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Gov should have met MLAs
(CNS): The closed door decision made by Governor Helen Kilpatrick to retain and back the police commissioner was wrong because she should have at least heard from all of the country’s political representatives first, the independent member for North Side has said. The governor made it clear she supported David Baines, regardless of the shocking revelations that the RCIPS had recruited and retained an officer who was charged and recently convicted of murder while Baines was at the helm of the organisation. Ezzard Miller said that whatever the governor decided, in the end was down to her but she should not have made that decision without first hearing representations from elected members on behalf of the people.
“The governor made her decision without considering the position of the representatives of any constituencies,” he said, noting that the politicians had made several public declarations that they wanted to meet with her. It is understood that the governor did have a closed door meeting with the premier, but no one else, and it is not clear if Alden McLaughlin passed on any concerns or requested that she meet with the other 17 members of the Legislative Assembly.
“She may have come to the same decision after considering my or anyone else’s input but without any input, how can we see if the process of making that decision was made fairly and in consideration of all of the facts?” he asked.
The issues of crime fighting and police management have been a hot topic lately, with the public and the politicians raising concerns about both. Despite the revelations that Tyrone Findlay was recruited to the RCIPS armed unit from Jamaica just weeks before he was charged with murder, the commissioner is not being held accountable.
Miller said that it does not matter who Baines delegated the recruitment duties to, in the end neither the commissioner nor anyone else at the top of an organisation can "delegate their accountability and responsibility”. Miller said it was up to the chief of any organisation to delegate the work to a competent person and if they didn’t, they are responsible.
Miller also took aim at the governor's allegations that people were engaging in “false criticism and unwarranted personal attacks”, and asked if the UK representative was in possession of information that contradicts what the public has been told.
“If the governor has evidence that Tyrone Findlay has not been convicted of murder and that the commissioner of police did not have his bail amended to allow him to come back to work in the RCIPS after he had been charged, she should release this information,” Miller added.
The North Side MLA said that was one of the issues that he found the most difficult to comprehend and why he believed the commissioner should resign. The MLA stated that even if Baines and the RCIPS had been duped into taking on someone under investigation for murder and then obligated legally to retain him, the idea that the police boss took steps to bring the officer back to Cayman to work in the local police was an outrage.
Scott takes up advocacy job for finance sector
(CNS Business): Former Ernst and Young partner Jude Scott is the new Chief Executive Officer of Cayman Finance, the umbrella advocacy group for the local offshore sector. CF Chairman Ian Wight confirmed Scott’s appointment Thursday and said the organisation was fortunate to have such a well-respected member of the community take up this vital role and help guide its strategic development over the coming years. Cayman Finance has been working more closely with government recently in an effort to get everyone in the industry to join forces against an onslaught of negative publicity about the offshore sector and the tax haven label. Read more and comment on CNSBusiness
Premier welcomes new dawn for US and Cuba
(CNS): There were no statements on Thursday from the premier regarding his own internal government relationships as the ‘Ozzigate’ issue rolled on, but Alden McLaughlin did find time to congratulate President Barack Obama for making efforts to restore diplomatic and economic ties between the United States and Cuba. Still coming under increasing pressure to do something about his health minister and long-time PPM colleague and friend on Thursday, the premier’s public attention was on the advantages for local people the complete thawing of the more than fifty year impasse between the two countries would bring.
“The re-establishment of a US embassy on Cuban soil that is being proposed would benefit Caymanians who hold US passports as well as our resident US citizens,” the premier stated. “I expect a further easing of restrictions on US residents traveling to Cuba in the near future. I understand that Cuban President Raul Castro has welcomed the restoration of the relationship with the United States and has said the two countries must live with their differences in a civilized manner. I congratulate both men for beginning to end the chilled relations that have existed between the two countries since 1961,” he added.
Vote in the CNS polls:
School students clean up East End beach
(CNS): A science class from Clifton Hunter High School took to an East End beach last week to clean up the shoreline off of Spotter’s Way. Armed with bags and gloves donated by the Department of Environmental Health, the twelve students descended upon the remote beach, where they collected 28 bags of garbage and recyclables that had floated in from around the world. Among the more interesting finds were an inflatable pontoon and a refrigerator door. Linda Locke of the Reef Resort the closet accommodation to the beach, joined the crew and provided dry-fit T-shirts for the group.
The resort also provided a free meal and drinks for the students afterwards. More community support came from White Sand Water Sports which donated a ride on their newest attraction – the Jetovator. One student collected six large bags of rubbish and will be enjoying an airborne outing on this latest water adventure invention.
