Headline News
Dart to get dump after all
(CNS):Although the Central Tender’s Committee recently announced that the contract to tackle the country’s landfill (a.k.a. Mount Trashmore) had been awarded to a US firm, the premier made a surprise announcement at the Cayman Business Outlook on Thursday morning that the Dart Group would be taking on the existing landfill after all. Although the Dart bid had been rejected during the CTC process, the premier revealed to the conference audience thatthe developer of Camana Bay would be taking the dump, capping and remediating it, and then giving the government another piece of land, probably in the Bodden Town area, for a new landfill to be sited.
The premier gave no details of how the new arrangement will work, given that the US firm Wheelabrator won the contract based on a request for proposal that required them to manage, operate and deal with the existing landfill in George Town. The premier spoke about the creation of a new eco-park but did not say whether that would be managed by Dart or with Wheelabrator.
Dart has made no secret of its desire to own the land at the George Town landfill as a result of its close proximity to Camana Bay. The group did submit a tender in response to the request for proposal put out by government last year, but sources close to the technical committee that reviewed the ten requests said that Dart’s bid came in 7th and was considered unsuitable, not least because the proposal included moving the dump to the Midland Acres area on the edge of the Bodden Town district.
Speaking after the premier’s announcement, Dart Managing Director Jim Lammers said that they did not know which land the group would swap with government for the property where the dump is currently located but the remediation and capping of Mount Trashmore could not begin until a new site was identified and set up to deal with the country’s on-going generation of waste. He said, however, that once the land was settled and the new waste-management system in place, Dart would begin work on tackling the remediation and capping at its expense.
Lammers said he did not know where that left the company which had been awarded the contract by the CTC just before Christmas as he said the method for dealing with garbage in future was up to government. He said that since the Dart was now absorbing the cost of dealing with the existing dump, the people of the Cayman islands would not have to pay as much in either tipping fees or government subsidies to cover the cost of dealing with the dump as those costs would now be borne by the Dart organisation.
If Wheelabrator decides it no longer wishes to continue, given the project changes, the technical committee will probably move to negotiations with the company which came in second to take the contract for the future waste management of the dump. CNS understands that WRR, which scored the second highest amount of points, is owned by the same people who were involved in MC Restoration, the controversial company which was given the post-Ivan clean up contract.
Mac signs ‘nerd’ zone deal
(CNS):The premier has signed an MOU to pave the way for the development of a unique science and technology economic zone that will create thousands of jobs and bring new investment. The specialist park will be developed by Hon Cayman Properties Ltd and provide facilities for IT, research and development, bio-technology, new media, further education, global commodities and other intelligence led business in a specially designated tax-free zone. McKeeva Bush signed the deal with the Hon family during the CBO conference at the Ritz-Carlton on Thursday, saying it would bring a whole new aspect of business to diversify Cayman’s economy.
He explained that government would be passing specific legislation that would facilitate the creation of the commercial area focusing entirely on future science, technology and intelligence led industries. Bush said the establishment of the economic zone, which will be the first and only in the Caribbean region, would be developed over 300 acres encompassing six different campuses focusing on specialist areas. He promised that thousands of well paid jobs would be created, and while the developer and the subsequent investors would have work permit needs, facilitated positions would be earmarked for Caymanians.
“We are going to be successful if we cooperate with our investors, work with them, show them kindness instead of digging pits for people to fall into,” said Bush as he warned people not to tear down the project, which he said would be very good for the country.
“When you tear down me or speak bad about government you are talking bad about yourselves,” he warned people as he asked the country to embrace this new proposed development.
Although the premier and the developers did not reveal the names of the leading global technology, research and pharmaceutical firms that they said would be coming to the zone, they said that there was significant interest from major companies.
The premier also promised that there would be some benefit extended to the Sister Islands as partof the technology zone, though he did not go into specific details.
The premier pointed out that the MOU was the first step in the negotiations and the issue would be discussed in Cabinet.
