Headline News
Port protest moves north
(CNS): Following the successful launch of the petition against the proposal to construct a commercial sea port in East End by the opposition MLA Arden McLean on Saturday, the campaign moves to the district of North Side tonight. The independent MLA Ezzard Miller will be hosting a meeting spelling out his objections to the proposed port which is also likely to have a direct impact on his constituents. Miller has been clear in his opposition to the port from the start and has said the developer Joseph Imparato has no proper business plan for the project. Tonight Miller says he will be pointing out the numerous shortcomings of both the proposal and the recent study by Deloitte.
Miller said the first and most obvious criticism of Deloitte’s economic report is that the excavation cannot possibly support the level of workers suggested. “Evidence from our own existing full time quarry operations indicate the real level of manpower that would be employed and it is a long way from the 200 or so cited in that report,” Miller said.
The meeting will be at the North Side civic centre this evening at 8pm and Miller is expecting a significant turn out. The meeting hosted by his fellow MLA McLean last month in East End attracted hundreds of people for across Grand Cayman none of whom appeared to be in support of the project.
Although government has not yet given official approval to the plans submitted to Cabinet by Imparato, the premier has said on numerous occasions that he is in favour of the development. Support for the project from the UDP administration is likely to be boosted too in the wake of reports that negotiations with DECCO the potential developer and the government over the length of the lease have collapsed and governmenthas moved on to talks with the second bidder.
Last week the premier’s press office issued a statement on behalf of McKeeva Bush who was travelling in the United States at the time asking the people to “become informed about the proposed East End Seaport” as the country needed a long term plan for a cargo facility.
The issue about the country’s need however, is exactly one of the reasons why Miller, McLean, Charles Clifford and other politicians are objecting to the port as no proper assessment of the cargo needs for the country have been done. “Rather than a business plan, what we have is an often controversial investor who, having bought large tracts of essentially useless land, has now decided he can make money by quarrying the rock and shipping it over seas,” the statement said. “The people should make sure they have the facts on the proposed port before making up their minds about it, and all the facts are not known yet.”
The developer who has previously been involved in condo developments on Seven Mile Beach recently announced is proposal for a commercial seaport, the details of which are now available online at eastendseaport.com. The developer proposes to create a Commercial Cargo Port, home porting for cruise ships, a trans-shipment facility, a mega yacht marina and Hydrocarbon Storage Terminal ie gas and oil.
Besides the potentially catastrophic environmental impact on both the upland landscape and the ocean in the area, there are also very real concerns about the contamination of the local fresh water lens with sea water as a result of the channel and basin the developer proposes to construct. The developer says he plans to cut a 1,600 ft long by 600 ft wide channel to 55 ft below tide level and a basin area in land of 4 million square feet. This has also raised alarm among local mariner experts with regard to storm surge during future hurricanes.
Women acquitted over letter
(CNS): The three women accused of obstructing the course of justice in connection with a murder trial have been acquitted. Taya Truman, Angella Thompson and Ave Watler were all found not guilty by a jury in the Grand Court on Monday afternoon following a week long trial. The women had been accused of attempting to prevent the crown’s key witness testifying in the trial of Osborne Douglas, Brandon Leslie and Patrick McField for the murder of Omar Samuels. Thompson and Watler admitted to writing a letter, which the witness and her mother signed, thatwas given to the court but said they did it to protect the witness and not to stop the trial.
Taya Truman, the mother of Osborne Douglas, said she was not involved in the production of the letter and had only asked the witness not to testify as she believed she was not telling the truth about her son, whom she said was with her on the night of the murder.
The jury of five women and two men took less than three hours to make their decision to acquit all three women, who said they had never intimidated or scared the witness into not giving evidence. Watler and Thompson had both testified that the letter was written with the support of the teen witness’s mother, Thompson’s sister, who was very ill.
The court heard that the family was also receiving threatening phone calls and Thompson said she had agreed to write the letter as she believed that if the young witness pulled out of the trial someone else would testify instead and the threats would stop. She later apologised for her action and said she realized how serious the charge against her was but that her aim had simply been to protect her niece and her sister.
Watler admitted typing the letter as a favour to Thompson, whom she described as her very dear friend. She also said that she drove Thompson to a notary public to formalise the letter for her to take to the court, which they both saw as a way to put an end to the threats and the genuine fear it was causing the teen witness’s mother, for whom they said they were both genuinely afraid and concerned.
