Archive for May, 2012
CINICO to seek wider views on how it’s doing
(CNS): CINICO will begin an online anonymous survey among its member ship this month which officials say will give the government owned health insurance provider an idea of satisfaction levels among the membership. This is the second phase of a planned programme following the first phase of research work which was conducted with focus groups. The online survey is expected to gauge the thoughts and opinions of the wider civil service, statutory body employees and pensioners among the CINICO membership when they answer a more detailed the research is being undertaken by Tower Marketing CINICO DEO Lonny Tibbetts said the online survey will allow members the opportunity to have their voices heard.
“We at CINICO anticipate that the responses will provide us with a valuable insight into how we can improve and streamline our organisation to ensure that our members get the best possible service,” he said. He assured members that the survey is completely confidential and eligible CINICO members must use their member ID on their CarePay swipe cards to access the survey.
Neither CINICO, nor Tower Marketing will know who the survey belongs to, as all data collection and analysis is being conducted off-island by Tower Marketing’s independent market research partner. This research is completely independent of CINICO or any part of the Cayman Islands Civil Service or the Cayman Islands Government.
“We urge every eligible CINICO member to complete the study,” Tibbetts said. “The higher the volume of responses, the more accurate the information. This will eventually lead to a better level of service for all members, which, of course, is our ultimate goal.”
The survey will be distributed via email to all civil servants who can complete it in the office or at home. In order to give all members the opportunity to take this survey, Tower Marketing will also be setting up a computer kiosk at various government locations from 22 May – 6 June.
Staff members will be on hand to assist if there are any questions, as well as pass out paper copies, if needed. There will also be opportunities at public libraries to complete the survey online using the computer stations available (visit the library information desk for details).
As an added incentive to complete the survey, two free iPads will be given away to the lucky winners drawn from all entrants. To view the schedule of various locations to complete the survey, visit www.cinico.ky for more details.
Rain closes schools Tuesday
(CNS): Updated with private school information — All government primary and secondary schools on Grand Cayman will be closed Tuesday due to severe flooding. However, students sitting their CXC History examination at CHHS and John Gray are to report to the John Gray High School Hall tomorrow as planned. Cayman Brac schools will remain open. Many private schools are also closed today and while UCCI remains open ICCI is closed and reviewing this evenings' classes. Police have confirmed that Agnes Way is closed in George Town. More than eight inches of rain fell on Grand Cayman on the Discovery Day holiday and further heavy rains were forecast for Tuesday. The Red Cross Shelter is open for residents flooded out in need of temporary shelter.
Private school closures include Cayman Prep and HighSchool (except for students taking external exams), Hope Academy, Grace Christian Academy, First Baptist School, Cayman International School, Montessori By The Sea, Miss Nadine's and Triple C School. Private schools and nurseries not listed may also be closed. Parents are encouraged to check with their respective schools for further details. Unless otherwise advised, private schools are expected to re-open on Wednesday, 23 May, according to the Private School Association.
The Department of Children and Family Services said some families from the George Town area have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding. The Red Cross Shelter is open for any other residents who may be experiencing similar issues. Anyone intending to stay at the shelter is encouraged to bring food, a sleeping bag and personal items, such as medications and toiletries. For further information contact Lynda Mitchell on 925 5346
Weather services issued a small craft warning as weather forecasters called for further rain and flooding in low lying areas.
Officials said the NRA was working to clear drains and free roadways flooded from the heavy rain and the public was asked to exercise caution when driving.
The heavy downpour came on the public holiday, usually marked as a day of national preparedness ahead of the start of the hurricane season, and showed how inclement weather can cause hazards at any time.
The persistent rain made driving conditions treacherous as main roads across Grand Cayman were covered with deep surface water. Flights into Grand Cayman were impacted Monday as a result of low visibility, with delays expected.
The Humane Society issued an SOS for volunteers and foster homes for the dogs and cats, as well as sandbags in the face of severe flooding at the kennels.
Woe is me
CNS' recent opinion piece which focuses on the role of Dart Management's vulture fund in Greece and the implications for Dart's activities in the Cayman Islands was a valuable commentary but only for what it revealed in the blogs that followed. The article itself carried some major flaws and certainly smacks of the entitlement/woe is me culture that encourages people to find someone else to blame for their standard of living.
Regretfully, there is this overwhelming need among many to always conclude that if someone and in particular a business person or investor is making a profit then they surely must be inflicting harm on others to get that result.
It's a common folly for this group that when everything else fails or frankly luck runs against them, they can always find some reason and ideally someone to blame for their "woes".
