ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 High of 88 Low of 78 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 ‘REQUIRED LEAVE’: WHEN CIVIL SERVANTS ARE PAID NOT TO WORK BUSINESS | PAGE 11 GOVERNMENT TO RAISE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO CAYMAN FINANCE Premier: Cayman must reject ‘insular thinking’ and ‘prejudice’ BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands must spurn isola- tionism and “over-protectionist” political pol- icies if the British Overseas Territory is to continue to thrive as it has done for the past 40 years, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Monday night. In a strongly worded rejection of the popu- list, often referred to as ultra-nationalist, form of politics that has swept the western world in recent years, Mr. McLaughlin said he was concerned that many Caymanians in the gen- eration behind his might not know the “tough times” that once beset this small country. “Many of us living in this country do not understand what we have,” the premier said. “I hear them banging on about ‘we need to stop work permits,’ I hear them banging on about ‘we need to stop population growth.’ “I am not suggesting for a moment that we shouldn’t plan our development and our growth, but there is a reason why we … are the envy of many other places in the world. It’s because we have not been victims to in- sular thinking and prejudice.” Mr. McLaughlin said immigration policies of successive governments in Cayman were part of the reason for its present success. Yet those policies, he said, are now constantly under attack on public airwaves and in dis- cussions by opposition political members. Opposition members, during the recently ended budget debate, have criticized what they termed Cayman’s over-reliance on im- migration revenues – which are expected to earn the government $209 million in the next two years. Deputy Opposition Leader Alva Suckoo said opposition members’ research indicated that government planned to introduce “an- other 2,000 new work permits” in the 2018/19 budget cycle. Mr. Suckoo said. “It boils down to the government’s intention to rapidly increase the population. Clearly, our tax base is based HEALTH CITY AND ASCENSION PART WAYS American nonprofit healthcare company Ascension has ended its partnership with Health City Cayman Islands. The company, a St. Louis, Missouri-based, healthcare provider, partnered with Dr. Devi Shetty’s Narayana Health to bring the medical tourism facility to Grand Cayman in 2014. Now Ascension says it is switching its focus to other projects and Health City will “transition to full ownership” by Dr. Shetty’s company. John Doyle, executive vice president of As- cension, said the hospital was a world-class facility that had achieved accreditation from the Joint Commission International and was meeting its remit to bring world-class care to the Caribbean. “Our goal was to address unmet needs of residents of the greater Caribbean re- gion and beyond, particularly those who are poor and vulnerable, while exploring ways to learn about different approaches to providing healthcare that might benefit our facilities in the United States and worldwide,” he said. “With the success of Health City, Ascension can continue to focus our energies and re- sources on our other international needs.” Dr. Anthony Tersigni, president and chief executive officer of Ascension, said the part- nership had helped provide free surgeries to more than 200 children from Haiti, Hon- duras and Nicaragua who could not af- ford treatment. Dr. Shetty added, “We greatly appre- ciate Ascension’s support over the past five years, as together we brought world-class Southwest to launch new Houston flight JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Southwest Airlines will begin flying direct between Grand Cayman and Houston, Texas, next summer. The airline, which launched a direct flight between the is- land and Fort Lauderdale earlier this year, made the announce- ment this week. Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell welcomed the news and said increasing the air lift into Grand Cayman was the top priority for the tourism sector. “The successful addition of the Florida route this past June has driven incremental perfor- mance in the form of increased air arrivals and higher occu- pancy levels. Texas is a major source market for stay-over visitors. We anticipate sim- ilar success with the launch of Southwest’s Houston summer route,” he said in a press re- lease Tuesday. The flights will commence in June 2018. United Airlines also runs a service to Houston. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly last week, Mr. Kirk- connell predicted air arrivals for Ocean wonders on display in Camana Bay The work of 12 photographers who were named winners in the Ocean Conservation Month photography competition is on display at Camana Bay throughout November. Pictured from left are photographers Bryan Winter, Daniel Czarnocki, Julie Corsetti and Omari Rankine, with sponsors Pinnacle Media co-publisher Vicki Legge, Chris Duggan of the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation, and Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation’s Jessica Harvey. The other photographers featured in the display are Jason Washington, Dale Avery, Emily Shapiro, Simon Morley, Emily Mowbray, Brittainy Slade, Mark Tilley and Jim Catlin. – PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. 