Archive for June, 2011

Chinese get 49 yrs concession

(CNS): The Chinese state owned company which has entered into a deal with the Cayman government to build the cruise port in George Town will be getting a concession of 49 years, according to the MOU. Government has agreed that China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) will build, operate and transfer the cruise piers and upland port development under a concession agreement. The firm will receive a share of the passenger fees from the cruise arrival figures in order to recoup the cost of financing both the George Town cruise berthing project and the more recently announced cruise berthing facilities in West Bay as well as the renovation of the Spotts jetty.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) which was signed in June between the premier and CHEC, but has not been signed by any representative of the Port Authority,  calls for exclusive negotiations with CHEC and the Cayman government until November of this year.

The firm will be undertaking a feasibility study, the MOU reveals, to establish whether the investment is worthwhile, which will be completed by the end of July with a view to beginning the project in November. The MOU also asks the Chinese firm to supply proof of financing within ten working days of the document, which is dated 13 June and states that if CHEC does not do so government can terminate the agreement immediately.

Government has agreed to supply the firm with the related information regarding the necessary approvals, including the EIA, and provide the firm with the support it needs, as well as the areas for the developments, the work-permits it will need, waive duty and get the necessary minimum passenger guarantees from the cruise lines. The deal also includes anagreement by the Chinese state owned firm to sub contract work to some local contractors, according to the MOU.

In a separate element of the deal CHEC has agreed to start the Spotts work by 15 July, having advanced some $3 million for the early start of this part of the deal. The MOU states that a separate contract has already been signed with the PortAuthority in relation to this part of the project. The agreement to start work on the Spotts dock before the rest of the MOU has been settled was at the request of the CIG but does not impact the rest of the deal the document reveals.

The premier revealed on Wednesday in the Legislative Assembly that he had signed the MOU with CHEC. The talks with the Chinese came in the wake of the premier’s decision in April to walk away from the previous exclusive talks it was involved in with GLF/Royal Construction.  Less than three weeks after the revelation by CNS that government had pulled out of the GLF talks we also revealed that the Chinese firm was seeking an immediate MOU with government.

Continue Reading

Self determination at impasse, Cayman rep tells UN

(CNS): With the UK's position that it does not believe the Cayman Islands should even be on the United Nation's list of non-self governing territories, while at the same time having devolved none of its real power in the 2009 Cayman Constitution, Wil Pineau told UN delegates that self determination appeared to be at an impasse. “We do not regard the introduction of a new administrative arrangement between the administering power and her territory as a sincere attempt to advance the progress towards self-determination,” Pineau said on behalf of the civil groups he was representing at a recent UN meeting.

“During the constitutional discussions, the UK made it clear that specific conditions had to be met and lines could not be crossed, otherwise the administering power would not agree to a new constitution for the Cayman Islands,” the Chamber CEO added.

Pineau was addressing the Caribbean regional seminar on the implementation of the third international decade for the eradication of colonialism, which was held in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines earlier this month, on behalf of Cayman Islands Non-Governmental Organizations Constitutional Working Group, which included the Chamber, the People for Referendum (PFR) and the Concerned Citizens Group (CCG). The meeting had originally been scheduled to be held here in the Cayman Islands, but the CIG declined the invitation and chose not to send a government delegate to the talks.

In his address Pineau said the UK government had failed to educate the people of the non-self governing territories (NSGTs) about the options for self determination and called for more help from the UN.

He suggested that future regional seminars should only be convened in the NSGTs with public access including the press to all deliberations and for the UN to work with government and civil society groups in the NSGTs to provide education resources and funding.

“Find ways to develop governance and capacity building with or without the administering Powers cooperation and involvement,” Pinneau said in his address as he called for more support. Pineau also suggested increasing dialogue between the C24 and civil society in the OTs that would assist with the development of participatory democracy.

