Archive for February, 2013
Young footballers hope Vegas losses stay in Vegas
(PFL): The PFL Youth Football Programme’sUnder 13 team recently returned to the Island following their participation in the 2013 Las Vegas Mayor’s Cup International Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, which took place 16-19 February. Although returning from the tournament with a less than glamourous record – one win and three losses-the valuable experience gained will contribute greatly to the players’ development as they begin to fulfil the short and long-term goals organisers and coaches of the Programme have set for these talented youngsters. With an average age of only 12, the team participated in the Under 14 division playing teams from Utah, Nevada and Canada.
Although the players were disappointed with the results, the young men played admirably gaining the respect of many of their opponents, coaches, spectators and tournament officials.
The Mayor’s Cup International Showcase is one of two annual football (soccer) tournaments co-hosted by the Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club and the City of Las Vegas, the other being the International Tournament, which is played in October. Each year, the tournament welcomes international teams from Canada, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Poland, France, Australia, Dominican Republic, Denmark and Africa.
Travelling with the Cayman contingent were coaches Ernie “Gillie” Seymour, Antwan Seymour and Gonzalo McLaughlin along with team manager Norman Joseph and a number of parents.
Playing in very unfamiliar cool conditions, top scorer for the Cayman team was Cayman Athletic forward D’Andre Rowe with many of his teammates making notable contributions including Kameron Mendez, Albertini Holness, Joshua O’Garro, Xavier Comment, Ricardo Wright, Kailan Miller, Kareem Foster, Rico Bodden, Jondane Dawkins and Nicholas Chung.
The PFL Youth Football Programme Under 13s have only been together since March 2011, training once per week and playing in as many friendly games and competitions with local teams in preparation for tournaments such as the Mayor’s Cup. This tournament marked the first time some of these players have travelled overseas and competed. As a team, it is the first time they have travelled and competed together and only the second time they have competed against overseas opposition.
With the many positives arising from this trip and the excellent commitment and performance from the players, the future looks very promising for this team.
PFL Youth Football Programme coach Ernie “Gillie” Seymour said, “The Mayor’s Cup was a great opportunity for our youngsters to experience what it’s like playing in unfamiliar weather conditions, a long way from home with very few “home” supporters in the stands.
Many of these youngsters want to follow in the footsteps of Sebastian Martinez and Kray Foster who now ply their trade with Swindon Town FCs Youth Academy in the United Kingdom. To achieve this, they need to be able to play in adverse weather conditions against bigger, stronger opposition, which is exactly what they experienced in Las Vegas. It was great learning experience.”
Coordinator of the PFL Youth Football Programme Neil Murray added, “The players, parents and coaches did a wonderful job in raising funds for this trip and we thank everyone who supported the fundraising raffle, car washes and fish fries. The PFL Youth Football Programme thanks all the companies who gave generously in supporting this trip and the Programme. It was a great experience for our youngsters and we hope to attend other overseas tournaments in the coming years as we continue to build on this Programme.”
Glidden says airport boss remains on full pay
(CNS): While the management and board of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) have remained silent on the situation regarding the suspension of the CEO and the dismissal of the former financial officer over the misuse of public funds, the tourism minister confirmed Thursday that the airport boss was still on full pay. Cline Glidden, who became minister shortly after Jeremy Jackson was suspended, said he could not comment further on the situation but he promised that the outcome would not be swept under the carpet.
He said that internal and external investigations were on going and that the audit office was now also involved. A spokesperson for the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) confirmed Friday that the office was aware of the allegations regarding the airport, which is a government statutory authority.
“The Auditor General has been made aware of these allegations and his office is currently gathering information to determine the nature and scope of any work that needs to be conducted in light of actions being taken by the current CIAA board and management. When the work is completed, it is the intent of the Auditor General to report publicly on his findings,” the office said in a statement.
The documentary evidence leaked to North Side MLA Ezzard Miller this week shows that the authority’s annual financial statements in 2009 were audited by the OAG and were given an unqualified opinion despite a significant theft being recorded in the accounts. The 2010 accounts, which record further loses, have been audited but these have not yet been tabled in the Legislative Assembly and, despite being more than two years out of date, the financial statements are still not public documents.
A report commissioned by the board and leaked to Miller showed a catalogue of possible misappropriation of public money at the airport since 2009, from boozy lunches and investigated thefts to the purchase of permanent residency for foreign workers and footing the bill for flight training for private pilots working at the airport.
See related story here.
