Archive for July, 2013
Rivers returns to work following courtroom drama
(CNS): The education minister was back to work Monday, as she returned her attention to issues regarding education and employment after three days in the Grand Court fighting to keep her West Bay seat. With the courtroom drama in limbo until the chief justice delivers his decision,Tara Rivers will be focusing on the issues facing her ministry, which include rising unemployment among Caymanians and the myriad problems still impacting local schools. Hopeful of a positive result, Rivers recently visited the Department of Education Services (DES) to meet with staff. She was accompanied by backbench MLA Winston Connolly, who has been given the role as councilor in her ministry.
During the visit she met with Chief Education Officer Shirley Wahler to discuss the role of the department and went on a tour to meet departmental staff.
“It’s important that councillor Connolly and I meet with the departments that fall under the ministry, to understand their responsibilities, workings and issues they face so that we can all work together to improve the services provided to the public,” Rivers said, adding that she looked forward to further departmental meetings in the future.
“I now have a better understanding of what occurs at the DES and how it interacts with the ministry,” said Connolly. “I look forward to working with the chief education officer and her team throughout the next four years.”
With Rivers' continuation in office still very much in question, government officials said that the minister would nevertheless be continuing with familiarization visits, including the Cayman Islands Public Library Service, the Sunrise Adult Training Centre and UCCI.
CARICOM to pursue slavery reparations for region
(CNS): The leaders of Caribbean countries have agreed to create national committees regarding the pursuit of reparations for the region regarding Caribbean slavery and native genocide. During this month’s regional CARICOM meeting government leaders reportedly considered the issue and received submissions from the Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor Hilary Beckles, and a legal team to facilitate the deliberations over the still controversial issue. While some experts believe the Caribbean case will be stronger if governments act collectively, the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition of Europe (PARCOE) has voiced concern about the top down approach being taken by the Caribbean Community.
At the Thirty-Fourth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago between 4 and 6 July the members were unanimous in their support for action and agreed that a committee under the chairmanship of the prime minister of Barbados will oversee the work of a Reparations Commission made up of the chairs of National Reparation Committees and a representative of a research unit at the University of the West Indies to drive the issue.
The communique published at the end of the meeting reported that an undertaking has been given by all the states to establish national reparation committees and to convene their first meeting as soon as possible. “The approach would be to hold a development conversation and to use all reasonable avenues to reach an amicable solution,” the communique stated.
While a number of experts in the field have applauded the move of CARICOM countries coming together as it strengthens the case, there are those that believe CARICOM has no political strength. Long time reparations activist, Jamaican MP Mike Henry, welcomed the move but stressed that there still needs to be a political decision on the matter from each country.
"It is good to see that finally people are waking up to the long fight that I have been carrying. What I want to see is some immediacy and urgency on the issue," Henry noted, adding that he was looking to see what would be the terms of reference, mandate, and overall charge of the CARICOM Reparations Commission.
Meanwhile, however, PARCOE has warned that the “top down approach” may end up not achieving the reparations aspirations unless there is a concerted effort to enable the facilitation of constructive engagement, dialogue, debate and deliberation within and between civil society, non-governmental organisations and social movements across the Caribbean.
In a letter to CARICOM, the members of PARCOE also voiced concern about the employment of the law firm Leigh Day & Co to present the case for reparations for Caribbean slavery to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The organization said the firm had secured compensation for thousands of Kenyans from the nationalist Mau Mau movement who were tortured in the anti-colonial uprising in the 1950s.
But according to PARCOE, the agreement reached with the British government represented a “paltry sum and is not commensurate with the torture and suffering of the Kenyans” and what is being heralded as an historic victory for the Mau Mau was described by the NGO as “a well-orchestrated imperialist swindle”.
PARCOE has also suggested that what the UK owes the descendants of the enslaved in the Caribbean “is not just a matter for those currently living in the Caribbean to determine.”
