Archive for April, 2012
Cayman sprinter breaks national record at ACC race
(CNS): Running in the 100m sprint at the ACC outdoor championships, Cayman Islands athlete Kemar Hyman won the gold medal in Virginia last week. The track star, who runs for Florida State University, crossed the line well ahead of the competition and recorded a time of 10:07, the third fastest time in the sprint for this year, beating his college team mate Maurice Mitchell into second place. Hyman’s victory was also a personal best and a new national record for the Cayman Islands. Hyman will represent Cayman in August at the London Olympics.
See Hyman’s winning race here
Obligation missing in vote law
(CNS): The opposition leader has accused the government of hijacking the referendum on one man, one vote (OMOV) as well as not actually making a commitment to the result. After receiving the draft bill for the referendum law, which will be presented to the Legislative Assembly when in returns next month, Alden McLaughlin said it provides no obligation on government to actually implement OMOV even if that is what the people vote for. The PPM leader also said it was highly unusual for government to launch an immediate attack on its own referendum and he intended to speak with the governor about the use of public funds to campaign against the principle of OMOV.
McLaughlin accused government of stacking the odds against its own question and said there were a number of issues with the bill, from the question itself to the failure of the government to make polling day a public holiday.
“There is a major problem that the government is campaigning against its own referendum question and using public funds to do so,” he said.
The question proposed on the draft bill, he noted, did not commit the government to implementing the actual system, even if the vote was an overwhelming ‘yes’. In addition, the bar was set as high as a people-initiated referendum, despite now being a government initiated vote.
“What the government has done in this case is hijack the people-initiated petition process, hijack the entire initiative and have taken it over," he said, adding that it was done so deliberately to ensure the government had control of the process, taking the “steam out of the petition”.
Government, he said, had announced the date and proposed the question but then immediately launched a “full frontal assault on their own question” under the guise of what they called an "education campaign".
He said the government campaign was designed to defeat the referendum question using public money. “That is highly inappropriate and we shall be taking steps to address this issue with the governor, the deputy governor and the Elections Office,” he said. “We cannot have the UDP using the office of government and the Treasury of government to campaign against a referendum question it has put forward, having taking the initiative away from the people.”
McLaughlin pointed out that a people’s initiated referendum (and the petition has now exceeded the necessary number to trigger that constitutional right) was an indication of a desire on the part of the people for the ballot and in such circumstances the government would take a neutral position or embark on an education campaign that would look at both sides, not one campaigning against the question that the people want asked and answered.
No confidence vote planned
(CNS): The opposition and independent member today called once again for the premier to step aside until the various police investigations surrounding him have concluded. Alden McLaughlin and Ezzard Miller said Monday that they want to see the premier resign by Thursday of this week, otherwise they will file a 'no confidence' motion in the Legislative Assembly on Friday, where they will demand to be able to debate the situation. The two men called on the UDP members to put the country first and ask Premier McKeeva Bush to step down until the police probes are concluded as the current situation was untenable.
In the face of a defiant position from the premier, who issued a statement on Sunday saying he would not resign as he’d done nothing wrong, the opposition leader said that in no democratic country he was aware of would this situation be allowed to continue.
McLaughlin was speaking at a PPM press briefing on Monday lunchtime called in the wake of revelations that the premier was the subject of three police investigations – two regarding financial irregularities and the third was in connection with a recent unlicensed shipment of dynamite.
But in the face of Bush’s reluctance to voluntarily do the right thing, the opposition leader called on the other members of government and UDP party members to ask him to step aside and elect another member to take up the post of premier.
“McKeeva Bush continuing in office as premier of the Cayman Islands is untenable,” McLaughlin said. “We call on all of the right thinking members of his administration and his party to exert whatever pressure is necessary on Mr Bush to have him do the right thing by the country. His continuing in office under the weight of these criminal investigations is not only a disservice to the country but it is doing actual harm to the reputation of this jurisdiction.”
