Politics
MACI losses stir up LA
(CNS): With losses of more than $1.2 million over the last five years, the Cayman Islands Maritime Authority (MACI) stirred up proceedings Wednesday, when the Legislative Assembly opened on Cayman Brac. Ezzard Miller called on his fellow members of the LA to reject its 2013 financial report, pointing out that year after year government was accepting increasing losses at yet another statutory authority, which at worst should be breaking even when it was originally created to make a profit. Pointing to the complete absence of any explanation for the growing losses by MACI, despite revenue increases, the North Side member said the report should be sent back and the directors held to account.
The report was tabled by the financial services minister, Wayne Panton, as proceedings began and although he mentioned the more than $377,000 loss which government will suck up, there was no detailed explanation given for it as he thanked the board for their “professional and steadfast service". However, when Miller got to his feet and called for the House to reject the report, that "professional service" was called into question.
He pointed out that although there were record level earnings on the 1,966 ships now registered with the authority of more than $8.4 million, expenses were more than $9.2 million. 60% went to wages for the 50 employees, with $476,000 alone on three managers. Over $600,000 was spent on travel and entertainment and Miller asked why no one was asking what was happening. Given the constant loses, Miller queried the sense in retaining the register as an autonomous authority.
“Members should be concerned and alarmed,” he said, pointing to the continuing habit of reports being tabled and accepted by the LA with no questions asked of boards or the well paid managers.
He said he had tried to look at the possible reasons, comparing the shipping registry to the General Registry, which manages hundreds of thousands of commercial entities and public documents with less staff, pays its management team less than half those at the shipping registry and brings in more than $200,000 for government every year.
Panton was quick to point out the losses had nothing to do with the current administration. He said the comparison to the General Registry was inappropriate as the regulation involved in the shipping registry’s work was technical and costly.
He said losses were down to a fall in the number of services or outputs that MACI performs for government, which Miller had revered to as a subsidy, amounting to almost $6 million over the last five years. He also pointed to pay-back on a lease when MACI moved to the new government building. However, that was later revealed to be incorrect as the authority had saved some five months rent for the relevant financial year, which was in the report as a benefit.
Panton assured members that the losses were being addressed and would fall next year. Also MACI, like all other government companies and statutory authorities, would soon be under review and called to account with the proposed public authority law. The minister underscored the importance of the registry to Cayman and its significance to its maritime history. He also noted that it generated significant work for the offshore sector, so while it might make a loss as an authority in contributed indirectly to the economy overall, as he dismissed Miller’s suggestion of rejecting the report.
The member for East End, Arden McLean, who had seconded Miller’s motion, said all it asked for was for the board to recognize the problem and offer some reasons and solutions and asked how three managers could be earning almost half a million dollars at a government authority.
“We need to keep a close eye on these authorities,” he said, adding that they treated government like a “money tree” but the poor performance was continuously endorsed. He added that the intent of the motion was to find out what had gone wrong at MACI to ensure it won’t continue.
Offering the turtle farm as another shocking example, he called on government once again to just give the facility away as even paying the loan back would be cheaper than the ongoing subsidy.
The planning minister, Kurt Tibbetts, emphasised the importance of the forthcoming public authority bill that will make government companies and statutory authorities accountable but he said that while he could not support rejecting the report, the issue had now been aired and he trusted the minister to handle the issue.
The opposition leader also joined in the debate, which stirred up feelings in the LA about the lack of accountability that has surrounded public authorities. McKeeva Bush took aim at Panton for being quick to say it wasn’t his government’s fault, but Bush said the authority had lost money under both administrations and the problem went beyond politics. He agreed it was important to find out why. Defending the turtle farm, he emphasised its cultural importance and again lamented the lack of support for a cruise ship pier in West Bay, which he said would have changed the fortunes of the attraction.
