Headline News
Early campaign worries Bush
(CNS): The country’s premier has criticised the new leader of the opposition for starting an election campaign more than two years away from polling day. In an address broadcast to the nation on Thursday evening, McKeeva Bush said he was compelled to speak up after what he said was a declaration by the PPM that he would be embarking on a political campaign for the next election. The premier said it would be a disruptive distraction at a time when the country should be pulling together. He said the primary allegiance of every individual should be to the country and not to any political party and asked everyone to reject the politics of division.
“At this delicate juncture in our history and development we must take the high road of national unity, reconciliation, economic reconstruction, social renewal and international respect that is the platform and emerging legacy of the UDP Administration that I have the honour to lead at this time,” the premiersaid, as he criticised the new opposition leader and PPM chief, Alden McLaughlin, for campaigning when the ballot wouldn’t take place until 2013.
However, McLaughlin said he was not sure what the panic of the premier was about and said he had no intentions of running a 27 month campaign.
“The opposition will do its job properly. That is our responsibility and we will discharge it. I have been in politics long enough to understand that a 27 month campaign, even if we had the inclination and resources to do so, is unsustainable,” McLaughlin said in the wake of the premier’s speech.
“The premier should get on with the job he and his government were elected to do. There is much to be done. The economy is still in shambles, unemployment is at a record high, people are losing their homes and businesses crime is out of control. The premier has promised much. But after almost two years in office it is time he starts delivering more than just another speech.”
Bush said that McLaughlin’s campaigning would have “grave implications” for the stability of the economy of the Cayman Islands, which was still engulfed in the throes of the worst recession the world has witnessed in some 80 years.
“The pronouncement that the PPM will be immediately embarking on a political campaign to regain power 27 months before an election is due, and a mere 21 months after Caymanians exercised their democratic right and selected the government of their choice is unfortunate,” he added.
He suggested that no one wanted to be plunged into a protracted period of electioneering and all its “negative and disruptive manifestations” at a time when there were intractable threats to the people’s standard of living, and personal safety and security.
“Faced with these challenges, people all over the world are rejecting political expediency and empty promises for mature governance that is accountable, participatory and which delivers practical economic and social gains,” the premier stated in his address. “People are tired of the kind of politics that concerns itself first and foremost with the fortunes of one political group and not with the interest of all the people they seek to represent. Political and electoral apathy is growing here in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere in the Caribbean and the world because of politicians who continue to parade their selfish egos ahead of the real problems of their country.”
He said Cayman couldn’t afford to feed the growing disenchantment by succumbing to the politics of partisan selfishness at the expense of national solidarity and unity of purpose. He said no other countries with elections due in 2013 had opposition parties launching campaigns. After less than two years of the UDP government talking office, Bush stated that the country was moving in the right direction.
“We realize that people are still hurting – unacceptable levels of unemployment still exists, and now is no time for the government to be distracted from continuing to turn the country around by an election campaign by the opposition,” he told the country in his speech.
However, McLaughlin reassured the country that the PPM was not campaigning and that if the premier’s government was performing as well as he claimed he should not be “so easily rattled” regarding what he had said when he took up the leadership post.
“The only place I mentioned preparing for the 2013 campaign is in the last paragraph of my speech at the PPM Extraordinary Conference. I’d spent the previous 40 minutes speaking to members of the PPM about the things we must do to put our house in order. That’s what I meant and mean about starting the preparations for the 2013 campaign,” the opposition leader said. “Structural changes, leadership changes, perception changes, new potential candidates; we have lot’s to do.And while the party will be working hard at these issues in the coming weeks and months, I have no intention of getting on the soapbox and campaigning against the government at this point.”
Closing his speech, Bush stated that the nation should be the central principle of political organisation and that was certainly the central principle of the UDP.
Engine debris closes runway
(CNS): Updated with official confirmation – The runway at the Owen Roberts International Airport in George Town was closed for several hours on Thursday as a result of an aircraft losing an engine during the run up to take-off at around 2:15pm. Officials confirmed the details on Friday, stating that the Delta flight, which was bound for Atlanta on Thursday afternoon, rejected a take off when its right engine flamed out. It is understood that as the aircraft began its take off it was forced to make an emergency stop before lift-off. Debris from the lost engine littered the 1500 foot runway, resulting in its closure, Cayman Islands Airports Authority said. (Photo – Officials walk the Owen Roberts runway looking for debris after the Delta engine blow out – Dennie Warren Jr)
"A runway inspection was carried out by airport operations which found foreign object debris scattered over 1500 feet of the runway. A decision was made to close the runway until it was deemed safe for operations. The runway was reopened at 6.08pm local time," officials from the airport stated.
