SAGCs in even worse state
(CNS): Statutory authorities and government companies (SAGCs) cost the Cayman taxpayer over $100 million every year but the auditor general has found a complete lack of accountability in most of them, which appear to be failing on the good governance front even more than core government. Pointing to poor standards of governance amongst the semi-autonomous public bodies, with none of them properly accounting for what they do, Alastair Swarbrick said the SAGCs are failing to tell the story of how they spend public money or how they are achieving government aims and objectives.
Employing 38% of public sector workers, the 26 entities account for around $300 million of expenditure and bring in around $200 million of revenue. They also deliver a significant number of government services, from health to connecting the islands.
As part of a recent assessment and audit of good governance in central government, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) also looked separately at the issues relating to statutory authorities and government companies. The team undertook a survey, which was sent to 25 public authorities, consisting of 36 questions relating to principles of good governance. While 17 of the authorities responded to the public auditor, eight made no attempt to fill in the survey to assist the office.
Cayman Airways, which receives a considerable subsidy from government every year, the Cayman Islands Development Bank, the Children Youth And Services Foundation, The Civil Aviation Authority, The National Drug Council, The National Housing Development Trust, as well as the Sister Islands Affordable Housing Initiative and the University College Of The Cayman Islands failed to answer the auditor’s questions.
From those that responded, the auditor general found a variety of practices across the entities relating to how they are governed which gave him serious cause for concern.
“Many of the practices we found were not acceptable. The good governance of these organisations are in some cases are contrary to such laws as the anti-corruption legislation in place,” Swarbrick said.
While his office was already well aware of the problems as a result of the financial audits it has undertaken, this report reinforced that understanding of what he said were “poor practices and the extent of effort required for improvements to be implemented".
Swarbrick also raised concerns about the lack of response from the eight, despite considerable follow-up action by his office.
“This in itself indicates to me a considerable issue with regard to entities supporting the concepts of good governance and doing what they need to ensure they have good practices employed in their entities,” the auditor general said in his conclusion.
He warned that his office would be returning for further audits in specific organisations to “determine the extent to which the poor governance practices have led to poor performance and lack of due diligence with respect to the management of public resources.”
In his substantial report Swarbrick said the framework in the Public Management and Finance Law (PMFL) for SAGCs to report to government was not working, so there was no accountability and few assurances that the public authorities were working effectively or achieving any of government’s objectives.
He said that in many cases results were not clearly stated and, as with the problem in core government, these entities are focused on activities, not goals or how they are achieving value for the money they get from the public purse. Pointing to confusion over roles as well as their continued failure to produce timely or accurate financial accounts, how they achieve value for money is completely absent in most cases.
All organisations that spend public money have to strive for economyefficiency and effectiveness in their work, Swarbrick noted but said, “We did not observe one situation where an SAGC established how it had achieved value for money in its operations.”
The auditor general found a policy void from core government with regards to direction, which he said had led to uncertainty, and while these entities are meant to have some autonomy, government appears to have lost control of them.
In his response to the problems surrounding SAGCs Premier Alden McLaughlin said that they had been difficult for government to rein in. He spoke about the pay freeze implemented across the civil service which was largely ignored by the SAGCs and said that some of the CEOs were earning far more than the governor, the deputy governor or himself. He indicated that in some cases where the creation of a government company or authority has failed to do what It was originally created to do, government would be considering taking back the services into core government.
Even though CEOs are getting top dollar in these companies, Swarbrick’s report highlighted many failures as well as confusion of roles between the ministries and their staff’s responsibilities with the boards and CEOs of the SAGCs.
“There is an incomplete understanding about how good governance framework is supposed to work in the SAGCs,” he said
While chief officers are supposed to be responsible for monitoring the relevant SAGCs in their ministries, because government isn’t setting clear directives or policy goals for them there are no clear results expectations.
Ironically, the audit office found that the Cayman Turtle Farm, which gets the largest subsidy from government and is one of its most troublesome authorities, was the only government company to identify what it was really for and had performance targets.