Meanwhile, the government’s veteran backbencher, Anthony Eden, who is increasingly ploughing his own political furrow, acknowledged that it was probably too late to send the report back but he said members could not put their heads in the sand and allow losses to continue, as he called for the public authority law.
The premier assured him and other members it had been drafted and was a long way down the road towards coming before Cabinet. (See related story: Premier-says-sacred-cows-will-be-auctioned).
He said the Maritime Authority could generate more income if it was able to attract commercial vessels, where the money was. He agreed with the leader of the opposition that the losses at MACI were fundamental and had nothing to do with any particular government but rejecting the report wouldn’t help.
Winding up the debate, Miller said he had never pointed the finger at any government but wanted the directors to be accountable. He raised concerns that the current board was more concerned with generating work for supporting financial services companies than getting MACI to break even or make a profit.
Disappointed by government’s dismissal of his proposal, he said it had missed an opportunity to send a clear message to tell the board to stop the bleeding. Miller warned that continuing to accept reports such as the one on the table was endorsing poor management.
Brac LA sitting too costly
(CNS): Given the austere times that government and the wider community are facing, one MLA believes the decision to hold this week’s legislative sitting in Cayman Brac is too costly. Ezzard Miller said that he will be paying for his own flights to and from the Brac during the three day sitting but will be returning to his district each evening. While the decision by the North Side MLA may reduce the government’s bill for the session by a small amount, he said the overall cost of the trip is likely to be tens of thousands of dollars because of all the ministry civil servants and LA staff, as well as the politicians, that will need to be flown to the Sister Island and accommodated.
Some government members and civil servants began the four day government visit yesterday with a Cabinet meeting there. The Legislative Assembly will open at 10am this morning at the Aston Rutty Centre, where MLAs will deal with a number of bills relating to the financial services sector as well as government motions dealing with indemnity for Cayman Airways board directors and land rezoning, among other issues. Although the session will be recorded and broadcast on Radio Cayman beginning on Wednesday evening, it is understood that the government TV channel will not broadcast the full live proceedings but hope to deliver sound.
With constituents out of work, schools in desperate need of supplies and cash needed for indigents, Miller said that he did not feel comfortable adding, he felt unnecessarily, to the government’s tab for the meeting.
He said the public purse does not pick up the tab for his travelling to George Town from North Side, so if the parliament has temporarily relocated to the Sister Islands then he would cover the costs of that travel too. Miller told CNS that he will be using the Cayman Airways Express service each day to fly to the Brac in the mornings and return to Grand Cayman each evening in order to be in his constituency. Miller felt there was nothing to be gained by the exercise and noted that the country had a very expensive legislative building in George Town that was already under-utilized.
The Cayman Brac sitting is likely to be the last session of this legislative meeting before the parliament reopens next month for the budget meeting. Although the current premier had indicated he was keen to set a legislative timetable for meetings and sittings and made one attempt to publish a schedule, the legislatorskept only one date. Since then no further timetables have been set.
Rivers seeks cash for petition
(CNS): Although costs were not awarded against John Hewitt, who filed a challenge to Tara Rivers’ election to office last year, the education minister is now going after her constituent for the money. Rivers’ lawyers are seeking a hearing before the chief justice to ask for the legal costs in the successful defence of the election petition, which was heard last summer. Hewitt’s legal team, however, is resisting the attempt to seek the hearing as they say that the case is closed and the chief justice has already made plain that the matter had been of significant public interest and he would not condemn Hewitt to pay for the defence costs as well as his own.
Despite this ruling, Rivers attorneys have been seeking to list a hearing so they can make a claim for what is likely to be a substantial sum. But Hewitt, who is represented by Steve McField, has filed a formal objection, pointing out that the chief justice made no order for costs, that the petition is closed and Rivers duly elected, with the matter now “functus officio”, meaning it cannot be re-opened before the same court.
