Archive for February, 2014
MLAs and C4C silent on rift
(CNS): Although it is obvious that the Coalition for Cayman is less than impressed with the three candidates it endorsed at the general election and who are now serving on the government benches, it has remained silent about the rift and whether or not it has withdrawn its endorsement of its three MLAs. Roy McTaggart, Winston Connolly and Cabinet minister Tara Rivers have also said nothing about the significant criticisms from the group which endorsed and promoted them during last year’selection campaign. The C4C, which still claims it is not a party but believed its candidates would deliver the right agenda for the country, has now made very public criticism of two major policy areas supported by all three MLAs who were elected on the C4C ticket.
CNS has submitted questions to the three MLAs as well as the C4C about the relationship but no one has responded.
In the wake of C4C’s heavy criticisms of the government’s support for the National Conservation Law and more recently its condemnation of government finances, it is clear that the Coalition feels that the candidates it endorsed are not supporting the policies the C4C would like them to, based on the organisation's founding principles.
During the campaign the C4C stated that the candidates it had endorsed had filled in questions and had been surveyed regarding their support of the founding principles and had made much of the idea that it was endorsing people who would make the right decision for country. The political non-party said that the candidates it endorsed would be independent and that they would not make decisions on party lines but on what was best for Cayman.
However, having agreed to join the Cabinet, Rivers is now restricted to its collective responsibility and the only way she can disagree with the PPM government policy publicly or refuse to vote with government is if she resigns her post as education and employment minister. While McTaggart and Connolly remain on the back benches, having taken jobs as counsellors working directly with the ministers for finance, financial services and education, disagreeing with the ministers they serve would also likely see them ousted from those support roles.
While none of the three C4C candidates have formally joined the PPM itself, as a member of Cabinet Rivers’ independence is of limited, if any, relevance as she is delivering PPM policy and voting on PPM lines. There is mounting speculation that McTaggart is considering joining the party and while Connolly may be keen to retain an independent image, he distanced himself from the C4C sometime ago. All three of the Coalition’s endorsed candidates have also attended several PPM political retreats and meetings.
Claims by the coalition during the campaign that their candidates would behave differently and would do the right thing without any influence from party politics have apparently failed to materialize.
The executive chair of C4C, James Bergstrom, stated at a presentation about the group during the run-up to the election that it was optimistic it could make a change to party politics. At the time he said the goal of C4C would be “to give their candidates advice on policy but not make policy”, despite the publication of their founding principles, which could be interpreted as a policy direction.
However, so far, what advice the Coalition has given to its candidates publicly has not been followed by those candidates. Bergstrom said the C4C would continue as a watch-dog over endorsed candidates if they were elected and would publicly condemn those that did not continue to follow the principles.
Nevertheless, C4C has remained silent on whether or not it has lifted its endorsement on the candidates it helped to finance and support in their campaigns for office.
Developer’s claims ‘a worry’
(CNS): Claims being made by a potential developer in the district of North Side have unnerved the local MLA, as he says he has been told nothing about the plans for a 4.5 acre inland saltwater lagoon in the middle of farm land in his constituency as well as alleged plans for an airport in East End. Ezzard Miller told CNS that he has concerns about some of the things set out in a sales brochure from Crown Acquisitions regarding a proposed inland beach and golf resort in his district, which seem at odds with reality but which, if true, could have a serious impact on his constituency
Miller states that claims in the promotion brochure, seen by CNS, that a “new international airport facility” is currently “pending receipt of a formal go ahead” and will be complete by 2020, as well as the creation of a man made salt water lagoon is problematic, either because the developer is making exaggerated claims to promote a development or because government has given the go ahead without informing his constituents.
Concerns about these particular developers were also raised by the UK’s environment committee during its recent audit of the overseas territoriesover possible land banking in Little Cayman, in particular. The developer has bought and cleared a significant amount of land for proposed subdivisions that would, if they were to go ahead, easily overwhelm the smallest of the three islands.
