Archive for June, 2014
Coutts denies having Bin Laden cash in Cayman
(CNS Business) Updated: More than 14,000 files from the Cayman offices of the private bank Coutts have been seized by the German authorities in a tax evasion investigation. Following the closure of the bank’s Cayman Islands branch when its parent company, the Royal Bank of Scotland, sold it to Appleby Global, the documents were shipped to Germany bound for the bank's data centre in Geneva. The bank has, however, denied any connection to Osama bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda leader, or his immediate family following allegations that the files in question contained details of the infamous terrorist's cash. Read more on CNS Business
Appleby has clarified that it bought a tranche of fiduciary business from Coutts last year. "The recent shipment of documents from Coutts's residual business in Cayman has nothing to do with this transaction, and Appleby was not involved in the shipment," the firm stated.
Secret report slams teachers
(CNS): A report based on an independent review of local schools is believed to reveal a catalogue of problems, not just with kids’ behavior but over the standard and quality of teachers in Cayman. The report, which was published in November 2012, has remained under wraps in the education ministry but its existence and some of its contents were revealed by the opposition members during Monday’s Finance Committee when Tara Rivers, the education minster, was in the hot seat. According to the limited details revealed during the proceedings, the report includes a shocking condemnation of teachers who are failing to make the grade and are themselves behaving badly.
Teachers were reportedly being negative, indifferent and dismissive towards students, using sarcasm even with primary school children and humiliating them. Teachers were described as being overly aggressive in their manner with their students and failing to understand the learning needs of their students. The report allegedly reveals significant disparities and inconsistencies in the quality of teaching throughout the local system and even, in some cases, within the same school.
The existence of the report was first raised by the opposition leader, McKeeva Bush, but during the questioning of the chief officer in the education and employment ministry, Mary Rodrigues, and other staff, it became apparent that the East End member, Arden McLean, had a copy of the report.
Confusion mounted, however, when it was revealed that there was a second report, which appeared to be a review of the original report by a member of the ministry staff who appearedto have altered the findings of the original author. Also, the original eight pages of recommendations to address the myriad shortcomings in the education system had been reduce to a page and a half. Described by Ezzard Miller as a possible “sanitized version” of the original, the members pressed for an explanation.
Although Rodrigues implied there were some concerns about the evidence to back up the findings of the original report and a review was undertaken, she was not sure of the details. The education civil service boss said that the final report she had been given was different to the two which members appeared to have brought to the committee. Admitting she was unsure as to what had happened, she said she would determine the series of events and find out about the different reports.
Meanwhile, Rivers noted that when she took up office as the minister she had asked staff to review how many of the recommendations from that original report had been implemented and where gaps continued to exist in the system. She told the committee that it was this report that had formed the basis for the new behavior strategies that would be implemented in the schools, starting in the new academic year.
McLean questioned why the report and its damning allegations had been “kicking around” since the end of December, 2012, when no one knew about it or what had been done to address it.
Rivers said the 2012 report and the review conducted this year would all be made public following Finance Committee but she said some of the matters in the 2014 review of the report were dependent on the budget and the plan was to publish all of the reports together.
The members of the committee raised their concerns about the recruitment of teachers, the policies surrounding where they were coming from and the background checks being done. They also asked what was being done about improving the quality of staff now that so many issues had been raised.
Rivers acknowledged the criticisms but she said it was being addressed with performance management and a focus on ensuring that the policies set down by the ministry were actually being followed through at the school level. Ministry staff also spoke a lot about strategies, expectations and continuums but were vague about the actual accountability over inadequate teachers.
With no fixed date for a release, CNS has submitted an FOI request and is making enquiries about getting copies of all of the reports and reviews and will publish all the documents as soon as we have them.
Teacher appears before courts on 15 sex charges
(CNS): A drama teacher who has been suspended from his job teaching at a government high school was remanded in custody on Friday following his first appearance in the Grand Court on a catalogue of charges relating to the sexual assault of students. Delroy James (32) is facing fifteen charges ranging from cruelty to a child to indecent assault, as well as charges of possessing of pornographic images of a child. Having just received the details of the allegations from the crown, his attorney, Nick Dixie, asked for a two week adjournment but was at pains to stress that the accusations against his client did not relate to any kind of violence or coercion and were limited to “inappropriate touching” and showing the boys pornographic material.
