Archive for June, 2012
UK wants high standards
(CNS): The new white paper on the Overseas Territories published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says that people living in the territories have a right “to expect the same high standards of governance as in the UK”, pointing to human rights, the rule of law and integrity in public life. The document also states that the British government expects high quality public financial management and financial services regulation to build resilient economies. “The UK is determined to tackle corruption in all its forms,” the new document warns as the Foreign Secretary makes a commitment to work closely with the territories with a long-term programme of support for the public services.
In the paper, which was based on a broad public consultation period with all the territories and stakeholders, the foreign secretary sets out what will likely be a more hands-on approach to the territories, where the UK will share expertise from across the entire government and not just from the FCO in order to raise standards.
“The Government has responsibilities towards the people of the Territories and of the UK to ensure the good governance of the territories,” the report states. “The Government acknowledges the sensitivity of this area of work but believes that those living in the Territories have a right to expect the same high standards of governance as in the UK.”
In his introduction to the document, which will form the basis for Britain’s relationships with the territories from now on, William Hague says the White Paper is broad ranging, but does not "pretend to be comprehensive”.
Focusing on the economies and environments of its territories, the paper highlights the need for good governance.
The UK and the Territories will continue their partnership to meet the high standards set out in this White Paper,” the paper states. “The UK will provide support to the Territories, where necessary, to develop good governance, robust public financial management and sound economic planning. In particular we will support greater exchange of expertise between public servants in the Territories and the UK.”
As a result, public officials from the territories will train and work with colleagues in the UK, and UK experts will work in the territories.
Seven charged with cheque fraud
(CNS): The dock struggled to contain the three men and four women charged with some fourteen offences relating to cheque fraud on Friday morning when they were arraigned in Grand Court. The seven defendants all pleaded not guilty to handling stolen goods and various counts of obtaining property by deception and attempting to obtain property by deception. They are accused of cashing the stolen cheques of a Butterfield Bank customer that amounted to more than $45,000. Four of the defendants are also accused of allattempting to cash a further $4,000 cheque.
The crown claims the seven defendants all cashed several different cheques, which were stolen from one of the bank's customers in varying amounts of CI$5000, $4500 and $4000 during September and October of 2010.
The three men and four women, who deny the charges, will now stand trial in March 2013, which the court heard was the first available date. The trial is expected to last seven days and the defendants are represented by John Furniss and Prathna Bodden of Samson McGrath.
Cultural programme a hit with Cayman kids
(CNS): More than 300 Year 6 children in Cayman’s primary schools participated in a specially designed after school programme this year focused on local traditions and culture. “Bringing Heritage to Life” is a programme created and delivered by Chris Christian of Cayman Traditional Arts, which comprises three twelve week courses: Marine, Silver Thatch, Cuisine & Culinary Skills and Games & Entertainment. 97% of the students gave the initiative the thumbs up and want the programme to continue for the next school year and suggested including years 7 and 8. 100% of teachers and principals gave an excellent rating for the classes.
Premier McKeeva Bush will be at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School Hall today Monday 25 June from 9:00 am to 10:00 am to award certificates to the students who completed the course.
“We need to ensure that every Caymanian child knows who they are and where they come from; to have a deep understanding of heritage and culture, taught through history and art traditions of the Cayman Islands,” Bush said.
Maria Martin, Principal George Town Primary School, commended Christian and his team of teachers and said it had a “great impact in promoting Caymanian Culture”. Shesaid the students had thoroughly enjoyed the hands on sessions.
Gloria Bell, Principal Prospect Primary, said, “The programme has been a resounding success. It has allowed the students of year six to be able to have a greater appreciation for their Caymanian culture and heritage and life in the yesteryears. As the principal of the school, I want to recommend that this programme be continued in the next academic year.”
For further information, please call Chris Christian at 926-0119 or e-mail artcayman@gmail.com.
10 questions for the premier
1. In March you took a plan to Parliament that increased the present year’s expenditures to $550 million. What was your plan to magically reduce it next year to the $498 million you claim you directed in January?
2. When you sent the circular you claimed, can you tell the country what policy directives you gave to reduce cost – or did you just expect the cost would have reduced by itself to a number you pulled from a hat?