“At present there is minimal communication between the C24 and civil society in the Cayman Islands. Communication usually occurs leading up to the regional seminars. Correspondence submitted to the UN Secretariat in most instances remains unanswered,” he added.

Pineau said that education must continue to be at the epicenter of all activities. “Such education must of course clarify to the people of the Cayman Islands that the expression 'self-determination' is not a synonym for the word 'independence' – although 'independence' is numbered amongst the options to be available to NSGTs.”

He added that the UK, in cooperation with the territorial governments and appropriate bodies of the UN system, should develop political education programmes for the territories in order to foster an awareness among the people of their right to self-determination.

“An informed and enlightened civil society will ensurethat informed choices are made as they make decisions towards self-determination,” he noted.

See full paper here
 

Continue Reading

Mac defends budget

(CNS): The premier said he hoped the people of Cayman would realize that he is working hard for them in order to turn the economy around, as he wrapped up the budget debate in the Legislative Assembly on Monday afternoon. McKeeva Bush spoke for more than four hours as he answered the questions and criticisms of the opposition bench. Defending the budget figures and the decision not to cut civil service numbers, Bush said that his economic policies had worked and that was how government had achieved a surplus for this financial year. Having turned government finances around, he said, he was not going to risk further compromising the local economy by cutting local jobs.

Bush explained that this was the argument he had presented to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when questions were being raised in London about the level of personnel costs and the government’s failure to stick to the three year plan.  He said he had protected jobs for Caymanians and the local economy from more austerity. He said there was flexibility in the budget and spending had been increased in key areas such as policing, education and health in an effort to deal with the pressing social issues.

With the CUC cut Bush said he was delivering on a previous promise made when he was forced to remove the fuel rebate during the first budget. Now government had the money, he said, he could give it back but he said he did not need to notify CUC until he had found the money and the power company would be informed shortly.

Although the budget did not receive written approval directly from the UK, the Governor’s Office confirmed yesterday that OT Minister Henry Bellingham and the premier had discussed the budget before it was presented last Friday.

“The Cayman Islands Government developed their budget in line with those discussions, and with the intention of meeting the targets set in their published medium term plan,” the office confirmed on Monday via email. The spokesperson noted that the Cayman government was at liberty to decide how money is spent or cuts made. “The UK is just keen that finances in the Cayman Islands return to a sustainable track,” the office stated.

Bush said that the finances were in much better shape and the numbers in this budget were correct, and despite the criticisms from the opposite benches, the central government surplus was $12 million before the losses from statutory authorities were added and that was the normal way to present the budget.

The premier suggested the opposition had failed to find anything wrong with the budget and had displayed ignorance of economics during their questions and criticisms. He also complained about the constant disagreement in every corner of society and accused the former opposition leader, Kurt Tibbetts, of throwing cold water on everything.

“I don’t expect fairness in opposition politics but it seems everyone has to disagree,” he said, adding that in churches, in schools, in clubs and associations and everyone was “fussing and fuming” and being disagreeable. “We live in an atmosphere where it seems no matter what you do, you do wrong,” he added. “You are not going to have everybody to agree with you so I have given up on that but nobody has a knack of criticising quiet like the first elected member for George Town.”

Bush also took aim at the current leader of the opposition and accused him of having a dramatic road to Damascus conversion over the rollover policy. Bush accused Alden McLaughlin of criticising without the facts, of not understanding economics and of spreading rumours to destroy him but of having no viable alternatives. During the week of budget debate, he said, after all of the attacks he had not heard one single idea from the opposition benches to raise revenue or create jobs.

Throughout the four hour presentation the premier spoke at length about constantly being investigated and reviewed and said the opposition were creating doubts to make him look bad. He said that while it was him they were trying to make look bad and scandalizing today, he warned it would be them, or their children, in the future. Bush said, however, they could go to the governor, the police commissioner or the auditor general as “his heart was pure and his hands clean.” The premier said he had done nothing wrong but that things were not getting done because of constant accusations and in the end it was the Caymanian people that would suffer. “It is my job to move this economy,” Bush added.