640-FILM (640-3456) 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. - WEDNESDAY - JIGSAW (R) 12:25 I 2:45 I 4:00 VIP I 5:10 I 7:30 I 10:00 THOR: RAGNAROK 3D (PG13) 12:30 2D VIP I 12:55 I 3:55 2D I 7:00 9:55 I 10:00 2D VIP GEOSTORM 3D (PG13) 1:00 2D I 4:00 I 7:10 2D I 9:50 BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS (R) 1:10 I 4:15 I 7:10 I 9:45 TYLER PERRY’S BOO2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN (PG13) 12:45 I 3:35 I 6:40 I 9:35 RCIPS: Officers in fatal shooting had lives threatened KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com Police involved in the Jan. 6 fatal shooting of armed Ja- maican suspect Norval Bar- rett have had their lives threatened by people affili- ated with Barrett, according to evidence given at a coro- ner’s inquest on Tuesday. The evidence was testi- mony from a Royal Cayman Islands Police Service detec- tive, who said the RCIPS joint intelligence unit received in- formation in May that people in Jamaica threatened that they plan to come here with guns to take revenge for Barrett’s death. Accordingly, the detec- tive asked Magistrate Eileen Nervik to keep the identity of the officers off the record for their safety. “If this kind of retaliation should happen or is even at- tempted, it would have a significant destabilizing ef- fect on the RCIPS and the Cayman Islands community at large,” said the detective. Ms. Nervik said the order to keep the identity of the officers confidential had al- ready been made. Along with the detec- tive, a DNA specialist and pathologist Shravana Jyoti also testified at the inquest, which was not completed as of press time. Dr. Jyoti said the cause of Barrett’s death was a pen- etrating gunshot wound of the head and neck. The man also had gunshot wounds to the left thigh and lower left leg, he said. Barrett’s death is be- lieved to be the first fatal police shooting since at least the 1980s. On the day of his death, police were executing a search warrant in the Windsor Park area of George Town around 5:30 a.m. Police found a .357 revolver on Bar- rett, according to evidence given at the inquest. The Jamaica national had previously been convicted of robbery in Cayman in 2011 and had returned here ille- gally after being deported. Just before last Christmas, the RCIPS put out a state- ment regarding Barrett, warning the public to exer- cise caution because he was “potentially dangerous.” The detective at the in- quest said Barrett entered Cayman illegally both times with illegal narcotics and “possibly firearms.” Police in Cayman issued this photograph of Norval Barrett in December 2016 in a request to the public to help find him. The detective asked Magistrate Eileen Nervik to keep the identity of the officers off the record for their safety. More CUC workers head to BVI A group of CUC line- workers left for the British Virgin Islands on Sunday. They are the second contin- gent of CUC workers who have traveled there to assist in the recovery from hurri- canes Irma and Maria. CUC sent seven line- workers to the territory in early October. Five of those workers – Geraude Hol- ness, Jessie Bodden, Ricardo Heron, Miguel Goldbourne and Michael Clark-Pompa – were due to return to Grand Cayman on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The two remaining workers, Alvin Shol and Evan Casey, are staying on to continue providing assistance. The latest contingent of lineworkers to go to the BVI are Andrew Wood, Devin Douglas, Shandi Wagner, Tyler Krysik and Rasheed Suazo. CUC’s assistance is being offered in conjunction with the Caribbean Elec- tric Utility Services Corpo- ration’s Disaster Assistance Programme, which coordi- nates regional efforts to re- spond to requests for assis- tance from disaster-stricken member utilities, according to a press release from CUC. The program is fa- cilitated by the CARILEC Disaster Fund. CUC workers have been assisting in reestablishing serivce to hurricane-battered BVI. OFFICIAL: PUERTO RICO NEEDS ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ FEDERAL HELP WASHINGTON (AP) – Puerto Rico has suffered such ex- tensive devastation from Hurricane Maria that its recovery will fail unless the island gets more help from the Trump administration and Congress, the head of a federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s fi- nances said Tuesday. Natalie Jaresko, execu- tive director of the federal control board, told Con- gress that the U.S. territory needs emergency and res- toration funds “on an un- precedented scale” to re- store housing, water and electric power. While conditions have improved since the Sept. 20 storm, nearly 60 percent of the island is without elec- tricity, thousands remain in shelters and tens of thou- sands of houses do not have roofs, Jaresko said. The in- stallation of temporary tarps will not be completed for months, she added. “Without unprecedented levels of help from the United States government, the re- covery we were planning for will fail,” Jaresko said. Puerto Rican authorities have estimated the island suffered $45 billion to $95 billion in damage in the September storm, which virtually destroyed the is- land’s power grid and other infrastructure. So far, Con- gress has approved nearly $5 billion in aid. Rep. Rob Bishop, R- Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said he was disappointed that the head of Puerto Rico’s power au- thority did not testify as scheduled Tuesday. Ricardo Ramos, executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, had been expected to answer ques- tions about a canceled a $300 million contract to a tiny Montana company from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown. Whitefish Energy Hold- ings had just two em- ployees when the hurricane struck, but nonetheless was selected to help rebuild the island’s electrical system. Ramos moved to cancel the contract Oct. 29 amid criticism from members of Congress and Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello. The utility’s chairman, Ernesto Sgroi, said in a letter that Ramos was needed in Puerto Rico to oversee restoration efforts. “Having (Ramos) off the island for the three days required to come to Wash- ington D.C., would un- doubtedly disrupt our res- toration efforts,” Sgroi said. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz – an outspoken critic of the Whitefish con- tract and the Trump ad- ministration’s response to the storm – also de- clined to testify. Bishop, who visited the island last month, said re- storing the power grid is “paramount” to solve im- mediate emergency needs in Puerto Rico. REPORT: ABUSES BY MEXICAN MILITARY LARGELY UNPUNISHED MEXICO CITY (AP) – The vast majority of human rights abuses allegedly committed by soldiers waging Mexico’s war on drug gangs go un- solved and unpunished de- spite reforms letting civilian authorities investigate and prosecute such crimes, a re- port said Tuesday. The Washington Office on Latin America study, de- scribed as the first compre- hensive analysis of military abuse investigations handled by the Attorney General’s Of- fice, found there were just 16 convictions of soldiers in the civilian judicial system out of 505 criminal investi- gations from 2012 through 2016, a prosecutorial success rate of 3.2 percent. Moreover, there were only two “chain of command re- sponsibility” convictions for officers whose orders led to abuses, it said. The report said factors that hinder civilian investi- gations of the military in- clude parallel civilian and military probes, limited ac- cess to troops’ testimony and soldiers tampering with crime scenes or giving false testimony. “This militarized public security model has nega- tively impacted Mexico’s criminal justice system. The civilian justice system faces challenges – including mili- tary authorities’ actions re- sulting in the obstruction or delay of investigations – which limit civilian authori- ties’ ability to sanction sol- diers implicated in crimes and human rights viola- tions,” the group said. The Attorney Gener- al’s Office, the Defense De- partment and other gov- ernment offices did not immediately respond to re- quests for comment. The military has played a central role in the war on drug cartels since at least late 2006, when newly in- stalled President Felipe Calderon deployed soldiers across the country to fight the gangs. The militarized offensive has continued under current President En- rique Pena Nieto. During that time there have been numerous accusa- tions of serious human rights violations by soldiers, such as torture, killings and forced disappearances. Critics say the Mex- ican military is not trained to carry out policing activi- ties. However, many police departments in the country are seen as corrupt, out- gunned and even in cahoots with organized crime gangs, and thus unreliable allies against the cartels. The report calls for mea- sures from both Mexico and the United States to bolster the Mexican judicial system. The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 Celebrating a Decade of Camana Bay Today marks 10 years since the official opening of Camana Bay. We thank you all for being a part of our community. where life blossoms CAMANABAY.COMThe 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. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson’s proposal to limit paid leave for government employees facing criminal investigations is a move in the right direc- tion, but it also serves to illustrate the untenable situa- tion faced by civil service management and highlights the fundamental differences between the public and private sector. First, we must credit the deputy governor for his initiative in seeking to limit paid suspension, in cases of suspected criminal activity, to a maximum of 12 months. It would be an improvement over the status quo, where civil servants can – and sometimes do – remain on paid leave for years while their cases wend their way through the Cayman Islands court system … an already lengthy process that can be drawn out even further when defendants have a financial incen- tive to embrace delays, adjournments and reschedul- ings, and to shun swift adjudication. For most people, “paid vacation” is a perk rather than a punitive measure. (Cayman Compass political cartoonists have had a field day with this issue – and rightly so – over the years.) Although the deputy governor is head of the civil service, just his saying he wants to enact this new policy does not make it so. The proposal must be sub- mitted to Cabinet members, who will then determine whether or not to make the appropriate amendments to the government’s personnel regulations. As an appointed official answering directly to the U.K.-appointed governor, the deputy governor is in an ideal position to make tough decisions about the man- agement of civil servants because he is somewhat insulated from the considerable political pressure that can be brought by the civil service as a body. However, the elected members of Cabinet, who are charged with making the final decision on this issue, are not imper- vious to the influence of what is the country’s single largest voting bloc. Already, you can see the precariousness of the position occupied by Mr. Manderson, his top officials and lawmakers when they are considering instituting even relatively minor, common sense measures that would restrict some benefit or privilege heretofore enjoyed by the civil service. At a more elementary level, the particular problem of “paid leave” in Cayman’s civil service is the presence of the assumption that government ought to be paying someone who has been deemed unsuitable to continue in active employment. As we’ve seen in some fairly high-profile instances, some civil servants continue working while they are under criminal investigation, even when their cases have reached courtrooms. The decision to place a civil servant on paid leave is not an obligation but a choice that is exercised when it is felt the allegations interfere with the civil servant’s ability to do his job. In other words, the civil servant has been deemed unfit to work, but fit to be paid. Long-term paid suspension is not something that occurs in the private sector – certainly not for a year. Regardless of the “criminality” involved, if a private sector employee commits a fireable offense, the employer swiftly makes the call whether or not the employee is going to be fired – and then takes action. The reason for this is simple: Two different sets of standards apply in the courtroom and in the work- place. In the first, the verdict is determined by a judge or jury, who have the power to levy fines and restrict freedoms; and in the second, by a manager, whose power is to issue warnings and, should circumstances require it, terminate errant employees forthwith. Those standards have been erroneously conflated in the civil service, where – just as in the private sector – decisions on dismissals, suspensions or terminations ought to be treated as cases for human