Outlining his concerns, Swarbrick said that good governance provides a roadmap for how a country is governed, including its economic policies and regulatory framework, as well as adherence to the rule of law.
“In my reports, I talk about how the lack of good governance can lead to corruption and the abuse of public authority or trust, for private benefit. As we all know, corruption undermines the public’s trust in its government. It also threatens market integrity, distorts competition, and endangers economic development,” Swarbrick warned.
With myriad problems at the SAGCs, the auditor noted it was government that had to address the significant gaps between what is expected and the current reality.
“With 26 entities reporting to core government and a sizable part of how government delivers services to residents, SAGCs need to be accountable for their results. We found that Government has yet to implement an effective means to hold these entities to account,” he said.
“We identified many practices which were weak and did not reflect reasonable governance practices for these types of entities, leading to increased risks,” Swarbrick added and emphasised that SAGCs are simply not achieving the results and outcomes that should be expected of them.
Check back to CNS for more on the missing ethics, values and conflicts of interest in government found by the OAG.
Category: Local News
We hang petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
~Aesop, Greek slave & fable author
The same seems to apply to some civil servants.
#1….I love how quick the citizens of this country are quick to shut down CAL.. if CAL wasn't around many wouldn't be able to travel because the other airlines wouldJack up the prices! However they try to compete with our fares. But it is sad to see our own caymanians traveling on AA when CAL Miami flights leave pretty much the same time… but they spend more on AA! Than trying to help their own "National Flag Carrier"!. However I must admit that the customer service at the airport for CAL is poor. Ladies not wearing make up, uniforms not ironed and old and faded. Agents walking up and down, using cell phones, chewing gum and the list could go on! However these issues can be easily fixed! Providing they're managers cared for the staff! Now on the flip side, look at the flight attendants! Beautiful males and females, professional and charming and always smiling! Uniforms on point and make up flawless! Guess why? Because they have a manager that cares! And here is the shocking news.. both positions make the same money! It's crappy what the salary is but it doesn't show in their performance! My problem with CAL lies with the company, so much is given away and yet the staff is neglected and underpaid. a member of the board automatically gets life time benefits yet an employee have to work 20 years for it! I just pray the staff at the airport get a NEW manager that cares and change all of the problems.
XXXX
On a hold I see lots of room for improvements for CAL But I also see lots of potential! They just need the support from the community and the private sectors to buy in and have it operate like a real airline!
Sell the planes and routes to Southwest as quick as you can. 5 or 6 private airlines is plenty.
Mr. Premier Sir! Here's what you should do to let these CEOs know that you mean business.
1: Statutory authorities and government companies (SAGCs) cost the Cayman taxpayer over $100 million every year but the auditor general has found a complete lack of accountability in most of them. "DEDUCT IT FROM THEIR SALARIES"
2: In his response to the problems surrounding SAGCs Premier Alden McLaughlin said that they had been difficult for government to rein in. "FIRE EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T COMPLY"
3: He said that some of the CEOs were earning far more than the governor, the deputy governor or himself. "CUT THEIR SALARIES SO THAT THEY FALL IN LINE WITH OTHER CEOs"
4: While chief officers are supposed to be responsible for monitoring the relevant SAGCs in their ministries, because government isn’t setting clear directives or policy goals for them there are no clear results expectations. "GIVE THEM THREE MONTHS TO HAVE A REASONABLE ACCOUNTING OF ALL FUNDS SPENT ! IF NOT, CLEAR YOUR DESK"
5: Cayman Airways, which receives a considerable subsidy from government every year, the Cayman Islands Development Bank, the Children Youth And Services Foundation, The Civil Aviation Authority, The National Drug Council, The National Housing Development Trust, as well as the Sister Islands Affordable Housing Initiative and the University College Of The Cayman Islands failed to answer the auditor’s questions. "REPLACE EVERY CEO IMMEDIATELY"
You mean replace the boards as they were responsible for completing the surveys.
I think they should also cap those ex Cayman Airways employees, their families and others from taking those free trips to Miami, Tampa and other destinations to only 2 a year, as I know for sure some of them is running off every weekend to Miami on Tax only tickets. That is just not right. They should be charged FULL fares and this might help Cayman Airways from price gouching their legitimate passengers, especially to Tampa, Miami and Jamaica at Christmas time. Those ticket prices are out of order just for a 45minutes flight.
