Archive for October, 2012
Cayman’s football boss falls ill on flight to UK
(CNS): Cayman’s footballing boss and CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb has been hospitalized in London after falling ill on his way to the UK to speak at a conference, the sports news organisation ESPN has reported. Webb was due to speak at the Leaders in Football event at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s football ground in the British capital but the 48-year-old man was taken ill on his flight. Leaders in Football host David Davies told the opening session on Wednesday that the 48-year-old was unable to attend as he was unwell. Details of Webb's condition have not yet been revealed.
Webb took over as head of the North American governing body in 2011 following bribery allegations levelled at his predecessor Jack Warner.
Webb had been due to speak about how CONCACAF was planning to change its image and become more transparent in the wake of the corruption scandal which had involved Warner. Other speakers at the two-day conference include Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and several current and former players.
50% of local mental health issues down to depression
(CNS): In the Cayman Islands, depression accounts for 50 per cent of mental illnesses the health minister revealed in his message to mark World Mental Health Day on Wednesday, 10.October. Cayman joins the World Health Organization (WHO) in observing the 20th anniversary to raise public awareness about mental health issues with the focus on depression. “There is no health without mental health,” Mark Scotland said. “It is the foundation for an individual’s well-being, and the promotion of good mental health helps people to maintain healthy lifestyles,” he added as he pointed to the task force established by his ministry to address the problems here in Cayman regarding the treatment of sufferers.
This year, the theme is Depression: A Global Crisis. Depression affects more than 350 million people of all ages in all communities and is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. Although there are known effective treatments for depression, access to treatment is a problem in most countries, and in some countries fewer than 10 percent of those who need it receive such treatment.
See minister’s full message below
Still time to nominate for NT’s conservation gongs
(CNS): There is still time ahead of the National Trust’s gala fundraiser next month for the public to make nominations for the inaugural Governor’s Conservation Awards. Tickets are now on sale for the dinner, which will include a live auction with a variety of unusual lots, as well as the awards recognising achievement in historic and environmental conservation. National Trust General Manager Christina McTaggart encouraged people to go to the Trust website to nominate a person, business or organisation that deserves recognition for their work in conservation before the new deadline of 12 October and to order tickets for the dinner.
The 25th anniversary gala and inaugural awards will take place on Friday 2 November at the Grand Old House and hosted by Jay Ehrhart. The auction lots include a private dinner for eight at the Governor's House with Governor Duncan Taylor, an original remarque Cayman Islands map by artist and conservationist Guy Harvey, a Costa Rica eco-adventure, a Key West spa vacation, and a holiday at a vacation home on the pink sand beaches of Harbour Island, Bahamas.
Exclusive one-of-a kind mystery auction items are also expected to cause a buzz as well as the "Wall of wine and rum" raffle, which will be a first for Cayman, and gives both the general public and gala guests the chance to support the Trust by donating bottles for the raffle at Blackbeard’s and Big Daddy’s stores.
Also new this year, the Garden Club, Trisha’s Roses, Every Bloomin’ Thing and other participants in the “Decorate for Charity” feature, will be judged by the governor’s wife on their Trust-themed table designs.
To book a table or buy tickets contact Basia McGuire at 749-1129 or bmcguire@nationaltrust.org.ky
More information and forms are available at www.nationaltrust.org.ky
Dart deal should be revealed
(CNS): The public has a right to see the details of the deal between government and the Dart Group before it is signed, the independent member for North Side has stated. With the government expected to ink the main agreement with the country’s largest investor, the Dart Group, before the end of this month, Ezzard Miller says the deal should not be secret and has called for it to be published in the public domain. He has also called for any side letters that may have been signed with the UK that clear the agreement from needing to meet the requirements of the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) which the premier signed with the FCO last year.
“If government has a side letter permitting this agreement, then we need to see that as well as the deal,” the North Side member said, adding that he did not believe the preliminary deal regarding the Esterly Tibbetts Highway swap meets the FFR. “The government negotiated a side deal for its strategic policy statement which had been drawn up before the premier was forced to sign the FFR, so is there one for this deal? And if so, the public should know as this deal cannot meet the requirements of that framework.”
