ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 SPORTS | PAGE 15 GOALS GALORE AS YOUTH FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT KICKS OFF High of 88 Low of 76 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 THE FALLOUT FROM THE PURLOINED PANAMA PAPERS PremierHealth You said you needed the flexibility of overseas Rx. You got it first with BritCay. BritCay was first with overseas Rx and direct billing pharmacy benefits for Cayman residents. It means your health plan is as convenient to use overseas as it is at home. BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE AGENCIES 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 cgigrp If the procedures that accompany automatic exchange of informa- tion are not robust or remain vague, we need to be having another discussion about the longer term sustain- ability of the industry.” Paul Byles, president, First Regents Bank This reads like yet an- other exercise in kicking the can down the road. The appropriate stan- dard for sharing infor- mation about ultimate beneficial ownership is to put that information on a publicly searchable registry.” John Christensen, director, Tax Justice Network Wholesale transparency and publishing of all in- formation as sought by so many irresponsible interests is highly in- appropriate and must be strongly resisted.” Tim Ridley, former chairman, CIMA This is the latest effort by high-tax nations to move the goal posts in their never-ending campaign to change the rules of international commerce and comity in an ef- fort to prop up uncom- petitive welfare states.” Dan Mitchell, senior fellow, Cato Institute Cayman joins beneficial ownership initiative Minister calls public register ‘weak policymaking’ CHARLES DUNCAN cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands will join a new United Kingdom-led initiative on devel- oping a global standard for sharing in- formation on ownership of companies and trusts, the Ministry of Financial Ser- vices announced Wednesday. As a delegation from Cayman, in- cluding the pre- mier and the fi- nancial services minister, prepared to attend Thurs- day’s Anti-Corrup- tion Summit in London, the min- istry released a statement early W ednesda y pledging to join in developing a “global standard” for sharing infor- mation on who owns companies and trusts that will likely involve automatic infor- mation exchanges with other juris- dictions. Ahead of Thursday’s summit, Fi- nancial Services Minister Wayne Panton, in an interview to the Financial Times, ar- gued against the U.K.’s proposal for a cen- tral register of company ownership in- formation. He said the register is flawed because it relies on companies to self-re- port the information. Mr. Panton told the newspaper, “The suggestion that going to a central public registry with unverified informa- tion is a better approach is frankly very disappointing.” The ministry statement says that Pre- mier Alden McLaughlin committed to re- pealing the Confidential Relationships (Preservation) Law, “which often has been misrepresented as Cayman’s ‘se- crecy law’” by September. The legislation will be replaced by a new Confidential Information Disclosure Law that will “better clarify the mechanisms through which confidential information may be shared with appropriate authorities,” the statement notes. The legislative changes will also in- clude new data protection measures “on par with what is in place in the Euro- pean Union.” Thursday’s Anti-Corruption Summit, hosted by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, brings together leaders from more than 40 countries to discuss inter- national cooperation and using new tech- nologies to combat corruption. Part of that discussion is how people use trusts and companies to hide ill-gotten gains. Mr. McLaughlin said Cayman already has a number of laws and procedures to collaborate with other countries and “promote global tax compliance.” He said in the Wednesday morning statement, “For many years Cayman has had in place a strong anti-corruption framework, as evidenced by the exten- sion in 2010 of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention; and the expected extension of the U.N. Convention against Corrup- tion, for which Cayman was favourably assessed in 2014.” Mr. Panton said the new initiatives build on Cayman’s existing systems to fight money laundering and tax eva- sion. Cayman has tax exchange agree- ments with more than 120 countries through bilateral agreements and trea- ties, and complies with U.S. and U.K. FATCA and the OECD’s Common Re- porting Standard. “We recognise the need for closer col- laboration, in line with international standards. We support current initia- tives in this regard, and will do our part to promote transparency in order to en- courage global tax compliance,” Mr. Panton said in the written statement. The Cayman Islands last month signed an agreement with the U.K. to make beneficial ownership information available based on requests from over- seas law enforcement and tax authori- ties. The U.K. also signed similar agree- ments in April with its other overseas territories, including Jersey, Isle of Man, Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands. Cayman’s agreement, announced in an April press conference by the premier, would create a “centralized platform” that gives Cayman authorities the ability to access beneficial ownership data held with financial services firms, rather than creating a central register as proposed by the U.K. Panton argues against central register In his Financial Times interview, Mr. Panton made the argument against a central register, calling the idea of a public register, which relies on compa- nies self-reporting, “weak policymaking.” “The small element of abusers of the international financial system … are the very people who are not going to be honest with voluntary disclosures,” he told the newspaper. Ruling out putting the beneficial ownership information in a public data- base, Mr. Panton said making the infor- mation public would chase away some companies to “a jurisdiction that re- spects privacy more.” “We believe there is a very clear dis- tinction between secrecy and privacy,” he told the newspaper. For reactions from the financial sector, see page 9. Premier Alden McLaughlin, Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton and MLA Roy McTaggart are in London for Thursday’s Anti-Corruption Summit.2 LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. © y x *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - THURSDAY - CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR 3D (PG13) 1:00 I 2:00 2D I 4:10 I 5:30 I 7:30 9:00 I 9:30 2D THE JUNGLE BOOK 3D (PG) 1:00 I 1:30 2D I 3:30 I 4:00 2D I 6:30 7:10 2D I 9:40 2D MOTHER’S DAY (PG13) 1:10 I 3:50 I 7:00 I 9:50 HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR (PG13) 1:20 I 4:15 I 7:20 I 10:00 Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 640-FILM (640-3456) PURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATING BRANDS FOR A CHANCE TO COMPETE ANSWER QUESTIONS DASH THROUGH THE STORE WIN MONEY, HELP CHARITIES PROMOTION RUNS MAY 2 - 31 DRAWING & EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE IN JUNE. PURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATINGPURCHASE ANY TWO PARTICIPATING ANSWER QUESTIONS DASH THROUGH THE STORE WIN MONEY, HELP CHARITIES Jail for driving while disqualified Defendant given suspended sentence for using someone’s credit card without permission CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man charged twice for driving while disqualified was sentenced last week to eight months’ imprisonment. Magistrate Valdis Foldats told defendant Lindev Ri- cardo Reid that the sentence had to deter him and had to send a message to other dis- qualified drivers. Reid, 28, was disquali- fied from driving for one year on Oct. 20, 2015 for driving without insurance. On Nov. 15, officers saw Reid driving along School Road. They ar- rested him and brought him to court on Nov. 17 for driving while disqualified and with no insurance (since insurance would not cover a disqualified driver). At that court appearance, Magistrate Foldats told Reid that he considered the new charge a breach of a court order and remanded him in custody pending disposal of the matter. On a later mention date, another magistrate granted Reid bail and set a return date. On March 11 this year, po- lice were called to a one-ve- hicle accident on West Bay Road. The car belonged to Reid’s wife and he admitted taking it without her con- sent. He was given a roadside breath test, which registered 0.212. Arrested and taken to the police station, he was tested with a breathalyzer and registered 0.173. Defense attorney John Furniss said Reid had been unemployed