As he commended his budget to the Legislative Assembly, he said he had done much to improve the budget position of government, and while there was still some way to go, he was proud of what had been done so far.

In its second reading the budget bill passed, with nine government votes over three abstentions by the opposition and independent member. Three of the opposition members were also absent from the chamber when the division was called. The Legislative Assembly was adjourned for Finance Committee, which is chaired by the premier and will now scrutinize budget appropriations for all government entities.

Check CNS this week for more on the premier’s closing budget speech including comments on the Cohen loan and immigration, as well as detailed reviews of public spending plans for 2011/12.

Continue Reading

People’s demo set for GT

(CNS): The people will be taking to the streets of George Town next week to demonstrate their opposition to a number of government projects, not least the proposal to develop a commercial sea port in East End. Members of the opposition, the independent representative for North Side, Save Cayman, the Concerned Citizens Group and other associations are coming together to show their concerns over recent announcements and decisions made by the current government and will be hosting the public show of opposition with a march through the capital on Tuesday, 28 June, from noon. 

“This all-inclusive coalition protest aims to bring together all those who have growing concerns over recent announcements and decisions made by the current government,” the opposition said in a release on Monday afternoon. “Several topics of national interest, including but not limited to the East End mega quarry, corruption, the North Sound dredging, the oil refinery and the planned closure of the West Bay Road, will be embraced under the umbrella of this demonstration.”

With the announcement that the Cayman Islands Tourism Association is opposed to the project and the comments submitted by the Environmental Advisory Board over what is being described as the East End quarry, the sea port project continues to be the main focus of the demo. However, the opposition said the ongoing lack of information and transparency about a number of projects has also “touched a nerve as growing suspicions of corruption are beginning to undermine our nation’s growth as a truly democratic society,” the PPM leadership added.

The North Sound dredging is still a concern, despite comments that the latest proposal has been abandoned, as there are no guarantees that a future proposal could still be considered for a channel, and this along with the UDP government’s apparent support for a number of other projects is causing  considerable “distress in the community”, the opposition added.

“Despite significant outcry about these concerns, the voices of the people have been falling on deaf ears. To many it has become clear that the interests of the people are not being represented,” the PPM went on to say in its release, which was derided by the premier when the news reached him during his closing speech in the budget debate inside the Legislative Assembly.

McKeeva Bush lashed out at the opposition for organising the demonstration. He said he would not acknowledge it and believed it was just a minority of people as most people knew what government was doing to make the economy take off. He said the opposition’s attempts to throw him out of office would be in vain and he “would not buckle” because of the march.

Bush said he hoped the people would not join the group that was marching because they had no solutions. “You won’t fix me,” he told the opposition benches, “and now my resolve is built even more.”

Speaking outside the legislative chamber, Ezzard Miller said the decision to hold the full scale demonstration in George Town against the East End port was as a result of the most recent developments in the LA compounding the actions of the developer.

Miller said both he and his parliamentary colleague, the PPM member for East End Arden McLean, had already called on the developer, Joseph Imparato, not to pursue the project, which had been ignored. He said they then had both called on the premier to state that he would not allow the project to continue. Instead, on Monday he indicated just the opposite, making it clear he supported the project.

“This leaves us with no other option but to demonstrate to show the government the substantial opposition among the people to this project,” Miller stated.

The PPM members added that all these issues were important, not just to Caymanians but to everyone living and working in the Cayman Islands. “If these projects are allowed to proceed and corruption or the perception of its existence is allowed to reign, the eventual result will be a lawless and undemocratic society which erodes the foundation of our success as a country,” the party leadership added as it called on all concerned citizens and residents to come out for the event, either to show support or to learn more about the issues.

For further information or to receive event updates email ilovecayman2011@gmail.com

Continue Reading