Archive for August, 2012
‘Brinkmanship failing’
(CNS): Both of the independent members of the Legislative Assembly have warned that the brinkmanship which the premier is engaging in with London over the budget delivery is dangerous and likely to further undermine the relationship between Cayman and the UK. Speaking in the wake of Friday’s last minute cancelation of the budget meeting at the country’s parliament, Ezzard Miller said the premier’s decision to keep calling meetings to present his budget without UK approval in the hope the FCO will blink is making matters worse. Miller said that McKeeva Bush had to get on with producing a credible and sustainable budget, which was not an unreasonable request.
"This brinkmanship with the UK, hoping the FCO will blink and allow him to bring a budget that is not credible or sustainable is dangerous,” the North Side member said. “The government needs to make the necessary cuts and get approval from the UK and then, and only then, make the announcement for the meeting.”
Miller said that what the UK was asking was not unreasonable nor was it unachievable, and it would not serve the people of Cayman for the OT minister to approve a budget that was not credible. He pointed out that the brinkmanship was unlikely to lead to the UK agreeing to something in shouldn’t when it came to the government’s spending plans.
Miller pointed out that the blame for the budget crisis should be laid firmly at the door of the UDP government, not the UK, the bureaucrats or anyone else. He said he suspected that Bush’s goal was to blame the UK for everything that had gone wrong with the UDP’s last year in administration in a hope that people would still vote for him in the next election, which, he said, did nothing to solve the current economic crisis.
“It seems the premier is happy to do wrong himself so long as he can point the finger at someone else,” he said. “But due to the incompetence of those involved in this budget process, even after the government had the benefit of the UK’s economic advisor, it still cannot produce a credible budget. The UK has asked for only two things – that the numbers must be credible and that the numbers must be sustainable.”
He pointed out that the only specific requirement the UK had made was, after three years of failing to contribute to the past service liability for civil servant’s pensions, that the Cayman government must pay in $15 million this financial year, but the rest of the spending plan was down to this current administration. “The government needs to put the right policies in place and get the job done,” Miller added.
The yo-yoing over this year’s budget was also undermining the local economy, Miller said, warning that Bush’s attempts at brinkmanship were helping no one, least of all local businesses, investors or ordinary Caymanians, and it was doing nothing to repair the increasingly fractured relationship with the UK.
Arden McLean, the member for East End who recently de-camped from the PPM, said he was very concerned and believed the wider community should also be concerned about how the premier’s behaviour was souring the relationship with Britain. “I am not going to stand by and let this happened without speaking out against it. He needs to be more respectful of the process and stop being a tyrant,” McLean declared.
The LA is currently scheduled to meet at 2:30 Monday afternoon but there has been no word yet about UK approval. Check back to CNS later this morning for more details on the budget crisis.
FB group in voter drive
(CNS): Following its recent success in galvanizing a large part of the local community to sit up and take note of the country’s fiscal crisis, the Facebook group Cayman United is turning its attention towards getting Caymanians to vote. Joining forces with the former OMOV team, among others, the new social media group which emerged from the campaign against the proposed expat tax says that it wants to persuade as many of the unregistered 10,000 people entitled to vote as possible to join the electoral roll and take part in the next election. Casey Goff, one of the group’s founders, said it was the people of Cayman, not politicians, that would lead the country from the current crisis.
Goff said the current financial crisis was multi-faceted, going far beyond the budget and the proposal for an expat tax.
“The pressing need for a budget is not the crisis nor was the threat of direct taxation and the resultant fissure in our community. These are symptoms of the crisis, which is maladministration,” Goff said, as he announced the group’s intention to get involved in a full scale voter drive, which will begin next month.
“There have been many times when the public, business community or other organisations have ‘lashed out’ against aproposal of government,” he said. “It seems, however, that once these proposals pass or are removed from the table, the public interest in the issue dissipates. The group which I represent has no intention of allowing this to happen with regards to the recent issue of direct taxation.”
