Topic: Government
Police seeking Caymanian recruits to boost staffing levels
Police have launched the second recruitment drive of the year as the service bids to bolster numbers with Caymanian officers
Government plan to amend ‘bicycle’ definition and legalise some registration fees
The government has amended the legal definition of bicycles in a bid clear up confusion over plans impose licence and registration fees for some battery-assisted machines
Letter to the editor: Cayman’s slow moving government
Reader questions the logic of extending the runway into the North Sound when the fiscal and environmental costs cannot be justified.
NiCE programme to be ‘stepping stone’ to full-time work
Commitment to a scheme to give jobless Caymanians work in the run-up to the festive season has been underlined in parliament
Government aims to trim $6M off $59M Cayman Brac school costs
Government says it will save $6 million on the cost of the new Cayman Brac High School by ditching plans for a new gymnasium and its connecting walkways.
Cabinet approves $7.7 million in extra funding for the police
More than $7.7 million in extra funding for the police was approved by the current government in the last meeting of Cabinet before the general election on 30 April.
After latest government collapse, what happens now?
The resignations of four key government members Thursday leaves the Cayman Islands' Parliament hopelessly divided.
Hundreds of Caymanian families used tax rebate to buy first home
Almost 900 Caymanian families were able to get their foot on the first rung of the housing ladder through government's stamp duty waiver for first time home buyers.
New education deputy chief officer announced
A new deputy chief officer at the Ministry of Education has been appointed.
The ministry said Jerome McCoy had been acting deputy chief minister since...
The Issue Explained: Government in crisis as vote of no confidence nears
Government is in turmoil with the House locked at 9-9 and a vote of no confidence looming. Here's a look at some of the key questions around the current crisis and its implications for Cayman ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary session.
Court action dropped as government agrees to honour test order
A Cayman Islands medical supplies company confirmed Monday it plans to drop its lawsuit against government, saying officials have now agreed to honour an order for 500,000 lateral flow test kits.
Hotels to be used to isolate returning students
Hundreds of returning students will be temporarily housed in hotels in Cayman to allow them to isolate without impacting their families.
Government suspends non-essential official travel
Government has suspended all non-essential official business travel as “a precautionary step” as it continues its efforts to keep the coronavirus away from local shores.
EDITORIAL – No harm in an independent opposition
Whether they do so by aligning themselves with the Premier or with the Opposition, there is no reason independent candidates cannot work together to do the job.
EDITORIAL – Disabilities study should be public information
When government uses public funds to study an issue of public interest, the product belongs to the people.
Transparency is a philosophical cornerstone of any...
EDITORIAL – What Bermuda can learn from Cayman … and vice versa
We have our own leaders and community members who employ harmful rhetoric to stoke discontent, while peddling regressive protectionist policies.
EDITORIAL – Law passed, problem solved … Not even close
As written and approved, but never enforced, the law requires elected politicians, senior government workers and government-appointed board members to disclose publicly their personal interests as a means of identifying potential conflicts.
EDITORIAL – 11th-hour scramble to push through ‘blacklist bills’
We draw no comfort from the ministry’s claims that the bills have been subjected to in-depth consultation with Cayman’s financial services industry, local regulators, the EU and OECD. Assuming those discussions took place, they took place behind closed doors – out of sight, and earshot, from either Cayman’s public or stakeholders who were not selected by the government for consultation.
EDITORIAL – Another $4.53M in life support for CINICO
At this point it may seem somewhat obvious to observe that something is seriously wrong with Cayman’s healthcare system generally, and with Cayman’s public health insurer specifically.
EDITORIAL: The landfill saga continues – seemingly without end
The long wait continues, despite last year’s selection of a Dart group-led consortium to build and operate what officials like to call an “Integrated Solid Waste Management System” (or “ISWMS”) but what we’ll refer to as a “new landfill.”
Safety net
Today's editorial cartoon.
EDITORIAL – When government despoils Cayman’s precious wetlands
To environmentalists and conservationists alike, there is no mission more sacred than protecting tropical wetlands, the incubator and habitat of many forms of life...
EDITORIAL – Seeking a new beginning for Sunrise Centre
A fundamental reason why humans organize into societies – and accordingly adhere to restrictive forces such as taxation, laws and governments – is to ensure, through the collective, protections and advantages that cannot be achieved by the individual.