Two dozen people arrested in 24-hour period
(CNS): Drugs, drinking and driving, jumping and breaching bail, disorderly behaviour, assault, indecent assault, burglary, credit card cons and robbery were some of the crimes that the police rounded up suspects for in a 24-hour period, starting on Wednesday when the arrests began with a crack-cocaine drug bust in West Bay. “The holiday season, which is in full swing, gave cause for members of the RCIPS to step up their vigilance in making this festive season safe,” a spokesperson said Thursday, as the list of arrests was revealed, including two Clifton Hunter High School students who were arrested on suspicion of possessing a small amount of ganja.
Overnight four people were taken into custody on warrants for failing to appear in court. Another two people were arrested for disorderly conduct at the George Town Police Station and assaulting police, and another man was arrested and taken into custody for failing to comply with his bail conditions, having been charged with the theft of a sail boat. Four men were arrested Wednesday night in connection with the liquor store robbery in Grand Harbour
In Bodden Town police arrested three drunk drivers, while in West Bay a 35-year-old male resident was arrested for assault occasioning actual bodily harm after an altercation with a family member. On Cayman Brac a 53-year-old man living in Creek was arrested by officers for the indecent assault on a young female.
The police also arrested four Romanians, who remain in custody, over the last two days for a credit card scam.
Romanian scammers arrested by local cops
(CNS): Detectives from RCIPS Financial Crimes Unit have arrested four Romanian men aged between 33 years and 42 in connection with allegations of cloning credit cards. Two of the suspected con artists were arrested Tuesday 16 December and the other two yesterday, Wednesday 17 December on suspicion of obtaining property by deception. The men, who were said to be visiting the Cayman Islands for the first time, are accused of skimming, where they used cloned credit cards to purchase merchandise from local business establishments. The men remain in custody pending a legal ruling from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution. Detective Inspector Ian Lavine of the FCU advised local businesses to be vigilant during the festive season.
He said that people paying by credit cards should produce a form of identification and that sales agents should check that the method of identification matches with the name on the credit card.
This is not the first time that Cayman has been targeted by gangs of con artists using cloned cards. In 2013 a gang of three Malaysian credit card con men using the same scam attempted to purchase high-end watches and diamonds at a number of local duty free stores before they were arrested. The men were sentenced to 16 months in prison in March and April of this year and ordered to be deported once they are released.
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Brac burglar makes off with four TVs and booze
(CNS): A burglar made off with a significant television haul on Cayman Brac some time Wednesday night and Thursday morning, police have said. Officers from the Brac police station are now investigating the residential break-in which happened in the Southside Road East and Ashton Reid Drive area of the island. The crime was reported to police just after 7:00am Thursday when the owners said four black Sony Bravia TVs, sized as, two 52 inch, one 46 inch and one 32 inch were stolen along with a quantity of alcohol. The public are asked to contact Chief Inspector Frank Owens on 948 0331 or 516 6100 if they have any information, have seen any suspicious persons or vehicles in the area or if they are approached by anyone attempting to sell the stolen goods.
‘Ozziegate’ causes outrage
(CNS): More than three hundred and twenty comments were posted to the CNS website in the two-day period after the news story regarding the health minister’s profanity-littered tirade on his chief officer was published at just after 11:30 on Tuesday morning. Osbourne Bodden’s outburst has stirred up a public storm that the government may find hard to ignore, despite its best efforts. So far, with the exception of a short statement from the premier’s office saying that CO Jennifer Ahearn had reported the incident to the deputy governor, that the minister had apologised in writing and that there was a plan in place to address the issue, the country’s leaders have been less than forthcoming about the incident and the calls for Bodden’s resignation.
The member for North Side told CNS Thursday that he believed both the health minister and his chief officer should resign following the well-publicised altercation and set an example. Ezzard Miller said he did not believe that the incident was unprovoked but regardless of why Bodden had lost his temper, what he did was unacceptable and it should not be tolerated. The minister, he said, should show the necessary political maturity and step down.
He said that, given the circumstances, the chief officer should also resign as it was clear the two were no longer able to work together and that this disagreement would create a disruptive division in the ministry that would be hard to overcome.The independent member said Bodden should take responsibility for his actions and the people need to see accountability from their political leaders. But, he said, it would also set a good example for civil service accountability for Ahearn to resign as well, as she was not able to work with her minister.
Miller is so far the only member of the Legislative Assembly other than Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush to comment at all about the incident following Premier Alden McLaughlin’s short official statement that the matter was being dealt with and he did not want to air the details in the press. Bush told The Cayman Compass that he did not have all the facts about what occurred in the ministry offices but based on what has been said the premier “couldn’t whitewash” the situation.
No one else on the government benches has spoken about the incident. CNS has contacted the minister for labour and gender affairs but has received no response with regards to that ministry’s position on the health minister’s workplace behaviour and what appears to have been a bullying attack on his female chief.