Jason Blake, CEO of Hon Cayman Properties Ltd, said it was the most exciting initiative to happen in the Cayman Islands for many years. Hon is not new to the Cayman Islands as the developers were responsible for the HSBC centre on the West Bay Road. Blake gave an approximate timeline for the development of the campuses as around 18 months but said the first business licenses for these new technology companies would be awarded before the end of this year.
Alden unopposed for top job
(CNS): Opposition member Alden McLaughlin will almost certainly become the leader of the opposition next month as he will be running for election as leader of the People’s Progressive Movement unopposed. It appears that the candidate who had been expected to run against him in the party’s leadership, Arden McLean, has opted not to contest the party’s top spot. The role of leadership of the opposition and the party became vacant following the announcement in November last year by former leader of government business and the PPM’s original head, Kurt Tibbetts, that he was stepping down. The veteran politician said that after the party’s defeat at the polls in May 2009 it was time for a change in leadership. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The vote, which is now merely a formality, is due to take place at the party’s national conference next month, when other positions within the PPM as well as deputy leader will also be decided by the party membership.
McLaughlin, who served as education minister in the previous administration, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2000, was tipped as ‘heir apparent’ soon after Tibbetts’ resignation, though any one of the other four members of the PPM that serve in the country’s parliament could have stood for election by party members. A qualified lawyer, the George Town member has proved himself to be one of the most articulate members of the LA but in doing so has also become a major target for criticism by the government’s front bench.
Kurt Tibbetts, the PPM leader who will be relinquishing not just the leadership of the party but the formal position of opposition leader, has served in the Legislative Assembly since 1992. When he announced his resignation from the top job he said thatonce the new leader and other party officials were elected he would be there to offer support but would allow “the new blood of the party to take the PPM forward” and would not impose on them.
“I have always been a firm believer in succession planning and now the PPM needs new blood at the top, new people to lead the movement and carry out its mission. From time to time every organization needs a change of leadership to foster growth and allow for continuity and the PPM is no exception,” he said.
The PPM national party conference, which is open to the public, will take place at the Mary Miller Hall in Red Bay on the 12 February from 6pm.
Dart buys 7MB hotel
(CNS): Despite denying that the company had purchased the Courtyard Marriott to CNS on 6 January, Dart Realty announced on Wednesday afternoon (19 January) that it that it had in fact bought the derelict hotel. At a groundbreaking ceremony for Camana Bay’s latest commercial building officials from the company revealed that the group had not only purchased the West Bay Road hotel but had also purchased the 232 acres of land formerly held by developer Stan Thomas. Although officials did not reveal any specific plans for the hotel and the land, Jim Lammers, Managing Director of Dart Realty and a director of Dart Enterprises, said the property presented a great opportunity for development.
Less than two weeks ago CNS contacted the communications manager at Dart Enterprizes and asked if Dart had purchased the hotel and the land and if so what plans were afoot for the property. However, the communications manager said that Dart had not bought the hotel or the land.
The future of the hotel had been in question for some time as it has been deserted since Hurricane Paloma in November 2008, when the former owners said it was being closed because of damage incurred during the storm, although the reason was disputed by many when the staff were soon laid off and the beach front bar was also closed.
Together with the derelict former Hyatt, the loss of the Courtyard Marriott represented a significant reduction in the number of beds on island and raised further concerns in the tourism sector of the poor impression the property gave, given its prominent position on the Seven Mile Beach stretch.
It is not yet clear whether Dart intends to re-vamp the hotel in its current position or whether it will be looking to tear the property down and start again.
When he owned the property, Thomas had reportedly asked the government to move the West Bay Road so that the hotel would not be dissected from the beach but it is understood that the previous administration had refused the request. It remains to be seen if Dart will be making the same request of the current government.
Bailed kidnapper disappears
(CNS): One of four men accused of taking part in what was believed to be Cayman’s first kidnapping for ransom has disappeared. Richard Hurlstone (32), a Honduran national with Caymanian status who had been released on bail, did not appear in court last Friday morning as he is believed to have absconded. Hurlstone is due to face trial with Charles Webster and Allen Kelly next month in connection with the incident which took place in March last year. The men are accused of abducting a young man and demanding a ransom of half a million dollars. The victim was allegedly dishonestly enticed to an address in North Side, where he was held against his will before he managed to escape. A fourth man, Wespie Mullings-Ramon, has already pleaded guilty to charges relating to the crime.
