Archive for June, 2014
MLA blames mass status grants for gangs
(CNS): Government backbencher Al Suckoo said the 2003 mass status grants to thousands of people is still causing problems in the community more than a decade later. Admitting he was a member of the UDP when it happened, Suckoo said that the failure to properly integrate the new Caymanians has created a divide in Cayman in which both sides suffer. He said there was animosity between the Jamaican and Caymanian cultures and it has encouraged gang development. The Bodden Town MLA said it was not the fault of those given status that there were so many social issues but because there was no effort made to assimilate so many new Caymanians, many of whom had not been in Cayman very long.
Speaking during the budget debate in the Legislative Assembly on Friday, Suckoo said that he was seeing the effects every day in his constituency and said that grants had created two societies that were not fully meshed. It was “a social experiment gone bad”, he said, as the local society was not prepared to deal with the creation of so many Caymanians and the population increase. He said that the gang development was a part of the failure to encourage integration but now there was even greater competition for jobs, especially at entry level, which had been compounded by the economic downturn.
Suckoo said that while working with the National Workforce Development Agency and trying to assist his constituents to find work he had discovered that although some Caymanians were not workplace ready and needed training, he had also seen discrimination against Caymanians by employers.
Cheap labour, he said, was a significant barrier to local people getting work, and while in the boom years people overlooked the workforce problems, the economic downturn required a new look as employers are not training people like they used to, creating a vicious circle.
“We now need to take a step back and re-look at how we deal with locals in the workforce and see if the policies are working and guaranteeing locals a part in future industries,” Suckoo urged, adding that the neglect of those Caymanians that cannot get work was showing up in the courts, the streets and homes.
He raised concerns about employers misrepresenting facts to get permits and urged immigration to be more vigilant as instances of abuse of the system fuelled the belief that government is not looking out for its people, just business. Aware too of employers in several cases telling Caymanian applicants that the adverts they are responding to are for work permit renewal and there is no vacancy, Suckoo reminded employers that was illegal.
Talking about the job drive which began last year when the immigration law was changed and work began on making the NWDA more effective, Suckoo said he had some success helping Caymanians get work but it was not all he had hoped for. Nevertheless, changes at the agency have vastly improved compared the situation before the work started. He said the task force which he chaired met numerous times between September and January and put forward several recommendations to re-engineer the NWDA, which have been implemented along the way. The full report is expected to be published shortly, he said.
Suckoo told the LA members that one of the most important positive changes was the interface between immigration and the agency so those approving permits can now see much more easily if there are Caymanians available for those jobs before they grant the permits. The MLA acknowledged, however, that there was still a skills gap and training was required to help the local unemployed to be workplace ready and align the needs of employers with the training.
During his contribution to the debate Suckoo also pointed to the pressing need for a minimum wage, as he said he wholeheartedly supported the implementation and was aware the labour minister was moving towards its introduction. The Bodden Town representative said he firmly believed that it would go some way to address the problem of cheap labour and competition for entry level jobs, opening up new opportunities for Caymanians. He said reasonable basic minimum pay would improve Cayman’s reputation and make it clear we don’t allow exploitation of foreign workers.
Lawyer files complaint over early morning search
(CNS): A local attorney is putting pressure on the legal department to follow the law in relation to an illegal search warrant. Peter Polack is making a formal complaint against the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions' crown counsel on the case for failing to act regarding the possible criminal offence committed by police who executed a search of his client’s home in the Northward area before sunrise last November, breaching the criminal procedure code. Polack says officers arrived at his client’s house to execute a search warrant in connection with a potential drug bust at 5:49am on the day in question when it was still dark, as according to the weather services the sun didn’t rise that day until 6:39am.
In his complaint to the ODPP Polack points out that every search warrant may be issued at any time and may be executed on any day between the hours of sunrise and sunset, unless otherwise directed by a judge.