In my opinion, once you are an EX employee, all benefits should CEASE completely, just as they would with any other employer.
Why Dart employees and their immediate family receive huge discounts on Cayman Airways? if they can get it,why Government employees should not receive it?
Dart flies the national flag carrier? well, well, well that is good to know. 500 employees and all the consultants they have flyin in all the time oughtta be a good chunk of change for Cayman Airways. Hope they don't lose it like they lost BA contract.
Glad to see the current administration is taking these issues seriously. I trust that they will make their efforts count.
Thank God for the PPM…none of this would even be considered offensive under the UDP administration who withtheir cronies were benefitting from raiding the till.
Tourism Attractions Board has had the same board members for more than a decade and they refuse to retire CEO Gilbert Connolly who is over the age of 60 and just given a new four year contract by the entrenched members of that board. XXXX A new board needs to be appointed immediately!
I didn't even know there was a 'Tourism Attractions Board'. What do they do?
They show up to pointless meetings for the pay.
The first thing Civil Servants need to learn is to answer their phone or messages. There should be a penalty for ignoring both. They act like the public do not deserve to find out what they need to know. This is the most frustrating aspect of dealing with them
What do civil servants have to do with this? Employees of SAGCs are not civil servants. Stick to the topic please.
All this will lead to nothing. Until some one goes to jail and there are other prosecutions it will remain a tempest in a teapot. And do not think the scumbags involved know this.
This is almost as funny as the chamber of commerce going on the radio saying they support minimum wage…no one called them on it.
This nothing but residue from our past mal-managed Government UDP. God knows how many years it will take us to root out the deepseeded corruption that was condoned and entrenched in every possible facet of anything to do with Government
The probable reason that these entities were created in the first place was to enable well connected cronies to get into positions where they could pay themselves inflated salarys without any central oversight.
Corruption, pure and simple.
Not to worry! UCCI is bringing in the lady minister from Nigeria to talk about corruption in Government! That should solve all these problems!
Maybe the UCCI President can explain how he frooze all contracts supposedly, yet there are several department heads and faculty with new offices who are making more money than ever by paying more to these cronies for teaching extra classes, where "extra" can mean teaching as little as over one required classe. Two teachers can have the same number of classes, but one is paid a bonus 15-20 grand each semester for teaching "extra" classes.
The problem is all senior jobs people, they don’t give care local tax payer as they only care is their fat cat salary to live in luxurious lifestyle and do nothing!
. . .and get their picture in the paper to imrpess the easliy-impressed. There's definitely someone allowed to ruin at least one of our institutions. Real oversight is needed and replace with QUALIFIED people.
For years these department heads have been employed in government often from way back when who you know and who you daddy was. It all stinks of cronyism. XXXX
Oh there you are again, you purveyor of public furor, who is probably supposed to be doing a meaningful job for the good of the country but sits back all day on online media watching and basking in the spread of your poison. What did this Head of the Authority ever do to you for you to constantly be gunning for him? I’m sure that you would not be able to replace him or even come close to filling his shoes. You fail to tell people that the replacement of the vehicle and the hiring of the daughter were all done legitimately. Of course that would not further your misguided objective.
I’m sure you also know that the Authority that you are referring to is also one of the few SAGC’s that contribute to the Government coffers every year and the contributions increase year over year. It is very curious that the Auditor General never mentions this in any of his reports. You (and possibly the AG) wouldn’t want people to know that because they would then know that this head of authority is a good manager that runs a tight ship and hires and promotes Caymanians whenever possible. That would be good news and that’s not what you both are about. You don’t care that the Authority is well managed and is making money to contribute to Government and has hard working dedicated staff that are demoralised by people like you. You want so badly to be earning this head of authority’s well-deserved pay which you would never deserve in a million years. You probably also know that it was the responsibility of the Board of this Authority not the management to complete the Governance Survey but you continue to try and spread bad light on the good work of the Manager of this Authority that should be emulated, not criticised. Get a life – elsewhere.