Cops seek witnesses to shooting in West Bay
(CNS): A 32-year-old man was shot in the leg as he walked along Birch Tree Hill on Saturday evening, police have confirmed. Officers are now seeking witnesses to the shooting, which happened around 9pm close to Apple Blossom Close. According to the victim, he heard three loud bangs as he walked along the road and almost immediately felt a stinging sensation in his left leg but did not see anyone in the immediate area. He was taken to the George Town hospital, where it was confirmed by doctors that his injury was consistent with a gunshot wound to the lower left leg. He has undergone surgery and is currently in a stable condition.
The investigation got underway on Saturday but the police said that the don’t have any information about a motive or a suspect for the shooting and officers from West Bay's CID are very keen to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything around that time or who may have information about the shooting.
The public is asked to contact DC Shane Ennis or DC Marcia Myles at 525-8303 or Crime Stoppers 800-8477(TIPS).
Official arrested for assault
(CNS): A senior female immigration officer has been arrested for assault as a result of a serious domestic dispute in which the woman allegedly attacked her partner with a hammer and threatened her victim with a 12-gauge shotgun. The police said the arrest on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm took place on Saturday 21 June at the officer’s home. The shotgun found at the house, which was said to be licensed, was recovered together with a quantity of ammunition by the police. Police said the firearm was featured in the victim’s complaint. It is understood he was not shot but received a number of injuries during the assault which were believed to have been inflicted with a hammer.
The victim was treated at the Cayman Islands Hospital and has since been released.
“The ownership of any licensed firearm carries a great deal of responsibility,” an RCIPS spokesperson stated in a release about the incident. “The misuse of any firearm can have deadly consequences which we will not tolerate. We take every incident of domestic violence whether the victim is a male or a female very seriously, and we continue to ensure a zero-tolerance policy.”
Police said the immigration officer has been interviewed and bailed, and the matter has been referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for ruling but the woman has not yet been charged.
The chief immigraiton officer said the woman was still at work Tuesday and that no decision had been made on whether or not the officer would be placed on required leave.
Public urged to take free HIV tests
(CNS): The Health Services Authority (HSA), the Cayman AIDS Foundation (CAF) and the Cayman Islands Red Cross have all joined forces to organise HIV Testing Week. Free HIV testing will be available for all Cayman Islands residents from Monday, 23 to Saturday, 28 June as well as voluntary counseling across the Islands, by trained and experienced personnel. The week’s activities coincide with international HIV testing days around the world under the continued theme “Take the Test, Take Control”.
With the Caribbean region having the second highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, second only to Sub Saharan Africa, Caribbean and Latin American governments are taking critical measures to control the epidemic.
“These include new targets and benchmarks for expanding HIV testing and treatment by 2020 in an effort to reduce new HIV infections, late diagnosis and AIDS-related deaths, as well as to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV,” said Dr. Kumar, Medical Officer of Health.
He explained that since the first case in 1985 in Cayman 119 people have been diagnosed with HIV and 68 have developed AIDS. Forty two people have died while 17 people are living abroad while 60 people are living with HIV locally. 91% of the cases in Cayman were sexually transmitted; 57% via heterosexual contact. There were four recorded cases of
mother to child transmissions and the last reported HIV case was in 2004.
Nurse Laura Elniski, HIV /AIDS Coordinator said the new targets from the Pan American Health Organisation of 90% of people knowing their diagnosis, getting treatment and reducing their viral levels to undetectable was a challenge.
“The 90-90-90 target is a huge task and can only be collectively achieved in the region through community involvement and by each sexually active person taking responsibility for their own health,” she said. “By taking the test you can know your HIV status and take control.”
Diagnosing HIV and starting treatment earlier means healthcare providers can dramatically improve patients’ health outcomes and prevent transmission of the disease, the nurse added.
Health minister, Osbourne Bodden urged residents to take advantage of the free tests.
“I support and applaud the work of the Health Services Authority, CAF and the C.I. Red Cross in their efforts to make HIV testing accessible and at no cost to the individual. It is better to be in the know, than not. The stigma needs to be removed from this disease and proper care and preventative measures taken,” he added.
