Archive for June, 2012
Dump truck smash closes road
(CNS): A major collision on the West Bay Road between a mini bus and a dump truck loaded with fill caused traffic diversions this morning(Friday 8 June) as police closed the road. The crash occurred just outside Calico Jacks at around 10:15am when the two vehicles, which both appeared to be heading north, collided. A police spokesperson said no one was seriously injured in the crash but enquiries into how the collision happened are now ongoing. It is not known if the bus was carrying passengers at the time of the smash. Police re-opened the West Bay Road just before noon.
$¼ million for Little Cayman command centre
(CNS): The deputy premier’s ministry is building a $250,000 command centre on Little Cayman to use in the event of a hurricane or other disaster. The 1,254 square-foot addition to a government building on Spot Bay Road, which is used to house public works staff and doubles as an emergency shelter, “will provide officials with adequate privacy and ample storage for shelter supplies, an office for the command leaders, and a central command room for interactive decision making,” a release from the ministry said. The windows, doors, walls and roof of the new facility will be hurricane safety-rated and the building floor will be constructed 22 feet above sea level, one of the highest points on the western side of the island.
A back-up generator will provide electrical supply if there is a power outage, according to the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture (DAWL&A). Work is expected to start in June and will take around four months to complete, the ministry said following the groundbreaking for the extension on Wednesday, 29 May.
The expansion project contract was awarded to James Thomas of Maximum Construction and Repair Company, which submitted the winning bid of $250,550. The original estimate for the project by the ministry was below $250,000 – the threshold for tenders to go through the Central Tenders Committee – and the tendering was done through the ministry. However, when it appeared the bids were all above this figure, the CTC then stepped in to oversee the tendering process, the CTC said.
“The Cayman Islands Governments takes hurricane preparedness and the protection of its citizens and residents very serious,” said Deputy Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who is the minister responsible for District Administration. “Little Cayman residents called for the expansion because the current facility is not big enough to accommodate a proper command centre in the event of a national emergency. I am sure that having a purpose-built command room will be a huge resource in the event of a natural disaster."
The current Little Cayman Command Centre is a multi-purpose building that was initially set up to house Public Works workers that come over to the island to work on various projects for short periods of time. There does not appear to be any additional function intended for the command centre now under construction.
Chief Officer Alan Jones said, “It is essential that we have proper facilities to cope during a national crisis. We are always striving to improve performance, safety and access to the latest technology, while reducing costs.”
OMOV campaigners boosted by Chamber support
(CNS): Even though the odds are against next month's referendum on one, man one vote (OMOV) and single member constituencies returning a majority 'yes' vote, the campaigners are not giving up and have launched into a full scale campaign, remaining confident they will win. More than 7,000 leaflets have been distributed across the islands about the advantages of the voting system and Cayman’s business community has joined in with a campaign of its own to support OMOV. The Chamber of Commerce states in its position paper that its membership surveys have all indicated strong support from its more than 700 business members, which represent more than 18,000 people.
“A small constituency with a single member, as opposed to multiple members, encourages a stronger connection between representative and constituent and increases accountability, the Chamber states on the issue. “Single member constituencies better serve every citizen and guarantee equality.”
Ezzard Miller, the independent member for North Side, who, along with the East End PPM member Arden McLean, launched the campaign and petition for a referendum on changing the current multi-member voting system, said he was delighted that the Chamber had come out publicly in full support of OMOV. He said it fuelled the confidence of the campaigners that, despite the odds, the time had come.
“We are grateful for the Chamber support,” Miller said. “Despite the many hurdles, I am confident that the people are going to vote in favour and urge everyone to come out vote on 18 July for democracy.”
The original goal of the campaigners had been to trigger a people-initiated referendum in November of this year. In response to the groundswell of support for the referendum, the government said it would hold the national ballot at the same time as the May 2013 general election. However, with the campaign still pushing for a November ballot in order for the next election to be held on the basis of the referendum result, the campaigners continued on with their petition, placing pressure on government.