This cultural position basically says that Dart for example, is doing no more than to inflict harm on the Cayman Islands on his way to yet further profits. It's the kind of thinking and lack of understanding of how the real world operates that continues to serve as one of the major stumbling blocks towards an improved standard of living for too many people.
And anyone who dares raise this issue is quickly thrown into the ugly basket of evil persons who want nothing but to become more wealthy while refusing to give some of their hard earned wealth to the "needy".
Seriously?
Most investors are risk takers. Little is known of the failures of entrepreneurs globally or locally. When they take a risk, some of us assume that "they can afford to do so". Truth is very often they cannot, but their appetite for risk is greater than the average person. They can, and often do, lose their shirts on deals more times than one imagines. But ironically, it is this very risk taking/entrepreneurialnature that drives the local and global economy.
When they gain, we then say they must have hurt people in the process and are doing nothing or not enough (by our own self serving standards) for the country/community.
This hugely flawed position stems partially from a comparison of the magnitude of profits reaped by the investor against what that investor gives back to the community.
If a business donates say an average of 1 million each year to charitable causes and employs 300 to 400 Caymanians, the absolute size of its profits, assuming this is substantial, should not water down the true impact of that contribution to the community and employment. The fact that the investor may incur a profit of 100 million does not all of a sudden mean that those 300 jobs are not important, or that the millions donated to charitable causes has not helped literally hundreds of needy persons within the community.
And neither does it matter if said investor did this "out of the kindness of his heart" or as a result of pressure to be a good corporate citizen. All that matters is whether the investment was carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner, within the laws and if it has been of benefit to the country or community in question.
The CNS viewpoint on Dart's vulture fund not only encouraged this type of "woe is me and people that make money are obviously harming others" thinking, but it also made a huge leap in logic in implying that we must now also be cautious of Dart's investment in this country.
Dart has not loaned money to this country, which is essentially what the organisation did indirectly in Greece and Argentina.
Instead its investment is what's regarded and welcomed as 'real investment' in the Cayman Islands, bricks and mortar type stuff which lead to true employment of hundreds of individuals who get real salaries and purchase physical goods or services in the country.
And yet I heard someone say a few months ago on a local talk show: "If Dart cared so much about this country, why then doesn't he just give some of his wealth to the country. He has made enough money; he doesn't need to make anymore."
There is so much wrong with that way of thinking that there is not enough space here to elaborate further.
However, one thing worth considering is the impact of this way of thinking on the youth of the Cayman Islands.
We teach the youth to pursue an education and that this is essential to a successful career path, and that they should try to enjoy what they do for a living. At the same time they are brought up a country where there is a prevalent culture of pointing at the expat, foreign or investor as their glass ceiling, the reason for a lack of opportunity. There is no denying that some of these so-styled glass ceiling issues exist, but the extent of this blame game is sold at such an incredibly ludicrous level to the youth that there is little point arming them with a good education when their minds and attitudes have been so severely poisoned with this nonsense.
It's time promote the true realities: that the Cayman Islands are part of a global and competitive economy, that the really great opportunities are there only for those who work both hard and smart, that if our youth are not prepared to survive globally they will certainly not survive locally (because global standards are already here and in practice), and that most of these 'bogeyman investors' that mean no good to our country are just law abiding entrepreneurs seeking the highest possible reward for the risks that they take.
There seems to be an increasing culture of blaming everyone else, and if Caymanians continue to swim in this "woe is me culture" they will most certainly never secure the control over this economy that they desire.
Cuban men turn up at centre
(CNS): The two Cuban men who had escaped from the immigration detention centre in George Town over the weekend returned voluntarily, officials confirmed Tuesday. Four men had escaped over the weekend but two were captured in George Town at the waterfront by RCIPS officers on Saturday evening. Two other men remained on the run for another two days before they returned to the centre on Monday evening. Officials said that Angel Manuel Ramos Quiala and Yoandris Lahera Alvarez were both in secure custody along with the other refugees who were picked up in Cayman Brac last month.
The men were part of the group of 28 Cubans, which included one woman, who were aboard a relatively small vessel which landed off the coast of CaymanBrac on Wednesday, 18 April.
Man drowns off 7MB
(CNS): Updated — The RCIPS has now named the man who drowned Sunday afternoon after jumping from a boat off Seven Mile Beach. Police said that the body of 43-year-old Stephen David Kinch of Canada was recovered at about 5:20pm from the ocean floor in about forty-five feet of water by divers of the RCIPS’ Marine Unit. Kinch was transported to the South Terminal dock at George Town, from where he was taken by ambulance to the George Town hospital. At about 3:13pm the 911 emergency centre received a telephone call from a man reporting that his friend had jumped into the ocean from the boat they were both aboard and had not resurfaced.