Just suck it up Cayman, this is what you have voted for time and time again….let's not upset the status quo….reap what you sow and all that. How many dept head that have screwed up are expat ?. Serious question and should be easy to establish.
And all of those department heads screw ups were at some level hired by a caymanian.
Interesting choice of lead photo.
Someone needs to look into Cayman Airways..Over the past year or so the have lost handling services for at least two of the airlines they had been providing services for the most obvious being British Airways which is now handled by CDS the same company that provides services for American. Lots of jobs lost and CDS has hired an entire team of Indians, Philipinos and other low paying staff and none of those jobs have gone to Caymanians. The CEO and the Chairman of the Board of Cayman Airways needs to answer as why they lost these handling contracts.
Also why does Cayman Airways need to open another reservations office in Cayman Brac when there is one underutilized on Grand Cayman. It is still alocal call to Grand Cayman so no difference and the new office is steps away from the airport so why couldn't customers pick up there tickets at the airport? Why is there over 20 airport staff employed at the Cayman Airways counter in Cayman Brac? I was just in a small town in the states that American Eagle flys in and out of and they have only 10 employees and American Eagle operates 45 seaters in and out of there. The staff there are multi-tasking rather than just checking in flights. Just seems rather overkill with that many staff.
Lastly I would love to know why Immigration would approve that many work permits for the staff that work at the American and British Airways counters..If Cayman Airways and Air Agencies can find and train Caymanians, why can't they?
Hello my silly little friend you, seem so misinformed, first let me share a bit of information I am made to understand. CDS does have and has hired many Caymanians and Cayman Airways has laid off anyone so get your facts straight. I understand that British Airways contract was not lost because of lower price but in fact they are now paying a higher price for service, so go figure. What am also made to understand is that there have been and still is a lot stealing going on at Cayman Airways so go figure. Poor customer service has been the cause of their lost of business not cheap labor as you’re suggesting.
XXXX This story tells us that both companies lack proper management and have failed for years to find a solution, therefore maybe that’s why CDS have hired people that are willing to show up and deliver exceptional customer service. Maybe other companies should take a leaf from their book. Additionally If what I have heard is correct with regards to the amount that Cayman Airways was charging for ground handling service to BA then in my opinion we maybe better off not proving handling at all resulting in losses. This practice sounds to me like taking the tax payers money and subsidizing foreign carriers, not how I would like my money to be spent. Maybe now that Cayman Airways have lost BA's contract they should consider giving up any other contracts, and maybe then they can get rid of the dishonest employees if they are lucky. This move might drastically help reduce the heavy annual subsidizing.
As you rightfully pointed out, why is Cayman Airways continuing to make silly decisions?
We should seriously ask ourselves, why do we need to Cayman Airways? when statically they are bring such a lower percentage of stay over tourist, if we read the case studydone on Jamaica airport and Jamaica on a whole since the Government sold of Air Jamaica today they are much better of….. I say we should the government should put together an exit plan for Cayman and Turtle Farm. Try to privatize them within one year and if that fails start closing down both within six months. then take those subsidy moneys and spent it on education. and educated nation is far better off than an illiterate one.
So you are justifying the idea that it is okay to give a lot of work permits to another company so that they can be competitive over the other. Stupid is as Stupid does.
Seems to me what you should be calling for is an investigation into these incidents at Cayman Airways, if what you say is in fact going on. If the solution lies with making changes at Cayman Airways the the minister or the police needs to invstigate and make those changes.
If this situation was to be justified then it would be only right to allow CaymanAirways to hire the Filipinos and the Indians. Something tells me because Cayman AIrways is a government entity they may not get away with this as easily. Not that I believe that this isn't going on at Cayman Airways to some degree as well.
By the way, read your answer again, based of the basic lack of good grammar, punctuation, misspelled words and basic writing skills, we may need to do as you say and sell the Turtle Farm and Cayman Airways, if you are typical of what our educational system is producing.
You are on the Customer side of the orperation. Have you ever worked in the airline industry?