The teen did go on to testify in the trial against the three men, who were convicted of the fatal shooting of Samuels and sentenced to life in prison, and gave evidence via video link. She claimed, however, that she was forced to sign the letter but did not know its contents.
The crown had also accused Truman of being the instigator of the letter. The prosecution contended that Truman believed that if the letter was given to the court before the preliminary enquiry for her son’s trial, the charges would be dropped and Douglas and his two co-defendants would be released.
Truman denied intimidating the witness but said she believed the teen was not telling the police the truth about what she had seen the night of the murder. When she took the stand, Truman said she understood from the comments of her mother that the witness was accusing the three men because of her boyfriend. She said her son was innocent as he had been at her home on the night of the murder and was so drunk he had urinated in a draw.
The court heard that the boyfriend of the teen witness was Martin Trench, whose fingerprints were found at the scene where it was believed Samuels was shot. However, he had left the country a few days after the killing and had never been interviewed by the police.
Prison battles ‘cell’ phones
(CNS): Despite efforts to crack down on the use of cell phones at HMP Northward, the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs has revealed that some 74 illegal mobile telephones have been found within the prison walls this year. The advances in technology, which have resulted in ever smaller and slimmer cell phones, have made it easier for the items to be smuggled into the prison, but the chief officer in the portfolio, Franz Manderson, also revealed that phones are sometimes “catapulted over the perimeter of the prison”, which is adjacent to a public road. Manderson said that mobile phone technology presents a serious threat and a major concern for correctional services around the entire world. (Photo courtesy of Cayman 27)
“HM Cayman Islands Prison Service is aggressive in its approach to remove illegal cell phones and wages a constant battle against this prohibited article,” he told CNS.
The significant access that prisoners seemed to have to mobile phones was highlighted during the Grand Court trial of Randy Martin last year for the murder of Sabrina Schirn. Despite the prison stating that they were cracking down on cell phones, another case currently in the courts in connection with the murder trial of Osborne Douglas, Brandon Leslie and Patrick McField for the shooting of Omar Samuels revealed that Douglas had access to a mobile phone when on remand awaiting trial. Evidence before the court in an obstruction of justice case connected to that trial suggests that Douglas may have used that phone to intimidate witnesses.
As cell phones become smaller and slimmer, they are becoming easier to smuggle however, a problem noted by Manderson who also noted that sim cards are also being smuggled into the prison.
“Once a cell phone is smuggled into the institution, they are hidden in all sorts of places in cells and common areas,” Manderson said, adding that as well as being catapulted over the fence the phones are sometimes hidden on the outside of the perimeter for them to be smuggled inside.
“A number of strategies are in place to combat the smuggling and the removal of illegal cell phones from inside the prison. This includes targeted and random searches at all hours of the day and night and perimeter searches. Technology is being used more with the installation of jammers in a section of prison and with the hope of installing jammers in other areas,” he added. This, however, is limited by the proximity of a communication tower to the prison facility.
“The Body Orifice Security Scanners (Boss) chairs that can detect small metallic objects such as mobile phones units or sim cards without the need for intrusive strip searches is being look at for use on persons entering the prison,” Manderson explained. He also stated that new legislation is also proposed to combat the smuggling of contraband such as cell phones by making it a criminal offense to smuggle or possess contraband.
Currently the phones are prohibited in accordance with section 37 through section 41 of the Prison Rules (1999) Revision. If a prisoner is convicted of possession of a cell phone, a sentencing tariff is followed by the adjudicator. For a first offence an inmate is fined $25 and 14 days loss of remission; for a second offence the fine is increased to $50 and 28 days loss of remission.
A recent report in the Jamaica Observer revealed that prison inmates in Jamaica are smuggling cell phones to order murders from behind bars.
Jamaica’s Deputy Commissioner of Corrections said that phones enter the prison mostly strapped to the bodies of rogue correctional officers who have been bribed, and once behind prison walls, the inmates go to ingenious lengths to conceal cell phones.
"We found one that was inside a rock cake,” he told the Observer. “A hole had been cut in this large rock cake and the cell phone stuffed inside," said Campbell. "The warder noticed he (the inmate) had this rock cake for several days without eating it. When they checked, they found the cell phone inside."