The premier then suddenly announced that government would instead hold the referendum in the summer. Although it is now a government-triggered and not a people-triggered ballot, the premier announced it would still require 50% plus one of the entire electorate to carry and made it clear the government would be campaigning against single member constituencies.
With the weight of government resources against them, a summer poll when people are off island, a requirement to get almost 8000 ‘yes’ votes to win and a campaign time shortened by four months, the OMOV camp face an uphill struggle. However, they have remained positive and are pressing ahead with their education campaign. They are also urging voters who will be away from Cayman on the day of the poll to register for an absentee ballot before the deadline of 6 July. (Download a form here)
So far, despite having access to the public purse, government has not yet fired its big guns on the ‘No’ campaign and confined its message at present to telling those in multi-member constituencies not to give up their vote.
However, it is anticipated that after the budget for the 2012/13 financial year is dealt with this month, government will be hitting the campaign trail to persuade the electorate to vote against OMOV and retain the unequal and significantly less accountable system.
See postal ballot form below.
Rushed budget expected
(CNS): The clock is ticking on government over the 2012/13 budget, which must be presented to the Legislative Assembly, debated and examined in Finance Committee and passed into law, all before the end of this month. However, opposition members of the LA say they are expecting yet another eleventh hour presentation by the premier as there has been no indication of when the country’s parliament is going to meet again. Since the UDP administration changed the law which governs how budgets are presented, it has waited until the last minute to present its annual spending plans, forcing the people’s representatives to rush through the scrutiny of the critical document.
Opposition Leader Alden McLaughlin said that once again the legislators would be forced to sit through a marathon session, calling civil servant witnesses to account for government’s annual spending plans in the early hours of the morning, which was an unacceptable way for government to present the most important bill of the year, he said.
This will be the last budget presented by the current UDP administration before the election. Despite the eleventh hour approaching, there has been very little indication of government’s intentions over how it will balance the books in an election year.
McLaughlin said he was aware that government would be facing a significant deficit from the close of this financial year, which it would need to tackle, but he was unaware of what cuts and new fees government would be proposing, if any. Concerned over the last minute meeting, which is unlikely to be called before the 15 June, the opposition leader said that, once again, the country could expect a rushed budget debate.
“This is completely unnecessary but down to government incompetence. Why is it that it has to be so late?” he asked as he pointed to the limited time Finance Committee would now have to closely examine how and why public money was being allocated.
Previously, the Public Management and Finance Law had required governments to deliver their financial plans for the coming year by the end of April. The law was changed by this administration, however, removing that requirement and enabling government to leave the presentation of the budget until the last minute, bound only by its need to have the legal authority to spend money on 1 July.
Ezzard Miller, the independent member for North Side, said he believed that the decision to bring another last minute budget is a deliberate move to curtail the scrutiny. He said that he was concerned that once again members and civil servants called to account would be doing so in the early morning hours, undermining the quality of deliberation.
“I am very concerned,” said the North Side member. “Once again there will be no room for discussion about the budget. I believe it is a deliberate move to shorten the public discourse on how government is managing public spending and the collection of revenue.”
Miller noted that there was unlikely to be a surplus for this financial year end and that could be one of the reasons why the premier was delaying his final budget, since the administration had promised to have balanced the books by this point. “He clearly is trying to avoid the intense scrutiny which should be made of any budget.”
With the UK also needing to sign off on the government’s annual spending plan, Miller warned that the budget address was likely to be full of creative language and added that he wasn’texpecting the figures presented by the premier to match those in the documents.
There has been no confirmation of dates when legislatures will be meeting for the annual budget meeting but there is speculation that the premier is likely to make his budget address and throne speech on Friday 15 June, with the debate commencing on Wednesday, 19 June, just 11 days ahead of the financial year end.