resources offi- cials, not the courts or even Cabinet. ‘Required leave’: When civil servants are paid NOT to work WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS MOBILITY IN LATIN AMERICA Doing better than parents but not peers JORGE FAMILIAR In a promising sign of economic mobility across generations, access to edu- cation has grown leaps and bounds in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent de- cades, more so, in fact, than any other region. Today more children are going to school for a longer time – and are therefore more educated and prone to have better incomes – than their par- ents before them. Yet this apparent prog- ress falls flat within the con- text of society and the gen- eration within which they live. Children born to the least educated parents in Latin America remain sig- nificantly more likely to be- come the least educated among their peers. What is the key reason for this unique situation? In short: inequality. In recent decades, more students, regardless of their socioeconomic background, have gained access to an ed- ucation. But the quality of that education remains poor, particularly for those at the bottom of the social ladder and thus their chances to move up are also poor. In an ideal world, where all children have the same opportunities, they should all have a chance to im- prove their socioeconomic situation, regardless of their initial status. But in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to new World Bank research released last week to mark End Poverty Day, their chance to climb in most countries in the region is significantly lower than for children in other regions. The one exception is Costa Rica. Per our new data, Costa Rica is the only Latin American and Carib- bean country among the top performers in the so- called “relative mobility,” which measures the extent to which someone’s educa- tional level is independent of her parents’. That means that Costa Rican children are not only better educated than their parents but also have a sim- ilar chance to their richer peers to improve their quality of life. Here it is important to put our new findings in per- spective. Latin America and the Caribbean saw a tre- mendous social transforma- tion since the turn of the century. In fact, during the commodity boom of 2003- 2013, the region was able to cut extreme poverty by half and to increase the ranks of the middle class to the point of becoming, for the first time, a larger segment than the poor. Our concern now, how- ever, is that such gains have stalled since 2015. Poverty and inequality are no longer decreasing. And while it is testament to the efforts of policy makers in the region that these gains have not been reverted, it is crucial to understand what is needed to consolidate them. Our new database sheds some important light on that front. Two important fac- tors emerge as key reasons behind the lack of more so- cial mobility among poor students: their income and ethnic backgrounds. While primary school attendance is nearly uni- versal across the region, sa- lient differences remain in early and later years. Among three-year-old children, only half of those in the poorest households attend school. In the richest households, that share is 90 percent. Mean- while, 20 percent of 21-year- olds in the poorest house- holds attend school, while the corresponding share in rich households is three times larger. Another barrier to con- solidating our region’s social transformation is the situa- tion faced by marginalized groups, including indigenous communities. According to our research, higher poverty rates translate into lower ac- cess to schooling for indige- nous children. Nevertheless, there are some positive news in the region’s educational attain- ment. Socioeconomic status may be making less of a dif- ference when it comes to learning. In the latest re- sults from the international test of educational quality, the Program for Interna- tional Student Assessment (PISA), the effect of the so- cioeconomic characteris- tics of a student on her PISA test scores, while still higher than the average, it fell more for Latin American countries than for others. When it comes to so- cial mobility, Latin America and the Caribbean has made significant gains in recent years. At the same time, we have to focus our efforts in helping those less fortu- nate. Only then will our re- gion be able to consolidate the social gains we have achieved and make more progress in reducing poverty and inequality. Jorge Familiar is World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean. 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 EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way”The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 Join us tomorrow at our Town Centre birthday party to celebrate the past and toast to the future. MUSIC | FISH FRY | FIREWORKS | BIRTHDAY CAKE Thursday, November 9 4-7 p.m. on the Crescent CAMANABAY.COMDISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Sister Islands WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Pirates take over Cayman Brac JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Pirates of all ages in- vaded Cayman Brac over the weekend as part of the annual Pirates Week celebrations. The pirates captured trucks, cars, buses and even some boats to make their way to places like La Espe- ranza Resort in Watering Place and Brac Heritage House in Northeast Bay to cause mayhem and enter- tain landlubbers. At Brac Heritage House, pirates watched their man- ners and sat with the la- dies to have tea of all fla- vors, such as lemongrass, soursop, cinnamon, bay leaf and mint, as well as an array of cakes and desserts. Right in time for conch and whelk season, pirates were impressed with Della Dilbert’s conch soup, and Starrie Scott’s fry fish done up on the outside kitchen caboose was a winner. The island’s children also got in on the act, en- gaging the pirates in some good old-time games. Locals soon found the key to chasing the pirates away – the sounds of rev- ving motorbikes with riders dressed in commanding headgear had them scram- bling for their vessels bound for