George Town man bailed in face of re-trial
(CNS): A man awaiting trial on attempted murder charges has been released on bail after spending more than six months in custody and following the collapse of his trial last month. Justin Ramoon (21) has been granted bail after a panel of jurors was dismissed half-way through his trial as a result a potential prejudice of the legal arguments presented by attorneys. Ramoon is now set for a retrial with a new panel of jurors on 15 July. Despite the crown counsel’s objections over what it said was a risk to the complainant’s safety, Justice Charles Quin allowed the George Town local man to be relieved from prison in connection with the charge of stabbing Andrew Lopez outside a George Town bar last August.
Although his bail was refused before by Justice Alex Henderson, Ramoon’s defence counsel was given the okay to reapply for bail after the trial had come to a halt. Ramoon’s bail variations run in parallel to the seriousness of the offences he is facing. His defence counsel submitted that he has faced serious charges before and made all efforts to attend court and will continue to do so because he wants to “clear his name”. In addition, his mother handed up her land as surety in faith that her son will be present when required.
Justice Quin proceeded to bail Ramoon at a price of $950 and two sureties of $5,000 each and ordered that the defendant be fitted with an electronic tag as well as imposing a curfew from 8pm to 6am. Ramoon is to remain in residence with his mother and is not allowed to go into the Prospect area, where his alleged victim lives, unless required by his job.
Quin added that Ramoon must attend the police station three times a week as well as surrender his travel documents.
Fund politicizes church
(CNS): The significant donations given to a select few churches via the controversial Nation Building Fund established by the former premier have ensured the politicization of the church in this election campaign. With millions of dollars going to the churches since the fund was created in 2010, the nation building initiative is being associated with vote buying — an accusation that was reinforced by the PPM’s George Town candidate, Marco Archer, on Wednesday when he pointed to the discriminatory nature of the donations. Meanwhile, UDP Leader McKeeva Bush accused opponents of the fund as critics of the church, implying those not supporting his nation building efforts were not good Christian people.
Speaking at the opening of the UDP’s new George Town headquarters last week, Bush defended money given to religious institutions and said that assisting churches was one of the UDP’s campaign promises in 2009. He said many churches were heavily damaged in Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and were struggling to rebuild. The Nation Building Fund was being used to help churches turn the buildings into hurricane shelters, Bush said.
“It is high time people stopped castigating our churches,” Bush added, as he described them as the country’s moral compass. Speaking to an audience boosted by congregations from George Town churches where the former premier has been worshiping recently, Bush spoke about the importance of the church in nation building and accused those who were criticising the fund of attacking religion.
With the powerful influence of pastors on their congregations, combined with the significant disparity in the public cash that has been given to the various church groups, concerns among Christians on all sides of the political debate have been raised about the fund and how cash is allocated. Donations have varied from millions given to a few churches (see related stories below) and a couple of thousand to others, while many have received nothing at all.
At the UCCI political debate on corruption on Wednesday evening, the issue of pastors and church leaders openly telling their congregations to vote for a politician after receiving a donation was described by the candidates as corrupt, especially when that funding came from the public purse.
When a member of the audience asked the panellists how they felt about church leaders who endorsed candidates who gave them money, they all agreed it was corruption. The question came after the former premier’s guest appearance on the stage at the first Sabbath Celebration of the Impact West Bay Campaign at the Adventist Church in the district, which had received money from the Nation Building Fund.
Wayne Panton, a PPM candidate in Bodden Town, pointed to the need to separate religion from politics as it harmed the entire country when churches were manipulated. “It’s unacceptable, it’s wrong and a very bad idea,” Panton added.
His party colleague who will be running in the capital, Marco Archer, illustrated the problem that many people appear to have with the NBF. He pointed out that certain churches in West Bay had received hefty donations over the last three years under the guise of building hurricane shelters, while others received nothing. Despite this, one church in West Bay, which has the highest location in the district and the most suitable site for a shelter, did not receive a single cent. Archer implied it was more than a coincidence that several of the former premier’s political opponents belonged to that congregation.
“Only a select few churches received money,” he said, adding this was “unequivocally nothing more than corruption.” Agreeing withBush that the church has an obligation to be a moral compass, to take money and then endorse the person who gave that money was wrong.
Coalition candidate Jackee Haynes, who is also running in the capital, called on the congregations themselves to condemn such behaviour where their church leaders were endorsing candidates, and she said the silence of the people only facilitated it.
Her C4C colleague Roy McTaggart, who has been a member of the Commission for Standards in Public life for the last three years, in which it has struggled to make any inroads into addressing what is perceived as a significant problem, said it was “ terribly wrong” for churches to be asking government for money for their coffers. He said preachers encouraging their congregation to vote for a person that then gave money was vote buying. McTaggart said candidates should not be asking their pastors to endorse them but to campaign among the parishioners of their own church themselves as they would in the community at large.
