ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Thursday april 23, 2015 SportS | page 18 runners give boosT To special olympics Deputy Governor 5K fundraiser Sunday High of 90 Low of 74 Smooth to slight with wave heights less than 2 feet. editorial | page 4 chariTy drive: come on, cayman, ‘give a honk!’ HomeOptions Shop around and pay less for more insurance! $250 gift certificate can be used to purchase BritCay motor insurance Home Insurance with BritCay offers convenient, interest-free monthly payments, flexible cover, fast claims, competitive premiums and deductibles. Ask for a quote. BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky $250* CERTIFICATE WITH BUILDINGS INSURANCE *applies to new buildings policies Auditor: Bad debts, benefits hit HSA charles duncan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com A new auditor general’s report on the Health Services Authority cites almost $30 million in bad debts from patients and un- funded employee benefit obligations in the health authority’s 2012 finances. More recent government financial records show the unpaid bills could reach almost $70 million by the end of this fiscal year. The audit, released last week, states the Health Services Authority had a net loss of more than $4.6 million in 2012, more than four times the $1.1 million projected shortfall in the authority’s budget for the year. Authority officials say the deficit shrunk to $2.9 mil- lion in 2013 – the final balance for 2014 is still with the auditor general. In the report, Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick writes that Health Services Authority’s management and board members told him that financial controls to track rev- enue are not effective. He states, “In the ab- sence of properly designed controls and effec- tive controls, I was unable to satisfy myself that the reported patient services fees of $71.2 million are complete.” Health Services Authority Chief Executive Officer Lizzette Yearwood, in a written re- sponse to questions about the audit, states, “HSA has developed an action plan and is working to implement various changes to ad- dress the issue.” She said the action plan will address the auditor’s concerns about financial controls tracking revenues and patient debts. In a government Public Accounts Committee meeting last month, Ms. Yearwood said, “There’s still a culture in the public that a number of persons feel that healthcare is free.” Government financial records show the Health Services Authority could have almost $70 million in unpaid bills by the end of the current fiscal year in June. The audit lists $29.9 million in bad debts in 2012, a $3 million increase from the year OppOsitiOn says nO tO electiOn changes charles duncan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush, speaking to about 100 supporters in West Bay on Tuesday night, urged Cayman Islands Democratic Party voters to reject a move to- ward “one man, one vote” and single-member districts. Mr. Bush, joined by fellow MLAs Bernie Bush and Eugene Ebanks at the Sir John A. Cumber Primary School hall, said the pro- posed changes to local elections threatened Cayman’s democracy. “This is not something you play with. This is your democracy,” he said. He urged the supporters to attend Slow start to shark search A great shark hunt is under way in Cayman’s waters. Conservationist Guy Harvey and his research team were out in force over the weekend in an effort to tag as many oceanic whitetip sharks as possible for a wide-reaching study into the movements of the critically endangered species around the Atlantic. This 3-foot juvenile proved too small to tag, and over the four days of the Cayman Islands International fishing tournament just two adult sharks were tagged. Researchers ultimately hope to track and tag as many as 50 sharks. Significant parts of the new National Conservation Law, which came into effect on Wednesday this week, provide protection from fishing for sharks in Cayman’s waters. Mr. Harvey and his team are attempting to demonstrate, through the tagging study, that the sharks are international animals that travel through the waters of 16 countries, and that international cooperation is needed for conservation efforts to succeed. See page 8 for more. - phOtO: JaMes WhittaKeR easteRn Reps feaR distRict ‘RedRaW’ brenT Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands political party lead- ership, both government and opposition, is seeking to eliminate one of the two elected representatives from East End and North Side by combining the two districts ahead of the 2017 general election, the two members said Wednesday. Speaking on Radio Cayman’s “For the Record” program, North Side MLA Ezzard Miller urged constituents to come out and oppose such a move during public meetings PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Thursday april 23, 2015 • Cayman Compass www. REGmovies.com SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. © Warner Bros. Pictures y x FURIOUS 7 3D (PG13) 12:45 I 1:30 2D I 3:45 I 4:30 2D 6:45 I 7:30 2D I 9:30 2D I 9:45 DESERT DANCER (PG13) 1:10 I 3:30 I 7:20 I 9:40 GET HARD (R) 1:15 I 7:10 PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 (PG) 1:00 I 4:00 I 7:00 I 9:20 THE LONGEST RIDE (PG13) 3:40 | 9:50 HOME 3D (PG) 12:20 I 2:40 2D I 5:00 I 7:15 2D *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. THURSDAY $8.00 www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com Haiti to appeal kidnapping verdict PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Haitian government will appeal a widely criti- cized decision by a judge to dismiss charges against two men in a high-profile kidnap- ping case, the justice minister said Wednesday. A notice of appeal was submitted to the Supreme Court within the required deadline to challenge the decision, Justice Minister Pierre-Richard Casimir said. The decision by a judge to dismiss charges that included kidnapping, murder and drug trafficking against Woodly Etheart and Rene Nelfort after a two-hour trial on Friday has drawn criticism from human rights groups as well as the U.N., the U.S. gov- ernment and representatives of other nations that make up the “Core Group” that monitor the country. Etheart previously worked for the Interior Ministry and is reportedly a friend of the brother-in-law of President Michel Martelly. The rapid resolution of their case raised eyebrows in a country where most cases languish for years without being decided. A statement