No details of the tirade, which was loud enough for most people on the top floor of the government administration building to hear, have been confirmed but CNS understands that the insults and profanities used by the minister focused on Ahearn’s nationality rather than her gender.
The issue has raised considerable attention from the public at large, not just from the CNS commenters but across wider social media and on the local airwaves as well. Most of those participating in the online discussion on CNS and elsewhere are calling for Bodden to step down from his ministerial post and for government to act if he does not.
However, it appears that the government is hoping that the public backlash on this issue, like the situation surrounding the police commissioner and the recruitment of a murderer to the RCIPS, among other sticky issues for the current administration, will go away.
If it does not, the premier will be faced with a difficult decision on who can replace Bodden.
The obvious candidate to take over is Alva Suckoo, who has worked with his Bodden Town senior colleague in the ministry as a councillor. However, although becoming increasingly popular with his constituents, Suckoo is believed to be less so in the party ranks as a result of his outspoken and independent position on a number of issues.
He voted with the opposition on 'one man-one vote' when the PPM administration tried to deflect dealing with the change to the country’s voting system. He also defied the premier recently when he spoke out about the need for the police commissioner to be removed following the revelations about the recruitment of Tyrone Findlay to the RCIPS while he was under investigation for murder in Jamaica, and charged soon after.
Suckoo has also been outspoken about the failure by government to do enough to tackle the increasing number of problems faced by local people in the labour market and the numerous employer infractions that are preventing Caymanians from having an equal opportunity at securing work.
Anthony Eden had chosen not to take a ministry during this administration and it is very unlikely that the veteran politician could be persuaded to return to the Cabinet. Given the workload of Deputy Prime Minister Moses Kirkconnell, he probably not willing to give up his councillor, Joey Hew, so he is also an unlikely candidate to replace Bodden.
The remaining backbench MLAs, who are both Coalition for Cayman members, are also unlikely to be a favourite choice, as that may prove too much of a coalition for the PPM leader to embrace.
Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, who joined the PPM following the election result after she accepted the speaker's post, might be persuaded to return to ministerial office, leaving Eden, who is deputy speaker, to take up her post should the premier decide that 'Ozziegate' has left him no choice but to oust his PPM colleague. But this scenario would not be without its problems.
Although O’Connor-Connolly has proved a popular choice for speaker as a result of her experience and competency in that job, there are still some uncomfortable issues surrounding her ministry during the last administration. Questions remain over her travel bill and the paving of private driveways with public cash on Cayman Brac, which may prove difficult for the PPM, which took a vocal stand against the issues when in opposition.
CNS poll 1: Should Osbourne Bodden resign from Cabinet?
CNS poll 2: If Osbourne Bodden resigned or was ousted from the Health Ministry, who should replace him?
US sheriff donates sniffer dog to CI customs
(CNS): The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona State has donated a top crime fighting seven-year-old Beagle mix to the Cayman Islands Customs K-9 Unit to help with the detection of illegal narcotics. Blaze arrived on Saturday 13 December with K-9 Officer Deputy Sheriff Joe McLemore and Ioana Oancea from Arizona, who handed over the energetic dog in a short ceremony at Customs Headquarters, increasing the number of dogs in the unit to five. The dog, which has a track record sniffing out heroin, marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines with ease, will work both the cruise port and the airport on Grand Cayman with his new handler, Tate McFarlane.
Malachi Powery, the supervisor of the K-9 Unit, started the ball rolling to get Blaze when he was on holiday in Arizona and contacted his counterpart officer, Mike Milseps, in the sheriff’s office, with whom he had attended a bloodhound training course. The transfer had been in the works since June of this year.
Thanking County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Deputy Sheriff for the donation, Collector of Customs Samantha Bennett handed over plaques to both the Arizona officers who brought the dog, telling them, “We are delighted that Blaze is here and adding to our K-9 detection capabilities.”
McLemore said his office would next attempt to donate a bloodhound.
Last of the hospital’s flu vaccines on offer
(CNS): Local health officials are offering the public a last chance to inoculate against flu this winter as there a few hundred shots left from the hospital order of around 3000. Dr Kiran Kumar, the director of primary health care, said the peak flu season is now underway and no more vaccine will be purchased but the remaining doses will be offered on a first come first serve basis at no cost to all residents and no appointments are necessary. People wanting shots can visit the general practice clinic at the Cayman Islands hospital, Faith hospital in Cayman Brac and all district health centres, from 2- 4pm Monday through Friday. Residents in Little Cayman should contact the clinic to make arrangements. For further information contact the Public Health Department on 244-2648.