Archive for February, 2012
Civil servants shouldn’t be silenced, says association
(CNS): In the wake of the publication of a new policy allowing public sector workers to sign petitions, the Cayman Islands Civil Service Association issued a statement on Thursday welcoming the clarity provided by the deputy governor. Most civil servants will now be able to sign most petitions and very senior or sensitive post holders can do so with clearance from their chief officers. The CICSA said government employees must have the ability to sign a petition as it was crucial in the overall democratic process and they should not be silenced. CICSA President James Watler urged the members to familiarize themselves with the new policy. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
“As responsible members of society we have valid opinions on issues faced by both individual and country and our voices should not be silenced,” he said “This new policy now assists us in defining and making clearer what is allowed or not allowed and by whom.”
Watler said that over the years the issue of the rights of government workers to sign had been of grave concern to all civil servants and the CICSA management council had assisted with the drafting and vetting of the petition policy in an effort to create a policy document that would officially clarify the signing of petitions.
“Of course there are some areas that we need to monitor as we go forward but despite this we do have a much clearer understanding of where we stand in relation to this issue,” Watler said about the document released on Tuesday.
“We are aware that we must have certain rights and responsibilities as we do in the electoral process and the ability to sign a petition is crucial in the overall democratic process of these islands,” he added.
Watler advised public sector employee to ensure they understand what is required of them and what their rights now are so that they could participate in any petition that is being circulated at any time.
The new policy comes at a crucial time as a petition is being circulated aimed at triggering a people initiated referendum, as set out in the constitution, requesting a national poll on one man, one vote before the 2013 election. The new policy should pave the way for all civil servants to be able to sign this petition if they so wish.
See related story here and new policy document on civil servants and petitions below.
Vote in the CNS poll: If the petition for one man, one vote triggers a referendum, how soon should this take place?
Obama’s tax reform proposals target tax havens
(CNS Business): The Obama administration has unveiled a set of proposals for reforming the US business tax system that wouldlower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent and eliminate many tax loopholes. It would also introduce a minimum tax on income earned by subsidiaries of US corporations operating abroad, which would “balance the need to stop rewarding tax havens and to prevent a race to the bottom.” The goal, according to the proposal document, would be to keep US companies “on a level playing field” with competitors when engaged in business overseas. The proposal would also strengthen international tax rules by taxing the excess profits associated with shifting intangible assets, such as intellectual property, to low tax jurisdictions. Read more on CNS Business
Barber shop robbed in WB
(CNS): Updated with descriptions — Police have confirmed that a West Bay barber shop was robbed on Thursday evening by two men. According to an RCIPS report, the men entered the shop on West Church Street at about 7:30pm and demanded cash from staff at the shop. The police said that one of the robbers was believed to be armed with a gun. After taking an undisclosed sum of cash, the two villains made their escape, presumably on foot. One of the robbers is described as being around 5’ 6” in height, medium brown complexion with a heavy / fat build. He was wearing a long sleeved dark top, dark jeans, gloves and had a black t-shirt wrapped over his face and head.
The second robber was around 5’10” – 6’, with braided hair and very slim build, wearing a long sleeved grey top, jeans, gloves and a grey/black t-shirt over his face and head.
He spoke with what has been described as a Caymanian-Jamaican accent.
No shots were fired and no one was injured during the hold-up. Investigations into the incident have commenced
This is the eleventh robbery of 2012 and comes just over one week after several men were robbed while playing dominoes outside a home in the Swamp in George Town.
Anyone with information on the latest heist is asked to call RCIPS Tip-Line on 949-7777. People wishing to provide information, but who would like to remain anonymous, are asked to use CRIME STOPPERS at 800-8477 (TIPS) or leave an online tip by going to the crimstoppers web site www.crimestoppers.ky
Victim denies being drunk when attacked at Wet-Fete
(CNS): A 21-year-old man from Bodden Town told the court he was not drunk when he was attacked last year by a man with a knife at the Wet-Fete event on West Bay Road. Giving evidence as the crown’s key witness and complainant in the case against Aaron Solomon on Tuesday, Akeem Dunbar, who was stabbed multiple times, including in the neck, said that the defendant was the man who tried to kill him. He told the court that he had left the party, where revellers were being sprayed with water and foam, to get cigarettes from his friend’s car. As he sat in the passenger seat with the door open, the accused came towards him and kicked him in the chest and began stabbing him.
