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Women demo for work
(CNS): Several women drew attention to their struggle to find work in George Town today as they demonstrated with placards about their situation. The women, who said they were all experienced workers, raised concerns that the Department of Employment Relations was doing no more than paying lip service to their problems and that local employers were not interested in employing them when they can employ permit holders for less. One woman, who lost her job twelve months ago after sixteen years in the post, told CNS that government was being unfair when it described the unemployed as having employability problems.
The women gathered in Heroes Square opposite the Legislative Assembly to say that they were employable and they needed jobs. Supported by former George Town MLA Lucille Seymour, the women said they just want the opportunity to work for a fair salary.
“These women are making a statement about the need for work and I am here to support them,” Seymour said. “I want to appeal to the country’s employers to give these and other women a chance. We need the private sector and government to work together to create jobs but we also have to ask ourselves, when we have over 20,000 people on permits, why these women who are employable can’t find work.”
Andrea Castro, who after 80 interviews said she had still not found work, raised concerns that the DER was sending people out on interviews and not following up to find out why they were not getting the work. “The department’s role doesn’t end when they set up interviews. They should be finding out why people are not getting taken on and then helping us to get through the problems. We don’t get any feedback at all,” she said.
Donna Welcome said she could not be described as unemployable as she had held a job for more than sixteen years. “I think I am being turned down because I have diabetes and that would increase the employer’s health insurance, but as I understand it, it’s against the law for employers to discriminate like that,” she said. Despite her lengthy office work experience, Welcome said that since signing on with DER 12 months ago they had arranged only one interview for her. She explained that she had made many many applications for jobs herself but had only been called for interview on 8 or 9 occasions.
The women said they hoped their decision to take to the street would draw attention to the fact that the local people who are unemployed are not all “unemployable”, as Rolston Anglin, the minister for labour, said in the Legislative Assembly recently, but are facing prejudices as well as competition from very low paid permit holders.
One single mother among the demonstrators said that the labour minister was wrong when he said the country’s biggest issue regarding work was employability. “The biggest issue with employability is cheap labour,” she added.
The demonstration comes in the wake of an earlier protest held by another unemployed single mother outside the Legislative Assembly while the members were sitting last month. Karissa Cameron caused a stir when she held a placard saying, “Young Caymanian mother of four, in need of work (a cry for help)”.
Cameron told CNS she had been out of work since 28 September with no child support. She said she had been out looking for work every day since 30 September but everywhere she went she was told she was either under or over qualified or people were not hiring.
At the time Jennifer Smith, Acting Director of the Department of Employment Relations said that Cameron, who is registered with the DER was brought into the office once they heard that she was standing by LA with a placard. After being interviewed by the JPU officer, she was sent out for three interviews, Smith said.
The DER said Cameron was dismissed from Island Companies after a few weeks with them which would be investigated. “We found her a job sometime ago and she has been working up until very recently. She was trying to find a job on her own, she said, since she was dismissed from her job about a month ago. As with all our clients, we are doing our best to help Karissa and will be following up with her in the coming weeks.”
It is clear however, that there are many more women who are looking for work and who feel the DER is not helping them. Kerry Horek said the women on the street today were taking matters into their own hands. On a day with five cruise ships in town they wanted everyone to know that there were capable and qualified Caymanians who were being marginalized and ignored when all they wanted was a fair chance.
Reshuffle blamed for delays
(CNS): The changes to government ministerial responsibilities were blamed for the delay some ministries have had in submitting their accounts to the auditor general the Public Accounts Committee heard on Tuesday. Asked by the chair why they had not met their obligation under the law management from a number of ministries pointed to an increase in the number of departments they were now responsible for without getting extra accountants as a result of the new line ups. In particular the premier and the deputy premier’s chief officers complained that their ministries had grown significantly but their human resources had remained the same.
