New governor expected first week of September
(CNS): The Cayman Islands new governor, Helen Kilpatrick, is scheduled to arrive in the country on the morning of Friday 6 September. The first British bureaucrat from outside the Foreign Office and the first women to take up the post, Kilpatrick is a finance expert and is expected to focus heavily on the public purse during her tenure. Kilpatrick will be sworn into office at the Legislative Assembly at 2:00 on the afternoon of her arrival, before she settles into the Seven Mile Beach house where she will live for the next three years. Kilpatrick, who is taking up her first overseas posting on behalf of the UK government, has said that she does not believe that her lack of FCO experience will be a hindrance in her new job.
She said the position as governor would build on her 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 during a brief familiarization visit in July.
She said her financial experience would be a great help, as it was 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. She arrives in Cayman directly from her former Home Office job.
Her predecessor, Duncan Taylor, said the job of governor is different from other diplomatic roles and comes with significant powers and responsibilities. He said Kilpatrick’s experience managing local government budgets and overseeing the administration of police forces and other such jobs at the Home Office would be beneficial.
As well as helping to get the public purse back in semblance of order, Kilpatrick will need to focus on what many believe is the islands' costly and over bloated civil service, but without cutting local jobs. Before he left, Taylor said that he was disappointed that he had not been able to advance issues of accountability and transparency in the service and noted that this remained a pressing issue.
Category: Politics
She needs to make Franz and his chief officers do real work now and weed out all of the deadweight in the civil service. There are good civil servants but a lot of 'friend friend' cover ups are most likely still going on. I wish Mrs. Kilpatrick a lot of good luck and blessings.
She is going to be a needed change to government. She seems to have what it takes to oversee Cayman. And personally, i have alot con confidence in her based on her portfolio alone. And her effortless elegance is nice bonus for us too. She is going to be wonderful here. Welcome Madam Governor.
Just in time for the start of the school year.
I know you will be well received unlike the reception former Gov Taylor received on his arrival at Pedro Castle.Shocking comments to say the least.We look forward to working with you for the betterment of these islands.
Let her do what succesive Guvs do best Rule, Divide and Conquer.
What a stupid unhelpful untrue post. I am an atheist but I deeply respect the beauty of the language of the King James version and to have a total ignoramus of this proportion using it as a "handle" reveals the essential emptiness of this type of blogging.
Divide and Conquer read English History Dear Offended One.
She will not need to do that. Cayman politicians have managed to do that perfectly well on their own since the parties came into being.
Dear Governor!
Please make sorting out the RCIP and the Legal Department your first priority so that crime can be brought under control. Once that has been achieved, then the focus can be on accounting side. Doesn't matter how rich or poor the Cayman Islands are – if crime is rampant and out of control, nobody wants to be here………….
Still hoping for financial fireworks to put this place back in order…Welcome Ma'am