The development in North Side is smaller but would, with a proposed saltwater inland lagoon, still have a serious impact on the environment and, as Miller noted, on the surrounding farmland in the area of Grape Tree Point in his constituency.
Miller said that the developer had also informed him that government has promised him myriad concessions and accommodation tax breaks to create the resort, which would be made from prefabricated buildings that would be shipped in and pieced together on the island.
In the brochure for the potential resort the developers state that they are in talks with the CIG regarding the proposed resort, and although claiming to have the go-ahead for the lagoon, they do not appear to have filed a planning application. In addition, although claiming in the brochure that work is underway at the site, CNS visited the location last week and there is no evidence of any ongoing work, other than the clearance of a short marl access way some time ago, which is now growing over.
CNS has submitted questions to the tourism and environment ministers and is awaiting a response, and Miller says he too hopes to get some answers from government about what is happening. He said either the developer is misrepresenting the situation, which does not bode well for the image of Cayman as the resort is being promoted overseas to potential investors, or significant development is about to being in his constituency for which he and the residents have been given little to no information.
“I have concerns about this either way,” Miller said. “This developer is being either being allowed to be economical with the truth or the government is keeping a lot of information to itself.”
While not opposing appropriate development in his constituency, he said that there were some serious questions about this particular proposal. Miller said he would be looking for answers from government in short order to find out what is really happening at the site and what sort of long term impact, if it is going ahead, it will have on his district.
Airport confirms Civil Aviation probe
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Airport Authority has confirmed that an air traffic controller based at Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman has been placed on administrative duties as a result of an ongoing investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority. Following revelations that a Cayman Airways Ltd (CAL) pilot had been suspended, officials from the airport said the air traffic controller was not suspended or being disciplined but the airport was cooperating with the probe and the air traffic controller’s removal from active duty was in accordance with international regulations. The air traffic controller is understood to have been on duty when a CAL aircraft was reportedly brought down to close to the North Sound.
Cayman Airways confirmed last week, following enquiries from CNS, that the pilot had been grounded as a result of the investigation.
The news regarding the probe into the air traffic controller comes against the backdrop of a major shake-up at the airport, plans for redevelopment and the formation of an association by air traffic controllers to protect and promote their profession. The president of the new group told CNS last week that the creation of the new association had nothing to do with what was happening at the airport. He said efforts to create a local branch of the professional association had been ongoing for several years and it was not a workers' union.
The airport management confirmed that they had been informed of the association, with which it was not familiar, but dismissed allegations that there were concerns about the formation of this new body.
“The CIAA was formally notified in an email from the President of the Cayman Islands Air Traffic Controllers Association (CIATCA) of the official formation of their group. The CIAA is not familiar with the Association but supports any measures that increase the professional knowledge and competency of its employees,” officials stated in response to questions from CNS.
The airport also denied allegations over outstanding pay to staff at the airport in connection with various acting posts and other issues, despite numerous reports of complaints from employees.
“All CIAA personnel who are performing acting duties are doing so on mutual agreement and are being compensated accordingly,” said Acting Managing Director of the CIAA, Andrew McLaughlin. “I am not aware of any grievance in this regard,” he added.
Tributes paid in death of Cayman’s former AG
(CNS): Sir Richard Ground, a member of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal and a former local attorney, died this weekend at his home in Derbyshire in the UK. The former Bermudan and Turks and Caicos chief justice died on Saturday 22 February after a short illness, aged 64. Across the Cayman Islands tributes were paid to the regional legal heavyweight, who began his legal career in the region and in the Cayman Islands in the attorney general’s office as crown counsel under the then attorney general Michael Bradley. Cayman Premier Alden McLaughlin expressed his condolences to Sir Richard’s wife, Dace, and his family on their great loss
“I have known Sir Richard Ground for more than thirty years and am saddened to learn of his passing. He was an outstanding lawyer and a fine jurist and will be greatly missed,” said McLaughlin, paying one of many tributes from around the region.
