Archive for May, 2012
Police tackle oil spill in downtown George Town
(CNS): Officers from the RCIPS are currently dealing with an oil spill on the road near to Harbour Drive and Sheddon Road to Eastern Avenue and North Church Street in down town George Town. Police are asking motorists to avoid using these roads until further notice as emergency services deal with the situation. Check back to CNS for more details later.
Bush calls for fiscal prudence at bank meeting
(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier talked about the need for fiscal responsibility in his closing remarks at the Caribbean Development Bank meeting last week. McKeeva Bush said that member countries had to be responsible for developing, enacting and updating sound fiscal policies. He said that Cayman has received some press coverage about its fiscal policies but questioned whether it was “good criticism” or “news of what people in authority can represent, or misrepresent”. Bush asked, “Should we, or any other government, cry foul to criticism?” He also said that people across the region must be responsible for their own well-being, for the decisions they make that affect their communities and for the wise upbringing of their children.
The CDB must be responsible in its development practices and exercise prudent compassion for the collective good of the people of the region, the premier said. Speaking about the work of the meeting he said, “We will be judged for the critical thinking we applied to the challenges and opportunities set upon us by the global economy and supranational bodies, and by our own internal processes and norms.”
Bush described the Caribbean as a global asset. “Anywhere in the world we go, we find our Caribbean people – we have lent our talent to the world, in every sphere of life," he said.
“Through respectful and clear-minded support of each other, we will more firmly take our place in global economics. We cannot ever fail to fully engage with the world; indeed, if we do not engage the world, we cannot hope to thrive.”
See Bush’s full speech below.
Television station releases armed robbery footage
(CNS): It took the three masked men who held up the television centre last Thursday just a few seconds to clear out the cash drawer in the WestStar customer service department on Thursday during an armed heist. The CCTV footage released by Cayman 27 shows the men coming into the office and a customer getting down on the ground as one of the robbers pointed a gun at him. A second customer is pushed out of the way. Two of the men are brandishing weapons, while a third man, wearing blue surgical type gloves and dressed in a camouflage jacket, pushes cash into a yellow bag. The robbers left in a waiting getaway car parked outside the station.
Although police made several arrests following the robbery, all of those suspects were eliminated from the enquiry. The heist, conducted in broad daylight, came just three weeks after masked armed men held up the George Town branch of Scotia Bank on Thursday 3 May.
Police statistics reported a significant decline in the first quarter of 2012 in robberies when compared to 2011. So far this year there have been ten armed robberies in the Cayman Islands.
See video footage here.
Miller calls for consequences
(CNS): The revelations in two reports published by the auditor general of mismanagement and abuse of funds must result in some sanctions, the member for North Side has said. Ezzard Miller told CNS that he did not believe the revelations about paving of private parking lots in Cayman Brac and massive mismanagement can be constantly written off as mere incompetence. He said that the public interest report into the Brac paving revealed clear abuse of public funds and there must be consequences which should be faced by the minister, the chief officer and possibly even the National Roads Authority (NRA) director. He also said that there had to be accountability on the CINICO report as well.
“Just saying this is incompetence is not enough. These people are supposed to be employed and paid because of their competence,” Miller said.
The independent member also said he believed the auditor general should have passed the report on the Brac paving fiasco to the police or even straight to the director of public prosecutions or at the very least the Anti-corruption Commission because he believed a crime had been committed as it was a misappropriation of public funds.
“We simply cannot have this. The money was voted to the NRA to be spent on public roads. How can this be allowed to happen?” the MLA asked. “In my view this amounts to corruption.”
He said it was curious that the ministry had implied the funds for paving the Brac had come from its budget and that also needed to be explained
Miller said that several home-owners in his constituency of North Side and in other parts of Grand Cayman are without access roads to their property because government has failed to properly gazette roads. As a result requests to pave those roads, despite the fact that they should be public highways, have constantly been denied by the ministry and the NRA because, Miller revealed, the authority is defining them as private roads.
