Government has yet to provide a set timetable for concluding the ReGen project financial close even as negotiations enter a third year, after missing several deadlines and hard stop dates.
The change in the leadership of the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency and its negotiating team has compounded an already protracted process that has been fraught with concerns over the potential financial burden that it presents.
No date announced
However, a ministry spokesperson, following Cayman Compass queries, stated that negotiations are ongoing for the ReGen project between the Cayman Islands government and the Dart consortium.
“The Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency is working towards sharing more details on updated timelines for the project negotiations in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson added, when asked for a firm timetable.
Cayman has been waiting six years for ReGen to get off the ground and a recent fire at the landfill called into question the status of the project.
In 2017, the Progressives-led government chose the Dart consortium as the preferred bidder on the project. In March 2021, the government signed the deal with the consortium, but the financing of the project remains under negotiation.
In addition, over the recent holiday season, news of changes to the negotiating team made the rounds, in particular that Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn had been moved out of the ministry.
The Compass, since mid-December, has reached out repeatedly to government for official word on these changes.
We have been told to expect a formal response soon.
Last week, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, the new minister for sustainability, appeared on Radio Cayman’s ‘For the Record’ alongside Neyka Webster, who was introduced as the acting chief officer in the ministry.
No mention was made of Ahearn in that interview.
The Compass understands she has been moved to the Portfolio of the Civil Service.
Delays increase cost
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Joey Hew, in a comment to the Compass on the project delays, said while Ebanks-Wilks confirmed to him during recent budget talks that there was some funding set aside to cover two years of work on the landfill project, the “ongoing delay in finalising the ReGen project remains very concerning”.
“The recent fires and the smell from the landfill are reminders of the urgency and importance of solving this issue,” Hew said via email. “As I have said many times, not only is Project ReGen the best waste management solution for our Islands, but it is also the most significant single sustainability project currently envisaged for the Government.
“We are fast running out of time and available landfill space – we must now drive forward with implementing ReGen as a matter of urgency.”
The total cost of the government’s failure to deliver the project on time is unknown, he added, saying, “further delay risks making the project even more costly”.
“But the reality is that the final price tag is one we will need to pay. The question is not whether the country can afford the ReGen project, as there is no other solution, but how the Government will finance the cost,” Hew added.
He said during the recent budget debate in December, the government had “little to say” about how they plan to take the ReGen project forward.
“The Government must come clean about what is happening to Project ReGen, commit to a final date to close the contract, and advise the cost and how they plan to finance it,” Hew said.
Government’s current massive spending plans, tax rises, and excessive borrowing, he said, present “a real risk that the money will not be found to finance this vital national project”.
Hew said paying for the project cannot be something the United People’s Movement administration “tries to leave for the next Government to deal with. Such a course would be reckless and negligent.”
EIA progressing
While the negotiations continue, the work on the environmental impact assessment is ongoing.
Department of Environment Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie last month said the EIA document is currently with the consultants, undergoing revisions.
“We hope to have a final version approved early in the New Year,” she told the Compass in December.
Also in December, Ebanks-Wilks stressed that the missed 30 Nov. deadline for the financial close had nothing to do with the formation of the new UPM government.
She said she identified that “there is a dire need for improved communications” between the government’s project team, the minister and Cabinet, and she assured this will change.
Ebanks-Wilks took over the ministry when former Premier Wayne Panton stepped down last November following a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
Editor’s Note: The Cayman Compass is a subsidiary of Dart Media and Entertainment.
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