Archive for December 5th, 2012
PPM confirms 3 more names
(CNS): Three more potential candidates who hope to run on the PPM ticket in the May 2013 general election were formally unveiled to the media by Opposition Leader Alden McLaughlin on Wednesday. Marco Archer (left) and Joey Hew (below right) will complete the opposition’s slate of candidates in the capital and Ray Farrington (below left) will be taking on the UDP in his home district of West Bay. The confirmation of the three candidates leaves just two slots open on the opposition election team and McLaughlin said the PPM would reveal at a later date the two who will join Farrington and Woody Da Costa in the battle for West Bay. (Photos by Dennie Warren Jr)
The opposition leader said the party had been focusing hard recently on pulling together the kind of team that could provide the sort of government needed for the times that Cayman now finds itself in. He said the country was no longer thriving but in survival mode and it needed a government that could represent all of the people.
McLaughlin said he was delighted with the calibre of people who had stepped forward who were willing to stand on the PPM ticket because they represented real diversity and reflected the whole community and not just special interest.
The opposition leader said that he was aware of the criticism being made about defining policies but the Progressives were working on a carefully thought out agenda that would set out the party position as the campaign gathered pace.
Introducing his “team for the time”, McLaughlin emphasised the varied experiences and qualities that the candidates wanting to run on the Progressive ticket brought.
Introducing the three men, he said that Ray Farrington (left), who had been behind the scenes of the PPM since the beginning but was now stepping forward, had what it takes to face the obvious challenges in his home town district of West Bay. He pointed to the long service history and commitment to the community that Joey Hew brought and the professional acumen and credentials of Marco Archer.
The opposition leader confirmed that the proposed line up for the PPM in the May 2013 elections would see himself, the former leader of government business Kurt Tibbetts, Lucille Seymour, Kenny Bryan, Archer and Hew run in George Town.
Meanwhile, in Bodden Town, veteran MLA Anthony Eden would be joined by Osborne Bodden, Wayne Panton and Alva Suckoo Jr. For the first time the PPM will be fielding a full slate of candidates in West Bay, which would be led by Da Costa along with Farrington and two more yet to be revealed candidates.
McLaughlin confirmed that the new deputy leader, Moses Kirkconnell, would be the only PPM candidate in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, and because of his belief that both the incumbent independent members in North Side and East End would continue to work alongside the opposition in the fight to defeat the UDP, the party would not field candidates in either district.
Making his first public address as a potential candidate, Hew said that his decision to run with the PPM was because he believed the party could provide a forward thinking, honest government. Farrington said that having been behind the scenes he never expected to find himself running for office, but after seeing where the country was going, he said, he feltthe time had come. Although he did not have all the answers, he said, if the people of West Bay were willing to employ him, he would be both an ethical and honest representative.
“I do not have any personal agenda or company to promote, or axe to grind,” he said.
Archer pressed the importance of party when he spoke about the history of Cayman politics and the decisions that had been made historically by independent members who believed they knew what was best without consulting. He said there was strength in numbers and he believed the PPM had an excellent track record and was filled with men and women of integrity.
Presenting his almost full team, McLaughlin said the Progressives' slate of candidates presented the perfect balance of “experience, enthusiasm and education”, which would move both the party and ultimately the country forward once the PPM was back in government.
See candidates profiles below.
UK and OTs agree action plan for year ahead
(CNS): Economic growth, protecting the environment and making government work better were the three main areas identified as priorities by Mark Simmonds, the FCO’s overseas territories minister in a release Wednesday at the end of this year’s Joint Ministerial Council for the UK’s OTs. The meeting between the British government and the leaders of its remaining sixteen territories ended with a joint communiqué which sets out priority issues and what was described as a comprehensive action plan for joint work in the coming year.
“This first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council has helped us identify an ambitious list of priority areas for action, such as encouraging economic growth; protecting the environment and making government work better,” Mark Simmonds stated in a release from the Foreign Office. “We will work closely with the Territories in the coming year to achieve what we have together set out to do.”
The JMC meeting, which used to be known as the Overseas Territories Council Meeting, was chaired by Minister Simmonds and attended by premiers, chief ministers and other elected representatives from Britain’s overseas territories. It closed Wednesday with a meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who welcomed them to 10 Downing Street. The FCO said this was the first time that a UK prime minister had met jointly with all the territories' leaders.
“The United Kingdom’s 14 Overseas Territories are an integral part of Britain’s life and history,” David Cameron stated. “This government is ambitious for our territories as we are ambitious for the United Kingdom. We want to see our communities flourish in partnership, with strong and sustainable local economies. We see an important opportunity to set world standards in our stewardship of the extraordinary natural environments we have inherited.”
Simmonds said the White Paper sets out a very positive vision for the overseas territories.
“Many of my ministerial colleagues from across government took part in the Council this week, demonstrating that the UK Government as a whole is committed to supporting the Territories,” he said.
Cops issue warning over fake cash
(CNS): With counterfeit versions of the KYD$25 note found to be circulating officers from the financial crimes unit of the RCIPS are warning shoppers and businesses to be on the look out for fake cash this Christmas season. The latest dud notes are forgeries of the new Cayman Islands Monetary Authority 2010 series and they all have the serial number D/1113950 on the front. These notes look exactly like the real thing but do not have the usual security features present on the real thing. “We don’t want anyone to lose out this Christmas by picking up fake cash with their shopping,” said Detective Inspector Livingston Bailey of the FCU.