He invited cabinet members and backbenchers to insist that he steps down and allows the deputy premier or whoever else to take the reins of office until the matters are concluded, and it need not be a constitutional crisis.
He said the PPM and Miller had drafted a lack of confidence motion ready to file on Friday if he did not step down. He said that just because government had the numbers did not mean the lack of confidence motion was futile as it was a free vote and the UDP members would need to search their conscience and ask themselves if they could continue to support him staying in office.
“We are going to prevail upon their right mindedness, their professed love of this country and their wish that the country is held by someone with integrity as a basis for breaking party line and voting with conscience.”
McLaughlin said they would be prevailing on the speaker of the Legislative Assembly to ensure that the motion was the first piece of business when the House returns on 9 May. If it was not, he said, the opposition would not participate in any of the proceedings until the motion was on the floor of the chamber.
McLaughlin stated that the options open to the opposition were quite limited and the 'no confidence' motion was one of the few they had. He felt the opposition had a duty to the country to use whatever mechanisms open to them to try and address the issue.
“We can’t just sit on our hands,” McLaughlin said, despite the challenges the opposition will face getting the motion to the Legislative Assembly. “We have got to do whatever it is that we believe is right to bring attention to this issue and to get the attention of all those who matter, including the FCO.”
Miller added that he intended to boycott the opening session of the Legislative Assembly on the day to show his disgust and he invited the public to join him in protest on that day.
The independent member said he believed that one of the main issues regarding the situation was that the premier clinging onto office was undermining the progress of the investigation.
“I don’t share the confidence that his supporters have that he will not attempt to interfere with the process. I believe the very nature of the premier, his modus operandi and the way he promotes fear and intimidation will in itself, for as long as he remains in office, be detrimental to the investigation.”
He said it was an international embarrassment for the country to have a premier under investigation for three separate matters and that the best and least risk to the constitution would be for the UDP to follow their own party constitution and elect a replacement for him among the party membership.
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Vote in CNS poll: In light of the revelations that Mckeeva Bush is the centre of 3 police-investigations should he step down as premier?
Former bank employee found guilty of $29k theft
(CNS): A George Town man and former employee of the Royal Bank of Canada was found guilty on Monday afternoon of stealing more than US$29,000 from a customer’s account when he forged the signatures of clients on documents. Erick Adam was convicted on two counts by a jury of four men and three women following a trial in which he was accused of creating a fictitious couple, whom he attempted to blame for the crime. The theft, which took place in September 2009, came to light when the account holders from whom Adam had stolen the cash came to the bank to look at their fixed term deposit account and discovered it was empty.
Adam, who is the son of Community Affairs Minister Mike Adam, was remanded in custody following the jury’s guilty verdict and has been scheduled for sentencing on 6 June.
The court heard during the trial in Grand Court last week that Adam, who was at the time a personal financial representative at the bank, was the one who had closed the account, ordered a bankers draft and cashed that draft on behalf of what the prosecution said was an invented couple. When Adam’s fraud came to light, the crown said he then claimed he was the victim of a scam and had mistakenly given money to a couple who had conned him.
The prosecution said Adam had planned and set up the theft a few days beforehand when he contacted a more senior member of staff to ask how he could close a fixed term account for a customer who wanted to come into the bank on the Monday and draw out their cash. On the Monday Adam then organised for a bankers draft for what the crown claimed was a fictitious customer and forged the signature of the real account holders’ daughter on the necessary paperwork.
When the real couple and holders of the account turned up to check on their money some eleven days later, Adam’s name was on the paperwork as the bank’s staff member who had closed the account. At that point the defendant had said it was time to alert the police as it was clear a fraud had taken place. Adam claimed he had made a major mistake as he had not photocopied the driver’s licence of the woman who had signed for and taken the money but he denied stealing the cash himself.