Last gasp Shelver try downs Island Air
(CRFU): As the dust settles after Round 3 of the KRyS GLOBAL Summer Mixed Touch Rugby League we can start to see who the movers and shakers are in each Division. The quality on show is getting better with each passing week and all teams have had to up their game to secure valuable wins. In Division 1 SteppingStones took on their closest rivals Island Air in a gripping game that saw few tries as each team seemed to nullify the play of the other. SteppingStones have, over the last eighteen months, been viewed as the newcomers to touch rugby, upsetting the old order. However, even they are starting to look like an old regal aristocracy as compared to the new revolutionaries of Island Air.
As the likes of James Waters, Nic Swartz and Brad Stephenson stormed the ramparts of the ‘Stones defence, they were thwarted by the robust and solid resistance of ScottMcCarty, Vikki Piaso and Rudolf Weder. Even when the dashing Neil Ainscow broke through the barricades he was run down as he tired by the retiring Weder. This will not go down well in the Ainscow household as “speed” and “stamina” are generally considered to be his middle names (actually I think they are Rupert and Winston).
Indeed, it was the diminutive Weder who struck the first blow with a scorching burst. Waters and Swartz grabbed two back and Vangie Steen notched one for SteppingStones. It looked like an honourable draw may be acceptable to both teams but Morgan Shelver had other ideas and in the dying embers of the game his exceptional try to make it 3-2 to SteppingStones was decisive.
So the uprising may have been squashed for now and this skirmish will probably have little bearing on the final outcome of the season as Island Air will feel they did enough to win the match. SteppingStones will applaud their own never-say-die attitude and the crowd can look forward to the return fixture later in the season.
Possibly the most compelling game came when Genesis Five Nations took on Maples2. The latter have traditionally been the quieter, younger sibling to the bigger, bolder, brasher and better Maples1. Spending many of their early years in Division 2 they went about their business in a quiet and unassuming manner. However, of late they have been invited up to the big table of Division 1 and many thought they would be found wanting, starved of tries and having to survive on crumbs of possession.
Last year they put paid that idea as they bit chunks out of many an opposition. This game certainly whetted the appetite for touch rugby and the crowd were asking at the end, “Can I have some more?” You see, this is a new, leaner, fitter Maples2 – possibly better described as Maples2.0.
Recent additions of Dave Acutt and Mike Smith to the roster have reduced the average age and increased the average speed. These guys combined with the irresistible Sophia Dilbert, the irrepressible Marc Randall and the irredeemable Andrew Dean have made Maples2.0 a handful for anyone. Dilbert had three magnificent runs in the first half missing out on a stunning hat-trick only by desperate defensive work. She got one though and it was fitting reward for her Velcro hands and electric feet. Up against them Genesis have re-booted their own team-sheet augmenting their familiar line-up with Neil Montgomery and Chris Brussow.
The game itself was intense and frenetic and the score swung from side to side like a smoking thurible in the hands of an overly enthusiastic altar boy. And the play was smoking hot too. The key period came just after half-time when losing 2-1 Geneses’ Montgomery, Brussow and Mick Kehoe combined three times in a signature wrap-around manoeuvre that had the Maples2.0 defence at sixes and sevens – ironic really because if they’d had six or seven defenders they might have been able to stop the scores. For Maples2.0 the alarm bells were ringing more than at the World Campanology Championships as they looked dazed and confused at the turnaround.
Leigh Bottomley scored her first ever touch try with a superb catch, run and dive in the far corner. As she lay prostrate on the floor the crowd feared that the unfortunate collision with the defender may have rendered her mortally wounded. Anyway, she’s a good Yorkshire lass and as hard as nails so no accidental knee in the head was going to get her down. As Maples2.0 travailed they could not break through and Dave Acutt’s try at the death was naught but a consolation. A final score of 5-3 will be recorded in the record books but a thoroughly entertaining game gives it a 10 out of 10 on the judge’s scorecard.
Maples1 recorded their first win of the season, 8-3 over Harmonic. Riley Mullen (4) and Jyoti Choi (3) were the principal scorers as Maples1, bereft of senior squad members, took some time to break down a resolute Harmonic. In return, Brad Cowdroy scored his third in as many games and Mark Soto executed a wonderful solo effort, wriggling between two defenders to score.