Goff explained that the group will be getting much more involved in the local political landscape in an effort to address some of the fundamental problems of poor governance, maladministration and the failure of policies.
“For far too long the citizens of Cayman have remained silent and complacently watched as a series of successive governments led us to where we now stand,” Goff lamented, adding that the general election in May presented an opportunity to elect leaders who are capable of addressing the crisis.
“It is not about the UDP, the PPM or otherwise; it is not about skin colour; it is not about background. What this is about is Cayman, and we must get it right," he said as he urged people to register to vote.
Since the constitution removed the requirement for Caymanian status holders to be naturalized before they can register to vote, there are close to 10,000 people who have the right to vote but who have failed to register on the elections list. According to the elections office, the number of registered voters below the age of thirty is 1,689, only 11% of the total number of electors.
“This number can, and should, be nearing 5000,” said Goff, who explained that Cayman United would be working on a voter drive and a campaign to persuade people that they have the power to change things.
Goff also said that he and members of the group planned to work on a proposal to improve key policy areas, including immigration and the tax burden on small businesses.
Government is currently sitting on a major report from the immigration review team which emerged from the most recent public consultation exercise, in which the team, led by Sherri Bodden-Cowan, recommended the removal of the key employee status and a system to allow everyone who stays for 8 years the right to apply for PR.
According to Goff, the group will be focusing on innovative policies that can empower young Caymanians, stressing the importance of education and skills development for the unemployed, as well as ways in which the financial burden of government levied on small businesses can be lessened to help the economy.
Solutions vs politics
I write to discuss the acute political, financial and reputational issues facing our country and the need for our collective behavior and decisions to reflect the seriousness of the situation. The focus must be on solutions. I will deal first with the political issues. When I resigned as a member of the PPM in 2010 I said that we had made a mistake in embracing the Caribbean model of party politics and encouraged other party members, from both parties, to admit our collective mistake and to change course.
It is important for us to recognize and acknowledge when our country started on this pronounced downward trajectory. It was in 2001. It is no coincidence that 2001 was also the year that we embraced and introduced party politics in Cayman.
Since 2001 both parties have been focused on remaining in power and winning the next election. Prior to 2001, when there were no political parties, governments were traditionally given two terms to implement their agenda. Since party politics came into being good governance and effective policy making have taken a nosedive and voter frustration has grown exponentially, which has resulted in each government being given one term only. Our society has become more divided and the unity between Caymanians and expatriates, which was hitherto the cornerstone of our success as a country, has all but disappeared. There is widespread political victimization as well as politicization of our civil service. Our continued denial of these glaring realities is the reason why the downward trajectory continues.
The solution to our political problems must therefore be to vote in the 2013 general elections to elect a coalition government consisting of a good mixture of candidates and begin the process of disbanding political parties. This will force the 18 MLAs, irrespective of their political views, to work together to form a government. You would still have the all important check and balance of an opposition to government when members, unrestrained by party rules, feel the need to oppose government policy.
I now turn to the current budget crisis. We all know how we got here and both the PPM and the UDP must share in the responsibility. As citizens we must also acknowledge some responsibility as our demands on government for services and favours are very hard for the party in power to resist. It is important that we all acknowledge that nothing is for free and every service and favour provided by government must ultimately be paid for by all of us. Government does not automatically generate money by its mere existence. So nothing is free and we must all pay, one way or the other, directly or indirectly, for government to operate.
Tinkering with our revenue and expenditure, such as was last proposed by government, will do nothing to balance our budget in the medium term. If we continue this band aid approach the UK will never approve our budget and could ultimately assume absolute control of our finances by suspending section 54(1) of our 2009 Constitution which mandates that a Minister “shallbe charged with responsibility for finance.”
The government must focus on expenditure and implement a medium term plan to bring it in line with what is considered sustainable for a country with our tax regime and GDP.
Let us look at some significant spending that could be eliminated from our budget during the next two financial years. It is important to note that I do not have access to the government’s draft budget so I can only make recommendations about what I have personal knowledge of.