During the investigation Adam gave the police a description of the couple he said had taken the money and had offered to look at bank CCTV footage to identify them. However, it was discovered that there was no security camera footage for the day that the scam had taken place as there was something wrong with the CCTV.
As the investigation developed, the finger of suspicion turned on Adam as no one else in the bank had seen the couple and Adam appeared to have deliberately evaded the bank’s normal protocols in order to close the account, order a draft and then cash the draft, leading to the conclusion that it was him that had stolen the cash.
Divers rescued from rough waters by marine unit
(CNS): Two recreational divers who got into difficulties in rough waters off the coast of Sunset House were brought to safety by two RCIPS Marine Unit wave runners on Sunday evening. Police said that at around 5: 15pm the marine and air support units were informed that two divers were in distress in the water. When the helicopter arrived on scene the team saw a man and a woman on the sea surface in high waves. The marine unit launched the wave runners from the Lobster Pot dock and headed to their location where the divers taken aboard. They were then transported to South Sound where they were met by ambulance personnel and were found to be in good health and needed no further assistance.
RCIPS issued a reminder to everyone to act responsibly when engaging in recreational activities in the water,especially when there are signs or warnings of inclement weather.
Owner offers $1000 reward for missing fishing boat
(CNS) A 33ft boat was reportedly stolen from a dock in Mervin Street, Newlands at the weekend and the owner is offering a $1000 for its safe return. Brevon Elliott said that the boat, Risky Business, was stolen in the early hours of Saturday morning from its dock. He said the navy coloured vessel with a navy blue t-top and blue centre console has a light blue interior and has two 225hp Honda engines. Anyone with information about the stolen fishing boat is asked to contact the owner on 927-2655.
Raising money for charity in a ’roundabout’ way
(CNS Business): Island Heritage Insurance Company has promised to donate $1 to charity for every car that drives past their adopted roundabout on the Esterley-Tibbetts Highway during their three-day “CharityDrive” on 24, 25 and 26 April. For the three days of CharityDrive, the National Roads Authority will provide traffic sensor counters to accurately record the number of cars using the roundabout between the hours of 7am and 7pm each day. Every car will trigger a dollar donation by Island Heritage. By simply using the roundabout, CI$1 will be donated by Island Heritage on your behalf to the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme on Day 1, Meals on Wheels Cayman Islands on Day 2 and the Cayman Islands Humane Society on Day 3. Read more on CNS Business
Region faces epidemic of non-communicable disease
(CNS): With two out of three deaths of people younger than 70 resulting from a chronic disease the Cayman Islands health minister said the region is facing an epidemic. Mark Scotland said that in Cayman the issue of non-communicable disease was at the top of the national health agenda. As a result of questions in the national census the minister said the country knows that the top three diagnosed illnesses here are high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma. Speaking at the 57th Annual Caribbean Health and Research Council/Caribbean Public Health Agency (CHRC/CARPHA) Scientific Conference – held in Cayman last week he said research was essential to addressing the problem.
“Relevant, current and localized statistics is a key ingredient of successful national prevention and treatment programmes and as such we are also embarking – with the help of PAHO – on a national health risk factor survey,” Scotland said.
He said a pillar of creating effective public health initiatives was research and the conference programme had a strong focus on lifestyle diseases.
“By 2020 – a mere decade from now – non-communicable diseases will account for 60 percent of the global burden of disease. We all know that this will strain national health systems severely with significant negative economic and social consequences,” he warned.
Over 150 delegates attended the scientific research conference which Scotland said would contribute a great deal to pro-active public health initiatives which serves to improve the health of the region’s citizens exponentially.
The conference which closed Saturday included keynote lectures, satellite meetings hosted by professional medical societies and training workshops. CHRC has successfully hosted its annual research conference since 1956, assigning a different host nation every year. However, this year is historical as it is the first time that the meeting was hosted by the Cayman Islands.