DIVISION 2
DART secured their first win of the season with a good 3-1 win over Deloitte. Securing tries has thus far proved difficult but improved defensive solidity has made them difficult to beat so once the tries came then the win was always a possibility. It was the pacey Ruan Van Vuuren and the buzzing Bryan Fitzgerald who scored the tries but the win was most notable for the team spirit and togetherness which DART demonstrated.
Deloitte pulled one back through Grant Hiley but their second defeat in three will give them cause for concern.
In a tight game, Walkers beat Zolfo Cooper 4-3. In spite of a brace from Kenin Gulrey and another from Joel Edwards, it was the experienced heads and hands of Walkers that eventually put Zolfo to the sword. One a-piece by James Melen, Paul Smith, Vikki Piaso and MVP Nino Dilbert gave Walkers the win and will help erase the memory of last week’s defeat. They should have plenty of guile to do well in this league but will need to keep a full squad available throughout the summer.
The Village Greenies continued their assault on the Division with a third win in three over Delta Force. Karen Hart was pivotal with a well-executed and quickly taken penalty to score. Nick Quin and Dicky Sawle-Thomas both scored twice. Watch this space for the forthcoming “behind-the-scenes-exposé” on all things Greenie as this reporter gets embedded in the frontlines of touch rugby’s most notorious gang. The performance of Justin Vasquez for Delta, particularly in the first half, was mouthwatering with some sublime back-of-the-hand passing and basketball-like offloads.
Dave Acutt stretched his lead at the top of the Top Try Scorer’s table with four more for Broadhurst in their 6-1 win over Travel Pros Ticklers. Travel Pros would probably have been hoping for a First Class ticket to the bar given his proficiency in crossing the whitewash. Broadhurst are undefeated this season whereas the Ticklers are 1-0-2 so far.
UBS earned a valuable 4-4 draw against the unbeaten PwC. Agueda Blake was sensational with her sprinting ability and Claude Plamondon took the MVP with a fine performance topped off with his first two tries of the campaign.
DIVISION 3
In Division 3 the front running is still being made by GCM and KPMG2 who both remain undefeated with wins over Queensgate Grizz’s Old Fellas (8-1) and EFG Bank (4-0) respectively. Joanne Woods was outstanding for GCM with a couple of important tries and her overall energy and quality in both defence and link-play gave her the Most Valuable player accolade. KPMG2 have a number of players who are equipping themselves well and Daniel Jones (2), Emily Le Couteur and Ian Roberton made the decisive scores.
Ogier and Appleby had an interesting duel and James Waters got his fifth try of the season with a brace against his opponents.
DMS sunk Trident3-0 with Joe Rossi standing out with a couple of tries, one a real pearler of a break through a static defence. Taryn Rusnell also deserves special mention for her performance, especially in tenacious defence.
LIME TV notched up their second consecutive win with a 3-0 defeat of Ernst & Young. Rick “Ronnie” Biggs got two, and Jonny Hillyard the other. Ernst & Young, boasting probably the most dedicated squad in terms of numbers turning up, are still seeking their first win but their heads never dropped and kept going to the end.
BDO narrowly missed out in their 2-0 loss to Rawlinson & Hunter. BDO remain the only team now who has not scored a try all season. When it does come there should be fireworks as it will be richly deserved for the passion they bring to their game. If they could mix it with a little more guile the tries will surely come.
Judges and finalists revealed for construction awards
(CNS): Governor Duncan Taylor has revealed the panel of judges and the shortlist for his awards in Construction and Design Excellence. The Cayman Society of Architects, Surveyors & Engineers (CASE) and the Cayman Contractors Association (CCA) in conjunction with Taylor said three nominations have been selected from a “very strong entry of nine nominations,” to make up the final shortlist which includes Barcadere Marina in George Town, Kirk Harbour Centre also in George Town and the West Bay Office Building, West Bay. Norman Boddenr Jim Scott and Natalie Urquhart have been invited to be guest judges.