Do you know what they have to do at the Airport and the Reservation office?
It took Cayman Airways 45 years to open a separate reservation office in Cayman Brac. The brac is growing and do have the demand for this office that is why it was open. Why is it that when it comes to Cayman Brac getting anywhere to further our Economy its a problem with Our big Sister.
And Yes I am a bracka
The Brac is growing????? Seriously? Without the Civil Service, Cayman Airways and the few supermarket and hotel jobs nothing has changed over here…If you are a Bracka, you need to come back over here for a dose of reality..Cayman Brac is still dying and opening a reservations office so that a shrinking population can make their reservations and buy their tickets about a hundred feet from where they used to buy them makes absolutely no sense.
Why not try to encourage more business up here. We graduate some of the best students and they leave and never come back. Something is wrong here..we need to do something to encourage new business not cause more debt for the country.
Hmmm..well I guess based on your logic we need a reservations office on Little Cayman too…what the hell let's put one everywhere Cayman Airways flies..Guessing the internet and booking online is going to go out of style reall soon…
Wouldn't it be cheaeper just to give everyone on the Brac a pay as you go cell phone and pay for all calls to the Cayman Airways reservations office..It's got to be cheaper! Failing that let's encourage everyone to learn to use the internet so that they can book on line and come into the 21st century way of doing things…
I don't know about the Cayman AIrways issues but checked in at British a few weeks ago and all new Asian and Indian staff. I asked the young lady checking me in why there was such a great change in staff and she told me that American Airlines was now doing the handling of all British Airways flights. As we chatted I asked her where she was from and she very politely said the Phillipines. I asked her how long she had been in the airline business and she said it was her first time and she was having a tough time as English wasn't her first language. Knowing that American does their training in Dallas where I am from originally, I asked her how she enjoyed my home. She replied that she had never been to the USA because she can't get a VISA so she and most of the new staff were trained in Santo Domingo and then in Cayman….. I found it quite ironic that they worked for an airline based in the USA and could not even get a VISA to visit or train there and I am supposing not to work either but in Cayman they can have it all.
I found all of this amazing after reading the many stories of unemployed Caymanians. These very nice people came here from thousands of miles away to be trained and put to work doing a job that at most of the other airline counters are being done by Caymanians. It amazes me that Immigration let this happen with all the uproar going on about unemployment. Worse they are blantantly in the Immigration officers face every day right there at the airport.
Does anyone else see a problem here?
Nope, Customer service at both Cayman Airways and Air Agencies is horrible and thats why the airlines are making changes…… the industries is not there to just provide jobs so people can have a pay check but more so to win customers over and that cant be achieved with bad customer service. Other point, BA is not handled by AA. so get your story straight.
No need to be rude. I agree with you.My point was if CDS/AA/BA could bring untrained people here from as far away as India and the Phillipines and train them then why couldn't they have hired untrained Caymanians and trained them. I am guesing you are saying that no Caymanians are trainable for these jobs. I think that is a terrible generalization and if you had any love for this Country you would refrain from doing that.
I think it looks bad when visitors come to Cayman to be welcomed by an Asian voice in broken English. American has one young Caymanian man that whenever he comes on board his voice and sincerity makes me feel totally welcome to the country I now call home.
I am just saying if we can get work permits for 20 or so people in this line of work why can't we find even half of that in our own people. Something is just not right here.
No need to be rude, I agree 100 % with your comment . These are the words that you and all Caymanians need to march peacefully to the Imigration and to the LA and ask these questions . You dont get much action from comments ! Dont forget to take the press and the TV for propper doccumention of your story .
What doesn't make any sense is that we post these things on here and no one including the politicians and the press don't even have any interest in doing anything to expose it. If we had a good investigative reporter either in print or television they would be jumping all over a story like this but because most of the media is controlled by expats themselves they won't rock the boat. As far as the politicians go, they ignore it because they don't want to been seen as taking a stand. Worthless!!
It is a shame that this goes on so blatantly here and no one gives a sh#t!