from the Core Group issued late Tuesday said that holding a trial at this stage was a violation of Haitian legal procedures be- cause a previously filed ap- peal of an earlier ruling had yet to be decided. “This is a serious error and a breach of established procedure which calls into question the impar- tiality of the process,” it said. Casimir said in an in- terview that the govern- ment agrees that the correct procedures were not fol- lowed in the case and that the judge erred in releasing the two men, who were ac- cused of leading a ring that kidnapped 17 people from 2008-2014. It will be up to the Supreme Court whether to take the two back into cus- tody, he said. It was unknown when a decision would be announced. The government dis- missed the chief prosecutor who handled the case and re- placed him earlier this week. A photograph that appeared alongside a story titled “Hell gets a makeover” in Wednesday’s Cayman Compass showed a privately owned property at the site instead of the government- owned area that had undergone the renovation. This is the pho- tograph that should have ac- companied the story. The Cayman Compass strives for accuracy and is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. Those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can email the editor at newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com. CorreCTion Pope will stop in Cuba en route to US HAVANA (AP) — Cubans welcomed the news Wednesday that Pope Francis will visit in September, with many calling it a powerful rein- forcement of his support for detente between the United States and Cuba. The Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Francis would visit Cuba on his way to the United States, but didn’t provide details or dates. Francis has been cred- ited with helping the United States and Cuba reach a historic rapprochement by writing to the leaders of both countries and having the Vatican host their del- egations for the final ne- gotiations. Francis’s visit to Cuba would be a way for him to push the process forward. “His pastoral visit will serve to confirm his help for this process and the Church’s traditional in- terest in peace and the good of all people,” said Orlando Marquez, editor of a mag- azine published by the Archdiocese of Havana. Francis is scheduled to visit three U.S. cities starting around Sept. 23. He will address Congress and meet with President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, address the United Nations in New York and attend a church rally for families in Philadelphia. “His being in Cuba and then going to the U.S. means that he’s going to meet with both presi- dents. Symbolically, it’s the continuation of what he’s done, a message of closing distances between people,” said Monsignor Jose Felix Perez, spokesman for Cuba’s conference of Catholic bishops. “It’s a great help to this moment in history between Cuba and the United States.” Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI followed up with a 2012 trip during which he voiced the Vatican’s long-standing position that the U.S. em- bargo was unjust and only hurt the most vulnerable on the island. Francis also has spoken out against the sanctions while also condemning socialism. The church is planning to restore a dozen more churches, parish houses and other buildings in Cuba as part of quiet reconciliation between the Holy See and the government that has brought relations to a his- toric high point. Authorities have also given permission for the construction of the first two new churches in more than five decades. The church and the Cuban government were in a state of open hostility in the years immediately after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power. Rescued monkeys get new home in Peru IQUITOS, Peru (AP) — More than three dozen animals rescued from Peruvian cir- cuses and traffickers have a new home in a jungle island sanctuary. The 39 monkeys, South American coatis and kinka- jous – also known as honey bears – were flown from Lima to the northern city of Iquitos over the weekend on a Peruvian air force transport. From there, the ani- mals were loaded on boats and taken up the Rio Nanay to a private sanctuary at Pilpintuwasi, where they were released into large fenced enclosures. The animals are accus- tomed to human contact and feeding and could not be re- leased into the wild. The animals will be evaluated individually to determine whether they can eventually be re- leased into the wild, said Jose Rafael Vilar, regional spokesman for the British charity Animal Defenders International, which orga- nized the action. A 2011 Peruvian law for which Animal Defenders International lobbied pro- hibits the use of wild ani- mals in circuses. The charity also has taken in big cats, including lions, from Peruvian cir- cuses. They are to be sent to the United States. A monkey dips its hand into a water receptacle at the Amazon Animal orphanage in the Pilpintuwasi rainforest, near iquitos, Peru. The monkey was among 39 animals airlifted Saturday to the animal refuge in Peru’s amazon rainforest from Lima. - pHoto: ap Pope Francis exchanges his skull cap with one donated to him by a pilgrim as he leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, on Wednesday. - pHoto: apThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 Cayman Compass • Thursday april 23, 2015 The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Printed and Published by: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town send us yOur VieWs Or neWs: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com adVertise With us: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS daVid r. legge and Vicki l. legge EdITOR-In-CHIEf daVid r. legge A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” Who knew that so much could be accomplished by driving around in a circle ... actually, a roundabout. Island Heritage is in the final day of its annual corporate giving campaign, called “Charity Drive!” — where the insurance company donates $1 for each automobile that passes through its eponymous round- about on Esterley Tibbetts Highway, near The Ritz- Carlton, Grand Cayman hotel. This year, the company is giving away up to $35,000. This year’s charities are Canine & Feline Friends, Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman and SOY (Save our Youth Foundation). The Cayman Islands National Roads Authority has placed traffic sensors at the roundabout to keep an accurate