The men were aboard a 19-foot boat between Calico Jacks and the Great House. The marine units and Xray 1 were dispatched to the area where the victim had gone into the water.
Police are continuing their investigation into the tragedy.
First tropical storm forms two weeks ahead of season
(CNS): The National Hurricane Centre in Miami announced the first tropical storm of the 21012 Atlantic Hurricane Season on Saturday afternoon with the emergence of tropical storm Alberto off the coast of South Carolina. At 4pm local time the NHC said that the storm was packing winds of 45mph with higher gusts about 140 miles east-south –east of Charleston. The storm is moving southwest at a leisurely 3mph with tropical winds extending up to 45 miles. The NHC said it expected to issue a tropical storm watch for the Carolinas tonight. Some strengthening of the storm was also predicted over the next day or so.
Forecasters said its slow south-westward motion was expected to continue through Sunday before a turn toward to the west-northwest and then toward the north and northeast by Monday.
Although the storm poses no threat to the Cayman Islands it comes two weeks before the official start of the 1 June 2012 hurricane season and ahead of warning s from local experts to residents to begin their preparations. Monday’s Discovery day holiday is also national preparedness day and the public is being urged to ensure they are ready for this year’s hurricane season
Governor denies conspiracy
(CNS): The Cayman Islands’ governor has said he is disappointed that relations between him and the premier have broken down and denied the conspiracy theories thrown around by McKeeva Bush. Duncan Taylor also revealed Friday in a televised interview that the UK minister had made it clear to Bush that the FCO was not trying to undermine the Cayman Islands but that it was merely concerned about good governance. The governor said the constitution did not require the premier to step down from office while under police investigation but added that it was a matter for the premier himself to decide.
Speaking to Cayman27 following his return from a conference in London, Taylor denied any conspiracy at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and said he was saddened by the state of affairs as there was no foundation in the premier’s suggestions.
Two weeks ago Bush issued a statement accusing the governor of “stealthily and insidiously” undermining his efforts to get the Cayman economy off the ground. The premier had also previously suggested that the three police probes into him regarding the Stan Thomas land deal, his role in the illegal importation of dynamite and an as yet undisclosed further financial irregularity were nothing more than a UK conspiracy to get him out of office and undermine Cayman.
Taylor said there was however no truth to the premier’s accusations.
“The minister for overseas territories, Henry Bellingham, has also told the premier that there is no truth whatsoever in those allegations,” he said. Taylor added he had also told the premier he had made no judgements about him regarding the investigations.
“There are no charges yet but I have also told him that if serious allegations are made I expect the commissioner of police to carry out that investigation properly and thoroughly,” he said. Taylor said neither he nor the FCO took a view about the need for the premier to step aside as it was not a constitutional requirement but a matter for him.
Taylor said he did not think the situation in Cayman was considered by the FCO to have reached an impasse or a level of seriousness to cause real concern but there were difficulties that had to be worked through.
The governor also denied that his office had tried to stop the progress of the Dr Devi Shetty health city project and said he was supportive of that potential development.
“I made it clear from the outset that this is a project with tremendous potential for the Cayman Islands,” he said. Taylor believed Bush’s allegations about him not supporting it came from the fact that Taylor had recommended that government carry out a proper independent impact assessment on the proposal before agreeing to go ahead. The governor said this was not a matter of bureaucratic harassment but good governance.
“Having good governance in place and following and practicing that good governance is actually an essential underpinning for a successful economy … In the long term, if you don’t have good governance in place then the economy is under threat,” Taylor said.
Speaking about the proposed cruise port development project in George Town, however, Taylor implied that the UK did have concerns about that particular project and to get the FCO’s support things would have to change.
Although Bush has said he intends to go ahead with the deal with the Chineseand that the port will not need to be re-tendered, Taylor made it clear that, as things were, this was not a deal which had the backing of the UK. “To get that support the project would need to be put back in line with minimum international best practice standards," he added.
See Cayman 27 video here
Committee urges patriotic display
(CNS): A local committee which is organising this summer’s events to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is asking people to fly the Union Jack as well as the Cayman Islands flag outside homes and business over the next few weeks leading up to the June celebrations. The committee is also encouraging business-owners and residents to decorate their offices and properties. “We hope this patriotic act will imprint in peoples’ minds that the Cayman Islands is proud of its monarch, and that we are honoured to be a part of this historic occasion,” said Mary Lawrence, who is the LA Speaker and chair of the committee.