See minister’s statement below
Sewage problem leaves hole in budget
(CNS): Government's failure to sell off the Water Authority’s sewerage treatment system as planned for this financial year will increase the deficit it is likely to face at the end of the fiscal year. Government had already announced an expected deficit for 2011/12 at a recent Finance Committee meeting but continued problems with the tendering for the sewerage has delayed the sale and means that the $20 million government was expecting to come from the sale will cause a hole in the budget. The governor said on Friday evening that there was little chance of the divestment being made before the end of this financial year.
The civil service will now be under greater pressure to cut public spending to plug the growing deficit, given that government cannot borrow further cash and must comply with the parameters of the Financial Framework Agreement the premier signed with the UK. The agreement and the UK minister have also pointed to the need for good governance.
“There is a very clear process set out on the divestment ofassets and the first stage would be a clear business plan,” Governor Duncan Taylor said about the sewage treatment sale, which has already been subject to a tendering process but which was stopped as a result of queries raised by ministry officials, the Water Authority Board and the Central Tenders Committee (CTC).
The governor implied at a press briefing on Friday evening that the divestment of that asset or the Water Authority in general would have to be re-tendered. He said that any divestment of public sector assets had to be conducted under a specific process. The UK does not object to the principle of the Cayman government selling assets to raise revenue when there is a business case but it had to be in line with the commitments made in the framework.
Taylor also stated that how government would fill the hole this created would be a matter for the premier. He said the deputy governor was looking very hard at ways to cut public sector spending.
The government has been planning to sell off the public sewerage system since it was elected but there have been a number of issues and allegations of problems and irregularities surrounding the bids.
According to minutes released under the FOI law, government was recently still putting pressure on the board to divest the sewerage before the end of this financial year. In his role as minister of finance, Mckeeva Bush had planned to raise close to $60 million from the sale of public assets in this financial year and the money from the Water Authority was earmarked for completing the school projects.
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Mac still denies wrong-doing
(CNS): As pressure mounted over the weekend for McKeeva Bush to resign in the wake of revelations that he is the subject of three police investigations, the Cayman Islands premier was defiant about the accusations and said he would not step down. In a statement released by the premier’s press secretary, Charles Glidden, Bush said he had done nothing wrong and knew nothing about the enquiries. “I have done nothing illegal, much to the disappointment of the opposition and those that see themselves as the premier, or as new government ministers,” he stated following a release from the RCIPS that said Bush was under investigation relating to an unlicensed shipment of dynamite and two enquiries were ongoing in regards to “financial irregularities.”
Bush said he had “no intention of resigning” and would “hold the course of continuing my government's efforts to restart the economy”. He said, “A key part of my job is to keep us on the course of financial responsibility, and to take back full sovereignty over all our financial affairs. That is what I was elected to do and what I will continue working towards.”
The statement said the premier was seeking legal advice in connection with the comments made by the police and Governor Duncan Taylor, who first revealed that Bush was at the heart of further probes other that the original investigation into the letter he allegedly sent to Texan developer Stan Thomas in 2004 demanding payment of $350,000 in connection with land rezoning.
Members of the United Democratic Party were expected to meet on Monday evening but sources close to the party hierarchy stated that whilethere may discontent about the premier staying in office, it was unlikely that there would be significant pressure from inside the UDP for him to step down.
However, the opposition was calling for Bush’s resignation in the wake of the weekend revelations. The PPM members and others stated that it was untenable for him to remain in office. Arden McLean said he must step aside until the matters are resolved before causing “irreparable harm to the image and reputation of this country” and deterring the investors he was purporting to attract.
The opposition has also denied being involved in any international conspiracy which Bush is now claiming is the reason for what he called the “baseless allegations” being made against him, which he believes have originated from civil servants in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
See statement released by the premier's press secretary below.
Vote in the CNS poll: In light of revelations that McKeeva Bush is at the centre of 3 police investigations, should he step down as premier?
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