While all of the would-be political candidates were uncomfortable with the controversial nation building, the deputy premier, whose government had allocated several million dollars in the last three budgets, including to his own church, defended the donations to religious institutions. He said if government wasn’t going to give money to assist churches it would have to stop its assistance to a whole raft of other non-governmental organisations, from sports clubs to scouts.
Rolston Anglin said that pastors should not be promoting candidates if the church had received money from them or government. But to stop giving money to the country’s churches would represent a paradigm shift in policy. However, he raised concerns about transparency, saying where government was partnering with a church to build a shelter, which “was a smart move”, it had to be clear about the rules of engagement and how money was given.
It is the perception of the political control and manipulation of the Nation Building Fund that has caused concern in the community. The money is being managed and allocated via the finance ministry, which has now been taken over by Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, the new premier, but was originally created and managed by Bush when he was in that role, an issue which has caused concern for the auditor general as well. Alastair Swarbrick has indicated that his office plans to examine the fund as part of a value for money audit across government, looking at how money has been allocated because without transparent criteria for giving money there are risks to the public purse, the audit office has said.
Related articles:
familyenrichment.caymanadventist.org/mr-mckeeva-bush-joins-first-sabbath-celebration
Road closure in question
(CNS): Following what appeared to be much more enthusiastic commitment to the West Bay Road closure last week in the absence of the premier, at this Thursday’s press briefing Juliana O’Connor-Connolly pointed to more pressing priorities than the gazetting the new road and the controversial closure of the local highway. Last week the ministers indicated that the closure was imminent and likely to happen by Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week, but the premier appeared less keen to commit to an exact date for the road’s closure. This comes in the face of expectations that activists could be taking legal action this week to stay the closure.
Although the Cabinet members have claimed that the process being followed under the NRA agreement between the roads authority, the government and local developer, the Dart Group, is lawful and the same as any other road closure, campaigners say that the West Bay Road, as a significant highway which has been in public use for decades, cannot simply be closed under the same system used to close side or neighbourhood roads.
Dart has already begun work on what government has said will be enhanced facilities at the Seven Mile Public Beach in preparation for an international volley ball tournament taking place at Easter, but what appeared to be the imminent closure of the first 1000 feet or more of the 4000 feet stretch that will eventually be closed may not be taking place quite as soon as the parties had envisaged.
It is not clear what action is being planned but there are questions about the legality of the road closure process because of the length of time the West Bay Road has been closed. And while Cabinet said that the government was now legally obligated to close the road because of the agreement signed with Dart in December 2011, government may equally be facing other legal issues if it does close it.
In addition, opponents to the closure have raised significant questions about the enshrined rights of access to the beach, which will be undermined when the West Bay Road is closed, as well as the dangers of having only one road in and out of west Bay when the goal was to have two and, worse, having that one road go across a bridge.
Cabinet ministers dismissed those fears on Thursday, with Cline Glidden stating that the enshrined access to the beach was still there and the public rights of way from the road to the beach every 200 yards applies only where the beachfront is developed. His colleague Mark Scotland also said the single road was not unlike the situation now at Grand Harbour with just one road going into George Town from the East.He dismissed fears about the bridge saying a single access road may be able to address problems of access should the bridge be compromised.
Seamen benefits in flux
(CNS): The community affairs ministry has admitted that there are some problems with the funding of seaman’s benefits and delays in applications as a result of an increased number of ex-seamen or their spouses applying for assistance. The minister now responsible for community affairs said officials were updating the records for new and old recipients, ensuring that money was not being paid to people who had died. In the face of mounting concerns from veterans and widows who say they have not received their money, Dwayne Seymour said the cash was not been withdrawn but records were being checked, causing some delays in the payments to new applicants or to spouses of sea-veterans that had died.
Speaking at Thursday’s press briefing, Seymour said there had been past cases where government was paying seamen’s assistance into the bank account of former seaman long after their deaths and as a result the ministry had to ensure that it was paying the benefits to living ex-seamen or their widows. The checks had resulted in money that had been incorrectly paid being returned to government, the minister said.
The department has created new forms and Seymour stated that, given the growth in applicants and the budgetary constraints, government had checked that the right people were getting the right benefits. The benefit is means tested and government is hoping to curb the incidences of payments being made to those who have a significant income or who have passed away. Seymour said that when an-ex seaman dies spouses can still get the benefit but they needed to make an application to access it.
