A get-tough policy on immigration is vital to protect the future of Caymanians and Cayman businesses, the finance minister has warned MPs.
Rolston Anglin, the minister of finance and economic development, said he could see “a country with limitless possibility and opportunity”.
He added, “But if we have an open border policy where everyone can come in, everyone can simply come in, everyone can get all the way up to PR [permanent residency] stage and have a broken system that you have years of waiting to hear an application, then how do we protect Cayman and Caymanian business to ensure that we are creating the wealth that we tell our people about?”
Anglin said in Parliament on Tuesday, 11 Nov., “For too long we have ignored the fact that countless nationalities have come to Cayman in the last 50 years, not as an accountant or lawyer, but as a contractor – sometimes they weren’t even a contractor when they got here.
“Sometimes they were just a skilled mason and they then transitioned and became a contractor and now living the Caymanian dream.”
Anglin said the “desecration” of Cayman’s middle class had not been as much about lack of opportunity but “lack of guts and courage” on the issue of immigration.
Anglin, who sat in the house between 2000 and 2013 before returning after the last election, said he had left politics with the 2004 immigration legislation mandating “a hard, stern, strict rollover policy”.
‘Carve outs’
He added, “No one is going to tell me in financial services or otherwise that the law limited their ability to grow and generate business because it is not true.”
Anglin said that the legislation “had all the carve-outs necessary for key employee provisions”.
He added, “When you worked that in tandem, along with the rest of the economy, you had a formula that if it was built upon many, many more Caymanians would be in a position today to not to have been pushed out of business because other nationalities come and take care of their own.
“That is a fact. That is an uncomfortable truth that nobody wants to talk about because we want to pussyfoot around and play politics because we want all the other nationalities to vote for us. That’s the fact, Mr. Speaker.”
He asked how many businesses sub-contracted to Caymanian contractors of the type many MPs had grown up with.
Anglin said, “But you see, we want to continue to play the politics because we want the next wave of voting persons who, if we keep the open policy that exists today, would mean that every single one of them wouldn’t just get to apply for PR, they would get it.”
He pointed out that a score of 30 points for investing $500,000 in Cayman property was enough to gain residency status.
But Anglin said, “The fact is we have a small community, a small economy.
“The United States of America has 300 plus million people and are talking about having to protect themselves and their industries, yet we want to have this happy-go-lucky, we’re whistling as though it was ‘The Sound of Music’ up on a hill with all sorts of flowers and we’re skipping and we’re dancing and that’s how we’re going to solve immigration.”
Frozen out
He added that Caymanians risked being frozen out of the economy.
Anglin said, “Humans naturally acclimate towards each other. We act and pretend like that’s some shock.
“We go ‘Oh, man, well, if you’re from X country and you like working with him and we’ll hire persons from your country’, that’s a big shocker, Mr. Speaker.
“That’s not a big shock, Mr. Speaker. That’s how humans behave.”
Anglin said, from the little he had heard from the opposition benches so far on proposed immigration changes, he hoped that would not be acceptable to them.
He said, “It was their government who took the rollover policy, listened and were scared by those who could scare them in the private sector, who came with their Anansi stories and told them ‘oh, this is going to kill our businesses’ when there’s no evidence of that whatsoever.”
Related Videos
The rhetoric this government spews is a real black mark for this economy and the future economy. The damage may be done.
The government leaders simply don’t acknowledge not every single Caymanian can start a business. Businesses fail. They come with a lot of risk. Meanwhile a lot of the time other people take on the risk, employ Caymanians and Caymanians are working or (hardly working/ little effort) and getting paid six figures. They are simply unfireable even when lazy in office and show up late.
I think one think everyone can agree on- we can’t say Caymanians are the hardest working or we wouldn’t need to hire any Jamaican construction workers. There’s plenty of jobs out there so no clue what this government is always going on about but they should fix Seven Mile Beach, Mount Trashmore and the traffic. I’ve come to the conclusion that Caymanians don’t want to do hard jobs and also the government doesn’t want to take on projects that require money and thought.
The Cayman Islands already has one of the most restrictive immigration policies in the world.
Dubai, for example, is far more inviting to people bringing capital and knowledge. Their population is 80% expats and the Emeratis are very well off.
10,000 millionaires left the UK last year due to its poor policies and high crime. How many bought their money and businesses here?
Why not?
There are two pillars to our economy:
Tourism and finance.
A tourist can visit us and, apart from the immigration officer and a taxi driver, might not meet a Caymanian during their stay.
Job fairs are regularly held but very few Caymanians take tourism jobs.
The Honorable Gentleman complains about people being shut out of the top jobs; but how many were TRULY qualified to take those jobs?
There was an article in this fine newspaper a few weeks ago about life here 60 years ago. The men went to sea, the women wove rope out of silver thatch. Cars and even electricity were rare. But mosquitoes were not. Older Caymanians talk about walking while holding a smoke pot to keep them away.
Medical care meant a flight to Miami, if one could afford it.
There’s not a Caymanian alive today who’s not better off than they would have been 60 years ago.
It is for the government to manage the economy. How will they pay the bills if the economy contracts and businesses close; or don’t open here in the first place?
“Sometimes they were just a skilled mason and they then transitioned and became a contractor and now living the Caymanian dream.”
Anglin said the “desecration” of Cayman’s middle class had not been as much about lack of opportunity but “lack of guts and courage”
I a pro pro pro Caymanian. But to be clear, I am pro hard working, dedicated, ambitious, PEOPLE. Those people always succeed. Anglin should be embarrassed that he is identifying the issue: a person leaves a country to come to Cayman. they work any job. Work work work. Dedicate themselves and build themselves. To me a Caymanian is a person who is dedicated to building our Nation. Contributing to our society. A giver, not a taker. Someone who makes things happen not blames others. There are people who have contributed and worked hard over a long time to help build this country. And there are those waiting for handouts and crying they are over looked. Can the politicians stop spewing the rubbish. He is right about one thing. There are loads of people who earned their status in Cayman. And can vote.
WOW, love these 3 responses to this article.
In my 42 years in Cayman, I would generally say, Caymanians want a Civil Service paycheck, work unsupervised from home and have a trade & businesses license for a second income.
There is way too much waste and abuse in government, period…
The financial services industry was created by expatriates (i.e. Bill Walker and James MacDonald), and has become a global financial centre by the drive of expatriates. The same applies to the tourism industry. Both sectors have created jobs and endless opportunities for Caymanians, should they wish to apply themselves and take them. However, if you push away expatriates as they are, they also push away Caymanian jobs and opportunities. More jobs than ever before are leaving Cayman, and this is only going to increase.
The problem is and always has been, a proper plan to thoroughly educate more Caymanians so more are able to take the top jobs, start successful businesses, and in a minor number of cases, actually find work. Instead, the government is shifting blame to expatriates and targeting them, not realising the knock-on effects it has on Caymanians.
It’s rash and short-sighted.