Sir Richard Ground was born on 17 December 1949 in Stamford, England, and educated at Oakham School in Rutland; Lincoln College, Oxford; and the Inns of Court School of Law. He won an open scholarship to Oxford in 1967 and the Violet Vaughan-Morgan University Prize for literature in 1968. He graduated with a BA Hons in English Language and Literature in 1970. He was called to the Bar, in Gray’s Inn, in 1975; was appointed Queens Counsel (Cayman Islands) in 1987; and was elected a Bencher of his Inn in 2011.
He began his legal career in private practice at 1 Brick Court, Middle Temple, where he specialized in media law, 1976-83. He left London in 1983 for the Cayman Islands where he served as crown counsel under HM Attorney General Michael Bradley. When Bradley was made Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1987, Governor Peter Lloyd appointed Sir Richard to be Cayman's attorney general in his place. He served in that post until 1992.
Sir Richard met and married his wife Dace in Cayman in 1986. She was government's marine parks coordinator at the time, and they met while developing the Marine Parks Regulations. Richard was a keen diver and enthusiastic underwater photographer, but then discovered the amazing wildlife of Cayman above water, and never looked back. He published his first book of wildlife photographs in 1989, titled "Creator's Glory" in reference to the National Song, which he loved.
He was appointed Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Bermuda, serving from 1992 to 1998. His next career move took him to the Turks and Caicos Islands, where he was Chief Justice 1998-2004. He continued his love of wildlife photography, publishing his second book in 2001, "The Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands". His photographs have been published in numerous magazines, such as WildBird, Bermuda Magazine, the Times of the Islands and The Bermudian.
In 2004 Sir Richard returned to Bermuda, when he was appointed chief justice. He served in this position for eight years, retiring in 2012.
In other legal appointments, he had begun serving as justice of the Court of Appeal for Turks and Caicos Islands in 2005, and was appointed to the Court of Appeal in the Cayman Islands in 2012. Effective 1 January 2013, he was appointed to sit on the Bermuda Court of Appeal but his illness overtook him before he could attend his first session.
Sir Richard and Lady Ground loved their years in Cayman. After working on the Marine Parks, Lady Ground went on to become the founding Executive Director of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, and Sir Richard worked enthusiastically to ensure the success of that organisation. They were delighted when Sir Richard was appointed to the Cayman Court of Appeal, as it allowed them to return to the islands they love.
"Sir Richard's availability to sit as a Judge in the Court of Appeal was tragically curtailed by the onset of the illness which led to his death,” Sir John Chadwick, President of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal said. “But he demonstrated, in the course of the session for which he was able to sit, both his outstanding quality as a judge and that the contribution that he would have made to its work in future years would have been immense. He was held in the highest esteem by his colleagues and will be sorely missed."
Adding his comments on behalf of the Cayman Judiciary, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, QC, noted his own long association with Sir Richard, going back to their work as colleagues within the Attorney General’s Department in the early 1980s.
“As Crown Counsel and later as Attorney General, Sir Richard made a very significant contribution to the development of the laws and administration of government in the Cayman Islands. His contributions to the administration of justice as Chief Justice and as a judge in Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands is well known and appreciated throughout the Caribbean region and Sir Richard enjoyed the respect of his fellow judges and Chief Justices from aroundthe Region, and indeed of those many colleagues from around the Commonwealth who came to know him.
“The Cayman judiciary and the local profession were very much looking forward to his time on the Court of Appeal here and are deeply saddened by his passing.”
At the opening of the Courts on Monday the judiciary will observe a public moment of silence in remembrance of Sir Richard.