Dunbar told the court that he attempted to defend himself during the attack, which lasted for around one minute. Dunbar said that he put his arms up to his face as Solomon stabbed him in the neck, the chest and his arms as he cried out for the attack to stop.
The young man said that his attacker ran away on foot and he then got up and went looking for his friends. But before he made it back to the party area, two girls came towards him and he said it was then that he lost consciousness. He said he came to in the ambulance on the way to hospital, having lost a considerable amount of blood.
Dunbar said he knew his attacker from spending time in East End and was not mistaken over who had stabbed him. He said they were not friends and did not speak but he told the court that the men had been involved in a non-violent argument around a week or so before the Wet-Fete stabbing at a bar in Bodden Town.
Solomon (25), who is charged with attempted murder for stabbing Dunbar, has denied being the attacker.
The trial continues.
The politics & democracy of ‘one man, one vote’
By now many people are aware that we are trying to collect approximately four thousand signatures to trigger a people initiated referendum to adopt the system of ‘one man, one vote’ in single-member constituencies for electing representatives across the Cayman Islands. Simply put, ‘one man, one vote’ means that a registered voter will be able to vote for only one candidate in their constituency during an election.
If sufficient signatures are collected to trigger the referendum and a majority of voters should vote in favour of the ‘one man, one vote' then candidates in the May 2013 general election will contest the 16 single-member constituencies across Grand Cayman.
It was proposed by the Electoral Boundaries Commission in their 2010 report that George Town should have six single member constituencies, West Bay would retain their four, Bodden Town would increase from three to four with East End, North Side and Cayman Brac and Little Cayman remaining unchanged. This may be contrasted with the current multi-member constituencies whereby each registered voter is able to cast a number of votes equal to the number of representatives in the Legislative Assembly allotted to their electoral district. For example, George Town currently has four representatives in the Legislative Assembly and each voter in George Town during the last election would have been allowed to cast four votes, one for each representative.
As with other issues, there are arguments for and against ‘one man, one vote’. Opponents believe that ‘one man, one vote’ in single-member constituencies will encourage our representatives to become even more myopic and further entrench the rivalry between communities for the allocation of scarce national resources.
However, proponents of ‘one man one vote ’argue that it provides opportunities for better representation of a constituency as the single representative would have a much smaller number of constituents to represent, is more likely to have a better understanding of their needs, and therefore better able to advocate on their behalf in the Legislative Assembly. Additionally, the single representative would be more accountable than the current system of multiple representatives where each one is able to shift responsibility to another. The potential for the blame game is even greater where both parties are able to win seats in a multi-member constituency.
If the current petition is successful in triggering a referendum to determine whether the country should adopt a system of ‘one man, one vote’, and there is no reason to believe that it will not succeed, the Caymanian electorate will for the first time in decades elect their representatives based on the individual attributes of each candidate, and not because of the popularity of a running mate.
Therefore, attributes such as the character and integrity of the candidates, the capability, qualifications and relevant experience of newcomers, the track record of incumbents, each candidates ability to present credible and reasonable short and long term solutions to social and economic issues facing their constituents in particular and the country generally should be critical factors in determining the outcome of an election. In essence, what is it that qualifies a particular candidate to effectively represent the needs of that particular community and the country generally?
No one should believe that ‘one man, one vote’ will be a panacea for all time, however, it has the potential to raise the caliber of our representatives in the Legislative Assembly, but only if the Caymanian electorate believes that better representation is something they deserve to have and insist on having it to ensure a brighter future in the Cayman Islands.
If there is a referendum, and whether or not the electorate prefers ‘one man, one vote’ with single-member constituencies over the current system of multiple votes in multi-member constituencies, we should remain cognizant of the fact that it is not the electoral system that destroys a country and erodes investor confidence, rather it is crime, corruption, social unrest and mismanagement of the economy.
Marco Archer is an attorney-at-law with a local law firm
Vote in the CNS poll:
If the petition for one man, one vote triggers a referendum, how soon should this take place?