Although Hurlstone was given a curfew and made to surrender his passport, he has not reported to police since early December. It is understood that Hulrstone’s home has been locked up and his personal possessions have been sold on a local classified website.
Justice Harrison has issued a warrant for Hurlstone’s arrest but has said that the trial, which is expected to last two weeks, will still go ahead on 21 February, despite Hurlstone’s absence.
UK wanted schools stopped
(CNS): The phasing and delay on the development of the country’s new high schools owes more to the negotiations with the UK and the three year budget plan than the government not being able to afford them, the education minister has said. Rolston Anglin revealed that during the negotiations on the three year plan, which enabled the government to increase borrowing this year, the UK was particularly interested in stopping the projects and had little sympathy, he said, for the Cayman government’s position. He said UK officials revealed school projects were being cancelled in Britain due to the need to cut public spending and they saw no reason why the Cayman projects should not be stopped as well.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly last week, the education minister said he could not go into too much detail about the financial situation with the schools because of the matters before the courts. He revealed, however, that London had wanted the projects frozen but that the phased approach was the compromise and it was not about affordability.
He added that government was committed to finishing them in a cost effective timely manner. Work has already restarted at the Clifton Hunter site, which is now expected to be completed by the end of this year, the minister said. In the meantime, things at the John Gray Campus had been organised in such a way that the country’s school children would not be disadvantaged, Anglin told the LA.
In a statement to his parliamentary colleagues, he did, however, talk at length about what he believed to be wrong with the design of the schools and said that the government had spent money re-engineering them. He criticised the modern concepts that underpinned the schools’ design, such as open space learning, and said some aspects of the design “defy logic and judgement” and that despite concerns from teachers the previous minister maintained those designs.
Anglin picked apart the idea that science and art could be taught at the same time in a large open space and pointed to the failure to provide for proper security because of a low fence, that there was no behaviour modification unit or provision for teaching home economics, despite a commercial kitchen.
“Open learning environments are a constant feature of the design of these schools,” he said. “These are schools without classrooms where different teachers and classes of students are in full view and hearing of one another.”
He saidnot only would it be very expensive but it was not agreed by all education experts that open learning, independent learning and small working groups were the best methods for all students and all subjects.
Work has begun to redesign the schools, he said, so art would not be taught alongside science, the 42’pickett fence planed for the perimeter of the school was to be replaced with a six-foot chain link fence and the CCTV would be relocated. He also said home economics and textiles would be taught in the schools in line with the UDP manifesto of providing vocational education.
The redesign inside has not provided for behaviour intervention areas, the minister stated, which was in line with his ministry’s national behaviour and discipline strategy that had reduced serious incidents and the need to suspend students by 60%. “By the end of October, 8 students were suspended in 2010 from Years 10 to 12 compared to 35 in 2009 and 51 in 2008,” he said. “This is not going soft on discipline but a focus on de-escalation, keeping the students in school rather than excluding them from all learning environments.”
Despite making some changes, the minister said it was not possible to deliver completely acoustically separate learning spaces as so much work has already been completed. Constrained from adding what he said were proper walls by fire codes and other regulations regarding air circulation, the ministry has introduced partitions.
He said the changes at the schools had been met with relief by those involved as they will not be “made to conform to a futuristic experiment where the form of the building wholly dictated its function,” he added as he continued to criticise his predecessor’s vision for change in education.
“Given the enormous burden that the building of these schools has placed on this and possibly future generations, anything short of embracing the new schools as beneficial to learning would be a national tragedy,” Anglin stated. He added that buildings don’t raise educational standards and that was why the ministry had relied upon the teachers, students and parents to guide the modifications.