3. The budget you took to Parliament showed that this financial year was going to end with the bank account in overdraft. Were you hanging the entire fiscal viability of the country on the gamble that the UK would say yes to borrowing? If not, how were you going to finance the period between July and December when government typically spends more than it earns?
4. If your expenses were $550 million for this financial year, a year when you hired almost 5 dozen new police officers halfway through, when you gave the civil servants a raise half way through, how were you going to absorb the full year effect of just those two decisions while simultaneously reducing costs?
5. When the Civil Servants came back with the spending plan, was it to hire private chefs to cook for them, hire personal chauffeurs, build new walls around their houses or was it a reflection of the cost to implement the policies of your government? You can’t have your cake and eat it too sir, if you want to bring in reception year in public schools, it is going to cost money, if you want to give away solar panels, it is going to cost, if you want to give out more for nation building it is going to cost. Civil servants didn’t give you a plan to buy luxuries for themselves; they just gave you a reality check on the cost of implementing your government’s policy wish list.
6. Who in government makes the decision to build roads, build remand facilities, build schools, build Hurricane Hiltons, etc? Is it the lowly civil servants or is it your own ministers? Therefore, when you claimthey overshot the target for capital, who overshot it, civil servants or your colleagues?
7. When did you first know the cost of your policy wish list was more than you could afford?
8. What actions have you taken since that time to address the fiscal gap?
9. If, as you claim, you and your ministers have spent several weeks and long nights cutting the $130 million overshot but still haven’t been able to cut all of it, is that an admission that the $498 million was never a realistic number? Are you admitting that, as minister of finance you had no clue as to what the true cost of operating government was and so gave a totally unrealistic target with no policy directive on how to achieve it? If not, you should have been able to reach the $498 million target you set now that you and your ministers are personally cutting the budget, shouldn’t you?
10. How do you feel, Sir, how do you feel to have had this situation completely blow up in your face? How does it feel to go down in history as not only the first Minister of Finance but possible the worst Minister of Finance? How does it feel to know that if you had given your country the priority it deserves instead of your jaunts to foreign countries at various social events on our dime, you may have had a chance to avoid this embarrassing situation to our birth country? Finally, Sir,how can you even stand to show your face in public after this?
FCO wants more budget cuts
(CNS): The FCO has told the Cayman government it must cut this year’s proposed budget further, and as a result the premier will be forced to bring an emergency appropriation to the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday and not a proper budget. The premier admitted to the crisis situation on Friday night in an unpublicised radio broadcast. McKeeva Bush said the UK had described the government’s proposed operational expenditure as “unsustainable” and his government now needed more time to cut public spending. He claimed that a temporary appropriation was a “mature” approachto the problem which, despite being the finance minister, he blamed on others.
In the short broadcast Bush blamed the previous administration, civil servants and the UK for the budget crisis as he revealed that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had instructed the Cayman Islands Government to cut the proposed spending plans for the next financial year.
“The position taken by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is that this (is) unsustainable expenditure,” Bush said. “The FCO made it absolutely clear that they require further reductions to operating costs. This will take us more time to achieve. The government has taken the mature and responsible outlook that, whilst further expenditure reductions are required by the FCO, such decisions must be made in a careful and measured way.”
Despite claiming to be responsible, Bush had sent his budget proposal to London last week, which was well short of the timeline required in the Financial Framework Agreement he signed last year as well as the time required for the budget to go through the proper legislative process at home.
Although the Strategic Policy Statement (SPS) was delivered in December and a budget circular sent to chief officers in January, it appears that Bush did not begin reviewing the civil service spending requirements until very recently and had been out of the country in London, Honduras, Panama and the US over the last month.
As a result Bush now faces the inevitable consequence of having to call for a temporary or emergency appropriation on Wednesday to ensure that government does not grind to a halt next weekend when the financial year ends on 30 June.
As permitted by section 11 of the Public Management and Finance Law, government will present a resolution on Wednesday to the Legislative Assembly seeking an appropriations for a two or three month period for next financial year.
“This approach is sensible, mature and responsible,” Bush claimed. “It will allow the government additional time to make further cost cutting decisions required by the FCO in a measured and fully considered way.” As a result of failing to bring the budget in on time the finance minister can expect to face some serious criticisms from the opposition benches as it appears such a situation has never arisen in Cayman’s political history before.
