High of 85 Low of 73 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 ‘NO ONE IS SO DEAF AS HE WHO WILL NOT LISTEN’ SECTION | PAGE 3 TEEN PREGNANCY AT 22-YEAR LOW ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA RED BAY SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA RED BAY Taste of Cayman turns 30 KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Celebrating 30 years, Taste of Cayman hit the Camana Bay festival green Saturday eve- ning with one of its largest showings to date. More than 35 restaurants and vendors turned out for the annual foodie gathering, inviting festival-goers to sample the breadth of flavors and culinary talents that have come to define the local food scene. Tiffany Dixon-Ebanks, executive director of the Cayman Islands Tourism As- sociation, described a melting pot of flavors as diverse as Cayman itself. “There is something here for everyone; there’s vegan, there’s meat. You name it. Farm-to-table. There’s Caymanian cuisine. It’s a diverse pot,” she said the night of the festival. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » CROWN HAS DAYS LEFT FOR CAREPAY CONFISCATION BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com If the Cayman Islands government is going to take any money from Canover Watson as a result of his conviction in the CarePay hos- pital swipe-card contract scam, it will have to settle that amount by Friday. Grand Court Judge Marlene Carter said last week that any confiscation proceeding against a criminal defendant must be com- pleted within two years of the date of that person’s conviction. Mr. Watson was con- victed of two counts of fraud on the govern- ment and three corruption-related offenses on Feb. 4, 2016. Friday, Feb. 2, will be the last business day available to the Crown and Mr. Watson’s attorneys to agree on a sum repayable to the government. A hearing on the matter has been set for Feb. 1. Last week, Justice Carter ruled that Mr. Watson, his alleged co-conspirator in the CarePay scheme, Jeffrey Webb, and unidenti- fied “others” jointly benefited from the fraud by some US$6.8 million. How much of that benefit Mr. Watson will be able to repay is the subject of the hearing set for Thursday. Mr. Webb was charged in connection with the CarePay scheme, but has not faced trial. He is currently in the U.S. awaiting sentencing in connection with the FIFA racketeering inves- tigation, to which he pleaded guilty in 2015. The US$6.8 million figure represents the Crown’s estimate of the full illicit “take” from the public hospital swipe-card contract, which SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com The newest Grand Slam champion plans on serving aces for Grand Cayman. Caroline Wozniacki, who won the Australian Open on Saturday, recently signed a year-long marketing deal with Dart Enterprises that will see her become a part of the Cayman community. Ms. Wozniacki will become the world’s top-ranked player when the new rankings come out on Monday, and she will be an ambassador for the Res- idences at Seafire going for- ward. Chris Duggan, the vice president of community de- velopment for Dart, hopes to engage the Denmark native in further brand work over time. “That was absolutely per- fect timing,” he said of Woz- niacki’s Australian triumph. “I Cayman’s ‘Caroline coup’ PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki kisses her Australian Open trophy, the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, this weekend. - PHOTO: AP PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Caroline Wozniacki, now the world’s top-ranked player, will represent the Residences at Seafire as an ambassador. People line up at the Pinnacle Media booth at the 30th annual Taste of Cayman. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY2 LOCAL NEWS MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 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. - MONDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) 12 STRONG (R) 12:40 VIP I 3:45 I 6:40 VIP I 9:45 WOODY WOODPECKER (PG) 1:00 I 3:05 I 5:10 I 7:15 I 9:20 THE COMMUTER (PG13) 12:25 I 2:55 I 5:20 I 7:50 I 10:20 THE POST (PG13) 1:35 I 4:15 I 7:20 I 10:00 DEN OF THIEVES (R) 12:40 I 3:35 VIP I 6:40 I 9:35 VIP JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (PG13) 1:15 I 4:00 I 6:50 I 9:35 NOTICE CAYMAN HOME AND GARDEN LTD. We are moving and everything has to go by January 31, 2018 50% OFF EVERYTHING Includes: 100% Rust Proof Beautiful Patio Sets, Tables, Chairs, Bar Height Serving Tables/Bar Tables, Beach Mini Chaises, etc. Location: Eucalyptus Building, Shedden Road PH: 949-8638 or 916-1018 Cayman runners hit their stride for charity SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com A strong and vigorous crowd turned out Sunday for the Nationwide Stride Against Cancer, the annual running fundraiser for the Cayman Is- lands Cancer Society. Participants lined up early in the morning for their places at the starting line on Seven Mile Beach, and the runners had their choice of quarter-marathon or half- marathon race lengths. Both races started and ended at Public Beach on West Bay Road. There was also a Mini Stride event on North Side, a Little Stride on Little Cayman and a