Man stuck in car wreck
(CNS) A 34-year-old man who has sustained serious head injuries is believed to have been lying in the car wreck through the night along the Queens’ Highway in East End before he was discovered and taken to hospital Thursday morning. Arrangements are currently being made to airlift the man to Miami for treatment, police said, as they appealed for anyone who may know how the car smash occurred. The injured driver was discovered at around 7am Thursday morning by a man cycling in the area who spotted a badly damaged white Mitsubishi Pajero in the bush some 75 feet from the road.
The cyclist approached the vehicle and found a badly injured man inside and raised the alarm. Emergency Services attended the scene and the driver of the vehicle was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital, George Town, suffering from serious head injuries.
Police said that enquiries have so far revealed that man may have been lying injured within the vehicle for several hours.
Inspector Adrian Barnett, of the RCIPS Traffic Management Unit, is appealing for anyone who may have seen the white Mitsubishi Pajero driving on the road between 7.00pm last night and the time the vehicle was found this morning.
Anyone with information should contact the RCIPS Traffic Management Unit on 946-6254.
Mac floats oil refinery idea
(CNS): The premier has said that an oil refinery would give the country a national safety net and it is a project that should be given proper considered before people criticize it. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday morning about the need for government to utilize its assets in order to generate growth and develop the necessary infrastructure projects, McKeeva Bush said an oil refinery would diversify the economic base and lower the cost of living for everybody as it would reduce the cost of fuel. He said it would create jobs, increase the country’s gross domestic product and reduce the trade imbalance among other things. The premier said if it was done properly with environmental and safety considerations it would offer many benefits.
“This idea has been raised before, and we should know all the facts before criticizing it,” Bush added. The premier did not say where the refinery would go or whether it would be part of the proposed East End Commercial Sea Port but listed what he believed would be a number of benefits. He noted that it would the lessen the country’s dependence on outside producers to supply refined petroleum, increase storage capacity for petroleum, resolve issues regarding the current location of petroleum storage tanks, produce aviation fuel locally and allow regional and global trade of crude.
“On a national level, we should consider our dependence on the two international oil companies that currently service the Island. An oil refinery is a development that would give us a national safety net – one that warrants serious consideration,” Bush stated adding that people should know the facts first before shouting the idea down and when the time came there would be discussion and public consultation.
Pointing out that the country could no longer borrow anymore money along with the difficulties of raising more revenue in order to develop the island and grow wealth government had to utilize the assets that it had. If not, he said the development of infrastructure would come to “a grinding halt,” the premier told his legislative colleagues
He said government was exploring projects very carefully, including the sewerage project to ensure that there is a net benefit created by using these assets. “In the short term, there is the potential for reduced cost to the public sector and an increase in revenue; in the longer term, there is the potential for both direct and indirect creation of jobs and employment opportunities as well as providing modern and efficient water and sewerage treatment systems,” Bush stated. “Other major projects expected to commence this year are the construction of the North Sound Channel, the development of a Special Economic Zone and the construction of the Shetty Hospital.”
Bush said that the necessary infrastructure would be provided to support the channel through the North Sound to enable the country to take full advantage of the project from an economic perspective, “while mitigating any potential adverse impacts on the environment,” he added.
“We will also make the channel viable and open that area of the North Sound for redevelopment, thus enhancing properties. We will need to develop two islands in that area as well, which as I said will make the channel viable,” Bush revealed.
The premier also spoke about the plans for a Special Economic Zone, which were announced at the recent Cayman Business Outlook Conference in January which he said would be dedicated to the needs of specific types of foreign investment.
“This particular zone is designed to focus on future technology and intellectual innovation, and is the first of its kind in the Caribbean region. We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hon Development to commence construction by December of this year, once legislative amendments and detailed agreements are concluded.”
