Politics
Plea for return of civil service pay cut denied
(CNS): As the need to slash the civil service bill takes front and centre of government’s agenda, the man in charge of cutting the public sector has been lobbying for the re-instatement of the yo-yoing 3.2% cost of living allowance which was cut, returned and cut again during the last administration. However, Marco Archer the minister of finance confirmed that there is no room in his 2014/15 budget to return the COLA to government workers. Although the guardian of the public purse said Thursday that the budget for 2013/14 is on track for the $100million surplus as predicted, the reinstatement of the 3.2% would push the personnel bill for 2014/15 over the $241million wage bill agreed with the UK.
The healthy surplus that Archer is expecting is spoken for as it has been consumed by capital works and government debt.
Government is said to have almost 200 vacancies which it is not filling in order to keep costs down forcing the much beleaguered government workforce in many cases to work much harder and longer for less reward as there has been no increases to public sector pay for six or seven years — just a 3.2% cut.
Franz Manderson, who is understood to have sent a memo recently to the elected arm of government regarding the reinstatement of COLA has stated publically on a number of occasions that the civil service is at the end of the road in its ability to make further cuts without significant policy changes. Another review is now being conducted by Ernst and Young after the management consultancy firm won a $155,000 contract to advice what public service government can sell off or partner with the private sector to cut costs further.
The deputy governor has also noted that many people in the CS are working harder than ever as a result of cuts in resources and personnel but there has been no reward. The size of the government’s budget and the chunk that goes on personnel costs continues to create the perception in the private sector that the civil service is dysfunctional as the end user of government services does not always see the hard work first hand. The public sector continues to face criticisms but the vast majority of government workers or not fat cat bureaucrats but men and women earning far less than the national average.
UK to decide $40m road loan
(CNS): Investors proposing a $360 million golf development in North Side said the future of the project isin the hands of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as the UK must approve what will be a $40 million loan to the Cayman government to finance the east-west arterial extension. David Moffitt made it clear to local business people Wednesday that the Ironwood development will only happen if the road is approved and the FCO has the final say on that. Although government has distanced itself from the financing of the road, the public purse will be picking up the tab, albeit over a 20 year period. The loan will be paid back to the developer via duties and fees that government will collect, not just from the Ironwood project but any other new development that generates revenue as a result of the road.
Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce 'Be Informed' event, Denise Gower of Fountainhead, the project’s PR firm, explained that the developer will not receive any concessions or duty waivers at all on the project. Instead, all of the taxes, fees and duties associated with the development will be paid in full to government but that money will then be ring-fenced and given back to the developers to pay-off the road loan.
“The idea of a developer not asking for any concessions from government is unique,” she said. “But Ironwood is a unique project that is being built on a philosophy of long-term sustainability. It makes more sense for the developer to pay the requisite duties and fees to government and in turn have the infrastructure required for the success of the project than it does to ask for special favours. Ironwood has proposed the clearest and most transparent approach possible, which is good for Cayman,” she explained.
This means that the revenue government collects from customs duty, stamp duty and all other related fees over the twenty years it will take to complete the entire development will not go into general revenue but will be used to pay for the road. The developer anticipates that the project will generate up to $25 million in duties but the new road is expected to spark more development, creating new revenue for government which will also be ring-fenced and directed towards the loan until the full $40million is paid off.
Following negotiations with the National Trust and the compromise over the actual direction of the ten miles of by-pass, the next step is to have the loan approved by the FCO. Although the developer will be taking the risk on the initial financing, government will still be paying the full amount in the long run, which is why the final say is down to the UK. Regardless of the arrangements, the money is a loan and the CIG is currently barred from increasing public debt, leaving a significant question mark over the project. However, Moffitt said he was cautiously optimistic that an arrangement over the financing could be made that the FCO could support.