Grand Cayman, where Pirates Week fes- tivities continue this coming weekend. Workforce development agency visiting Brac Representatives from the National Workforce Develop- ment Agency arrived on Cayman Brac Tuesday to host work- shops and meet with job-seekers and employers. The team will remain on the is- land until Thursday, Nov. 9. According to a press release, officials will assist with on- line registration for their Na- tional Job Link Programme from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and 2 p.m. Thursday at the De- partment of Labour and Pensions Office, 256 Creek Road. The Workforce Agency will host two workshops on Wednesday, one on how to make a positive first im- pression, from 9 a.m. to noon, and another on stress management, from 1-4 p.m. On Thursday, a workshop fo- cused on building positive relation- ships within the workplace will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments to meet with an NWDA representative can be made by calling 945-3114. Walk-ins are also welcomed. Registry to discuss business online system on Brac Staff of the Cayman Islands Government General Registry will be in Cayman Brac on Friday, Nov. 10, to inform local business owners about the new Cayman Business Portal online system. The portal is designed to make it more convenient for business owners to manage their regis- tered company affairs from their home or office. It will allow users to file company information, such as annual returns and directors’ and officers’ information, pay an- nual fees and request certificates using a credit or debit card. It also will allow owners to file the company’s beneficial ownership information, a re- lease from the Ministry of Fi- nancial Services and Home Affairs states. At the Aston Rutty Civic Centre, General Registry staff will explain how to register a nonprofit organization under the new legislation, and provide a re- fresher on how to use Cayman’s new intellectual property laws to protect creative rights, the re- lease continues. The public have two options for attending Registry’s presenta- tions on Nov. 10. The first presentation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and repeated at 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Both presentations will be held at the Aston Rutty Centre. For more information on the Brac trip, email cigenreg@gov.ky. Locals gather for the float parade.Pirates get hauled off to La Esperanza Bar & Restaurant. Young ‘wenches’ are all dressed up for Pirates Week festivities. Conch soup is served up at Della Dilbert’s stall.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 GRAND CAYMAN / CAYMAN BRAC / LITTLE CAYMAN Proudly sponsored by: Ministry of Tourism, Department of Tourism, Cayman Islands Tourism Association Zariah Anglin CONGRATULATIONS! of Grace Christian Academy on winning the peak- S Off peak- S Off Tourism For information on the Tourism Education Awareness and Scholarship programme, please contact Tunisia Barnes at the Department of Tourism on tbarnes@caymanislands.ky or 949-0623 Zariah Anglin 2018 Tourism Ambassador About the Tourism Speak-Off debate Participating Schools: Grace Christian Academy Cayman International School Layman E Scott High School Special thanks Judging the competition: Gail Henry – Deputy Director, Product Development, CIDOT Clive Baker – Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Education Tiffany Dixon-Ebanks – Executive Director, CITA As Tourism Ambassador, Zariah Anglin received: CI$1000 from CITA & CIDOT Winner’s Trophy Two airline tickets on Cayman Airways Opportunity to participate in tourism industry activities & events The Tourism Speak-Off debate is a Ministry and Department of Tourism programme aimed at encouraging tourism awareness among high school students and ensuring they are educated about issues affecting the industry locally and internationally. The winner of the debate is designated as Tourism Ambassador for one year. (L-R) The Hon. Julianna O'Connor-Connolly, Minister of Education; the Hon. Moses Kirkconnell, Deputy Premier and Minister of Tourism; Sadie Finch, Cayman International School; Zariah Anglin, the new Tourism Ambassador; Lucy Parchman, Layman E. Scott High School; Rajiv Roberts, Layman E. Scott High School; Tiffany Dixon- Ebanks, Executive Director for Cayman Islands Tourism Association; Gail Henry, Deputy Director, Tourism Product Development, Department of Tourism; and Clive Baker, Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Education. 8 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS McTaggart, McLaughlin blast opposition’s budget claims Queens named for Pirates Week BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Islands Finance Minister Roy McTaggart on Monday rejected opposition lawmakers’ claims that a $135 million, two-year pro- jected budget surplus was a “duppy” (ghost) and that his government’s budget did little to help the ordi- nary Caymanian. Mr. McTaggart’s com- ments came just before the 2018/19 budget plan was approved by 12 votes of the 19-member Legisla- tive Assembly Monday eve- ning. Five opposition mem- bers abstained from voting on the proposal and one member of the government bench, West Bay MLA Bernie Bush, was absent. The lone opposition member to vote for the plan was Savannah MLA Anthony Eden. Speaker of the House McKeeva Bush, the 19th elected member, does not get to vote in the ordinary course of legislative proceedings. The assembly members still must review the 2018 and 2019 spending plans line by line as part of finance com- mittee meetings on the budget which were set to begin Tuesday afternoon. The budget will not receive final approval until that review is completed and a third vote on it is taken. Premier Alden McLaughlin said Monday that he expected rigorous questioning during the finance committee review from opposition members. However, Mr. McLaughlin said he could not quite work out how the opposition con- cluded the spending plan did “nothing” for Caymanians. “I don’t know how [Oppo- sition Leader Ezzard Miller] could have missed all of the things the government has done or is proposing to do to improve the lot of Cayma- nians and