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Key witness recalls confession
(CNS): Marlon Dillon, the crown’s key witness in the Robert Macford Bush murder trial, surprised the court by introducing details that he had not previously given in any statement to the police or at the pre-trial preparation with the prosecution a week ago, adding information (or, as the defence maintained, embellishing the lie) to his claims that Brian Borden told him that he had murdered Bush, and David Tomasa had confessed to him that he had supplied the ammunition for the murder. On Wednesday he added to his expected testimony, as laid out by prosecutor Andrew Radcliffe, QC, in his opening statement, and said that Borden had also told him that after the murder he had run home, hidden both the shotgun and the handgun used to shoot Bush and then had taken a shower with bleach to wash off the gunshot residue in case he was picked up by the police.
When he took the stand on Wednesday, Dillon also said, as he recounted Borden’s alleged confession, that Borden had told him that the funeral home which dealt with the body of Robert Bush had stuffed his face with cotton wool because part of it had been blown off by the shotgun.
Challenging him on this new information, Trevor Burke, QC, heading the defence for Brian Borden, asked him, if this was true, how could he possibly have forgotten it? When pressed, Dillon said he had remembered these new details on the 18 or 19 July 2014, a few days before the trial started, but could not explain why he had not remembered it before or why, having suddenly remembered he did not make an effort to make a new official statement.
Dillon was arrested for the CNB robbery on 28 June 2012, the same day the robbery took place, and is currently awaiting sentencing for his part in that crime and for the WestStar robbery, which took place on 24 May 2012. He gave evidence in court against his co-conspirators in both trials, and Burke suggested that his motive in giving evidence in this trial was to have his sentence further reduced.
In his witness testimony, Dillon said that as they entered the junction of Birch Tree Hill Road and Capts Joe and Osbert Road while he and Tomasa were driving Borden home, Borden had said, “You know where this is? This is the Birch Tree Hill Cemetary,” and pointed to the wall. “This is where we mash up that M**** F**** boy, Robby,” he recalled him saying.
Dillon gave a number of statements to the police following his arrest, but the first time he said that Brian Borden had confessed to him about killing Bush was on 10 July 2012. At this time, he said that the confession had happened about February or March 2012, though this recollection was changed last week during the pre-trial preparations to a precise date of 4 January 2012, as Dillon said he had been “sitting in his cell, gathering his thoughts”.
Two days after this statement, on 12 July 2012, he added the detail that just before the murder a cousin of Borden in Daisy Lane had communicated to him in some way that Robert Bush was on his way. Under cross-examination by John Ryder, QC, leading the defence for David Tomasa, Dillon explained that the purpose of the second statement was to clarify the first statement as he had had two days to think about it.
In that statement, Dillon said that as he drove, he and Tomasa listened to Brian Borden talk about shooting Bush as they were driving past the crime scene. But it was not until a further statement six weeks later, on 24 August, that Dillon said that Tomasa had also confessed to him his part in the murder after they had dropped Borden home and the two of them were driving back to Tomasa’s home.
Ryder questioned Dillon about telling police in the second statement that he and Tomasa had sat in silence and did not ask Borden any questions while he described his crime. “Did that not remind you that David had said something about the bullets?” he asked, but Dillon’s response was evasive.
Tomasa’s defence lawyer also reminded Dillon that the whole purpose of the 12 July statement was to clarify the one made two days earlier, and the reason he had given the police for not mentioning Tomasa’s confession was that he had been focused on Brian Borden.
In that statement he had said that hehad heard that Mayra Ebanks was in the car at the time of the murder from other people on the street, but he couldn’t remember who told him. However, in the August statement he said that Borden told him this fact.
“It is plainly not the case that you were simply concentrating on what Brian Borden said to you,” Ryder said.
Justice Alex Henderson is hearing the case in a judge-alone trial.