“We have even suggested that government recoup the cost of paving these roads through a surcharge but they have not even answered me," he said. “Yet half a million dollars has been spent paving private parking lots and driveways in the Brac.”
Miller also noted that in the face of this expenditure in the Sister Islands on private lots government has failed to find the money to pave the road to Rum Point even though it is a major tourist road.
Ryan signs deal in Vietnam
(CNS): Speculation that the developer of the Ritz Carlton – Cayman may have turned his attention from the Cayman Islands since losing control of the hotel and a number of related companies was fuelled after Michael Ryan signed an MOU with the Vietnamese government. According to media reports in that country, Ryan, who denies now having responsibility for $6.5 million owed to the Cayman government regarding duty waivers, has signed a deal to develop a hotel similar to the Ritz Carlton in Ninh Thuan in the country’s south-central coast. Describing the developer as "a billionaire", the local press reported that the agreement would lead to the development of tourism in the area.
Ryan was cited as still being the owner of the five star Ritz hotel in Cayman, although legal action by Ryan’s creditors earlier this year saw the developer lose control of the hotel and several companies that were formed in order to develop it.
Ryan received a duty waiver for the five star hotel in excess of $10 million until the hotel opened. In 2006 Ryan began paying back the debt to the public purse but following the election of the current government the quarterly payments stopped, with over $6.5 million still owing.
Recently, in the face of the mounting legal action against him, Ryan denied having responsibility for that debt.
The owner of land behind the Ritz Carlton at Safe Haven, Ryan had plans for a mixed-used tourism development called Dragon Bay but had indicated that, given the legal difficulties he now faced, that development was in jeopardy. However, Ryan recently met with local boat operators and asked them to move their boats from the marina on the property, indicating that the developer had plans to begin dredging there, though it isnot clear whether this was to gain access to fill, to sell or for use on the planned Dragon Bay development.
CNS contacted Ryan earlier this month to find out what plans he had for the replenishment of the mangroves on the planned Dragon Bay site, since the developer had removed some 378,000sq ft of protective buffer to prepare for the proposed resort, however , the developer has not returned calls or answered emails.
According to the Vietnamese press, the government there is depending on Ryan and other foreign investors to kick-start tourism there, officials said.
“This is the first time such big American investors have come to Ninh Thuan to sound out tourism potentials and sign MOUs with the local government,” Ho Si Son, vice director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.
“Given the small number of tourism investors and the inactiveness of a number of registered schemes, we are trying to appeal to large investors who are strong enough to realize the projects,” Son added.
See related stories
Leadership reboot needed
There are 15 elected representatives in the Legislative Assembly in the Cayman Islands, earning total salaries of approximately CI$1.9 million per year. They were elected on the basis that they would use their incredible power and influence over the country's laws, policies and the indirect influence over the civil service to improve the standard of living of all residents in this country. They are also especially accountable politically to Caymanians.
These men and lady are presented to us as representing two political parties with the exception of the independent member from North Side.
From a policy/philosophical perspective it is near impossible to find any useful distinction between these two groups. At this stage all we know or candeduce as amateurs on the outside is the following: one uses the colours green and blue, seems to be slightly more into doing things to get the economy moving, seems susceptible to attracting allegations of corrupt practices (particularly at the very top), and has a chaotic/autocratic leadership style fused with lack of statesmanship most of the time.
The other group uses the colours red and blue, is responsible for one of the worse displays of financial mismanagement in the country's history in their last term in office, has a reputation for leading too passively, is notorious for its anti foreigner rhetoric, has respect for good governance, is not susceptible to allegations of corrupt practices and generally seems to conduct itself in a more respectable and statesmanlike manner.
The problem is that not much in the above (aside from the corruption susceptibility and statesmanship issue) gives us any compelling reason to choose one group over the other. Unfortunately it gets worse; there is certainly nothing in the differences mentioned above that indicates which group is capable of improving the current local economic situation in which the country finds itself.