make the Cayman Islands a better place in which to live and work,” Mr. McLaughlin said. Mr. McTaggart said monthly financial assis- tance for retired Caymanian seamen and veterans would increase from $550 to $750 by Jan. 1, 2019. Meanwhile, civil service pensioners who receive that amount per month or less would see their monthly payments increased to the same amount of $750 per month by Jan. 1, 2019. The finance minister said this move would im- prove the lives of more than 2,000 Caymanians and could not fairly be “described as inconsequential.” “These budgets will ben- efit Caymanians, as these two examples make clear,” Mr. McTaggart said. The government also dis- puted claims by Mr. Miller that its operating surplus (meaning revenues taken in are greater than what is spent) was made up. The opposition leader said the surplus amount does not include what government plans to spend to pay off debt principal amounts and what it will spend for capital (con- struction) projects. If those fig- ures are added in, Mr. Miller said, the surplus becomes a sizable deficit. Mr. McTaggart, a former managing partner at KPMG, said Mr. Miller was “mixing up” capital expenses (one-off spending) with recurring op- erating expenses. “[The opposition’s state- ments] are a flawed argu- ment,” he said. “It is certainly not a deficit.” Education spending Mr. Miller also took gov- ernment to task for reducing spending for schools in some areas and alleging the Pro- gressives-led coalition was merely paying lip service to improving Cayman’s public education system. Premier McLaughlin said the budget for education has seen an overall increase from 2017 to what’s planned for 2018 and that public edu- cation makes up 17 percent of government’s total spend for the year. “There is nothing new in [the opposition’s] accusa- tions,” Mr. McLaughlin said. The premier pointed out that if there is an education underfunding problem, the Education Ministry’s budget for the last two years has not shown it. He said the 2015/16 budget plan ended with $1.7 million unspent by the ministry and the 2016/17 budget did not spend $1.8 million allocated to it during a 12-month period. “The government is at a loss to understand complaints about resources being pro- vided,” the premier said. “There may be a problem, but it does not lie at the feet of the former minister, the current minister or the elected government.” Mr. McLaughlin described Mr. Miller’s education position as “excellent opposition tac- tics” but noted those tactics “would not go unchallenged.” In comparing the prisons budget to the education budget, Mr. McTaggart said the opposition had erred. He said, while prisons funding increased between 2017 and 2018, it had not “doubled” as opposition members claimed. Rather, he said the in- crease in funding went from $13.7 million annu- ally in 2017 to $15.7 mil- lion in the 2018 budget and $15.9 million in the 2019 budget – about a 15 percent overall increase. Winner will lead annual parade and display her district’s winning costume Four young women will be taking part in the an- nual Pirates Week Festival Queen Costume competi- tion this weekend. The contest will take place Friday at 7:15 p.m, at Harbour Drive. The eve- ning will also feature a fire- works display at the har- borfront at 8:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Min- istry of Culture, Miss Fes- tival Queen Costume Com- petition is tailored to female contestants ages 15 and older, and “is a unique way to showcase Cayma- nian culture through de- sign,” organizers said in a press release. The festival queens this year are: Victoria Ebanks from West Bay, Latoya Lightbody from East End, Amanda Hurlston from George Town, and Tracey Barnes-Fagan from Bodden Town. This event is a compe- tition between the District/ Heritage Committees. Each district selects a young woman as its rep- resentative and the com- mittee members work to- gether to design a costume relating to the theme of the annual festival. The theme of this year’s event is “Trea- sures of Change.” Other areas of adjudi- cation include authenticity, stage presentation, use of Caymanian products and design detail. The winner will lead the annual day parade, which will be held on Saturday, showing off her district’s winning costume to an ex- pected crowd of more than 12,000 people. CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in re- lation to a home invasion at the Rum Point property of an elderly couple lost his appeal against conviction and sen- tence this week. William David McLaughlin-Martinez ap- peared in the Court of Ap- peal on Monday, when at- torney Jonathon Hughes put forward the appellant’s argu- ments – that the judge had not instructed the jury prop- erly and that he did not re- ceive enough credit for his previous good character and cooperation with police. McLaughlin-Martinez was found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict in November 2016. The home invasion occurred in January that year. In the home at the time were an elderly couple and their helper. The Crown’s case was that McLaughlin-Martinez had been in the home previously as a plumber and knew there was jewelry, electronics and cash on the premises. He told another man about it and that man entered the prem- ises while McLaughlin-Mar- tinez acted as lookout. Mr. Hughes argued that trial judge Justice Dame Linda Dobbs did not give the jury sufficient direction on joint enterprise. In fact, she did not even use the term, so there was not sufficient pre- ciseness in her instructions. Court president Sir John Goldring read the law aloud from the Penal Code: “When an offense is committed, each of the following persons is deemed to have taken part in committing it – every person doing the act; every person doing anything for the pur- pose of enabling or aiding any other person in committing the offense; every person who aids or abets another person.” Sir Alan Moses com- mented that it was “so re- freshing” to see a trial judge sparing the jury the language of the law and basing her di- rections on facts. “Was he acting as lookout or wasn’t he? What could be clearer than that?” he asked. Mr. Hughes