“It is with great sadness that I received the news of Sir Richard’s passing. During the time I served with him on the Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Services Commission I found him to be a man of passion, integrity and humility. His love of life and passion for the law was portrayed in all that he said and did. He will be missed but his legacy will live on,” added Dan Scott, Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
Attorney General Samuel Bulgin added his condolences to Lady Ground and their family. “The untimely passing of Sir Richard is unquestionably a terrible loss to the Cayman legal fraternity of which he was an invaluable and admirable member. We are profoundly saddened by his passing. He had a stellar legal career in the Cayman Islands as well as in some of the other UK Overseas Territories including his tenure as Attorney General of the Cayman Islands and more recently his appointment to our Court of Appeal,” he added.
Sir Richard was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours List 1991 for his services as Attorney General in Cayman, and was made a Knight Bachelor in the Birthday Honours list 2012 for his services to justice in Bermuda.
“I was sorry to hear of the passing of Sir Richard, who gave so much to the Cayman Islands. He will be missed. My thoughts are with Sir Richard’s family at this sad time,” said Cayman Islands Governor Helen Kilpatrick.
Three marina plans for Brac
(CNS): Cabinet is currently considering coastal works licences in relation to three proposed marinas for Cayman Brac. One at Salt Water Pond next to the Alexander Hotel, which will require cutting a channel though the fringing reef and ironshore and building a new road around the pond, has been heavily criticised by the National Trust, which claims it could have a "profoundly negative effect" on the island’s diving industry. There is also a proposal for a marina on the northwest coast of the island, near Cemetery Pier (left), and another within the sound on the south side near Carib Sands condominiums. The Department of Environment (DoE) has said that multiple marinas for the island are not likely to be economically viable and it favoured the proposal on the north coast.
In its recommendations to the Development Control Board (DCB), which is the deciding authority for upland developments on the Sister Islands, the DoE said, “Taking into consideration local knowledge of prevailing weather patterns, sea conditions, reef structures, water depths and access to deep water, siting a marina on the north western section of Cayman Brac appears most appropriate.”
The DoE noted that access to deepwater would likely reduce the requirements for significant offshore channel dredging within the marine park. Thislocation would also take advantage of the existing Scott’s Jetty as a sheltering breakwater and it would not require any road to be re-routed.
The DCB has given this application, made by developers MMCB Ltd, an affiliate of Le Soleil d’Or, conditional approval based on receipt of the coastal works licence, which is decided by Cabinet. Located between Scotts Dock (Cemetery Pier) and the Bucanneer, it includes a swimming lagoon roughly 100 by 65 feet, which the developers say will have recreational facilities, such as slides and trampolines.
According to the application, the marina section will be approximately 400 by 135 feet with a depth of 11 feet – large enough for cruise ship tenders – with removable boat slips and a public boat ramp. All excavation material will be used on the upland portion of the property.
A spokesperson for the developers said, “We want to see Cayman Brac develop in a sustainable way and offering a high end product.” She said the project would take approximately six months to complete once the coastal licence had been approved.
MMCB has also applied for a second coastal works licence for a marina located within the sound between Kidco Dock and Carib Sands, consisting of 17 perpendicular boat slips – about 400 feet across – excavated to a depth of seven or eight feet.
The Salt Water Pond proposal, which has been put forward by Cleveland Dilbert, owner of the Alexander, includes a coastal works licence to remove 167,000 cubic yards of marl, rock and sand from the sea bed; 80,000 cubic yards to be used on site and 87,000 cubic yards to be used for the new road, according to the application. (Left: The Alexander Hotel was built in 2009 next to a pond that smells when the water line is low.)
Large boulders will be placed going offshore to make the base of a jetty (groyne), which will act as a road for the excavators to move offshore, the application states. The proposal is for the inland pond to be excavated simultaneously (a decision that rests with the DCB) and water allowed to settle prior to the opening of the sea. The channel and the pond will then be connected.
In a statement about the Salt Water Pond marina, the Trust said it was “of the opinion that any economic benefit that the developers hope to derive from the proposed marina will be far outweighed by the economic losses for the already declining Brac economy as a result of the imminent damage that will ensue for some of the best dive sites in Cayman Brac.”
