Politics
Governor tells CS bosses to be politically neutral
(CNS): The governor has told civil service managers that they and their staff must remain politically neutral when carrying out their jobs and has also emphasised the need to continue working towards greater accountability in the public sector. Helen Kilpatrick was a guest at the deputy governor’s regular weekly meeting with chief officer at the end of last month, according to the minutes released by Franz Manderson’s office. In addition to the governor’s message, Deloris Gordon from the Internal Audit Unit also joined the weekly gathering to explain what the unit does and how it can help chief officers when it comes to good governance. The COs also agreed to give civil servants an extra hour for lunch this week to attend the relevant Pirates Week heritage days.
With good governance a continuing theme of the governor’s office, at Kilpatrick’s first attendance at the weekly meetings she recognized the work being done to improve accountability across the service. But she emphasized the importance of “holding staff accountable for their performance”, the minutes stated. She also pointed to political neutrality and said that she expected everyone to perform their duties in such a way that “their political neutrality is not compromised”.
The minutes also record discussions about the Voluntary Separation Process, for which the deadline has now passed. The government has not yet revealed how many public sector workers have taken up the offer as the Civil Service Association had warned members against taking what they said was an unfavourable package.
The minutes also record that the move by the Department of Children & Family Services from Britcay House to Commerce House had been approved but there was no indication why this department was not moving into the new Government Administration Building, which is still more than 35% empty.
See minutes as released below.
Cabinet gets ICTA report
(CNS): Following revelations during the recent Finance Committee hearing that officials from the Information and Technology Authority (ICTA) may have manipulated the recruitment process in at least two posts, Cabinet has now received a report. However, government has not yet released the document. The minister with responsibility for the authority ordered the regulator’s board to look into the situation and to report back after members of the Legislative Assembly raised concerns about appointments being made, at least one of which was a work-permit holder, before deadlines on adverts running in the local and international press, making a mockery of the open recruitment protocols for government jobs.
Kurt Tibbetts, who heads up the ministry of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure which includes the ICTA, told members in Finance Committee that he would order an enquiry into what happened and report back to the country’s parliament. However, Tibbetts has not yet released the content of the report, which the government has had since at least Tuesday, when ministers meet for their weekly Cabinet session.
Efforts by CNS to contact Tibbetts for comment on the report and any subsequent action were unsuccessful but the chief officer in the ministry responded to enquiries with a short comment.
“The ICTA Board was requested to undertake a full review of the matters highlighted at Finance Committee. A detailed report has been received and been discussed by Cabinet. Further announcements will be made in due course,” Alan jones said.
Ezzard Miller, the MLA for North Side who had raised the questions that led to revelations about the irregularities, said that he had not been contacted by the minister and had not seen the report but he was far more concerned about disciplinary action being taken.
“I have no idea why a report is needed,” Miller said, and indicated that the director had been caught out. “The man misled the committee.”
The independent member said that he wanted to see action taken and some accountability for the director's actions, which he maintained had deprived local people of having a fair chance at the jobs. Miller warned that if this did not happen, he would be seeking to have the ICTA director answer directly to the LA for contempt.
CIG impresses Simmonds
(CNS): Although the UK's overseas territories minister, on a one day stop to the Cayman Islands Tuesday, said that the relationship between the governments of the United Kingdom and Cayman is not about individual personalities, Mark Simmonds said he was impressed by the new local government. Speaking to the media yesterday evening following a packed day of events, the Conservative party junior minister made it clear that he was comfortable with the new leadership team and satisfied with the way things were going so far, especially the budget, which he said he had turned around so quickly because it was impressive.
Both the immediate past governor, Duncan Taylor, and Simmonds had a somewhat less than cordial relationship with the previous premier, McKeeva Bush, and the UK had some serious difficulties agreeing to the financial plans submitted by his UDP administration. But Simmonds said there was a much more streamlined experience following the submission of the PPM government’s first budget.
“When the new government put forward its budget proposals, I turned them around extremely quickly,” Simmonds said, adding that he believed it was in record time. “I and my officials were extremely impressed with the proposals and the way the budget was set out.”
However, he acknowledged that delivering what is in that particular budget has created some challenges and he was keen that the UK could do more to help.
“One of the things that I have been discussing with the premier and his minsters today is whether the UK could do more to support the implementation of that budget, particularly as it relates to providing capacity in government departments to provide the expertise in areas that perhaps the Cayman government doesn’t yet have.”