Tourism aims to be ‘kind’
(CNS): The minister for tourism has revealed that the department is about to unveil a new marketing campaign in the USA called ‘CaymanKind’. In a statement to his colleagues in the Legislative Assembly on Friday reviewing the performance of the tourism industry over 2010, McKeeva Bush said that the year had proved to be better than 09 and the department was geared up to rebound further in the coming twelve months despite the fact that 2011 is expected to be a tough year. The sector will play a pivotal role in the revival of the economy he said adding that it was important for everyone to extend CaymanKindness to those who visit.
The new brand campaign in the USA is about the entire Cayman experience, Bush said.
“CaymanKind encompasses everything that makes the Cayman Islands unique – from the friendliness of our people and our rich cultural heritage to our cosmopolitan style, stunning natural beauty and warm welcome, which we extend to those who visit our shores,” he added.
The premier said that according to Trendwatching.com, which is one of the world’s most visited sources for consumer trends and insights, Random Acts of Kindness are ranked as number one when it comes to crucial consumer trends for the coming year.
“The key to our future success relies on our ability to continually adapt and grow our product base, but more importantly, it lies within each of us, in our ability to extend CaymanKindness to those who visit our shores,” he added.
He noted that following on the improvements of 2010 the growth, sustainability and economic viability of the Tourism industry would remain top priorities this year. Despite budget cuts he said the DoT would continue to work assiduously to identify new offers and further develop existing products and infrastructure.
“Competition from destinations outside of our usual competitive set like Latin America and the Gulf States is expected to increase and the playing field is likely to become much tougher than it’s ever been. In addition, we can be certain that consumers will be researching more, spending smarter and demanding more value for money which is why the DOT is placing emphasis on improving customer service standards and enhancing the visitor experience.”
The premier said that over the last year DOT had conducted over 180 PRIDE workshops in an effort to train people working in the hospitality industry – particularly those on the front line. More than 2500 ‘tourism ambassadors’ have completed PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in Delivering Excellence) workshops since it started. In addition, a pilot programme has also been developed for schools for year 11 and 12 students.
Addressing the issue of human capital development in the tourism industry Bush said that Caymanians need to be encouraged to become involved in tourism.
“I am therefore particularly pleased to note that 52 Apprentices have graduated with CARIBCERT certification and 22 new apprentices have enrolled in the 2010/11 programme,” the premier said.
As well as key marketing initiatives and promotions he said the DoT will continue to work with Cayman Airways to keep improving airlift figures. The target to reach 300,000 air arrivals for 2010 is unlikely to be met but the air arrivals are still up by around 6% on the 2009 figure of just under 272,000. With the addition of the new direct WestJet service from Toronto to Grand Cayman and return of CAL’s Chicago and Washington services the premier said the number of overnight guests coming to Cayman was considerably more than it may have been given the global circumstances.
He also revealed that private aircraft arrivals have also increased by 5 percent this December and Cayman also received an additional 18 new aircrafts this December due to an extremely cold winter in Florida.
See tourism arrival statistics here
See the premier’s full tourism presentation below
Unemployment near 10%
(CNS): The labour minister has revealed that the unemployment rate in the Cayman Islands is currently at 9.9%, according to statistics compiled by the Economics and Statistics Office. Rolston Anglin told members of the Legislative Assembly on Friday that there were 2,417 people registered with the Department of Employment Relations (DER), with 977 of them saying they were unemployed. Explaining the discrepancies, the minister said the way people are registered creates duplication and many people who are employed register in order to seek a new position. The minister pointed out that the figure compiled by the ESO was different to the DER’s list as, he said, the department was not responsible for calculating the unemployment rate. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
Answering questions posed by the opposition member for George Town, Alden McLaughlin, the minister revealed that most of the 977 people whom the DER said were without work were Caymanian or married to a Caymanian and only 129 were permanent residents but all of them had the right to work in Cayman. The statistics from the DER also suggested considerably more women than men were registered as unemployed, with 573 of the 977 listed as female.
He further revealed that almost 100 of those seeking work had said they held a degree or a professional qualification, and as a result the DER was focusing on trying to get those people into work as it was obvious they should be the easiest to place.