Stressing the loss of protection for the land that would result from this proposal, the Trust noted that this area of the Cayman Brac coastline is subjected frequently to strong wave action from prevailing easterly winds.
“The proposed channel would be constructed through two separate protected areas, a Marine Park and a Replenishment Zone. It would breach the fringing reef, negatively impacting these areas by removing 1.25 acres of seagrass, 1 acre of coral, and 17 acres of sandy bottom. These areas will be irrevocably changed leading to a loss of nursery areas for fish and other young marine life. It is important to note that a total of 19.25 acres will be dredged and the proposed groyne would impact an additional area. The amounts of fish, conchs, lobsters, and other animals available to be harvested may decrease precipitously,” the Trust said.
“The associated beach is one of the few on Cayman Brac where sea turtles have nested in recent years. The proposed channel and associated groyne have the potential to increase beach erosion, reducing the areaavailable for nesting turtles. Additionally the increased boat traffic would likely adversely impact turtles breeding, and effluent from the marina would impact the nests, not to mention the human population.”
The Trust further noted, “Salt Water Pond acts as a water catchment holding runoff from the surrounding land through the rainy season with water levels in the pond often higher than mean sea level. Dredging a channel into the pond, and further dredging of the pond, will shunt sediments and nutrients into the marine environment. This will increase negative impacts to the reef, and sediments will threaten many popular dive sites down current with reduced visibility or increased algal overgrowth. This in turn could have a profoundly negative effect on Cayman Brac’s dive industry.”
Cleveland Dilbert, owner of the Alexander Hotel, released a statement Sunday night to say that comments made by Paul Watler of the National Trust regarding his proposed marina were “sensationalized, not based on the facts”, and accused him of “speaking to the public under the perception that he is an authority on constructing safe harbours in the Cayman Islands”.
However, though Dilbert said a more detailed response would be released later this week, he has not yet offered any factual arguments to counter the Trust’s position.
See below for full statements from the National Trust and Cleveland Dilbert, as well as images for locations of the two MMCB marinas.
Related article on CNS:
Critical habitat threatened (2 May 2012)
Starving dog, near death left at animal shelter
(CNS): Staff, volunteers and board members at the Humane Society were all horrified Friday morning by the terrible condition of an emaciated and starving dog left in the charity's dog drop-off kennel. It is unknown whether the owners had taken the dog there overnight or whether a concerned member of the public, who may not have wanted to get involved, rescued the animal, which the society vet believed had been chained up for some time. Michelle Sabit, a director on the charity’s board, said the level of cruelty involved to keep a dog chained up without food or water until it had almost starved to death was unimaginable.
The dog was taken to the vets for intense IV treatment and the Humane Society is appealing for donations and a foster home for the little brown mutt, which, with some care and attention, could still live. The vet explained that the dog's organs may have been impacted as it was evident the animal had gone without food or even water for many days. But with intravenous feeding and some care and attention he may make a full recovery.
Sabit said she had serious concerns about the continuing level of cruelty and neglect the society was seeing, as she urged people to report abuse to the authorities as there are laws in place to prosecute people who either neglect or abuse animals. Despite the legislation, no one is able to say if anyone has ever been prosecuted, even though reports about significant acts of abuse and cruelty are routinely reported. However, the society is calling for action in the face of animal cruelty and for the authorities to enforce the law.
In recent weeks local activist Sandra Catron has also raised the issue about neglected and dangerous dogs. She has called for accountability from owners and for the police to act when owners are neglecting animals and when dogs become a danger. Catron eventually pressed the authorities to remove a dog from her neighbourhood in Newlands after her own pet was attacked four times by a dog that had become very dangerous.
