Archive for June, 2013
Stormchaser Regatta as exciting as ever
(CISC): Four classes of dinghy competed in this year's Stormchaser regatta, which marks the beginning of the hurricane season. Breezy conditions and a high standard of racing resulted in a thrilling two days of action. In the youth Optimist class Derek Peene (left), sailing in his first regatta handled the conditions very well and showed he is one to watch for the future. Monique Hernandez gave reigning youth champ Allena Rankine a run for her money but Rankine proved too strong and ran out the winner taking the Stormchaser trophy for the first time. In the senior division Bytes, Radials and Laser Standards fought it out with more than one "coming together". Shane McDermott was the top Byte sailor taking third place overall.
Coach Raph was full of praise. "He sailed a very steady regatta showing a steady calm and maturity when others were taking too many risks. He just gets better and better."
In the Lasers Chris Delaney and Kelvin Browne were neck and neck sharing the lead throughout the seven races. As Race Officer Peta Adams explained "It was so close that they actually tied one of the races on time. With Chris sailing Radial and Kelvin a full rig they couldn't be sure who was in the lead until the results were calculated at the end." It was Delaney who eventually took the title, also a first time winner in the Stormchaser event.
Club Manager Rick Caley lamented that the Cat Boats didn't come out this year. "We always look forward to having these wonderful boats out on the water with us and although Jerris Miller can hang on to the trophy for another twelve months, we hope they will be out again next year".
Rivers will fight challenge
(CNS): Following the revelations on CNS Thursday that Tara Rivers is facing a legal challenge to her election to office at the May poll, the new education minister has said she intends to “vigorously oppose this challenge”. However, she has said very little about the details of the election petition filed in the court Wednesday, just hours ahead of the deadline for the petition. Rivers said she was committed to fulfilling her term and to serving the people according to what she called the “overwhelming desire” of her district and country. The new premier, who invited the C4C candidate into his government after her historic victory in West Bay, also offered his support Friday in a message from London.
Rivers is being challenged on two fronts by John Gordon Hewitt, the husband of Velma Hewitt, the United Democratic Party candidate who was placed fifth in the West Bay poll, missing a seat by several hundred votes. However, Hewitt has filed the petition asking the courts to make his wife the duly elected fourth member for West Bay and remove Rivers from office. He claims that Rivers was not qualified to run as she holds an American passport and because she was not resident in the Cayman Islands for seven years before the election.
In her latest statement, Rivers makes no comment about the heart of the challenge, stating that it is now a matter for the courts. However, in the past she had claimed that her eligibility was not in question as she was studying during the time that she was living and working in London between 2006 and 2009. According to the elections law, formal study is one of the exemptions provided for in the seven year residency requirement. Rivers has not, however, commented on her situation regarding whether or not she has retained her right to a US passport.
“Unfortunately, as this is now an on-going legal matter before the Courts, I am unable to make any further statement at this time. Your prayers and support are appreciated and I will endeavour to keep you informed as and when I am able. I respectfully ask that each of you remain level-headed and optimistic and allow this to be handled through the appropriate channels, as the law requires,” Rivers, who is a lawyer, said in an official statement released to the press following enquiries from CNS for comment.
Addressing her constituents, Rivers said she was grateful for “the outpouring of support" and the messages conveying the “deep disappointment and shock at the eleventh hour petition filed against my election to the Legislative Assembly”. She added, “I know that many of you are disheartened by this news and feel that this is a campaign to discredit me publicly and distract me from my current responsibilities.” But she saidshe remained focused on carrying out her duties as a minister and MLA.
Meanwhile, offering his support for Rivers in a statement from the UK, Premier Alden McLaughlin said he was aware of the petition challenging the legitimacy of the election of Rivers. Saying it was “disappointing and unfortunate that such a challenge is being made at this late stage", he pointed to the need for the new government to settle in to address the difficult times that Cayman faces without “the distraction and uncertainty created by this petition.”
The premier called for the issue to be addressed expeditiously. “I have spoken to Minister Rivers and she has advised me that she intends to vigorously defend her election. I have assured her that she continues to enjoy the confidence and support of the government and of me as Premier,” McLaughlin added.
