Sidebar
David Kirkaldy
Interview with President David Kirkaldy:
Q: What motivated you to volunteer to assist the Chamber of Commerce with its work?
David: I’ve always regarded the Chamber as a forthright advocate, supporter and promoter of free enterprise in the Cayman Islands. Over the years the leadership has addressed many issues that have been important to me as a business owner.
Like so many others, I watched from the sidelines but then decided about four years ago to get more involved. It has been a rewarding experience. I plan to encourage more business leaders to get involved this year.
The Chamber’s success is based in its ability to benefit from the talents and combined contributions from its membership. By pooling our resources, talents and expertise, the Chamber can provide direction and advice on important public policy issues and provide programmes and services that assist the membership and wider community.
In my opinion it serves no useful purpose to criticise from the sidelines if you are not prepared to help with identifying practical solutions. The Chamber is solutions oriented and that’s why I got involved.
Q: What does the Chamber consider to be the main challenges facing the Cayman Islands business community and how does the new Council plan to address them during your term as president?
David: The first step will be to release a membership survey in the new year so that the Council can confirm the issues that are important to the membership. Another survey will be developed and released for small businesses. Small to medium sized enterprises are vital for the success of the Cayman Islands and it is my intention to place more focus on the needs of this sector.
It is apparent that the economy will remain the top issue that will dominate the Chamber’s agenda in 2012. We have been reliably informed that more than 400 trade and business licenses were not renewed last year.
This clearly demonstrates the impact of the slowdown in the economy. Several businesses have closed or moved out of central George Town. This is another concern that will have to be addressed. Immigration, labour, the Government spending and the evolving relationship between the UK and the Cayman Islands will also dominate our agenda as well as the five drivers for the Future of Cayman Economic Development initiative.
Q: Small businesses represent the majority of the Chamber of Commerce’s total membership. This sector has faced extreme challenges over the past three years due to a shrinking local population, decrease in local demand for products and services, increased costs and the overall impact of the global economic downturn. What strategies or recommended policies will the Chamber advocate to assist this sector?
David: A special survey will be released in the first quarter so that the Council can develop a small business agenda that is relevant to the needs of the membership. Over the years we have received comments about various challenges that small businesses face including the high cost of doing business, debt collection procedures, bank fees, bounced cheques, access to skilled labour, and business license and work permit fees.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and we need to focus more on what can be done to support this sector and to encourage more Caymanians to become business owners. The Chamber will be introducing some programmes to assist small businesses including health insurance, business coaching and human resources assistance. More information about these initiatives will be announced in the first quarter of this year.
Q: The Future of Cayman Economic Development initiative was launched last year. Is the Chamber leadership pleased with the level of cooperation received between the public and private sectors and the progress that is being made with implementing the objectives and actions?
David: The initiative has already produced some excellent results with the opening of communication channels between the public and private sectors. A plan is only as effective as the people who are committed to implement it.
We have more than 100 volunteers involved so far and I would encourage members to join the initiative by serving on one of the five driver groups or endorsing the initiative. It is a solid strategy for our future development. By supporting and implementing the objectives and actions, we can build a better Cayman.
No one can disagree that the five drivers are important strategies for success. We will be holding the Future of Cayman Forum in November and it is our hope that we will report many successes as we update the strategy.
Related Videos