Brac Stride for runners on Cayman Brac. Two runners – Gregley Gayle and Esmond Brown – tied for the fastest time in Sunday’s race, crossing the finish line for the half-mara- thon in 1:31:30. Olivia Shanks was the fastest woman to finish the half-marathon in 1:34:47, and Michelle Vinton was the second-place fin- isher at 1:35:56. “Nationwide Stride pro- vides a chance for the whole community to unite in the fight against cancer; whether they live in Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac or Little Cayman,” said Jennifer Weber, the operations man- ager for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society. “For more than 20 years, people have been participating in honor or in memory of a loved one impacted by cancer. “Some people form teams and write the name of the person they are ‘striding for’ on the back of their shirt. For supporters, it means a lot when they can do something to help us, help others.” Ms. Weber said that the 2017 race marked the greatest need for financial assistance in the program’s history, and the CICS raised more than $400,000 that year for people in Cayman who have been diagnosed with cancer. The people in the race, she said, know that they are helping their neighbors by running. Judy Wight, who did not officially enter the race, is one of the Stride’s most consis- tent competitors. Ms. Wight has participated in every Stride event since 1998, and while she began her tenure walking the half-marathon, she has graduated to running the whole distance over the last few years. Ms. Wight started a half- hour before the rest of the race field on Sunday and fin- ished her run in 2:10. “I have lost quite a few close friends to cancer,” she said. “I think about them while I’m out there. I first started in 1998 with a couple of my girlfriends, but they weren’t consis- tent in doing it every year like me. When I start some- thing, I’m consistent and I don’t like to change. I make it a routine.” Ms. Wight said she hopes to run the Miami Marathon some day, but she will not do it as long as it conflicts with the Nationwide Stride. Her favorite part of the race, she said, is when she makes the turn at the halfway point and gets to see every- body else who has made the event a priority. “When you’re on your way back and you see the people that are doing the six miles, it’s amazing how the street is crowded with people in sup- port of the cause,” she said. “They get a great turnout every year, and it makes me happy to see the sup- port the Cancer Society gets. It’s one of the most pop- ular runs of the year. People are out there with families, pushing babies in strollers, walking with dogs.” ‘Ritch report’ makes ministry poor BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com An immigration consul- tancy report, penned at a cost of $312,000 and kept from public view, put the government Min- istry of Home Affairs over budget during the year it was commissioned, according to an evaluation done by Cayman’s auditor general. The so-called Ritch Re- port, completed by the Ritch & Conolly law firm at the request of Premier Alden McLaughlin, is understood to have made a number of recommendations for addressing long-standing legal problems within the system used to grant non-Caymanians permanent residence. According to auditors, the Ministry of Home Affairs was the only core government en- tity for which an audit had been completed that recorded an overspend during the 2015/16 year. The total overage was $540,000. “The main contributing factor to this excess is the pro- fessional fees for the Ritch & Conolly report on the annual permanent [residence] points system and software license penalties from Oracle Corpora- tion,” the auditor’s report noted. The fees paid to Oracle are a separate issue and relate to the number of Oracle software licenses being operated by the government. Planning Min- istry officials, who now have re- sponsibility for the government Computer Services Depart- ment, said the issue has since been resolved. Premier McLaughlin said late last year that the immi- gration consultant’s report is considered legal advice to government and that his admin- istration is still planning further changes to the residency grant system based on its findings. “I am not about to put that [report] in the hands of law- yers who are filing suits against the government every other day with respect to immigration matters,” Mr. McLaughlin told the Legislative Assembly’s Fi- nance Committee in November. Precisely what changes to the current permanent resi- dence system government is considering have not been made public. However, local immi- gration attorneys have noted changes to the system made in March 2017 that allowed gov- ernment to begin hearings on more than 1,100 backlogged residency applications were “largely cosmetic” and did not fix deep-seated problems that have existed since 2004. No further changes to the residency grant system have been made since last spring, but Mr. McLaughlin has said on several occasions that there would still have to be changes to the residency process to ad- dress issues which “derailed” it for about two-and-a-half years between January 2015 and June 2017. Steady hearings