Bush denies port fee hike
(CNS): Despite a report written by KPMG suggesting that port fees would increase to $35 per head for cruise ship visitors if China Harbour Engineering Company were contracted to build the George Town berthing facilities, the premier denied the hike at a public meeting this week. McKeeva Bush said that no one had even discussed fees at the time the “so-called letter” was written, as he referred to the report by the consultants, which had been commissioned by the Port Authority in the wake of the premier’s decision to stop negotiations withGLF Construction and open talks with the Chinese firm. He defended his decision to partner with the Beijing-based company as he claimed GLF did not have the money.
Bush said there was no hard evidence that GLF had funding and it had wanted the signed contract to raise cash for the project. He claimed that if government had continued with that firm, it would still be “floundering”.
“We weren’t going to get it with GLF, or anybody else,” he said about the cruise berthing facilities and added that there was "nothing personal about it” but it was in the best interests of the country.
Speaking form the back of the court house in George Town on Tuesday evening, the premier told the audience that the Chinese would finance the project at no cost to the public purse and there would be a chance for people to purchase shares in the upland project, where the retail and other facilities, including a hotel and restaurants, would be located. Bush denied that the fees would not be hiked as suggested.
“Don’t listen to their rubbish about … they made some vast discovery about the Chinese charging thirty something dollars … They had not even discussed it with the Chinese at that time when that so-called letter was supposed to have been written. But Caymanians are not fool-fool. They saw through that letter,” Bush said.
He added that KPMG was, however, now doing a value for money study of the draft framework agreement between the Cayman Islands Government and CHEC. He also said that a contract was being signed with Luis Ajamil of Miami-based Bermello Ajamil & Partners, one of the world’s leading marine architecture and engineering firms, and they would also examine the draft agreement. He said that the draft agreement would then be reviewed by the Central Tenders Committee. Bush said the Chinese have also signed an MOU with the CI government to build a pier in Cayman Brac as well.
Along with the port, the premier talked about the other proposed projects, which the opposition and the various activists were trying to block because, he said, as the projects got going people would have work and the economy would be turned around, which they were afraid of.
He defended the ForCayman Investment Alliance with the Dart Group, saying it was in the national interest and the deal was “designed to be fair” to both parties and the deal was honest and transparent. Bush said the cash that had been given to government had gone to the treasury and he did notknow "how much more transparent” it could be. He also defended the road swap, which he claimed was only 2,500 feet, since the remainder would remain as an access road. The premier also claimed that the access to the beach would not be denied as that was protected in law.
Bush said that if people weighed up what government was getting and what would be swapped, they would see it was a good deal for the country.
The premier also took credit for the Dr Devi Shetty’s hospital project, which was now going through planning and would soon break ground, and he described the Cayman Enterprise City as "a master stroke".
Talking in general about what his government had done, he said that “no fair minded person” could say that the UDP government had not tried to help people and businesses.
“We have made progress; I know we will turn this economy around,” he said.
KPMG report on GLF and CHEC commission by Port Authority
See Premier’s flyer handed out at the meeting below
UK authorities claim credit for shrinking TCI deficit
(CNS): The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands has reported an increase in revenue of some $118.5 million in the third quarter of this financial and a $33.5 million reduction in the UK territory’s deficit. Although the deficit was $7.4 million higher than the interim government had budgeted for it was down from just under $53.4 million in the same period last year. Hugh McGarel-Groves, the chief financial officer in the government, which is under direct rule from Britain said the measures it had taken were showing real results. TCI is inching towards the surplus which the UK has said is one of the milestones to be achieved before an election can be held.
“The finances of the Turks and Caicos Islands under the Interim Administration are definitely moving in the right direction,” said McGarel-Groves. “This analysis shows that the measures we have introduced are having an effect. I look forward to the end of year figures which will take into account the record high season tourism figures as well as the revenue generation measures announced last November.”
According to the figures government revenue was $118.5m for the nine month period, up $2.3m (2%) against budget forecasts, an increase of $33.0m (39%) on the same period last year. The deficit of $19.9m for this period up $7.4m on the budget forecast is still $33.5m lower the 2010/11 financial year
Governor Ric Todd added that one of the significant milestones was to achieve a surplus by March 2013.
“Not only is this necessary for elections to be held in TCI, but Government finances need to be in the black in this way in order to begin tackling the $189m debt inherited from the previous elected administration,” Todd said. “I firmly believe that tackling this debt in a professional and open way will send a message to the world that the TCI is properly governed once again and is open and ready for business.”