Hewitt had filed the election petition against Rivers when she was elected to office in West Bay at the May 2013 general election, breaking the UDP’s stronghold in the district. Rivers had run on the Coalition for Cayman platform but she then joined the PPM government, if not the party, as education minister. Hewitt’s wife, Velma Hewitt, ran on the UDP ticket and came in fifth behind Bernie Bush, who took the last seat in the district.
Rivers ran for office while holding and using an American passport and made no move to relinquish her citizenship. She had also lived outside of the Cayman Islands for a significant part of the seven year period prior to an election, raising questions about her qualification on grounds of residency.
However, following a three day hearing in the Grand Court before Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, Rivers, who was represented by local firm Hampson and Company with constitutional expert, Jeffrey Jowell, QC, as lead counsel, successfully argued that having a US passport didn’t mean she had allegiance to another country and that she was studying when she worked at a London law firm.
The question of MLAs holding passports from the United States and other countries has long been an issue surrounding elections, as many people hold more than one passport in Cayman because they were born overseas due to the previous limits of the local maternity provision. Rivers admitted to having a US passport because she too was born there, and although she said she regularly used that passport, it did not mean she had any allegiance to the United States government as it was nothing more than a document to allow passage.
With a certain ambiguity in the law’s exceptions regarding citizenship from other countries, the chief justice found in her favour, settling the question once and for all and removing the need, going forward, for would-be politicians to revoke any other citizenship they may have in addition to their Cayman ethnicity before running for office.
Hewitt also challenged Rivers on the grounds that she was in the UK for several years in the seven year period prior to the 2013 May General Election working as an a associate at a London law firm. Rivers admitted that she was employed by the firm but claimed she was still resident in Cayman and was able to be resident in two places and that the job amounted to professional training at what was essentially the equivalent of an educational establishment.
As a result, she was also able to argue that she did not fall foul of the residency requirement in the election law, which the chief justice in his ruling also agreed.
The country’s top judge had, however, expressly noted that the challenge had been of particular public interest covering matters that needed to be settled. The CJ made a point of indicating he would not award costs of the defence against Hewitt.
The parties are expected to appear before the courts in the next few months to argue whether or not the Grand Court has jurisdiction to hear an argument for costs.
The issue of costs in such cases remains contentious.
The challenge was considered a public interest case and if petitioners who are making legitimate challenges where there are genuine questions of law to be argued are to be handed huge legal bills for the other side as well as their own costs, it could deter members of the public from standing up to potential injustices or wrongdoing as a result of financial constraints.
In this case, Rivers was found to be duly elected and fully qualified. However, prior to the judge’s finding, this was by no means a foregone conclusion. As well as securing Rivers’ seat, the chief justice’s ruling is a significant precedent going forward regarding long standing questions about how far the legislature wanted to go on the qualifications of the country’s representatives.
See the CJ's full ruling in the case below.
CIG sacks UK Tory Lord
(CNS):The Cayman government has terminated its contract with the Conservative life peer, Lord Blencathra, as a result of changes made to the rules governing the conduct of those sitting in the UK’s upper house of parliament. Following more recent media controversy in London regarding the Conservative member of the House of Lords and his role with the government as head of its UK office, Premier Alden McLaughlin confirmed in a statement Monday evening that the CIG had finally terminated the contract with his firm, Two Lions Consultancy, that day. McLaughlin said the contract “could be construed to be in conflict” with the new code for Lords members and the post would now be advertised.
The contract with Blencathra’s consultancy firm was made by the former premier and now leader of the opposition, McKeeva Bush, as it was hoped that the Tory peer could have some positive influence for Cayman and its financial industry in the corridors of power of both Westminster and Whitehall. A break from tradition of having a Caymanian heading up the UK office, the contract caused some controversy in Cayman.
His appointment also caused controversy in the UK and a probe was launched into Blencathra’s role as Cayman’s representative in London when it appeared that not only was he lobbying ministers but parliament as well. In addition, MPs in the UK also questioned why a member of the British government was promoting what many in the UK believe is a tax haven, facilitating wealthy corporations and individuals to avoid their tax obligations to HM Treasury.
