Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has hailed as a success the recently concluded Joint Ministerial Council talks in London, saying the jurisdiction emerged in a better position than first anticipated going into the talks.
“We came back… our financial services is not shut down [and] it’s going to grow I have no doubt about that,” O’Connor-Connolly said on government radio, promising the livelihoods of those in financial services will be protected from the threat of public beneficial ownership registers.
Instead, she said, British Overseas Territories agreed to implement “Legitimate Interest Access Registers” of beneficial ownership which will limit access to those with cause to inspect, such as law enforcement agencies, journalists and some civic groups.
Leaders also agreed, according to the JMC communique after the meetings last week, to put in place legislation on registers of beneficial ownership approved through their respective legislatures by April 2025, with implementation by June 2025 or earlier.
O’Connor-Connolly also announced a $500 payout for civil servant pensioners and an increased duty allowance of $1,000 which commences 1 Dec. to 6 Jan.
She said further announcements will be made from Social Development Minister and Deputy Premier Kenneth Bryan on additional Christmas support for the vulnerable in the community.
‘Female David’ vs Goliath
The premier said that the meetings caused her “sleepless nights” as she had walked into the role of Financial Services Minister after the sudden departure of her Deputy Premier André Ebanks.
The Premier and her former deputy will be on opposite ends of the Parliament when they meet in the House on 9 Dec.
Ebanks, in a statement Thursday, said his team of MPs were not prepared to support the government should it move ahead with a referendum bill, or with changes to the conservation law at the upcoming sitting.
“We would not consider a proposed referendum bill or a National Conservation Amendment Bill to be so urgent as to justify varying the constitutionally mandated due process by waiving the 28-day notice and foregoing the complete 28-day public consultation in order for the two proposed bills to be debated at the next meeting of Parliament,” he said.
There has been no indication from government on the status of these proposed bills.
In the wake of his departure, she said she had a “difficult” decision to either call an early election and miss the JMC, where the critical issue of beneficial ownership registers was high on the agenda.
“I just felt that our financial sector is so important to us. That’s the fuel to our budget, and people depend on it. It creates jobs, it gives scholarships to my people and I was not going, they could do whatever they wanted to do with me, but I was not going to go there and give it away,” she said.
Reflecting on the UK talks, O’Connolly-Connolly, said going into the meetings, she felt like a “little female David” going up against the Goliath of a new Labour-led government knowing that they wanted open beneficial ownership registers.
“It went very well. It was not adversarial. We finished in time. We covered all the subjects, and we came out with a consensus. I felt good,” she said of the meetings.
The Premier had headed into London riding a wave of criticism. However, she said she had “trust in God” and held her ground for the industry before agreeing to the final terms of the communique.
Ministry of Financial Services Chief Officer Dax Basdeo, who also appeared on the government radio show, said there will be no ‘Order in Council’ from the UK for the registers as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is “not looking to legislate” to the overseas territories.
The Cayman delegation were mindful of the somewhat contentious interactions they had had with previous Labour-led governments on the issue of financial services.
“We are very aware in Cayman of what the previous Labour government looked like to us. There were very pejorative and attacking approaches taken to us in the past,” Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose said during the radio interview.
However, he said the Premier asked for the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary to join the talks if they wanted to have a “reset” of the relationship and they did join some of the discussions.
O’Connor-Connolly said she was hopeful following the talks and the promises of “openness and transparency.”
UK talks opened door to ‘advancing’ constitution
O’Connor-Connolly said the issue of advancing the constitution was also raised during the talks.
She said the UK had indicated that they are not “holding us on a string to be with the UK”.
“In Cayman’s instance that is our choice. It has worked well for us, but they have left open the door that if we want to go that direction,” she said.
O’Connor-Connolly said they were told if they wanted to “advance” Cayman’s constitution, they can make appointment to do so, however she said “we hadn’t quite reached there.”
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