I fly AA all the way most times since the filipino check in staff are extremely polite and well suited to customer service. Rarely get that at CAL
Not true!!! I fly Delta to Detroit every few weeks. The Air Agencies staff are very professional and friendly.
I don't think the writer meant Air Agencies Ltd, I think they meant to write American Airlines.
Yes, you are right. The problem is staring us in the face everyday. I really don't believe there aren't Caymanians available and competent to be trained to do this job. English not her first language so she's having a hard time – there's supposed to be an english test before work permits are granted – you just have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone else and you're off and running.
Simple solution….Prosecute!
The AG did say many are acting in contravention of the Anti-Corruption Law eh? So the question is; Why are none of these persons being prosecuted? Why are they being coddled?
Is it because the problem is so wide spread? Kinda sounds so eh?
Yet we continue to jail, and cause police records to, many of our youth even for such trivial shit as a little marijuana joint. And then wonder why there is an ever growing discord and distrust by each new generation?
And also check to see if the housing trust members are still getting paid $600 a meeting….and how many meetings are called each month.
UDP may be gone but they left a few pigs still at the trough.
I work for one of these and every time I gently point out the odd expenditures I get bullied into submission. No one at the upper levels are held accountable here. People who do nothing all day. Huge travel budgets.
Anyone got a list of how many free flights (and their frequency) multi-millionaire private sector directors of Cayman Airways have been getting?
That's an easy one for anyone genuinely looking for abuses. Any chance of a name and shame?
Cayman AIrways for as long as I can remember has always been used by the ruling party for their own little private airline. Until they can find a Managing Director that can handle the heat and stand up to the politicians the abuses will continue. Of course if he goes against the grain, he will be fired in short order. Nothing changes!
We now have a person who with no respect to him was a worker in the Maintenance department with no formal training or on the job training to run and airline. He is set up for failure but as long as he keeps his mouth shut, or says what the politicans want him to say and do, he will keep his high salary job for years to come. Only problem is it is at the expense of every Caymanian taxpayer.
It is corrupt or at the very least abuse of office. It is destroying the economy. It is overt, and no one ever does a damn thing!
We have a new Governor now with specialised knowledge of financial control. Mr Swarbrick has been steadfast (against nasty and vindictive criticism from senior politicians with stuff to hide) in his efforts to tell us the truth, so if together they do not get the result, it will be sad for the Islands.
let us hope that a conviction of Ebanks is followed by a substantial conviction of "the big one" (see above!) and a change of attitude amongst all MLA's and quango heads!
" While chief officers are supposed to be responsible for monitoring the relevant SAGCs in their ministries, because government isn’t setting clear directives or policy goals for them there are no clear results expectations"
Interesting, Oh yeah! And exactly how are they supposed to do this, when d blind is leading d blind, top to bottom?
Please Mr. Swarbrick tell us the status of the Monetary Authority. The country is at a huge risk of reputational damage if there are significant issues with the Authority. If this is not the case you need to state this forthwith otherwise this should be #1 on your shortlist for further investigation. Silence on the status of CIMA only bodes negatively.
Isn't George McCarthy in charge of CIMA? Just ask the fellow.
Not wanting to state the obvious but this is an independent audit.
CIMA is a mess. Horrible leadership and no direction. They let criminals rule.
"Caymanization" imposed by the previous PPM administration contributed to that issue.
PROSECUTE!!!
This is a problem with a simple solution.
1. Terminate the CEOs from the SAGCs that did not respond to the questions submitted.
2. Terminate the CEOs and CFOs from the SAGCs that are not able to produce timely and accurate financial statements.
3. All government ministers should get a 60% reduction in pay until the issues identified have been rectified.
4. Identify the conlicts in responsibilities between ministry staff and staff within the SAGCs and make the necessary cuts or transfers to avoid future conflicts.
5. All members of the SAGCs boards should be asked to step down and a process put in place to ensure that we have the best possible Caymanians for those positions.
I do believe that one significant point has been missed, the survey was to be completed by Boards of the Statutory Authorities as well and if the Board did not willingly participate the CEOs and Heads that report to Board cannot be held accountable. The COMPLETE story needs to be released rather than negative bits that tell inaccurate stories.