The size of the civil service must be reduced but that can only be done over time and on a phased basis through collaboration with the private sector but planning and execution must commence now. It would be wrong, for many reasons, to convert a large number of civil servants to ‘unemployed status’. This would result in unnecessary hardships on our families and cause a further downturn in our economy as those salaries are removed from circulation locally. At the same time it would increase government’s expenditure as more and more people seek government assistance to survive.
Therefore, an integral part of the programme must be to transition some civil servants to the private sector so as to ensure that their income is protected while simultaneously reducing government’s expenditure and providing labour for the private sector. The aim should be to reduce government’s expenditure on salaries by $10M annually over 5 years, which would represent a total reduction of $50M in expenditure. On the basis of an average annual salary of $39,000, this equates to the migration of approximately 256 civil servants to the private sector annually over a 5 year period for a total reduction of 1,280 civil servants. With an average of 19,000 work permits in existence annually, this is easily achievable.
The following additional actions could be taken to reduce expenditure :
- Cayman Turtle Farm Island Wildlife Encounter – Close all components of this attraction except the Turtle Farm related operations. This would allow for the subsidy to be reduced from $9M to $1M, an annual savings of CI$8M;
- Tourism Attractions Board – Privatize its operations, including Pedro Castle, the Botanic Park, Hell and the Craft Market and save approximately CI$1.4M in annual subsidy;
- Cayman Airways – The Panama and Dallas routes should not have been launched in the middle of a budget crisis and a global recession. Immediately discontinue these routes and eliminate the approximately $1.5M marketing and operational budget associated with them. Reinstate the implementation plan for the Lufthansa Consultants Report which was commenced in 2008 and this will save the airline approximately $2M annually. This should convert into a $2M reduction in government’s annual subsidy to Cayman Airways;
- The Nation Building Fund – This has been justified on the basis that our children need money for scholarships and our churches need money for ‘nation building’. Yet we have properly functioning Education Council and Ministry of Tourism Scholarship programmes with properly established criterion awarding record numbers of scholarships annually. Our churches have an obligation to act as a moral compass for our society rather than inadvertently promoting greed through accepting government’s patronage. Any money given to churches for infrastructure projects, such as hurricane shelter space, is easily justified but must be properly funded through government’s capital development programme and not through this illusive creature called a “Nation Building Fund”. Eliminate it and save $4M annually;
- Government Administration Building – Mandate all remaining government agencies that were slated to move into the new Government Administration Building to do so withoutfurther delay. This could save the government approximately $2.5M in lease costs annually; and
- Health Services Authority – Implement and enforce more prudent policies and eliminate the significant waste by mandating the HSA to deliver its services within the $8M annual subsidy. This would save on average $12M annually by eliminating the need to provide large allocations of supplementary funding. Health care subsidies to the HSA have continued to increase to unsustainable levels growing from a total of $17M in 2009/10 to $19M in 2010/11 to $27M in 2011/12.
On the revenue side, if sufficient resources were made available to the right agencies the proposed revenue measures for this year would be unnecessary.
I am advised that if sufficient resources were deployed to enforce the Proceeds of Crime Law, $60M – $70M could be deposited into the government's treasury in this financial year alone. Why is this being ignored ?
My recommendations, if pursued, could potentially save the government $41.4M annually and much more over time. Revenue in this 2012/13 financial year could improve by $60M – $70M.
Finally we must look at what must be done about the significant reputational damage that has been caused to our country in recent times when good governance issues have arisen and when announcements about direct taxation sent shockwaves throughout our local economy. This presented yet another platform for negative international media coverage about the Cayman Islands.
Much damage has already been done to our economy but there is no point is crying over spilled milk. Let’s clean it up! There is an urgent need for the private and public sectors to collaborate and to launch a robust and cogent international public relations damage control campaign.
Premier McKeeva Bush’s insistence on remaining in office pending the outcome of the three police investigations must be addressed decisively. It is obvious that both political parties are impotent in addressing the issues. We should not expect our situation to improve absent leaders who do not have the courage to tell our country the truth and to do what needs to be done to fix our problems.
It is wrong to try to rush police investigations for reasons which are well known to law enforcement professionals. The only alternative, therefore, is for the business sector to call for the premier’s removal from office. The business sector is in a position to facilitate this and to prevent further reputational damage to our country. I call upon them to do so as a matter of urgency.
I sincerely hope that my recommended solutions will be objectively considered and that anyone who may feel personally offended by anything I’ve said will understand that this is bigger than any one of us. This is first and foremost about Cayman.
Charles Clifford is a former minister of tourism, environment, investment & commerce.
UK holds out for budget cuts
(CNS): The premier's efforts to deliver the 2012/13 budget were thwarted once again on Friday afternoon because there is still no approval from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Sources in London told CNS that the minister would not be approving the budget until further cuts were made in the Cayman government's spending plans. McKeeva Bush had stated earlier this week that no further cuts could be made and that he would be delivering his budget statement on 17 August. However, officials at the Legislative Assembly confirmed around 1pm Friday that the meeting was canceled and the budget session had been rescheduled for Monday afternoon.
Despite the protestations of the premier, the UK's economic adviser who is assisting with the budget process is continuing to apply pressure on the Cayman government to make further cuts before he can recommend that the minister give his approval. The latest indication is that the FCO official still wants to see a reduction in operating expenses of some $20 million.
Following the last minute cancellation of the LA meeting, the two independent members of the country's parliament warned that the continued brinkmanship being displayed by the premier with the UK was not helping anyone.
“I am extremely concerned over the continued confrontation that the premier is getting into with the FCO,” said Arden McLean, the now independent member for East End. “I believe everyone in this country should be concerned as well as he is destroying our relationship with the UK.”
Ezzard Miller pointed out that the constant announcements about delivering the budget followed by announcements to cancel it did little to help investor confidence in the local economy.
“The premier needs to get down to making the cuts necessary to gain approval from the UK before he makes any further announcements about delivering a budget,” Miller added, stating that there was nothing unreasonable about the UK's request for the Cayman government to deliver a sustainable andcredible budget.
Thieves steal Caybrew medals
(CNS): Staff at the Cayman Islands Brewery were left shaking their heads this morning when they discovered that burglars had stolen the medals they had won at a Caribbean Beer Festival. During the break-in, which happened in the early hours of the morning by what is understood to be a lone burglar, cash and memorabilia were stolen from the home of Caybrew, as well as the medals. A spokesperson from CIB said everyone at the brewery was very upset over the theft of the medals, which he pointed out we're not real gold and of no monetary value at all but of enormous sentimental value to the team. (Photo: The thief left the empty medal cases)
The police were called to the brewery on Shamrock Road by staff who were on site at the time of the break-in and arrived while the thief was still there. Despite giving chase, police were unable to catch the suspect. However the brewery spokesperson was confident that he was caught on CCTV and was hopeful he would be apprehended and the medals recovered.
Ammunition case thrown out by judge
(CNS): A visiting judge concluded this week that the crown's evidence against a defendant for possession of three shotgun cartridges was so weak it could not conceivably support a guilty verdict. Justice Carol Beswick said there was no case for David Ebanks of West Bay to answer as she stopped the trial and entered a verdict of not guilty. The crown had claimed that Ebanks was in possessionof the cartridges because they were found wrapped in a sock in the pocket of a pair of jeans on which his DNA was found. The jeans were in room of a house in Cinder Lane, West Bay, which police believed was occupied by Ebanks.
However, the judge found that there was no evidence that this was his room or that he had ever touched the cartridges.
The court heard that the defendant was one of several men who lived in the house and there was no evidence presented by the crown that Ebanks was the occupant of the room in which the ammunition was found. The judge also noted that his DNA was not on the cartridges and that the police had failed to carry out any fingerprint analysis of the items found during the search.
“The prosecution evidence falls short of proof that this defendant had the ammunition in his personal possession or knowingly had custody of the ammunition,” Justice Beswick ruled, noting that at its highest the evidence was insufficient for a jury to properly convict. Sitting alone as the trial judge, she said she had to discharge her duties under the law and stop the case. The judge found that there was no evidence, direct or inferential that the defendant knew anything about the cartridges.
Ebanks was arrested after a police operation at a property in Cinder Lane in February of this year. He was one of several men who were there at the time of the early morning operation. When the police arrived at around 6am, Ebanks was found wearing just underwear in the passage of the house but he was not in the room where the ammunition had been discovered.
The prosecution's case was that Ebanks stayed in the room simply because his DNA was found on the jeans and because there was an absence of female clothing. From there, the prosecutors drew the conclusion that Ebanks had possession of the ammunition and filed charges against him that could have resulted in ten years jail time.
The judge, however, concluded that with no evidence to support the case and Ebanks was released by the court.
All done?
It's a mere 10 months before the 2013 elections and you would be forgiven for thinking that the UDP was elected to office just last month and the PPM opposition party has gone away to restructure. An effective opposition is not just about politicking; it's a key aspect of having a good democracy in any country because at any point in time the incumbents know that if they fail to perform, the people will grant the privilege of leading the country to the opposition.
But the PPM has done little to instill faith among the people that they are a viable alternative and its leader, Mr Alden McLaughlin, needs to address that.
Worse yet, they have had no less than three years to establish themselves as the only viable way forward and instead they seem to have collapsed slowly but surely. This back of the envelope assessment goes far beyond the recent announcement that Mr Arden McLean has resigned. Rather it speaks directly to the way this party has been led and its activities (or rather inactivity) since 2009.
The general strategy of the PPM seems to be to leave the UDP alone because, as the saying goes, if you give them enough rope we know what to expect. To a certain extent this has occurred in the sense that the UDP have failed so miserably that all that's left is for the ministers to put all their personal belongings in a small box in one corner of their respective ministries.
But a successful strategy for the PPM is about much more than letting the UDP self-destruct; it must be about demonstrating to the people that a new vision and leadership is a must for the good ship Cayman to steer away from the rocks.
The PPM's appearance on the radio to criticise the premier's most recent blunder without offering solutions, a failed attempt at a no confidence vote and the staging of its own parliamentary session under a tree outside the LA are not sufficient to demonstrate an effective opposition.
What is required is a clear articulation of the alternative approach, the solutions, and the vision for the country that the PPM brings to the table. Instead there is over reliance on highlighting the tendency of the UDP to attract allegations on corruption, and just pointing fingers at incidences of incompetence that we are already aware of.
Alden, we get it. The PPM are not susceptible to allegations of corruption. You are far more statesmanlike. You have more integrity, etc. But your political strategy must ride on much more than that. The country is facing difficult economic times and needs real solutions. We need a proper assessment and, just as important, an articulation of it from you as the country's alternative political leader, that you understand the causes of our problems and know how to start addressing them.
The PPM won convincingly on the basis of integrity in 2005. But the country has now had a chance to see its record on economic and fiscal management and, as most are aware by now, that performance was far from great. That is all the more reason for the opposition leader to speak to those issues, not avoid them for fear of facing criticism.
If the party is still, or intends to continue, taking political advice from "H squared", it must at least consider the following in these discussions:
A) You cannot win with fresh faces if they cannot demonstrate leadership experience. Whatever opinion one has about Arden McLean, he is a strong leader and that loss needs to be made up with serious candidates.
B) You need candidates who can show economic leadership, notjust a concern for social issues. You can sing "pro Cayman" and "anti Dart" until the cows come home, but if people don't see how food will make it to the table or jobs created, that singing will be for nought.
C) Alden must work harder to remove the perceptions of being arrogant, disconnected and unapproachable to too many, aside from the PPM hard liners.
D) Alden must relax a little (a lot?) and be open to speaking with independents as well as those persons whom he may even consider as UDP supporters. In short, the man must be open and connect, because the cocoon that is the PPM is a lonely and ineffective shell from which to launch a successful political campaign.
The leader of the PPM must now rise to the challenge with far more conviction and direction or step aside. The country's democracy deserves better.
DoE seeks public input to save local sharks
(CNS): With many of Cayman's shark species under threat, the Department of Environment is engaging in a public consultation process to see what options people would support to protect these often misunderstood marinaanimals. Although regarded by some fishermen as a nuisance, sharks are a critically important part of the marine eco-system and also an important attraction to Cayman’s dive tourism. A study undertaken by the DoE has revealed that sharks could be worth as much as $25 million a year directly, and much more indirectly, to the islands but the various species common to local waters are under increasing threat. DoE officials said Thursday that there is a pressing need to enact legislation to protect their future.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday morning, DoE Deputy Director Tim Austin explained that recent research work involving shark tagging has given a clearer picture of the numbers and the worrying decline. With no doubt that sharks are under threat, the DoE is now looking for input from the wider public on the possible way forward and policy development for their protection.
Nurse sharks may be the species at most risk because they are easily caught on lines and, albeit unintentionally, many become casualties of fishing. But Austin noted that white tips, hammerheads and other species are also at risk and more work was required to understand why numbers have fallen.
While the main study was now complete, Austin said, with the help of donations coming from the sale of the Cayman Islands Brewery's White Tip larger, the tagging project would continue, offering researchers more information on the elusive creatures.
The focus now for the DoE is arriving at the best method of protecting sharks and other large marine animals. Even if people don't recognize the need to protect them from an environmental perspective, the DoE experts believe their economic value should persuade the public of the need to enact legislation to secure their future.
The study shows that the direct value is as much as $25 million but the indirect value could be even more because of the sharks' contribution to maintaining a healthy marine environment, which has a knock-on effect to the wider tourism product.
The department is posing several possible options for protecting the local shark populations, which will also include rays, dolphins and whales. The first is extending marine parks and protection zones, in which all of the species would be protected,.
Another is making Little Cayman alone a safe zone because of the comparatively healthy numbers around the country's smallest island. Alternatively, more protection could be added by extending full protection to all sharks, rays, whales and dolphins throughout Cayman waters, or at least within 12 nautical miles from shore.
As a result of the mobility of local sharks, Austin said, protection zones would not be an immediate quick fix to the problem of declining shark populations but it would be a step in the right direction. Tagging shows that some species, such as white tips, can travel over 80 miles in a day and even move from the Caribbean region into the Atlantic.
Even local tiger sharks are roaming all over the Caribbean, Austin explained, so a 12 mile zone around Cayman has only limited value, but combined with the protections under international covenants, local laws could give the sharks and other large marine species more of a fighting chance. At present, even Cayman's famous stingrays are not protected once they go outside a wildlife interaction zone.
The DoE is appealing to the entire community to fill in the questionnaire by mid September to help guide the future protection policy. A hard copy is also available from the DoE.
Concerns mount at Safehaven
(CNS): Sea captains facing eviction from the Port Authority marina at Safehaven have been given a reprieve in the face of concerns that the replacement marina, to be built by property developer Michael Ryan, will not be suitable for their needs. The men say that according to the plans the turning area is going to be too small for some of the operators to manoeuvre their boats, but they also have numerous other issues with the planned project. The captains not only fear that the marina will never materialize, they have also queried the legality of the entire deal now that at least one of the companies originally involved in the land swap with the port is in the hands of receivers.
The previous PPM administration had entered into a deal to swap crown land at Safehaven for Ryan’s proposed mixed use resort known as Dragon Bay in exchange for the development of a new modern public marina in the area for local tour operators. The original contract for the swap the boat captains believe was between Fujigmo, Cesar Hotelco (Cayman) Ltd and the Port Authority.