for some time because he had hurt his neck and could not do the tiling work that was his trade. Not working, he sometimes drank at home. On the night of the March 11 accident, he had taken the dog for a walk and the dog had run away. Reid could not chase after it because of his bad neck, so he got into the car to look for the dog and ended up crashing into bush on the side of the road. He had been in custody since. The magistrate said it was pure luck that no one was injured. Mr. Furniss agreed, adding, “The penny has dropped” for Reid because of this second time in cus- tody. “He accepts he should never have made that deci- sion to drive. If the realiza- tion wasn’t there before, it is now,” he said. Another result of Reid’s bad decision was that the vehicle was a write-off. Reid was also going to have em- ployment problems because he would not be able to drive, Mr. Furniss said. The magistrate noted that the maximum sentence for driving while disqualified is 12 months. He imposed one month imprisonment for the first driving while dis- qualified offense and seven months consecutive for the second. Time in custody will count against the eight- month total. Reid’s disqualifica- tion from driving now runs until 2021, which includes the driving under the influ- ence charge. Other traffic sentences were made to run concurrently. For a separate dishonesty charge involving the use of another person’s credit card, Mr. Furniss asked for a sus- pended sentence. He pointed out that Reid had not been repre- sented when he pleaded not guilty and a trial date was set. After speaking with Mr. Furniss, Reid changed his plea to guilty. “You don’t need legal advice to tell the truth,” the magistrate replied. He pointed out that seven wit- nesses had been called for the trial. Crown counsel Greg Wal- colm said this was Reid’s first offense for dishonesty and it was not a breach of trust. Any custodial sentence should be suspended, he said. He explained that the owner of the credit card had checked into a hotel on Seven Mile Beach using her credit card. She had then gone to Camana Bay with her purse, but did not use the credit card there. She noticed the card was missing the next day. She called the bank and was informed that the card had been used for transac- tions totaling $750.30. One of the transactions was the purchase of an in-car stereo for $169.99. CCTV footage showed Reid making the purchase. Reid was arrested but denied knowing anything about it. His vehicle was searched and a stereo was found matching the one pur- chased with the credit card. He then gave a “no com- ment” interview. Mr. Furniss said Reid had pleaded not guilty because he did not want to admit the dishonesty to his wife. Reid later said he had found the card and used it. The magistrate imposed a sentence of 10 months, suspended for two years and ordered compensa- tion of $750.30 within six months or 75 days in default of payment. 5 years, 3 months sentence for knife wounding CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Justice Alistair Malcolm sent out a warning on Friday when he sentenced Cory God- frey Bowen to five years and three months’ imprisonment for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. “Knives are lethal weapons and, if taken to any confrontation, can easily cause fatal consequences,” the judge said. “Anybody using a knife in a fight can expect to be dealt with se- verely by the courts.” Bowen, 30, had pleaded not guilty to the charge after an incident on June 13, 2015. Bowen and the 24-year-old complainant had a relation- ship with the same woman and the stabbing took place outside her home. A Grand Court jury heard the evidence in March and returned a guilty verdict. The complainant sustained three stab wounds to the head and neck and a significant wound to the abdomen. The incident occurred after Bowen was dropping the woman to her car around 5 a.m. The other man was there, so the woman asked Bowen to take her home. The man followed them to the woman’s apartment. The two men exchanged words and Bowen got out of his car with a knife and approached the other man. The judge quoted the com- plainant’s evidence verbatim: “As he got closer to me, I hit him and that’s how it all hap- pened. The knife was in his right hand. He was walking briskly toward me. I had not walked toward him. I boxed him because I’d been injured before and I was not going to get anyone close to me like that. “After I hit him, I got him into a headlock, managed to get him to the ground and started to box him. That’s when he got his arm around and put a knife to my neck. I was trying to control him, as he had a knife in his hand. He was trying to stab me.” The woman shouted at Bowen, telling him, “Stop, you’re killing him,” the judge said. A neighbor came over and told the complainant, “You’re bleeding a lot. Try to get off him.” The fight ended, but Bowen continued to threaten the other man verbally. The man left the scene, not real- izing the extent of his inju- ries, and eventually collapsed. Meanwhile, the woman had called 911 and an ambulance carried him to hospital. Full recovery “Fortunately, apart from the scars, he has made a full recovery,” the judge noted. “The scarring, he says, is a permanent reminder of the attack.” Defense attorney Prathna Bodden pointed out that Bowen had no previous con- victions for violence of any kind, asserting that his be- havior that night was out of character and without pre- meditation. She explained that Bowen was in emotional turmoil because his brother had been shot that night; he had gone to the hospital but was unable to find out what the prognosis was. The judge accepted these submissions, but empha- sized, “The jury found that when you attacked [the com- plainant] you intended to cause him serious harm. When you decide to use a knife in a fight, it’s often pure chance whether the victim is killed, suffers a life- changing injury or gets away relatively unscathed. How- ever, the sentencing court has to take to account the seriousness of the injury ac- tually caused.”3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 Take the this PLUNGE JUNE Take the PLUNGE $100, 000 i cas an rando pr e June 11, 2016 24th Annual Flowers One Mile Sea Swim June 13, 2016 Flowers International 5k & 10k Swims Register online: fl owersseaswim.com ENTRY FEE CI$30 or US$37.50 Swim and win! • Over 40 airline tickets to 24 destinations, including Europe, North America and the Caribbean** • Weekend stays at the Wyndham Reef Resorts, Restaurant vouchers, Gift Certi cates from Red Sail Sports and Anytime Fitness • Smart Phones, Tablets, plus Special Prizes from the Flowers Group and so much more **Restrictions apply JUNE Flowers Sea SwimSea Swim fl owersseaswim.com Flowers Sea Swim ALL REGISTRATION PROCEEDS DONATED TO THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CANCER SOCIETY Swim • • • **Restrictions apply 20162016 MEDIA LTD. HURLE Y’S BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Islands law- makers will try for a fourth time to enact data protection legislation – aimed at pro- tecting the privacy of per- sonal information – with an amendment bill scheduled to be brought before parliament in September. The legislation is part of a package of legal changes the Progressives-led admin- istration is contemplating in order to fall in line with Eu- ropean directives related to privacy protection and tax information exchange, the government said Wednesday in a statement issued from London. The Data Protection Bill was expected to come before the Legislative Assembly for a vote during a meeting that ended last week, but law- makers were called away for Thursday’s Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. Premier Alden McLaughlin said the data protection proposal put into effect in the European Union in recent weeks had raised some concerns with the local financial services industry, which was still in the process of reviewing the bill during the recent assembly meeting. “Acknowledging privacy as a basic human right, in September new data protec- tion legislation will … be in- troduced that is on par with what is in place in the Euro- pean Union,” the government statement Wednesday read. Acting Information Com- missioner Jan Liebaers, who has assisted in drafting the data protection plan since its inception in Cayman some seven years ago, said Tuesday that he was un- certain what concerns the financial services in- dustry may have expressed about the bill in its current form. However, Mr. Liebaers said it appears the legis- lation will comply will all EU requirements. One area of concern for Mr. Liebaers has been the position of the informa- tion commissioner’s office as overseer and enforcer of data protection requirements. In order to obtain EU “ade- quacy