EAB dump review curtailed
(CNS): Board minutes released by the Water Authority following a freedom of information request have revealed that government limited the parameters of an environmental review of the proposed new waste-management site in Bodden Town. The minutes show that the Environmental Advisory Board set up to assess the proposal for Dart to establish a new landfill in the Midland Acres area must confine itself to examining the proposal and not to what would be the most suitable overall waste management solution for Grand Cayman. The revelation has outraged the members of a local pressure group campaigning to have the George Town dump dealt with on site and not moved to their district.
The Coalition to Keep Bodden town Dump Free made the FOI request for information and were stunned to see that the minutes reveal explicit orders from government ministers to the EAB to limit what it reviews and not to look at alternate sites or consider other solutions but to look solely at the dart proposition.
Although an EAB is not yet a legal requirement in Cayman because of the failure of the government to enact the National Conservation Bill on larger projects, the boards are being established as a matter of good governance. However, in this case the terms of reference have been significantly curtailed to examine the impact on the immediate environment of the first part of the new site the islands’ largest developer has promised to construct in exchange for the current landfill.
Dart proposes to build only phase one — a single cell on what could eventually be a state of the art waste-management centre — if government were to make the rest of necessary investment to set up recycling, reuse, composting or waste to energy solutions. Once Dart has lined the one landfill cell site, it intends to hand that over to the Department of Environmental Health to manage and then it proposes to take over the George Town dump to remediate and cap that site, which is next to its major investment, Camana Bay.
The minutes make it clear that Dart proposes only to develop one landfill cell site and no other elements of the new facility on a 100-acre site. Government has touted the proposal as a modern eco-park but the minutes show Dart is only proposing to create a new lined cell where the DoEH can start a new garbage pile. Any further investment or development of modern waste-management facilities will be in the hands of government.
The coalition continues to be alarmed at the proposal as it says it wants to see government tackle the dump at the present location instead of risking contamination of a new site, especially given its environmentally sensitive location, its proximity to residential communities and that it is a considerable distance from the capital, where the majority of waste is generated.
Campaigners have raised concerned that no research or analysis has been done about the proposed new dump and that government has simply accepted the Dart proposal without properly considering the alternatives, especially after the original Dart bid for the landfill was rejected by the technical committee set up by government when it carried out an RFP for the dump soon after assuming office. The CTC had recommended a waste-to-energy solution on site in GT with a leading American waste firm Wheelabrator, which had partnered with Cayman Waste Management Ltd, a local company.
The coalition has persistently asked government to identify clearly the reasons why it ditched its agreement to tender the waste-to-energy facility to solve the George Town landfill problem where it is, without contaminating a new site.
“Government inexplicably ignored due process, transparency, and the Central Tenders Committee (CTC), which recommended the WTE proposal as its first choice. The CTC rejected Dart’s proposal to move the dump and gave it the lowest marks of any option considered, because of 'grave concern' about the impact of a dump in an 'environmentally sensitive' area,” a coalition spokesperson said this week on receiving the minutes. “Government and Dart have yet to answer a single Coalition question, or produce any of the documents asked for.”
Campaigners received responses to FOI requests last month from both the NRA and the planning department, both of which stated they had no records to release in response to the request by the coalition about meetings with Dart on the proposed new dump.
Flyers placed in Bodden Town post boxes in early February from the ForCayman Investment Alliance stated that "meetings have occurred” between Dart and Government about the proposed new Bodden Town landfill, a claim not supported by either plannnig or the NRA.
CIFA issues bans and warnings over referee abuse
(CNS): Misconduct by players, coaching staff and fans has raised concerns and led the Cayman Islands Football Association Disciplinary Committee to issue a number of bans this season to individuals from three different local league teams. CIFA officials said that bans have been handed out to several players and four team staff, ranging from 6 months to two years and one player has been banned for life following an assault on a referee during a game in which he was struck in the head. The committee chair has issued a stern warning over the need to improve conduct following mounting complaints of verbal and discriminatory abuse suffered by referees and officials.
The incidents have occurred during various CIFA league matches this season and Richard Barton, the Disciplinary Committee chair, said it was regrettable but as a result of the poor conduct of not just players but team officials as well, it had become necessary for the committee to make its concerns public.