Although Blencathra, who denied any wrongdoing, was cleared by the House of Lords committee that examined his role, the issue led the commission to implement a new code of conduct banning members from political and ministerial lobbying and placing the peer's role in question. In addition, the discovery of Blencathra’s contract with the CIG by the UK media stirred up the controversies once again and the commission is now taking another look at the role Blencathra played since 2011 when he began working for the Cayman government.
Against that backdrop, the premier and his home affairs chief officer, Eric Bush, met with Lord Blencathra when they were in London last week to discuss the impact of the recent amendments to the House of Lords code of conduct and Blencathra’s contract, which had been renewed on 1 November 2012.
“We have mutually concluded that some terms of the contract could be construed to be in conflict with the recently amended Lords Code of Conduct guidelines and that on that basis the agreement of 1 November, 2012, will be terminated on 31 March, 2014,” said the premier in a statement release by his office Monday evening.
He explained that the position for the director of the Cayman Islands government office in London will now be advertised.
As well as his role as director of the UK office, Blencathra acted as a consultant to the local government, providing advice and guidance on a wide range of UK and EU matters.
McLaughlin said it is critical that the government continues to have the benefit of proper advice on these matters in order to protect and promote the interests of the Cayman Islands and that it was considering its options on this issue.
$12M more shaved off budget
(CNS):The minister of finance said that around $12 million of further cuts would be made in public spending when he brings the 2014/15 budget to the Legislative Assembly in May. Marco Archer has also revealed that the spending plan will be for 12 months and not for 18 months, as had been announced when he delivered the PPM government’s first budget last year. He had announced plans to move the financial year to January and deliver budgets to cover longer periods. However, Archer now says that there will not be enough time to amend the Public Management and Finance Law in order to facilitate the changes before the current budget expires at the end of this financial year.
Archer explained to CNS that a committee that is reviewing the law that governs public finances has not yet finished its work, delaying the proposal to switch the financial year to line up with the calendar year and then set out multi-year spending plans.
“We are waiting for the committee to complete their review and provide a report of the PMFL [Public Management Finance Law] law,” Archer stated. “We expect this in early May but that does not leave sufficient time for Cabinet to review the report and recommendations, drafting amendments to the PMFL, the legislative process, and any required accounting and information systems changes before the June 30 year end. Multi-year budgets will come with the next budget.”
Archer was also confident that his more than $100 million surplus predicted for the end of the 2013/14 budget would be a reality and government should be able to reveal an estimate of the surplus by the end of next month.
With some months left to clear debts and improve cash flow, despite still trimming spending, Archer said government continued to look at possible fee cuts which could ease the strain. However, he said that any reductions would need the approval of the UK.
The minister said government had no plans to introduce any new revenue measures but, reiterating comments he has made previously in the Legislative Assembly, he said that where necessary government would adjust existing fees to reflect the true cost of providing the relevant services.
Government has very limited wiggle room in its budgets because the debt service ratio is over the self-imposed limit set out in the PMFL. Following the implementation of the UK’s FFR, which forms part of local legislation, the UK has imposed strict parameters and must approve all budgets and ensure they fit with the previous four year plan this administration submitted to London shortly after coming to office.
With no new borrowing allowed, government must finance its big cash items from revenue, including paying for the preparations for the cruise port project, as well as the business case for the landfill. While government intends to involve private sector partners in the development of the George Town piers and to implement an holistic solution to the dump and waste-management in the future, it must foot the bill for the preparation work, such as business cases, environmental assessments and the request for proposals.