Carson Ebanks, the chief officer in the Ministry of Finance Tourism and Development (the premier’s ministry), told the committee he now had twelve departments within the ministry but only three accountants, and while he wanted to recruit more people because of the freeze, he wasn’t allowed to take on any more staff. He said he was working on seconding someone from another government department to his ministry but it was proving very difficult to get the number of people he needed.
Chief Financial Officer in the Ministry for District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture, Nadisha Walters, said that ministry had grown from six departments to seventeen but their accounting staff had remained the same, which was making it difficult for them to complete the workload.
Members of the PAC queried why staff had not moved with the departments and pointed out that it was the responsibility of chief officers to speak up at the time of the reshuffles to ensure the right people were being transferred. The question of what had happened to the staff when the transfer occurred was also raised and the chair said the committee would need to call the management from the Portfolio of Civil Service to find out how accountants were being distributed.
It was assumed by some committee members that the smaller ministries that were getting on top of their accounts may well have done so now as a result of a surplus of accountants at the expense of the new larger ones.
Auditor General Alasdair Swarbrick said it was an important issue as it had directly impacted the ability of ministries to catch up and keep up with their accounts.
Check back to CNS later today for full details on the release of the auditor general’s report.
Official plan ends countdown
(CNS): With the countdown to the premier’s promise to get the country’s economy back on track now over, the official “stimulus plan” has been published on the government website. Following the national address made by Premier McKeeva Bush last week, the document outlines government proposals for future growth, which so far have been broadly criticised. Calling on the community to work together, the actual measures include considerably less than people had hoped. Areduction in turtle meat prices, a moratorium on loan payments, the roadside clean-up and possible duty reductions make up the short term measures. Bush has also revealed changes to immigration polices for high-net-worths and business travellers.
The premier also says he has also created a Stimulus Implementation Group headed by a “National Strategic Advisor”, which will consider future ideas. According to the document, the core SIG comprises a small number of key senior public servants, with additional members coâ€opted from the public sector and the private sector as necessary. It will work across ministries and portfolios “to enhance the pace and quality of implementation of national priority projects”, which are expected to provide the required economic stimulus, the premier revealed.
Bush said that stimulus measures may take the form of changes in policy, capital projects or even refinement of existing government services.
“A turnaround in the local economy has already begun,” he claimed in the stimulus document. “Signs of renewed interest and potential growth are around the corner, yet to truly capitalize on the impending resurgence, much has to be done to affect major change. Results may not be visible overnight, but the momentum of the combined efforts of the public and private sectors will have a tremendously positive impact.”
The premier indicated that over the next 3 to 6 months measures focusing on enhancing the business climate and making it easier to do business will create jobs and stronger economic activity. He also said consideration had been given to measures improving the quality of life as well as the development of human capital and encouraging economic diversification
“The affects of these measures will not likely be felt until the longâ€term,” he warned. “Nevertheless, implementation must begin now to allow adequate leadâ€time to prepare.
Aside from the loan payment freezes, the reduction of import duties on select items on a temporary basis in January was under consideration, he said. “Further announcements will be made to clarify which imported items will qualify for these reductions as they are implemented. These reductions are intended to provide additional relief to the present cost of living,” Bush stated.
Along with the cleanâ€up campaigns employing between 700 and 800 people, he also noted the temporary reduction in the price on turtle meat at the Turtle Farm for December 2010. He also announced that government would attempt to “buy Caymanian” whenever feasible in order to support local companies across all industries when purchasing services or undertaking projects.
“Government should lead by example. Part of stimulating the economy is ensuring local companies get work. This can be encouraged throughout the public sector immediately,” Bush stated.
Along with immigration changes for high net worth individuals and efforts to become more customer friendly at the airport, Bush said Cayman would become more attractive to investors.
Speaking about the need for physical presence, he announced that a promotional strategy to encourage financial services operations would be unveiled in the first quarter of 2011. “This strategy will, at the very least, bring our jurisdiction on par with our competitors in terms of international promotional and marketing efforts. The success of this promotional strategy will not only address what is known as the ‘substantial presence’ issue, but it will also create new whiteâ€collar jobs by supporting top quality organizations to combine their talent with the talent present in the Cayman Islands,” he said.