He said the zone would establish the Cayman Islands as a global centre for a variety of knowledge-based industries such as information and communication technology; software development; biotechnology and new media; among others.
“Once again, the Cayman Islands will be at the forefront of global innovation creating new and exciting career and leadership opportunities for generations of Caymanians to come,” the premier told his legislative colleagues. “The Special Economic Zone is also expected to contribute a minimum of 15% of the Cayman Islands GDP over the next 10 years, which puts us on the right path for economic diversification whilst protecting our unique environment. With an investment valued at over US$500 million over the next 8 years, and the potential for over 5,000 highly skilled jobs, the benefits of this development extend beyond economic impact and into the development of our human capital.”
Greater opportunities in higher education, skills upgrading and benefits that come with technology transfer, he added would have a long-term impact on national efficiency and global competitiveness.
The premier did not mention the cruise terminal project or plans for the East End Seaport but also said he was examining the development of a pier and related facilities at the Cayman Turtle Farm in West Bay; a cruise pier and related facilities in Cayman Brac, with Dervin Scott, major road works to the eastern districts of Grand Cayman and enhancements to our airports both in Grand Cayman and Little Cayman.
Anglin coy over basic wage
(CNS): Despite comments by the premier on Monday confirming the United Democratic Party government’s commitment to a minimum wage, the minister for labour appeared less enthusiasticabout the prospect when he made a speech in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Rolston Anglin, who is currently revising the Labour Law with a view to presenting the new legislation to his parliamentary colleagues by the time of this year’s budget debate, said there were many arguments against a basic minimum wage and many issues for Cayman to consider before introducing the legislation. Listing some dozen questions over the issue, at no time did he say if he actually supported the concept or not.
The minister’s speech comes in the wake of a political battle which took place during the committee stages of the Legislative Assembly on Monday, when the independent member for North Side attempted to insert a clause into a government amendment of the labour law to remove the cap on workers’ severance and compensation that would have introduced a national basic minimum wage. Ezzard Miller had proposed a flat minimum rate of $5 but his motion was eventually removed by the speaker on the basis, she said, that there was not a schedule with his amendment.
However, the issue focused the legislator’s attention on the debate for the introduction of a minimum wage in Cayman, which has continued for several years with no government managing to actually implement one, despite there being provision for it in the Labour Law.
On Wednesday Anglin spent some time presenting the arguments for and against a minimum wage in his speech with a definite emphasis on those against.
“Although the goals of the minimum wage are widely accepted as proper, there is a great disagreement as to whether the minimum wage is truly effective in attaining its goals,” the minister stated, adding that minimum wages were highly controversial and had received much less support from economists than the public, and he said that despite decades of experience the debates continued. “It is extraordinarily difficult to separate the effects of minimum wage from all of the other variables that affect employment.”
Listing the pros and cons, he said that while supporters claimed it increases the standard of living for the poorest, those against said it excludes low cost competitors and hampers business from reducing wage costs in recession and hurts small businesses. While those for it say it stimulates consumption by putting more money in people’s hands, others say it causes inflation, the minster pointed out.
In the Cayman context Anglin said there were lots of questions, from what the rate should be, what its real impact on poverty would be, what its impact would be on attracting Caymanians into the workforce away from illegal activities, and would it increase the cost of living, he asked rhetorically.
He wondered whether employers would lower existing wages to drop down to meet a minimum wage and how families would cope with the increase in the cost of hiring domestic helpers, and what the impact on small business would be. He queried whether benefits would be factored into the rate, whether some categories of workers had to be exempt and what the enforcement implications would be to government.
Miller’s attempts to introduce a minimum wage via committee on Monday would not have been debated on the floor of the House, would not have allowed for the 21 day consultation period or for public gazette and would not have answered any of the questions he had raised, Anglin told the Legislative Assembly.
“As elected members we must ensure that what we do will benefit our people,” the minister added. “The government must have dialogue and consultation to ensure the impact of a minimum wage is positive and that our people are better off because of it. Such dialogue cannot be restricted to talk show appearances or introducing committee stage amendments to bills.”
Anglin said government was not opposed to a minimum wage but said it would be properly debated and “robust public consultation allowed”, as the outcome had to be one that betters people’s lives.
