evidence of Manderson’s involvement in a joint enterprise organised by Raziel Jeffers and others to rob the numbers man. The lawyer said his client’s presence at the scene was not proof he killed Duran. (Photo courtesy of Cayman27)
The lawyer pointed out that even if the judge did not believe Manderson’s account of the night — that Andy Barnes or Damion Ming had shot him as he crouched on the stairs at Maliwinas Way — it still did not prove guilt on the teen’s part. The lawyer said there was no tangible evidence against him in relation to the shooting or that he was even involved in an organised conspiracy to rob Duran with Jeffers and others.
“What evidence is before you that you can commit to writing in your ruling to state that you are sure he is guilty of the joint enterprise to murder?” he asked the judge rhetorically, before addressing the crown’s circumstantial case against his client.
Fisher said the crown’s theory that Jeffers, Craig Johnson, Manderson and at least one other assailant were all at the scene together about to commit a joint enterprise of robbery fell apart because just as the crime was about to take place, Johnson and Jeffers were on the phone to each other chatting and Manderson was talking to his brother on his phone.
He also noted that while the phone evidence had connected Jeffers to Manderson, who were, the defendant admitted freely, good friends, and Jeffers to Johnson, there was no link between Johnson and Manderson in the phone records.
Manderson had given different accounts to the police and had lied about his behaviour that night, which gave rise to suspicion, but this was not evidence, the lawyer noted. He said the time lines did, however, support Manderson’s account and the contamination of the scene by so many people in the effort to save Duran’s life made the positioning of the bullets questionable.
He also said the tiny amounts of mixed DNA inside and outside the hat on the balcony, which there was no evidence either the deceased or the defendant had ever worn, was a mystery, but was more likely explained by secondary transfer and certainly not evidence of his client’s guilt. There was no evidence, the defence attorney emphasised, that Manderson had ever left his home armed with a gun to go commit a robbery at Maliwinas Way.
Despite witness evidence from Jeffers’ former girlfriend that he had told her to tell the police it was the Logswood Boys that shot Duran, there was no evidence that anyone had told Manderson to blame Barnes or Ming. The QC said that the alibi evidence for Ming and Barnes was also in question as there were inconsistencies.He said the alibi for Ming, who was killed two weeks after the Duran shooting, was given by his girlfriend, who would not be the first witness to attempt to protect the reputation of someone she loved even after death.
The QC listed a number of possible scenarios of the night in question and pointed out that any of them could be true or not, but when it came to an accusation of murder against his client it had not been proved. “The evidence just isn't there,” he noted as he said the crown's case was pieced together based on unproved theories of a conspiracy and asked the judge to return a not guilty verdict.
Justice Charles Quin is hearing the case alone without a jury and will be delivering a written ruling with his verdict, which is expected in around one week. Manderson remains in custody in Northward prison on remand, where he has been since he was arrested for the killing in March 2010 just before his seventeenth birthday.
Raziel Jeffers, who is also accused of killing Duran, as well as Damion Ming and Marcus Ebanks, was due to appear in court on Friday morning to settle a date for his trial, which has been delayed as a result of legal representation problems.
Iceland uses social media to write its constitution
(The Guardian): It is not the way the scribes of yore would have done it but Iceland is tearing up the rulebook by drawing up its new constitution through crowdsourcing. As the country recovers from the financial crisis that saw the collapse of its banks and government, it is using social media to get its citizens to share their ideas as to what the new document should contain. "I believe this is the first time a constitution is being drafted basically on the internet," said Thorvaldur Gylfason, member of Iceland's constitutional council. "The public sees the constitution come into being before their eyes … This is very different from old times where constitution makers sometimes found it better to find themselves a remote spot out of sight, out of touch."
Iceland's existing constitution dates back to when it gained independence from Denmark in 1944. It simply took the Danish constitution and made a few minor adjustments, such as substituting the word "president" for "king".
In creating the new document, the council has been posting draft clauses on its website every week since the project launched in April. The public can comment underneath or join a discussion on the council's Facebook page.