He also questioned why the public had not seen the report by PricewaterhouseCoopers analysing the proposed project and whether or not if provides value for money for the Caymanian people and the public purse. The report was completed in April and Miller said he believed that it had raised concerns, which is why the negotiations have continued on for longer than government wanted. “But no one outside government’s inner circle and Dart has seen it,” he added.
Miller pointed out that the main agreement is a complex deal which is going to have far reaching implications for everyone in Cayman. The ForCayman Investment Alliance includes various land swaps between the crown and Dart, the Esterley Tibbetts Highway extension and related roads, the redevelopment of public beach, a new five-star resort on West Bay Road, the closure of a strip of that road, duty and tax concessions, cash donations to government and the moving of the dump to Bodden Town.
The land swaps plus the road developments and closure will lead to a significant increase in the value of the land that Dart will own. In addition, the parameters of the deal may have changed significantly since its announcement in the spring of last year and Miller said that before the government signs, the entire proposal should be made public.
The independent member was concerned that politicians and not the government’s technical staff have been too closely involved in this worrying deal.
“We have deals being negotiated by the wrong people,” Miller said. “We are dealing with public land and it should be the technocrats not the politicians that work out the details. Why are the Cabinet ministers all involved in these talks? How can ministers objectively negotiate such a deal? There are no checks and balances here.”
This is a point which has been raised by the auditor general in other reports he has conducted that involve government procurement. Alastair Swarbrick had pointed to concerns over the interference of politicians in technical issues and negotiations on contracts, which he has said leaves the system open to risk of abuse.
Miller said that if government intends to dispose of public assets there should be complete transparency so the people know what they are giving up and what, if anything, they are gaining.
Despite the letter from the Anti-Corruption Commission indicating that there was no wrongdoing regarding the $5 million donation that was given to government by Dart in thewake of the preliminary deal regarding the West Bay Road projects, signed last December, Miller pointed out that the payment had still not been properly explained. “What exactly is it for, what did Dart purchase with it and where is the invoice?” the MLA asked, as he has done previously.
Miller said there were a significant number of issues and controversies surrounding the deal and it now needed to come into the open. The public should get to see every detail of the final proposal before government commits the country to something that could have very far reaching repercussions, the independent member stated.
Boat captains wait on chief justice’s decision
(CNS): The dispute between the boat captains, the Port Authority and local developer Michael Ryan over the redevelopment and subsequent eviction of local boat owners from Safehaven was aired in the Grand Court Monday and Tuesday. Teams of lawyers argued the case before the chief justice, who is now deliberating the merits of the arguments. The country’s top judge, Anthony Smellie, said he would deliver his decision as soon as possible. In the meantime, the earlier injunction which stopped work at part of the site and allowed the captains to keep their boats at the dock remains in place until the new ruling is delivered.
The dispute between the parties focuses on the port’s deal with Ryan to redevelop the marina as a result of an earlier land swap and the captain’s concerns about both the temporary site and the dimensions of the new marina, which they say is not adequate for their needs.
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Budget board appointed
(CNS): Government has appointed a supermarket boss and an accountant from the private sector to the Budget Delivery Committee (BDC), which has been created as part of the Cayman government’s commitment made to the Overseas Territories Minister in connection with this year’s budget approval. Premier and Finance Minister McKeeva Bush said he supported the request for the committee and hoped that the members would keep him informed about the situation with public spending. The committee, at the request of the FCO, is headed up by the deputy governor as head of the civil service and it will be responsible for monitoring and driving the operational delivery of the budget and the fiscal framework. (Left: Committee member Woody Foster)
Although made up mostly of civil servants, the board includes Dan Scott of Ernst & Young and Woody Foster of the Fosters Group, which the premier said he was very pleased about.
“I fully support the request by the Overseas Territories Minister that a Budget Delivery Committee be established,” Bush said in a release from the finance ministry.
“I am concerned to ensure that the civil service is able to properly coordinate the operational delivery of the budgeet. My government delivered a bare bones budget within a very tight fiscal frame which calls for significant administrative change in the civil service.”