I believe what is really significant is that if these heads were not there with their huge salaries the entity would run itself and in many cases better. Morale is so low at these authorities because the staff have to put up with their incompetence and there is little they can do.
This is the most sensible comment made on this story so far.. None of the officials that should be releasing well balanced information to the public has done so, this is irresponsible reporting and purposely positioning half truths to influence public sentiment and opinion. its time that the good people that work in these govt depts start standing up for themselves
Thank you Mr. AG. And for us.. it's like having a teenager that refuses ti get a job and still expects us to support them.
A teenager that spends $1,200,000,000 a year!
Given the timeframe of the Audits, we can onlyhope that the new(PPM appointed) Boards are working to correct the sins of the past Administration(s).
Keep dreaming!!
Accountants are so cute. When I go see a doctor, I just want them to meet their "goal" (seeing x number of patients per hourI) rather than their "activities".
10:27, Accountants and Auditors perform entirely different functions.
Good point! I know Dan Dugay, as well as several others, and they told me they studied accountinninn. Next time I see them, I will demand to see their diploma in audtioninnn
CEOs getting top dollar to be unaccountable and waste our money? No value for money or reporting? The ONLY answer is to sack them ALL and demand better!
Give each SACG 90 days to comply with full reports or cut their budget by 10%. Give another 90 days and do the same… I guarantee none of the Authorities will go "under" for after a 6month 20% reduction in operating funding they will start to be damn finance and efficiency wizards.
Hammer down AG- go and tightened up the purse!! We all know we can clear our national debt and provide better education thus leading to better employment and LESS social services as soon as our leaders get the balls to enforce ethical business practices! This is a country wide mind set that MUST start with accountability. The days of waste and vote buying through favors must end. People- look inside, stop taking your pennies from the govt purse. As soon as we teach our children this the better our country will be.
shame on ALL of our past politicians for promoting this dependency on govt funds. If we elected qualified leaders through a lottery we could curb our voter fueled corruption.
Press Hard! Carry on this path, well done!!! Don't fault the past, but fix the future! It is time to wean our population off of the entitlement addiction.
Do you know whats nice? When money goes missing ie "discrepancies" and a paper trail indentifies the persons involved in stealing (cause frankly thats what it is) it is phrased as "mismanagement of funds:" These persons are quite easily let off the hook by silently being terminated or a voluntarily dismissal is requested due to the fact that either there were too many hands involved to follow through with a conviction or people just cant be bothered and it just gets brushed under the rug. This is BULLSHXX!! If an individual goes into a store and steals so much as a freakin bubble gum they are considered thieves, criminals and has to face a Judge whilst they are slandered on the street!! Why in the HELL are we wasting hundreds of Thousands of $ on Audits if no one is being held Accountable???!! Yes, this is common practice everywhere but if such a small place like Cayman cant get it together guess what?! It will continue to happen…therefore whatever it takes to have these "professional" thieves convicted then we need to do so otherwise we need to stop wasting our friggin monies on audits and stop replacing old thieves with new ones!!!!
The people in charge are in charge, why should they respond to your survey? There is no punishment for failure
That said they are not sucessful businessmen and do not understand how to run a business otherwise they would be in business for themselves.
Painfully most Dept heads need to be retired with honors.
Executives from outside need to be hired.
I know you are screaming allready but lets face it Cayman is operated by those that just dont know no better
Thank God this is all coming out at last. We in the civil service have known all this for many years but no one seemed to want to touch the Authorities. The general public would not believe some of what goes on and in particular what the salaries of the bosses are.
What????????????
"He indicated that in some cases where the creation of a government company or authority has failed to do what It was originally created to do, government would be considering taking back the services into core government."
Wrong answer! Go the other way! Privatise it fully! Only when someone's own money is on the line will they take the necessary action.
These are fixable problems. Cayman has gone too long with a trusting attitude. The Premier, Governor and Deputy Governor must hold these CEO's feet to the fire. Even the ones that are apparently doing good work. Transparency and good governance are crucial as we compete in the 21st Century!