Boat struck reef, 7 on board
(CNS): Update 12:18pm – Four adults and three children are safe, the RCIPS has reported, following a search and rescue operation Saturday night, 4 December. The adults, aged 59, 42, 39 and 25, a 12-year old child and two children aged 10 were on board a 28-foot boat that struck the South Sound reef. Police received a report of the incident at around 7:25pm after one person on board the distressed vessel called 911 to alert emergency services and a joint operation involving the RCIPS Air Operations Unit and the Joint Marine Unit was launched. All seven occupants were taken on board the Marine Unit vessel Typhoon and transported to the South Sound dock where they were met by family members and medics.
Police said that they all appeared to be in good health but were checked by paramedics as a precautionary measure.
80 year old woman robbed
(CNS): Police say they have arrested a suspected robber after hauling him from the water at Dray Quay. The arrest came after an elderly resident of Magellan Quay, located off the West Bay bypass, called the police to report finding two masked robbers in her home. At about 1.00am Thursday, 2 December, police attended the 80-year-old woman’s home and found that she had disturbed two offenders who had broken into her house and were wearing ski masks. They threatened her in an attempt to locate money but ran off as an alarm sounded. Although the woman was very shaken by the whole incident, she was unhurt.
Police said that a search of the area was undertaken by officers and shortly afterwards a 24-year-old man was arrested near Dray Quay. He had been pulled from the water with the assistance of the Marine Unit and is currently in custody while the criminal investigation continues.
A number of suspected stolen items have been recovered by the police in the subsequent investigation.
Police are appealing for any witnesses or information to George Town CID on 949-4222 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477(TIPS)
Cops release teen and CCTV
(CNS): More than ten days after the Butterfield bank robbery, police have now released pictures of the suspects from the CCTV as officers renew their appeal for witnesses and information. Police have also confirmed that a teenager from the West Bay area who was arrested on the same day in connection with the incident has been released from custody on bail. Detectives leading the hunt for the three robbers who held up the bank wearing Halloween masks on 24 November are looking for anyone who may have seen the three offenders entering or exiting the bank at about 11:19 that morning either putting on or wearing the masks. Police also want information on the getaway vehicle, which would have left the open lot at the Compass Centre at 11.20am.
“We are particularly interested in identifying the individual in the brown sweat top with yellow lines down the arm or anyone who has seen someone wearing this around that time. The sweat top has a logo on it that we are keen to identify,” a police spokesperson said of the images. (See below)
A reward of up to fifty thousand ($50,000) USD was announced on Friday 26 November by Cayman Crime Stoppers and Butterfield. To obtain this reward the information given must be passed on before the year’s end and must subsequently lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime.
The RCIPS said an extensive police search, roadblocks and the Air Operations Unit were all involved in the subsequent hunt for the offenders. No one was injured in the incident but one member of staff was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
Anyone who has any information about this robbery should call the CID at George Town police station on 949 4222 or the confidential crime stoppers number 800-8477(TIPS).
Long lease will equal loss
(CNS): The dangers of giving a developer too long a lease on crown land are evident in Cayman’s history books, a number of concerned citizens have stated. The current impasse between government and DECCO, the developer of the proposed George Town cruise berthing, revolves around the length of the lease, which many people have said should be no more than 30 years as anything more would equate to an ultimate a loss of that public property. Charles Clifford, who had begun negotiations with Atlantic Star to develop the cruise port when he was tourism minister, says that if the developer cannot make the project work in 25 years, the plan is not a viable business option.
Pointing out the historical dangers of long government leases, Clifford told CNS that a 99 year lease is tantamount to the sale of crown land, or public property.
“If the current cruise port facility proposal was a viable project, the developer should be able to get a return on his investment in less than 25 years; if not, it is evident the business plan is not suitable,” Clifford said. “A 99 year lease is completely ridiculous and is akin to handing over ownership. History tells us that every time government has entered into such long leases, when they begin to fall back they are generally topped up.”
There are a number of prime sites across Grand Cayman that belong to the people but the land has been leased to developers over long periods which are constantly renewed well before the time is up, making the lease agreements essentially into sales for nothing more than a few dollars.