The report also shows that some reductions in government spending will begin to show themselves on the balance sheet. Currently 36% of all government expenditure is on Civil Servants’ pay and workers who are accepted for the Voluntary Severance Scheme will have left by March this year reducing the government wage bill.
The $12m annual SIPT and Civil Recovery expenses have been offset the government claimed by income of $1.2m received at 31 Dec. The top five of the 51 Civil Recovery cases currently underway would alone see $50m returned to the people of the TCI.
See the full report on the TCI finances below
Judge finds Jeffers guilty
(CNS): Full story — Justice Charles Quin took over four hours on Thursday to read his verdict in which he found 28-year-old Raziel Jeffers guilty of the murder of Marcus Ebanks. The judge said he was satisfied that Jeffers was one of two gunmen who had opened fire on a group of young men as they sat in a West Bay yard in July 2009. Jeffers was also convicted of trying to kill four other young men, including Adryan Powell, who was paralyzed as a result of the multiple gunshots he received on the evening of the shooting. The judge said the evidence given by Powell was clear and consistent and he was satisfied that he had identified Raziel Jeffers as the lead gunman in the joint enterprise. As he handed down the verdict, he urged anyone who knew anything about guns to go to the police.
Jeffers, who was smartly dressed in a white shirt with a blue patterned tie and dark grey trousers and had short hair, remained impassive as the verdict was delivered and made no comment but nodded when the mandatory life sentence for the murder was handed down.
Because the judge was satisfied that Jeffers was part of a joint enterprise to kill on the night in question, he was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Rod Ebanks, Joe Bush, Jose Sanchez and Adryan Powell, who was only 14 at the time of the shooting. In addition, Jeffers was convicted of possession of an unlicensed firearm.
As he read his verdict to the court, Justice Quin pointed to the senseless loss of life and injuries inflicted in the brutal and indiscriminate killing, which took place in the yard of 9 Bonaventure Lane at the home of Joseph Hurlston.
“Another young man is dead in the Cayman Islands, one is in a wheel chair and one is facing a life sentence because of guns,” the judge said, as he implored those in the community who knew anything about people having guns or where guns were hidden to go to the authorities.
In his detailed review of the evidence the judge said that as well as finding Powell’s evidence to be “clear and honest” he also accepted the evidence of Megan Martinez, Jeffers' former girlfriend, whom he described as a forthright witness. Despite some confusion in her evidence and the fact that she had originally lied to the police, he said her descriptions of the firearms that she had seen Jeffers handle were compelling.
“It would take an extraordinary degree of imagination to invent such detailed evidence about the firearms,” he said.
Once she had decided to relate her former boyfriend’s confession to a police officer that she trusted, the judge said, she had been consistent with her evidence. He also found that her reasons for the delay in coming forward plausible and said there was no evidence that her statements had been coerced.
Justice Quin noted that there was supporting evidence for her testimony in the telephone records and he did not think that the gunshot residue on the packet of cigarette papers found in Jeffers pocket when he was arrested after the shooting got there through transference.
He rejected suggestions by the defence that the police were biased against the defendant or that Powell was telling lies or unable to make a clear identification. He said it was understandable that the teenager would have been scared to say who had shot him at first given the terrifying, “ruthless and violent” attack that he witnessed and suffered. However, he noted that Powell had revealed who his attacker was just six days after the shooting.
The judge stated that when all of the evidence against Jeffers was taken together, it was very damning. The crown had proved that he did have the means, opportunity and motive as there was evidence before the court of a serious and hostile war between the Birch Tree Hill and Logswood gangs, as Jeffers' intended victim was Jose Sanchez.
“There was evidence before the court that the defendant was intent on hunting down Jose Sanchez," the judge stated. Sanchez was a member of the opposing gang and had also had an affair with Jeffers' former girlfriend while he was in jail.
Ironically, Sanchez had escaped unscathed on the night of the shooting because he had hidden in the house with Joe Bush, who was also unhurt when the gunmen indiscriminately opened fire. Rod Ebanks, Marcus’ brother, sustained four gunshot wounds but later recovered from those injuries, while his brother, whom, Martinez revealed in her testimony, Jeffers had mistaken for Sanchez, was pronounced dead that night at the Cayman Islands Hospital. Adryan later found out he would be confined to a wheelchair, paralysed from the waist down as a result of the bullet that had entered his spine.
