Government laid out its plans for the new term of Cayman’s Parliament at the state opening on Friday, with a parliamentary code of conduct, ban on single-use plastics, and new safeguards for children and vulnerable adults high on the action plan.
Governor Jane Owen, as representative of King Charles III, delivered the traditional Throne Speech setting out the government’s agenda for the 2026-27 session.
Official proceeding began with a guard of honour in front of the governor, Premier André Ebanks, Opposition Leader Joey Hew and Speaker of the House, Ezzard Miller before Owen addressed a packed chamber of MPs, officials and invited guests.
Acknowledging that it had been just over year since the general election, Owen congratulated Premier Ebanks and his National Coalition for Caymanians government on “completing this milestone” and also thanked opposition MPs who, she said, often provided a “rather lively commentary” on the business of the day.
Owen began by noting the “ongoing work to adopt a code of conduct for parliamentarians, which remains a gap in our governance structures”.
This has been a long-standing source of debate by MPs, but Owen said, “I hope this House will be able to reach agreement on the code and that it can be published within this Parliament.”
Later in her speech, she said that the Commission on Standards in Public Life and the Anti-Corruption Commission will launch a campaign in July “to remind us all how we can best satisfy the high standards of transparency and accountability”.
Owen then moved onto finance, calling Cayman’s Aa3 bond issuer credit rating, “the product of years of careful stewardship”, which put the country on a level with the likes of the UK, France and Hong Kong, and said that the “financial and professional services industry remains the cornerstone of Cayman’s economy and our government revenues”.
She noted plans to increase digitisation, including across public services, to improve information-sharing and customer experience, of which the new My eID programme was one example, and said she applauded the government’s “continued vigilance” in meeting and exceeding global regulatory standards as the country prepares for the forthcoming evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force in 2027.
She said that Premier Ebanks was committed to continuing to evolve Cayman’s regulation in areas such as sanctions compliance, anti-money laundering and virtual assets, and said that transparency on beneficial ownership had been improved, adding that Cayman was currently in discussion with the United Kingdom about “more streamlined access to the register for law enforcement”.
More jobs than people
Owen said that government’s landmark Caymanian Protection Act “represents a significant step in promoting opportunities for all Caymanians and managing the pace of population growth,” and said that the National Workforce Plan, developed in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, “will create more efficient processes and checks in our work permit system, aligning immigration policy with the needs of the economy, as we all benefit from living in a country where there are vastly more jobs than people”.
Some themes were familiar from last year’s Throne Speech, including promising to improve public transport, tackle poor and illegal driving, and the need to update Cayman Islands’ rules on campaign financing. She said a new electoral boundary commission would be announced shortly, with the aim of reporting in early 2027.
Children and vulnerable adults
Another area where progress is needed, said Owen, was safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. A working team has been set up by Youth Minister Isaac Rankine to revise legislation to better protect our communities, including from online harm, and a Children’s Commissioner was expected to be in place before the end of the year.
Having recently completed the mile-long Flowers Sea Swim, she said she was proud to support the Swim Free programme and also welcomed greater protection for the ocean, including the designation of six new areas for environmental protection, the advancement of an anti-litter law, and a single-use plastics ban, adding, “Cayman’s bid to have Little Cayman’s marine-protected areas designated a UNESCO World Heritage site continues to have the strong support of His Majesty King Charles, who remains keenly interested in all of our conservation efforts.”
She thanked Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service for the low levels of crime across Cayman, saying the detection rate for violent crime, standing over 50%, was the kind of ratio most jurisdictions dream of.
“Most strikingly,” she said, “over the past 18 months, 28 dangerous offenders were all convicted and sentenced to a combined total of 400 years in prison, a clear demonstration of our mantra that violent crime will not be tolerated in Cayman”.
Owen also gave personal thanks to Deputy Governor and Head of the Civil Service Franz Manderson, who retires shortly, saying he “led the civil service with distinction, professionalism and integrity. His commitment to making lives better for the Caymanian people has defined his long and remarkable career.”
Her remarks drew applause from across the chamber, as did her congratulations to Gloria McField-Nixon, who takes up her new role as deputy governor on 8 July, saying, “I have every confidence that she will lead the civil service with the same excellence and dedication that has characterised her whole career.”
Sense of pride
Governor Owen concluded by saying whenever she visited Parliament, “I am struck by the same sense of pride in what Cayman is and what it aspires to be. The people of these islands display strong resilience, a generosity of spirit and a determination to build something good for future generations, and that is truly inspiring.”
MPs spent the rest of the session paying further tributes to Manderson. Legislative work is expected to start in earnest next week, when three government bills and a broad slate of opposition proposals focused on affordability, housing, business opportunities and environmental protection are scheduled.
Related Videos
