Archive for October, 2014
Physio dept welcomes kids equipment donation
(CNS): A Cayman based charity which works towards poverty alleviation in the region has made a donation to the local hospital’s physiotherapy department. I AM CO, gave the department a selection of sensory toys and equipment for the forty or so children that are being regularly treated there. Rockella Smith, Physiotherapy Manager at the HSA, said the equipment and toys will be of great benefit for the children. “They will help our young patients with mobility, balance and flexibility. In addition to the specialised equipment, the sensory toys will keep the children engaged and incorporate fun activities into their sessions,” she said.
WendyAnn George, I AM CO representative said the charity aimed to help individuals to become more independent and reach their full potential. “We saw the HSA’s physiotherapy department as an opportunity for our organisation to touch the lives of the children currently receiving treatment, as well as those in the years to come.”
In addition to twenty sensory toys, I AM CO also donated a Rifton Pacer Walker, Leckey Tot Standing Frame, Climbing wall ladder, Angle ladder, Steam Roller, Scooter board, PT stool, Home therapy system – linear glider, Big Talk Triple Play Sequencer, Talking MagicRoller and a Somatosensory Bead chain.
To learn more or to donate to I AM CO, visit www.iamco.ky. For more information about the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, please visit www.hsa.ky.
Local travellers pick up dengue and chikungunya
“As an outbreak has been established in Jamaica,” said Dr Kiran Kumar, adding that this was where the majority of patients in Cayman had contracted the virus, “the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has advised that only a limited number of samples with travel history will be tested as all of them will be clinically diagnosed and considered as suspected cases.”The public health boss explained that “this means that since we have not had a locally transmitted case since 20 September blood testing will be carried out for those without travel history, to consider if any local transmission is occurring.”
So far Cayman has recorded 26 cases of chikungunya since the first case in June. Just four were acquired locally the rest of the people had travelled to the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica and St Lucia.
This week Cayamn received results for 12 of 24 outstanding samples ten were negative but a resident of North side tested positive for chikungunya having travelled to Jamaica and another tested positive for dengue having visited Honduras where that virus is common, but both patients are no longer infectious.
Chikungunya causes fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Officials urge anyone who may be experiencing these symptoms to immediately see a healthcare provider. Use mosquito repellent with DEET on the skin, and wear long sleeve pants and shirts when outside during times that mosquitoes bite, whether in the Cayman Islands or on travels.
Further information can be obtained through www.hsa.ky. Regional updates can be accessed by visiting the CARPHA website on http://carpha.org/What-We-Do/Public-Health-Activities/Chikungunya. In addition United States updates are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention onhttp://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/geo/united-states.html.
Home Guard takes centre stage of Remembrance
(CNS): Those who served in the Cayman Islands Home Guard will be the focus of this year’s Remembrance Sunday Parade and Ceremony which is scheduled for Sunday, 9 November, at 10.45am, on Harbour Drive in front of Elmslie Memorial Church. Each year Remembrance Day honours the military heroes lost during World Wars I and II, as well as all mariners lost at sea during the long maritime history of the Cayman Islands. This year also marked the centenary of the start of WWI, the conflict which triggered the annual remembrance ceremony that now encompasses all those who lost their lives in wars and serving their country.
Officials said that the The general public should assemble by 10:30am on the day of the ceremony in Grand Cayman and over on Cayman Brac the Remembrance Day Service there will run simultaneously in front of the Cenotaph in Stake Bay.
Governor Helen Kilpatrick, Premier Alden McLaughlin, and the opposition leader, McKeeva Bush will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph and the Seamen’s Memorial, in George Town while Speaker Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, and Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell will lay wreaths on Cayman Brac.
Religious organisations and the general public are also invited to lay wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph, in honour of local veterans, and at the foot of the Seaman’s Memorial in memory of our Seafarers. Members of the public, who wish to lay wreaths, should contact Meloney Syms at the Protocol Office, at 244-3612, or email protocol@gov.ky
Wild green turtle poached from WB beach
(CNS): Poachers are believed to have illegally taken a nesting green turtle from a beach in West Bay. While on patrol recently the Department of Environment (DoE) Chief Conservation Officer Mark Orr said he discovered signs that the adult female was dragged off when she came onto the beach to lay eggs. “This incident was discovered on 6 October,” he said, adding that it was not an isolated incident. “This summer, DoE volunteers also discovered parts of a slaughtered loggerhead turtle in North Side. We don't believe these are isolated incidents; we believe other, undetected incidents have also taken place.”