CNS has also contacted Coalition for Cayman, the group which claims it questioned and scrutinized all of the candidates it endorsed, to clarify if this issue was addressed during that process and that they had satisfied themselves that Rivers was qualified. However, we have not yet received a response.
According to the Elections Office, Rivers was one of a handful of candidates that refused to sign a voluntary declaration form which asked them to state that there were no issues that could prevent them from being qualified.
See both Rivers' and McLaughlin’s statements in full below and see related story and petition here.
Jewel heist costs thief eight years in jail
(CNS): As Simon Julio Newball marked his 37th birthday in Grand Court Thursday, he also heard the judge hand down an eight year custodial sentence for his conviction by a 6 juror panel of theft and arson. Though he had denied all of the allegations, Newball was found guilty of stealing jewellery valued at US$308,194 from Magnum Jewellers in George Town along with two other masked men. The three men had entered the store with an axe and committed a smash 'n' grab raid just a few days before Christmas in 2011 during business hours. Newball was also found guilty of arson of the getaway vehicle which was found burnt out by police shortly after the daylight jewel heist took place.
Justice Alexander Henderson had directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict to robbery, which was one of the charges against the George Town man because the judge said there was no evidence to support a guilty verdict.
However, the judge explained that a "lesser included charge" of theft was to be considered instead because no forcewas used by the three people who entered the store against anyone during the heist. Newball was also charged with theft of the vehicle, but again Justice Henderson dismissed that charge on the grounds that there was no evidence to support it.
In summing up the trial for the jury Justice Henderson pointed to the evidence given by a salesman in the store at the time of the heist. He had told the court that at around 11am that day, a Toyota Rav 4 pulled up to the store on Cardinal Avenue. A masked man with an axe then entered the store and smashed the display cases. Then the other men made their way into the store and grabbed a considerable amount of high end jewellery. The prosecution counsel submitted during the sentencing that there was a sense of “professionalism to the offense” because of the obvious planning and attempt to conceal the evidence by torching the stolen getaway vehicle.
During the sentencing hearing however, Newball's defence attorney swayed the judge to run the sentence for the arson offense concurrently with the sentence given for the theft as he said it could be seen as a "classic theft" and an attempt to dispose of evidence.
The court had heard from the police officers who arrested Newball in January after the heist that two rings fell from his pants after he was handcuffed but Newball insisted that he was innocent and that the jewellery had been planted. The crown also had argued that Newball's extensive criminal history was an aggravating feature as he had five previous convictions for burglary along with other minor offenses. Counsel also invited the judge to consider a nine year prison term to act as a deterrent seeing as ten years is the maximum sentencing in the Cayman Islands for theft.
Nick Hoffman who represented Newball during his trial and sentencing agreed that he had a less than impressive record but that there was another side to the man who had spent so much time behind prison bars and that he had grown up without his father.
In his conclusion, Justice Henderson explained that the arson and aggravating criminal history would elevate his sentence substantially and that Newball is a long time abuser of illegal drugs. He stated that "both charges must be reflected in his sentence” he handed down the eight year sentence with time served for the theft and gave Newball two years for the arson which he ordered to run concurrently.
Alden gets nod for overdraft
(CNS): The Foreign Office minister for overseas territories, Mark Simmonds, has agreed to extend the Cayman government’s short term borrowing in order to help it get through the leanest period of the year and to tide it through its emergency appropriations at the year end. During his meeting with Cayman’s new premier on Thursday in London, Simmonds also said the UK would help Premier Alden McLaughlin’s government in its goal to privatize some elements of the public sectorand said the FCO would provide technical experts who could advise Cayman on public/private funding packages that could provide necessary capital without long-term revenue consequences.
McLaughlin’s first meeting with Simmonds appears to have gone well, with the new premier emphasising the need for the Cayman-UK relationship to be "based on sound reason, trust and mutual respect”, as they sat down to discuss Cayman’s budget, development and the environment.
The premier told Simmonds that the government Intends to put the budget on a more sustainable footing over a four-year term rather than on a year-to-year basis, and explained that, until it could present a full budget in October, an interim continuation budget and renewed overdraft facility was needed, which was agreed. Simmonds said his officials would work out the details with Cayman officials as he emphasised the need to see a reduction in overall debt levels.