He also told members of the Chamber that he and the investors are ready to go and if the FCO does say yes to the financing arrangements under discussion, within three months or so of that OK, he would hope to start work not just on the road but the first phase of the development as well. It is not clear, however, when government would be required to start making its payments to the developer on the loan but if work begins on the development at the same time as the road then the developer will be paying duty immediately.
The first phase of the development includes the golf course and related facilities, the town centre, which includes retail units and over 80 town houses, and a subdivision for residential homes.
Moffitt confirmed that although the developers have submitted plans regarding the retail element of the town centre, no other applications, including for the golf course, have been made to planning as he said the road was the deal breaker.
The developer has committed to utilizing local firms and workers across the life of the project. However, Moffitt told the Chamber audience that Ironwoodwill be partnering with GLF, the company which had at one time been in negotiations with the previous UDP government to build the George Town port. GLF had been ready to mobilize when McKeeva Bush closed down the talks in order to work with the Chinese conglomerate CHEC.
Suckoo to be ‘man on ground’ at new PPM office
(CNS): Government ministers Wayner Panton and Osbourne Bodden will be holding constituency clinics at the new PPM office in Bodden Town, which formally opened on Saturday, but it is PPM back-bencher Alva Suckoo, with the support of his veteran colleague, Anthony Eden, who will be the “man on the ground” at the constituency HQ. Suckoo said he wanted to develop a reputation for being the MLA that always answered his phone and always tried to tackle the issues presented by his constituents. The new office was formally opened on Saturday, almost six months since the party acquired the house behind Wendy’s in the Countryside area of the district.
Although the house where the district MLAs will be based has been in use since November, various issues served to delay the formal ribbon cutting but the office is now staffed during business hours and will offer an open door opportunity, Eden said, for people not only to stop by and discuss what’s troubling them but to discuss matters and raise ideas as well.
“This is an important link to the community where we can keep an eye on the issues and do our best to solve them,” Eden added.
Panton, the financial services minister, who will hold his surgery on Friday afternoons, said the office in Bodden Town, which is a housed inside a family home, was reminiscent of the one in George Town, creating the right kind atmosphere that fits well with the ethos of the party. Bodden, meanwhile, will meet with constituents on Thursday afternoons.
Suckoo said he would spend most of his time there supporting the ministers as well dealing directly with constituency matters. He said he was also tasked with building up the party membership in the district, as he urged those who came out to mark the opening to encourage their friends to come and join the party.
With unemployment concerns being most common constituency issue being raised by those visiting the office since it opened, Suckoo said one of the major goals for the Bodden Town PPM team was to encourage the development of small business in the district to create localized jobs and boost the district’s own economy, helping people to work as well as live in what was once the country’s capital.
Suckoo said government was discussing possible incentives to help generate entrepreneurs in the district and is focusing more on tackling the unemployment across what is still Cayman’s fastest growing constituency. He also revealed that the cabanas designed for craft, food and local art vendors would soon be in use but the units, which were constructed during the last administration, had not received planning permission.
Suckoo explained this was because there was no usage policy but the government had now undertaken that task and was expecting approval from planning to open them in a matter of weeks, creating an opportunity for local artisans to get the entrepreneurial ball rolling in the district.
Alongside the plans for boosting business, the opening of the boxing gym and the playing fields and track at the primary school to the public was offering new opportunities for residents to get fit. In addition, mended street lights and the start of a major road works programme was already improving life in the district.
Premier warns MLAs to serve
(CNS): The country’s leader urged his Bodden Town team to make sure they serve the needs of their constituents, otherwise they would not be returned to office. Premier Alden McLaughlin said thatwithout the Bodden Town members the PPM was unlikely to get a second term and that he knew very well how easily the voters would turn against their representatives if they do not believe they are working hard for their interests. Speaking at the opening of the new Progressives’ constituency office in the district, the PPM leader urged the people in Bodden Town to use it and if they didn’t find any of the four MLAs there he wanted the people to let him know.
“Representatives come and go and when they do not measure up the people remove them,” the premier said. “You are entitled to access your representatives and I know that if they do not serve you well, you won’t put them back and we won’t get the next government.”
Pointing to the importance of constituency offices, he said that the PPM headquarters and George Town MLAs office was always a very busy place and unless he was not on the island he did everything he could to be at his MLA surgery on Thursday afternoons to meet constituents and deal with their issues.
McLaughlin said it was one thing for members to perform well when they were in the Legislative Assembly but the voters need to see their MLAs and the members need to address constituency issues and serve them properly.
McLaughlin said that eleven months into office things were going well with his government, of which many, although exceptionally well qualified, were novice politicians. Like any other job, he said, these newcomers to the political arena had to learn how to do the job, and although there had been some bumps along the way, he was still very happy with how things had gone.
“We have never had a more professionally qualified and broadly experienced group in the Legislative Assembly before,” he said. “If we don’t do well it is no one else’s fault and we must make sure we don’t disappoint those in Bodden Town and across the island who helped us get into office … I am conscious of how easy it is not to do enough he said, I’ve felt it before,” he added, ahead of the official opening, as he askedfor feedback from the constituents regarding their representatives.
Draft dump policy completed
(CNS): The minister charged with tackling Cayman’s growing rubbish problem has said the strategic outline case that will define the government’s first comprehensive waste management policy is expected to be discussed by the government’s parliamentary group and hopefully be on Cabinet’s agenda this week. Osbourne Bodden said that as soon as Cabinet gives the SOC the nod, it will be made public and within a matter of weeks an RFP will be circulated to find the consultants who will help work out how to best implement that policy. Aware of the publicpressure to address the dump now, Bodden said it could not be done piecemeal but the process was on track for a fully functioning system before the end of 2016.
“We can’t do this piecemeal as I know some members of the public want,” he said. “We have to do this in a systematic manner and with a policy as a starting point as we have never had one.”
Bodden said he was very pleased with the SOC, which outlines the objectives for the future of waste management and the creation of a fully function comprehensive waste management system from collection to reuse.
He said things were on course for to have an operational system in place collecting, sorting, using and managing the country’s waste before the end of 2016. Bodden said that the RFP (request for proposals) for the outline business case, which will define how the policy in the SOC can be implemented into a practical operation, will be circulated to find the right company to deliver. He said he anticipated that the release of the RFP for the development of the system would happen early next year.
Bodden said that no matter how much people wished for an instant solution, the historical neglect has created the need to follow a process that starts with the missing policy to detail the objectives. Bodden explained that if government does not know what it wants to achieve, it cannot create a request for a proposal. Once a policy is defined, which is now the case with the SOC, he can present that to his government colleagues and then the Cabinet to ensure it has the necessary support.
The first major step in the long road to a comprehensive solution, the SOC would be in the public domain at the earliest opportunity before the RFP is circulated for the technical consultants, he said.
EY gets $155K to review PS
(CNS): Government is about to spend over $155,000 dollars on another review of the public sector to see what services could be sold off, delivered in partnership with the private sector or streamlined to be more efficient and to review the reviews. In a statement released on Friday by the Portfolio of the Civil Service, officials announced that Ernst & Young had been selected following a competitive tender to carry out the latest assessment in what was described as phase five of the rationalization programme regarding the goal to slim down government and the civil service in general.
With over 80 core-government entities and 25 statutory authorities and government companies, as well as numerous boards, committees and commissions, portfolio officials acknowledged the growth of government, which, it said, was due in part to the fact that historically it had to provide most public services as there was no alternative because Cayman did not have a mature private sector.
However, with more than 3,000 people working in public authorities, a budget of over half a billion dollars a year, burgeoning public sector debt, and a tax burden that the sluggish economy is struggling to carry, the pressure to slim down has increased significantly over the last five years or more but expectations among the public and the regulatory requirements of the private sector make cuts easier said than done.
“The Cayman Islands economy has grown considerably and the government seeks to evaluate opportunities to engage the private sector where this would result in improved service delivery and greater efficiency,” officials stated in a release from the portfolio on Friday evening.
In what will be another one of countless reviews and reports about government efficiency, or lack thereof, costs, duplication and what needs to change, Ernst & Young will receive a fee of CI$155,000.00 plus undisclosed expenses. The firm will undertake what was described as a “strategic overview of the public service and identify those functions that would better be carried out with private sector involvement,” officials stated.
The management consultant will also assess those recommendations which have not yet been implemented arising from prior internal and external reports – of which there are many. EY will also review the number of bespoke government entities to identify ways to streamline government’s structure and what could be realistically sold off where a fair market exists. The review also requires the consultants to develop a roadmap for execution.
Officials did not specify how long the process would take but stated that it would include stakeholder consultation and that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is assisting by providing strategic advice.
Miller rebuts political plot
(CNS): The independent member for North Side has dismissed allegations that he is involved in any political conspiracies to destabilize the current PPM administration. Ezzard Miller said his motivation during this administration, like the last one, is to represent his constituents and do what he believes is in the best interest of Caymanians. He said that he has absolutely nothing to gain, especially three years away from an election, from undermining the present government as this is his country too, which he wants to see succeed, not fail because of political instability. Miller said all he wants is for government to take greater notice of the issues he is attempted to put before them.
“I have nothing to gain from undermining government. I live here, I don’t even have a UK passport,” Miller stated. “My position is the same as it has always been. If the government brings something good to the Legislative Assembly I will support it, if I think it is bad then I will tell the government what it needs to change to get my support.”
The independent MLA explained that as a member of the opposition benches, his options for presenting the matters that he believes are important to his constituents and the country in general are limited. The only way is to use adjournment debates, private members motions or other appropriate motions that Standing Orders permit.
Rather than creating conspiracy theories, Miller urged the current administration to pay closer attention to the content and goals of the motions that he has and will continue to bring before legislators.
“What I am trying to achieve is good governance and to promote the interests of Caymanians,” he said. “Instead of falling back on the same old clichés that I am a rebel, seeking the lime-light, or that I am seeking to destabilize the political landscape, the government should be looking closely at the content of the motions and the reasons why I bring these things to their attention.”
Miller also denied colluding or conspiring with the leader of the opposition and any new party he may be forming.
“It is a totally preposterous idea that I am joining any new CDP, CLP or any other collection of letters representing any political party that involves the remnants of the UDP,” he said in response to recent speculation. “I have no blind ambition to be premier and have no need to gather support to lead any party.”
The independent member said that prior to the last election he had met with a group of what he believed were the brightest and the best potential young politicians and urged them to enter the political arena, as he said the country needed them. But, he said, he had made it perfectly clear from the onset that he had no ambitions to lead them or be at the helm of a political party. “Some of those people are now sitting on the government benches and in Cabinet,” he noted.
The allegations of destabilization or collusion coming from the government, Miller said, were merely a deflection, as he accused government of dodging the national issues that he was putting before them.
The latest conflict in the LA over his call to reject the MACI annual report until the losses were explained and to act on the complaints commissioner’s whistle-blowing report was, Miller said, about the need to address the reports not about embarrassing government.
“The goal was to have the issues relating to the reports debated,” he said. “However, the government response just demonstrated a lack of preparation and the unwillingness of the government benches to put the time in to deal with the matters that are before parliament and of major public interest. Everything I did was in full compliance with the existing Standing Orders, regardless of how archaic they might be.”
Miller said that since he was returned to office in the 2009 election, everything he has brought to the country’s parliament has been because he believed it was important and needed to be raised, debated and addressed. He said he was desperately concerned that a catalogue of critical issues, especially those relating to the country’s aging population, were being ignored but he would press ahead with his goal to get government to address them.
Premier touts for business in New York
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands premier turned salesman last week as he touted for insurance business at the NASDAQ trading floor when he joined the team from OxbridgeRe to ring the bell. Reinsurance has been identified as a key industry that the Cayman Islands wants to grow and while Alden McLaughlin was there to support the latest Cayman-domiciled firm to go public, he took the opportunity to invite other reinsurance companies to relocate here. With recent changes to the insurance law, Cayman is expected to be a more attractive domicile for reinsurance companies. “This is another excellent opportunity for the Cayman Islands to tell its positive story of providing sound financial services based on modern laws and regulations in a politically stable and business friendly environment,” he said during his appearance on the podium Tuesday. Read more on CNS Business
Old bosses remain on new residency board
(CNS): Waide DaCosta, the chairman appointed by the previous UDP administration, and the deputy chair, Adrien Briggs, are staying at the helm of the new Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board, offering some continuity as the members tackle new rules. Almost a year after coming into office the PPM administration has finally appointed a new set of people to serve on one the most important immigration boards, which is understood to be a lot less busy than in the past. With the backlog of applications prior to the change in the law now settled, the board has not yet begun dealing with the limited numbers of new applications as it awaits clarification on the new point system.
Although appointments to the boards are generally regarded as very political, the current administration has broken with tradition and retained the old guard at the helm of the board, offering continuity. Nor was the appointment of new members simply an effort to replace the old with the new as more than half of the previous UDP board had already left for a catalogue of reasons, from criminal charges to illness.
The new list of board members was published in Extraordinary Gazette No.26/2014 on Wednesday 16 April and posted on the government website and attached below this article.
As anticipated by government, the change in the law has seen a decline in applications since October. In the last quarter of 2013 the PR board processed 433 applications, compared to 679 in the final quarter of 2012 and the lowest number compared to every other quarter through 2013. The figures for the first quarter of 2014 when they are published are expected to be even lower.
All overseas workers are now able to stay for more than eight years and make an application for PR. The amendments to the law, which came into effect in October, eliminated the earlier seven year term limit and key employee hurdle, which prevented access to the PR application for workers who did not break the rollover barrier. Now all work permit holders can stay long enough to make a PR application but that application process has beenmade tougher and more costly.
AG’s lawyers moonlighting
(CNS): A freedom of information request regarding the secondary employment of civil servants has revealed that even government lawyers are engaged in work outside of their public service duties. According to the partial results of an FOI request by a CNS reader seeking the numbers of civil servants currently moonlighting and the types of jobs they do has revealed that four people working in the Attorney General’s Chambers have outside work, including practicing law. Although the request has not revealed the civil service posts held by the public employees in the government top lawyer's office with second jobs and businesses the response reveals that at least one must be a practicing government attorney.
Although the request is seeking a much bigger picture regarding the controversial topic of civil servants who run businesses and hold second jobs, the results from the attorney general alone show that four people in that department have been given permission to engage in other work and private businesses that could bring them into conflict with the job they are paid to do by the public purse.
One staff member of the Chambers is understood to have set up an auto-mechanic shop and another is running a security company. A third is believed to have created a legal database, the details of which were not revealed but it clearly has the potential to cause a conflict. Lastly, the one which may now raise significant questions, is that a government lawyer has been given permission to practice law privately as well.
The results shown to CNS are likely to be the tip of the iceberg as the full request is seeking answers from all government departments on the numbers and types of work civil servants are undertaking, theoretically out of hours. It also demonstrates that revelations of more details are likely to expose conflicts once civil servants are required to comply with the new standards in public life legislation showing their outside interests.
It is still not clear when the law will be implemented but expectations had been that politicians and senior government workers will be required to complete the new register by 30 June this year.
But so far the much heralded law has not been implemented, and despite claims by government that it is imminent, no date has been given for the legislative change which could shine the brightest light to date on the long held concerns in the community that many public sector workers are in serious conflict as a result of their moonlighting.