See premier’s full stimulus plan here
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Burglars steal charity cash
(CNS): The police have begun an investigation into a burglary at an Eastern Avenue store where the culprits stole three charity collection boxes containing money for local causes including local churches and a young child with learning difficulties. Sometime in the early hours of Monday morning the burglars broke into the shop where they took he money from the till and cash in pouches inside the office. Police said this was a particularly mean crime to steal fro charities and churches and implored people to come forward and assist with information.
A polcie spokesperson revealed that between 4am and 6.30am on 13 December burglars entered Young World Fashion, 117 Eastern Avenue, George Town after smashing through a glass window to the side of the premises and damaging the electrical breaker box located on the outside of the building to turn off the power to the building.
The suspects then stole cash from a register and the donation boxes with undetermined amounts of cash intended for the Anglican Church, the Missionary for the Poor and the third for a local child with learning difficulties. They then went inside the main office and stole monies from several pouches some of which contained the day’s takings. The offenders left via the broken window.
The officer in the case said this was a particularly mean theft stealing charity donations intended for good causes and local churches and urged people to come forward with information. The Police are appealing for any witnesses or information The Police are appealing for any witnesses or information to contact George Town CID on 949-4222 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477
Ministries’ accounts no value
(CNS):The auditor general has revealed that the overall consolidated report on core government’s accounts will be of limited value as, he says, he has had to disclaim his opinions on nearly all of the financial statements submitted by ministries and he does not expect the situation to improve for the most recent financial year. Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Tuesday, Alastair Swarbrick said government’s accounts up to 2007/08 are “fundamentally unreliable” because of “significant deficiencies” in the supporting documentation and information.
In the first “General Report” on government accounts since the one published on the 2004/05 financial year, which is expected to be made public this week, the auditor says that he cannot give a clear view of the reliability of the financial statements up to 2009 because of the lack of information. He said that the information up to the year end of 2008 is of little value.
The country’s independent auditor also revealed that the output statements cannot be relied upon and were also of very limited value. “The systems and processes are not in place to effectively produce the information,” Swarbrick told PAC. “It is my office’s view that in their current guise they do not provide effective public accountability for the performance of ministries and portfolios.”
He said the reports don’t clearly indicate what a ministry or portfolio has actually achieved during the various financial years and in most cases he has had to disclaim or qualify his opinion.
Swarbrick revealed, however, that the statutory authorities and government companies had, with some notable exceptions, made better progress than core government. He said that as well as catching up with backlog, the financial statements were in many cases more reliable and the numbers and information were reasonable. He revealed that, based on commitments by officials, the authorities’ backlogs should all be up to date and have submitted their 09/10 accounts to his office by February of 2011.
The auditor general noted that, while government entities were working on catching up with their accounts, it was important to begin to improve the quality of those financial statements for them to be accountable to the people. Despite the efforts to catch up, Swarbrick warned that there were still going to be issues concerning the last financial year, which ended on 30 June.
As various chief officers and chief financial officers came to discus their current situation with PAC on Tuesday, it was apparent that there was still considerable misunderstanding on the part of government’s accountants about what was expected of them when it came to submissions. A number of entities stated that they had submitted their accounts to the auditor for 09/10 by the deadline; however, Swarbrick noted that what they had submitted fell short of the requirements under the Public Management and Finance Law.
Chair of the committee, Ezzard Miller, said he could not understand why, when the people involved were qualified CPAs, they did not seem to know what was expected under that law. Swarbrick said that once the backlog was addressed it was clear there was a pressing need for an education process about what constitutes a submission.
Civil servants face jail threat
(CNS): A number of the government’s top employees have been warned that they could face a six month prison sentence and a $10,000 fine if they do not comply with the Public Management and Finance Law and submit all of the necessary financial information to the Auditor General’s Office. Ezzard Miller, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, told chief officers, chief financial officers and senior staff from various public authorities on Tuesday that he has asked the attorney general about taking legal action against those who have committed an offence by not meeting the 31 August deadline to submit their accounts in accordance with the law.