Special arrangements have been implemented to facilitate confidentiality for tests this week and no appointments are necessary. Waiting time fortesting is usually no more than ten minutes. The results will be available in three working days and will only be given to the patient who must return to clinic where the test was taken to receive the results.
See schedule for free HIV tests at the HSA clinics below
Diplomacy first in slavery reparations
(CNS): CARICOM’s programme manager for culture and community development has stated that the organization intends to use diplomacy before going to the courts over the issue of slavery reperaitons. Dr Hilary Brown said raising the consciousness of CARICOM nationals regarding issues related to Reparations for Native Genocide Slavery was itself important and the expected result from the submission for reparations was a development programme for the countries affected. During a recent CARICOM meeting, Dr Brown said the issue was about redress and healing to address the “legacy that has left our people behind”.
She said the hope was for engagement of CARICOM people, which should result in psychological healing and further emancipation from mental slavery. She also outlined that the approach to be taken would be a diplomatic one involving engagement of the Europeans before taking the matter to the level of an international court of justice.
Caribbean leaders are scheduled to meet in Antigua early next month to examine and approve the draft document on which the claim for reparations will be made to European nations for the TransAtlantic slave trade. The draft will not be released before leaders approve it but according to regional media reports the document makes out a case for compensation “for the lasting effects of slavery on the Caribbean population”, including poor diet, inhumane working conditions, brutality and other stressful conditions that have led to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure in too many people.
A group of private and state Caribbean attorneys will be drafted in to liaise with the British firm of Leigh Day, which had successfully sued and made Britain pay for brutalizing the Mau Mau Tribe in Kenya several decades ago. The firm has already said that it is confident that the region has a strong case and, like academics and doctors in the University of the West Indies system, has linked a string of chronic diseases rampaging through the Caribbean to the horrors of slavery.
Regional leaders made the decision more than a year ago to back the fight by civil society groups to win reparations following intense lobbying.
Girls encouraged to get out on the pitch
(CNS): As preparations get underway for another regional development football tournament in Cayman this summer, organisers were spreading the word on the benefits of football for girls as well as boys in the country’s schools. Cayman will be hosting the CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship in August and the Local Organising Committee chair Sharon Roulstone told high school students about the importance of football in shaping lives and encouraged more girls to part in the sport and to come out and support the female teen team during the tournament which is set for 6-17 August.
“I hope that the school visits will create an awareness amongst our young ladies that football is not just a beautiful game, but that it actually helps build important life skills,” Roulstone said after officials addressed over 500 girls at schools across the Islands. “I hope our visits and the CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship this summer will evoke new interest in the sport and that in time, Cayman will develop strong and vibrant girls' and women's teams that will be the envy in this region.”
The Under 15 Girls’ competition follows the Boys’ Under 15 tournament that was hosted in the Cayman Islands last year and was won by Honduras. This championship features teams from 16 countries within the confederation.
“CIFA hopes that by promoting national representation that more girls will want to be involved in football and aspire to be part of our national program and represent the Cayman Islands,” said CIFA Vice President Bruce Blake. “This is an opportunity for the students to meet and interact with the young ladies that will be representing the Cayman Islands at the upcoming CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championship scheduled for August 2014 in the Cayman Islands. We thank the schools for accommodating us in their busy exam and graduation period,” added Blake.
The Cayman Islands will contest Group A against Curacao, Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands.
Little Cayman needs development plan with zoning
(CNS Business): Little Cayman needs a development plan with zoning laws so that investors know what to expect, according to Marc Pothier, the manager of Paradise Villas and the Hungry Iguana on the smallest Sister Island. He told CNS Business in today’s video interview that uncertainty over the future is one of the biggest problems for the island and sustainable development should be the way forward. “There are no golf courses here, there are no shopping malls and there won’t be,” he said, so unless the marine and terrestrial environment are protected, “we don’t really know what we’re selling. And if we don’t know what we’re selling then we don’t know who to sell it to.” The landfill, the future of the airstrip and septic waste are just some of the critical issues that need to be determined, he believes. Read more and watch the video on CNS Business
Airport in porn, HR scandal
(CNS): The reinstatement of a member of the airport management team after his suspension over allegations of using an official computer to view hundreds of pornographic images has fuelled concerns of another scandal at the airport that involves the board of directors and human resource issues. The opposition leader led the charge in Finance Committee when he began probing officials over an investigation into the behaviour of the IT manager, the subsequent investigations, the man’s reinstatement and the board’s involvement. However, the situation escalated when the board chair and the acting airport boss were less than forthcoming with the committee.
