Professor warns of major flaws in local economy
(CNS): An academic and former civil servant who is an expert in business and economics has warned of the deep-seated flaws and problems with the Cayman Islands economy that government needs to address in the long term. Professor Robert Weishan, Chair of Business Studies at UCCI, pointed out that the government had become the almost exclusive employer of the middle class in Cayman. He said that the country’s enormous dependence on tourism and financial services meant there were very few jobs for regular middle class locals and this was why government was plugging the employment gap that should be filled by the private sector.
“Even if we meet the immediate problems we still need to address the flaws in the economy which is far too concentrated on financial services and tourism as well as construction, which depends almost entirely on the other two. Cayman is not able to generate real middle class jobs in the private sector so it is in public service where the middle classes are finding jobs,” said Dr Weishan about Cayman’s so-called ‘big government’.
Speaking as a member of the Generation Now panel on Thursday nightat the Harquail Theatre, the professor said that while the current budget crisis might be temporarily resolved, it was the long-term fundamental problem with the economy that government had to fix. The local economy is not creating diverse jobs for local people, he said.
The professor was not advocating that all government employment was bad or that having a significant public sector was necessarily wrong, as he pointed to very successful models in northern Europe that had big government which accounted for a greater percentage of GDP than Cayman. However, Weishan pointed to the need for the diversification in the private sector and then government’s need to plan for it. He has seen little if any evidence, he said.
Pointing to the proposed development of the 2,000-bed hospital by Dr Devi Shetty and partners, he said this was an exciting move with enormous potential but no long term plans about training Caymanians to work within this new sector had emerged at the UCCI where he worked, which, he said, was astonishing.
Weishan spoke about the need to plan for human capital development. The country needs the private sector to create jobs for Caymanians and the government needs to educate and help train them for the job market. The government probably could be reduced and be made far more efficient, the professor believed, but he warned against the broad stroke cuts recommended in the Miller-Shaw report, pointing to the need to ensure the public sector was giving value for money and delivering services efficiently.
A proper assessment would likely show that it was bloated and bureaucratic in some areas and underfunded in others, so any cuts would have to be based on research and properly targeted, Weishan said. However, it would be difficult to realise where cuts or increases were required until the system changed. The professor pointed out that civil servants were being paid based on the hours they spent on government seats and not on what they did, which encourage bureaucracy.
“We need a plan to switch from the current system that doesn't work,” he said. “If we are to reduce the civil service without hurting services it must made to be more efficient.”
The professor said he was surprised to discover that there were no consequences in Cayman over the failure of the public sector management to produce timely, transparent accounts on government spending and that there appeared to be very little accountability in the service.
“I worked in the civil service in Cayman for the first three years I was here and what bothered me was that I had goals to achieve but no one asked me if I had achieved them or if I had spent government money wisely,” he added.
The business expert also warned that privatization of services was not always the answer. He agreed that government companies and statutory authorities should be run autonomously like private sector businesses, with the goal of paying government a dividend, but privatizing was not necessarily the solution to government’s mounting spending crisis.
He said businesses don’t buy government assets to help the people; they do it to make a profit and they will drive hard bargains. “If shareholders of private companies doing government work are to get rich, which is the goal, the price of those services will increase,” he said as a warning about selling off public assets such as the Water Authority.
Dr Weishan pointed out that if private was always better than we would not have seen governments the world over bailing out the private sector banking system in the wake of the global economic crash.
Category: Local News
I whole heartedly agree with Dr. Wiesman's assessment. But why are the people of this island do dependant on the CIG to provide education and training? No where in the world are governments expected to foot the bill for education and employment at the level expected here.
My parents were by no means wealthy, my parents couldn't afford to send me to college. I made good grades, graduated on the Dean's List and A's & B's on my O Levels and a few A' Levels. Those grades got me my first job & a scholarship to community college. The good grades that I got there, got me another scholarship to finish undergrad. I worked full time and went to school full time.
The onus is on that parent & that child to provide for their future, to put in the work and make themselves marketable, to develope skills and and education to provide for themselves. That's not the governments job, that kind of dependance is crippling, hence the issue CIG is having. Yes the CIG, should offer scholarship opportunities to deserving students etc, but it should be the exception and not the rule.