Gary Benham of the Governor’s Office, along with Jacqueline Bleicher, the president of the Cayman Society of Architects, Surveyors & Engineers and Heber Arch, the president of the Cayman Contractors Association complete the judges pannel.
The six nominations which missed the final short list include the Appleby Tower, George Town, George Town Library, George Town, Mayfair House, Britannia Estates, 94 Solaris Building, Camana Bay, Willow House, Cricket Square, George Town, Spanish Colonial Revival House, Yacht Club.
The Award recipient will be announced on Thursday 25 July, 2013 at an Award Ceremony at the Governor’s House.
See full release with judges bio’s and award criteria below
Excessive violence lands first time offender in jail
(CNS): Acting Judge Michael Mettyear sentenced a 21-year-old West Bay man to six years imprisonment on charges of wounding and a robbery. Chadwick Dale pleaded guilty to the wounding of Trevor Campbell after the two got into a physical dispute and Campbell ended up with a chop to his head and shoulder from Dale's machete. Dale was also convicted of a robbery that occurred 9 December on Seven Mile Beach, in which he stabbed a woman twice with a screwdriver during the crime. Dale had no previous convictions and the judge said as he sentenced him Friday that it was "sad and somewhat unusual to see a person like you appearing in the dock for such serious offenses".
The judge said he accepted the fact that Dale's victim had provoked him but he had used excessive force as an act of self-defence when he had chopped the victim in the back of his head and shoulder during their confrontation in September of last year. Both men were armed with machetes and Dale was reported chasing the victim as he attempted to flee and suffered a fractured foot during the attack. A neighbour was able to intervene and called the police and Dale was granted bail shortly after.
The judge granted Dale a substantial discount for his guilty plea to his alternate charge of wounding with intent rather than the attempted murder allegation.
While on bail for his previous offense, Dale committed the robbery in the heart of Cayman’s tourist district along Seven Mile Beach near the Calico Jack's bar last December. Canadian national Jessica Roberts had arrived at the bar to have a drink when she realized that everyone was scattered on the beach and heard someone yell to call the police. Unsure of the situation, Roberts went onto the West Bay road and called 911.
During her call to 911, she spotted someone acting suspiciously and concluded that he had been a part of what was going on. She said that Dale approached her and took her bag before running off along the dark beach, where she followed.
“I was thinking some punk took my bagand wanted to get it back,” Roberts said. “I wasn’t thinking ‘psycho with weapon’.”
The chase continued until the end of the Surfside Bar property, where he turned to face Roberts and she begged for her bag to be returned. The bag was dropped and the victim handed the mugger the money from her purse, believing he would be satisfied. Instead, Dale placed the money in his pocket and said, "Now you're dead, girl!" before he pulled out a screwdriver and attempted to stab her.
Having been certified in Krav Maga (a brutal form of martial arts that focuses on incapacitating opponents as quickly as possible), Roberts was able to dodge the majority of Dale's attempted stabs and punch him in the throat a few times.
Roberts managed to escape with two puncture wounds from the tool used. One jab was blocked by her right hip bone and the other just narrowly missed her liver. “I’m very grateful that it happened to me and not someone else,” she said. The judge reported that she made a good recovery from what he believed must have been a "terrifying" experience.
Justice Mettyear handed down a two and a half year sentence for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to run consecutively to his three and a half year prison term for robbery.
Immediately following his ruling, the judge told the first time convict, “Unless your behavior improves greatly upon your release, I fear you will be facing more lengthy sentences in the future."
Deputy governor releases travel policy for government
(CNS): As expected, the Deputy Governor’s Office has published the government’s new policy on travel, which openly sets out the rules and criteria for all civil servants. The 17-page document aims to implement service-wide standards, with regards to assessing whether travel is required, and help to manage the costs. Although it is designed to apply to all public sector works, the elected officials from the new Progressive government have also agreed to adopt the policy and have been adhering to its criteria since they took office in May. “The ministers and I have already travelled in accordance with these guidelines,” Premier Alden McLaughlin said, as he offered his support to Deputy Governor Franz Manderson last week for the policy.
“My government is committed to reducing expenditure and we congratulate the deputy governor for developing this extremely useful document,” he added.