However, the premier said this approach was endorsed by the FCO and was consistent with his government’s position that the “responsible management of the country’s finances is our utmost priority.”
Bush pointed the finger at the PPM for overspending and creating the situation where the FCO controlled the local budget; he blamed the civil service for not staying within the parameters of his spending targets set in January and also listed a number of issues that had driven up public spending since 2005.
The cost of government has been increasing over the last seven years as a result, he claimed, of growing numbers of government employees, as well as higher healthcare and consumable costs. Bush pointed to the global economic difficulties that have impacted Cayman and seen government rendering “much more social assistance”, like rent and scholarships, to its people. In addition, he also pointed to the tremendous escalation in the cost to fight crime.
But Bush said government had to make cuts. He said expenditure had to be re-examined and a more sustainable level of spending found. “Government cannot allow our expenditure to rise as it has in the past; we must cut,” he said. “Because the last government put us in this intolerant situation we must reduce expenditure if we are ever going to control our finances again.”
Although this is the third budget prepared by the UDP administration, this government has not made any reduction in public spending and, year on year, has presented a budget with higher operational costs. The current government has failed to stick to the three year plan originally agreed with the FCO, and despite continued rhetoric about ending public sector borrowing, the government was still seeking further long term borrowing in this budget and an extended overdraft.
The spending target which Bush set in the SPS in December of $498 million was still higher than any previous years. When the government departments came back with their operational expenses this year, the premier said it exceed that figure by some $130 million and capital expenditure exceeded his target by more than $21m.
Although Bush has persistently blamed the previous administration for the country’s fiscal woes, once the UDP government gets a budget through for the next financial year it will have significantly exceeded the overall spending of the PPM’s much maligned four years in government.
Airport evacuationwas false alarm
(CNS): Passengers travelling from Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman this morning were evacuated as a result of a false alarm. Travellers told CNS that they entire facility was emptied at around 6:45am and people were outside for around 20 minutes before the fire service arrived and cleared the building. Airport officials confirmed, however, that there was no fire or any other emergency but a glitch in a very new alarm system at the airport. A spokesperson for Cayman Airports said that the authority would release more details about the incident later.
Wednesday to be budget day
(CNS): Although there is still no confirmation that the UK has approved the Cayman government’s borrowing requirement to balance this year’s budget, Premier McKeeva Bush has settled on Wednesday as budget day, but it may only be for an emergency request for cash to keep government afloat. Although the governor has officially proclaimed the start of the new legislative budget session and the speaker has told members of the country’s parliament that the State Opening and Budget Meeting will start at 10am on 27 June, Bush may still not be in a position to deliver his full budget unless he receives approval from the UK.
The governor will be able to deliver the annual Throne Speech and Bush may even make his budget address in his role as finance minister, as he did at the eleventh hour last year, but it is unlikely that he will be able to present the full budget.
Instead, the premier may be forced to settle on passing legislation for emergency appropriations. This is because the UK may not yet give its approval for the $40 million plus estimated borrowing, as well as the overdraft facility that government will need to keep it in business during the slow revenue summer months.
Although the premier has persistently delivered his annual spending programme late since changing the Public Management and Finance Law to remove the original April deadline, this is the latest the premier and his ministers have left the presentation of this critical legislation.
If the UK approves the borrowing requirement, he will be presenting the 2012/13 government spending plans three days before the year end, making it virtually impossible for government to go through the full process of the debate, Finance Committee and legislative drafting in time for the appropriation law to be passed before the critical midnight deadline of 30 June.
As a result, even if the premier manages to get UK backing for increasing the country’s debt he will not have enough time to get the spending plans into law before the deadline, leaving government without access to funds unless legislation is enacted to allow a temporary appropriations to give time for Bush to negotiate with the UK or reduce his borrowing requirements and make more cuts to his government’s spending plans.
The premier, not least because he is also the minister of finance, has faced considerable criticism over this year’s budget fiasco, particularly as he was out of the country for a significant part of the last few weeks — a critical time for budget preparations.