With the question mark over the warrant, Polack accuses police of Criminal Trespass, Forcible Entry and Neglect of Official Duty. Polack is also complaining that the crown counsel on the case also broke the law by failing to take any action regarding an investigation into what Polack says in an illegal entry and instead suggests that it should be dealt with when his client’s drug case comes before the Summary Court.
Numbers men shot at
(CNS): Two men were shot at in George Town on Sunday lunchtime in an attempted robbery that police say was related to illegal gambling. The two men, who were believed to havetakings from the local underground numbers game, were in the AL Thompson parking lot in the capital when they were approached by an individual who demand cash. The victims then drove off towards Welly's Cool Spot but the would-be robber fired shots at the vehicle. People at the scene said the armed man had arrived as a passenger on a dark coloured scooter with another man. Wearing a white cloth wrapped around his face, he demanded cash from the suspected numbers men.
The rider of the scooter was dressed in dark T-shirt and dark helmet and both he and the gunman drove off west towards Eastern Avenue and Shedden Road direction after the shooting, in which no one was injured.
Police are asking for anyone who was in the area off AL Thompson parking lot, Welly's Cool Spot or the junction of Shedden Road and Eastern Avenue locations at the time to contact George Town Police Station at 9494222 or Crime stoppers at 800-(TIPS).
Immigration creates ready reckoner for PR points
(CNS): The immigration department has introduced an on-line "ready reckoner" which will allow people considering applying for permanent residency to work out how many points they will get and what they would need to do to reach the 110 points now required to be granted the right to permanently reside in the Cayman islands. Recent immigration law changes have eliminated the seven year term limit and the need for people to gain key employee status, allowing everyone to reach the point where they can make a PR application. While the process has become more transparent, the revised point system has been introduced with criteria that are more strict and more precise.
The development of a “ready reckoner” allows would-be applicants to gauge their own points beforethey submit an application and involves the same tool as the one used by the Cayman Status & Permanent Residency Board to calculate the points, taking potential applicants through each of the 10 elements.
Available on the Immigration website, applicants can see more easily how they can accumulate the minimum 110 points required and see other details about the process.
The department has also introduced the electronic submission of Employer Declarations for those employing Permanent Residents. It is now mandatory for all employers to submit a first declaration of the permanent residents that work for them and then they need to update the department when there is a change to any of their working conditions.
These conditions include: employment, status, and change in occupation, salary or other pertinent information. Officials from the department reminded employers that failure to do so is an offence. Although it is not clear why, officials said that holders of permanent residency are not able to submit their own declarations electronically.
Employers who are members can electronically submit their “permanent residents – change to employment circumstances declaration” form (R17) via the IOL system. The on-line forms require the same information as that submitted on hardcopies and thereis now no need to submit a hard copy to the Immigration office. Once the electronic data is complete it will be conveyed to the department.
Customers who wish to become IOL members should visit the Department of Immigration website for detailed instructions. Those with questions or comments can email IMM_IS@gov.ky or call 949-8344 with any enquiries.
Seed bank grows with latest collection
(CNS): Some 10,000 wild seeds have been collected this year by the Department of the Environment as part of a seed bank project, which aims to have a stock of endemic species safely preserved in case of potential extinction. Cayman first became involved in what is an international project, funded by the Darwin initiative grant, in 2010 and renewed its partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, UK, last year for another three years. The Millennium Seed Bank Project aims to collect seed samples from the world’s plants and trees to store them safely and now has 10% of the world's plant species saved.
Local collectors from the DoE and the National Trust have been focusing on the Mastic Trail and the Botanic Gardens to ensure it preserves seeds for the countries unique flora.
From Wild Strawberry (Eugenia axillaris) to Satinwood (Zanthoxlum falvum), the collected seeds have been processed according to guidelines provided by the MSB. After the cleaning process the seeds were dried and the samples divided in two. One set will be kept for freezing at the DoE and the other will be sent to the Central Millennium Bank in the UK. A small number of seeds from each species were retained in order to compare germination success before and after the drying process.
For more details on this and other news from the DoE’s terrestrial unit see the latest edition of Flicker below.