“I’m appealing to the public and to businesses to be particularly vigilant. The shops are getting busier and people are rushing around trying to pick up some Christmas bargains – but don’t get conned into accepting fake notes as genuine currency,” he added.
The RCIPS said business owners need to ensure that their staff is familiar with the look and feel of genuine notes, as well as the security features to look out for such as paper quality, watermarks and the metallic strips. If retail staff receive a fake note, or one they suspect to be counterfeit, they should note the description of the person passing the note, as well as any companion. The note should not be returned to the passer. The person receiving the note should initial it and date it close to theedge, then tag the note with a copy of the transaction receipt and call the police.
Anyone who is found to be involved in the production or circulation of counterfeit cash could face up to ten years behind bars. In addition, anyone who receives a note which they believe to be fake must contact the police immediately as it is a criminal offence to retain or pass on the note. DI Bailey added anyone who is in possession of a note that’s found to be counterfeit will not be compensated, so those few extra seconds spent checking the cash before you accept it could prevent you from losing out financially.
Police urged people to pay attention to the feel of the paper on which notes are printed as genuine notes are printed on special paper that has a rough texture. Counterfeit notes have a smooth texture and will smudge or smear when exposed to water. They advise people who think that they have been given a forged note tto compare it to one that you know is genuine.
Retail staff are asked to put as much information as possible on counterfeit report forms about the person passing the note and write it on the form and to secure any CCTV footage of the transaction and the passer.
The RCIPS form for reporting counterfeit money can be found on the CIMA website www.cimoney.com.ky
Ramsey-Hale deliberates on TCI election ruling
(CNS): Cayman's former chief magistrate isdeliberating on a ruling in the Turks and Caicos Islands regarding a challenge made by a candidate for the Cheshire Hall- Richmond Hill seat which went to Amanda Misick (PNP) in the recent general election. Justice Margaret Ramsey-Hale who is now a high court judge in TCI is deliberating on a dispute between Oral Selver (PDM) who lost the seat by 30 votes in November 's national poll. Selver claims that the third candidate in the district race is a US Citizen and was not qualified. Had he not run the 58 votes he polled may have gone to Selver giving him the seat.
According to the local press Misick applied to have the petition filed by Selver struck out on the basis of disclosing no cause of action. She claims the petition was misconceived as the question of the validity of the nomination of the candidate in question Edward Smith was different to the question of whether a member was validly elected and if Smith was disqualified from being elected it didn't mean the votes he got didn't count.
The General Election was won by the PNP with eight seats just one more than the PDM which won seven. Should Justice Ramsey-Hale come down in favour of the petition, leading to a trial. The possibly of a by-election in the district could tip the government to the PDM .
Justice Ramsey was expected to deliver the ruling this lunchtime but has since stated that she will be taking more time to consider the arguments.
Fishermen net crocodile in West Bay
(CNS): Officials from the Department of Environment have tagged a crocodile that turned up at Barkers in West Bay Tuesday and have released it into a remote part of the island. The crocodile was seen in the ocean off Barkers yesterday morning by a kite-surfer and two local fishermen brought him to shore before handing him over to DoE staff. From the barnacles on the reptile’s body, it is believed to have been at sea for some time.
Although the Cayman Islands was home to crocodiles in the past, as the creatures have shown up in the fossil record, experts believe that the crocodiles turning up in local waters now are usually from Cuba or Jamaica.
This latest crocodile, which has now been tagged, enabling the DoE to identify him in future, was about four foot long and believed to be an adult American Crocodile (Crocodylus Acutus) common to the region. With no mates and not much food, experts believe that crocs spotted in Cayman don’t stay around too long, although several have been found over the last few years. One of the most famous crocs captured here was an eight foot long specimen found in Old Man Bay, which is now in captivity at the Cayman Turtle Farm.
CITA asks public to lobby minister for marine parks
(CNS): Following the clear opposition from the premier at a recent public meeting in West Bay for the Department of Environment’s proposed expansion of the marine parks, there is mounting concern in the community that the desperately needed upgraded protection for Cayman’s marine environment will fall at the first hurdle of Cabinet. However, the local private sector tourism association, CITA, is calling on the public to show their support for a new marine parks law that extends current protections to meet the modern day threats by lobbying the environment minister.
The Cayman Islands Tourism Association said it wholeheartedly supports the expansion plan put out by the DoE which is currently under review and is expected to be adapted slightly to incorporate the public feedback. The group states that the laws could have a positive direct impact on the health of Cayman’s largest tourism product — its beautiful coral reefs andocean environment. Without the extended protections, however, the local reefs, which have fared far better than many others due to the existing protections, could begin to deteriorate as threats increase.
As a result CITA is asking everyone to take a moment this week and send a letter of support for the marine park expansion to Minister Mark Scotland, who has responsibility for the environment. A letter that has been drawn up by CITA is attached to this article, and people can print and sign and mail it to the minister or scan in to send electronically.
“We ask you to support this proposal now to help ensure a sustainable marine parks plan for the continued success of our tourism product! We need your letters of support to be sent to Mr Scotland as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for CITA said.
Send letters to Mark Scotland, Minister of Health, Environment, Youth, Sports and Culture, The Government Administration Building, Grand Cayman or email to mark.scotland@gov.ky.
For more details about the need to expand the parks visit ww.doe.ky.