The local schedule of Diamond Jubilee events includes a Cayman Islands Olympic Committee (CIOC) Fundraising Luncheon on Saturday 2 June, as well as an early evening flotilla in Hog Sty Bay, followed by fireworks. On 2 and 3 June celebratory services and lunches will take place at churches throughout these Islands.
On the holiday Monday, 4 June, there will be a ceremonial parade around Heroes Square at 10:00a.m., followed by an international celebration of cultures, including food and music. Cayman Brac’s Monday events will take place at the Agricultural Showgrounds.
Special celebrations will continue through year-end, including a New Year’s Eve ball.
Other events will include the issue of commemorative limited edition coins, stamps and other memorabilia.
The Jubilee commemorates the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II ascending the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. Local celebrations will begin with a torch run and an official public launch at Pedro St. James next Saturday (26 May), and will continue through June 5.
“Connecting Cultures” is the theme for the Jubilee festivities throughout the Commonwealth.
For more information, visit: www.Facebook.com/CaymanIslandsProtocol; Twitter.com/CaymanProtocol; call 949-9809, email CINA@gov.ky; or visit the UK’s official website: www.TheDiamondJubilee.org.
Student scientests to show off experiments
(CNS): The islands’ young scientists will be sparking up the Bunsen Burners and rattling the test tubs this weekend when Rotary Central’s annual Science Fair, opens at the Arts and Recreation Centre at Cayman International School. Now in its sixth year the show which has continued to grow has reached an all-time high this year with 85 students participating. The youngsters will be demonstrating a variety of research work and executing what are expected to be some exciting experiments. Rotary Central President, Fiona Mosley said, “We are truly excited to see student numbers continue to grow and we are looking forward to seeing the various presentations this year,” she said.
“The Science Fair is a real boost for the students who take part, and gives them an opportunity to develop their research skills and explore the practical applications of what they learn in the classroom – we have seen some really cool and interesting experiments over the years. We are looking forward to this year’s event and encourage everyone to come along,” she adds.
The 2012 Science Fair will take place on Saturday 26th May, from 10am to 3pm, at the Arts and Recreation Centre at Cayman International School. The event is open to the public and admission is free. The students compete for cash towards their tertiary educations as well as other prizes.
This year’s line-up of sponsors include Dart as the Major Sponsor along with fellow supporters HSBC, LIME, Maples, Ministry of Education, Training and Employment, Greenlight Re, Kirk Office Equipment, ElectraTech, Tower Marketing, Cayman Water and Water Authority.
Public urged to take stock and prepare early
(CNS): With Tropical Storm Aletta already kicking off the hurricane season west of Mexico’s coast for the Pacific area residents here in Cayman are reminded that Mother Nature doesn’t watch calendars or listen to predictions. Although long term forecasters have predicted lower than average storm activity the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season local officials are warning residents not to let their guard down. HMCI is encouraging residents to take stock of their current level of readiness, and review and update their family plan this weekend as the island marks national preparedness day on Monday’s Discovery Day holiday.
The team said this was a sensible time to restock first aid kits and supplies of non-perishable food, check shutters and trim back trees as well as testing emergency equipment such as generators and flashlights.
“Decide where you will store your car during a hurricane and factor into your action plan the time to move it to higher ground,” officials said Friday. “Check insurance policies to ensure they are current and that flood damage is included in your policy.”
They pointed out that waiting until a hurricane is on your doorstep to buy emergency supplies is too late as they will be in short supply or even completely unavailable.
“Following a major impact, it is possible that it will be days or weeks before electricity and other utilities are restored. Debris could block the roads, preventing vehicles from getting in our out of your neighbourhood. It is important be ready to be completely self-sufficient during that period. Help might not be able to reach you for days after a storm, so you need to plan for that,” officials reminded residents.
The Hazard Management team recommends people stock up with the most critical supplies to have on hand, well before a hurricane threatens which includes at least a 3-day and preferably a 7-day supply of water (one gallon per person per day); non-perishable food; manual can opener; first aid kit; Battery-powered radios and flashlights, as well as plenty of batteries.
As is traditional Cox Lumber Ltd, Progressive Distributors Ltd, Kirk Home Centre, Uncle Bill’s Home Improvement Centre and A.L. Thompson’s will be supporting the National Day of Preparedness on Monday.
Each company has put together disaster preparedness kits as a prize for a local resident and the stores will be hosting HMCI staff to engage the public and to distribute disaster information kits and hazard brochures. This year five lucky winners will receive disaster preparedness kits, courtesy of Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) and the participating stores.