Having outlined government’s manifesto commitments and the intention to privatize government-owned business, Simmonds agreed with the premier’s position that this could free up capital for infrastructure projects. The men also spoke about streamlining government operations in order to make it more efficient, with the premier repeating his commitment that there would not be civil service layoffs.
Simmonds reportedly congratulated McLaughlin for his commitment to proper procurement practices for the cruise berthing facility and the government’s goal to pass the long awaited the draft Conservation Bill. According to the government released the OT minister commended him for giving the environment a prominent place on government’s agenda, and welcomed any input that Cayman could give on renewable energy in the overseas territories for the next meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November. McLaughlin said he was looking forward to playing a constructive part in that meeting and pointed to growth, jobs and the cost of living as top priorities for the PPM government, which also happen to be topics on Simmonds’ agenda for that JMC.
The JMC annually brings together political leaders from the Overseas Territories and UK ministers to work together on common issues.
McLaughlin will meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday and attend the ‘Open for Growth’ event on tax, transparency and trade. McLaughlin travelled to the UK with a small delegation, which included Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton, since the pre G8 meeting will cover tax information exchange and transparency, and Finance Minister Marco Archer and Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson for the budget discussions.
GT heliport found unsafe
CNS): The country’s highest judge has ruled in favour of a legal action challenging the reasonableness of a decision by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) to certify the commercial heliport in George Town, owned and used by Cayman Islands Helicopters Ltd (CIHL). Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ruled that the decision was unreasonable and the pad should not have been certified as it is not in compliance with the various safety standards with which the authority would normally use to assess such a site. In a complex ruling, the CJ points to a catalogue of reasons why the heliport should not have been certified in response to the legal challenge filed by Axis International Ltd, a commercial neighbour of the heliport.
Although the chief justice has not directly overturned the certification, he has ordered the CAACI to reassess the heliport in accordance with the rules and regulations and safety criteria that it should have used in the first place. Although CIHL also uses the airport, the George Town helipad has been used by the helicopter firm since November 2011 from which it takes off and lands its helicopter for customer tours of Grand Cayman, particularly from cruise ship passengers.
In his ruling following the legal dispute, which listed a catalogue of objections and issues relating to safety questions and the nuisance factor of the heliport against both the CAACI and CIHL, Smellie found that the CAACI had failed to meet its duty imposed by the Air Navigations Overseas Territories Order (ANOTO) and the Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements.
At the end of the 149-page ruling, in which the chief justice scrutinizes the details, procedures, regulations, safety questions and much more followed by the CAACI during the process of the certification, as well asthe influences on its decision, he stated, "[T]he certification of the heliport is not in compliance with the ANOTO and the standards of the OTARs.” The judge pointed to his detailed explanations in the ruling and stated, “[T]he heliport may not be considered to be safe for the purposes of the on-going operation of the helicopter in the manner that it is being operated.”
Smellie highlights a catalogue of issues surrounding the certification, starting with the CAACI’s close involvement from the beginning and its misguided indication to the owners of CIHL that the pad was a suitable location and that it could be certified, as well as the commercial interests of the business.
Smellie said, “It is apparent from the evidence that the CAACI allowed itself to become unduly influenced in the process of certification by its willingness to accommodate the commercial objectives of CHIL. Indeed, it may have felt embarrassed and obliged to do so on account of its own early and premature expression of satisfaction as to the suitability of the Heliport site.”
The port is located on North Church Street in the George Town harbour on an ironshore coastline and is very close to the water.
He points to the evidence of the CAACI’s willingness to depart from the “obviously prudent” safety standards imposed by the OTARs as there were a number of issues raised in the case that indicated the location was unsuitable.
The ruling notes a number of problems but the police also indicated that they would not use the site for its air support unit except in the most dire emergency circumstances, as they too did not believe it was safe.
The ruling found an accumulation of issues which point to the CAACI’s decision being unreasonable and, as a result, ordered the authority to address the issue. Despite finding that the port may not be safe, the judge opted not to order its closure.
“I consider it appropriate, however, that the Court should recognize the on-going remit of the CAACI as the body duly authorised and responsible for ensuring air navigation safety within the Islands. This is not a function that the court should override if there is another appropriate remedy. The CAACI has an on-going ability under Article 122 of ANOTO to monitor and reassess the Heliport and decide whether or not to vary, suspend or revoke certification. Rather than quashing the certificate, the court should allow the CAACI to exercise this function now in light of the clarifications of its responsibility and the issues for its assessments …”
Smellie adds that it should not be obliged to maintain the certification because of the commercial interests, as he declared that the heliport was not in compliance with the standard regulations.