held by Immigration Depart- ment staffers and the Cayma- nian Status and Permanent Res- idency Board since then have been lowering the number of backlogged applications from people who had waited more than three years in some cases for their matters to be heard. As of mid-January 2018, only 400 more residency applications re- mained to be heard. In early 2017, a ruling by Cayman’s chief justice effec- tively blocked the release of the Ritch Report following a lengthy open records request process. The then-Information Com- missioner’s Office indicated it would challenge Chief Jus- tice Anthony Smellie’s decision to the Court of Appeal, but the newly created Ombudsman’s Office – which has taken over the responsibilities of the in- formation commissioner – has not made a final determina- tion on what it will do with the court case. JURY NOTICE All Grand Court jurors who are in the January 2018 ses- sion are advised that the report date of Monday, Jan. 29, has been changed and they are now to report for jury duty on Monday, Feb. 5 at 9:45 a.m. Cayman’s runners turned out to support the fight against cancer Sunday.Runners had their choice of quarter-marathon or half-marathon race lengths. - PHOTOS: TANEOS RAMSAY3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 Teen pregnancy at 22-year low Education programs, outreach initiatives credited MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com Evelyn Rockett is hoping for a perfect school year. “This far, for this year,” Ms. Rockett said, dra- matically knocking on the wooden desk where she was sitting, “no pregnan- cies in our schools. No new cases. That’s a record. This is history and I’m ecstatic.” Ms. Rockett is man- ager of Pregnancy and Par- enting Services for the De- partment of Education. For the past five years, she has been working to keep preg- nant teens in school and trying to educate other students so that they do not become pregnant, or create a pregnancy. Whether or not she achieves her goal for this school year, figures show that the teen pregnancy rate in the Cayman Islands has been declining. Be- tween 2012 and 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, the rate of live births to teenage mothers, as a percentage of all live births, dropped nearly in half, from 6.2 percent to 3.5 percent, ac- cording to figures from the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority. The 44 percent drop brings the teen pregnancy rate to its lowest level in at least 22 years. The rate in 1995 was 11.3 percent. It has only been in double digits once since then, when it hit 10.6 percent in 1998. Not everyone is convinced by the data. There is a per- ception by many that the teen pregnancy rate is actu- ally rising. Michael Myles, formerly the government’s officer for at-risk youth and now a leader of the nonprofit Youth Anti-Crime Trust, said the data does not fit with his experience. Among health issues re- lating to young women, Mr. Myles said, “Teen preg- nancy has been the leading one for years.” Ms. Rockett may not be seeing the entire picture, Mr. Myles said, since he believes many teens who get pregnant drop out of school. He also believes some who become pregnant may not come to term. “I guarantee you that abortion rates are up,” he said, although there is no real evidence to indicate that. Mr. Myers pointed to a 2013 adolescent health and sexuality survey con- ducted by the Pan Amer- ican Health Organization. The survey reported that one in 12 teens who got pregnant said they had had an abortion. The procedure is illegal in the Cayman Is- lands, and the Ministry of Health and Culture does not keep statistics either on illegally obtained abortions or estimates of those that might be done abroad. The 2013 survey only provides data for a single point in time and does not show any trends in num- bers. A subsequent survey has not been conducted. The data provided by the Health Services Authority is collected annually. Ms. Rockett said with the outreach her office does, she is certain no more than a handful of pregnant teens fail to come to her atten- tion. She also said she has seen no indication that the number of teens seeking abortions has risen. “I haven’t heard of any girls who have gotten pregnant and decided [to have an abortion],” she said. “There’s no evi- dence of that.” Although the data indi- cate a drop in instances of teen pregnancy, the rate for the Cayman Islands is still relatively high. The World Health Organiza- tion says the United States and Great Britain have the highest rates of teen births. In the United States, teen births accounted for 5.8 percent of all live births in 2015, the most recent year available. In England and Wales, the 2015 rate was 4.6 percent. Cayman’s rate in 2015 was 5.3 percent. Abortion is also legal in both the United States and the United Kingdom. More than half of pregnancies in girls 16 and under in Eng- land and Wales are termi- nated by abortion. Experts say many fac- tors are at play in the local decline in teen preg- nancy, but Ms. Rockett believes her program is partly responsible for the downward trend. She has been an educator in public schools for 34 years, she said. When she took over the pregnancy