status” for such legis- lation, the information com- missioner said that office must be seen by EU officials as “completely independent.” The Progressives-led government has proposed placing the information commissioner’s office under a “super-ombudsman” with oversight of several other government watchdog posts. “In the EU … you’re only allowed to export per- sonal data to a country that provides adequate protection [of that data],” Mr. Liebaers said. Without obtaining that adequacy status, multina- tional companies that wish to do business with Euro- pean entities – which in fi- nancial services terms, gen- erally involves customers’ sensitive financial and per- sonal details – must either create legally binding corpo- rate rules or potentially be shut out of that business. The issue has ramifi- cations for Cayman’s fi- nancial services industry, which has been seeking in- roads to European markets for a number of years. If the Data Protection Bill is passed during the September legislative ses- sion, a group of EU regula- tors known as the “Article 29 working group” would have to come to Cayman and re- view its data protection pro- cesses, write a report to the European Commission and essentially state whether the territory has adequate pri- vacy protections. Mr. Liebaers said the adequacy status require- ment has been the subject of some legal battles be- tween the U.S. and Europe in recent years, and that many countries outside the EU do not maintain that status, including America, China and India. “There is still a lot of uncertainty about in- ternational data flows,” Mr. Liebaers said. All three British Crown de- pendencies, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, have achieved EU adequacy status with regard to privacy pro- tection. None of the overseas territories has enacted sim- ilar legislation, though Mr. Li- ebaers said Cayman and Ber- muda have gone “far down the road” with the issue. “Acknowledging privacy as a basic human right, in September new data protection legislation will … be introduced.” GOVERNMENT STATEMENT Data protection legislation put off until fall Jan Liebaers Police have issued a new appeal for in- formation in connection with the death of 34-year-old Anthony Moore in an apparent hit-and-run accident. Mr. Moore was found dead next to his silver and black mountain bike in the early hours of April 30 on Hirst Road, Savannah. Police have appealed for anyone with in- formation about Mr. Moore’s whereabouts or movements between 1:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. that day to come forward. Senior Investigating Officer Inspector Adrian Barnett can be reached at 926-2204. Police appeal for help in hit-and-run Anthony MooreThe 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. THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS It’s yet another “good news/bad news” story. The good news is the Cayman Islands came away rela- tively unscathed in the unprecedented publication of approximately 11.5 million files, known collectively as the “Panama Papers.” The bad news is that the good news will not do us much good. Cayman, being one of the most prominent offshore financial centers in the world (we like to rank ourselves No. 5), is inextricably associated with an industry that, rightly or wrongly, is in the international firing line. In fact, Cayman – in large part because of ineffec- tive communication counter-strategies over the last two decades – has allowed its good name to become almost synonymous with tax havens and money laundering and other nefarious activities that have long been purged from our financial services industry. But while the practices no longer exist, the percep- tion that they do is greater than ever. It is promulgated in books and film and political speech and, of course, the media. As a country (including the leading industry within our country), our response has been a non-response – or certainly a non-effective response - and so we are now getting swept up in the political tsunami of the Panama Papers. Perhaps the first tangible effect of this fallout is the announcement yesterday by our Cayman delegation in London (Premier Alden McLaughlin, Minister of Financial Services Wayne Panton and MLA Roy McTaggart) that Cayman “has confirmed to the U.K. that it will join the initiative for the development of a global standard for the sharing of beneficial ownership information.” We would remind our readers that as recently as last month Cayman had a “deal” with the U.K. that we would enact a “bespoke” or tailor-made process, unique to our special circumstances, to deal with the beneficial ownership issue. Yielding to pressure by European regulators following the release of the Panama Papers, the U.K. reneged on our deal, and our delegation yielded to what no doubt was the inevitable: Cayman will now march in lockstep (if not philosophically, certainly procedurally) with the regula- tors of Europe. We will have much more to say on this issue editori- ally in coming days once the contours of the information- sharing agreement become more clear, but for now we would like to stay with the Panama Papers issue in a dif- ferent context – the context of media behavior. We will not quibble, parse our words, or equivo- cate: The leaking of the Panama Papers was theft, pure and unalloyed, and the world’s media are trafficking in stolen documents. The fruits of the break-in to the files of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama City which specializes in setting up offshore companies around the world (much as Cayman’s law firms, both big and small, do routinely), were first leaked to a German newspaper and later found their way to an organization called The International Con- sortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). For more than a year under the direction of ICIJ, journalists from 107 media organizations orga- nized and analyzed the documents before recently making them public. The predictable media orgy followed, complete with names of celebrities, world leaders, and others who were smeared, with little, if any, due diligence and certainly no establishment of guilt or innocence. These documents were proprietary, and the legitimate right of financial privacy was violated by a cowardly leaker (he calls himself “John Doe”) and a complicit press. In the aftermath of the leak, a spokesman for the law firm Mossack Fonseca issued this statement to a media organization: “It appears that you have had unauthorized access to proprietary documents and information taken from our company and have presented and interpreted them out of context. We trust that you are fully aware that using information/documentation unlawfully obtained is a crime, and we will not hesitate to pursue all available criminal and civil remedies.” If our readers are looking for a local analogy, consider the leaking and subsequent distribution to the media of, say, all the files at Maples, Appleby, Walkers and, for good measure, Deloitte, PwC and a half-dozen banks. Trust us: You will not read those files in the pages of the Compass. The fallout from the purloined Panama Papers NOAH SMITH Microeconomic theory gets little attention. The public usually only hears about macro, tax or labor economics - the things that affect day-to-day life. But deep within the stygian re- cesses of academia, bright mathematical minds are working on the economics of the next century. One of these is Yuliy San- nikov, a professor at Princ- eton. Known throughout his life as a mathematical ge- nius, Sannikov recently won the John Bates Clark Medal, a notable award given each year to a prominent econ- omist under the age of 40. In recent years, that award has been given mostly to empirical researchers, re- flecting econ’s turn toward data-driven work. San- nikov is among the few who work with pure math and abstract concepts. Since 2008, a lot of people have looked very unfavor- ably on purely mathemat- ical economic theory. But in microeconomics, this kind of theorizing has been quite successful: It has enabled advances in online auctions, organ transplants and a number of other areas. This work is not as glamorous as the research done by people who claim to be able to ex- plain recessions and unem- ployment, but by keeping a low profile, it is able to stay a lot more grounded in reality. Sannikov’s work doesn’t have a lot of application to the world as it exists today. It has to do with the way par- ties would design and update contracts at incredibly high frequencies. In a nutshell, Sannikov’s theories describe how an employer would ad- just a contractor’s compensa- tion in real time, in response to changing performance and external conditions. Where most previous researchers only allowed contracts to be updated at