Texan cruise visitor dies after snorkelling trip
(CNS): A 78-year-old man who was visiting Grand Cayman yesterday on a cruise ship died soon after he was rescued from the ocean, having lost consciousness in the water. Loyd Wayne Loudamy of Mansfield, Texas, who was a passenger aboard the Navigation of the Seas, was on a snorkelling trip with his wife and his friend at the Callie dive site in the vicinity of the Royal Watler Terminal, an RCIPS spokesperson said. He and his friend were in the water for less than 10 minutes before he got into difficulty and lost consciousness in the sea. He was lifted out of the water onto the tourist excursion vessel, where chest compressions and CPR were administered by two other snorkellers on the same trip, one of whom was a nurse here on vacation.
During the administering of the CPR, Loudamy regained consciousness for a while and the harbour patrol boat was summoned to the location to help take him to the Royal Watler Terminal, where the paramedics were waiting.
The nurse and snorkellers continued the chest compressions and CPR on the harbour patrol boat, but Loudamy lost consciousness once again. He was taken to the George Town Hospital by ambulance and at 11:58am he was pronounced dead.
Although police enquiries are continuing, there appears to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
Cayman Pirates invade Florida
(CNS): Next weekend a band of Cayman Pirates will invade the south-eastern peninsula of the United States with the aim of pillaging and plundering and running off with the prize of Champions of the Fort Lauderdale Ruggerfest Touch Tournament 2014. A merry band of 12 marauders will embark on their third annual trip to this tournament aiming to improve on their semi-final position in 2012 and hopefully to capture the trophy for the first time. Sponsored by Trident Trust and promoted by the Cayman Touch Association the Cayman Pirates go to the event in fine fettle.
Coached by Aussie legend (at least that’s what his girlfriend calls him) Shaun Hardcastle, the Pirates are led onto the field by the wonderfully-named Captain Morgan – Morgan Shelver that is. He may lack the flowing locks andcocked-feather-in-hat of the infamous buccaneer but his play is as intoxicating as the eponymous rum and certainly makes his opponents heads spin.
Every year in Cayman the standard of Touch (similar to rugby league but without the tackles) increases as more and more people are drawn to the sport. It is a high energy game with limited player-to-player contact and is just right for guys and girls looking to get involved in a fast-paced ball game.
The Cayman Pirates will be challenging teams from New York, Washington DC, the East Coast and Florida but most of all they will be looking to develop their teamwork and playing style ahead of other tournaments in the US later this year such as the National Touch Championships and the Touch World Cup in Australia 2015.
The team has been training for several weeks and is looking to build on work done earlier in the year combining a game of innovative attacking moves with a balanced defence. It is a work-in-progress but looking at the roster there is a heady mix of blistering pace, astute play-making and sage-wisdom.
Tour Organizer Chandra Friesen said, “Touch is one of the fastest growing team sports in Cayman and we love the chance to experience playing other teams from overseas. It’s a challenge which we’ll enjoy and if we can bring back the trophy it will be even better!”
A full report of the Pirates’ progress will be made next week.
Cayman Pirates 2014 Squad – Morgan Shelver ©, Neal Ainscow, Marc Randall, Nic Swartz, Richie Gordon, Brad Stephenson, RileyMullen, Brandon Smith, Guy Major, Chandra Friesen, Jax McCarty, Evelyn Ritch.
Webb points to economic and social value of sport
(CNS): Local and regional football boss Jeffrey Webb told a conference audience Thursday that sports tourism is the fastest growing sector of the global travel industry and equates to $600 billion a year. Investment in facilities, human capital and infrastructure has contributed to various nations becoming international destinations of choice. He said that the sport was an economic driver of prosperity as football unquestionably injects nations with a platform for exposure through participating in and hosting international tournaments. Speaking at the Fidelity CEO conference, the head of CONCACAF and the man tipped to be the next FIFA president said the value of sport extends well beyond the economy.
He told a packed house that sports brings benefits to communities and individuals, such as improving health, education and safety, while also increasing skills, employment, growth and providing new opportunities for youth.
“These are positive effects money cannot buy. But it takes greater participation from the community, and the right partnerships, for the sustainable development of sports. Investment in football is investment in human capital,” he added.