Bush targets zero public debt
(CNS): Following his trip to Jersey earlier this month the Cayman Islands premier has said that he would like to see this jurisdiction copy the UK crown dependency when it comes to managing public finances especially its lack of public debt. He said Jersey has zero public debt as the jurisdiction has not borrowed any money since the 1950s, has reserves of over 1.6billion pounds and has funded all of its capital projects through its own revenue. McKeeva Bush told the legislative Assembly on Wednesday that it was a position and philosophy that he would like the Cayman government to achieve.
He said Cayman’s debt had been forced on his government and it was now in a position where it was unable to borrow anymore. Despite improvements in the country’s economic situation he pointed out that the public debt as of January 2011 was CI$560million and the FCO had stated that the government would not be able to borrow anymore money next year. He also lamented the fact that no money had been put into the country’s reserves since 2004.
“My government happens to be fundamentally averse to borrowing” he stated. “We have had to incur borrowing during our present term to continue capital projects started by the previous government.”
Bush said when he came to office in May 2009 following the PPM administration there was a public debt of CI$373 million approximately three times what it was when he left office in May 2005 or 163% increase in the debt position by the PPM over its four-year term of government.
He stated that now if government were to borrow the full $155million which the UK had approved for the 2010/11 financial year the country would then owe more than CI$626million. With a projected GDP for this year of around CI$2.5 Billion central government debt would be 25.3 percent of the GDP, which Bush said was too far and he did not intend to take it any further.
Bush also hit back at reports in the British press that the UK government had lent money to Cayman which was not true. He noted that Cayman had never received a red cent from the UK not even in the wake of Ivan. However, Cayman had sent money to the UK during the 1980s when it was fighting the Falklands war.
Although not from the UK, the cost of servicing the government’s debt obligations is forecasted to be around 13% of government’s revenue for this year which is in excess of the maximum specified in the Public Management and Finance Law of 10%.
As a result Bush said that in future infrastructure development by government could only occur from its own resources.
“Since the introduction of more revenue enhancement measures by the Government is not an optimal choice, the country must move on other alternatives to obtaining the resources needed to develop and enhance the Islands’ infrastructure: that is, by using public assets and using the proceeds there from to continue the development of these Islands,” the premier said.
He revealed his intention to use private projects and the country’s assets to develop the infrastructure that the country needed.
“The possibility of central government borrowing externally in the short-term to provide funding needed to develop the Islands’ infrastructure is not going to happen. Therefore, the careful use of our public assets, the utilization of our national assets, the construction of the North Sound Channel, the development of a Special Economic Zone, the Shetty Hospital and other infrastructure-boosting projects represent a sensible way of continuing the much-needed development of these Islands,” he stated, adding that the projects would be of benefit not just in the present situation, but to future generations.
See premier’s official statement below
Mangroves remain vulnerable
(CNS): With no sign of the National Conservation Law, the country’s dwindling mangroves remain extremely vulnerable as more of the critical natural resource will be removed in the near future to accommodate the West Bay Road by-pass extension. Dart Realty cleared a strip of the crucial plant recently in order to do geo-technical work in the area where a new road is likely to go following its purchase of the land around the yacht club. However, far more will be destroyed when the full road project gets underway in the near future as, despite their critical importance, mangroves have no legal protection. These latest mangrove casualties join over 300,000 sq ft of mangrove removed by Orion Developers at the Ritz resort last year. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
“Mangroves are a critically important part of the island ecosystem which have special attributes that cause them to be particularly valuable from an environmental perspective,” the director of government’s environment department, Gina Ebanks-Petrie told CNS. “Without the National Conservation Law, mangroves, despite that importance, have no protection at all. Even mangrove which forms part ofa buffer zone isn’t protected, as was demonstrated when the planning authority gave the Orion permission to remove over 370,000 square feet last year despite the DoE’s advice against it.”
The Ritz developer had promised that the mangrove he had removed last summer on the site where the new resort, Dragon Bay, is planned would be replenished. However, since Orion Developers made a significant number of staff connected to the Dragon Bay development redundant, including Ken Crews, one of the project leaders working on the mangrove project, concerns have been raised that the mangroves won’t be replaced at all.