EDITORIAL – CINICO CEO fired: Government’s ‘silent treatment’
The government’s cursory announcement of the firing of Lonny Tibbetts (after eight years’ leading CINICO) masquerades as information, but it is actually an insult – to the public’s intelligence, and to the public’s right to know.
Charge it
Today's editorial cartoon.
EDITORIAL – Seeing the world while working for government
We would argue that for a premier or governor to be successful and effective, much of their work is composed of marketing and public relations.
EDITORIAL – ‘Conspiracy of silence’ surrounding the Choudhury affair
If British officials believe last week’s two-sentence statement on the removal of the territory’s governor will be the final word in the story of Anwar Choudhury in the Cayman Islands, they are dreaming “happy dreams.”
EDITORIAL – At OfReg: Dignity and decorum must be restored
Never let it be doubted: Mr. Pierson is a loyal patriot who deeply loves his country. It is for that very reason – love of country – that he must resign.
EDITORIAL – Government’s spending, spending, spending plan
In recent weeks, days and even hours, we can’t help but observe what appears to be a significant expansion and growth of government that includes new infrastructure (building projects and building acquisitions), new agencies, and now even a new ministry.
Mitchell: The hidden tax of political cronyism
The bottom line is that cronyism promotes and protects inefficiency. And when an economy is less productive, that results in lower incomes and diminished living standards. Sadly, this is not just a problem in developing and transition nations.
EDITORIAL – Bad things can happen to ‘NiCE’ programs
Like many in Cayman, we have spotted in recent days teams of NiCE workers at work alongside our highways, and, frankly, their efforts are making a noticeable difference.
EDITORIAL – Tick-tock goes the Choudhury clock: Where is our governor?
The longer this issue remains unresolved, the greater the reputational damage that continues to accrue – certainly to Governor Choudhury but also to the U.K. and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).
Guest column: The red tape fiasco
You do not have to be a governor or a rocket scientist to figure out that the islands are awash in red tape.
Letter: Give people a say in cruise berthing project
Unfortunately, the current lack of transparency by the government fuels more speculation by the day and leads to many questions ...
Government secrecy
Today's editorial cartoon.
Letter: Reducing the high cost of living
Cayman is a world leader in some instances, while an increasing number of persons each year have to go on welfare. Why is this?
EDITORIAL – Replacing secrecy with transparency in government policy
Silence may be safe, it may be convenient, but it is not an acceptable strategy in a free and democratic society.
EDITORIAL – Gov. Choudhury: Keeping politics out of the process
It is understandable that people would be eager to bring an end to the tension and uncertainty swirling around Cayman’s highest office. But Cayman has nothing to gain by polarization or further division into opposing camps.
Letter – Why Anti-Corruption Commission investigators should be armed
I write in reply to your editorial of July 30, (“Don’t answer the latest call to arms”) which asks a few questions of me.
LETTER: Choudhury investigation must run its course
Please be assured that we will provide further updates on the situation as soon as we are able to do so in a manner that upholds the fairness and integrity of the investigation.
Penal code
Today's editorial cartoon
Public sector sucker fish
Today's editorial cartoon
Mail Call: Sargassum summer
Sargassum. It is quickly becoming a dirty word here in the Caribbean, as massive floating mats of the stuff inundate our shores.
EDITORIAL – For the record: The cost of obtaining public court documents
The Compass does not usually engage in “checkbook journalism,” but this week we were forced to pay cash for a story – not to a source looking for a quick payday, but to the Cayman Islands government. Here's what happened.
No vacation
Today's editorial cartoon
EDITORIAL – Gov. Choudhury puts government on ‘burn notice’
Governor Anwar Choudhury has pledged to “shred or burn policies or bits of bureaucracy” that serve no apparent purpose. We say: “Burn, baby, burn.”
EDITORIAL – Britain and Brussels: The double threat to Cayman’s economy
During these perilous times, we urge Cayman’s leaders to be uncharacteristically open and communicative with the people of these islands. The offshore financial sector provides over half of the entire government budget, and any threat to that industry threatens us all.
Non-profits law
Today's editorial cartoon
Civil servant investigations
Today's editorial cartoon
Bush: An obligation to protect the people of the Cayman Islands
In the event that the matter cannot be sorted out through negotiation, the Premier, Mr. Alden McLaughlin, and the Cabinet have my full support to determine the legitimacy of the proposals through the legal system as the same appear to be a clear violation of the Cayman Islands Constitution, an individual’s legitimate right to privacy.
