Last week, we published the first of a series of ‘Issues’ articles that will run through the end of June focused on the growing need for upgrades to Cayman’s physical infrastructure. Rather than focusing on a particular project of need, our first article outlines the challenges in delivering nine different, but all much needed, infrastructure projects.
For people who had the fortitude to read through the bad news to the end of that article, one thing should have become clear: Cayman is in trouble. The critical needs are many and the final cost – no matter what solutions are implemented – will be in the billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the two-year 2026-2027 budget allocates only $209.2 million for capital expenditure and there is no secondary capex fund where money for infrastructure projects can be accrued and saved for the future.
The need for all of these critical infrastructure improvements has been known for years, and in the case of solid waste management, for decades. In some cases, like those for airports, roads and energy generation, the government or a private sector provider has made significant improvements, only to have Cayman’s rapid rate of population growth make them ineffective. In the case of the expansion and renovation of Owen Roberts International Airport, by the time all three phases of project were completed in 2018, the airport was already obsolete due to the growth of Cayman’s population and the increase in visitors arriving by air.
In other cases – with the solid waste management project being the best example – a government administration spent millions of dollars devising a plan, but due to a variety of delays, was unable to get the project past the point of no return before being voted out of office. When this has happened, the new government – either by choice or necessity – has rewound the project all the way back to the starting phase. In terms of a solid waste management solution, this cycle has repeated itself for more than 25 years.
Money has usually been the biggest problem. With only so much in a budget to spend on capital projects, and with some of these projects costing a significant portion – or even more than – an administration’s four-year capital expenditure budget, many governments have focused on what they could start and deliver before the end of their term, thus increasing the chances of being reelected. So instead, we see some new roads, some new schools, some new parks and a renovation here and there, while critical infrastructure projects are given an interim Band-Aid treatment or kicked down the road for another administration to resolve – or not. Unfortunately, ‘not’ is the most common resolution.
We have come to the point, however, that there will be dire consequences for the Cayman Islands if solutions are not agreed and implemented. The National Coalition For Caymanians seems to understand the urgency, at least enough – in most cases – to talk about plans to make a plan. Premier André Ebanks has said the NCFC gained “meaningful momentum” in its first year at the helm of government and promises more tangible outcomes by the end of its second year.
It is unreasonable to think the NCFC or any government could address Cayman’s many critical infrastructure needs in one year, but the fact remains: One-quarter of the way into its four-year term, the NCFC has made no tangible progress on addressing any of those needs. On at least two infrastructure projects – an integrated solid waste management system and the general aviation terminal at the airport – the NCFC has taken the process of finding a long-term solution back to the beginning. Almost immediately after another large fire at the George Town landfill in April, the administration did announce an interim plan – another Band-Aid – that could extend the useful life of the current site for another 10 years, allowing Cayman to kick that can down the road once again.
What the NCFC is now doing – making plans to make a plan – isn’t inherently a bad idea and might even be prudent, providing one of the plans they make looks at the bigger picture and answers some critical questions: What do the majority of voters in this country want Cayman to look like in 10, 20 or 30 years? How does the country intend to manage population growth and tourism growth? How does the government manage development and the environment at the same time? What changes and sacrifices are this and subsequent governments willing to make to pay the billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements that need to be made?
By starting with an encompassing vision that factors in economic, social and environmental outcomes, the government can then proceed to scope these large infrastructure projects in a way that produces the desired and sustainable results.
But something else is also needed if Cayman is to avoid the wasteful and seemingly inevitable time trap where infrastructure projects are planned and sometimes even started, only to have a new government come in and halt the progress that has been made.
The other story that appeared in last Friday’s newspaper and online this past Monday summed up what is needed:
Cayman needs a national infrastructure plan – a binding, cross-government framework that prioritises projects by urgency, identifies funding models in advance and survives changes of administration.
Without it, every government starts from scratch, inherits other people’s half-completed business cases, and spends its capital budget on whichever project has political momentum rather than the one the Cayman Islands most urgently needs.
What Cayman doesn’t need as a matter of urgency is a $50-million high school in Cayman Brac for less than 200 students or a $10-million park in Scranton. That’s not to say that these projects aren’t nice to have, that they’re not needed at all, or that they won’t improve the lives of the residents who use them. But that combined $60 million approved by previous administrations could have gone a long way in resolving one of the critical infrastructure projects that is urgently needed.
The old methods of using interim or Band-Aid measures will not solve Cayman’s long-term infrastructure problems and, in fact, they only add to the total costs of the solutions. New methods are now required.
Although it would be impossible for the NCFC administration to substantively address all of Cayman’s critical infrastructure needs in its current term because of budgetary constraints, it is very possible for it to implement the framework for addressing all of the needs on an urgency basis. To do this, it must work with all elected members of Parliament in Cayman’s best interests and not merely in the interests of its own members’ political survival.
The clock is ticking. One year of the NCFC’s four-year term is already gone. We certainly hope that by the spring of 2029, when NCFC members return to the campaign trail, the coalition will be able to point to meaningful progress on critical infrastructure projects, moving beyond short-term fixes and demonstrating tangible advancement on the long-term solutions Cayman continues to need.
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Excellent analysis.
Sadly, the electoral system isn’t capable of returning politicians who understand, are motivated, or are capable of addressing these issues. Reform must start with the electoral system, otherwise nothing will change.
Cayman’s per-capita GDP rivals Singapore’s. In 50 years, Singaporean politicians built an ultra modern state; Caymanian politicians built a burning landfill. Further, Singapore is on a distinct UPWARD trajectory; Cayman is on an increasingly accelerating DOWNWARD trajectory.
All countries/territories have problems, but what is particularly galling is that Cayman has lots of money and ought to do exponentially better. Put differently, some countries have, for example, resource curse issues such as oil dependence, or the corollary: a lack of resources. Cayman’s problem is that the politicians THEMSELVES are the curse.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Cayman needs long-term planning but before committing billions to new roads, ports, airports, cargo facilities and utilities, we also need an honest conversation about population growth, carrying capacity, environmental limits, and who benefits from perpetual expansion, as these decisions ultimately affect the cost of living for everyone.
Every major infrastructure project is ultimately paid for through public spending, government guarantees, user fees, service charges, or future levies.
The question is not only what Cayman needs to build, but who will pay for it, who will benefit, and whether the long-term costs are being fairly shared.
Growth has costs as well as benefits. Cayman deserves an open discussion about both.
The population needs to be capped now. We CANNOT continue to import “beings” to fill ALL the developments that we keep giving planning permission for and then have to build more roads, bigger ports, bigger schools etc. to accommodate the stress of TOO MANY PEOPLE ON ONE LITTLE ROCK. Yet, a central Sewerage system, the Hospital, the Prisons, Landfill etc. seem to have been swept under the Red Carpet that gets laid out for vanity projects and big money developements. Even our Ambulance service in Bodden Town does not have a facility and our EMT/First Responders have to camp out in the shade of the new church to wait on call. We also do not have a proper Center for meetings, concerts, events and have to rely on the Lions Center, and other private establishments to have such. We need to pump the breaks and even reverse on some things until we decide who we are and where we are going. Are we going to be Cayman or Monaco or Hong Kong or what.