However, there seems to be a considerable number of hoops for surviving spouses and new ex-seaman applicants to jump through before they can get the money. A significant number of documents must be verified and the applicants must demonstrate their financial circumstances are such that they qualify. All of this, the minster admitted, was leading to delays in cash being given out.
Seymour said the government programme, which was designed to assist the country’s sea veterans if they were unemployed or have meagre incomes, was never meant to be given to so many people.
Dorine Whittaker, the chief officer in the ministry, said there were more applicants than had been expected when the programme was first established. She explained that as people came up to retirement age and the time when ex-seamen could qualify for the benefit, far more of them than anticipated had too small pensions and had less than $2000 coming in each month, making them eligible for the benefit.
Although not designed for former mariners with their own businesses or other means of income, more veterans than expected have found themselves in poverty in their old age. Government had envisioned the budget it needed to allocate for this benefit falling as the years went by, not only because of the loss of lives but that many veterans would have been self-sufficient, but in reality far more sea veterans are unable to fend for themselves than government had been foreseen.
Ex-seaman and veteran mariners are entitled to the benefit of $500pcm as an acknowledgement of their services to the country and to keep those who contributed so much to the Cayman Islands out of poverty. However, with government’s depleted coffers, poor pension investments, the economic downturn and growing unemployment among Caymanians, the numbers of those entitled to seek government assistance appears to be putting a strain on the public purse.
West Bay man stable in wake of stabbing
(CNS): A man is in stable condition after he was stabbed during an incident in the Mount Pleasant area of West Bay on Friday night. Police said that 911 received a report at around 10pm last night and emergency services and police were sent to the scene, where they found the victim. The man had sustained stab wounds in his back and abdominal areas but he was conscious and breathing. He was taken by ambulance to the George Town hospital, where he was admitted and is currently being treated. There are nodetails available from the RCIPS about the circumstances and CID is said to be investigating.
Anyone with information call West Bay police station on 949-3999 or Crimestoppers' anonymous line on 800 TIPS.
2 street robberies overnight
(CNS): Two different victims were reportedly mugged in the early hours of Saturday morning at two separate parts of the islands. George Town police are investigating a robbery on Lawrence Boulevard, while Bodden Town officers are looking into a mugging in North Side, an RCIPS spokesperson said. The George Town robbery occurred around 2:30 Saturday morning when a man was robbed by three other men. Police reported that the victim sustained facial injuries and was taken to the George Town hospital, while two other men were arrested and are currently in police custody.
Bodden Town CID is investigating another street robbery, which allegedly occurred along Larriat Road, North Side at around 9:30 on Friday night. The complainant reported that he was robbed of a small amount of cash and a cell phone by three men with a female accomplice. No weapon was involved and the complainant was not injured. Police did not say at what time the incident occurred.
Anyone with information on these or any other crime can call 949 7777 or 800 TIPS.
Tourist dies snorkelling off 7 Mile Beach
(CNS): A visitor to the Cayman Islands form the United States was pronounced dead by medical officials at George Town Hospital Friday afternoon, police have said. The man appears to have died while he was snorkelling off Seven Mile Beach around lunchtime today. Police said that at about 1:25 pm (22 February) the 55 year old United States citizen went snorkelling and got into difficulties. He was rescued and assisted back to shore by persons who were on the beach at the time. The paramedics who arrived on the scene administered CPR and took him to the George Town Hospital but medical staff were unable to save the man and he was pronounced dead, the RCIPS confirmed.
Scientists astounded by sea vents in Cayman trough
(BBC): UK scientists exploring the ocean floor in the Caribbean have discovered an "astounding" set of hydrothermal vents, the deepest anywhere in the world. Deploying a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) in the Cayman Trough, they stumbled across a previously-unknown site nearly 5000m below the surface. Video pictures relayed live back to the research ship mounting the operation show spindly chimneys up to 10m high. They are belching out dark water – "a stunning sight", one scientist said. In the immense pressure of the sea three miles down, the ROV, known as ISIS, was gently steered around the vents, taking pictures and gathering samples.
Hydrothermal vents are among the strangest features of the deep ocean and their existence was not known until the 1970s. Since then they have been discovered at about 200 sites around the world including the Southern Ocean and the Atlantic.
But it was only three years ago that vents were first detected in the Cayman Trough, a deep trench formed by the boundary between two tectonic plates. One set of vents, known as Beebe, was established as the deepest on record – until the discovery last night of another slightly deeper set nearby, at 4,968m. or about three miles.