“The frequency at which verbal, and in at least one case, physical, abuse has been hurled at referees can only be described as a complete lack of regard for the integrity of the sport. Such lack of regard is further evidenced by the mounting caseload of incidents amongst players, the vast majority of which involve racial and discriminatory verbal abuse in addition to violent conduct,” Barton said in a statement released Thursday.
“What now appears to be an emerging theme of insolence and an attempt by certain repeat offenders who seemingly strive to bring the sport of football into disrepute will strictly not be tolerated. The DC has had to resort to the extreme measures, including imposing lifetime banson certain players in our efforts to reverse this unfortunate trend within the various leagues,” the chair added.
He said that team officials as well as members of the football clubs should remember that the ability to play football is a privilege and not a right and playing carries a “high standard of responsibility which must at all times be assumed and exhibited by its beneficiaries,” Barton stated.
“As Chairman of the DC I implore club managers and sponsors to give due consideration to these concerns and to be more discerning in their team selection process, which extends beyond the players on the pitch. This is a stern caution to all participating in the sport that the DC will take all the necessary action that is prescribed within the scope of its authority to radiate this disturbing occurrence,” the chair warned.
Although the committee has at present refrained from publicly naming and shaming the individuals involved in the abuse, Barton warned it was an action that remained open to them should the abuse and poor conduct continue.
The warning comes in the wake of the historic appointment of a Cayman Islands’ football official to the top FIFA post in the region. Jeff Webb’s election as president of CONCACAF will see the spotlight turned on Cayman when it comes to football in the Americas. As a result the conduct of local players, coaches and others involved in the game is even more significant.
Former cop acted as debt collector
(CNS): A former RCIPS officer, who has since left the Cayman Islands, was described by a magistrate as acting as an “unregulated private debt collector while clothed in the authority of a police officer” when he threatened a woman with arrest if she did not make payments in a theft case. Last month Magistrate Valdis Foldats threw out a theft case against Kerry Horek as a result of the behaviour of the Financial Crimes Unit officer in the case. The magistrate found that the police officer had assisted the complainant to reach an unlawful agreement with the defendant, delaying a prosecution for theft as well as committing the offence of ‘compounding’ by attempting to extract payment from the accused woman for the missing funds.
Horek, a former partner at Island Rental Services, was accused of dishonestly appropriating rental payments of over $22,000 made by tenants for one of the firm’s landlords. Horek, who has since lost her business, had contended that the theft was committed by an employee of the company, who stole other funds as well and was the cause of the rental firm’s demise. However, as the main partner she had accepted culpability for the loss incurred by the landlord and had been attempting to come to some agreement with the victim to repay the missing money.
As events unfolded, Horek said she was harassed by DC Richard Clarke from the Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) into making payments to the landlord under threat of arrest, before she was able to negotiate an appropriate payment plan that she could afford. As a result, she was struggling to meet payments beyond the first $5,400 before getting into difficulties, at which point Clarke arrested her.
During the Summary Court trial the officer admitted that he had brokered a deal between Horek and the landlord as he believed the complainant was only interested in getting back the stolen cash. Clarke testified that facilitating the agreement was the easiest way for the complainant to get that money back rather than go through a court process. The officer admitted that he did not consult with his superiors or obtain any legal advice before embarking on this course of action and the magistrate said that Clarke did not appear to have an understanding of the offence of 'compounding'.
Furthermore, after he had arrested Horek he entered into an agreement himself with the defendant for her to sell his own condo. After the sale was completed he then filed charges against Horek.
In his ruling as to whether he should stay the summary trial on the grounds that to allow it to continue would be to condone the abuse of process committed by the officer, Foldats noted that without oversight, advice or directions from a superior officer, Clarke assisted the landlord to reach an unlawful agreement with the defendant. Foldats added that the investigating officer had taken what he called “an active, aggressive and partisan” part in trying to get money for the landlord.