Although more than half of the government entities obligated to submit accounts under the PMFL have managed to address a considerable part of the backlog and submit their 09/10 accounts to the auditor general more or less on time, more than a dozen public entities have failed to do so and were warned by Miller at the committee meeting that there was no more room for excuses.
Following his controversial move last week to use the law to sanction a reporter and a local newspaper, Miller warned a number of civil servants that they too were liable to prosecution as a result of falling foul of the law.
The PAC chair first raised the issue of possible prosecution with the chief financial officer and chief officer in the premier’s ministry, when he said that the Ministry of Finance Tourism and Development should be setting an example.
Miller acknowledged the staffing issues that the CO said were causing the problem, but said he did not believe, as the ministry responsible for finance, that there were not people there that could address the issue. “My job is to get these accounts up to date and for too long we have been satisfied with saying it can’t be done,” he added as he read the relevant section of the law and the jail time penalty. “I can no longer sympathize with you.”
Miller also warned Cayman Airways, which is also still struggling to meet the requirements of the law, and revealed that it was not working backwards through its accounts, which were still outstanding going back to 2006. As the government’s airline has to use a private auditing firm for its commercial loans and leasing, the CAL management team said it was impossible for them to meet the deadlines set out in the PMFL.
However, Miller warned that they had an obligation to find a way. “I don’t want to see you go to jail,” Miller told Fabian Whorms, the CEO, and Paul Tibbetts, the chief financial officer. He warned that there could be no more excuses. “Trust me. You are at the end of the road,” Miller stated.
Staff from the Port Authority, UCCI, the Airports Authority and the Cayman Cultural Foundation were all told that the chair had sought advice with regards possible prosecution and implored the various authorities to get their 09/10 accounts into the AG’s office.
Listening to the various explanations, Miller told the senior staff that they had to find ways to solve their problems because when they were asked for the accounts by the PAC (as they were during the last meeting since they had not given the accounts) they had committed an offence. Imploring the staff to get the accounts done, Miller pointed out that to have just one of the entities missing would mean that the entire government accounts could not be done.
As each entity came before the PAC, it became apparent there were varying degrees of delinquency but in some cases substantial progress had been made and the PAC chair offered his congratulations to those entities that had submitted 2009/10 accounts on time or within a few days of the 31 August deadline. The Health Services Authority, which was once one of the most delinquent authorities, was after considerable effort revealed to have caught up, and the Cayman Turtle Farm was also noted as a good news story for its substantial improvement in the state of its accounts.
However, the AG issued a warning that the overall picture for government’s consolidated accounts in regard to the backlog up to the year end 2009, which is complete and due to be laid on the table of the Legislative Assembly at the next sitting, would be qualified and by and large unreliable.
See more on CNS tomorrow about the overall picture of public accounts.
Cops call on crooks to help find robbers
(CNS): Believing the attack on a defenceless elderly couple will outrage even the local criminal fraternity, DS Marlon Bodden of the RCIPS has called on them to help bring the robbers to justice. Releasing images yesterday of the injuries suffered by the couple, who were beaten during a home invasion, the head of the Specialist Support Operations Unit, Marlon Bodden, said the crime against these senior citizens was “atrocious, frightening and disrespectful”, especially when they offered no resistance to the masked men. Police have mounted an enquiry into this latest shocking robbery, which even against the continuous rise in violent crimes has crossed the line.
Speaking to Cayman27 yesterday, Bodden showed the picturesof the injuries the couple sustained as he called on the community to help find the two men responsible for the attack.
The couple, who are in their eighties, were beaten by the robbers in their home at the junction of Shamrock Road and Carmen Blvd at around 11:15 pm on Saturday night. The suspects are described as young males of slim to medium build.