This man fits the mold of a true leader, unafraid to speak the truth and unafraid to get up in front of the public to speak the facts without pandering to specific groups. Why isn't his opinion given more weight at UCCI for planning Caymans next generation of leaders and why weren't the Deans and President of UCCI on the panel?
Why would the Deans and President of UCCI be on the panel? What would they have to offer on this particular subject? It appears that Prof. Weishan was there for his expertise in economic issues.
Why would leaders not want to voice thier opinion?
It's also because UCCI is run by politicians, not free-thinkers.
Can an American comment on the jobs available to the "middle classes" when American society does not have any classes above the middle class? Surely such comments are best reserved for Brits who have a better understanding of the class system.
So guys like Mitt Romney are middle class. Right. Class distinction in the US may be largely based on money rather than ancestry (but 250 years after independance even that distinction is questionable), but to pretend you have no class distinctions is laughable.
The US has an upper class, it just keeps its upper-classness to itself. Hence why George Bush Jr. had to pretend to be a Texas hick to get elected. They're just playing with ordinary Americans prejudices and base cultural attachments to continue controlling wealth and power. It's hilarious to watch a country not understand itself.
Our politicians need to understand there is no prestige in running an insolvent country. Listen to the smart man!
Good points sir.
However, how do you propose to deal with the elephant and the rhino in the room….corruption and incompetence.
Corruption is the really hard one.
Incompetence can be dealt with by early retirements and early educucation and training.
Cayman is in a tough spot, tough but not hopless. I hope we can dig ourselves out of this mess.
XXXXX
Sounds like Al Suckoo was on to something
http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/viewpoint/2012/08/08/immigration-policies-support-increasing-unemployment-rate?
And not one of you bloggers commented on training our people! God help us, you mean we are so caught up in condeming the Government, we continue to not see the real asset in this country.
It sure arent you losers..i wonder what the young people are saying when they read your all blogs and notice they are left out of the equation…so sad!
You should be caught up in condemning the goverment too. It is they who are responsible in the real world for training and educating the Caymanian youth, but they prefer to spend that money and instead expect employers to do it. Demand first class educational faclities, policies and teaching, so that the Caymanian people are properly equipped with the right skills (as opposed to just qualifications) to take any jobs currently being taken by expats. Then you will have a real asset in this country.
Cheers!
As one of the many civil servants who benefitted from his lectures, and who shared with him and the classes the ongoing issues, problems and solutions, it is rewarding to hear him speak publicly from an informed position.
Perhaps they will heed his words – i just wonder why govt doesnt hear the words of the many experienced and qualified people throughout the rank and file!!
Is this man suitably qualified to be our Premier. I want him and/or the Auditor General in charge of the public purse – THEN we'd start seeing some results, and quickly too.
We all should be taking a more positive outlook on what professor Robert is saying, and stop pointing fingers at Mac. We are all in this together. I too are surprised that the powers to be, are not setting up our school leavers to train for the Devi Shetty Hospital jobs.
This would have been a deserving motion to bring to the assembly, by Ezzard, John John,Arden, Ellio, Capt, Mose, and even Eden. is he still representing Bodden Town? what really do these guys do? except for Ellio, that brought motions and got them passed.
"…stop pointing fingers at…"
If the elephant in the room (corruption) is to be dealt with, then fingers need to be pointed.
A painful and messy but necessary process.
Can't wait to hear Mac's reposne to this well presented and correct assessment of our current conditions on island.
He will be added to the conspiracy theory being led by the FCO, Governor, AG, Devil Worshippers and Donkey-Faced minions who are all out to get Bush.
You forgot to mention the "hit men".
"A proper assessment would likely show that it was bloated and bureaucratic in some areas and underfunded in others, so any cuts would have to be based on research and properly targeted, Weishan said."
This is a profound statement which is absolutely true and is reality.
To many in Government base their decisions on pure hunches. There are important services that Government provides that are essential to Caymans well being and are ignored and underfunded whereas some areas are totally bloated. There is no system of priority.
You are so correct Sir.
thanks for giving an informed opinion.
Many Caymanians already know this but unfortunatly
the majority of voters refuse to see the forrest for the trees.
Now ELECTED leaders put a development plan based off all the reports we have paid millions of $'S for in place and work the plan for the betterment of all.
Thanks to all who participated last night (Thursday) you all did a fantistic job.
Buy that man a drink. A very sensible rendering!