pro- gram, she was tasked with making sure teen mothers completed their education. It soon became clear to her that she needed to be more proactive. “A prevention module had to be part of the pro- gram,” Ms. Rockett said. “Hence, the reason for me coming up with the idea that I should start doing assemblies.” She initially brought her presentation, “The Math of Sex,” to the students at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre, where her program office is lo- cated, then to John Gray High School. She is hoping to add Clifton Hunter High School to her schedule this year. Her experience, she said, shows the informa- tion is badly needed. “A lot of young people grow up totally confused,” Ms. Rockett said. “There is so much [peer] pressure.” A lot of that pressure is centered on sex. “We’re not encouraging them to be sexually active,” she said. “But if they are, there are steps they need to take. We start to open up avenues for them to make good decisions.” Briana Kerr, 16, said she was naive when she got pregnant nearly two years ago. “I didn’t realize the risk,” said Ms. Kerr, who is a student in Ms. Rock- ett’s program. “They should have more (sex) education for girls and boys.” Ms. Kerr left the Cayman Islands after com- pleting Year 9 at John Gray High School. She went to live with an aunt in Fort Lauderdale and planned to finish high school there. When she got pregnant with her daughter, Tiana, during her first year there, she returned home to live with her mother. She too thought the rate of teen pregnancies was on the rise in Cayman. “I’m quite surprised it’s going down,” she said. Laura Elniski, who di- rects the sexually trans- mitted infection program for the health authority, said she thinks better ed- ucation is helping to lower the rate. She provides a six- to eight-week course in STI and AIDS prevention and conducts health fairs at both public and private schools on a regular basis. She also oversees an STI testing program run out of the Red Cross office. In- terest in that program has increased since its intro- duction in 2015 – from 41 people getting tested the first year to 106 in 2017 – part of an increased aware- ness of sexual health that Ms. Elniski has observed. She suspects it has im- pacted teen pregnancy rates as well. “When we do Q&A at the beginning [of a presenta- tion], the level of what they are aware of is higher,” Ms. Elniski said of the teens she deals with. Department of Educa- tion Services Director Ly- neth Monteith said educa- tion programs such as those run by Ms. Elniski and Ms. Rockett are important. But she thinks another reason fewer girls might be get- ting pregnant is because of peer support programs that have been implemented in the last two years in all the public schools. “It’s about building pos- itive relations, generally,” Ms. Monteith said, adding teens “may be more com- fortable speaking with their peers. It’s all about mentoring and support. And with that comes a com- fort, ‘I can go to this person when I have a problem.’” In turn, that person can help steer their peer to the appropriate au- thority, she said. Whatever the reasons may be, those who deal with teens say they are encouraged by the downward trend in preg- nancy rates. Ms. Rockett is pushing students to do even better. She challenges the groups she meets with to keep the so-far-perfect record going for this school year. “Let’s say we were the year to break that cycle,” she said she tells them. “I’m hoping they will take that challenge to heart.” Evelyn Rockett, right, runs Pregnancy and Parenting Services for the Department of Education, helping students such as Briana Kerr, left, stay in school during pregnancy and after they have their babies. Ms. Kerr’s daughter, Tiana, is 1. – PHOTO: MARK MUCKENFUSS Between 2012 and 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, the rate of live births to teenage mothers, as a percentage of all live births, dropped nearly in half, from 6.2 percent to 3.5 percent, according to figures from the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. “I think it’s just foolishness not to recognize the cre- ativity that you can unlock in the corporate world.” — International rock star and philanthropist Bono For ages, Cayman Islands politicians, pundits and residents alike have focused on the issue of immigration — grants of permanent residence, status, the issuance of work permits, who benefits, who does not . . . creating a cacophony of unproductive division and dissent. Our concern, increasingly, is not local resistance to physical immigration, but, rather, resistance to ideas and assistance that may not have been “born and bred” in Cayman. The consequences of intellectual iso- lationism are well-known and well-documented, from our nearby neighbor of Cuba to the faraway dystopia of North Korea. In this newspaper, we report regularly on remark- able dysfunction in the delivery of what ought to be the routine provision of municipal services, including healthcare, education, transportation and waste management, to name just a few. To address these issues, we need access to the best minds, regardless of country of origin, that are at our disposal and are willing to assist. Currently, our