Although Bush is pointing the finger at the UK, he was well aware that the Cayman budget should have been submitted to London three weeks before he planned to present the document to the Legislative Assembly. The timeline is spelled out in the Financial Framework Agreement that Bush signed with the OT minister, Henry Bellingham, last year.
In addition, Bush has spent the last twelve months indicating that the government could not incur any further debt but has, nevertheless, included more borrowing in this budget for the solar panel project, the juvenile remand centre and to finish the primary school renovations and the Clifton Hunter High School, which is set to open in September.
Solar dealer says Caribbean renewable energy rich
(CNS): Jay Yeo, President of Solamon Energy, which is building the largest solar energy plant in the Caribbean said the region possesses tremendous capacity for solar, geothermal, tidal and wind projects. Speaking at the Invest Caribbean Now power forum, in New York City earlier this month he said investment in renewables, especially solar, will not only lower the cost of energy across the region but help create more jobs than natural gas or coal. "Capital intensive renewable energy is an important vehicle to increase the inflow of capital into the Caribbean and achieve economic growth,” Yeo added.
His comments come as "Climatescope," the first annual report, index which scores nations on their relative ability to foster low-carbon energy growth in the region showed Brazil, Nicaragua and Panama grabbing chunks of investment in renewable but the Caribbean region way down the list. Successful entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, was the inaugural Leadership Award recipient and he called on Caribbean people to work together to create an “entrepreneurial Paradise, in Paradise."
Minister launches radio show for healthy living
(CNS): In an effort to try and improve the health and well-being of people in the Cayman Islands, the health ministry is using a new radio show to try and promote the Be Fit Cayman ! Campaign. The first programme airs on Radio Cayman on Saturday morning when the minister responsible for health, Mark Scotland introduces the first in the series of educational programmes. Featuring Health Services Authority and Public Health staff subjects will range from specific conditions to eating well. For the Health of It airs on 89.9FM and is scheduled for about 30 minutes during the last two Saturdays in each month beginning at 9:30am with a repeat on Wednesdays, at 7:00pm.
The radio programme is aimed at promoting the concept behind Be Fit Cayman!. In particular, the broadcasts will focus on ways to prevent and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
Topics will include contributing factors, early detection and management through lifestyle changes and medication. The line-up will kick off with an overview of the Be Fit Cayman! campaign as well as the current state of health in the Cayman Islands. This will be followed by a comprehensive series on diabetes.
Med school introduces award to honour road victim
(CNS): St. Matthew’s University medical school will be giving out its first annual Dr. Richard D. Martin Humanitarian Award this Saturday afternoon during the 1st semester White Coat Ceremony at the medical school campus. Officials said the award was created to honour the values of DR Martin, a medical student at St Mathews who was killed by a drunk driver last year, while driving a classmate home after a study group session. In his memory, the administrators of the University have created an annual award for a student who exemplifies the same passion and qualities that Dr Martin held.
Officials said a special selection committee comprised of faculty, administrators and students are reviewing nominations to select the winner of the award and five finalists will be announced during Saturday’s event. The recipient of the award will be announced later that evening, at the St. Matthew’s University Medical School Semi Formal to be held at the Royal Palms restaurant at 8:30 pm.
“We are very excited to recognize a student who holds the qualities that St. Matthew’s looks for in our students as they become highly qualified and caring physicians,” said St. Matthew’s Chancellor John Marvin.
The award is accompanied by recognition across the entire St. Matthew’s University Community and a $500 cash prize,
“I’m sure my husband never anticipated an award in his honour, but I am appreciative of the on-going influence he continues to have in the St. Matthew’s community,” said Susan Yee, wife of Martin. “It is a great tribute in perpetuity to my husband.”
Dr. Richard Martin was from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, and held the position of Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Active Data Exchange, a calendar sharing software company. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Nuclear Engineering and summa cum laude with a master’s degree in Technology Management and a doctor of science degree in Engineering and Technology Management from Southern California University. He is survived by his wife and 5 children.
The Dr. Richard D. Martin Memorial Fund has been created to benefit those in need of healthcare and do not have access or cannot afford it. More information about the purpose and selection criteria of the award, and about Dr. Richard D. Martin, can be found here:
http://award.rememberingrichardmartin.org
http://www.rememberingrichardmartin.org