“In essence, he was acting as an unregulated private debt collector while clothed in the authority of a police officer, pressuring the defendant to make payments under threat of arrest. The investigating officer's actions, although perhaps unwitting (in the sense that he was unaware of the offence of compounding), were certainly unlawful. In essence, he facilitated the commission of an offence,” Magistrate Foldats stated.
“It is this unlawful conduct that offends the court's sense of justice and propriety,” the magistrate added as he threw the case out.
The officer’s role as a debt collector had also been previously highlighted by a senior officers in the RCIPS before Horek had been arrested. She told CNS that she had complained to the police about Clarke’s harassment and in an email correspondence a senior officer had described Clarke’s actions in similar terms to the magistrate, and believed that Horek’s case was a civil not criminal matter.
Asking officers in the FCU to address the complaint, Superintendent Kurt Walton wrote to officers about the harassment over the payment plan and the threats of arrest. “It would seem to me that this became a civil matter at some point for which the RCIPS are now performing a debt collector's role,” Walton wrote, as he asked the FCU to look into the issue.
Horek said she believes the officer at the FCU did not follow Walton’s instructions and as a result she was arrested and embroiled in a protracted criminal case, which involved her having to attend court on 30 separate occasions until it was finally thrown out by the magistrate last month.
Event to showcase Cayman’s athletic talent
(CIAA): The 2012 National Track & Field Championships of the Cayman Islands Athletic Association will be held on Friday June 15th starting at 6pm and Saturday June 16th starting at 9am at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. The Meet is opened to all schools, clubs and individuals, and will showcase many of the islands best athletic talents. It will also serve as a qualifier for athletes preparing for upcoming regional and international competitions in the youth, junior and senior categories.Events being contested are: 100m Hurdles, 110m Hurdles, 80m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Shot Put, Discus, Javelin and Ball Throw.
Age groups eligible to compete are: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17 and over.
Registration forms are available on www.caymanactive.com/natchamps or by contacting Liz Ibeh 925-4763, Coach Williams at 925-1943, Coach Yen at 925-6917 or Coach Wason at 916-6966. Forms will also be available at Schools P.E. Departments. Completed registration forms should be returned to any of the above persons or emailed to caymanathletics@gmail.com. Registration closes on Tuesday June 12th.
See schedule and registraiton form attached
Blu-tack banned in window explosion scare
(Daily Telegraph): Pupils and teachers were banned from sticking their art work to windows with Blu-Tack by school health and safety officials claiming it could cause the glass to explode. he officials claimed that the sticky blue substance could combine with a chemical in the window to make glass shatter. They ordered all artwork to be removed from the windows. But the demand was debunked by the Government's new Myth Busters Challenge Panel – and the edict reversed. The panel, set up to probe over enthusiastic use of health and safety laws, checked the claim with Blu-tack's maker Bostik and were satisfied it was safe.
The Myth Busters told the private firm that runs the primary school in Perth and Kinross, Perthshire to remove the ban.
Disney channel to ban junk food ads
(Bloomberg): Walt Disney Co. (DIS), aiming to combat childhood obesity by banning junk-food ads, will require that food and beverage advertising to kids on its TV networks and radio stations meet new nutritional standards by 2015.The guidelines, which follow federal recommendations, are designed to promote fruits and vegetables, limit calories, and curb the intake of saturated fat, salt and sugar, Burbank, California-based Disney said in a statement. By the end of this year, food products will begin bearing the “Mickey Check” logo, signaling that they meet the standards.
The effort, expands on Disney’s adoption of nutritional guidelines in 2006. Disney is the world’s largest entertainment company, with holdings that include film studios, theme parks, radio stations and the ABC broadcast network. The company’s media networks generated $7.6 billion in advertising revenue in its most recent fiscal year, an increase of 8 percent.
The guidelines give specific standards. Breakfast cereals, for example, should have no more than 130 calories and fewer than 10 grams of sugar per ounce.
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