scores of government boards are populated almost exclusively by a relatively small number of individuals, the common denominator being that they have “Caymanian” status. Because this universe is so small, many board members serve on multiple boards. It is a closed system not open or hospitable to “non-belongers.” For the betterment of these islands, this needs to change. Perhaps an illustration will make our point more clearly: Anyone who has been paying the slightest atten- tion knows that Cayman faces a healthcare crisis that is existential in its magnitude. Our unfunded healthcare liability for the public sector alone is approaching $2 billion. The cost of health insurance, even for the most- minimal coverage, is straining — no, strangling — both personal and business budgets. Nearly $100 million in unpaid bills remains outstanding, and largely uncol- lectible, on the Health Services Authority’s books. This week, Canover Watson (current address: HMP North- ward) will be back in court as Cayman tries to recover nearly $7 million he and others skimmed/scammed out of the HSA when he served as chairman of the authority’s board of directors. And yet, we have in our midst perhaps the world’s foremost expert on providing the highest quality health- care to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible cost. His name, of course, is Dr. Devi Shetty, who founded and funded Health City Cayman Islands. We know (because we know Dr. Shetty) that he has the greatest affection for the Cayman Islands. Does anyone in government even know that a decade ago Dr. Shetty founded a micro-pay insurance company in India that now insures more than 5 million policy- holders — most of them poor? Their monthly premium: approximately 22 cents (no, that is not a typo). Many countries are approaching Dr. Shetty for guidance on how they can more efficiently deliver healthcare services. Is Cayman? Or consider this: Ben Torchinsky, a Canadian engineer who passed on a few years ago, was best- known in Cayman for developing the Hyatt Resort. His firm, Agra Inc., was one of the largest in the world, employing thousands of engineers, who, in turn, engaged in building the massive Three Gorges dam in China, gas pipelines in Western Canada, Toronto’s Highway 407 toll road, etc. Mr. Torchinsky, who loved these islands and is now interred in the West Bay cemetery, offered to send a few of his engineers to Cayman — at no cost — to help us sort out our worsening roads and transportation issues. The response from government: No thanks; we will handle it ourselves. Then there was the “Miller-Shaw” Report, spear- headed by James C. Miller III, budget director for U.S. President Ronald Reagan. It was likely the finest report EVER on Cayman’s fiscal future, the size and cost of the civil service, and our challenges and oppor- tunities going forward. Its fate: interminable (meaning terminal) inaction. Its successor, the “Ernst & Young report,” drew many of the same conclusions as did Mr. Miller. It met a similar fate. Our point is that Cayman must not close its mind to outside ideas or outsiders who are able and willing to contribute to the well-being of these islands. They are a resource far too valuable to turn away. Close our borders? Let the debate go on . . . Close our minds? At our own peril. ‘No one is so deaf as he who will not listen’ Please allow me space in your valuable newspaper to write about the needs of our people which seem to be overlooked in many, many instances. Let me say first of all that little islands like ours should not have homeless, hungry and sick people – unable to receive government assis- tance. Something is not right and we have to get to the bottom of it. Government has to do something about these issues now so that these situ- ations are kept under control. It would not surprise me to learn that there are also non-Caymanians residing here that are being helped by our government with these same services. How it got to this stage would have to be the responsibility of the gov- ernment. But the members now responsible need our full support to ensure that we do not have any homeless, hungry or people requiring medical attention on our is- lands. Insurance must be af- forded to the indigent, the el- derly and all children. When the budgets are being pre- pared these items must be included, and hopefully with a surplus. These very important and basic necessities of life should not be denied to anyone! Government must have measures in place to curtail these situations. Also, I would like to say that the MLA responsible for the environment in which we live must get a grip on it now. It is a disgrace the way our islands look at the moment. Our islands are supposed to be clean and beautiful. Dora A.E. Ebanks MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Payment of legal costs Section 7 of the Cayman Constitution says that ev- eryone has a right to have their legal rights and obliga- tions determined by a court. But it could as well have said that only people who have a lot of money have that right. This is because the rule in Cayman (as in the U.K.) is that if you lose a case, you have to pay the legal costs reasonably incurred by