Sources told CNS that in the 1950s the colonial government leased out land along Seven Mile Beach where the Coralstone Condominiums, the Westin, Villas of the Galleon and the Ritz are all located — land that government is unable to now profit from – and where the lease has been constantly topped back up. When government is short of cash there is a temptation to renegotiate these leases for just a few dollars each time, returning the lease back to 99 years almost perpetually.
Although it is unclear exactly what lease term DECCO has requested, as the time frame ranges from 20-99 years, it is understood that whatever time has been requested, government is reluctant to agree and the negotiations with the developer are near collapse. Almost a year after government was hoping to break ground on the facility, the project is stalled before leaving the starting gate.
Clifford said that he had warned the government in the wake of the UDP winning the election that the negotiations regarding the port would be lengthy and complex. Having gone a fair way down the road with Atlantic Star, Clifford said he had offered to assist the Port Authority with the project but he said his offer was ignored.
“I believe if government had picked up the plans which were started during the previous administration it is likely at least one of the piers would have been completed by now,” Clifford told CNS. “I am not surprised by the current situation, however, as I do not believe the government understood at the outset the incredible complexities involved in such a project.”
Clifford noted too that government had not taken the environmental impact assessment (EIA) seriously.
“From the very beginning the premier said he believed enough assessment had been done in the area in the past and he was going to get the cruise terminal done. However, I took the approach that the environment had to inform the project and we would seek to mitigate any negative impact in the design of the development. However, we said from the get go any threat to Seven Mile Beach would be a show stopper.”
The former tourism minister said that the meetings he held to gather the information just to lay out the terms of reference for the EIA were extremely difficult but he said it was essential that every possible contingency was covered and that the Department of Environment (DoE) were involved in the process. He queried how thorough or revealing the current EIA would be since it is paid for by a private company without supervision from the DoE.
Clifford still believes it is essential for the country to develop the piers, especially since the cruise industry faces a potential 25% decline next year as the cruise lines deploy to the bigger ships which will not call in Grand Cayman, but he says he had always warned that the project had to be handled with care.
Dump RFP not too ‘wise’
(CNS): A group of advocates that are campaigning to move the George Town dump and change the way the country manages its rubbish have said they have a number of concerns with government’s Request for Proposal on the future of Mount Trashmore. WISE said that while government had not restricted the RFP to waste-to-energy solutions, its preference for mining as a way of remediating the dump presented public health and environmental risks as well as problems with time and cost. The activists have also criticised the RFP for a lack of critical information and says the shortcomings would make it difficult for bidders to comply with the proposal.
“The RFP requires the successful bidder to finance its proposed undertaking to build, own and operate a Comprehensive Solid Waste Disposal Management and Waste-to-Energy Facility,” Theresa Broderick, a member of the community group’s coordinating committee said. “While the RFP states that WTE must form the ‘core technology’, it also calls for economical balance; yet, WTE is not necessarily the most economically appropriate approach.”
The members of WISE say they remain sceptical as to whether the economics of WTE are sustainable in the long term, so the financial modelling by any bidder will require careful analysis.
The group has called on government to allow proposers to make technical presentations to the
Technical Advisory Committee/Central Tenders Committee to spell out the possible options.
WISE also said that government’s goal to reduce the height of the dump as a priority was misplaced as top of the list should be to stop the leaching into the North South, avoiding air, odour and noise pollutants.
“As far as the aesthetics of the dump are concerned, aggressively remediating and capping the landfill — in other words, remedying the environmental hazards then covering with impermeable layers and green landscaping — remains the most expedient way and cost-effective way of reversing the ills of the dump,” Broderick stated.
The group has also raised concerns that the RFP has been significantly compromised as any proposed solution has to have the benefit of being able to review the current condition of the dump. However, no Site Characterization Study has been carried-out — the only way, the activists say, to fully determine the specific remediation measures required in addressing environmental and public health concerns.
Although the RFP does not rule out an alternative site, the RFP indicates that the existing landfill is the preferred location, but WISE says the site is too small for a comprehensive solid waste management disposal facility that would include reuse and recycling. It also criticises the RFP for not properly addressing the recycling issue.
“While the concept of comprehensively dealing with disposalof solid waste has been articulated, there is very little detail required on this component of the facility’s system,” WISE stated. “Recycling targets should be specified. At a minimum, the goals set forth in the 2008 Draft Development Plan should be adopted. This would ensure at least 12% is recycled with that target increasing to 32% over the following 20 years.”