The issue, which has been kept under wraps by airport officials, was blown wide open by McKeeva Bush, who was in possession of what appeared to be a significant number of documents relating to yet another major human resource scandal at the authority. The airport has been plagued with staffing issues since late 2012, when the former chief executive officer, Jeremy Jackson, was suspended and then sacked in the wake of an internal investigation about airport mismanagement. This in turn led to other leaks and revelations of inappropriate board interference with the day-to-day management of the airport and glaring conflicts of interest with the board that was appointed by the UDP government.
Last week, Bush began asking the new board chair, Kirkland Nixon, and the acting head of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority, Andrew McLaughlin, who was standing in for the new CEO Albert Anderson, about the internal investigation that had resulted in the suspension of the IT manager amid allegations that he was using his office computer to visit pornographic sites on numerous occasions and had also downloaded the images.
The investigation and suspension of the IT manager was ordered by the acting director at the time, Kerith McCoy, but after McCoy departed correspondence and other documentary evidence appeared to indicate that the board had directed the conclusion of the investigation and the reinstatement of the manager.
The airport security boss, Shane Bothwell, undertook a second look at the case under what appears to be the direction of the board, despite the board chair's denial they had anything to do with the case. Bothwell told the committee that he had not been able to prove the allegations and suggested that he could not verify the chain of custody regarding the computer.
However, the opposition leader pointed out that the IT manager was one of only two people with access to the computer and the second person was on leave at the time the sites were allegedly viewed. Bothwell hinted that he believed the IT manager could have been set up, as he said the manner of the viewing was not conducive with the usual patterns of behaviour in such cases. However, he could not explain how anyone else other than the manager could have had access to the computer.
While no one was able to explain the reinstatement of the IT manager in the face of what the opposition members considered to be overwhelming evidence against him, the situation escalated when the opposition leader also asked about a letter from the authority’s lawyers relating to that matter and the issue of McCoy’s disputed departure following his extended leave. Knowledge of the letter was denied by the CEO but it eventually appeared in part after the chair eventually admitted its existence.
Bush pressed on over the question of the board's interference, as despite the denials by both McLaughlin and Nixon that the board was involved in HR issues at all, the letter, which was not released in public, was alleged to contain evidence of that interference. This led the opposition members to call for a public probe of the board and other witnesses and left the government benches embarrassed, while the government minister with responsibility for the airport remained silent throughout the entire affair.
“This letter tells us there was interference,” Bush insisted, as he became increasingly irate over what he saw as public officials deliberately misleading the committee. He said it was evident that the board was party “to gross interference” and added that the committee has not been told the truth. "I am not going to countenance being told half of what happened,” he said.
The opposition leader and the independent members implied that it was all too common for government management teams to come to Finance Committee and tell members whatever they thought they wanted to hear when often it was just not true.
Ezzard Miller also emphasised his concerns about the lack of action taken against all individuals who mislead parliament. “Every time we try to get to the bottom of something, somebody intervenes with a legal opinion to cover it all up,” he said.
Amid discussions involving the Finance Committee chair, the attorney general and the premier, the matter almost reached a select committee enquiry, which could have seen all of the witnesses placed in contempt of parliament, an offence that could lead to jail.
Following several closed door meetings on Thursday evening and then again Friday afternoon, the committee eventually agreed that such an enquiry would escalate matters too far. The premier said government regarded it as “a very serious matter”, and that it would conduct further investigations into the issues surrounding the allegations.
While Bush agreed that there were time constraints on Finance Committee and other issues, including the cost of fielding an army of lawyers on all sides, a select committee enquiry was a step too far. However, the opposition leader demanded that the current airport board be fired and another one appointed.
The issue over whether or not the IT manager, who is back in his job, had or had not been viewing porn over 450 times in a two week period was left hanging as the matter of board interference and dishonesty before the committee took precedence.
In the end,however, the MLAs spent almost seven hours across Thursday and Friday arguing over the potential scandal of the IT manager’s reinstatement after the discovery of the porn, the removal of McCoy, the current board’s interference with HR matters and, most of all, the allegations that the airport officials had not been truthful with Finance Committee.