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Witness saw gunmen coming
(CNS): Testifying via video link from another jurisdiction in the trial of Brian Borden and David Tomasa for the murder of Robert Macford Bush, Mayra Ebanks, who was in the car when her boyfriend was shot dead, said she knew Borden well. The crown's witness said she had met him at high school in 2004 or 2005 and they had had an “occasional relationship’ but it did not last long and had ended amicably. She told the court how on the night of the killing she had seen the two masked gunmen before they shot her boyfriend and had urged her lover to drive away, yelling, "Drive! Drive! Drive!" but in his confusion he lost control of the car and drove into the wall, leaving him a sitting target for his assailants, who fired into the car before running away.
Taking the witness stand on Monday and Wednesday this week, Ebanks told the court that she heard Bush coming to pick her up before she saw him arrive at the junction of Capts Joe and Osbert Road and Birch Tree Hill Road in West Bay a few minutes before his murder, as he was in the habit of playing music very loudly in his car.
He “barely turned into” Capts Joe and Osbert Rd, she said, and she walked around the back of his blue Honda Civic to get in. As she passed the back door she saw two people across the street, almost in front of her friend Tishara Webster’s driveway, walking towards them. It looked as if one of them had a machete in his hand, Ebanks recalled.
When Ebanks got to her door, she told the court, she looked over the roof of the car and saw that the two men were crossing the entrance of the church yard and at that point they started running. Now, she said, she could see that it was not a machete but a shotgun. The two men had shirts tied around their faces, and she said she could not see who they were but one was wearing red, long sleeved shirt and camouflage pants and the other was wearing a camouflage jacket.
Ebanks said she got into the car as fast as she could and started yelling to Bush that he should “Drive! Drive! Drive!” But Bush’s reaction was slow because he was cleaning a CD while he changed the music. “He looked at me like, what’s happening?” she said, and turned around to look for himself. Then he started to drive away but lost control of the car and drove into a wall. He tried to drive offbut could not move, Ebanks said. “That’s when I heard the shot.”
The shooters stood by the driver’s side of the car and from where she was she could not see their heads. After shooting Bush, they ran off across the road.
Under cross-examination by Borden’s defence lawyer, Trevor Burke, QC, Ebanks refuted the suggestion that Jordan Manderson and David Ebanks, who were in the area of the murder, had been wearing clothes very similar to what she had described the killers as wearing (which would suggest that they could in fact be the shooters) as she said there were significant differences in their apparel.
A few minutes before the murder Mayra Ebanks had had a BBM exchange with the two of them on David Ebanks’ Blackberry, telling them that she was on her way to meet Robert Bush (a key part of the crown’s case against Borden). The two of them had passed her while she was on the phone to Bush, waiting for him, and had gone into Watler’s yard, and the defence noted that after the murder, when people had come to see what had happened, they were not there.
Burke asked Mayra Ebanks about the day before the murder, when Bush had picked her up from the same spot but had then driven into Watler’s yard to pick up some Rizlas, and had returned to get some Bacardi.
While there he had spoken to Manderson, the man who had previously told Ebanks that although some of the Birch Tree Hill gang wanted to hurt him, he told her that “as long as he was around that wouldn’t happen because they have to come to me for their things.” Ebanks said she had tried to record this conversation to let Robert hear, because she was worried, but said the conversation between the two men had seemed freindly.
Burke suggested that it might have appeared disrespectful for Bush, a member of the Logwood group, to come to a gathering in Birch Tree Hill. The defence also suggested that Manderson wanted to have a relationship with Ebanks, but she said that although he had come onto her a few times, she had told him that he was too young for her.
Ebanks was also asked about three photos that had been taken in late 2010 with her camera in which Brian Borden inspects a handgun and in one photo points it at the camera. She was adamant that they had been taken at her cousin’s house, even when the defence suggested that they had been taken at her home in Cinder Lane and that she had, in fact, given the gun to Borden to look at.
In the days following the murder, Mayra Ebanks admitted that she had told various people that she thought one of the killers was Andrew Baptise, who was himself shot to death shortly afterwards.
Burke noted that an earlier boyfriend of Ebanks, Mark Jefferson, had been shot to death while she was seeing him. Carlos Webster had been shot to death while she was living with him. And now Robert Bush had been shot and killed while he was seeing her.