Nevertheless, the economic value is high and Webb’s position, which enabled him to bring two international football tournaments to Cayman, has already generated some $5 million for the local economy. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, it is projected that global sports market revenues will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 3.7 percent from US$121.4 billion in 2010 to US$145.3 billion in 2015.
Within football, the World Cup is the principal source of revenue. The 2010 edition in South Africa generated total revenue of US$ 3.6 billion and it continues to be the most viewed sporting event in the world. In 2002 World Cup viewership reached an astounding total cumulative audience of 28.8 billion people, making it the most viewed event in television history. No other sport is as universal.
Webb encouraged business leaders to invest in Cayman’s youth, to provide greater opportunities for future generations, recognizing that football should not only accompany the development of society but also endorse messages that improve health, education and crime prevention.
“We can learn. We can follow. Or, we can lead,” he concluded.
Dump row escalates
(CNS): The president of the Chamber of Commerce has hit out once again at government over the dump, escalating the row, following comments made by the premier in his address at the Fidelity CEO Conference on Thursday. In a letter to the Chamber membership berating government for moving too slowly, Johann Moxam said the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) process shouldn’t be used as the excuse for delaying action. However, the governor has also emphasised the need for the requirements of the FFR agreement with the UK to be met to make sure government does the right thing for the long term and that any solution offers value for money and can be afforded by the Caymanian taxpayer.
The Chamber boss hit out at the premier for stalling and described the situation at both the George Town and Cayman Brac dumps as “disgraceful examples of our Islands' lack of leadership, planning and urgency”. “Cayman cannot afford the multiple excuses, egos, and political rhetoric,” he said, as it would not fix the literally burning issue.
Moxam also took aim at Premier Alden McLaughlin for revealing that he (Moxam) had been involved in the original bid and suggested that the premier was implying his position on the dump might be because of commercial interest – although McLaughlin made no such reference.
Moxam said it was correct that he had been involved in a bid but he found it “disturbing and irresponsible for thepremier” to have revealed the confidential information about his business interests and said the comments led him to believe McLaughlin was “attempting to imply that I was using this high office to further my business interests and personal agenda,” which Moxam denied.
He said he and all the Chamber members had a right to point out the delays towards a solution for Cayman’s waste management were not necessary and that there was enough information out there already on which to base the business case.
During his speech at the conference, McLaughlin said the fires had brought the issue of waste management into sharp focus and the government was facing calls for an immediate solution to a problem that is the result of many years of unsustainable waste management practices.
“While we fully acknowledge the urgency of this issue, we cannot be reasonably expected to resolve it overnight. The procurement process for major projects like this was outlined in the FFR, and has been enshrined in our Public Management and Finance Law. We do not have a choice,” he said.
“The processes that are in place under the Public Management and Finance Law are there in large part because of the disastrous consequences of the last tendering exercise conducted by government for a waste management solution. I am sure my good friend, the President of the Chamber, will recall this well, as he was involved in that tendering exercise,” McLaughlin added.
He said the process would ensure transparency and accountability in the procurement process this time round.
His comments were supported by the governor, Helen Kilpatrick. Responding to CNS questions, she said that she was committed to working with the CIG to find an effective long term response.
“I recognise the frustration that the issue is causing and I know that the Cabinet is doing what it can to contain the problem and work quickly towards finding a longer term solution for our waste management,” she said.
“The terms of the FFR are well documented and there is limited scope to increase government borrowing. It is critical that infrastructure projects move forward quickly in a way that meets these requirements. The UK Government stands ready to continue to work in partnership with CIG to help deliver key infrastructure projects. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been in discussions with CIG about calling on the services of Infrastructure UK, the UK Government body with strategic capability for infrastructure delivery,” Kilpatrick told CNS.
She also said the services of UK waste management experts could be called upon by CIG and the UK government would be happy to help facilitate expertise as may be necessary.