CNS recently asked Orion what was happening with the project and we were told that it was ongoing with the first phase of transplanting and raising 4,000 mangrove plants complete. “The healthy plants are now ready to be placed within the buffer zone, and this phase of the replenishment project will soon begin under the guidance of expert environmentalists. We remain committed to the ongoing rehabilitation of the mangrove area, and look forward to the growth of healthy and pollutant free plants,” a spokesperson for the firm stated.
However, there have been no significant changes since CNS last visited the site soon after the mangrove buffer was removed last summer and if rehabilitation had been the main motivation the developer had other options, Ebanks-Petrie noted. She said that there was no need for the mangroves at the Dragon Bay site to have been removed as they were not, as the developer suggested, dead across the entire area. She noted that the small areas where the mangroves had been impacted by Hurricane Ivan prior to their removal were already showing strong signs of recovery and could have been helped along using other techniques.
The goal to replenish the zone is a difficult one as mangroves are notoriously difficult to replace once they have been removed and take a long time to reach the dense levels of those that were removed by Orion.
In the most recent case, the Dart group, which has on many occasions loudly proclaimed its environmental credentials, did not require planning permission to destroy the mangroves for testing purposes. Ebanks-Petrie said that the rest of the mangroves, which are likely to be targeted for clearance once the road direction is confirmed, do not form part of a buffer. So with no laws at their disposal, the director and her team will not be able to protect them. She did say that the developer didn’t need to remove so much of the habitat for testing purposes as she said there are ways to test the peat, levels and quality of the earth without completely clearing all of the plants. If the road now takes a different route then those mangroves would have been saved. However, the director pointed out that with plans moving ahead to extend the by-pass, which is already gazetted, the mangroves in the entire area are a lost cause.
The only thing that may be able to preserve what is left of the country’s mangrove is the long awaited National Conservation Law. Following the umpteenth consultation period of the law, which ended late summer, the director confirmed that the latest draft of the NCL is still waiting to go before the government for a decision and she had no more news on when the public could expect the Cabinet to discuss it.
Cops snub local pilot
(CNS): The pilot and owner of Cayman Islands Helicopters says his firm tried everything it could to accommodate the RCIPS’ needs over the maintenance of its helicopter but the police, not CIH, terminated negotiations. Jerome Begot flew around 528 hours for the RCIPS between 2004 and 2008, charged at cost and as a priority over the profit making arm of his business but the police have snubbed him over the contract. He also hired a specialist engineer at the RCIPS management’s request and was led to believe his firm would be maintaining the machine when it came to Cayman. However, despite revising his proposals several times and making it as inexpensive as possible the police cut off negotiations in October and opted to use a US based firm instead until it can recruit its own engineer.
A spokesperson for the RCIPS recently told CNS that the cost proposed by CIH was excessive and not value for money, leading to the decision to keep the contract with Arrow Aviation LLC, a Louisiana based company that did the original work after the helicopter was purchased until an engineer was recruited. However, Begot, who has been involved in the operation and maintenance of helicopters for over 16 years, disputed the RCIPS position and voiced concerns that there is no need for the helicopter to leave the island for maintenance as his firm was not offering an unreasonable deal.
Over the years that Begot flew for the RCIPS he made a number of personal sacrifices to make himself available to the police whenever they needed him, effectively being on standby for four years. He willingly took on the engineer recommended by the RCIPS in 2007, despite the fact that it took almost three years before the helicopter arrived in Cayman. The police also fell into arrears with CIH over the four years Begot flew for them, with the firm subsidising the police at times for amounts in excess of $150,000, despite the fact that he received no profit or interest.
As the only bidder in response to the request for proposals when the helicopter finally arrived, Bergot said his firms entered into negotiations with the RCIPS. The initial request from the RCIPS via the tender was to provide all maintenance services to the aircraft, to be responsible for all base and line maintenance requirements, deal with administrative matters and to ensure that the maintenance schedules met the requirements of the aircraft’s manufacturer and Cayman Islands law. It would have also required CIH to represent the RCIPS in relation to any service to be provide in connection with the engines of the aircraft and the engine manufacturers and to prepare various scopes of work that would normally be provided by the aircraft maintenance provider.