He said that the BDC would keep him informed of the performance of the budget on a monthly basis. “I have asked for an economist and an accountant to perform similar functions for the past three years,” the premier added.
The BDC will meet monthly and its terms of reference will be published on the government’s website shortly, the release stated. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, the BDC chair, said he would now be accountable for the delivery of the budgetary commitments made by the premier and approved by the Legislative Assembly.
“The purpose of the BDC is to assist me in carrying out this function. I am committed to ensuring that the BDC supports the Hon Premier in his role as minister of finance by keeping him fully informed of progress in the delivery of the budget and by giving him and his ministerial colleagues early warning of any significant changes to allow him and his ministers to make any necessary policy changes,” the deputy governor said, noting that the BDC is an advisory body which is accountable to the government of the day to assist with budget plans.
Governor Duncan Taylor also welcomed the announcement of the Committee.
“The 2012/13 budget, approved by the minister for the Overseas Territories and passed by the Legislative Assembly, aims to bring Cayman’s public finances back onto a credible and sustainable track. I am confident that the Committee, under the able chairmanship of the deputy governor and with the valuable input of respected senior members of the public and private sectors, will help drive the civil service’s operational delivery of the important demands which the budget have placed on it,” he said.
Taylor added that by providing timely and clear advice it will ensure that the Cabinet is fully informed so any policy adjustments to keep the budget on track can be made when necessary.
Working with the deputy governor and the two private sector members on the committee will be Financial Secretary Ken Jefferson, the Premier’s Chief of Staff Leonard Dilbert, Chief Officer of the Financial Services Ministry Dax Basdeo, Chief Officer of the Portfolio of the Civil Service Gloria McField-Nixon and Chief Officer Public Finance Sonia McLaughlin.
Serving as an ex-officio member of the committee is UK Economic Advisor Richard Holmwood.
DoE wants all captive stingrays set free
CNS): The director of the Department of the Environment made it clear last week that the government agency does not support any stingrays being held captive. Following an operation last week where the DoE team went to rescue four of the marine creatures, which were tagged at the Sandbar but had ended up in captivity at one of West Bay’s dolphinariums, Gina Ebanks-Petrie said that she wanted to see the other six at the centre released. In connection with offers by both of the captive dolphin facilities to introduce breeding programmes, the DoE director pointed out that, at this point, the numbers of wild animals was not so dire to justify holding any of them in captivity.
“While numbers are falling at Stingray City, the stingray population is not yet endangered enough to see them taken into captivity to breed them,” the director stated. “There is no requirement for a breeding programme at this stage.”
She pointed out that the situation at the Sandbar is not really normal as the creatures are attending because they are getting a free meal and are in a semi-captive situation already.
“We’ve been concerned for some time about the health of that population at the Sandbar because, although it’s a wild situation, the parameters are not normal,” she said, explaining that stingrays are usually solitary animals. “What we have is a collection of solitary animals there because they’re being heavily provisioned; they show up and they get a free meal,” she added.
The director said she was disappointed that Dolphin Discovery had chosen not to release six other stingrays back into the wild, despite DoE requests. The four that the facility gave up had been tagged at Cayman's best known visitor attraction, which is a Wildlife Interaction Zone and the only place where it is against the law to take stingrays from the water. As the stingrays tagged at the location can move in and out of the zone freely, it is not known when or where the rays were captured.
The facility agreed to release the tagged creatures following their discovery at the facility by a local vet. The dolphinarium is, however, at this stage still retaining six untagged rays taken from local waters.
No word on who’s in charge
(CNS): With the Cayman Islands premier travelling on business in the Far East and the deputy premier at a postal conference on the edge of the Arabian Desert, there has been no official word from government as to who is in charge and for how long. In the continuing failure of the government to keep the public properly informed regarding the whereabouts of its leaders and who is holding the fort at home, there has been no confirmation regarding McKeeva Bush’s current travel schedule or when Juliana O’Connor-Connolly will be returning from a postal conference in Doha, Qatar.