regular intervals, Sannikov described what happens when they can be changed infinitely quickly. In reality, of course, San- nikov’s work is just pure math conducted in an econ department. No one ad- justs contracts by the micro- second. Yet, that is. In the future, we will al- most certainly design com- puters to manage our eco- nomic interactions for us. Instead of teams of human lawyers drawing up fixed rules on sheets of paper, ma- chines will talk to one an- other, exercising broad powers to renegotiate deals on the spot. At that point, Sannikov’s work will go from esoteric math to reality. Thirty years ago, stocks were traded by humans waving sheets of paper in a crowded room in lower Man- hattan. Today, they’re traded thousands of times a second, by computer algorithms re- lying on data sets too big to be comprehended by the human mind. Imagine that same transformation applied to many areas of business. Picture supply chains managed by algorithms, with purchasing contracts ad- justed at high frequencies in response to constant flows of data about sales, ship- ping times, manufacturing costs, and so on. Imagine de- mand shifting back and forth across continents at close to the speed of light, switching small-batch production and shipping orders from one bidder to the next. Instead of high-frequency traders, imagine high-frequency law- yers, adjusting contracts to reward contractors appropri- ately for tiny improvements in efficiency, using sophisti- cated statistical analysis to figure out whether perfor- mance is being driven by out- side conditions or by the con- tractor’s skill and effort. Of course, in this sci-fi vision, the contractor will also be a robot, using equally sophis- ticated procedures to opti- mize its payment relative to its cost. This may be our future: a whole economy of ultra-fast robots, negotiating, making agreements and adjusting in- centives. Sometimes, just like their financial counterparts, the high-frequency lawyers will try to fake one another out. They will try to shirk, to disguise their lack of effort and corner-cutting, to save money at the purchasers’ ex- pense, just like human con- tractors do now. The govern- ment will even have its own high-frequency lawyers, mon- itoring private-sector robots for regulatory violations. The economy will become a beau- tiful ballet of data and math, dancing to the beat of equa- tions like Sannikov’s. And where will we fit into the equation? That, of course, is the big question with all automation. High-frequency lawyers will threaten the jobs of human lawyers, white- collar office workers, and business service providers of all types. With advanced enough machine-learning techniques, they may even come for the jobs of top man- agers and executives. There will be near-infinite wealth floating around the economy, and our traditional systems for allocating it to human beings will become less and less useful. Business service robots will bring forward the day when we need to think hard about how to spread the massive wealth created by the automation of everything. Noah Smith is an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University and a freelance writer for finance and business publications © 2016, Bloomberg View Are automated lawyers coming? 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 find their own way” The myth of the ignorant voter JONATHAN BERNSTEIN From the department of not understanding politics, Neil deGrasse Tyson tweets: “Candidate Endorsements matter if you’d rather have a famous person, an organiza- tion, or media entity do your thinking for you” Tyson, a prominent astrophysicist and science commentator is criticizing those of us who rely on this kind of information to vote. It’s possible that he skips a lot of elections. Most citizens, even those who vote regularly, do. Or he may carefully study the policies and qualifications of each candidate in each elec- tion for which he’s eligible to vote, and all the bond mea- sures and initiatives, too. I somehow doubt it. To fully examine each of those elections would practically be a full-time job. I’ve now voted 188 times in the current four-year election cycle (that is, since November 2012). I’ve voted for president and for members of Congress and for the Texas Legisla- ture on down the ballot to the school board. I’m about as in- formed a voter as they come, and I don’t feel remotely qual- ified to develop independent views on half the issues that come up and on many candi- dates for lower offices. Here in San Antonio, Texas, the local government has in the last few years debated a complex water issue; the use of city money to help a higher- level minor league team move here; light rail and an inter- city rail alliance with Austin; annexation of new areas; var- ious highway expansions; full- time salaries for elected of- ficials, and more than I can remember. Do I have informed views of those issues? Not re- ally; and while I can read (for example) economic impact re- ports, I’m not going to do it. Yet I’m quite comfortable that I made good choices most times, if we can define “good choices” as “how I would have voted had I done more re- search.” Why? Because I take the shortcuts used by most voters, informed or not. The biggest one is party affiliation. If the party endorses a candi- date, you have a good idea how that person will behave in of- fice. As for the issues, your par- ty’s support or opposition can tell you a lot about a specific proposal, or at least enough. We can also use other sources - such as officials we learn to rely on over time. On local water issues, for example, I know nothing but I trust a particular city council member who works hard to get things right. As political scientist Hans Noel has pointed out, voting isn’t an individual choice at all. It’s “about acting in concert with others.” It’s perfectly responsible to vote based on endorsements from the “others” you know. So don’t let anyone shame you into not voting or from other political action because you (supposedly) don’t know enough. Sure, educate yourself, but you don’t need to know the details of zoning regula- tions, nuclear arms treaties or health-care policy to figure out which candidate to sup- port, or how to vote on ballot measures. If you can figure out what group or groups matter to you when it comes to poli- tics and government, and learn which way those groups are voting, you’re going to get it right almost every time. © 2016, Bloomberg View5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 Apply today and get FREE† additional cards! Reward yourself in two easy ways Choose one or both! Welcome Bonus offers end May 31, 2016. †† Scotiabank Gold MasterCard® Get a Welcome Bonus of US$40† Cash Back ®Scotiabank / AAdvantage® MasterCard® Get a Welcome Bonus of up to 7,000 AAdvantage® miles† Travel Rewards ®® †Conditions apply. Subject to credit approval. Offers subject to change without notice. Customers earn 7,000 AAdvantage Miles as follows. You earn a welcome bonus of 3,000 AAdvantage Miles on your first purchase of any amount. Thereafter, you earn an additional 2,000 AAdvantage Miles after you have spent a cumulative amount of USD$ 800 on your new Scotiabank / AAdvantage MasterCard® credit, plus you earn a further 2,000 AAdvantage Miles when you add one or more supplemental cards to your account during the first 3 cycles from the account open date. Visit cayman.scotiabank.com/bonusrewards for full Terms & Conditions. ®Registered trademark of the Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. American Airlines® reserves the right to change AAdvantage® program rules, regulations, travel awards and special offers at any time without notice, and to end the AAdvantage® program with six months notice. Any such changes may affect your ability to use the awards or mileage credits that you have accumulated. Unless specified, AAdvantage® miles earned through this promotion/offer do not count toward elite-status qualification or Million MilerSM status. American Airlines® is not responsible for products or services offered by other participating companies. For complete details about the AAdvantage® program, visit www.aa.com/aadvantage. Scotiabank issues the Scotiabank/AAdvantage® card. American Airlines®, AAdvantage® and Million Miler are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. ®MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. /ScotiabankKY Go to cayman.scotiabank.com/bonusrewards to see how your rewards can add up. Cash Back Cayman_Q2 Credit Card2016_5.0667x7.8975.indd 14/17/16 8:17 PM A PRODUCTION OF “IF YOU DON’T LAUGH SUE ME.” RATED PG *Ital’s Online Mall *Dr. Beck’s Injection *Foolish People *Capitalism Gone Mad *Nosey Mother-in-Law *New Election Candidate *Dog Life Good *I Want To Be A Puppy... And