The minister revealed numerous problems at the department, saying it was not best placed to deliver services to the public. He said the job market without proper electronic registration and some kind of assessment tool, and until job seekers could be properly assessed, the staff could only register applicants in accordance with what they toldthe department.
He said he was, however, close to making a decision on a proper professional online registration and assessment tool that would enable the department to match people to vacancies and communicate with the Work Permit Board. Anglin said that, at present, employers complain that when a candidate is sent by the DER they are more often than not unsuitable for the position and he said the only way this could be address was to a way of professionally assessing people.
He spoke about the legacy of problems in the department based on how people were registered, the failure of candidates to inform the jobs unit that they had moved, the inability to verify the work experience of applicants and multiple registrations as preventing the unit from matching job-seekers to vacancies. He said that the department had only successfully reached half of the 977 who say they are unemployed
Despite the problems, however, the minister said that during 2010 the DER had placed 166 people in jobs.
He said it was understandable that people would find it unacceptable that there was such a high number of people looking for work when there were more than 20,000 permits, but that could not be resolved until there was a professional system in place.
The Work Permit Board has had concerns about the quality of information coming from the DER for many years. CNS recently saw a copy of a memo that had been circulated by the former chair of the board just over one year ago questioning the statistics provided to the board by the DER and the mismatch between figures. It raised concerns that, while the DER was publicly claiming that over 843 people were looking for work, a closer assessment of those figures revealed that it was 346 — a significant discrepancy.
“It is very important that we have reliable data going forward or we will not make the best informed decisions as a board,” he said at the time.
3 suspect robbers arrested
(CNS): Following three separate robberies over the weekend, police say they now have three men in custody in connection with two of them. The RCIPS said that after a police operation in the Northward area on Saturday night, the third man (aged 18) was arrested on suspicion of committing the robbery at the Plum Tree grocery Store on Friday evening in which a man sustained serious injuries to his head. The teenager is currently in police custody while enquiries continue and the victi who underwent surgery at the weekend, remains in hospital. Police also arrested two men on Saturday in connection with a robbery that evening at a George Town money transfer store only yards from police headquarters. Those two also remain in police custody. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The weekend’s robberies started with the incident at the Plum Tree store in Northward at around 8:30pm. Police reported that two men, armed with machetes, entered the convenience store, assaulted the male member of staff and grabbed the cash register before making their escape. Then, some two hours later in West Bay, two members of staff at Tim Buc Tuu restaurant were held up at gunpoint as it was closing for the night by two robbers, who made off with both tips and takings. No one was hurt in that incident and so far police have not apprehended any suspects.
On Saturday evening the Reggae Money Express in Elizabethan Square, George Town, only yards from the offices occupied by the police commissioner, was alos robbed. One man entered the premises with what was believed to be a firearm, threatened staff and made off with a sum of cash. No shots were fired and no-one was hurt during that hold-up. Later in the evening police conducted an operation in the George Town area involving uniform, CID and armed officers and two men (aged 19 and 21 years) were arrested on suspicion of robbery, the RCIPS said.
Cops arrest suspect robbers
(CNS): Update Sunday 8:30am — Police have now arrested two men in connection with a robbery on Saturday at a George Town money transfer store. The robbery which took place at the Reggae Money Express, in Elizabethan Square, in George Town only yards from the Police Headquarters occurred at around 6.30 in the evening. One man believed entered the premises with what was believed to be a firearm, threatened staff and made off with a sum of cash.No shots were fired no-one was injured in the incident. Later that evening, following a police operation in the George Town area involving uniform, CID and armed officers, two men (aged 19 and 21 years) were arrested on suspicion of robbery, the RCIPS said. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The two men are currently in police custody while enquiries are ongoing.
The robbery came in the wake of two other robberies on Friday night in Northward and West Bay where the robbers were armed with machetes and guns respectively. In the incident in Northward at the Plum Tree convenience store a man sustained serious injuries when he was assaulted by one of the suspects.
Officers are now seeking witnesses and anyone with information on what is the fifth robbery of 2011 can call George Town CID on 949 4222 or crimestoppers on 800 8477 (TIPS)