One of the men is taller than the other and 
both spoke with Caymanian accents. They were both wearing dark clothing, a mask and a baseball hat and one was armed with a gun. Although the couple were not shot they were repeatedly hit by the robbers when they were unable to give them cash.
The couple were both taken to hospital and treated for their physical injuries.
This is the third home invasion this month and the second involving elderly members of the community. On 2 December police hauled a robber from the water at Dray Quay after an 80-year-old woman found two masked robbers in her home in Magellan Quay, and on Thursday night (9 December) three masked men invaded a home in Sweet Gum Lane in West Bay.
Police are making a substantial appeal for witnesses or anyone who has information to contact Bodden Town CID at 947-2220 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477.
Force last resort at prison, says chief officer
(CNS): The chief officer in the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs has said that force will still be a last resort in the prison, despite the recent commission of non-lethal weapons for some officers working in the service. In response to enquiries about the decision to purchase a range of rifles and launchers that shoot rubber or wax bullets, designed to temporarily immobilize rather than seriously injure or kill victims, Franz Manderson said the prison had to prepare for emergencies. He said certain staff have already been trained to use the non-lethal weapons but any use of force would be authorised under the prison law.
“It is crucial that prisons are prepared with contingency plans for emergencies or natural disasters and Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service continues to strive and has been proactive in having contingency plans that meets our situation,” he said. “It is must be stressed that the majority of prisoners are compliant and simply wish to do their time and make the best use of the available opportunities to better prepare them for a productive life after their release.”
With the increasing population and the increasing number of violent offenders now incarcerated at Northward, it was recently revealed by the manufacturer that the Cayman Islands Government had bought the weapons from the Ontario based Lamperd Less Lethal. The firm said its weaponry is designed to ensure the safety of military and civil defence personnel by disabling an opponent rather than killing. It is used by military and police forces around the world for crowd control and peacekeeping activities. It is particularly well suited for situations where there would be a likelihood of harm to bystanders if conventional weapons were employed, the firm states on its website.
Manderson confirmed that certain members of the service have been trained and certified in control and restraint and in the acquisition of less lethal tactics by the Canadian manufacturers.
“Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service is an unarmed service, which relies on the interpersonal skills and the training of the officer to de-escalate conflicts when they arise. Force is seldom used and only as a last resort. Any use of force must be authorised in keeping with the prisons law,” the portfolio boss stated.
There are currently just under 200 prisoners serving sentences in HMP Northward, with several more currently on remand for serious and violent offences. Despite the increasing numbers of violent offenders and with a few isolated exceptions, the prison does not have a problem of violent disruption within its walls.
MLA to fight for Constitution
(CNS): Following a dispute over the language used in an amendment to a piece of legislation, an opposition MLA has vowed to fight to protect the changes made in the new Constitution. The question of the power of the governor versus elected officials was at the heart of the arguments made by Alden McLaughlin during the committee stage amendments of the Tax Concessions Amendment Bil in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The PPM member said the use of the term “Governor in Cabinet” in laws going forward is undermining the gains made in the 2009 constitution, which separated the governor from the elected officials when it came to policy decisions outside his areas of interest. The continued use of the term in laws and amendments was to “do violence to the existing constitution”, McLaughlin stated.
Following an adjournment on Monday over the issue first raised by the independent member for North Side Ezzard Miller and argued by McLaughlin, lawmakers returned to hear the AG’s position that there was nothing “constitutionally unacceptable” about the term.
He admitted it was not an easy issue to resolve and that it was not the end of the matter, as the term did not appear anywhere in the new Constitution. Going forward, the AG said, it was important to find language that could describe the policy decision making process of Cabinet, but in the meantime, advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth office was that there was nothing legally objectionable about the phrase.
However, McLaughlin, who was one of the main architects of the new Constitution that came into affect last November, pointed out that the changes to the balance of power made in it were important advances. He warned these were being rolled back by continuing to use a phrase which implied the governor still controlled government policy.
