The Cayman Islands is struggling to cope with the impact of a surge in population that saw 8,000 new residents arrive on island in the space of a year, Premier Wayne Panton told business leaders Wednesday.
Panton said his government was beginning to get to grips with a backlog in work permit, permanent residency and Caymanian status applications. But he acknowledged that the spike in population had brought practical and cultural challenges that were difficult to manage.
“This is straining our systems. We certainly have not been prepared to handle a surge of that type,” the premier acknowledged in a speech at the Chamber of Commerce Parliamentary Luncheon at the Kimpton Seafire resort.
The most significant increases occurred as the economy resurged after COVID-era lockdowns and border closures, including an influx of 8,000 people between October 2021 and October 2022. That increase follows the arrival of 16,000 new people over the previous decade, he said.
The latest population estimate from the Economics and Statistics Office, in the Fall Labour Force Survey for 2022, was 81,546.
“That’s a challenge for any society to be able to accommodate and to be comfortable with,” he insisted.
Premier: No immigration moratorium in place
Referencing recent discussion of moratoriums – which have included a proposal by Cabinet ministers Kenneth Bryan and Dwayne Seymour to temporarily cease granting Caymanian status to people who have been on island for longer than 15 years – the premier acknowledged that there were some who believe “we need to slow down”.
He didn’t specify whether he personally supported that proposal however and was adamant there is no current moratorium in place, despite concerns over the slow processing of applications.
Panton added, “I think everyone understand the impacts and the issues that (population growth) is generating across the board. With the country in a strong and stable position, we intend to address these issues and deliver even greater, tangible and measurable results.”
He said recommendations from the committee reviewing the permanent residency points system were expected to be delivered in September.
Nonetheless, he insisted government was moving to speed up the process of handling applications amid a slew of complaints from businesses, particularly about the processing of work permits.
Citing statistics that showed almost 3,000 new work permit applications in May, the premier said WORC administrators had processed more than double that number of permits during that time. He said he expected a backlog of around 5,000 permit applications, including renewals, to be cleared within the next few months.
He painted a similar picture for permanent residency and Caymanian status applications, insisting all were being processed and that policies were in place to help clear the backlog.
State of the public purse
Panton recapped some of government’s financial results, insisting Cayman’s finances were in good shape, having recovered from the impact of COVID.
However, he acknowledged that government expenditure was growing faster than revenue, and tough decisions would need to be made around budget time.
The civil service has also grown rapidly, from 3,918 people working in core government in 2020 to 4,511 by the end of last month – a 15% rise that has contributed to the growing cost of government.
While he said government had taken action to help families with the cost-of-living crisis, including temporarily capping CUC bills for 22,000 families and introducing free school meals for children, he accepted some believed this was not enough. But he insisted maintaining sound budgets and not spending recklessly would ensure Cayman’s stability.
He said inflation was starting to come down, the US Federal Reserve confirming Wednesday that it would not increase interest rates further and local banks agreeing to a 30-day grace period before passing on any future adjustments from the Fed.
More generally, he said, Cayman’s economy was booming, despite well documented cost-of-living challenges.
He said the islands had recovered from the pandemic and the key financial services and tourism industries were in good shape.
“International business is thriving, hotels are full again, shops and resorts are bustling, and jobs are available up and down the economic ladder,” he said.
Speaking later in the event in a question and answer session with Chamber president Nelson Dilbert, Panton said his government was contemplating multi-story housing projects as a means to address home ownership challenges.
He added that the Deloitte report on possible public transport reforms had been completed and would likely be released soon. He also gave updates on road projects in the works to deal with traffic.
He said he expected a deal for the future of the landfill to be completed shortly.
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