Byles: When politics trump respect
The Cayman Islands has demonstrated consistently that it will go very far in cooperating with overseas authorities to help in the fight against tax evasion, as well as to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.
EDITORIAL – Investigations into government employees continue to grow
A probe into the possible misuse of government resources adds yet another name to the already-lengthy list of public officials who have been sidelined by investigation.
EDITORIAL – Straightening out Sunday liquor sales: That is the spirit
Last Friday marked the end of one of the more, let’s say, “interesting” chapters in Grand Cayman’s regulatory history, as the Liquor Licensing Board gave the official green light to 12 businesses seeking to sell alcohol on Sundays.
Weekend Mail Call: Flex
Here's what readers said about Flex - a new rideshare app that will allow riders to hail a taxi, track its arrival and pay the fare by mobile phone.
Flex – government’s lift
Today's editorial cartoon
EDITORIAL – Eliminating the Saturday gridlock at Owen Roberts
Rather than the easy-breezy “rest of the week,” it is the conditions within those three hours of congestion that form the standard by which the performance of our public officials, and the still-under-renovation airport, will be judged.
TV regulation
Today's editorial cartoon
EDITORIAL – Customs duties: Re-examining a vital agency
“Behind the scenes” (i.e. at the cargo port), Customs plays a pivotal role in our islands’ security, economy, governance and ordinary business activity – all of which depend on smooth and efficient Customs processes.
Beach vendors
Today's editorial cartoon
EDITORIAL – ‘Government fiber’: A landmark intrusion into the private sector
When leaders of the Cayman Islands telecommunications companies heard Premier Alden McLaughlin say the government was going to build a fiber optic network throughout the east side of Grand Cayman – and make the telecom companies pay for it – they might have thought they were experiencing a “bad connection.”
EDITORIAL – Should government ‘indemnify’ public board members?
We acknowledge and appreciate the dilemma: Cayman’s “best and brightest” are unlikely to serve on boards if they put themselves and their families at financial or reputational risk. However, we also have concerns about individuals’ rights to pursue remedies for wrongs done to them by the actions of boards – by one, some or all of its members.
Speedy passports
Today's editorial cartoon.
EDITORIAL – Consultants’ reports: What did we get for $35 million of advice?
It is difficult to adjudge, in a vacuum, whether the nearly $35 million government spent on outside consultants over the past five years was too much, too little or exactly the right amount.
EDITORIAL – Hiring authority: It must not be delegated or usurped
What Deputy Governor Franz Manderson knows, and former Deputy Governor Donovan Ebanks ought to know, is that department heads – not appointed commissions – MUST be empowered to make hiring decisions.
Healthcare – smooth sailing
Today's editorial cartoon
Weekend Mail Call: ‘Catfight’ on the Sister Islands
The Compass editorial “Catfight on the sister Islands” had readers talking this week, as animal advocates took to the courts to halt government’s plan to cull booming feral cat populations.
EDITORIAL – Healthcare obligations: The straight story (minus the sugarcoating)
Every citizen of these fair isles should be asking whether they are comfortable spending “hundreds of millions” of dollars each year of their hard-earned money to pay the healthcare benefits promised to our civil servants by our vote-seeking politicians.
Inadequate recycling
Today's editorial cartoon
EDITORIAL – Dancing in the street: A ‘tip of the hat’ to Officer O’Connor
With his crisp white gloves and good-natured disposition, Officer O’Connor is upbeat and unflappable (a survival quality for someone standing in the middle of George Town intersections). May we be the first to nominate him as a worthy ambassador of these islands?
EDITORIAL – On the Stephens ‘non-deportation’: We got it right
No one likes to be wrong – not the Compass, not Cabinet, not a Chief Officer. But people with courage, at minimum, choose to own their own words – and their own mistakes.
EDITORIAL – The fight for ‘everyday rights’
We are pleased to hear the Human Rights Commission intends to focus its efforts on the issue of lawful administrative action.
EDITORIAL – Major (but not terminal) problems arise at new airport
In the instance of Saturday’s breakdown of systems at the new arrivals hall, there was no “single point of failure.” Indeed the ostensible problem — long lines of unhappy tourists — was, in fact, simply a manifestation of a multitude of operational mishaps — many of them emanating from bad (or nonexistent) planning, others simply from bad luck.