said more clarity was needed and that would be a factor when it came to sentencing – whether McLaughlin-Martinez went to the house that evening with the intention to rob. McLaughlin-Martinez had said at his trial that he went to the house to point it out to the other man, whom he knew only as “Boom,” as a way of paying a drug debt. When he saw the people were home, he pointed out an- other residence that was not occupied, but Boom went into the first house anyway. McLaughlin-Martinez said he then stayed around out of curiosity. “It may be refreshing that the jury was spared legal definitions, but he [McLaughlin-Martinez] will argue they should have been aware of legal principles,” Mr. Hughes said. He agreed the robbery was “a terrible offense.” The value of goods stolen was high, both monetarily and sentimentally. The man in the house had been punched in the face with such force that he fell from his chair and his cheekbone was broken. A necklace and rings were removed from his wife’s person. The intruder cut the phone line and held a 6-inch blade to the helper, forcing her to go upstairs with him as he searched for items to steal, while the homeowner lay on the floor and his in- valid wife remained in her chair downstairs. The three-judge panel, in- cluding Sir Bernard Rix, con- ferred before the president read the court’s decision. McLaughlin-Martinez had said he never agreed for a robbery to take place, but he saw Boom put on a bala- clava and a pair of gloves. McLaughlin-Martinez then remained outside the house for 15 to 30 minutes while events took place; he saw and to some extent heard what was happening. He said he stayed because he wanted to see what happened. From the directions the judge gave the jurors, it was clear they had to reject his account in order to find him guilty. There was ample evi- dence, the judges noted. As to the sentence, the starting point was 11 years, with a range of nine to 13 years. The judges accepted that McLaughlin-Martinez had as- sisted police in recovering a valuable necklace and he was of previous good character. But he had been in a position of trust as someone previously allowed into the home. The victims were elderly and a se- rious injury had been inflicted. The court concluded that Jus- tice Dobbs was entitled to pass the sentence she did. Appeal dismissed in home invasion case Finance Minister Roy McTaggart delivers an address at the Legislative Assembly on Oct. 27. – PHOTO: ALVARO SEREY Miss Festival Queen 2016 Chante Smith-Johnson poses with contenders for this year’s crown, from left, Miss West Bay Victoria Ebanks, Miss Bodden Town Tracey Barnes-Fagan, and Miss George Town Amanda Hurlston. Missing from the photo is Miss East End Latoya Lightbody. - PHOTO: KRIS WILLIAMS CREATIVE The contest will take place Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Harbour Drive. Fireworks will follow.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2017 We have been asked to announce the passing of Mr. Clinton Albert Blake of Young World Fashions and Savannah, who passed away on Saturday, October 28, 2017. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at 2:00p.m. at St. George’s Anglican Church, off Eastern Avenue. Interment follows at the Garden of Re ections Cemetery. We have been asked to announce the passing of Mr. Clinton Albert Blake of Young World Fashions and Savannah, who passed away on Saturday, October 28, 2017. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at 2:00p.m. at St. George’s Anglican Church, off Eastern Avenue. Interment follows at the Garden of Re ections Cemetery. We have been asked to announce the passing of at St. George’s Anglican Church, off Eastern Avenue. Condolences can be registered at: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com upon consumption … but we’re growing that at the expense of Caymanians.” Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller said that until the gov- ernment was ready to accept less money from work permit fees, Caymanian workers would continue to be at a disadvantage. The premier said his gov- ernment was aware that there are “challenges in many instances” to Cayma- nians getting opportunities for jobs. “Not everybody … is prepared to give Cayma- nians opportunities. We un- derstand that,” he said. Mr. McLaughlin said a new government human resources department would be formed under his ministry to regulate work permit grants and to help Caymanians re- ceive “real opportunities” in the job market. He said the department would ensure that all jobs must be posted on the gov- ernment’s clearinghouse website and that rogue em- ployers who post unreal- istic qualifications for job ads would be penalized. However, Mr. McLaughlin said Mr. Suck- oo’s statements, and those by some of his colleagues, about curtailing overall growth and progress should be rejected. “[They’re] cussin’ the foreigners, saying that no- body should be granted Caymanian status if they’re not married to a Cayma- nian,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “That is the kind of thinking that put Bahamas where they were for all of those years. “There is no future, no future in isolationist poli- cies, in over-protectionism and constantly hammering, hammering, the source of Cayman’s prosperity,” Mr. McLaughlin said. The premier said the attacks by opposition members did not help as Cayman battled outside forces that sought to tear down its main source of annual income – the finan- cial services industry. “[The Paradise Papers release] is part of a coor- dinated smear campaign about tax havens, as they are continuing to brand us,” he said. “There is the immediate threat of black- list by the EU ECOFIN [Economic and Financial Affairs Council] minis- ters,” he said. “Then I hear members of the opposition bemoaning major construction proj- ects, challenging things like government considering a transshipment port … and I say to myself, how is it that we are supposed to provide the revenue to fund education, to fund health- care, to deal with mort- gage foreclosures?” Premier McLaughlin continued. “Money does not fall like manna from heaven. This country has been built and is still reliant on inward in- vestment. Failing that, we are in huge trouble.” 