The DoE also said that results from new and ongoing research show the urgency of reducing the illegal take of green turtles from Cayman's small nesting population as there is evidence that significant numbers of the endangered wild marine creature are being poached.
Research involves a night-time tagging project, funded by the UK Darwin Initiative and launched in June 2014, and a daytime beach monitoring programme that began in 1999. DoE Research Officer Dr Janice Blumenthal said there are serious concerns about the population despite the increase in nest numbers since 1999, when daytime monitoring of beaches in Grand Cayman started.
“We've seen an increase from a low of only one nest in 1999, to a high of 181 nests in 2012,” she said.
While the daytime monitoring establishes the number of nests each year, it only provides one side of the story – it does not allow a precise determination of the number of females nesting. This is where the tagging of turtles proves useful.
“The true number of turtles nesting each year in Grand Cayman was unknown until the Department began its Darwin-funded, night-time tagging programme,” Dr Blumenthal said. “We know that the 131 green turtle nests found in Grand Cayman so far this year were not laid by 131 turtles. Our challenge was to tag and individually identify nesting green turtles to determine how many females laid these nests,” she added.
By cross referencing the new night-time tagging data with information gleaned from the department's longstanding daytime monitoring efforts, the DoE is now refining estimates of the number of green turtles in the nesting population, and better estimating the contribution of the Cayman Turtle Farm to wild nesting populations, with the goal of protecting nesting turtles. The purpose of the daytime monitoring is to establish the number of turtle nests laid each year, in order to indicate population trends.
Female green turtles can each lay up to six nests per season; and they typically nest every two to three years, rather than every year.
DoE staff and volunteers tagged 21 green turtles in 2014 and, while the research is ongoing, preliminary results suggest that these turtles represent the vast majority of this year's green turtle nesting population, with each turtle laying up to six nests. This indicates that the illegal take of turtles poses a serious problem, because the overall population size is extremely low.
“It's clear from our preliminary results that populations are even smaller than previously thought, and thus more vulnerable to threats such as illegal take,” Dr Blumenthal warned.
Losing even one turtle means six fewer nests – and, as turtles lay more than 100 eggs per nest, this means 600 fewer eggs in that turtle's nesting year. This reduction affects the population for every year that the turtle could have continued to nest.
Orr said that, because of the very low numbers of nesting turtles on our beaches, DoE considers illegal take of turtles to be one of the most serious conservation offences. Past cases of this nature have resulted in fines and prison sentences, and any equipment including vehicles and boats used in the offence may be confiscated by the courts. Anyone with information regarding illegal take of turtles is asked to make a report to Mark Orr by calling 916-4271; 911; or Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.
Appeal court to deliver decision in child murder case
(CNS): Court officials have confirmed that the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal will deliver its long awaited decision in the case of Devon Anglin and his acquittal after a judge alone trial for the murder of a four year old child. Following a report posted on CNS Tuesday, indicating that the crown had been waiting for more than a year to hear the higher court’s judgement, in the Jeremiah Barnes appeal case and that it was still not listed for the up-coming November session, the courts have said it is now expected during this sitting. Last Friday, crown counsel had raised concerns, in the Grand Court, that decision was still not scheduled. However, a spokesperson for the courts told CNS that the chief justice has now stated it will be delivered next month.
The crown’s appeal had been heard in August last year and despite the emphasis on the time line, if a retrial was to be considered, both parties have waited more than 14 months to hear the ruling.
Tropical depression stirring up local weather
(CNS): A tropical depression which is currently meandering over the southern Bay of Campeche is expected to become a tropical storm today as it begins to move eastwards. TD9, likely to be Tropical Storm Hanna is almost stationary but it will begin moving soon weather experts say. Heading slowly towards the Cayman area the late season weather system is already stirring things up for miles around. The cyclone winds are currently at 35 mph and although it is expected to strengthen then weaken as it passes over the Yucatan Peninsula, when it moves back over the warm Caribbean waters it is expected to strengthen again bringing more inclement weather to Cayman over the weekend.
According to the NHC in Miami the storm will be passing south of Cayman on Monday. In the meantime, the local weather report states that moderate southeast winds and seas are expected over the Cayman Islands for the next 24 hours in association with the low pressure over the southwest Gulf of Mexico. Radar images show, north westward moving scattered showers around the Cayman area.
Key authorities in trouble
(CNS): A number of the government’s key authorities are not only losing money but facing major management issues from board interference and bad debts to a lack of compliance with tendering processes and the laws which established these entities. In his latest report looking at the state of all of government’s statutory authorities and companies (SAGC) for the financial year ending 30 June 2012, the auditor general has highlighted many weaknesses in the business models and has raised significant questions about Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority, the Maritime Authority, the Port Authority, Health Services Authority and the Tourism Attraction Board, as well as the usual suspects: the Turtle Farm and Cayman Airways.
While financial reporting and governance environments at many SAGCs has begun to improve over the last few years, Alastair Swarbrick’s latest report demonstrates that, like central government, the semi-autonomous public entities are also still struggling with a catalogue of issues. These undermine their performance and put at risk the tax payers' money injected into these entities as a subsidies or as payments made by government for their services.
In a detailed analysis of the 26 entities that were audited for the financial year ending on 30 June 2012, less than half were able to meet the statutory deadlines in preparing financial accounts. In the final analysis one entity, the Children and Youth Services Foundation, failed to complete any financial accounts, ten others received qualified opinions and one, the Sister Islands Affordable Housing Development Corporation, was disclaimed. Of the remaining 14 that were given unqualified opinions, Swarbrick indicated that there were still many problems in the management and financial stability of these government-owned entities.
Notwithstanding some improvements, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) report pointed to many shortcomings, including the failure of the SAGCs to table full reports to the Legislative Assembly in a timely manner, which Swarbrick said was fundamental. There were still financial management problems in many, as well as board interference and conflicts of interest that are not only undermining the running of many of these authorities and companies but leaving public cash vulnerable to abuse.
“There are still fundamental gaps in the accountability of government for the use of public resources and a significant way to go before financial accountability is restored,” Swarbrick wrote, despite his indication that things are improving. “My reports also highlight the significant weaknesses in governance and control frameworks that I believe are impeding the ability for entities to prepare timely and accurate financial reports.”
Swarbrick highlighted a litany of problems that authorities face. Some he found were already in dire financial circumstances, and while others were holding on, there were warning signs of significant future problems with their future viability. For some, it was not just a matter of poor financial performance and waste but conflicts of interest and mismanagement. SAGCs were straining government coffers while receiving payments and subsidies from the public purse but still returning further deficits.
The problems he found were varied and plentiful and although all but two of the 26 entities audited raised questions and concerns for the audit office, Swarbrick pointed to the Airport Authority, Civil Aviation, the HSA, the port and the Tourism Attraction Board as particularly troubling.
Breakdowns in governance, political interference and conflicts of interest at the Airport Authority were just some of the reasons why the CIAA received a qualified opinion. Swarbrick highlighted an already well-documented catalogue of concerns at the airport, including the former minister’s direction to the board regarding operational matters.
The report stated that McKeeva Bush provided direction “beyond his lawful authority” and directed who and how many ground handlers there would be, two of which were owned by board members at the time. The board also interfered beyond its authority with staff and operational matters. The conflicts of interest were also “so pervasive” they had the “potential to undermine the ability of the board to operate in the best interests of CIAA and negatively impact its financial performance.”
The report also indicated serious problems at Civil Aviation, where one of the reasons for its qualification was the potential lack of disclosure of related party transactions by the board. Swarbrick said there was evidence of a breakdown between the board and management and a pay dispute. He also found policy and human resource problems affecting the governance of the CAA.
The Port Authority was also facing a litany of problems undermining its ability to operate. From issues over related party transactions and the absence of good governance standards for the board to non-compliance with the port regulations and its increasing liabilities, Swarbrick highlighted several internal control and financial management concerns. The auditor also noted the amount of money the port authority had spent on legal fees trying to fight FOI requests at the direction of the board.
The HSA faced major issues, especially over bad debt. Its qualified opinion related to problems the auditors found with revenue records, the accuracy of the accumulative deficit, as well as the hospital’s difficulties in absorbing patient care costs that government had not covered as it exceeded the Ministry of Health’s budget.
Although the Tourism Attraction Board is much smaller than the other four critical authorities, the significant amount of problems raised serious concerns. Swarbrick said the number of internal control and other governance problems were so bad that the TAB was at risk of error, fraud and misuse of public funds. From serious discrepancies in the management of cash to theft and misappropriation of money, the report pointed to more ministerial interference. Bush, who was the minister and premier at the time, had reportedly indicated who should be given contracts to supply services.
With numerous problems still facing SAGCs, Swarbrick noted that even the ones that are improving are hindered by the fact that reports are not being made public. The importance of accountability was highlighted by the number of problems the auditors have found and now exposed some two years after the fact. Swarbrick said that until reports are completed and made public in a timely fashion, the Legislative Assembly would continue to remain in the dark about how SAGCs collect and spend public cash.
See the OAG full report on SAGCs below.
Guilty plea to lesser offence
(CNS): On the second day of her trial in Grand Court on Cayman Brac, Katie Jo Powell (26) pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on the basis of excessive self-defence, a third charge added to her indictment. Powell had been charged with the attempted murder of Yves Anthony De la Torre (29) in the early hours of Saturday 20 April 2013, with the alternative charge of wounding with intent. However, after prosecutor Neil Kumar wrapped up the crown’s case against her, which included the dramatic last minute additional evidence of a video recording the victim had made of himself after Powell had stabbed him, he said the proposed course of a guilty plea to the new charge, which had been suggested by the defence, was acceptable to the director of public prosecutions (DPP).
Justice Charles Quin told the defendant that this was a “very sensible approach”. It was clear that she had stabbed him but, according to the medical report, the injuries were not serious or permanent and she was not 100 per cent to blame, the judge said.
He also commended the complainant, De la Torre, for taking a “mature view” by agreeing to this, noting the inconsistencies in his testimony. Although he was not in court, Justice Quin said he hoped that he would put this incident behind him.
“Everyone had had too much alcohol,” the judge said, in light of the evidence given by the victim, the defendant and the friends she had been out with that night.
Referring to De la Torre’s claims during his testimony Monday that he had been harassed by the police on Cayman Brac since he had moved to the island and that the officer who dropped him off at Powell’s house that night instead of Spot Bay, where he wanted to go, had been somehow complicit in the stabbing, the judge noted that De la Torre was very angry with the local police but said the investigating officer, PC Julian Durrant, had behaved impeccably and also commended the office of the DPP.
Although Powell did not take the stand, the statement she made to the police was read in court, in which she claimed that when she got home from the bar that night, she saw her friend Michelle Hunter sitting down with De la Torrebehind the house and they were both naked. She and her friend, Janna Parchment, found Hunter’s skinny jeans and helped her put them on. She told De la Torre to leave and picked up a knife from the kitchen.
Powell told police that De la Torre had “come at her” twice to get the knife from her but after that she had blacked out because she was drunk. When asked by the police, she said she did not know she stabbed him until the next day. When she was formally charged for attempted murder on 29 July 2013, she had stated that she was “only trying to defend myself”.
After hearing Powell’s statements, the judge watched a 10-minute video recording that De la Torre had made on his phone as he walked, bleeding from multiple stab wounds, from Powell’s home on the north west of Cayman Brac, next to Tip Top Boutique, to his mother’s apartment in Danzler Crescent on the south side. The video, which the victim had told the court about when he gave evidence Monday, was only given to the police that day, the 20 October, at 4:15pm after the court had adjourned for the day.
De la Torre, who said during his testimony that he has been seeing a psychiatrist since he was stabbed, was not in court Tuesday but his mother sobbed as she listened to the recording. “I want to go home; I want to go to Hawaii,” the victim said in the video.
Sentencing was set for Wednesday 17 December and the judge ordered a social inquiry report regarding the defendant as well as a victim impact report, which was requested by the crown.
Related article on CNS:
CIG accounts mess rolls on
(CNS): The auditor general has focused his concern on two ministries, which have failed to account for more than one billion dollars, in his latest report the ongoing mis-management of public finances and the appalling state of government’s accounts. Alastair Swarbrick said the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture has never produced a reliable or credible set of accounts since the introduction of the Public Management and Finance Law while the Finance, Tourism and Development Ministry has failed to account for a broad variety of transactions, calling into question the capabilities of the management and finance staff in that ministry.
Examining in particular the financial years ending 2011 and 2012, he said that the audits of the ministries have raised “significant concerns about the governance and internal control environment.”
With poor controls, a disregard for procurement rules, poor bank reconciliations, inappropriate authorization of invoices, a lack of management review and the writing off of large account balances without approval, he said that the managers in these ministries have no reliable information on which to make informed decisions, legislators have no assurances that the resources they approve are being used as intended and the public remains in the dark about how millions and millions of dollars have been spent over the years.
“Ultimately there has been no accountability for around $1 billion of public funds in these two ministries and a significant increase in the risk of waste, misuse or abuse of public funds,” he said.
Reluctant in the pas, to point the finger publicly at the real problem, Swarbrick has now stated that the incompetence of civil servants tasked with dealing with the management of public cash and the mismanagement by their bosses is one of the major reasons for the appalling state of affairs that remains regarding public finances.
He said the financial management problems are indicative of the failure to ensure competent people and practices are in place.
“The lack of due regard for reasonable controls and the number of transgressions of the laws has led me to conclude that management in certain ministries and portfolios have not discharged their duties to ensure appropriate practices are implemented to protect public funds and that they have disregarded their responsibilities to comply with Cayman Islands laws,” Swarbrick stated in the most damning indictment from the independent public auditor to date.
In the report, which is now a public document, the audit team found a staggering amount of problems with the ministry of the former premier, McKeeva Bush, headed up by Stran Bodden, Sonia McLaughlin and Kenneth Jefferson for the audit periods that the office examined.
“The significance and sheer volume of the matters identified provide clear evidence of significant weaknesses in the inter control environment providing opportunities for mismanagement and abuse of public funds,” the auditors stated in their governance report for the years ending June 2011 and June 2012.
Meanwhile, at District Administration, which was Juliana O’Connor Connolly’s ministry headed up by Kearney Gomez and then Alan Jones during the period in question, the auditors found many similar problems. An absence of information and evidence has essentially prevented the office from reaching any kind of opinion about the accounts or agree that any claims made by the ministry about their accounts were fairly stated.
While Swarbrick focused on the particular problems of these two ministries, he also found a litany of problems with many other ministries and portfolios. Although there were some improvements in the public accounts and efforts to get some form of financial records to his office on time for audit, the quality still leaves much to be desired. Swarbrick noted that the improvements are against the backdrop of the truly dire circumstances that existed a few years ago when ministries were simply failing to do their accounts at all.
However, aside from the continuing problems of government entities simply not having the people in place that can manage the books, Swarbrick’s team found other major management system problems that are contributing to the poor accounting standards and enormous risk of abuse to public funds.
“There continues to be a lack of due regard by senior officials for ensuring that appropriate systems are in place, exposing public funds to risks of waste and misuse,” Swarbrick stated as he pointed the finger at all of government’s chief executive officers and chief financial officers. The auditor urged the members of the Legislative Assembly to act promptly to ensure senior officials do something to mitigate the potential abuse to tax payers' money.
Check back to CNS later for more on the auditor’s latest damning review of the ongoing financial mismanagement in government.
See the financial and performance reporting from ministries, portfolios and offices for the years ending 30 June 2011 and 30 June 2012, report below
Cruise ship cleared by CDC back at sea
(CNS): The Carnival Magic cruise ship has been cleared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States and is expected back in Cayman later this week. The ship, which regularly calls on Grand Cayman as part of its cruising itinerary hit the international news headlines last week when it was revealed that a Texas lab technician who had handled Ebola medical samples was aboard. The woman has since tested negative for the virus and was isolated in her cruise ship Cabin for most of her trip. The Carnival cruise ship had left Galveston before the technician was aware she needed to be tested and quarantined.
The CDC released a statement Sunday after reviewing all of the evidence relating to the passenger and said that, “No passengers or crew were exposed to Ebola on the ship.” The CDC added that “the ship was safe to use” with no need to screen passengers. The ship was also sanitized before leaving Texas at the weekend and it is now expected to arrive in the Cayman Islands on Thursday, as scheduled. CDC also confirmed that the lab technician’s Ebola test was negative
The deputy premier and minister of tourism, Moses Kirkconnell said he was pleased the tests on the healthcare worker had returned as negative meaning that neither the ship nor its passengers had been exposed to the virus as originally feared. During the cruise the ship had been declined entry into both Belize and Mexico when the news came from CDC that the technician who may have been exposed to the virus was on-board.
“Although this particular incident has been satisfactorily resolved, I would like to reassure the public that the Cayman Islands remains on high alert concerning the Ebola Virus and all of the relevant stakeholders and agencies are taking precautionary measures to ensure that our Islands are protected from exposure and remain free of the virus,” said the Minister. \\
“In the case of the Carnival Magic, both the Galveston Country Health District (GCHD) and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control have issued public health advisories confirming that the ship poses no threat to passengers and the vessel has been cleared to continue its normal schedule.
“Additionally, even though no requirement for specialised cleaning was imposed on Carnival, the ship has been thoroughly sanitized out of an abundance of caution prior to commencing its next voyage.”
Officials said the tourism ministry had remained in close contact with Carnival for updates on the situation and received assurances from the cruise line that as well as monitoring the health and safety of its passengers the health and well-being of the citizens at the cruise destinations it calls on were also being considered.
Kirkconnell said the cruise line has stated that as an additional precautionary measure, enhanced mandatory screening has been introduced for all passengers, visitors and crews boarding its vessels.
“All guests are required to submit to a series of health screening and travel history questions prior to embarkation and, if deemed necessary, will undergo further medical screening before being allowed to board,” the minister stated as a result of his communication with Carnival. “With these safeguards in place we are as confident as we can be about the safety of the ship and should have nothing to fear from welcoming the passengers and crew to our shores,” he added.
Prior to the United States reporting its first case of Ebola in September, government officials from 13 agencies in the Cayman Islands were already working together to mitigate against the threat of the virus entering our shores, officials stated in a release Tuesday.
However, it was clear from a recent public meeting held by the public health department that Cayman does not yet have a prepared or coordinated plan on how it will deal with screening or quarantining and treating anyone that may arrive in Cayman who has the virus.
Nevertheless, the health minister added that the necessary government agencies were collaborating on a plan.
“I would like to reassure the public that we are taking all precautions for border control, and measures to combat potential risk will remain in place for as long as is necessary to ensure our Ports of entry are protected,” Osbourne Bodden said, as he thanked Dr Kumar and his team at Public Health and Deputy Chief Immigration Officer, for their hard work as well as Bruce Smith and his team from Immigration.
“We trust that our efforts will pay off, and these islands will not have to test the many protocols that have been put in place, in conjunction with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and others,” he added hopefully.
He said that the public will continue to receive periodic updates on the global and regional situations regarding the threat of Ebola, as well as the Cayman Islands’ readiness to cope with any local outbreak.
Meanwhile, according to the latest international reports while Nigeria has managed to contain the virus and halt its potential spread in that country, things in Sierra Leone are getting worse as the number of people infected with Ebola, on the other side of the country from where the first cases emerged, is soaring with more than 20 deaths daily.
Hospitals in all of the countries treating patients infected with the deadly, contagious disease are facing mounting challenges dealing with the infected waste generated by sick patients. Patients generate a staggering amount of what is hazardous material daily, with experts suggesting it amounts to eight 55 gallon barrels of dangerous medical material per patient per day.
A Spanish nurse who was infected while treating a patient in a Madrid hospital has now been given the all clear and has recovered from the disease. While another nurse infected in Texas is said to be doing well in her recovery at a specialized unit near Atlanta. She was one of two nurses infected while treating Thomas Eric Duncan who died last week.