Despite the findings of the CJ and the obvious safety issues raised in the complex and lengthy ruling, other sources have stated that the CAACI is appealing the decision.
CINICO fails to comply with FOI law
(CNS): Despite upholding CINICO’s decision not to release their unaudited financial statements for the financial year ending 2012, the information commissioner said the government’s insurance company repeatedly failed to comply with the law during the latest open records request dispute. Jennifer Dilbert said that throughout the course of the request, investigation and hearing discussed in her 30th decision, CINICO “repeatedly contravened the provisions of the FOI Law”, as well as the policies and procedures of her office. She said that from request to hearing, there were delays and noncompliance “at almost every step of the process”.
The applicant was seeking a copy of CINICO’s financial statements for 2011/12 and even though under the terms of the Public Management and Finance Law they should now be a public document, Dilbert upheld CINICO’s decision to defer the release until the accounts have been audited and tabled in the Legislative Assembly or until a reasonable time period had elapsed.
However, in this latest ruling Dilbert highlighted the procedural failures from start to finish and said that most seriously, “contrary to the requirements of section 7(5)” of the law both the information manager and the principal officer failed to provide the applicant with reasons for withholdingthe responsive record, and it was not until well into the appeal that the reasons were provided.
Dilbert recorded that the timeallowed by law to conduct an internal review was exceeded and records were only provided to her office after many delays and repeated prompting, and a submission giving CINICO’s views in writing, as required under section 43, was not provided by the date agreed in the Notice of Hearing.
“A submission was forthcoming only after I personally informed them that as the burden of proof lies with the public authority to show that it acted in accordance with its obligations under the Law, I would order the record released if they did not provide same. Computer issues were cited as the reason for the delay, which was verified by their IT service providers,” she stated.
The full decision and the catalogue of failures by CINICO from 20 November, when the statutory authority denied access to the requested records without giving any reasons under the FOI Law, through to 29 April of this year, when Dilbert wrote to CINICO to say that she was ordering the release of the documents if she did not receive submissions by 1 May, are posted below.
Deputy governor’s minutes continue to shrink
(CNS): The latest minutes released by the deputy governor’s office are continuing on their decreasing path with very little information about the high level civil service management meetings. The minutes, which record the 27 May meeting, indicate that Deputy Governor Franz manderson had met with Alden McLaughlin, who was the Premier Elect at the time, to discuss the 'Rationalisation of the Public Service' and that a presentation was going to be provided to the newly elected government. The minutes also reveal that the current version of the sexual harassment policy was to be presented to the deputy governor for approval, following a review by the Legal Department.
However, very little else is revealed about what was discussed between the public sector bosses during the meeting, which lasted until 3:15pm
See a copy of the minutes below.
Ambulance blocked on way to 7MB emergency
(CNS): Updated — The 81-year-old man who died during an ocean swim on Thursday morning off Seven Mile Beach has been named as Louis Janvier DeBiase. Amid concerns that the ambulance was delayed in getting to him because of barricades placed along the service road in the recently closed area of the West Bay Roadpolcie say there appear to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. A police spokesperson confirmed that the RCIPS received a report a little before 11am on Thursday (13 June) that the man had got into some difficulties swimming in the Calico Jack area. He was reportedly pulled from the water and taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town, where he was pronounced dead.
However, it is understood that the ambulance also got stuck as it tried to leave the scene across the newly sanded area of the former road.
Police said Thursday afternoon that they had no further details and enquiries were continuing into what had taken place. However, there is every indication that the closure of the West Bay Road and the sand covered strip added to the emergency services difficulties in reaching and leaving the scene.
Police confirmed that DeBiase was visiting Cayman on a cruise ship from New York state.