The brief history goes something like this: the Red Team were swept into power largely on the basis that the Green Team were alleged to be corrupt based on media reports and the fact that the Green Team granted Cayman status to approximately 3,000 persons. All this played perfectly well into the hands of the Red Team, who are of course overly protectionist and certainly seem to be much better at good governance and diplomacy.
Unfortunately when given the opportunity, the Red Team also did nothing for the economy, spewing out lots of anti foreigner sentiments along the way, essentially screwed up public finances, and did not produce a single set of financial statements during their four years in office.
In 2009 the Green Team were swept back into office, rightly pointing out the Red Team's deficiencies during their campaign, and promising to set things right.
It's been 3 years. And we are all still waiting for the fix to occur. Aside from the initial flurry in its first 9 or 10 months in office where, to its credit, the current government stabilized the financial fallout, it has done next to nothing to address the many issues that this country is facing. And worse, along the way it has managed to put itself (yes, you guessed it) right back into that "alleged corruption" space that it always seems to gravitate towards.
So where does that leave us?
While the so-called parties have not presented us with any meaningful ways to choose between them, we at least now know a bit more about their capabilities as a group from recent years. We do know that the Cayman Islands has not improved much over the past 11 years. We know that neither group wishes to truly look into the causes of our many social and economic problems. And it is also clear that neither group can avoid the temptation of distracting themselves (and us) with silly politics aimed only at maintaining their jobs at the next election and subjecting us to that CI$1.9 million salary bill that none of us can afford but are forced to pay nonetheless.
So we may not be any better off but at least we have got a bit wiser along the way. The upcoming 2013 election campaign will be swamped with red and green shirts, fridges, stoves, a little cash here and there (on the QT) and lots of promises. But what this country needs are individuals who genuinely can demonstrate that they understand the issues this country is facing and in no uncertain terms that they have solutions to address those issues. Anything less and the potential candidates are seeking only to steal upwards of CI$2.2 million dollars in wages from the people of this country (taking into account the three additional seats to come in 2013).
That is the standard by which we must hold them. We must ask them what they are going to do, why and how. If they don't wish to engage us with this brand of politics, accountability and style of discourse, we must continue to look for anyone, political party or not, who fits the bill. And if we don't like the answers they give we should move on to the next candidate.
The situation in this country at this stage is far too serious to entertain this red and green team game. We must forget not only the colour shirts borne by each party, but we must also avoid sticking our friends and family into these "party groupings", which is a practice that is slowly destroying our small community.
In the end, if we are not careful, the soon to be 18 representatives will gain a nice fat salary check and our lives will only continue to get worse. Of course, we can all turn to the blogs and each other to vent when that happens, but that won't address any of our issues.
It's time for a leadership change. A change that gets us at least closer to a group of leaders that want to do things properly, crafting solutions based on the best information and analysis, taking the tough decisions when they are the right ones for the country, conducting themselves like leaders of a country that is seen to be sophisticated (and not like a banana republic), and taking us into a new era to rebuild this country. Let's make this group of individuals the best we can, irrespective of their party affiliations. We control the ballot so this is definitely our choice, not theirs.
Teen denies possession of illegal ammunition
(CNS): A West Bay teenager was remanded in custody Friday after he pleaded not guilty in Grand Court to charges of possession of unlicensed ammunition. Seventeen-year-old David Ebanks is now set to face trial on 13 August. The crown says that Ebanks was arrested by the police after three rounds of shotgun ammunition were found in his possession at a home in Cinder Lane, West Bay, in February of this year. Rohan Fearon also pleaded not guilty to charges that he assaulted another man outside a George Town bar last year with a baseball bat.
in a busy morning in Grand Court on Friday, Fearon denied the assault, which police say took place at Tropic Bar on Sheddon Road in August 2011, so he will now face trial in January next year. The accused man was released on bail after Justice Williams varied his bail conditions to include a no-contact order with the complainant when the judge noticed that this had not been a condition of bail originally.
Throughout the morning Justice Williams imposed the same order on a number of other defendants as he found that even in assault cases the condition was not being routinely applied as it should be.