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Police should be more friendly, GT community says
(CNS): Following an RCIPS community meeting at the Prospect Primary School Hall on Monday night, where just 6 people attended, a meeting for the Scranton Community on Tuesday night attracted a slightly larger turnout of around 20. One of the main criticisms levelled at the local police from the Scranton community was that they do not take the time to get to know the community as the officers of the past did. George Town Area Commander Angelique Howell accepted the complaint. “If you don’t know us, you won’t talk to us,” she acknowledged and said that “every police officer should be a neighbourhood police officer”.
“The police don’t have to be my friend,” said local businesswoman Christine Burke-Richardson, “but I feel that police should get to know people, to see who they can trust.” She said she had seen a difference in attitude in the new police officers over the last five years, and even the commissioner was not friendly.
However, Howell said that while the police did have a responsibility to get to know the people, the members of the community had a responsibility to come to the police meetings and voice their concerns, and she pointed to the small numbers of people attending. “It’s sad,” she said, “but we can’t give up.” Scranton Beat Officer PC Cornelius Pompey noted that before the meeting he had gone house to house to give out flyers about the meeting but few of the people who said they would come actually showed up.
Those present complained that people are getting too bold with ganja, smoking it right in the open, and there was a discussion about a number of people with mental health issues harassing people and begging. One of them was often armed with a knife or a screwdriver, it was said.
Commenting on police response time, CI Howell noted how busy George Town is compared to the rest of the island. In the capital, they deal with around 350 calls for service per week, compared with 80 in West Bay and around 70 in Bodden Town. Because resources are not as good as they’d like, the have to prioritise, she said, and dealing with something like a domestic dispute can take several hours.
Since the 1 of January this year to present a total of 317 crimes ranging from burglaries, thefts, harassment, street robberies and loud music, were reported in that area and the surrounding areas. Other crimes included drugs, gambling and antisocial behaviours.
Scranton Community Committee Leader Dale Ramoon said he thought that some of the drug users and people arrested in the area were not from the area, which, he said reflected badly on the community. CI Howell agreed that many of the crimes are not being committed necessarily by the residents within this particular area but by other persons who travelled to the area or being harboured in the area by the residents.
The officers spoke of the partnership with the business community in forming a business watch program, the partnership with other government agencies in addressing the social concerns of some troubled persons, mostly the young men and also the police actions as it relates to addressing criminality within these areas.
Ramoon outlined some of the initiatives that are being undertaken within the Scranton community to improve the image of the area, and said they were looking for men to act as role models and mentors for the young men of the area.
Chief Inspector Howell commended the leaders and residents who work continuously for the improvement of their community, and their willingness to work with the RCIPS in addressing the criminal and social issues affecting them.
On Monday night at the Prospect Primary School Hall, CI Howell said the level of attendance “was very disappointing. While I understand that attending a meeting such this impacts on social & family, I was hoping for a greater turn out from the community in order that I could learn about the issues affecting them, and provide them with information about what we are doing in their area and the plans we may have for their area in the coming months.”
The police can only be effective when they work together in partnership with the community to reduce crime, she noted.
Despite the low turnout, CI Howell stated that there was a healthy discussion among those who did attend and she was pleased with the suggestions they received.
Complaints of the heavy speeding that consistently occurs along on Shamrock Road, Spotts, were voiced, and suggestions made that speed cameras would be beneficial in that area, as this would assist the police who cannot be everywhere all the time. The suggestion was accepted and the commander will be raising this with the National CCTV committee.
The group also discussed various ways in which to build partnership between the police and the communities, one suggestion being that the police should get the community involved when planning community meetings so that they can assist in getting the messages out to the public. CI Howell accepted the suggestion and promised that future meetings will see both police officers and community members driving it forward.