count of the cars that go by. Each day’s running tally is updated on the initiative’s website, www.charitydrive.ky. Because it’s the year 2015, Island Heritage has also added a social media dimension to the campaign, and is also giving money to charity based on clicks received via Facebook and Twitter. (Instructions are on the aforementioned website.) In addition to Island Heritage’s visible presence in the roadway and online, readers of the print edition of the Cayman Compass will have noticed the large, colorful advertisements for the Charity Drive! on the back cover of the paper. Visitors to caymancompass.com will also have noticed over the past several days the advertisement “wrapper” on the website — not to mention the full-screen, animated advertisement that shows up when you first enter our site. We encourage users to click (early and often, if possible) on the online ads to learn more about the event and how to get involved. Unlike the news and editorial sections of our news- paper and website, the “paid” portions are not vetted according to journalistic standards. Just because an advertisement appears in the Compass doesn’t mean that its message has the formal “approval” of our Edi- torial Board. In the case of Island Heritage’s charitable giving campaign, however, we are pleased to declare the cause as most worthy of approval. The Charity Drive! has been held since 2012, and it seems it has been growing in popularity every year. That’s not just because the concept is clever — or that it takes advantage of Grand Cayman residents’ noted sentimental attachment to our roundabouts, which are “adopted” by local business sponsors who land- scape them in signature ways, keep them manicured and decorate them in splendid fashion during the holiday season. Rather, what has enabled the Charity Drive! to grow into a “must-see” charitable event during the year is the obvious enthusiasm on the part of the volunteers who, dressed in bright yellow shirts, energetically wave their signs like a squad of charitable cheerleaders. In other words, it looks like they’re having fun. And at the same time, they’re helping some important organizations within our community. Today, you can pitch in, too, by making a point of driving through the Island Heritage roundabout, and ensuring that an extra dollar goes into the hands of people who deserve it. While you’re at it, show your appreciation for the volunteers’ exuberance, by taking your foot off the gas and, ahem, “Giving a honk!” Charity Drive: Come on, Cayman, ‘Give a honk!’ Thursday apriL 23, 2015 • Cayman COmpass In America, the queen travels by van WASHINGTON – See Hillary ride in a van! Watch her meet everyday Americans! Witness her ordering a burrito bowl at Chipotle! Which she did wearing shades, as did her chief aide Huma Abedin, yielding security-camera pic- tures that made them look (to borrow from Karl Rove) like fugitives on the lam, wanted in seven states for a failed foreign policy. There’s something surreal about Hillary Clinton’s Marie Antoinette tour, sampling cake and commoners. But what else can she do? After Barack Obama, she’s the best known political figure in the U.S. She has papal name recognition. Like Napoleon and Cher, she’s universally known by her first name. As former queen consort, senator and secretary of state, she has spent a quarter-century in the national spotlight – more than any modern candidate. She doesn’t just get media coverage; she gets meta-coverage. The staging is so obvious that actual events disappear. The story is their symbolism – cam- paign as semiotics. This quality of purposeful abstractness makes every- thing sound and seem con- trived. It’s not really her fault. True, she’s got enough genuine inauthenticity to go around – decades of positioning, framing, parsing, dodging – but the perception is com- pounded by the obvious stag- iness of the gigantic political apparatus that surrounds her and directs her movements. Why is she running in the first place? Because it’s the next inevitable step in her ca- reer path. But that’s not as damning as it seems. It can be said of practically every presidential candidate. The number of conviction poli- ticians – those who run not to be someone but to do something – is exceedingly small. In our lifetime: Ronald Reagan. And arguably, Barack Obama, although with him (as opposed to Reagan) a heavy dose of narcissistic self-fulfill- ment is admixed with genuine ideological conviction. Hillary Clinton’s problem is age, not chronological but po- litical. She’s been around for so long that who can really be- lieve she suddenly has been seized with a new passion to champion, as she put it in Iowa, “the truckers that I saw on I-80 as I was driving here”? Or developed a new per- sona. She will, of course, go through the motions. Her team will produce a “mes- sage,” one of the most cor- rosive, debased words in the lexicon of contemporary pol- itics – an alleged synonym for belief or conviction, it sig- nifies nothing more than a branded, marketing strategy. She will develop policies. In Iowa, she’d already delivered her top four, one of which is to take unaccountable big money out of politics. This is rather precious, considering that her supporters intend to raise $2.5 billion for 2016 alone and that the Clinton Foundation is one of the most formidable ma- chines ever devised for ex- tracting money from the rich, the powerful and the unsavory. She will try to sell herself as champion of the little guy. Not easy to do when you and your husband have for the last 25 years made limo-lib- eral Davos-world your home. Hence the van trek to Iowa, lest a Gulfstream 450 invade the visual. Clinton’s unchangeability, however, is the source of her uniqueness as a candidate: She’s a fixed point. She is who she is. And no one ex- pects – nor would anyone re- ally believe – any claimed character change. Accordingly, voters’ views about her are equally immu- table. The only variable, there- fore, in the 2016 election lies on the other side, where the freedom of action is almost total. It all depends on who the Republicans pick and how the candidate performs. Hillary is a stationary target. You know what you’re getting. She has her weak- nesses: She’s not a great cam- paigner, she has that unshak- able inauthenticity problem and, regarding the quality most important to getting elected, she is barely, in the phrase of candidate Obama in 2008, “likable enough.” But she has her strengths: discipline, determination, high intelligence, great energy. With an immense organization de- ploying an obscene amount of money. And behind that, a Democratic Party united if not overly enthusiastic. That’s why 2016 is already shaping up as the most unusual open- seat presidential race in our time: one candidate fixed and foregone, the other yet to emerge from a wild race of a near-dozen contenders with none exceeding 20 percent. So brace yourself for a glo- rious Republican punch-up, punctuated by endless meta- coverage of the Democrats’ coronation march. After which, we shall decide the fu- ture of our country. Just the way the Founders drew it up. Charles Krauthammer’s email address is letters@charleskrauthammer.com. © 2015, Washington Post Writers Group Charles Krauthammer From CaymanComPass.Com “Development Bank has no cash for business loans,” April 22 If the Cayman Islands Development Bank cannot provide business loans, what precisely is its function? What is the total amount of the loan portfolio, and what realizable assets does it hold as collateral? What percentage of the loan portfolio has bor- rowers who are delinquent in their repayment programme, and what legal steps, and/or provisions, have been taken to recover, or cover, potential “bad debts”? Does the CDB meet the solvency requirements of a bank in the private sector? What is the annual cost of maintaining what appears to be an entity which is no longer viable? David Wheaton “Consultant: No quick fix to landfill leaching,” April 21 What Cayman really needs is a proactive voice to promote recycling and re- ducing what is disposed of. Here is a possible new busi- ness idea to contemplate – why doesn’t a Caymanian business owner start a recy- cling business program that is partially funded by the Cayman government with ad- ditional funding from local businesses who participate? In exchange for partici- pating in this service, local business could receive a small tax incentive on goods and services and/or permit fees to compensate for investing in a program such as this. nicole mcCoubrey “Man gets 30 days for immigration offenses,” April 20 Maybe the Immigration Department should try using Google. It took 4.2 seconds to find the prior convictions and 3 seconds to find a mug shot. Visitor’s visa application denied in under 10 seconds, saving thousands of dollars. Chris O’Brien Democratic presidential candidate Hillary rodham Clinton smiles during a tour on Tuesday in Concord, n.H. - Photo: AP Clinton’s unchangeability, however, is the source of her uniqueness as a candidate: She’s a fixed point. She is who she is. And no one expects – nor would anyone really believe – any claimed character change.The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Cayman Compass • Thursday april 23, 2015 Working for Our team of specialists is making sure you have the best financial advice and products to help you create the future you want! “I walked into RBC the other day and you know what impressed me the most? How knowledgeable and efficient my Mortgage Specialist was! Now I’m finally on my way to getting the home I’ve always wanted for my family.” Jonathan - RBC Client It’s All About You YOU have big plans for the future YOU want to purchase a new home, a car and plan for retirement YOU know that with RBC you’re in good hands Tell us how RBC helped you achieve your goals for a chance to win a weekend getaway! Log on to rbc.com/caribbean6 LOCAL NEWS Thursday april 23, 2015 • Cayman Compass FUEL THE DIFFERENCE. * FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. FACEBOOK.COM/RUBISCAYMANISLANDS T T FUEL FOR LIFE DOUBLE STAMP TUESDAY & THURSDAY! FOR EVERY $25 IN FUEL, RECEIVE 2 STAMPS FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN $90,000 IN FUEL! Tropical cyclone forecast cone shrinking AlAn MArkoff amarkoff@pinnaclemedialtd.com Continued improvements in forecasting the track of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin will lead this year to a slightly smaller cone representing the probable track of the center of a tropical depression, tropical storm or hurricane. The National Hurricane Center in Miami, a division of the U.S. National Weather Service, announced the change last month. Its forecasts are used by the Cayman Islands National Weather Service for the purposes of tropical cyclone tracking. “The cone … is formed by enclosing the area swept out by a set of imaginary circles placed along the forecast track – at 12, 24, 36 hours, etc.,” the National Hurricane Center said. “The size of each circle is set so that two-thirds of historical of- ficial forecast errors over the previous five years (2010-2014) fall within the circle.” Since the forecast errors for the last five years are fewer than previously, the size of the circle radii will be smaller for the 2015 Atlantic Basin hurri- cane season, which starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30. The mea- surements are defined at 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours. In the Atlantic Basin, the re- ductions are rather small, with the biggest reduction of size being three nautical miles at 72 hours out. The sizes of the circle radii at 24 hours and 96 hours remain the same, while at all other forecast times they reduce in size by one or two nautical miles. The size of the forecast circle radius in 2015 increases steadily between 12 and 120 hours and will range from 32 nautical miles at 12 hours and 52 nautical miles at 24 hours, to 225 nautical miles at 120 hours. An even more significant re- duction in the size of the fore- cast cone will also occur in the Eastern North Pacific Basin, which the National Hurricane Center also monitors, because the forecast errors have been less in that area over the past five years. Reductions in circle radii sizes in that basin range from 4 to 10 nautical miles, with the circle radius showing the biggest reduction at 48 hours, shrinking from 79 to 69 nautical miles. Other changes In addition to a reduc- tion in size of the forecast cone, there will be a couple of other changes on the National Hurricane Center website for the 2015 Atlantic Basin hurri- cane season. There will be a change in the category labels that indi- cate the chance of tropical cy- clone formation over 48 and 120 hours. These categories are a feature of the Hurricane Center’s Tropical Weather Outlook, which is issued every six hours during the hurricane season. The two-day Tropical Weather Outlook discussion also features a