He pointed to the Treasury in London and other Whitehall departments that may be able to offer that kind of assistance to CIG in the spirit of partnership between Britain and the overseas territories.
Speaking in more detail about the budget, the UK minister said that he was not opposed in principle to the idea of four year budgets, which has been suggested by the local premier, Alden McLaughlin, to try and save government time, money and create stability.
“I certainly don’t have an issue with four year budgets as in principle. It is quite a good idea to give government departments certainty about the money that they will have,” Simmonds said, noting that it would “remove the feeling that sometimes exists that there is a necessity to spend money in one particular financial year where it may be better to spread it over a number of years.”
Impressed by the new government, the minister made it perfectly clear that the UK was not planning to impose any direct taxation requirements on Cayman.
“The mechanisms of taxation are a matter for the Cayman Islands Government,” Simmonds added but noted that he was happy to see what he described as a real ambition of the local government to diversify the economy.
The British minister said one of key facets of the JMC meeting in London later this month was the focus on jobs, growth and diversifying the OT economies, and said there were plans to hold a trade and investment conference at the same time so British investors could see opportunities that exist in the territories, not just in financial services and tourism but in new sectors as well.
CIG claims to have completed consolidated accounts
(CNS): Despite revelations by the auditor general about the poor quality and challenges still surrounding government’s accounts for last year as well as this, officials from the Finance Ministry are claiming that they have submitted a consolidated sets of financial statements for the Entire Public Sector by the statutory deadline for 2012/13. Government has not been able to consolidate its accounts for more than a decade because of the massive backlog across public authorities. While progress has been made on old accounts after government passed a law allowing it to miss several years, just one week ago Alastair Swarbrick reported on the continuing problems with the public accounts.
Nevertheless, the government issued a statement Tuesday saying that the ministries, portfolios and offices that comprise central government, as well as the statutory authorities and government companies, all submitted their own individual financial statements to the audit office for examination by the legal deadline of 31 August. The ministry also said that by 31 October it had consolidated 40 sets of financial statements into a single set of accounts that show the results for, and position of, the Entire Public Sector and that the auditor general is required to opine on those consolidated financial statements by 30 November.
Although there are actually 41 entities that should be consolidated, there are many more problems with the claims being made by government in addition to officials not seeming to know exactly how many public authorities government is made up of.
Alastair Swarbrick stated last week that there were still significant challenges and problems with the previous financial years and that the submission of accounts is only part of the story, as government is still struggling to supply the standard and quality of information for his office to undertake proper audits.
In his report published last week he revealed that by 30 September of this year, fifteen months after the financial year end, audits for twelve government entities have still not been completed for the year ending 30 June 2012, which continues to prevent government from publishing the full picture of how it spends tax payer’s money.
Asked about the claims by government yesterday, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) declined to comment and said that they would be issuing a statement in the near future once the accounts had been made public. However, it is understood that the office continues to work on the government’s first efforts at consolidation accounts from last year, making it exceptionally unlikely that government could have committed anything close to what could be considered auditable accounts.
With accounts still missing from some authorities, many government agencies and ministries remaining qualified or even disclaimed, the claims by the ministry’s officials seem at odds with reality of the situation. Given the pressure that the government is under to straighten out the public finances, the apparent continued inability of government officials to grasp the problems will give further cause for concern for Swarbrick and his team in the face of their continued efforts to assist the government entities in improving their accounting standards and practice.
However, Marco Archer, the minister for Finance & Economic Development, congratulated the Treasury Department for complying with the important 31 October deadline.
See the auditor general's report here.
UK minister visiting Cayman
(CNS): The United Kingdom’s overseas territories minister is making his first trip to the Cayman Islands on Tuesday but he will be here for just one day before he visits Jamaica. Mark Simmonds, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office junior minister, will have a packed agenda on his short visit, which comes just three weeks before the annual Joint Ministerial Council in London, where the relationship between the UK and all of its territories comes under the spotlight. According to the governor’s office, this visit will focus on enhancing the relationship between the UK and the Cayman Islands and their shared agendas before the summit.
“I am delighted to be making my first visit, as a minister, to the Cayman Island, an important centre for the global financial services industry," Simmonds said. “I am looking forward to meeting Premier McLaughlin again and his colleagues in Government and to discussing with them how we can work together on our shared commitments in the White Paper and the JMC communiqué. I am particularly looking forward to meeting young Caymanians and hearing about the challenges that Cayman’s youth faces now and in the future,” he added.
Simmonds will have meetingswith the premier, the finance minister and he will call in on the Cabinet meeting. Other engagements will include meeting with opposition MLAs, a visit to the port area, and the lion fish lab at the Department of the Environment. He will also receive a presentation on the Health City development.
The premier will host a reception and Simmonds will address a dinner hosted by the Chamber of Commerce in the evening.
CIG sets out airport plans
(CNS): The government has released its strategic outline case for the redevelopment of all three of the Cayman Islands' airports. Officials said that Cabinet has approved the first step in the process, which is the policy directive outlining the reasons for the projects, which will be the precursor to any business plan and the procurement process. The deputy premier and minister with responsibility for tourism, Moses Kirkconnell, said the policy addresses the sustainability of air transport for the Cayman Islands and the development of tourism opportunities. Government has outlined plans to redevelop Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman, enhance the Charles Kirkconnell Airport on Cayman Brac and develop an entirely new airport on Little Cayman in the north east of the island.
The policy objective for the airports has been published following Cabinet's approval of the tourism ministry’s plans for the cruise berthing facilities in George Town and the move towards a tendering process for that project.
Although the cruise piers have been identified as a priority for the government, the Progressive administration has also pointed to the need to work on the airports. While overnight visitors make up just 20% of the tourists that come to Cayman, they represent some 77% of annual tourism revenue. As well as boosting visitor numbers, Kirkconnell said a number of other benefits would come from the airport projects.
“The construction and development phases, followed by fully operational facilities will generate additional jobs. More importantly, it will deliver significant economic benefits to the islands, notably improving public revenue and raising the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from increased visitor arrivals,” Kirkconnell stated in a release on Thursday, announcing that Cabinet was backing the first step in the plans.
The minister said additional benefits included increased opportunity for the continued sustainability and profitability for the Cayman Islands Airports Authority.
Stran Bodden, the chief officer in the ministry, said the procurement process wouldl be open, transparent and competitive in keeping with international best practice and the Public Management and Finance Law. The exact scope and size of each project will be developed in the business case, he said, and a competitive procurement process will identify who will be responsible for designing, and building the facilities.
"Operational responsibility for all airports facilities will remain with the Airports Authority for strategic reasons," he added.
Since government is not allowed to increase its level of debt, funding for the projects will be determined in the business case. Options identified to date include a phased programme of enhancement and expansion of existing facilities.
Whatever government decides, the development of the airports will have potential environmental impacts, particularly on Little Cayman, where the pace and way of life there could be change forever by the development of an airport. The proposed site for a new airport on Little Cayman is also located by a Nature Reserve, which is home to a large colony of red-footed booby birds. The reserve is protected under the National Trust Law and the area has been designated an animal sanctuary and a wetland of international importance under the United Nations RAMSAR Convention.
Given the importance of the site and other environmental impacts, government has said the department of environment will be heavily involved in the consolation process regarding the development of all three airports.
See the outline policy document below.
155 TLEPs still outstanding
(CNS): Despite the massive number of people that the immigration department had to regularize this week, government officials confirmed Wednesday afternoon that almost all of the 1,465 Term Limit Exemption Permit holders that remain in Cayman have now had their passports stamped. This means they can continue to work until 9 December if they have jobs or deal with their affairs in preparation to leave if they do not. Just 155 people remain outstanding and officials said that enforcement officers will be taking measures to address those people who hold the expired permits and have not regularized their immigration status.
All TLEPs expired on Monday 28 October, and following the amendments to the Cayman Islands Immigration Law, all work permit holders can now stay in Cayman for up to nine years provided their permits are renewed and no Caymanians apply for and successfully get the jobs they hold.
Although this means hundreds more workers will now reach year eight, allowing them to apply for permanent residency, government is still hoping most will be deterred from doing so because of much more stringent requirements to qualify for residency and the hefty fees attached to the application.
With the TLEP now a thing of the past, the workers formerly here on those exemption passes will need to get new work permits but their bosses will be under the spotlight over the next forty days as they begin advertising the posts. Government said that the Department of Immigration will work closely with the National Workforce Development Agency to identify willing and able Caymanians to fill these and any other position held by foreign workers.
With government now focusing more heavily on enforcement of the immigration law to stamp out abuse of the system, employers who apply for work permits for expatriate workers must inform immigration about any Caymanians who have also applied and explain why they were not successful or face a $20,000 fine. The government has said it will be watching employers closely to ensure advertisements for jobs are not over inflated or tailored to meet a specific applicant but that they are fair and reasonable.
Port gets OK from Cabinet
(CNS): The tourism minister has revealed that his government colleagues have backed plans to move ahead with the development of two berthing piers in George Town to accommodate up to four cruise ships. The ministers reportedly approved the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project in their Cabinet meeting yesterday and the document will be released for public engagement. Government has set a public meeting regarding the plans for the cruise project for Tuesday night at the Mary Miller Hall, when it will review the Outline Business Case, inform the public of the overall status of the project, and confirm the proposed procurement process, which will soon get underway. Read more and see report on CNS Business
Many TLEPs fail to show
(CNS): With mixed messages coming from the immigration department and the premier’s office yesterday regarding the more than 1,500 workers believed to still be in Cayman on Term Limit Exemption permits it is not clear exactly how many people have failed to regularize their immigration status but more than 600 people could now be here illegally. The chief immigration officer told the TV station yesterday afternoon that she was very concerned over the low turnout of TLEP holders at the immigration department to have their status updated. This would allow them to work by operation of law if they had jobs or get a visitor’s extension visa if they planned to leave. The premier’s office said around 870 people had been processed.
All TLEPs expired on 28 October, but with the new Immigration Amendment Bill gazetted into Law on Friday 25 October,holders who have not yet reached year nine can now re-enter the work permit regime. However, they had a very short window of opportunity to go to immigration to have their status here legalized and get either a Working by Operation of the Law (WOL) stamp or a visitor’s visa, depending on their working status. The window closed at 6pm Tuesday and it is understood that around 600 people did not show up to either the immigration headquarters in Elgin Avenue or to the special emergency processing centre which was set up at the Mary Miller Hall.
TLEP holders have been given the chance to have those permits extended for just 45 days, in which time their employers can go through the process of applying for a new work permit for them if they cannot find a suitably qualified Caymanian willing or able to fill the post. Government has said that the Department of Immigration will work closely with the National Workforce Development Agency to identify willing and able Caymanians to fill any position held by foreign workers, which includes those previously on a TLEP.
“Yesterday was a very busy day for immigration staff,” said Premier Alden McLaughlin. “While some people had to wait outside for a while at headquarters, the system was fair and efficient.”
Although those here for eight years can now apply for permanent residency, government is hoping that its new more stringent and robust application process will deter many from applying as most will not be eligible under the new points system.
Still no sign of EPS report
(CNS): In his latest report on the state of government’s book-keeping the auditor general has found that progress is being made towards clearing its backlog but there is still no sign of a full report from government on what it did with the public’s money. While most entities are managing to meet relevant statutory deadlines, Alastair Swarbrick said there were still challenges with the quality of information submitted to his office. Despite a decade of problems relating to public accounting and significant resources being invested in trying to address them, it is ten years since the government last produced an Entire Public Sector consolidated account of its expenditure. Not only that but more than a quarter of public authorities still failed to submit enough information for audit of the 2011/12 financial year.
By 30 September of this year, fifteen months after the financial year end, audits for twelve government entities have still not been completed for the year ending 30 June 2012, which continues to prevent government from publishing the full picture of how it spends tax payer’s money. Despite the requirements under the Public Management and Finance Law, the government’s bean counters still seem incapable of following the law anddoing their job for a catalogue of reasons
The auditor general also reported that there are still nine audits from 2005 through 2011 that are still not completed but he said the backlog was at the point where it should no longer impact the ability of the government to become current with its books.
Swarbrick said he intended to report more comprehensively on the outcomes of his audits of the financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2012 in the near future, including the situation regarding the full consolidate report of the entire public sector.
"There continues to be progress in the timeliness of financial reporting, with increasing numbers being completed within the statutory timescales or significantly earlier than had previously been the case,” he said. “However there continues to be a number of entities where challenges still exist to moving forward the timeliness of financial reporting,” Swarbrick warned. His office, he said, would continue to work with government to address the issues, and the goal was to “move forward the quality and timeliness of financial reporting to ultimately enable accountability and transparency in government finances to be restored.”
Of the completed audits for 2011/12, three ministries, the Cabinet office and nine statutory authorities still received qualified opinions. In addition, only twelve of the public authorities who have completed last year’s audits have had those tabled in the Legislative Assembly, enabling the public to see the state of financial affairs for those government entities.
See the full report below or visit the Office of the Auditor General website.