Tory lord faces new probe as Cayman’s UK frontman
(CNS): The Conservative member of the House of Lords and former minister and chief whip is facing more controversy in the UK over his job with the Cayman Islands Government (CIG) and the possible conflict it causes with his position as a British life peer. Lord Blencathra, aka David McLean, a former MP for the Scottish constituency of Penrith, is attracting more bad publicity for the islands as he will be the subject of yet another investigation by the Lords’ authorities questioning his contract. Despite changes in regulations that now ban those in the House of Lords from lobbying politicians, McLean is still on the CIG payroll and government has made no comment about his future.
CNS contacted the premier and the financial services minister, both of whom were in the UK last week and we have been informed that the premier is planning on making a statement. However, questions about the Tory Lord's role and future with the CIG have remained unanswered.
The latest issue surrounding the Lord is as a result of Blencathra’s original contract being published in the British media recently. The contract was originally released to CNS following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and has been in the public domain for some time.
Following a previous probe into Blencathra’s role as director of the Cayman Islands’ London office as a result of questions raised by Labour member Paul Flynn, the Tory Lord was cleared of wrongdoing, though it led the committee to block the potential loophole that allowed lobbying government though not parliament. Kernaghan has now questioned whether Blencathra was actually lobbying parliament anyway and as a result the Tory Lord has once again asked the House of Lords Standards Committee to examine his conduct since taking the job with CIG.
Whether or not the Tory peer was lobbying just government and not parliamentarians in the past is now less relevant to CIG, which is paying him a considerable sum (approximately CI$14,000) per month from the public purse to lobby on Cayman’s behalf. With the change in the rules, Blencathra will not be able to lobby ministers, government or MPs bringing into question his value for money.
Parliament to meet on Cayman Brac
(CNS): Eleven years since the Legislative Assembly was last held on Cayman Brac, LA members will be heading to the Sister Island next month to meet at the Aston Rutty Civic Centre for a three day sitting. On Tuesday 8 April the Cabinet members will also have their meeting on the Brac, more than a year since the government executive last met there, with ministers meeting at the District Administration Building in Stake Bay. Officials said government tries to hold a Cabinet session on the Brac at least once during each administration. Government has not yet revealed the costs for the LA meeting, which will see 18 members and support staff flown over and accommodated on the island for three days.
“Holding a meeting of the LA in Cayman Brac gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our solidarity with the Sister Islands and allows the public to see how their parliament functions up close and personal,” said Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose. “Many Cayman Brac residents have never had an opportunity to attend a meeting of the Legislative Assembly in Grand Cayman. It is all the more special given that both the Speaker and the Deputy Premier are from Cayman Brac.”
Radio Cayman and CIGTV 20 will carry the LA meeting with audio only.
Alden & Ozzie US dumps visit
(CNS): The premier will get just a few days at home this weekend when he returns from London before he heads on out again for another overseas trip. This time it is to visit a number of waste-management and recycling centres in Florida with the minister responsible for the George Town landfill. Officials said the men will be assessing modern, efficient waste management systems in the United States as part of what the wider public considers very slow progress towards addressing the island’s most pressing problem. Despite public opinion that the dump is a major priority, the premier still emphasised the need to follow process.
Premier Alden McLaughlin said government will use the processes under the Public Management and Finance Law to find a waste management solution. The processes will ensuretransparency and accountability in the tendering and procurement phases.
“While there have been previous tenders, and there are quite a few studies about this subject, the fact is that the previous iterations were not subjected to the level of research, assessment and scrutiny that the process currently requires,” he said.
As a result McLaughlin and Minister Osbourne Bodden will travel to Tampa next week to visit various relevant facilities in Florida.
One of the first stages in the procurement process is the drafting of a Strategic Outline Case document that will form the basis of an RFP for consultancy services for the delivery of an Outline Business Case. A local steering committee has been working on the SOC and hopes to have it finalised for Cabinet’s approval in the next few weeks. Once approved by Cabinet, it will be released to the public, officials said.
Bodden said he was pleased with the progress the steering committee is making on the procurement process. He also pointed to improvements that the environmental health team has made at the George Town landfill.
“I want to assure the concerned members of the public that we are not waiting on the procurement process to make improvements; we are also working hard to identify and implement interim measures to help improve the situation,” the minister said.
Steps taken to date include the removal of scrap metal through a CTC-tendered contract, the lease of essential equipment to improve operations at the landfill, enhanced fire safety measures, the procurement of much-needed equipment to replace existing non-functioning equipment that is beyond its depreciated life-span, and covering additional surface area of the landfill with soil cover.
According to the premier’s office, the men will start their waste management tour on Monday at the Lee County Solid Waste Resource Recovery Facility, which operates as Covanta Lee Inc. in Fort Meyers, Florida. The facility processes 1,836 tonnes-per-day of solid waste, while generating up to 57.3 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, of which 50 megawatts is sold to Seminole Electric Cooperative.
As a comparison, the Cayman Islands generates approximately 85,345 tonnes of waste in a year or 233 tonnes-per-day.
“This facility in Lee County serves two counties and is considered Florida’s number one facility and model. I am looking forward with great anticipation to learn a lot and see what we can look forward to here in just a couple of years. Cayman deserves no less,” said Bodden.
The facility uses secondary sewage treatment run-off from a nearby county owned treatment plant for the majority of its process water. It is also equipped with steel, tin and copper recovery systems to remove all metals from the residue.
Covanta Lee also has a recycling facility and a public drop-off centre adjacent to the facility, where residents take non-hazardous household items and yard waste for disposal.
The premier and minister are also scheduled to visit waste management facilities in Lake and Hillsborough counties. The Lake County Facility processes 528 tonnes-per-day using two 264-tonnes-per-day water wall furnaces.
Travelling with the premier and minister will be the chief officer for the ministry with responsibility for waste, Jennifer Ahearn, who is also the chair of the Integrated Solid Waste Management System Steering Committee, and the Environmental Health Director Roydell Carter.
The delegation returns to Grand Cayman on Thursday, 3 April.
Region needs leaders willing to fight corruption
(CNS): A critical step in limiting corruption and promoting ethics is to have strong and committed leadership at the helm of the region’s countries, the committee for the recent UCCI conference concluded in its closing declaration. The need to promote ethics and prevent corruption requires a culture of transparency where it matters most at the heart of government, the committee found at the end of the two day event. Recognising that legislation was not the only answer, the conference organisers said effort from the entire society was required to achieve real transparency, accountability and good governance.
The conference committee recommended that every Caribbean country consider the creation of a single independent anti-corruption state agency, with specialist resources, criminal investigation and prosecutorial jurisdiction, as well as full police powers of arrest and detention, over all corruption offences. It also called for tough criminal and civil sanctions upon private sector entities for the bribery of public officials.
The committee concluded that there was a need for the countries across the region to implement legislation to regulate political party funding and campaign financing filing as well as the disclosure of assets, income and liabilities for all parliamentarians and critical level public officials.
With procurement being the danger area for most corruption, independent procurement regulators to monitor and investigate government contracts and to ensure probity, transparency, competition and value for money, were recommended as the best way to limit opportunities for bribery, as well as strong penalties for breaches of procurement guidelines.
Not forgetting the grassroots, the committee said community organizations can remind elected officials that they in fact answer to the greater electorate and not political factions.
Trevor Munroe, Executive Director of NIA and Professor, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute, UWI, delivered the closing declaration on Friday following a three day conference which was described as unprecedented across the region in scale and quality.
The conference entitled, "Towards a Corruption-Free Caribbean; Ethics, Values, Trust and Morality” brought together 120 participants from 15 countries in the Caribbean as well as North America, Europe and Africa. The Conference was multi-sectoral including leaders of government, members of legislatures, and representatives of the private sector, civil society organizations, tertiary institutions, churches, and media houses.
It drewon expertise and experience of political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, ethicists, theologians, environmentalists, attorneys-at-law, medical scientists, accountants, and very importantly, present and past officials of anti-corruption commissions and institutions.
Dr Huguette Labelle, Chair of the Board of Transparency International, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and former Managing Director at the World Bank, Perry Christie, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Andrew Holness, MP, Jamaica’s opposition leader as well as Cayman’s own premier, all expressed their thoughts on tackling corruption.
Munroe said that the mantra of conference 2014 was Connect, Share, Inspire.
“The Conference did connect with the broadest cross-section of Caymanian society, which attended its many sessions and tuned into the many radio discussions in which invited attendees participated,” he said. “It shared in the rich diversity of experience and expertise of the speakers in plenary, panels, round tables and workshops and it inspired many to convert words into deeds, talk into action in more effectively combating corruption and building integrity."
Speeches and presentations from the conference are available here
Videos from the conference are also available on youtube
Media backlash for CI lord
(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier has arrived in the UK against a backdrop of more bad publicity for the Cayman Islands and its head of the UK office, who is one of the people on the Cayman Islands Government's (CIG) agenda to meet while in the UK. Although the contract between CIG and Lord Blencathra’s company has been in the public domain for more than one year, in light of the recent findings by the House of Lords banning peers from lobbying, the contract has now found its way into the British press. The contract demonstrates that the Tory lord was required to lobby on this jurisdiction’s behalf as part of his $14,000 per month contract.
Lord Blencathra has denied lobbying the House of Lords, only government. During the investigation into his role he told the House of Lords Committee that his “compliance with the law or Lords Rules takes precedence over anything which was in my contract." He added, "I made clear that I would not be lobbying Parliament or MPs. Indeed, even that initial contract made no mention of lobbying. That was firmly understood between us."
However, his controversial appointment was justified in Cayman exactly because he could lobby relevant government ministers on Cayman's behalf.The top job in the UK office had for obvious reasons been historically held by a Caymanian. When the former premier, McKeeva Bush, broke the tradition by hiring Blencathra, he made it clear it was because of his influence in the corridors of power at Westminster as well as Whitehall.
According to an official release from the premier’s office on Friday, Alden McLaughlin will be meeting with Lord Blencathra this week “regarding the budget and various Cayman Islands Government projects”, officials said.
Despite the recent findings by the House of Lords following an investigation into Blencathra’s role as the director of the Cayman Islands’ UK office, he still appears to be employed by CIG and there was no indication that his future with the CIG would be on the line in this planned meeting.
CNS has made several requests to government and Blencathra’s media representatives in London to clarify the situation regarding Blencathra, since the House of Lords committee instituted the new regulations banning lords from lobbying ministers. The government and his PR firm have, however, remained silent. McLaughlin was scheduled to do a video interview with CNS Business earlier this month in which this question would have been put to him again but he cancelled the interview.
McLaughlin will now be meeting with the Tory peer, who, despite being paid more than $14,000 per month from public funds, is stirring up significant controversy for Cayman at a time when there had been high hopes that the islands' image abroad was improving. Various efforts by both the previous minority government and the PPM administration to repair the relationship with the UK and to move very quickly on the G8 agenda of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, automatic exchange of information and improving overall transparency had placed Cayman in a more favourable light.
However, media coverage in the UK Monday points to Blencathra’s role as promoting a tax haven.
Labour MP Paul Flynn, who had made the original complaint with the Lords, is now calling for further enquiries, as he said he did not see how Lord Blencathra could reconcile his defence that he had never lobbied for Cayman given the contract he signed.
“I will be contacting the Lords authorities and asking them to look again at this. It is intolerable that he is acting as both a legislator and lobbying on behalf of a country that makes income from the tax avoidance industry.”
The contract was originally revealed by CNS following a freedom of information request in 2012.
See UK press articles below:
Peers-contract-with-caribbean-tax-haven
Revealed-conservative-peer–contract-for-tax-haven-
Lord-blencathra-lobbying-contract–show-government-chasing-wrong-target