Exception made for robber
(CNS): Two local men involved in an armed heist of a courier van in George Town some two years ago were sentenced to seven years jail time Wednesday, while a third man from West Bay became one of the first people involved in gun crime to escaped the mandatory minimum sentence. Manuel Ramirez Carter and Brandon Reno Liberal were sentenced to 6 years for robbery and 7 years for possession of an unlicensed firearm to run concurrently, after changing their pleas to guilty on the day of trial, 25 February this year. However, John Phillip Cohen-Ebanks, who admitted his part in the crime from the outset, was given 3 years after the judge found exceptional circumstances as a result of his cooperation with the authorities. The fourth suspect, Tarick Crawford, was deemed unfit to plead and submissions are still to be heard.
In October 2012 a courier from Sprint was robbed at gunpoint outside of BritCay offices on Eastern Avenue. The crime had been planned, and involved two getaway cars and handheld radios. No one was injured. The gunman Carter made off in a white Mitsubishi being driven by Cohen-Ebanks with CI$8,117 and US$519. All four men were caught on Kirk Home Centre’s CCTV cameras, and incriminating evidence was left in the car.
A victim impact statement read at the sentencing revealed that although no shots were fired, the courier felt that he was deeply affected by the event. He had to leave his job and is too scared to leave home, and it is also understood that he has begun drinking heavily to cope with the event.
At the sentencing hearing in May defense attorney Clyde Allen asked the presiding judge, Justice Charles Quin to consider that Cohen-Ebanks’ cooperation, among other issues, amounted to exceptional circumstances.
Although all firearms possession attracts a minimum sentence of ten years following conviction after trial and a potential discount down to seven years following an immediate guilty plea, judges can hand down a lesser term for exceptional circumstances. Discounts can amount to up to half the appropriate sentence depending on a number of factors such as the risks taken by the defendant and the quality of the information he or she provides.
Justice Quin noted that Cohen-Ebanks had cooperated with both the prosecution and the RCIPS. It was said that without Cohen-Ebanks’ “significant assistance” two of the men prosecuted would have never been charged. The judge said that in cases like these one must punish the defendant for their crime, whilst also rewarding them for their cooperation.
Liberal had handed in an unlicensed firearm late September 2013. Because of this, Furniss requested that Liberal’s sentence be considered with exceptional circumstance. Justice Quin said that it was “a mitigating factor but not an exceptional circumstance” regarding possession of an unlicensed firearm and that Liberal should have handed in the gun earlier for this to be considered. Following the hearing Furniss confirmed that he would appeal the case.
Meanwhile, Cohen-Ebanks has been in custody at the George Town police station since his arrest almost two years ago and will remain there for the foreseeable future. It was agreed that he not be sent to Northward prison.
Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards, QC, prosecuted the case.
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Madeleine Rowell recently finished her International Baccaluareate Diploma atUWC-USA and is heading to Stanford University.
Local athletes eye Glasgow podium
(CNS): With the largest team that the Cayman Islands has ever sent to the Commonwealth Games, the 27 athletes will be hoping to bring back more than a Tam o'Shanter from their Scottish fling. Track star Cydonie Mothersill won Cayman’s first and only gold medal at the 2010 Gamesin Delhi but this time around all eyes will be on Ronald Forbes, David Hamil, Tyrell Cuffy, Troy Long, Carl Morgan, Carlos Morgan and Ashleigh Nalty and Kemar Hyman to bring back the sporting 'bling'. The international competition starts with the opening ceremony in Glasgow Wednesday evening (2pm local time), with the games starting on Thursday morning.
The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee said that Hyman should be considered a medal favourite when the sprinter takes to the track as his preparation for his races has been very technical.
"His coach is well aware of what Hyman’s true potential can be leading up to a race. His determination now is nothing like before, and if he stays focused, not only will he be one of the top contenders but also he will be the favorite to win," the committee said.
Ronald Forbes, Cayman's sprint hurdler, will also be looking to do a better job than his sixth place in the final in India with an eye on the podium, and long jumper Carl Morgan, who was down in 14th place in 2010, will also want to make a better impression on the rankings.
As well as the track and field stars, Cayman's athletes will be competing in the pool, the boxing ring, the shooting range the squash court and for the first tie in the gymnastic arena.