much, much more Mid-day Grumbling facebook.com/caymanculture A PRODUCTION OF CNCF acknowledges annual funding from the Government of the Cayman Islands via the Ministry of Culture artscayman.org twitter.com/caymanculture TICKETS: Adult $25 : Child (12 & under) & Senior : $15 (ID required) Health Care Pharmacy (Grand Harbour), Foster’s (Strand) Funky Tang’s & Harquail Theatre - 949-5477 Cayman National Cultural Foundation Creativity : Heritage : Education FEATURING: Matt Brown : Leroy Holness : Lesley-ann Bernard Priscilla Pouchie : Jevaughnie Ebanks : Juliet Garricks : Giselle Webb Troy Rodgers : Cassandra Shea : Josefa Martinez-Shims : Rachel Gepolla & Kathleen Helvestor MAY 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 & 28 - 8:00 PM MAY 15, 22 & 29 - 6:00 PM R DON’T LAUGH *Capitalism Gone Mad *Nosey Mother-in-Law *New Election Candidate *I Want To Be A Puppy... And much, much more RRUndownMid-day Grumbling RRRRRRRUndown UndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndownUndown RUndownRRUndownRRUndownRUndown Undown RUndownRRUndownRUndownRUndownRUndownRUndownRRUndownRUndown Undown RUndownRUndownRUndownRUndown UndownUndownUndown RUndownRUndown UndownUndown Designed & Directed by HENRY MUTTOO With new skit by MATT BROWN and music tracks arranged by GEORGE JONES 2016 Original RUNDOWN concept and theme by DAVE MARTINS The hilarious comedy revue that is now a Caymanian tradition HARQUAIL THEATRE Job transfers, new retirement age for civil service employees BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands deputy governor will be al- lowed to transfer or even as- sign lower pay grades to civil service employees in circum- stances where a Caymanian job-seeker has applied for what is considered to be a “key” position, according to proposed legislation made public this week. A cache of revisions to Cayman’s Public Service Management Law and Public Service Pensions Law, ex- pected to be considered by the Legislative Assembly during its next meeting, seek to change a number of em- ployment rules that apply to more than 4,000 public sector workers in the territory. Among those changes is a proposed increase to the gov- ernment’s long-standing re- tirement age, from 60 to 65. The bill also seeks to facilitate the transfer of workers within the civil ser- vice – at the deputy gov- ernor’s discretion – for specific reasons. One such reason, as stated in the Public Service Man- agement (Amendment) Bill, is: “In order to promote the advancement of a Caymanian to a key managerial or tech- nical position in any part of the civil service, the head of the civil service [deputy gov- ernor] may transfer a staff member who is in that posi- tion in a civil service entity to a position in the same or a lower remuneration band [pay scale].” The transfer would have to be done in accordance with current government personnel rules, but would not have to adhere to provi- sions in the law that require proof of the employee’s qual- ifications and/or experience or references to support the new candidate’s job applica- tion, according to the bill. Civil service leaders said Wednesday that they did not consider the transfers “de- motions” as the employees involved are protected by the law. Proposed amendments to the Public Service Man- agement Law provide that the employee “shall continue to be an uninterrupted em- ployee of the government and the tenure and terms and conditions of the civil ser- vant’s employment shall be unaffected by the transfer of that civil servant.” In most cases, managers said the provision would be used for succession planning purposes, to replace an expa- triate worker or a Caymanian who is already at or near re- tirement age. Another section of the amended law would allow the deputy governor to transfer any employee “in order to en- sure the best operation of the civil service as a whole.” Those transfers can only be effected if the transferred worker stays within the same pay scale, the bill states. The proposed change in the “normal retirement age” for civil servants, long planned by the Progres- sives-led government ad- ministration, will also have significant impact on older civil servants’ working rules, if the two bills are approved by a majority of legislators. According to the changes, the civil service manager re- sponsible for appointments in a department can reap- point an employee who has reached age 65. They can also, if the staffer requests, reap- point that person who has reached the early retirement age (somewhere between 50- 64, depending on how long the person has been in the government service) to an- other job at lower pay. Individuals who are re- tired and then rehired are allowed to either continue contributing to their post-re- tirement pension or receive a salary and a pension simul- taneously, depending on how much they earn. “Where a retired partici- pant is re-employed at the same salary grade or higher, the retired participant is deemed to elect to have [their] pension suspended and to have additional bene- fits [accrue to their pension],” the bill states. “Where a par- ticipant eligible for early re- tirement opts for phased retirement, the retired par- ticipant receives the pension, but no further benefits are accrued.” For older civil service workers who are under the “defined benefit” portion of the retirement plan, which pays a monthly pension for the remainder of their lives, their maximum eligibility for a pension under that plan is reached at age 65. After that, if the person keeps working and accruing pension ben- efits, they would make addi- tional pension contributions into the defined contribution plan – which operates like a retirement savings account. Early retirement The definition of the “early retirement” age in the amendments to the civil service Public Service Pen- sions (Amendment) Bill is complicated. For any civil servant who was employed prior to the ef- fective date of the law, once it is passed, early retirement can be between 50 and 59 years old, if that person has at least 10 years of service with the government. Any age between 60 and 64 is also considered the early retirement date. For anyone employed in the civil service after the law is passed and implemented, early retirement is between ages 55 and 64, as long as the person has at least ten years of service with government. The normal retirement age will be increased to 65, but there are conditions in which those workers can continue on with the civil service. The age of 65 is not necessarily considered to be a “forced” date of retirement. Currently, Deputy Gov- ernor Franz Manderson said the civil service is allowing workers over age 60 to con- tinue with the civil service if they so desire. However, in past years, that age has been treated as the point at which most workers must leave the government service. The age of 65 is not necessarily considered to be a “forced” date of retirement.THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS 6 DISTRICT DAYS District Days Bodden Town Savannah dancers bring home medals Savannah Primary School student dancers came home with three gold and one silver medal for their performances at the 2016 National Chil- dren’s Festival of the Arts dance competition on April 22. The routines were taught and choreographed by teachers Jessica Eden and Melisha McField. The “Shine on us” dance by the Infant students won gold, as did the performance of “Flag up.” The Juniors’ performance of “Sorry” in the popular cate- gory also earned a gold. The performance of ‘Vibez’ in the creative folk/popular category by Junior students received a silver. Overall, Savannah Primary students excelled in a variety of disciplines at the Festival, and the school earned a total of 27 awards (12 gold, 10 silver and 5 bronze) in cate- gories that included voice and instrumental performances along with dance. The National Children’s Festival of the Arts debuted in 1982 and is in its 34th year. The festival is open to pupils of all government and private schools in Cayman. SPS Dance Club ‘Sorry’ performers, from left, Meisha McDermott, Ashley Palacios, Alexa Phipps, Taejah Tatum, Ciara Hernandez, Gianna Gregory, Khyla Oliver, Jessiann Miller, Rondia Witter and Elizabeth Walton. The SPS Dance Club ‘Shine on us’ performers. Back row, from left, Naima Donald, Zoe Franklin, Yana Joven, Jazmin Ritch, Chanecia Williams, Cassia Johnson, Jahnelle Wood, Amoya Burton and Sarah Medina. Front row, from left, Zariyah Duran, Keira Oliver, Maria Campbell and Ylani Brooks. SPS Dance Club ‘Flag Up’ performers, from left, Jaeia Parson, Makayla Thames, Mia Cerrato-Eden, Nxi Scott, Ari-Mae Solomon, MaryClaire Samuels, Hayleigh Solomon, Damoya Fearon, Ameka Phipps, Dakota Davis, and Nissi Vassell and Alyssa Burton in front. 