graphic that is color coded, with yellow repre- senting a low chance of tropical cyclone formation, orange rep- resenting a medium chance of formation and red representing a high chance of formation. Previously, if an area had a zero to 20 percent chance of formation, it was categorized as a low chance of formation; between 30 and 50 percent chance of formation was cat- egorized as a medium chance; and a 60 to 100 percent chance of formation was categorized as a high chance. In 2015, the categories will indicate zero to 30 percent is a low chance of formation; 40 to 60 percent is a medium chance of formation; and 70 to 100 percent is a high chance of formation. “The original category def- initions were established to best reflect forecasters’ ability to assess formation potential,” the National Hurricane Center said in explaining the change. “Unfortunately, the original definitions did not correspond with some users’ expectations of what the everyday terms “low,” “medium” and “high” mean. For example, a 30 per- cent chance of occurrence falls in the lowest third of possible outcomes, yet was described as being “medium.” This mismatch led some users to overestimate the chance of formation when they heard that a system had entered the medium or high categories.” The Hurricane Center added that improvements in forecast accuracy over the past few hur- ricane seasons now allow for a more natural assignment of the three categories. In addition to the two-day Tropical Weather Outlook, the National Hurricane Center will issue a five-day graphical outlook in 2015. That graphic was experimental in 2014 but will become a fixture in 2015. This graphic will contain the same color coding as the two- day graphic but will show larger areas where the poten- tial tropical cyclone formation could occur to take into ac- count the distance an area of disturbed weather could travel over five days. This five-day graphical depiction of the chance of tropical cyclone formation issued by the U.S. National Hurricane Center was experimental in 2014 but will become a fixture on the Hurricane Center’s website in 2015. - Graphic: NOaa. Since the forecast errors for the last five years are less than previously, the size of the circle radii will be smaller for the 2015 Atlantic Basin hurricane season, which starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30.7 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday april 23, 2015 The Scholarship Secretariat advises Caymanians of the local scholarship application period: 1st March - 30th April, 2015 The local scholarship can facilitate a Fall 2015/Spring 2016 start date. Applications must be made online. Please visit the following site to apply and obtain the required forms: www.education.gov.ky/scholarships Those Year 11 JGHS, CHHS and LSHS students wanting to pursue A Level studies only beginning Fall 2015, must also complete this application process. Do not delay applications because grades are not yet available. Scholarships are available to attend: UCCI, ICCI, Truman Bodden Law School & A Levels Contact the Scholarship Secretariat at: Email: scholarships@gov.ky | Telephone: 244-2482 Local Scholarship Opportunities MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS CA YMAN ISLANDS GOVERNMENT NATIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY CA YMAN ISLANDS GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS NATIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY CA YMAN ISLANDS GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS NATIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Water Authority - Cayman Notice of Planned System Upgrade Due to planned upgrades to its billing software, Water Authority - Cayman would like to advise its valued customers that online account access will be unavailable from 6pm Friday, 24th April, 2015 to 8am Monday, 27th, April, 2015 Customers may continue to pay their bills online through the main Water Authority website. The Water Authority appreciates the patience and understanding of its valuable customers as it upgrades its software to better serve you, and apologises for any inconvenience this may cause. For information about the Water Authority and its role in the Cayman Islands, visit www.waterauthority.ky “Suppliers of the World’s Most Popular Drink” Cayman will set time limits for prohibited immigrants Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Recommendations to Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin this week seek to set time limits on the return of non-Cayma- nians designated as “prohib- ited immigrants” under the Immigration Law. The Cayman Islands Human Rights Commission noted last week in its annual report that it had received “numerous complaints” from individuals who have been declared prohibited immi- grants and are unable to re- turn to Cayman. “These individuals have generally had close Caymanian connections and have thus alleged a breach of their private and family life by the Cayman Islands government,” the commis- sion report states. Under the current law, no time limits are set on pe- riods an individual can be expelled from the islands. Typically, non-Caymanians who commit a crime can be considered “prohibited” after they are deported from the jurisdiction. The prohibition can only be applied to individuals who do not possess permanent resident status. Anyone with Caymanian status or perma- nent residence would have had to have that status re- voked prior to being consid- ered a prohibited immigrant. Although there are no time limits set on a pro- hibited immigrant’s return, the Immigration Law does allow for specific times to be set according to the of- fense committed. That has never been done, but pro- posed time limits are being presented to Mr. McLaughlin this week. Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer Eric Bush said, depending on what law- makers decide, time limits would be set for poten- tial returns to Cayman in a similar fashion to the way prison sentences for crim- inal offenses are determined. The more serious the of- fense, the more time the person would have to spend away from the islands. Mr. Bush said it was pos- sible that a certain level of criminal offense would re- quire the individual to be banned from Cayman for the rest of his or her life, but that it would be up to legislators to decide what offenses would warrant such a ban. “Due to the human rights implications, the Human Rights Commission con- tinues to encourage the Cayman Islands government to enact legislation which deals with the issue of pro- hibited immigrants,” the commission report stated. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson proposed in 2011 to set minimum pe- riods of exclusion from the islands, but those were never enacted, according to Mr. Bush. The proposal also sought to deal with other problems within the prohib- ited immigration rules. Mr. Manderson said Cabinet gets requests from individuals seeking to re- turn “every six months or once a year.” “If that request is refused, the person may reapply at any time and Cabinet is re- quired to consider the new request,” Mr. Manderson said. “The [current] system is totally unregulated and open to abuse.” The 2011 exclusion pro- posal called for a minimum 30 years for the most se- rious criminal offenses: murder, rape, robbery, arson, assaults and major drug offenses. For less se- rious offenses, such as as- sault causing actual bodily harm, fraud and handling stolen goods, the exclusion period would be 20 years. For consumption or posses- sion of drugs, common as- sault and immigration of- fenses, the exclusion period would be 10 years. People with Caymanian family connections were to be treated differently under the 2011 regulations. In most cases, the exclu- sion period was proposed to be cut by one-third com- pared to that for individ- uals who have no local family connections. “These individuals have generally had close Caymanian connections and have thus alleged a breach of their private and family life by the Cayman Islands government.” Human RigHts Commission robber holds up liquor store Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A liquor store along Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach corridor was robbed by a ma- chete-toting, masked suspect Tuesday night. Tortuga Liquors in the Greenery shopping center across from the Strand has never been robbed before, Tortuga President Robert Hamaty said. “We’ve never had a problem there, so we’ve never stationed a security guard,” he said. “I guess we’re going to have to change that.” According the police, a 5-foot, 5-inch-tall man en- tered the store around 9:20 p.m. and demanded cash from the two employees inside. No customers were inside the store at the time, Mr. Hamaty said, and the employees were not physically hurt. After getting “the day’s tak- ings,” the suspect left on foot. Mr. Hamaty said CCTV cameras inside captured im- ages of the robber. The store extended its opening hours from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. last year, along with other liquor stores around Grand Cayman. Mr. Hamaty said most of the other Tortuga locations that stay open until 10 p.m. have security per- sonnel on site. Mr. Bush8 LOCAL NEWS Thursday april 23, 2015 • Cayman Compass The Great Shark Hunt James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com It is not quite noon off South West Corner and the research boat Makaira has been trawling the deep offshore fishing grounds without success for nearly six hours. Amid the jumble of nets, spears, tags and camera gear on deck, Guy Harvey and his small crew survey the horizon, searching for patches of driftwood or sargassum weed that can be magnets for marine life in the vast expanse of the open ocean. Occasionally the radio crackles into life with news from the fleet of 50 fishing boats, but so far the news isn’t good. The great shark hunt is under way. The only thing missing is the sharks. “It takes a lot of pa- tience; if it was easy, ev- eryone would be doing it,” says Mr. Harvey, the painter, fisherman and con- servationist who is leading a team from his research institute in a study, which will involve attaching satel- lite tracking tags to around 50 oceanic whitetip sharks. The scale of that under- taking is beginning to be- come apparent. These waters used to be teeming with oceanic whitetips, formerly one of the most abundant large species in the Atlantic Ocean. Today, with anglers chumming the waters in search of big game fish in the Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament, there is plenty of food on offer, but no sign of the sharks. The action picks up later in the afternoon. A fish- erman calls in a blue marlin catch, and the researchers race across to attach a tag – useful data for another of Guy Harvey’s research proj- ects but not much help with the shark study. The boat’s passengers spend some time scuba diving and filming around a floating wooden pallet, sur- rounded by bait fish and mahi-mahi, all the time ex- pecting the unmistakable shape of an oceanic whitetip to emerge from the blue. But the predators re- main elusive, until late in the afternoon when the radio bursts into life with news of a shark on the hook 3 miles to the west. It turns out to be a ju- venile, about 3 feet long. The scientists take a DNA sample and some vital sta- tistics but decide it is too small to affix a tag to its still growing dorsal fin. Encouraged by the sighting, everyone hopes for more, but that turns out to be the only action for the day. By the end of the tour- nament, just three sharks have been hooked, one of them the juvenile. It’s a disappointing re- turn, but the results help illustrate the reasons for the study. Mahmood Shivji, the di- rector of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, says the shark population in the Atlantic has been deci- mated by longline fishing boats. Oceanic whitetips were frequently caught as by-catch by boats targeting tuna and swordfish. “In the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, they used to be one of the most abundant species. The pop- ulation now is a small fraction of what it was historically.” He is hoping for better results during the Kirk Slam tournament next month. Ten sharks were tagged during that tourna- ment last year, and the re- searchers believe the timing may be better. The novel partnership with anglers allows them to cover far more ocean than would be possible in the re- search boats alone. It also serves to bring fishermen into the fold when it comes to protecting sharks, which as apex predators are vital to the health of the fishery as a whole. A blanket ban on killing sharks came into force Wednesday as part of the National Conservation Law. Brad Wetherbee, who works with the research institute, said the law is a great start toward pro- tecting species like the crit- ically endangered oceanic whitetip, but warns the sharks are