The judge commended the bravery of the witnesses in his verdict.
“I have been impressed by Adryan Powell and Megan Martinez, who had the courage to come forward about this brutal attack,” the judge said, adding that he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Jeffers was one of the gunmen.
Speaking in the wake of the verdict, Superintendent Kurt Walton, the senior investigating officer in the case, echoed the sentiments of the judge about the witnesses.
“For them to come forward to the police and before the court and give their evidence demonstrates the courage that is needed from every single member of the Cayman community if we are ever to rid this country of serious crime and this scourge of gang violence,” Walton stated. “Although Kara will never see her son Marcus Ebanks again in this life, or Tammie see her 15-year-old son Adryan walk again, this at least brings some closure in the sense of justice served to the parents of the victims. This is all they had ever asked.”
Walton added that Adryan will, perhaps, never walk again as a result of the brutality. “Here was a 14-year-old boy in the prime of his life, ready to face life, and struck down in a hail of bullets just because he happened to be hanging out next door talking to his neighbours and friends at the wrong time,” he said, adding that Marcus Ebanks' son would never know his father.
“This verdict reflects the entirety of the evidence which was gathered by the police after a long and methodical investigation. Every officer on this case contributed to the success of this investigation. Finally, the prosecution team was first class, using all available evidence at its disposal,” Walton added.
The second gunman in the shooting, who was referred to in the trial as “Ozzie from Scranton”, has never been charged in connection with the case.
Two arrests for gang shooting
(CNS): Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the first of a series of what the police suspected were gang related killings last year. The men, aged 17 and 18, have been arrested and are currently detained in police custody on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the shooting death of 28-year-old Robert Mackford Bush (left) in West Bay on 13 September 2011. Police say the arrests took place during a large scale police operation in the West Bay earlier today, Thursday 23 February, in which a number of houses were searched and a quantity of ammunition was seized. In addition another man was arrested for threatening violence and a woman for possession of Ganja.
At the time of the murder, police said that Bush had been shot in the head while sitting in a blue Honda civic at around 11:20pm at the junction of Capt Joe and Osbert Road in the Birch Tree Hill area, in what was the first fatal shooting in twelve months. He had received at least one wound to the head and had died at the scene.
Emergency services, including the Uniform Support Group, were on the scene within five minutes of the call being received from a woman who was with Bush in the car when the victim was shot, and specially trained firearms dogs were deployed at the scene. The police said that the woman was treated in hospital for injuries sustained at the same time, but could not say if she had been shot as well.
Bush had been arrested and charged in July 2011 for an assault in connection with an incident that took place at a bar in Hell, West Bay, for which the victim had been bailed. His death triggered a spate of gun violence in what was thought to be tit-for-tat gang shootings. Within 8 days five young men were dead and a sixth seriously injured.
After Bush was gunned down Andrew Baptist and Preston Rivers were both shot and killed two and four days later respectively, also in West Bay. Jason Christian was shot dead as he sat in a white van in CranbrookDrive just off Crewe Road just two days after that. Keith Montague received multiple gunshot wounds but survived his injuries after flagging down a nearby police vehicle.
Then, in the early morning hours of Thursday, 22 Septemebr, police on patrol in East End found the slain body of Asher McGaw on John Mclean Drive. Police Commissioner David Baines said that athough this was probably a gang killing it was not directly connected to the West Bay feud between the Birch Tree Hill and Logswood gangs.
Police enquiries into Robert Bush’s murder are ongoing, an RCIPS spokesperson said.
Jamaica to introduce 5-year crime plan
(Jamaica Observer): A National Security Policy to tackle Jamaica’s ballooning crime rate with an intent to reduce murders from the current three per day to less than one over the next five years is to be made public next month, National Security Minister Peter Bunting announced yesterday. The announcement comes in the wake of police statistics which show that 165 persons have been murdered in the first seven weeks of this year, 30 more than the corresponding period last year. But according to Bunting, the plan is to reduce crime to first world levels by 2017. For this to be achieved, Bunting said, the murder rate will have to fall from the 41 per 100,000 ratio in 2011 to 12 per 100,000.
This, he added further, would result in the maximum number of murders being 321, which would be less than one per day.
"We are now slightly over three murders per day, which means we need to reduce murders by 134 per year over the next five years," Bunting told journalists at a special Jamaica House Press Briefing in Kingston.