2017 would reach 400,000 for the first time. He said the next target was to pass 450,000 by 2020. He added airlift was im- proving, citing American Airlines’ new service from Dallas, United Airlines’ in- creased service out of Chi- cago and British Airways’ decision to increase seats on its flight from London, England, as well as the new Southwest routes. He said new hotel devel- opment must also continue to ensure there are enough beds for tourists. “Growth in air arrivals will be supported by 1,200 more rooms coming to market through a variety of new and existing hotel devel- opments,” he said. “These properties, once they come on stream, will not only add diversity to our tourism product and pro- vide us with new market sec- tors to attract, but more im- portantly, they will increase our room stock capacity by 20 percent.” Southwest to launch new Houston flight CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Premier: Cayman must reject ‘insular thinking’ and ‘prejudice’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 healthcare to the Caribbean region. Ascension has been a valued partner in this project, and our organizations have learned much from each other. The two companies said, in a joint press re- lease, that they would main- tain close links. Dr. Shetty said in the re- lease that the change would not affect the future success of the hospital. “The commendable perfor- mance of this facility under- pins the success our differ- entiated business model even in unexplored international territories like Caribbean Is- lands,” he said. “We remain confident about the prospects of this facility in terms of at- tracting international pa- tients from the neighboring islands in need of care.” When the partnership was first announced in 2012, of- ficials from both companies said Ascension would own part of the new hospital and handle group purchasing, facilities management and biomedical engineering ser- vices, while Dr. Shetty’s group would manage the running of the hospital. Inquests: Snorkelers had health issues CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two separate juries for coroner’s inquests returned verdicts of misadventure after hearing the circum- stances in which two men died after snorkeling. The inquest for 79-year- old Delmar Reynolds Nelson, a cruise ship passenger, took place last month. The in- quest for 69-year-old Mark Ambrose, a visitor who had been coming to Cayman since 1996, was held last week. Post-mortem examina- tions by government pathol- ogist Shravana Jyoti showed that both men had heart con- ditions and were mildly or moderately obese. Mr. Nelson, a U.S. cit- izen from Illinois, arrived in Cayman aboard the cruise ship Getaway with 12 family members on March 24, 2016. Around noon, he and some family members boarded a vessel to go snorkeling ap- proximately half a mile out from Burger King on the wa- terfront. His daughter re- quested a life vest for him and instructions for snor- keling, because he had not done it for a long time. Once in the water, Mr. Nelson began swimming around but after about five minutes, his daughter no- ticed water coming from his snorkel pipe and thought he might be having trouble. She called for help and the boat crew got Mr. Nelson on board. An emergency medical tech- nician began CPR; he asked for a respirator and then a defibrillator, but there was none on board. Another boat transported Mr. Nelson to shore, where CPR continued until an am- bulance took him to hos- pital where he was later pronounced dead. Family members said Mr. Nelson had undergone qua- druple bypass surgery in 1999 and was under the care of a cardiologist. Mr. Jyoti said the physical cause of death was hyper- tensive and atherosclerotic cardiac disease, with recent seawater drowning as a con- tributing factor. Laboratory tests for drugs or alcohol were negative. Queen’s Coroner Eileen Nervik advised jurors in her summing up that the possible verdicts fitting this situation were death by natural causes or by misadventure. Natural causes is the normal progres- sion of an illness; misadven- ture is the undertaking of a task that goes wrong. She re- minded jurors that Mr. Jyoti had said that this could have happened on land as long as Mr. Nelson was doing any- thing strenuous; in the water he was swimming, which was an exertion. “You have to decide which is weighted more,” she said. The jury’s verdict of misad- venture was unanimous. In the inquest on the death of Mr. Ambrose, jurors heard that he and his wife had arrived on island from California on Dec. 6, 2016. On Dec. 11, they went snor- keling from shore at Eden Rock. After about 10 min- utes, they went in separate directions, as they normally did. Mrs. Ambrose came out of the water first and was not concerned that she did not see her husband, be- cause he always showed up later. After more than an hour had passed, however, she became concerned and spoke to an Eden Rock staff member, who contacted Port Security and 911. The Police Marine and Air Support Units were de- ployed and Mr. Ambrose was seen floating face down at Jackson Point. He was pulled from the water by officers who started CPR, taken to the port terminal and then to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Mr. Jyoti said the cause of death appeared to be “acute cardiac event with the ter- minal seawater drowning while the victim was snor- keling at sea.” Laboratory tests for drugs or alcohol were negative. With the evidence pointing to verdicts of nat- ural causes or misadventure, this jury also determined that death was by misadventure. Health City and Ascension City part ways CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Health City Cayman Islands – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY “There is no future … in isolationist policies, in over- protectionism and constantly hammering … the source of Cayman’s prosperity.” ALDEN MCLAUGHLIN Southwest Airlines will launch direct flights between Grand Cayman and Houston, Texas in June 2018. – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYNext >