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Premier to take just four delegates to JMC

(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin will be leading a small government delegation to Britain with him at the weekend when he leaves the Cayman Islands Saturday to attend the annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London. Wayne Panton is the only other minister on the trip, and three civil servants will also be going: Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose; the JMC “Sherpa”, Jennifer Ahearn; and Home Affairs Chief Officer Eric Bush. The delegation will be gonefor just one week and there are no other trips planned to other countries by the government officials either before or after the London meeting, which is hosted by the FCO. The governor, Helen Kilpatrick, will also be attending the annual meeting.

The JMC is designed to bring leaders from the territories and the FCO’s OT minister and other UK cabinet officials together to provide a forum for the exchange of views on political and constitutional issues between the territories and the UK government.

“Our goal in the Cayman Islands is to build sustainable economies, create jobs and drive prosperity,” said McLaughlin. “Once we do these things, we can ensure a better quality of life for our citizens and visitors.”

The JMC takes place between the 25-29 November and discussions on strategies for promoting the security and issues such as good governance in all the overseas territories as well as economic diversification, attracting investment, vocational education and employment will be on the agenda. During the JMC, participants will also review and implement strategy and commitments in the 2012 White Paper ‘The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability’.

On Tuesday night the premier will host an invitation-only dinner for current and potential future Friends of Cayman at the InterContinental Hotel, Westminster, where he will deliver a speech and answer questions.

A major UK-Overseas Territories Business Forum will also be held alongside the JMC on 28 November. The event will provide an opportunity for the overseas territories delegates to meet with UK businesses and investors to explore opportunities in all of Britain’s territories.

The delegation will be gone for one week and will return to Cayman on Saturday, 30 November.

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Premier presses for parliamentary independence

(CNS): The country’s seat of democracy is still controlled by the deputy governor’s office, but Premier Alden McLaughlin believes that needs to change and is pressing for the independence of the Legislative Assembly from the administrative arm of government. Speaking at a special seminar organised by the local branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) designed to help MLAs better understand parliamentary procedure and rules at the Legislative Assembly, McLaughlin said that the Standing Orders, the regulations that govern the procedures, need to be modernised. The seminar offered an opportunity for MLAs to discuss making the LA an autonomous body and removing the direct link to the civil service. 

Ezzard Miller, the independent member for North Side, said that the three elements of government — the parliament that makes the laws, the civil service which implements them and the judiciary which upholds them — had to function independently and separately from each other, so it was wrong for the executive arm of government to control the management and budget of the legislature.

The members of the LA were offered presentations from local attorney Steve McField, and overseas contributors included Speaker of the Trinidad and Tobago House of Representatives, Wade Mark; Speaker of Bermuda’s House of Assembly, Randolph Horton; Speaker of Dominica’s House of Representatives, Alix Boyd-Knight; and Clerk of Jamaica’s Houses of Parliament, Heather Cooke.

Cayman’s own speaker, Julianna O’Connor Connolly, also took part in the presentations. Senior MLAs provided tips and assistance to the new members, adding value to the discussions and debates emanating from the proceedings.

The CPA Secretariat’s Assistant Director of Communications and Research, Arlene Bussette, summed up the purpose of the two-day session. She said the core CPA programme aims to build capacity in newly elected MLAs to help them meet their democratic duties effectively and efficiently, while also serving as a refresher course for returning parliamentarians.

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Alden sets out busy year

(CNS): The premier outlined a busy agenda for his government during 2013/14 when he spoke for more than an hour and a half Monday, as he delivered a policy statement following the governor’s throne speech and ahead of the finance minister’s budget address. As the Legislative Assembly budget meeting opened, Alden McLaughlin listed a catalogue of policy development and legislative amendments the PPM administration hopes to tackle before this financial year is over. Promising sound financial management and responsive social policies, he said there were no silver bullets for the challenges the country faced but confidence in Cayman was being restored after its reputation had been sullied at home and abroad.

In a policy statement entitled 'Getting Back on Course', the premier began by saying that the voters had given the People’s Progressive Movement a mandate to restore the lustre of Cayman’s tarnished reputation.

“A reputation that had been sullied both at home and abroad by charges of corruption, abuse of office, mismanagement of the economy, a soured relationship with the United Kingdom and all manner of unsavoury practices and unseemly behaviour,” he said.
With a  good reputation being the flip side of the confidence coin, restoring that confidence was the first step for the new government, which he said had made “considerable headway”, with the “suspicion and scepticism of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office replaced with trust and respect.”

McLaughlin said foreign investors now had “certainty that transparent, legal processes will protect their investments", while local business owners had been "buoyed by the consultative process” that his government is engaging in.

“We know that the restoration of confidence is not a one shot deal and we shall continue to consult regularly with stakeholders in business and civil society and maintain our promise to be open, transparent and accountable,” he said. McLaughlin noted that there were “no silver bullets or 'one size fits all' cures,” before detailing the goals of the government’s first year in office. He said achieving the goals would involve a targeted approach through specific educational and training programmes.

“Investment in a modern infrastructure will be within our means and will yield maximum returns for the country. Expenditure on government and by government will give value for money,” he said, and although government would facilitate the environment, growth and employment would be driven by the private sector. McLaughlin stated that the planned immigration reforms would be the core of future economic expansion that would protect Caymanians while acknowledging the need for a reliable labour force.

With unemployment among locals a key issue, the premier said the revamp of the National Workforce Development Agency (NWDA) would make it easier for Caymanians looking for work as businesses will work directly with the NWDA to find Caymanians to fill their vacancies before they make an application for a work permit.

“We have heard the cries of our people in their search for jobs and we are doing much to ensure jobs for Caymanians in the near and far future,” he said, adding that the combination of increased economic activity, immigration reform, new NWDA initiatives and vocational training will put Caymanians back to work, as he emphasised how it will now be an offence for employers not to acknowledge Caymanian applicants.

McLaughlin also mentioned a suite of programmes to get Caymanians into work from the employment ministry and the identification of over 200 unemployed Caymanians who want to work in hospitality industry that government will be helping to place in jobs beginning this month.

Crime was another area of concern, in particular the recent increase in gun-related crime. McLaughlin spoke about recent police successes, with the round-up of robbery suspects and seizing drug canoes. He said Cayman had to be open for business but closed to criminals as he announced more would be done to try and help vulnerable business to protect themselves, either through legislation or duty concessions. Critical attention was being given to the Crime Reduction Strategy, he said but noted that there are numerous programmes aimed at fighting crime. However, to really make a dent in crime a coordinated effort was required to ensure accountability and effectiveness of these programmes.

In a long speech the premier listed a considerable amount of planned legislation, from the enactment of disability legislation to the national conservation law, which he said would be brought to the LA before the year is out. He revealed that the government intended to adopt the draft climate policy, produced in 2011 by a multi-disciplinary public and private sector initiative led by the Department of Environment, and to begin urgent work on an implementation plan.

McLaughlin announced changes to social policies at the Department of Child and Family Services which would see clinical issues separated from welfare issues, and amendments to the Poor Person’s Relief Law, as well as the development of accompanying Regulations.

They were reviewing and re-writing the Cabinet code of practice to manage government and bring it in line with the constitution, but in the meantime the current guidelines, established in 1995, would be made public for the first time. Government has already published the proposed Standards in Public Life bill, after four years in waiting, on the government gazette.

McLaughlin revealed some planned enhancements on the Sister Islands, including what is likely to prove a controversial plan to develop a runway on Little Cayman. The airport on Cayman Brac will also be enhanced and Cayman Airways will be opening an office on the island. He announced that the costly hurricane shelter on the Bluff, which was nicknamed Hurricane Hilton, will be converted into a new high school.

With a heavy emphasis on reducing government spending to balance the books, McLaughlin also pointed to the importance of e-government, which was an election campaign promise. He said government would utilize technology to cut costs and red tape. He pointed to the high saturation of computer at 74%, internet use at 65% and cell phone owners at 98.5%, with many now using smart phones. Government has plans to maximise information technology to provide better services.

From the boosting of local food production and sports tourism development to exploring how Cayman can become a centre for medical research and the challenges of tackling the George Town dump, the premier listed a myriad of diversepolicy aims and new legislation that his government is hoping to tackle.

McLaughlin said that the budget, which was presented by finance Minister Marco Archer, underpinned the broad plans and would provide the “oxygen to stoke the economic fires” as he thanked everyone involved.

Pointing to the importance of inclusivity in his government, McLaughlin thanked the Speaker, Juliana O’Connor Connolly, for crossing the floor and joining the PPM in the wake of the election, as well  the three Coalition for Cayman members and his own Progressives team for providing Cayman with what he was said was the best government possible. 

“The result is an administration of immense depth and ability and which I am most honoured to lead,” the premier added.

See the premier’s policy statement below.

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Premier: ‘Bill misunderstood’

(CNS): The premier defended his proposed immigration changes Thursday, maintaining that some people misunderstood what the reforms were meant to achieve and what the result would be, and he accused some of spreading falsehoods about the changes. In the face of a planned rally next month against the immigration amendment bill tabled last week, Alden McLaughlin said it was the democratic right of people to demonstrate but he really hoped that they would take time to understand the changes and the bill's intent. Admitting that there had been much internal discussion in government around the bill, he said his Cabinet was not split and he was confident of safe passage once it reached the floor of the LA. 

Nevertheless, the premier raised concerns about the current opposition to the bill during his presentation at the Chamber of Commerce annual legislator’s lunch.

“It has not escaped my attention that either through ignorance or mischief there are people who have been playing on the emotions of Caymanians to try to convince them that their interests are not being protected by the Amendments to the Immigration Bill,” the premier stated.

He said that the rollover policy had not been abolished, even though all ex-pats will now be allowed to stay long enough to apply for permanent residency, and said those who are refused PR will still be rolled out. McLaughlin said the term limit was not being removed but extended from seven years to nine for all work permit holders. What has been abolished, the premier said, is the key employee status, which will level the playing field for permit holders.

“The change means that all work permit holders will be treated in the same way,” he said. “Under the current system, it is the employer who makes the determination as to who is a key employees and who can stay beyond the seven years to eventually qualify in terms of time spent on island to apply for permanent residence. By extending the length of time a work permit holder can remain to nine years and allowing all work permit holders who reach eight years to apply for permanent residence, government can now decide through an open and transparent points system who will be granted permanent resident status rather than having this determined by employers, he told the audience of Chamber members.

Speaking to the press after the lunch presentation, McLaughlin said that the new PR point system would change and be more robust. He said applicants would require 110 points instead of the current 100 to qualify and more factors would be considered.

The premier said that, despite the debate and the opposition from some quarters, he believed that the majority of peoplewere in support of the changes and that they would see that this would not “open the flood gates” for all ex-pat and permit holders to become Caymanian. He said that although the criteria for PR would be fairer, it would be more stringent and therefore everyone would not get through.

In the face of the planned rally, McLaughlin said he hoped that when people saw the reality of the situation they would come to a different view as their fears will not be realized, and said their concerns were entirely unfounded. However, if government believed there were significant numbers of people opposed to what was happening, it was prepared to listen to those concerns.

“We have paid attention to concerns all along,” he said, adding that this was why government had pulled back from the original ten year limit and why it was clamping down on what have been seen as fraudulent job descriptions by employers, designed to tailor jobs to specific individuals.

McLaughlin said that the real problems for Caymanians were happening at the other end of the process, when employers were seeking ways to employ ex-pats in the first place while Caymanians were available, and that would be part of the next phase of reform.

“The entire immigration and work permit application process is being strengthened and protections built in to protect the integrity of the system,” he added.

The premier said he would be talking widely over the next few days about the various specific provisions of the bill ahead of the debate in the Legislative Assembly.

The strategy to reform the immigration policy was to make it more responsive to the employment needs of Caymanians, he added, while at the same time ensuring that the labour needs of the market are adequate to service the areas where Caymanians are either not qualified or not available.

McLaughlin stressed, “Immigration legislation is, among other things, used to protect the jobs of the local population.” But he added, “It is not, in and of itself, employment legislation,” as he emphasised that the government was also tackling unemployment through the National Workforce and Development Agency and various other initiatives.

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Travel raises contention ahead of premier’s next trip

(CNS): Having recently returned from a trip to Gibraltar, Jersey and the UK, the country’s premier is taking another overseas trip this weekend, this time to Miami to represent the Cayman Islands at the 2013 KPMG Island Infrastructure Summit. Alden McLaughlin will be a panellist at a discussion on Monday regarding infrastructure projects in the islands but is expected to fly back to Cayman later that day to continue budget preparations. Travel became a contentious issue during the previous administration, with criticisms over the number of trips then premier McKeeva Bush and other UDP ministers took when in office. Now the opposition leader, Bush has described the new government as “hypocritical”.

He pointed out that he was berated for travelling and criticised heavily by the opposition and others who have “turned 360 degrees” now that they are in government.

“When I was premier, I had many many subject matters that at the time I had to travel to conduct business for,” he said. “Today, there are four ministers doing what 'me one' had to do … not to mention the duties and responsibilities as the premier of the country,” he said, as he pointed to the role of financial services now held by Wayne Panton, planning now held by Kurt Tibbetts, tourism held by Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, and finance held by Marco Archer.

He said covering those subject matters required his attendance at meeting, forums and negotiations, from Washington to Europe, in efforts to preserve relationships, bring new business to the island and get Cayman in good standing with the G20 and the OECD, keep the credit rating, and protect the financial services sector.

“I was criticised severely by the PPM and the now premier, Alden McLaughlin. It’s more than hypocritical, to say the least, the extent that they went to berate and complain and point fingers, making mountains out of mole hills. Today, with just four months in office, he and his team is already 'on the road' quite a bit,” Bush added

Less critical of the actual travel, however, he gave the premier the benefit of the doubt, adding that he could be doing what he said he would during the campaign, which was to hit the ground running.

“I wish him luck and I hope and pray he is successful in hitting the ground running, and  not running the people into the ground!” Bush added, saying he was keen to put politics aside because if the country is to succeed, the premier and ministers must travel to be at meetings and negotiate on our behalf.

“In so doing, they will need protocol and transport services no matter how long it takes for a meeting to begin and end. They should, as the premier of the Cayman Islands, have personal security and they must be able to travel in a situation where they can read or study their papers, discuss the matter with their colleagues and be ready physically and mentally able,” he said, explaining that meetings would sometimes come after a three to ten hour flight.

These comments by the opposition leader come just days after the announcement that the RCIPS Financial Crimes Unit has opened another investigation into the former premier, this time over the alleged misuse of limousine services in the US, accusations that Bush has denied.

Defending the travel, he said that the country’s leaders needed to do it and needed protocol support and to think otherwise was putting down the government, the country and all the people.

“The premier must travel and have the necessary convenience and services to try and be successful for the country. He is the premier of the Cayman Islands, one of the largest financial and international business centres of the world,” Bush added.

Nevertheless, the issue of travel has already dogged thisadministration after just four months, despite the introduction of a stricter travel policy, which will see politicians and civil servants flying economy-plus rather than business class, and delegations cut to the wire. On this trip McLaughlin is taking only one member of staff from his office, Kenneth Bryan, his political assistant.

CNS submitted questions to the premier regarding some of the questions that have been raised about his and his government’s travel following the significant controversy over Education Minister Tara Rivers’ extended trip to the CPA in South Africa, and we are awaiting a response.

With the exception of the situation concerning Rivers, however, since taking office the new government has been transparent about who is travelling where and why and has also proactively revealed the costs to the public purse. 

On this trip, the premier will only be away for two days and stay just one night in a hotel. According to a release from his office, the conference will explore how island economies can use alternative financing models, such as public private partnerships, to work with the private sector to deliver innovation and efficiencies in asset management, and achieve accelerated infrastructure development that drives economic growth. In light of the plans for the cruise port, the conference has some direct relevance for the CIG

McLaughlin will be on a panel Monday with Bermuda Premier Craig Cannonier; Ryan Pinder, the minister of financial services, trade and industry in The Bahamas; and Dennis Richardson, Sint Maarten’s justice minister.

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Premier visits seniors and home for troubled youth

(CNS): As the ministerresponsible for community affairs, Premier Alden McLaughlin called on residents at the Golden Age Home and also visited four young men who are currently resident at the Bonaventure Home for Boys, both in West Bay. Bonaventure, which was founded in 1974, was the first major service project of the Grand Cayman Rotary Club. The premier’s father, Alden McNee McLaughlin Sr, was one of the members of the club who came up with the idea to build a home to provides secure accommodation and rehabilitation for young boys risk between 13 and 18. Managed by the Children and Youth Services Foundation, a government owned company, the home provides programmes of rehabilitation; education and social development skills for young offenders.

The boys are sentenced via the court through the Department of Children and Family Services. A Therapeutic Community Programme has been in place at the home for more than a year and represents the adoption of principles that focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment, encouraging young people to dig deep and confront their issues, typically within a peer-group setting. Instead of punishment, they learn the logical consequences of their actions.

The BBH underwent renovations to reflect the philosophy. There is an open dorm layout for staff observation and safety, classrooms, and a group meeting room. Residents have a daily schedule consisting of education, group counseling, individual counseling, meals, recreation, dorm cleaning, and check-ins.

Boys must achieve goals in six separate levels before being allowed to re-enter the lives of their families and schools on a full-time basis. Achievement of each level can take weeks to months. The programme can cater up to 10 boys; currently there are four, with each of them achieving at different levels.

At the Golden Age Home in West Bay, the premier met with clients and staff, where some have worked for 20 years or more. “It takes special people to do this type of work to get someone to stay that length of time,” McLaughlin said. “Someone is doing something right.”

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Premier taking Gibraltar trip

(CNS): Officials revealed this morning that the premier will be leaving the islands on another government overseas trip, this time to Europe. Alden McLaughlin will head to Gibraltar at the weekend for a pre-meeting of the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), which coincides with that contested territory’s National Day, and then on to Jersey for a meeting in relationto the G8. Accompanying the premier to Gibralta will be the chief officer from the health ministry, Jennifer Ahearn, in the role of ‘Sherpa’ – or emissary – for Cayman, to work with others from the Overseas Territories and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to develop the agenda for the JMC meeting in London in November.

The news comes following the revelations on CNS yesterday that Speaker of the House Juliana O’Connor Connolly, the leader of the opposition and the education minister were all in South Africa for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association while the Legislative Assembly was in session here.

The premier's week long trip is reported to be laying the groundwork for the main JMC meeting in London later this year.

“The pre-meeting will be held from 8-11 September and is an opportunity for all Overseas Territory heads of government to exchange views on political and constitutional issues, especially as they relate to the United Kingdom and its relationship with the OTs,” officials from the premier’s office said.

JMC members last met in London in December. Since then the Council has identified issues to be worked on, which include economic growth and jobs; protecting the environment; harnessing international support; and delivering better government, better education and stronger, healthier and safer communities.

After that, McLaughlin is travelling to Jersey at the official invitation of the Jersey government, to meet with the country’s chief minister, Ian Gorst, as a follow-up to discussions relating to the pre-G8 meeting in London in June of this year and the action plans that were published by Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies.    

The premier will be joined in Jersey by Financial Services, Commerce and Environment Minister Wayne Panton and his councillor, Roy McTaggart, while Ahearn will head to London for a Sherpa meeting. They will all return to the Cayman Islands on Saturday, 14 September.

According to details from the Gibraltar press, the Cayman Islands premier will be one of 8 OT leaders going to the island for the meeting; the others are from Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos and Pictairn.

“A full programme of activities and events has been prepared for them. This will include working meetings in advance of the Joint Ministerial Council between the Overseas Territories Governments and the United Kingdom Government which will take place at the end of the year,” an release from Gibraltan officials said.

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