“It may be that the UK is remorseful about this but the reality is that the new Constitution created a sea change in proceedings that relate to the structure of government,” McLaughlin said, adding that he would be writing to the FCO about the situation. “The governor is not a part of Cabinet; he is a separate component.”
McLaughlin pointed out that under the new Constitution it is the Cabinet — the elected members — for better of for worse, that now have responsibility for policy, except for areas such as national security, which remain in the governor’s remit. The opposition MLA pointed out that it is now “inconceivable” that the governor would be held responsible for the policy decisions of elected members.
“We fought to get responsibility for policy to be the discreet remit of elected officials,” McLaughlin added, explaining that it was a deliberate act as a result of policy decisions made by past governors that were not in the interests of the Caymanian people. “We wanted to move away from a position where the governor was responsible for policy,” he said.
McLaughlin added that it was essential that, as elected members of the legislature, they all resisted the attempts by the UK and its representatives to push back the gains made inthe new Constitution. “These were hard fought changes and we must not allow those from the UK to tell us things have not changed,” McLaughlin implored the government benches. “If government wants to challenge this or not, I will not let this rest.”
He said that letting the UK go back on the concessions that had been made would be a disaster, given all of the effort, time and money spent on creating a modern constitution. “It would all be for nought,” he warned.
The AG said that the gains in the Constitution would not be affected by the use of the term but pointed out that compromise language must be found to better reflect the new situation. “The UK advisor did not issue an edict or a decree, she just said it was constitutionally acceptable,” the AG told McLaughlin.
The premier said that as the AG had found the language was not unconstitutional he would keep the term as he believed there was still a “Governor in Cabinet”, and as he pointed out, “all the world knew he had not voted for this constitution,” as among other objectionable things there were too many areas where there were contradictions.
McKeeva Bush told members that, at the end of the day, the governor still had veto powers and while he would challenge them if the governor tried to use them, he was still in the Cabinet and the premier only chairs if he is away.
“Let us not fool ourselves. We don’t have the authority we think we have,” Bush said, adding that if the opposition was going to go around suggesting the elected government had more power than it really had and was not using it, he would have to do say something. “The governor has the powers to stop anything he so desires,” the premier said.
Woman escapes fire attack
(CNS): Update 2:00pm – A man has been arrested for arson and DUI after he threw gasoline over a woman and then attempted to set her ablaze, police have reported. Calling the incident an arson attack, the RCIPS said that at 10:12am, Sunday 12 December, they received a report that someone was trying to set the Plantation Village, located in Seven Mile Beach off West Bay Road, on fire. Police and Fire personnel attended and a man was arrested. Investigations reveal that the suspect went to the customer service office at Plantation Village and sprayed a woman with gasoline. She managed to lock the office door, at which time the offender used a van to drive into the front glass door to the building.
(CNS): Update 2:00pm – A man has been arrested for arson and DUI after he threw gasoline over a woman and then attempted to set her ablaze, police have reported. Calling the incident an arson attack, the RCIPS said that at 10:12am, Sunday 12 December, they received a report that someone was trying to set the Plantation Village, located in Seven Mile Beach off West Bay Road, on fire. Police and Fire personnel attended and a man was arrested. Investigations reveal that the suspect went to the customer service office at Plantation Village and sprayed a woman with gasoline. She managed to lock the office door, at which time the offender used a van to drive into the front glass door to the building.
The woman and two other employees remained locked in the office for safety. The man then threw a gallon bottle filled with gasoline into the building and used a lighter to start a fire. Police said the victims managed to escape through a rear door whilst the building was on fire. The vehicle and the office building were extensively damaged.
The man was arrested at the scene and taken to George Town Police Station where he remains in custody. A police spokesperson said he has been arrested for arson and DUI. The entire circumstances are under investigation and in due course specific charge(s) may be laid, he said.
One of the victims was taken to the George Town Hospital, treated for smoke inhalation and then released. CID investigations are continuing.
The police are appealing for any witnesses to contact George town CID on 949-4222 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477