international an- imals. Beyond the bound- aries of Cayman’s territo- rial waters they have no such protection. The researchers believe the data from the tags will provide ammunition to ne- gotiate with other govern- ments in the region for a coordinated policy of pro- tection for the animals in the Caribbean Sea. The Smart Positioning or Temperature tags, which are literally bolted to the shark’s fin, transmit a loca- tion signal every time the fin breaches the surface, typically providing a 12- to 18-month track of the shark’s movements. Data from the sharks tagged last year shows some have roamed thou- sands of miles. One shark, named Debbie by the re- searchers, has wandered the outer reaches of the Caribbean Sea, hugging the coast of Mexico and Honduras, later traveling as far east as Haiti and then south to Aruba. “If we don’t know where they are going, we don’t really know who is responsible for them,” said Mr. Wetherbee. “If it was just one country, it would be much easier to manage. In this region there are 16 dif- ferent countries whose ter- ritorial waters the sharks are traveling through. If we get enough tags out, we can hopefully get enough data to at least demon- strate the extent of coop- eration required to manage the species.” He said the data may also establish the regions where sharks spend most of their time. The project is being funded by the Guy Harvey Research Institute, with the backing of sponsors including the Department of Environment, the Dart group and CayBrew. Tracks from the tagged sharks can be viewed at www.ghritracking.org. Researcher Derek Burkholder gets to grips with an oceanic white tip shark. – PHOTO: SUPPLIED Guy Harvey attaches a tag to a blue marlin using a pole spear. – PHOTOS: JAMES WHITTAKER A fisherman maintains hold on a blue marlin as he waits for the tagging boat to arrive.The tags are literally bolted to the shark’s dorsal fin. – PHOTO: SUPPLIED Scientists, anglers and research crews worked together on the tagging project during the weekend fishing tournament.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Thursday april 23, 2015 Website: www.caymaninternationalschool.org Tel: 1-345-945-4664 Fax: 1-345-945-4650; Email: cis@cayintschool.ky Cayman International School 2015/16 Scholarship for Academic and Leadership Excellence A FULL scholarship will be provided for a new student entering Grade 9 at Cayman Inter- national School. The scholarship includes full tuition for four years (8 semesters) until graduation as long as academic and leadership requirements are maintained by the scholarship student. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program is offered for students in Grades 11 and 12. Applications and information about the school are available on the school website (www.caymaninternationalschool.org) or by contacting the Admissions Officer (admissions@cayintschool.ky) at 945-4664. Age Criteria / Time Frame Applicants must have Caymanian Status and be 14 years old prior to October 1, 2015, to enter Grade 9, or be enrolled currently in Grade 8 (or Year 9). Applications will be received until 4:30 pm on May 1, 2015. Application Requirements Only complete application packages will be considered. A complete list of required attachments is included in the application. Selection criteria is heavily weighted to select students who have demonstrated academic excellence, leadership and financial need. Cayman INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Character Knowledge Service before. The health au- thority wrote off $13.6 mil- lion in bad debts in 2012, $8.7 million of which “had accumulated over a period of 2 to 7 years [and] were written off after all efforts to collect were exhausted,” the audit states. Ms. Yearwood said that since 2012 the Health Services Authority has part- nered with two collections agencies to track down bad debts. She said the au- thority has agreements with Sunbelt Medical for overseas collections and the Cayman Islands National Credit Bureau for local debts. “The results of the collec- tion agency have not yielded much. Our internal pro- cesses usually explore mul- tiple strategies prior to the debt being [turned over] to the outside agencies,” she said. “We will continuously enforce our payment policy to reduce self-pay balances.” The Health Services Authority left out re- tiree medical coverage from its financial state- ments, according to the au- ditor. Mr. Swarbrick, in the audit notes, states that the Portfolio of the Civil Service dropped lifetime health cov- erage for retirees in April 2010 when the Health Services Authority became an authority instead of part of government. Since then, the authority has paid the medical bills itself. Ms. Yearwood told the auditor the authority is trying to hire an insur- ance company to cover re- tirees. She elaborated in a statement this week: “We are awaiting a government policy decision regarding retiree medical benefits for staff vested with the govern- ment prior to HSA becoming an authority. However, to limit our exposure, the HSA has put in place a policy in November 2010 that persons hired after that date would not have post- retirement benefit.” New employees hired after Nov. 1, 2010 do not get that lifetime benefit, but the authority still has to pay for medical treatment for re- tirees hired before the cutoff. The authority received almost $14 million from government in 2012, about 16 percent of its overall rev- enue. That funding went to such government programs as the district clinics and school health. More than 80 percent of the Health Services Authority’s rev- enue for the year came from patient fees. A separate audit, re- leased by the Internal Audit Unit earlier this year, faulted the authority for using three reams of standard paper each day to print financial reconciliation reports. The paper-based system costs too much, wastes space and makes finding information difficult when it could be just as easily looked up in the HSA computer system, according to the audit. the Electoral Boundary Commission meeting in West Bay next week. The com- mission is in the midst of a tour of the islands col- lecting comments on redis- tricting for single-member voting districts. Mr. Bush pointed to the success Cayman has seen in the past 60 years and asked why the elections system should change to interna- tional standards. “They can keep their international stan- dards when it comes to my voting system,” he said. “Our way is much better.” Cayman currently has six voting districts. Grand Cayman has three multi- member districts – West Bay, George Town and Bodden Town – and two single- member districts, North Side and East End. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman share a voting district and elect two representatives. There was some confu- sion Tuesday between the “one man, one vote” proposal and single-member districts. The one man, one vote pro- posal means each voter can cast a ballot for one candi- date instead of the current system where someone can cast several votes for dif- ferent representatives in their district. This is closely re- lated to, but decidedly sep- arate from single-member districts where each person would be able to vote for only one person to represent their district. Those international stan- dards, he said, call for dis- tricts to have similar popu- lations with “5 to 10 percent difference in the numbers for each one.” Mr. Bush encouraged some changes to the elections district, pointing specifically to North Side and East End: “What is never acceptable is for one district to have 600 and the rest to have 1,300 residents.” “That is not equality,” he said. Caymanians are better represented by multimember districts, Mr. Bush argued. If a West Bay constituent has a problem, he said as an ex- ample, that person can al- ways find an MLA to help them. “If you can’t get a hold of me, you can get a hold of Capt. Eugene or Bernie,” he said, pointing to his col- leagues sitting beside him. With single-member dis- tricts, a constituent would have only one MLA to reach out to. A representative from the other side of West Bay, he said, might not care to help because the person can’t vote to re-elect him or her. “You can’t do anything for him, so he doesn’t need to spend his time on you,” Mr. Bush said. He equated fewer people voting for each member to less accountability. The cur- rent multimember districts mean more voters to hold each representative respon- sible, he said. He cautioned against small districts, pointing to problems with gangs in West Bay. In a district where a few hundred votes would win an election, what would stop someone with criminal in- tentions and enough contacts from being elected into office, he asked. “All it really takes is one really bad man,” he said. Mr. Bush accused the gov- ernment of trying to use elec- tion changes to prevent him getting re-elected. “You want to get rid of McKeeva? Let’s cut up the district,” he said. He also questioned the constitutionality of the re- districting itself, saying that in a 2012 referendum, a ma- jority of registered voters did not approve the move. People who did not come out to vote on the question, he said, voted “no” by not showing up. He noted the referendum re- quired more than 50 percent of all registered voters to ap- prove the issue, not 50 per- cent of votes cast. Mr. Bush’s former United Democratic Party campaigned heavily against the 2012 referendum. scheduled over the next few days. The East End public meeting is set for Thursday evening. Mr. Miller said it was ob- vious that “part of the in- tent of both political parties is to try and combine East End [with North Side] with the hope of getting rid of ei- ther me or [East End MLA] Arden [McLean].” “There is something afoot,” Mr. McLean said. “[Opposition Leader] McKeeva [Bush] talking about conspir- acies; this is the conspiracy he needs to talk about.” Mr. McLean has also al- leged that Premier Alden McLaughlin was seeking to add a 19th seat to the Legislative Assembly as part of the redistricting effort. “The premier, in more than passing, has made strong statements about us increasing the membership of the legislature because of the fear of hung govern- ments,” Mr. McLean said, re- ferring to the potential – with an even number of 18 MLAs – to be split nine to nine, re- sulting in no government being formed. The head of Cayman’s three-member Electoral Boundary Commission has said that the group has not been instructed to add any Legislative Assembly seats to the territory’s voting map ahead of the May 2017 gen- eral election. “We plan on drawing 18 single-member districts,” Commission Chairperson Lisa Handley told the Cayman Compass. The Compass asked Ms. Handley, following her ap- pointment in January, about her general views in drawing up single-member representative districts. “Electoral districts that vary greatly in population vi- olate the central tenet of de- mocracy that all voters be able to cast a vote of equal weight,” she said. “However, boundary commissions should be given some degree of flexibility to balance the concern for equal population with other redistricting cri- teria such as respect for com- munities of interest.” This issue of “equality of voting,” or that all represen- tative districts should have roughly the same number of voters, was discussed by a group of election observers from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association sent to keep an eye on Cayman’s 2013 general elec- tion. Widely varied num- bers of voters in each district is against the prin- ciples of equal voting rights, Commonwealth election ana- lysts said. Mr. Miller roundly opposed this idea on Wednesday: “I don’t know of any two constituencies or any electoral boundary commission that succeeds in having every district or every constituency equal in votes. The equality in voting does not come from the number of voters the person represents; it comes from the fact that each person in that constituency has equal influence in forming the government.” Mr. McLaughlin said Wednesday that he had made no such proposal to draw out one of the eastern dis- trict members by combining their two voting districts. Opposition Leader Bush ap- peared to support the idea during a Tuesday night public meeting in West Bay. Eastern reps fear district ‘redraw’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Opposition says no to election changes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Auditor: Bad debts, benefits hit HSA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In the report, Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick writes that Health Services Authority’s management and board members told him that financial controls to track revenue are not effective. McKeeva Bush, standing, addresses supporters in West Bay Tuesday night. Eugene Ebanks, left, and Bernie Bush joined him to oppose changes to the Elections Law. Mr. MillerMr. McLeanNext >