Going forward, civil servants who travel to conduct government business or attend events or conferences on government’s behalf must demonstrate that they have considered alternative means to achieve their business or training objectives even before they travel. When they do travel, they will have to follow strict guidelines.
“Our goal is to ensure that we manage the costs of official travel consistently across the civil service,” Manderson said.” This policy ensures that the public’s money is spent only when it is absolutely necessary. These new rules are in keeping with our policy of ensuring value for money in everything that we do.”
Public servants will be asked to consider teleconferencing, use of local resources or online training as an alternative to travelling, but if there is no feasible option, the policy sets out proposals for reducing travel-related expenses.
It suggests planning airfare, transport and accommodations as far in advance as practical and recommends the use of public transport where readily available.
Civil servants must also use coach or economy class tickets on flights under five hours and premium economy is restricted to senior managers on flights in excess of five hours, excluding layovers. Before civil servants can travel in business class, they must establish a business case and receive prior approval.
Appropriate length of travel, per-diem allowance rates by country of travel, criteria for reimbursement, health-care, driver’s licences and automobile insurance are among other topics that the very detailed policy covers.
See the full policy below.
Officials volunteer details of premier’s vacation
(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier is taking a ten day vacation in the UK and the USA, officials have confirmed. The premier’s office voluntarily sent out a short release Monday morning stating that Alden McLaughlin would be away from the Cayman Islands between the 21 and 31 July. McLaughlin has headed first to the UK, where he will attend the university graduation of his son, Daegan, on 23 July, and then he will take some vacation time in the United Kingdom followed by some time in Florida. With the premier taking some down time, Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell will be holding the reins until the premier is back at his desk on 1 August.
WP holders to get 10 years
CNS): The PPM administration is planning to move quickly on major changes to the immigration law and policies, as promised during the election campaign. The government is abolishing the key employee status, enabling all work permit holders to stay in the Cayman Islands for up to ten years and apply for permanent residency after eight. Cabinet has agreed that these major changes to the legislation will be implemented in two phases. Phase One will include extending the term limit for work permit holders to ten years, the removal of ‘key employee’ and amending the requirements for permanent residence, which will be scheduled to take effect by the end of October.
The PPM had promised some time ago that, if elected, they would drop the seven year term limit and the associated key employee and make the PR application the place where government will decide who should stay or go. In his role as opposition leader, the now premier, Alden McLaughlin, had spoken about the need to ensure different types of people got to stay in Cayman and not just those from the financial services sector.
In a release from the new home affairs ministry at the weekend, officials explained that Phase Two will be a full scale review of the work permit system, with the intention of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.
Following through on the commitments made in the Progressives’ Manifesto and taking into account the recommendations of the Term Limit Review Committee, officials said that Cabinet had agreed to extend the length of time that a worker may remain in the Islands on a work permit from seven to ten years.
“At the same time the key employee aspect of the term limit policy will be abolished and all work permit holders who have resided here for at least eight years will become eligible to apply for permanent residence,” the release stated.
Term Limit Exemption Permit holders will be allowed to return to an ordinary work permit up to their ten years and apply for PR.
As a result of the increase in the number of people who will be able to apply for PR, the home affairs ministry is reviewing how PR is granted. It will focus on redefining the assessment criteria to align with the government’s economic, cultural and social objectives.
“The aim is to ensure persons granted Permanent Residence are drawn from a diverse cross-section of our society and are also assets to the community,” the officials stated. The new criteria will also take into account the impact of removing the initial filter of key employee and will speed up the appeals process by removing as quickly as possible those without merit.
In the second phase, government will tackle the even bigger issue of processing work permits to “reduce bureaucracy and eliminate the current system of boards and the way work permits are processed to ensure Caymanians are given the opportunity to participate fully in the local economy.
“With over 20,000 work permit holders in Cayman’s workforce, coupled with over 1,500 Caymanians registered as unemployed, the processing of work permit applications is critically important to Cayman’s economic and social fortunes. The system must be fair, reliable, efficient and transparent,” the ministry officials stated.