“On top of this we were also required to maintain and update all of the administrative aspects of operating the aircraft, including matters such as maintenance schedules, quality planning, air worthiness directives, and to carry out such additional maintenance services as recommended,” Begot revealed. “This scope of works, which is essentially a full maintenance contract, is an expensive contract. Aircraft, particularly helicopters, are expensive to maintain. That is a simple fact of life.”
CIH priced the scope of works for two scenarios, firstly for a contract for a two-year period and a contract for a one-year period. “Our initial bid for the one-year contract was CI$510,000.00 and CI$819,500.00 for a two-year contract,” Begot told CNS. “These quotes, whilst obviously expensive, are in fact very reasonable.”
In comparison, he explained, the MRCU fixed wing aircraft budgets around CI$500,000 for its scheduled maintenance, which is provided by their own employees.
“In my meetings with the RCIPS I was led to believe that these quotes were certainly within their budget, although the RCIPS was keen to see them reduced if that was possible,” he explained. “In March 2010 we were requested to provide a quote for a much reduced and revised scope of works. In light of the reduced scope we put forward bids of CI$315,625.00 and CI$441,375.00 for one and two year contracts respectively.”
Having been led to believe that the initial bid was within the police budget, the revised must have also been within the money set aside for maintaining the machine. However, Begot said he was asked to re-price a further revised and reduced scope of work and the final proposal provided to the police last September was for CI$195,000 per annum.
“We were led to believe by the head of their air wing, Mr Fitzgerald, that the pricing was acceptable as were our attorney’s comments on the agreement. Mr Fitzgerald advised me that he would push to allow CIH to start as soon as possible,” Begot stated.
It was then, Bergot revealed, that he received correspondence from Fitzgerald that a member of the RCIPS Gold Command had taken objection to the negotiations as they had not included the possibility of the RCIP having their own aircraft maintenance department.
“Obviously, if the RCIPS wish to havetheir own self contained air wing, we would have no part to play in that and therefore there would be absolutely no need to have any negotiations with a third party service provider if the RCIPS’ real wish was to employ its own aircraft engineers and maintenance personnel,” the helicopter pilot said. Nevertheless, a short time later the firm was advised that the matters were in fact moving ahead towards a contract with CIH based on its last offer. Then, in October Bergot received an email from Fitzgerald saying the police would not be contracting CIH and the firm has not heard from the RCIPS, the portfolio or government since.
“In light of the history of our dealings with the RCIPS and the premier’s recent statement that government would attempt to assist the local economy by dealing primarily with local providers wherever possible, we are surprised by this turn of events,” Begot said. “It was not a case of us not being able to come to terms with them. We facilitated their needs until the end. Throughout the negotiations, which lasted almost a year, we understood all our quotes to have been ‘within budget’. The RCIPS simply terminated negotiations with us.”
Begot states that while he has his own reasons to be disappointed, the cost of bringing in maintenance engineers from the US on a regular basis to maintain the helicopter and of sending the helicopter overseas is far more than the quotes he gave and is, furthermore, an unnecessary loss of the machine to the police crime fighting arsenal.
See latest RCIPS comment regarding the helicopter maintenance below
Chuckie plans 3rd way
(CNS): Although he says has not ruled out a return to the People’s Progressive Movement, the former tourism minister has said that the more likely scenario is that he will be involved in a “third political option” by the next general election. In the wake of the PPM’s leadership change, CNS contacted Charles Clifford to ask if he planned to return to his former political party. He revealed that while it was fair to say his political ideologies were more closely aligned with the PPM base than with any other party or group and he had not completely ruled it out, he was focusing on the emergence of a third option but did not elaborate on what kind of political force it would be.
Although he said he may share political sentiments, he was disappointed that the PPM had not made a real change in its leadership by electing a new chairman, as well as restructuring its executive committee and general council. He also pointed out that the party had failed to elect a deputy opposition leader. This, he said, fuelled the perception that the PPM is indecisive and suggested there was a problem finding a candidate who is prepared to serve in the role.
The new leader, however, has confirmed that the party does not have provision for deputy leader in its constitution and the provision in the country’s constitution for the post is not a constitutional requirement. Alden McLaughlin, the new PPM leader, also recently noted that the party membership had not chosen to nominate a deputy leader.
Clifford, who left the PPM in August last year stating the opposition was not aggressive enough in expressing the people’s disappointment and its disagreement with government policy, said he believed the PPM faced a conflict between the leadership and the party base. While the leadership and brand is “very clearly liberal in its objectives, messages and image”, he said the party base was conservative in its views.
“This is indicative of the fact that ourpolitical party system is still very much in its infancy, but the big question is whether the PPM will be able to reconcile those differences and, if they are able to, what will be the consequences on the current leadership and brand,” Clifford stated.
He said that any political group that he would be a part of in the future would be committed to very specific issues, such as establishing single member constituencies and the principle of one person one vote, stamping out corruption in government and holding people accountable, passing a meaningful National Conservation Law, protection of the local and expat workforce, re-engineering the education system, an economic policy which promotes and protects core industries, and introducing a political culture that reflects Caymanian values.
“I believe that as a country we have made a mistake in adopting a political party model and political culture that has failed so many other countries,” Clifford said. “It seems equally clear to me that the majority of people in our country share my view on this issue and is desperately hoping for a political alternative.”
Both the PPM and the UDP, he suggested, are in denial but as the political party system is still in its infancy here it was not too late to reshape it. “It’s time to get back to the basics and demonstrate Caymanian ingenuity in creating a political organisation and political culture that will be in the best interests of our unique Cayman society. It is simply not good enough to adopt a failed system.”
He said Caymanians had to have the courage to reject the current political structures and build their own political party structures and political culture from the ground up. Having been part of the system, Clifford said he now recognised that the country has to change course.
“The question is, how many others in the ‘system’ will step forward and admit the same or will I have to stand alone?” he asked, making it clear that the voting public could expect to see Clifford’s name on the ballot paper in 2013, be it as an independent, part of a new political party or group or even back in the fold of a reformed PPM.
Latest loan rate under wraps
(CNS): Although a deal with Cohen & Company to arrange government’s loan of US$185M has fallen through, the New York based firm did organize two bridging loans for public coffers of more than US$128M. A spokesperson for the finance ministry said he could not reveal the interest rate or the fees paid to Cohen on these stop-gap loans as government was still exploring the long term loan with other financial institutions and didn’t want to undermine that process. He said the details would become public, however, when the long term deal was secured. Government borrowed US$92.5M via Cohen last year over a 2-3 month term, which has now been extended to April of this year, and a second US$36M loan which it has now paid back.
The ministry said that the interest rates were competitive, despite being short term, and the money came from a number of different financial institutions, including a local bank. Cohen did not lend government the cash but sourced the short term loans with various banks, the ministry confirmed.
The proposed long term financing deal which government had entered into with Cohen would have been a bond issue. However, the country’s premier recently announced that the deal had fallen through as the firm could not guarantee the original favourable interest rate it had said it could secure.
Government faced considerable criticisms as a result of its decision to enter into a deal with Cohen last October as it had circumvented the central tendering process. At the time the premier said he had done so to get better value for the public purse and chosen “substance over process”. Now the deal has fallen through it is not known how much government has paid in fees to the firm for these two loans, what rates were secured and what further fees it will now pay to organise other loans or bond issues as well as future interest rates.
These two loans were temporary financing arrangements which have to be paid back over a specific short time frame to address government cash flow issues until a long term loan is organized. Although the UK has cleared the government to borrow up to US$185 million (CI$155M) in this financial year, the premier recently stated that with a turn around in public finances from an anticipated deficit to a surplus as a result of a cut in government’s operating costs, it may not need the full amount.
However, if later in the year the government finds there is still a deficit and it did not borrow the full approved amount, the UK may not allow the Cayman government to carry that approval over into the 2011/12 financial year and borrow the difference after 30 June 2011.
Although the exact amount is yet to be decided, government does need to borrow money to both pay back the short term loan arranged by Cohen and to cover the originally expected shortfall in government operational revenue this financial year. It is not yet been decided whether government will re- tender for the loan or follow a selective tendering process based on the information it received during the original tendering process when locally based company had reportedly offered a rate as low as 3.5%.
Government currently has an a estimated total public debt of about CI$550million divided over two separate bond issues, which were floated in 2003 and 2009, a collection of loans with a local retail bank and this more recent temporary loan which was arranged via Cohen & Co.