See WISE statement in full below.
Tax law change worries MLA
(CNS): Unable to attend the government’s original presentation of theamendments to the Tax Concessions Law in the Legislative Assembly recently, the MLA for North Side says he will be raising his concerns when the House returns on Monday. Ezzard Miller told CNS that he is puzzled by both the amendment itself and the timing, as the law is designed to protect offshore or exempted companies from any future new taxes that a government may introduce. Miller said he was worried that the amendment does not specify which companies would now be exempt, why and what benefits a local company may receive from the new exemption.
Miller, who was absent because of a CPA conference in the UK, warned that the change on the surface could present a situation where tax exemption became politicised. “This exemption would be a subjective decision by the elected officials in Cabinet. While this government may not be unduly influenced by any local pressure groups or associations, we could have a government in the future that might be and then tax exemption would become a political favour,” Miller said.
The North Side MLA said he would be suggesting some committee stage amendments and intended to ask government why it was that the law was being brought at this time. “I will be seeking an explanation from government about what has brought it about now,” Miller stated. “I would like to know if the amendments are to meet a request from any new potential investor the government is trying attract. I need to know more about his before I decide if I can support this or not.”
The law raised considerable controversy when it was raised in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday 24 November. A heated verbal exchange between Premier McKeeva Bush, who was presenting the amendments, and the representative from East End, Arden McLean, who had queried what government’s intentions were regarding the changes, resulted in the speaker ordering McLean to withdraw a comment about the premier. McLean refused and was then asked by the speaker to leave the chamber, which he did, accompanied by the entire PPM opposition team, who all said they backed the East End member’s position.
Alden McLaughlin, the PPM member for George Town, said the opposition had very real concerns about the amendments and their implications. He said there were no details or criteria about how the exemptions would be given and why local companies would be included. “Why now and what for?” McLaughlin asked. “There are already provisions in the law to give concessions to existing taxes.”
He also raised the issue that with the amendments these concessions would be given without public scrutiny. “What this is all about is conferring yet another power on Cabinet to make decisions behind closed doors,” McLaughlin said.
CPA will hear rejected quarry request
(CNS): Residents in Mahogany Estates in Lower Valley are again fighting to retain the short lived peace and quiet of their neighbourhood as the developer of their sub-division has re-submitted a planning application to quarry in the area. The Central Planning Authority will be hearing an application for quarrying and blasting in the residential zone at its meeting next week. Home owners in the area who object said that they believe the application by White Rock Investments Ltd is the same one that was refused in 2008 on the grounds that it was illegal, and was not appealed. As a result, they are puzzled as to why it is being considered again. There is nothing, it appears, in the new planning law that allows large scale quarrying in a low density residential area.
The original application was turned down in accordance with a specific regulation in the law, which states: “No use of land in a residential zone shall be dangerous, obnoxious, toxic or cause offensive odours or conditions or otherwise create a nuisance or annoyance to others.” The regulation remains in the new Development and Planning Law Amendment and regulations, which were passed in the Legislative Assembly in July.
The application to quarry the land down to around 10 feet above sea level to make way for a new sub-division is seeking to remove almost 300,000 cubic yards of fill on the 44 acre site. Aside from the obvious implications to the residents living by what would be a commercial quarry where blasting will be taking place, there are also environmental concerns.
Part of the Lower Valley forest is situated on the site, which is home to several endangered and red listed species. Evidence from the Department of Environment demonstrated that the forest is home to the white shouldered bat, which was once thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in the area in 2001. The DoE is hoping the area will become one of the country’s first critical habitats under the new conservation law, which has yet to be passed.
With no conservation law in place, when the CPA hears the application next week there will be no compulsion for the members to consider the environmental implications, nor will the landowners be under any obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment if the CPA was to grant permission.
The developer has stated in the application that it will move some of the native trees and that it believes the species at risk would move to the surrounding area, so the environmental impact would be minimal.
Residents in the area, who thought their ordeal was over with the rejection in 2008, are once again concerned for their future well-being as well as the environment in which they live. They have battled with the developer for some time as a result of illegal quarrying that had taken place at the site for over a dozen years and are once again dismayed that their homes are at risk.