50 years ago: Bodden Town’s first ever floor show In the May 11, 1966 edi- tion of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, Bodden Town correspondent Haig Bodden wrote: “The first floor show ever presented in Bodden Town was staged at the Ocean View Theatre on Friday night May 6. “The open-air Ocean View, overlooking the sea, as its name implies, has for many years been one of the few centres of entertain- ment in the district. History was only repeating itself when a large crowd turned out to participate in the so- cial activities. “The show was an ex- travaganza of great stars. Names that have become a household word in our little world of entertainment flashed across the stage. Among the famous were Sebastian, Diana General, Prince Al Bent, Trevor Rudey and Edward Solomon. “The exotic fire dance by Diana General, the eccentric bottle dance, the pop songs, and the lively music of Ken Davis and the Kiemanaires contributed to give an ef- fect of lasting memories. The unforgettable Trevor Rudey and our local Ed- ward Solomon sang with a lustre that would be hard to equal anywhere. “On Wed May 4 a com- mittee appointed by the Board of Education in- quired into the pro- posed new constitution of the Bodden Town Parent Teacher Association. This committee was headed by the Board’s special and most conciliatory admin- istrator, the Hon. T.W. Far- rington, C.B.E., J.P. MLA. The other members of the committee were Miss Beulah Smith, Mr. Ulric Mc- Namee, Mr. Bertram Ebanks and Miss Janice Watler, the secretary. “The Bodden Town Parent Teacher Association, founded about 20 years ago, is still functioning … It should be expected that the constitution would be- come antiquated and re- quire certain amendments to fit our fast-paced evo- lution. However it was felt by a majority of the mem- bers that it would be better to draft a new constitution. As a result a new constitu- tion which does not seem to meet with the approval of the Board of Education has been adopted … “The investigating com- mittee has submitted what was referred to as a model constitution. This model constitution is in some parts diametrically op- posed to the new one. One gets the idea that each one must have been drafted to suit a different purpose. “The investigation in parts reminded me of what I have read of communist hearings. I distinctly heard vehement cries of victimiza- tion, domination and other communist colloquialisms. “It was brought to light … that the seat of the trouble is rooted in the Board’s apathy towards Bodden Town. Some parents feel that the resignation of Mr. Bonner, a former head- master of the school, and the refusal of his applica- tion to be re-instated by the Board could not be in the interest of the children. “Bodden Town, the hamlet that government forgot, has just been dealt another low card. Once money can be found for an ever increasing number of cocktail parties, should it be of significance that the school has no playfield, no suitable classrooms, no ad- equate water supply, and no one that cares about the unhappy children, in their state of primitive surroundings? “The committee left with each member pledging his or her support on the Board of Education for Bodden Town in the future.”CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 7 DISTRICT DAYS District Days Bodden Town Savannah smile concert delights audience JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com After the closing argu- ments have been made, Jesse Matthews, minister of envi- ronment is ordered to spend three months at the Cayman Islands Hospital to get a smile checkup with “smilolo- gist” Lenari Seymour. That entertaining cul- mination to the mini skit, “Court’s In,” was just one part of the Savannah United Church youth department’s “Yuh cayaan smile ah wha” evening concert on May 7 at the church. The chil- dren were all smiles as they danced, sang and showcased glow-in-the-dark “fandan- gles” and glow-in-the-dark puppets to the delight of the audience. Karlene Buckle, one of the youth leaders for the pri- mary and youth choir group, said the successful concert came out of an effort to de- velop more interesting ac- tivities for children in the church community that were different from what they do in school. “‘Yuh cayaan smile ah wah’ is Caymanian dialect [meaning, ‘You can’t smile, or what?’] and we wanted to use the catchy phrase around the church to give the young people a reason to smile and a unique way to greet each other,” Ms. Buckle said. One year ago, the youth leaders started using the smile theme to plan activ- ities for the children, and it proved an instant suc- cess during Friday evening youth fellowships. It gener- ated a lot of response from the young people – especially the boys. “During practice for the concert, they loved the scene from the courtroom drama, because to them it was so relevant to the Cay- manian community,” Ms. Buckle said. Proceeds from the con- cert will go toward props for other upcoming “Yuh cayaan smile ah wah” productions, which the church is hoping will become annual events. One year ago, the youth leaders started using the smile theme to plan activities for the children, and it proved an instant success during Friday evening youth fellowships. The dance choir strike a pose. - PHOTOS: JEWEL LEVY The dance choir preform a glow-in-the-dark routine. Josh Gardner playing the Crown prosecutor makes his case to judge Amar Christian in the company of bailiff Anthony Ebanks (at back) to charge the environment minister played by Jeffe Matthews. At left, Nathan Myers and Delano Callender challenge a family to make each other smile. Big turnout for beach fundraiser JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Bodden Town’s Webster Me- morial United Church took to the beach for a fundraiser last week. Kenrick Webster, an organizer of the May 6 event at Coe Wood Public Beach, said it is one of church’s many initiatives to raise money for summer camps, after- school programs, seniors outings and other activities. “We had a very good turnout of people to the beach,” said Mr. Web- ster. “On sale was fry crab, lobster, fried fish barbecue and in addition to that, we had homemade rolls.” Mr. Webster said even tour- ists pulled in to support the ven- ture and to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere. “It is something very exciting to know that the church can give back to the community by hosting these events,” added Mr. Webster. Lloyd Charlton, chairman of the fundraising committee, said they try to do something to raise funds for the church every quarter, and noted that the next event will likely have a more youthful focus. “We are going to try some- thing different next time, and try to get the young people more in- volved because the older folks that do all the cooking are getting tired,” he said. Lloyd Charlton, chairman of the fundraising committee, said they try to do something to raise funds for the church every quarter, and noted that the next event will likely have a more youthful focus. Evie Solomon and Luceita Mosquite tend the grill.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS We regret to announce the passing of Haveline Ebanks Bush Who departed this life on Saturday, 30th April 2016. Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. A funeral service will be held 3:00 p.m. on Friday, 13th May, 2016, at the Wesleyan Holiness Church, West Bay. Interment will follow in West Bay Cemetery. THURSDAY, MAY 12 ‘RUNDOWN’: The annual comedy revue opens tonight at the Harquail Theatre at 8 p.m. The show then runs weekends through May 29, with Friday and Saturday performances at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. Tickets are now on sale. $25 for adults, $15 for seniors and children under the age of 12. Tickets can be reserved by calling 949-5477 or purchased online at www. artscayman.org/rundown. Outlets include the CNCF Box Office, Foster’s Food Fair (Strand), Funky Tang’s and Health Care Pharmacy in Grand Harbour. OUTREACH EXHIBITION: The public is invited to the opening of “The Gift of Healing,” an outreach exhibition curated by this year’s Deutsche Bank intern, Candace Welcome. National Gallery of the Cayman Islands’ Dart Auditorium/ Community Gallery, 5:30 p.m. Come see work from five different outreach classes by more than 60 participants. CHILD MONTH GAMES NIGHT: The Department of Children and Family Services invites families for an evening of board games at the Book Nook in Galleria Plaza, West Bay Road, and at the Aston Rutty Civic Centre in Cayman Brac. The game night is from 6 to 8 p.m. The Book Nook offers discount coupons as winning prizes. Dinner is provided by Papa John’s Pizza. For more information, contact DCFS on 949-0290 and dcfs@gov.ky. FREE SME WORKSHOP: Tips for Developing and Running a Website, by Rasheed Girvan of Jamaica Yellow Pages. 