Since then the development has made little progress and following Ryan’s loss of control of the Ritz-Carlton and the companies involved in that hotel’s development, the future of the entire project, which included the new marina, has been in question. But after several years of inaction in relation to Dragon Bay, Ryan recently announced his plans to begin work on the marina and posted a notice for boat owners to vacate the site.
The captains have said that they will not move as they have a number of queries and concerns relating to the redevelopment, not least the danger that it will never be completed and they will havenowhere to go. Since those early fears made the captains reluctant to move, further developments have made them even less keen to leave the sanctuary of the Safehaven marina, which they have been using for some 25 years.
Speaking with CNS this week, Captain Bryan Ebanks said the group of captains had written to both Michael Ryan and the Port Authority about the numerous problems and were also seeking the support of the attorney general, as they now believe there are genuine questions about the legal ownership of the land.
Ebanks thinks that the contract over the land swap between the Port Authority and Ryan’s companies is in question because Cesar is now in the hands of receivers and Fujigmo does not appear to be a registered company in the Cayman Islands.
“Our first concern is that the temporary location where the developer wishes us to move to is not suitable for turning the boats used by some of our operators, a problem that appears to relate to the new marina as well,” he said. Captain Ebanks added that this problem was going to be very difficult to resolve as the land, once owned by Ryan, which could have been dredged to expand the marina and accommodate the boats, no longer belongs to him.
With Ryan having lost control of the Ritz Carlton and the companies associated with it, in particular Cesar, Ebanks noted that the contract regarding the swap between Ryan and government must be invalid and the captains are seeking the support of the attorney general on the matter.
Although Dragon Bay Ltd appears to be a registered company of good standing here and has not been seized by the Ritz receivers, that company was not the one Ryan used to enter into the contract with the Port Authority.
Having already made enquiries to find a lawyer to help them with the legal question, Ebanks says the captains have been asked for a retainer of $20,000, which the group can’t afford. He believes, however, that because as the issue concerns crown land the attorney general and the Port Authority are the ones that should be going out to bat for the captains.
“We are appealing to the attorney general to look into this as we really believe this deal is no longer lawful,” Ebanks stated. “We also continue to be concerned that should we vacate this site and for whatever reason Ryan is unable to complete the project, we will be left without a marina and our livelihoods will be in serious jeopardy.
"We are also concerned that the Port Authority, which is supposed to be our ‘guardian angel’ in regards to preserving a place for us to operate from, especially given our importance to the tourism product, is not properly defending our interests at present,” he added on behalf of the group of concerned captains.
CNS submitted questions to the Port Authority and the board on 2 August in regard to the confusion that appears to surround what is happening at Safehaven but so far we have not received a response and efforts to contact Michael Ryan remain unsuccessful.
Explosives in legal question
(CNS): Legal questions about whether a shipment of material imported by Suresh Prasad, the MD of Midland Acres Ltd, actually is explosive, as defined in law, were raised by his defence attorney Nick Dixey in court Thursday. Prasad is charged with importing explosives into the Cayman Islands without the proper permits, but although his attorney has acknowledged that the shipment contained blasting caps, the chemicals, according to the suppliers, are not explosive material and need further processing to make them so. With the explosive nature of the cargo in question, the case which was being heard in Summary Court was adjourned until Friday for further discussions to take place.
The crown has already engaged its own expert, prosecuting counsel Candia James told the court, and explained that she was expecting his report by Tuesday on whether or not the materials could be definded as explosives. In the meantime she agreed to continue discussions with the defence expert and the suppliers of the material and agreed to the adjournment until Friday.
The law describes explosives as substances and combinations of substances which are chemically unstable or can be rendered unstable if heated up. It also describes materials that could detonate, or if they were to disintegrate they would have a destructive effect.
Although Prasad claims the material he imported does not fit into the legal definition, in a letter to the premier in March, he described the shipment as “blasting material”. The boss of Midland Acres had written to McKeeva Bush to have the shipment, which had been seized by the customs authorities, released.
See related story: Man charged over dynamite