During Friday’s court proceedings Solomon Webster also pleaded not guilty to stealing a $120 tape recorder and a fire extinguisher from an apartment in North West Point road in West Bay. Webster‘s two-day trial was set for January of next year after he denied the charges.
Meanwhile, taking on his first legal aid client since being called to the bar earlier this month, former tourism minister and MLA for Bodden Town, Charles Clifford, finally managed to break the impasse that has been surrounding the case against Shane Connor who is facing charges of rape. Connor had experienced numerous difficulties with legal representation but Clifford was able to secure a trial date for his client, who has been refused bail, in November this year.
Man killed in truck crash
CNS): Update Monday 1:00pm — Police have now named the young man who died following a road crash in South Sound early Saturday morning. He was 21-year-old Corey Seymour from Prospect, who was driving one of the vehicles. Shortly before 4:30am on Saturday 26 May, police received a report that two Chevrolet Silverado trucks had collided close to the San Sebastian complex on South Sound Road. Both vehicles had been travelling towards George Town when the crash took place. A male passenger in Symour's truck was treated for minor injuries at the Cayman Islands Hospital. The driver of the other truck and one of his passengers were also conveyed to the Cayman Islands Hospital.
The passenger was released from hospital following treatment, but the driver, who was suffering from serious injuries, has since been airlifted to the US. The second passenger in that vehicle was not injured in the crash.
Police temporarily closed the road from the junction of Walkers Rd/ South Sound Rd. and the Junction of Crewe Road/ South Sound Road but reopened it at around 11am.
Corey Seymour is the third person to die on Cayman’s roads this year.
Anyone who may have witnessed the accident or has information is asked to call George Town Police station on 949-4222.
Police urged to attend association conference
(CNS): The Police Association is urging all its members to attend a day-long conference and training seminar which will be held on Thursday the 31 May at the Reliable Industries Conference Centre from ten in the morning until five in the afternoon. The event will cover a wide range of issues affecting serving police officers from human rights issues and balancing work and family life to managing personal finance and managing stress as well as learning more about what the Police Association can do for the welfare of its members.
For more information on the event contact Detective Sergeant Winsome Prendergast on 649-4222 ext 6411
See programme below
Armed robbers on CCTV
(CNS): Three people arrested yesterday following an armed robbery at the WestStar TV have all since been eliminated from the enquiry. However, police have now released photographs of two of the suspects (see below). Shortly before 3pm on Thursday, 24 May, three masked men, two of whom were armed with what appeared to be firearms, entered the Television Centre offices in Eclipse Drive, George Town, police said. The men threatened staff and customers before making off with a sum of cash. No shots were fired during the robbery and no staff or customers were injured. The suspects then entered a getaway vehicle (shown left), which was parked outside the front door with a waiting driver.
They then drove off towards Eastern Avenue. A short time later police found an abandoned car in School Road and are confident this was the vehicle used in the robbery.
The car is a wine coloured Mitsubishi RVR and displayed the license plates 101878.
One suspect was 5’8”, stocky build and of a light brown complexion, wearing a navy coloured baseball cap, a black or navy bandana covering his face, a black or navy long sleeved sweatshirt with a grey or white sweatshirt underneath.
The second armed robber was approximately 5’11’ wearing a camouflage baseball cap with a dark coloured patterned bandana covering his face, a camouflage jacket.
The third suspect was approximately 5’6” with a light brown complexion wearing a black jacket, a white baseball cap with a white cover over the top and black gloves.
The male getaway driver is described as large build, wearing a light coloured long sleeved shirt.
The police are appealing to anyone who may have been in the areas of Eclipse Drive, Eastern Avenue or School Road who may have seen the suspects or the getaway vehicle to make contact with them.
Furthermore anyone with any information on the whereabouts of the car prior to this incident taking place is encouraged to come forward.
Information can be passed to the Drugs and Serious Crimes Task Force on 949-4222, the RCIPS tip-line 949-7777 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477(TIPS).
Pictures in larger format attached below.