Although CNS has submitted questions regarding the premier, as is now customary the premier’s office has not answered those questions. It is assumed that Education Minister Rolston Anglin is currently acting as premier and CNS has asked for confirmation of that.
The deputy premier admitted she was at a postal conference in her message forWorld Postal Day but she did not indicate where that conference was in that public statement. It was confirmed by her ministry, however, that she is attending the Universal Postal Union’s 25th congress in Qatar but there are no details on when she will be returning.
Both the premier and his deputy have been criticised not only for the significant amount of official travel the two have engaged in over the past three years, but increasingly over the persistent failure to inform the public on the details of where, why, who and, above all, how much the trips cost.
With the country facing a continued economic slump and the government forced to raise fees and taxes, once again this year, to cover growing government expenses, the issue of costly overseas trips have come under the spotlight.
CNS has submitted freedom of information requests for the details of the trips taken by the country’s leaders and will publish the full documents if and when government releases the information under the law.
UK female judge’s arrest shrouded in mystery
(CNS): One of the UK’s very few black female judges has been arrested and questioned by police, according to various international media reports. Constance Briscoe (55) was reportedly arrested at her home in Clapham, south-west London, at the weekend by officers from Kent and taken to a police station for an interview. She has since been released on bail but authorities are saying very little about the investigation or on what grounds she was arrested. The daughter of Jamaican immigrants to Britain, Briscoe became famous when she revealed details of child abuse and neglect suffered at the hands of her mother in a 2006 book.
“A 55-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday in Clapham, south London, interviewed by officers and bailed pending further inquiries,” a police spokesperson said, while the Office for Judicial Complaints in the UK confirmed she had been suspended.
"The Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor have suspended Constance Briscoe from the judiciary pending the outcome of the police investigation into the allegations against her. It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst the investigation is active," the office statement said.
One of the most well-known members of the legal profession because of the book and her appearance on the leading BBC television programme "Question Time", Briscoe’s profile grew with the publication of "Ugly", in which she detailed a traumatic childhood. Her mother took legal action against her daughter but a jury found in favour of the judge.
Briscoe, a mother of two, was called to the Bar in 1983 and is now a part-time judge. She has made no comment so far regarding the arrest and suspension.
Kiwanis host younger leadership weekend workshop
(CNS): A local service club will be hosting its annual leadership workshop later this month for sixty teenage students. Key Leader is a training event for 14-18 year olds in which the principles of service are used to build effective leadership skills, organised by the Kiwanis service club. In its sixth year the popular weekend event will take place at Saint Ignatius Loyola Hall on Walkers Road from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st October. It is a weekend experiential leadership programme for today's young leaders, organisers said, adding that students will learn the most important lesson of leadership that it comes from helping others succeed.
During the weekend, through carefully focused workshops, students have opportunities to learn leadership skills that will help them to change their schools, communities, and world for the better,” the club said in a release. “While exploring leadership in a whole new way, they will make amazing new friends and have experiences they will never forget. Positive, ongoing interaction with other Key Leader graduates offers continuing reinforcement, encouragement and growth of leadership skills.”
Kiwanis president, Kadi Merren, said: “The wonderful thing about Key Leader is that each year we have past attendees of Key Leader wanting to come back to the event to help others. They want to talk about the manner in which Key Leader has played a positive role in their own life and development. This cheque from RBC Wealth Management allows us to keep the Cayman Islands event unique in the world.”
Apart from a token application fee, Cayman Islands students pay nothing to attend. RBC Wealth Management meets the cost of the event which is about CI$175 per student. Celebrating its 40th year of service in the Cayman Islands, it donated CI$2,000.
Stephen Price, an Investment Advisor for RBC Wealth Management, presented the cheque.
“I am pleased to present this cheque on behalf of RBC Wealth Management to Kiwanis for its Key Leader programme. In the same way that RBC provides investment advisory services, we also invest wisely in the skills required by the young people of the Cayman Islands. The annual KeyLeader programme has a proven track record and we take great pleasure in being a sponsoring partner in this event.”
Parents of students in the age range 14-18 wanting further information can visit the Kiwanis website at www.kiwanis.ky and click on the Key Leader info link.