The committee that will review the entire WP process will include members of the business community and is expected to submit recommendations for legislation and polices by January.
See full release below.
Kilpatrick to ‘listen & learn’
(CNS): The governor designate said that her priority will be to listen and learn when she arrives in the Cayman Islands to start work in September as the UK’s representative. Although Helen Kilpatrickis the first governor to be posted to Cayman without any previous Foreign Office experience, she said that she believes her experience at the Home Office will be helpful to her and many aspects of the job won't be that new. A public finance expert and career public servant in the UK, Kilpatrick has never had an overseas posting but, having worked for the Home Office managing budgets for the police, the prisons and local government, she said she believes her experience would translate to her new post.
At a very brief press call at the airport Saturday evening, following her short two day familiarisation visit ahead of her posting, Kilpatrick said that when she arrives to take up the governor’s post, she will be spending her first four to six weeks getting around meeting everybody. She said that she had done a considerable amount of research and work in London but it was nowhere near enough yet and she would need to listen and learn in order to “understand what the major issues are".
Kilpatrick was not appointed to the post but went through an open interview process to secure the job. Despite being a senior number-cruncher in the British civil service and not a member of the diplomatic core, Kilpatrick said she did not think the role would be completely new and not necessarily an enormous career change.
“This job builds on my previous experience in local government, in the Home Office, in policing and prisons … although working in the Foreign Office is new to me, the areas of responsibility I will have here are not new,” she told the press, suggesting that her financial experience would be a great help, as it is an “important aspect of government and an import aspect of business life in Cayman."
Kilpatrick said her first impressions of the Cayman Islands were “absolutely fantastic”, as she described the welcome as friendly and said everyone had been very open with her.
During her brief visit to Cayman from Thursday through to Saturday Kilpatrick met with government ministers, senior civil servants and key officials, as well as the current governor, Duncan Taylor, and had a chance to take a sneak look at Cayman.
Kilpatrick is the first woman to be appointed governor of the Cayman Islands.
Duncan Taylor is departing in August ahead of his new posting to Mexico and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson will be acting governor until Kilpatrick arrives in September.
Scientists try to understand stingray decline
(CNS): With the continued decline in stingrays at Cayman’s premier tourist attraction, Stingray City, scientists from home and abroad are trying to understand what is causing the numbers to fall. Scientists from the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) and the Department of Environment were assisted in a recent survey and health check of the local population by veterinarians, Dr Tonya Clauss and Dr Alexa McDermott, and nutritionist Dr Lisa Hoopes, from the Georgia Aquarium. DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said she hopes the collaborative effort could continue as more needed to be learned about the unique population in the North sound and the impact of the Sandbar.
“There is an urgent need to better understand the impact of the feeding and human interaction taking place at the Sandbar and Stingray City on the overall health, reproduction and behaviour of the rays at these sites,” shesaid.
Although not an annual event, a census of the rays in the North Sound has been carried out since 2002, with the assistance of GHRI and others. This is the second year that the Georgia Aquarium has been involved in the assessment of rays in the North Sound, which includes analysing blood samples for indicators of health, stress, and nutritional status.
The recent decline in the number of stingrays at the Sandbar has made the census even more important. 181 rays were tagged between 2002-2003, 99 in 2008, 61 in January 2012, but only 57 rays were tagged in July 2012.
“These numbers indicate a threat to the continued viability of the Sandbar as a tourism attraction,” Dr Guy Harvey, founder of the GHRI, said. “We need to understand the reasons for the recent decline in numbers of rays at the Sandbar, and the data we collect will be used to inform management interventions for this extremely important economic resource for the Cayman Islands.”
The team also conducted health checks on the stingrays at Dolphin Discovery, which were released onto the Sandbar recently. Dr Clauss, who is the director of animal health at the Georgia Aquarium, said the checks completed on the stingrays at Dolphin Discovery indicate that they were healthy and ready for release back into the wild.
The return of the six captive rays as a result of an amendment to the law was particularly important, Ebanks-Petrie said, because five of them were male and census research has shown that the numbers of male rays have decreased even more than females.