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce office in Governors Square. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. LEGAL BOOTCAMP SERIES: Immigration, Caymanian Status and Naturalization, by Nick Joseph. 9–11 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce office in Governors Square. Members $175. Future Members $225. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. FRIDAY, MAY 13 BE INFORMED: ESO Business Survey Workshop. 9:30- 11:30 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce office in Governors Square. Free. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. SATURDAY, MAY 14 EARLY CHILDHOOD: The Cayman Islands Early Childhood Association holds its monthly members meeting at St. Ignatius School at 9 a.m. DEALS ON WHEELS: The Red Cross Mobile Thrift Shop will be in West Bay at the Town Hall junction 6–10 a.m. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY: Painting Open Studio is offered to youth/ adults who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere at Watler House Studio, Pedro St. James, 3-6 p.m. $10 members/$15 non-members. Materials and instruction not included. For more information, email visualartcayman@yahoo.com. FAMILY FUN DAY: Blossom Village Park in Little Cayman 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., celebrating Child Month. SUNDAY, MAY 15 LITTLE CAYMAN: Church service and lunch at Little Cayman Baptist Church 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., celebrating Child Month. MONDAY, MAY 16 IGNITE YOUTH CONGRESS: All Nations UPC Youth Department presents a free one-day youth empowerment seminar 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church grounds, 23A Woodlake Drive (The Swamp). Guest speaker is Elder Richard McDonald from the Bronx, New York. Refreshments will be provided. All youth are invited. TUESDAY, MAY 17 CHILD PROTECTION: Presentation to preschool owners. South Sound Community Centre, 6:30 p.m., a Child Month event. SUPERIOR BUSINESS WRITING: Chamber course led by Catherine Tyson. 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce office in Governors Square. Members $150. Future Members $225. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 SINGLE PARENTING: The Family Resource Centre hosts a Family Skills Session on the topic Stress Less – Single Parenting. It is geared for parents looking to gain some helpful tips and strategies for coping with the sole responsibility of raising children. The organizers also hope to develop a Single Parent Support Group. 6-8 p.m. FRC is at the Compass Centre, North Sound Road. Light dinner and childcare provided. Register at 949- 0006 or email frc@gov.ky. CONSERVATION COUNCIL: The National Conservation Council holds a general meeting from 2 to 5 p.m. in the ground floor meeting room (1038) of the Government Administration Building (Grand Cayman). This meeting is open to observers from the public. The agenda of the meeting will be available at the Dept. of Environment website, www.DoE.ky. SPRING CONCERT: The Sunrise Adult Training Centre invites the public to its annual Spring Concert at the Harquail Theatre at 7 p.m., featuring “Mummeh Mia – The Barcadere Beckons,” the Sunrise Centre’s version of the hit Broadway musical “Mamma Mia!” Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. Refreshments and crafts will be on sale. THURSDAY, MAY 19 HUMANE SOCIETY QUIZ: 7 p.m. Fidel Murphy’s. Monthly trivia quiz to raise funds to transfer dogs to new homes in the United States. $10 entry fee per person. Maximum of six people per team. Call 949- 5189 or email sarah.dyer.81@ gmail.com to reserve a table. SATURDAY, MAY 21 BRAC FAMILY FUN: Public Beach, South Side. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A Child Month event. THURSDAY, MAY 26 FRAUD RISK, PREVENTION: Free workshop on Identifying Occupational Fraud Risk and Fraud Prevention Controls. By Kevin Haywood- Crouch of KRyS Global. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce office in Governors Square. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY AGM: 7-9 p.m. Watler House Studio, Pedro St. James. VAS hosts its annual general meeting, which is open to everyone. All are invited to learn about what the society has to offer, the exciting past events and what’s coming up. Meet the board of directors and other artists. Only paid-up members will be entitled to vote. Refreshments and light snacks will be served following the meeting. SUNDAY, MAY 29 FAMILY FEST: Child Month event in Grand Cayman at the Agriculture Grounds. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. GENERAL INTEREST RED CROSS RAFFLE: The Cayman Islands Red Cross advises that the Spring Raffle scheduled to be drawn on May 2 will be extended to May 30. REVELATION EXPLAINED: Countryside Church of God on John McLean Drive, East End, presents Pastor John Wilcoxon of Manassas, Virginia. He discusses aspects of the Book of Revelation and how it affects us today. Services continue till May 15, then May 18-22, Wednesday through Saturday at 7:15 p.m., and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Pastor Marquiss McLaughlin at 925-7376. HURRICANE VOLUNTEERS: The Department of Children and Family Services invites individuals to sign up as shelter volunteers for this year’s hurricane season. Training for shelter managers and district representatives volunteers will be held May 25 and 26 at the Prospect Primary School Hall from 5:30-9 p.m. Registration begins promptly at 5:30 p.m. All volunteers must complete both days of training. For more information, contact Ernesto Carter at the DCFS on 949-0290 or email ernesto.carter@gov.ky. CONCH, WHELK SEASON CLOSED: The season to fish for conch and whelks is now closed. It is illegal to take, purchase, receive or possess conchs and whelks originating from Cayman waters. Persons who suspect that conchs and whelks are being fished now can call 911, or DoE enforcement officers directly. Grand Cayman, 916-4271, 949-8469 during working hours; Cayman Brac, 926-0136; Little Cayman, 916-7021. SEAFARER/VETERAN DEADLINE: Seafarers, veterans and their spouses have until May 31 to provide their current information to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for its health insurance database IF they have not already done so. Those who have not received such a document may provide a postal address to the ministry so that the form can be mailed to them. Completed forms may be dropped off or mailed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, 3rd Floor, Government Administration Building, Elgin Avenue, Grand Cayman, PO Box 131, KY1-9000. Individuals seeking assistance may contact the ministry at asenath.blake@gov.ky or 244-2224. Failure to respond by May 31 may result in the discontinuation of health insurance benefits. FREE HIV TESTING: The Public Health Department offers free HIV screenings at the Cayman Islands Red Cross on Huldah Avenue in George Town. Testing is available 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday. CERAMIC OPEN STUDIO: May 4, 11, 18, 25. Visual Arts Society offers Ceramic Open Studio to adults who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. 9 a.m.-12 noon at the Watler House Studio, Pedro St. James. Drop-in Fee $15 pp/$25 pp non-members. Clay, materials, glazes and firing facilities are available. More information, visualartcayman@yahoo.com. PAINTING OPEN STUDIO: Visual Arts Society offers Painting Open Studio to youth/adults who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Watler House Studio, Pedro St. James, Mondays through May 30 from 1–4:30 p.m. $10 member/$15 non- member. Materials and instruction not included. More information: visualartcayman@yahoo.com. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. ‘The Gift of Healing’ exhibition opening is at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 12. The outreach exhibition is curated by this year’s Deutsche Bank intern, Candace Welcome.9 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016 CAYMAN ACADEMY P.O. Box 515, Grand Cayman KY1-1106, Cayman Islands Telephone – (345) 640 2630 Email:caymanacademyschool@gmail.com A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST INSTITUTION Cayman Academy Invites Applications for CAPE Starting 2016/17 Academic Year Cayman Academy is launching CAPE (the Caribbean Advanced Pro ciency Examination) in the 2016/17 academic year. Students with CSEC or equivalent secondary education certi cation are invited to apply. CAPE is equivalent to the British Advanced Levels (A-Levels), both of which are intended for entrance to regional, Canadian, and British universities. Students entering American universities with CAPE quali cations may be eligible for credits and exemptions in selected subject areas. CAPE grants certi cates for individual subjects, a diploma (a cluster of six subjects) or an associate degree (seven or more subjects). Subjects may be studied concurrently or singly. Cayman Academy starts its CAPE programme this year with the business strand, in the following subjects: Accounts Economics Management of Business Caribbean Studies Communication Studies This year, students may select an additional subject from the following options: Pure Mathematics Environmental Science Information Technology Application forms are available from the Registrar, Cayman Academy, telephone: (6402630 or 9267190) email: caymanacademy@gmail.com Deadline for applications is August 12, 2017 My Office Small Business Solutions PERSONAL SERVICES • Visa Applications • UK Passport Applications • Status / Naturalization • Permanent Residency • Notary Public • Resumes BUSINESS SERVICES • Trade and Business Licensing • Work Permits • Insurance Admin • Pension Admin • Bookkeeping • Office/Desk Rentals • Business Incorporation • Registered Agent We know what it takes to be a success Our motto is ”…making business simple” P. O. Box 12146 KY1-l0l0, 351 Whitford Place #1, Dorcy Drive (Industrial Park) George Town myoffice@candw.ky • info@cimyoffice.ky • www.cimyoffice.ky Tel. (345) 947-8370 • (345) 928-9495 Monthly Rentals on desk space. Call 926-2585 for details! Mixed reactions to Cayman Islands participation in transparency initiative MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands’ commit- ment to join an initiative for the de- velopment of a global standard to exchange beneficial ownership infor- mation has been met with a mixture of understanding and concern about the long-term stability of the finan- cial services industry in Cayman. Economist Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the American think tank the Cato Institute and editorial board member of the Cayman Financial Review, considers the initiative to be just another regulatory hurdle in a series of campaigns leveled against offshore financial centers. “This is the latest effort by high- tax nations to move the goal posts in their never-ending campaign to change the rules of international commerce and comity in an effort to prop up uncompetitive welfare states,” Mr. Mitchell said. The effect it will have for Cay- man’s financial services industry is not clear. Initially it may address some of the criticism of offshore centers, said Paul Byles, president of First Regents Bank. “The immediate impact of this high-level commitment in the short term may be to relieve international pressures, address international po- litical pressure and stabilize things, but over the longer term, it’s hard to assess the ramifications without details of the technical procedures, which are far from finalized.” The government was expected to sign a declaration committing to the development of a global stan- dard at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London on Thursday. The proce- dures and legal basis for the infor- mation exchange, the public avail- ability of the information on the true owners of companies, and other technical issues will have to be decided after the conference. If clients can be given some com- fort that they will maintain a legiti- mate right to financial privacy under the new regime, it would ease some of their fears, Mr. Byles said. “But if the procedures that ac- company automatic exchange of in- formation are not robust or remain vague, we need to be having another discussion about the longer term sustainability of the industry.” Mr. Byles expressed under- standing for the actions of govern- ment in joining the global beneficial ownership transparency initiative, but he is concerned that the long- term strategy for the financial ser- vices industry may be neglected. “I am sure that the government is doing its best to protect the in- dustry. But while we are all busy plugging holes in the boat as we address each initiative, no one has had time to look up to see where the boat is actually headed,” he said. “The future careers of young Cay- manians in the financial industry require that we now take a hard look at how the industry can con- tinue to thrive over the longer term under very different circumstances to those that existed four decades ago. We need to be more proactive.” Tim Ridley, former chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Au- thority, also supports government’s efforts, but he feels it is treading a thin line in its support of law enforcement and the desire to pro- tect privacy rights. “The Cayman government is cor- rect in its commitment to combat corruption and criminal tax evasion. It is also correct that there must be an equal commitment to protect and preserve privacy in all its forms. It will always be a challenge to get the right balance, such that criminals are promptly punished and the legit- imate interests of all citizens are ad- equately protected,” Mr. Ridley said. He acknowledged that the Cayman government, under consid- erable international pressure, is at- tempting to get that balance right. Relevant information needs to be available in a timely manner to law enforcement, regulators and tax col- lectors, subject to appropriate safe- guards for all interested parties, he said, but also demanded that public availability of beneficial ownership information should be rejected. “Wholesale transparency and publishing of all information as sought by so many irresponsible in- terests is highly inappropriate and must be strongly resisted. And, in reality, would not much serve the purpose of deterring or tracking down criminals, and would cer- tainly put at risk many legitimate businesses, families and individ- uals,” Mr. Ridley said. Proponents of public registers, meanwhile, are also less than en- thusiastic about the government’s announcement that Cayman will join the global initiative. John Christensen, director of the Tax Justice Network, said “Coming just ahead of the summit in London, this reads like yet another exercise in kicking the can down the road.” Addressing the argument that Cayman’s beneficial ownership re- gime is more robust than the U.K.’s public beneficial ownership register because the information is verified and updated by corporate service providers, Mr. Christensen said the best system would do both. In addi- tion, beneficial ownership informa- tion should include all shareholders and not just those who own more than 25 percent of a company or 25 percent of its voting rights, as is the standard under the British system, he said. “The appropriate standard for sharing information about ultimate beneficial ownership is to put that information on a publicly search- able registry and to make company secretaries responsible for ensuring that the information is kept up to date on a daily basis, providing de- tails of every shareholder regardless of how large or small their share- holding is,” Mr. Christensen said. “It will always be a challenge to get the right balance, such that criminals are promptly punished and the legitimate interests of all citizens are adequately protected.” TIM RIDLEY, former chairman, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority The online database of en- tities, officers and interme- diaries linked to the Panama Papers release shows that links to the Cayman Islands are relatively minor, according to Cayman Finance. “Of the 214,000 offshore companies set up by the Pan- amanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, only 104 had a link to the Cayman Islands, these being of the typical range of business expected of a global financial hub such as Cayman,” said Jude Scott, CEO of the organization rep- resenting the various financial services groups in Cayman. He stated that while no ju- risdiction in the world is free from the threat of criminal fi- nancial activity, Cayman Fi- nance and the Cayman Is- lands have no tolerance for those who choose to violate the laws. “The Cayman Islands fi- nancial services industry has been recognized for decades as a strong international partner in combating corrup- tion, money-laundering and tax evasion,” he said. “We meet or exceed all globally accepted standards for transparency and cross border cooperation with law enforcement. “The Cayman Islands is a transparent jurisdiction.” Still, both the financial services industry and the Cayman Islands government are supportive of further im- provements to the legal in- frastructure to promote even greater transparency for law enforcement, he said. This includes a newly an- nounced prohibition on the use of bearer shares, the re- peal of Cayman’s Confiden- tial Relationships (Preser- vation) Law and new data protection legislation. Financial services body: Cayman links to Panama Papers minorNext >