Myron Blair, Eilidh Bridgeman, Julian Jervis, Daniel Murphy, Cameron Stafford and Marlene West will be competing in squash, while Geoffrey Butler, Lara Butler, David Ebanks, Brett Fraser, Lauren Hew and Alex McCallum are the swimmers. Christopher Jackson, Edison McLean and Andrew Schirn form the shooting team. Boxer Tafari Ebanks and cyclist Michele Smith will be going it alone in their respective sporting disciplines for Cayman.
Finally, young Bethany Dikau (17) is the first Cayman gymnast to compete at the games and she will be competing on all four pieces of apparatus in the women's competition. The swimmers will be the first athletes going for Commonwealth glory, with Geoffrey Butler opening things up for the Cayman team in the pool for the men’s 400 meter heats.
Alongside the athletes and trainers, Governor Helen Kilpatrick and Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden and the chief officer in his ministry will be going along too.
Meanwhile, the team will also be armed with what usually prove to be some of the most popular pins at international games. The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Game pins for the Cayman Team were designed by Jamie Doak and are in the shape of a turtle wearing tartan.
The Olympic committee, which commissioned the pins, said they were happy to support local artists.
"We have very limited numbers and with all Games pins, they are available for sale at $5.00 locally or US$10 plus the cost of shipping if you are overseas. All funds raised go back into the development of sport and athlete preparation in the Cayman Islands," they explained.
Pins are available from the committee for $5 each for more information contact cioc2@candw.ky
For more information on the teams visit http://www.caymanolympic.org.ky and for more on the whole games go to http://www.glasgow2014.com
Academy wins Schwan USA Cup
(ASC): Academy Sports Club won the U13 Silver championship at the Schwan USA Cup in Minnesota last Saturday. The local club, which is well known for its focus on youth football, participated in the Schwan USA Cup with two teams in the U11 and U13 age groups.
“Both teams did extraordinarily well”, said Coach Paul Byles. “Our U11s won their group with one of the best defensive records in their age group, and made it to thesemi finals and our U13s won their group without conceding a goal and eventually the U13 Silver Championship”.
Byles said that both teams trained hard for several months and dealt with their challenges well. During the competition, both teams had tough quarter final matches withthe U11s winning on penalties and the U13s winning a very physical game by a 2-1 margin. The U13s eventually won their Championship match against Boca Juniors, a good Mexican team, by a 2-nil margin.
Academy took 27 players and had the support of 18 parents on the trip. The club stressed that they were not only representing Academy but also the Cayman Islands as there are many international teams at the event.
“Whenever we travel as a club we are very well aware that we are also representing our country and this is something that we always reinforce with the players. We always take a lot of pride in being able to show the world that the Cayman Islands has a lot of great young football talent”, he added.
Byles added that the Schwan Cup is also a great experience generally for the players.
“The nature of the tournament is that there are many teams from different age groups, with thousands of youth footballers in a huge facility. When you have that it creates a very exciting atmosphere for the players as they get to meet people from all over the world.”
The Schwan Cup is thought to be the largest youth tournament in the world; the event showcases more than 1,016 teams and 14,000 soccer players from over 17 states and 17 countries. All games are played at the National Sports Center, certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest soccer complex on earth.
CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President Mr Jeff Webb said, “Congratulations to the Academy team on their success at the Schwan Cup in Minnesota. Once again Academy has been a wonderful representative for our country on the regional stage and we look forward to more success from them in the future.”
Virgil Seymour Head Coach at Academy said “ we are very proud to see the fruits of the hard work of these teams which represents the youngest players at our club. This is how you build a good football program, from the bottom up and we are happy to see some success with our general approach.” On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire Academy family I wish to congratulate Coach Paul Byles for doing an excellent job again with these teams.”
“This year’s U11 team consists of the same players which made it to the U10 finals at the Disney Youth Cup last year, so we can see that there is a consistent performance from these youngsters a year later”, said Mr. Byles.
Byles said the players are still very excited and already talking about where they will compete internationally next year, but everyone will now take a well deserved rest before pre season training for the local CIFA leagues.
Academy U13s also won both the FA Cup and league titles in the CIFA league this season and the U12 team which included primarily the U11 players that went to Minnesota also had a great local season as they won both of CIFA’s U12 Rallies.
Academy also thanked the team managers, assistant coaches, parents and corporate sponsors for their support.
Youth sailors fly the flag in BVI
(CISC): The Cayman Islands Youth sailing team returned yesterday from a very successful showing at the Premier’s Cup regatta in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. They took silver medals in the regatta along with the Maxwell “Mackie” Simmons award for the team displaying the best sportsmanship. The BVI team took advantage of their local knowledge and sailed well to lift the trophy but our sailors beat out strong competition from Anguilla and Antigua to take second place. The Premier’s Cup, now in its 16th year, has welcomed hundreds of enthusiastic young sailors from across the Caribbean and the wider world.
Competitors have enjoyed competing in the beautiful sailing waters of the Virgin Islands while fostering excellent camaraderie amongst themselves.This regatta allows young adults to come together regardless of their background to compete in their chosen sport, while also allowing for personal development within sailing.
“The team sailed really well and had a great time interacting with kids their own age from other islands” explained Coach Kelvin Brown. “Two years ago we were placed 6th but the team is a little older and a lot wiser now so it was good to see them make so much progress. We would like to say a big thank you to the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman and Deutsche bank who helped out with the cost of the travel to BVI”.
The team of 6 were sailing a 24’ one design boat similar to the J22 that they sail here in Cayman. Pablo Bertran and Florence Allan are now looking forward to travelling to China next month to represent Cayman in the Youth Olympic Games whilst Jesse Jackson and Andres McDermot are hoping to represent Cayman at the Central American and Caribbean games in Mexico in November. Allena Rankine and James Allen completed the team.
Club Manager Rick Caley explained “this group of sailors are having an amazing year and are making their mark wherever they go. With their hard work and the dedicated coaching of our Instructors, along with the generous support of our sponsors, they are excellent ambassadors for Cayman”.
Bush hits backs at “bloggers”
(CNS): The leader of the opposition has said that the accusations hurled at him by those commenting on the CNS website on stories posted last week about the governor's attack on the press are unfounded. But despite the criticisms he faces from the public, McKeeva Bush said that he fully supports a free press and believes it is a "basic tenet of democracy". He said the governor's position over the Tempura documents has nothing to do with him but he said when it comes to a "free and fair Cayman" the FCO has had a wanton disregard, and commenters dragging him into the fight between the press and the governor are deflecting the real problem, which is that the UK simply does not care about the overseas territories.
While people commenting may not like him or his policies, Bush said that didn't mean he had ever done anything wrong.
Responding to a commenter who was attacking all politicians and suggesting that the opposition leader should have been prosecuted for unspecified allegations years ago, Bush said whoever it was must really hate him, but whatever people think about him the real problem for Cayman was the FCO.
"The individual who drew me into their blog on the way the governor has insulted the press was trying to distract the matter of the FCO's wanton disregard for a fair and free Cayman," Bush said. "I have no boxer in this fight of the governor and the press but I do stand for a free and fair Cayman and freedom of a fair press is a basic tenet of democracy. That is in our constitution."
The opposition leader said the FCO uses the overseas territories as pawns for a buttress and scapegoats in their European Union arguments and queried why anyone is surprised by what governors say or do to suit their purpose.
"They have destroyed bigger men than me, and many viable countries have fallen because when the FCO should have cared for them, they didn't," he stated.
Pointing to comments made by commenters tying him into the situation, he said much of it was because people didn't like him for a catalogue of reasons. He believes some don't like him because they couldn't get elected, some because they couldn't get status, but for others it was because they can no longer "rule Cayman like they did before or want to do as they please with us", as he pointed the finger at the British establishment. But he stressed that none of the reasons why people don't like him actually equate to him doing anything wrong.
"And because they don't like me, it doesn't mean that I did anything to hurt them or these islands," he said. "I have done everything I could to stand against the efforts of the FCO, the UK Treasury and the European Union to make Cayman unviable as an offshore international business centre … I refused to put in place their income and property tax and VAT," Bush said.
Despite the problems he faced when he was premier, the opposition leader said he had still managed well enough to keep the country's high credit rating when both the US and the UK fell down the rankings. Talking about his long career in the Legislative Assembly, he pointed out that he was part of the ExCo that put in place the Monetary Authority and the hedge fund law.
"I put in place much of the good financial regulation we have today," he said, also noting other legislation unrelated to the financial services that he was responsible for that has helped the people of Cayman.
"I put in place the policy for the establishment of the libraries in the districts, the policy to build the clinics in the districts. I also put in place the social legislation in Cayman that manages to help a very disenfranchised people with a modicum of decency, from sports to pensions, and took us out of masters and servants law that governed Cayman as labour legislation up until the 1980s .
"Today pregnant women have benefits they didn't have when I got elected in 1984 and people who lose family members have compassion leave. The stealing of gratuities from the workers is a thing of the past too … So what little labour legislation we have today I fought for and had it put it there. And no one can say I hate foreigners as my own people say I give them too much room."
Bush said he has fought for a more developed and inclusive Cayman and believes he has made a significant contribution as a legislator to bring about a better Cayman, "even if I should say so myself," he added, as he defended his long career in politics.
"What is it that some of the bloggers want? They need to go and do some positive work to help Cayman rather than to keep saying all kinds of worthless and untrue statements about me and our people," he said as he hit back at his critics. "If what they say about me is true and they have the proof, why not say what it is and sign their name to the blog?"
$90m for ORIA over 20 years
(CNS): The development of airports on all three Cayman Islands can be accomplished with funds that the Cayman Islands Airports Authority has in hand or with expected income, without the need for borrowing, and is estimated to cost around $122 million over 18-20 years, which includes $40 million for maintenance. The expansion of the terminal at Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman is a priority and has been divided into 4 phases, which can be done as funding allows and would make the terminal 2.2 times bigger, attendees at the first public consultation meeting Monday night heard. Phase 1 of ORIA will cost around $50 million and would increase the terminal footprint by about one third.
“Our goal is to break ground on this terminal in 2015 and to put our tourism product back in the position where it has infrastructure that compares to our competitors in the region,” Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell told about 130 people gathered at the Mary Miller Hall Monday evening.
He noted that the current terminal on Grand Cayman was built to accommodate 500,000 passengers per year but now has to cope with one million, double its intended capacity. As well as needing a better facility to accommodate residents, friends and family, Deputy Premier Kirkconnell noted, “We do not have a big window to build repeat guests.”
The Strategic Business Case and the Outline Business Case have been approved by Cabinet and the current stage for the project is the stakeholder and public input. When that is completed it will again go to Cabinet for final approval and Kirkconnell said that they hope to have construction start in April or May of next year and move forward as quickly as possible. One part of the development, the walkway to the arrivals lounge, has already begun.
Bernhard Schropp from WSP Canada, the technical consulants on the project, told the audeince that the estimates for spending on ORIA, the priority airport, in the first five years under the proposed plan is just over $50 million. During this period the expected spending on the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (CKIA) on Cayman Brac would be about $2.5 million and the Little Cayman Airport about $1 million. Building the new airport on Little Cayman would take place in the medium term (6-10 years) and cost an estimated $20 million, while $3.2 million would be spent on CKIA and about $18.8 million on ORIA.
Costs in the long term (11-20 years) would be $21 million for ORIA, $5.8 for the Brac and nothing for Little Cayman. The total cost over 20 years is estimated at $122 million, and the breakdown is $90.1M for ORIA, $11.6M for CKIA and $20M for Little Cayman.
Simon Connolly of PricewaterhouseCoppers, the financial consultants, explained that, because finances are an issue, they recommend expanding and renovating the existing terminal at ORIA, although he said a new terminal would be required at some point, maybe 20, 30 or even 40 years in the future.
The project might move quicker with a public private partnership (PPP), he said, but that these types of arrangements generally work better for new projects and they did not recommend it for this one. He also noted that a wholly government owned project would be better suited to take advantage of the flexibility built into the master plan. For example, they have not recommended that the runway be extended at this stage to accommodate long haul flights because there appears to be no immediate requirement from the airlines, but this is included in the master plan so if the need or financial situation changed, this could be done at any time.
Because the government faces borrowing constraints, PwC has recommended the pay-as-you-go financing, meaning that the facility would be built as funds become available. Under the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility agreement that Cayman has signed with the UK, this will still require UK approval but Kirkconnell indicated to CNS that the Cayman government is confident that this will be forthcoming.
The schematic for the new ORIA terminal is below (see more details). The red dotted line indicates the current footprint, the yellow block is the proposed extension in the first phase and the green is a future proposed extension. The outline below is for the second floor of the terminal.
Miller: UK office needs local
(CNS): Following the apology in the UK's House of Lords last week from Lord Blencathra (David McLean) over the Tory peer’s contract with the Cayman Islands Government, Ezzard Miller has pointed to the importance of the Cayman government securing a local to head up the London office. The independent member for North Side, who had persistently criticized the appointment of the British peer as the London office boss, said he had been vindicated as he always said it was inappropriate. Last week Lord Blencathra told his upper house peers that he was wrong to have signed the £12,000 per month contract in which he agreed to lobby his fellow peers, MPs and ministers on behalf of the Cayman government, which he described it as a misjudgment.
Although the peer always denied that part of his job was to lobby the Lords, he has said that the contract gave the wrong impression. At the time of his appointment Miller had raised his concerns and said he was the only one that found the situation objectionable and he was criticized for it but now it was time to find a Caymanian for the job.
"I have been vindicated as I was the only one who ever questioned that appointment and now he has been forced to apologise as it was wrong,” Miller told CNS. "We now need to put a Caymanian back in charge of that office to properly fulfill the role of advocating on our behalf in the UK."
He pointed out that the job was not just about the financial sector but about taking care of the needs of Caymanians living in the UK, including the many students there, as well as promoting the tourism sector. Miller said any new Cayman boss there should also try and encourage more local youngsters to study in the UK, as it is not only cheaper for overseas territories citizens but the standards of college education and the institutions precautions are often higher than most US colleges.
He said he sincerely hoped that Caymanians would apply now the post was being advertised and that the right local person for the job would be found quickly. Then the whole episode regarding Blencathra could be put to rest and someone with all of Cayman's interests at heart could be placed in what he said was a very important post.
Lord Blencathra was the first non-Caymanian to hold the job as director of the London office as it was believed he could ‘win friends and influence people’on behalf of the financial services sector, which continues to have a poor reputation in the UK, regardless of the effort to change the lingering image of offshore piracy and tax dodging.
However, Miller always said he believed the appointment of the Tory peer, far from tackling that problem, actually attracted more negative attention. Nor was he alone. The FCO had also raised concerns about the decision by the former premier Mckeeva Bush to appoint Blencathra.
Once concerns were raised in the UK media and parliamentarians complained, an enquiry by the Lords Standards Commissioner led to a change in the code of conduct and ultimately required the peer to say he was sorry. Lord Blencathra had always said he may have lobbied government but he never had any intention of lobbying Parliament on behalf of Cayman. However, his contract had indicated otherwise.
“I misled myself into thinking that, since it was understood that I would not be making representations in reality, then the wording did not matter. But words do matter; I was wrong and I apologise to the House for that misjudgement,” he told the House of Lords last Thursday.
The Standards Commissioner, Paul Kernaghan, accepted that the peer did not intend to lobby when he signed the contract, which is why a harsher punishment was not handed down.
This has prompted Labour MP Paul Flynn, who made the original complaint to table an early day motion arguing that the Lords is not fit to discipline its members.
“The failure to suspend Lord Blencathra from the service of the Lords will further deepen public cynicism on the conduct of parliamentarian,” the motion says.
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