Rivers’ election challenged
(CNS): An eleventh hour petition filed in the Grand Court is challenging the election of Tara Rivers as a member of the Legislative Assembly for West Bay. The petition has been filed by attorney Steve McField on behalf of John Gordon Hewitt, the husband of Velma Powery-Hewitt, the UDP candidate who came in fifth in the district poll. The court action is asking for Rivers' election to be overturned, as it claims she holds an American passport and did not fulfill the residency requirement to qualify as a candidate, and return Hewitt as the fourth elected member for the district. However, if successful, the petition may instead trigger a by-election because of the significant votes polled by Rivers that could have gone to other candidates had she not stood for election.
Hewitt's claim centres on the fact that between October 2006 and May 2009 Rivers was resident in London, where she was working for law firm Allen & Overy. Rivers has said that during that period she was studying and therefore had a legitimate exception to the requirement in the election law that states all qualified candidates must be resident in the Cayman Islands for seven years before Nomination Day.
Hewitt also states in the petition that Rivers was born in the US and continues to hold a passport through her own act, which also disqualifies her from office. The petition states that the returning officer, Delano Solomon, failed in his duty to ascertain from Rivers whether she was resident for a period of seven years before Nomination Day or if she was still an American citizen, and was therefore wrong in accepting the nomination.
The petition states that Rivers' nomination was null and void and, as such, Velma Powery-Hewitt, the petitioner's wife and UDP candidate who was fifth in the poll, should be returned as the duly elected member for West Bay.
Rivers ran as a candidate with the Coalition for Cayman. However, she was invited by the new premier to join the PPM government as minister for education and employment after she was elected to the Legislative Assembly in a dramatic victory as the second elected member.
Her removal from office would not alter Alden McLaughlin's majority, since former premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly officially joined the PPM, giving the party 10 out of the 18 seats, and both Winston Connolly and Roy McTaggart have also joined the government benches, but it would throw the front bench into disarray.
Should the challenge be successful and Hewitt was returned, the UDP would have four candidates, which together with the two independent members would leave the opposition benches with six members across from a PPM government of 11.
However, a successful challenge may not see Hewitt automatically returned because further challenges may result in a by-election as other candidates could legitimately argue that if Rivers had not participated, the significant votes she attracted could have gone to candidates other than Hewitt.
The petition was filed in Grand Court on 12 June, just hours ahead of the three week deadline provided for in the law for any qualified voter to object to the election result. It was filed by Steve McField, who is no stranger to the election challenges. Following the 2009 election, McField had spoken widely about Dwayne Seymour and Mark Scotland's failure to fulfill a constitutional requirement to gazette their business interests with government by the deadline and questioned their qualification.
However, in a controversial turn of events, McField joined the UDP legal team defending an action filed against the two Bodden Town candidates by six voters. That action was filed after the three week deadline as an originating summons, which was thrown out by Chief Justice Anthony Smellie.
The details of the objection were never aired as the chief justice found the law suit was not the vehicle for the challenge and the voters should have filed via the petition, as provided for in the election law, before the deadline.
CIG takes cheap seats to UK
(CNS): The four man delegation that has gone to London to meet with both Mark Simmonds, the Foreign Office overseas territories minister, and British Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of the G8 meeting flew to the UK in premium economy, saving almost $20,000 in airfares for the public purse. Premier Alden McLaughlin, Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton, Finance Minister Marco Archer and Financial Secretary Ken Jefferson were all seen in the premium economy seats on board the BA flight to London on Tuesday evening rather than the far more expensive business class.
According to British Airways, the current cost of a return ticket from Cayman to London in premium economy is around $2,500 per passenger, while a business class ticket is more than $7,000. As a result, the decision to fly in the cheaper seats for the nine hour plus overnight flight has cost the public purse around $10,000 rather than costing over $28,000 if the new government team bought business seats.
Starting as they mean to go on, the PPM administration appears to be putting their money where their mouth is and cutting down on the extravagant travel costs run up by the former UDP administration, which became infamous for taking large delegations on extravagant trips.
It is understood that McLaughlin and the team has had a brief meeting with Simmonds at the FCO and the Cayman delegation is expected to sit down with the OT minister today to discuss the country’s public finances. The premier has said he hopes to persuade Simmonds to stretch out the currentthree year plan to reduce local borrowing and find some leeway for the 2013/14 budget so that some of the damaging fees that have stifled the local economy can be reduced.
The team is then expected to attend two pre-G8 meetings with David Cameron at 10 Downing Street to discuss the territory's commitment to the latest OECD tax information sharing and exchange initiative.