the winning party, in addition to the fees to your own lawyer. This general rule is some- what ameliorated by certain discretions which allow a court to order that the par- ties bear their own costs or that particular costs be disallowed. However, you cannot bank on these dis- cretions since, after you lose, you have to give acceptable reasons to the court as to why you should not pay all or some of the costs of your opponent. Niceties aside, from a practical perspective, if you lose, expect to pay. This rule can be very un- fair especially as it relates to cases where the Attorney General is a party, which is pretty much every pro- ceeding against core govern- ment. The reason is that the rule does not apply to the At- torney General in the same way it applies between pri- vate litigants. The cumulative effect of at least three court rulings in Cayman dating back to 1999 is that a court cannot award costs against the At- torney General unless he has brought or defended a case that is clearly unarguable or which amounts to an abuse of process. In plain Eng- lish, it is virtually impos- sible to get an order for costs against the Attorney Gen- eral even if he loses, but he can get a full order for costs against you even if you had an arguable case. In a sense, you are being punished for having failed to predict that you would lose. By the way, attorneys charge according to a grad- uated scale, based on the number of years of experi- ence. The maximum rates range from US$280 per hour for the least experienced lawyers, rising to US$540 per hour for the most ex- perienced. Some QCs have been known to charge in the region of US$800 per hour. Attorneys’ charges for matters that go to the Fi- nancial Services Division and the Admiralty Division are even higher, ranging from US$320 to US$900 for every 60 minutes. As a re- sult, if you want to bring ju- dicial review proceedings, you must in general have at least US$75,000 to pay your own lawyer. Double that if you lose. This is most unjust. De- spite the discretions that the courts in Cayman can exercise, it seems to me that they are particularly loath to order that each party bear their own costs even where the losing party had an arguable case. The ultimate solution, however, is a legislative measure that will change the default position so that costs can also be awarded against the AG if he loses. After all, he is expected to have better knowledge of the law than most lawyers, let alone litigants. To borrow from George Orwell’s An- imal Farm, why should he be more equal than others? Besides, at least in cases brought against the AG, I think costs should only be awarded where a party suing the AG never really had a chance of winning. Bilika Simamba Attorney at Law, Formerly Senior Legislative Counsel, Portfolio of Legal Affairs Ensure people’s basic needs are met 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”5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, PLANNING & INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, PLANNING & INFRASTRUCTURE Broadcasting Ltd. #ShareTheRoadKY BE RESPONSIBLE. SHARE THE ROAD. DUI INCIDENTS IN CAYMAN ROSE BY 12% LAST YEAR. DON’T BE ANOTHER STATISTIC. NOMINATE A DESIGNATED DRIVER, OR TAKE A TAXI IF YOU’RE ENJOYING DRINKS TONIGHT. Man pleads guilty to rape, burglary Sentencing set for Feb. 27 CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Okeno Nicholas Solomon, 24, pleaded guilty in Grand Court Friday to charges of rape, aggravated bur- glary and theft. All offenses occurred on Sept. 13, 2017 at a George Town residence. The aggravated burglary occurred from entering the dwelling as a trespasser with intent to rape and having an offensive weapon, a knife, with him at the time. The theft was of a motor vehicle. A separate rape charge and another theft charge, allegedly occurring on the same date, were not put to the defendant. Defense attorney Prathna Bodden asked the Crown to review the charges not put. She advised that a social in- quiry report had been pre- pared recently and suggested that sentencing could take place relatively soon. Justice Charles Quin said he wanted an update to re- flect the charges to which Mr. Solomon had just pleaded and he also wanted a victim impact statement. The agreed date for sentencing was Tuesday, Feb. 27, and the defen- dant was remanded in cus- tody until then. Woman charged with $1.9 million deception Alleged false representation concerned status, Cayman passport CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A woman accused of ob- taining $1.9 million by decep- tion appeared in Grand Court on Friday, when she denied the single charge against her. Judith Francia Douglas, 52, pleaded not guilty to ob- taining $1,946,437, the prop- erty of a named man, by falsely representing that the money was required for the purpose of payment for a legitimate application for permanent residence, status and a Cayman Is- lands passport. The alleged offense was said to have occurred between Nov. 2, 2010 and Jan. 30, 2016. Defense attorney Lee Hal- liday-Davis asked for an- other mention date so that she could consult with senior counsel. Crown counsel Toyin Salako asked for condi- tions on the defendant’s bail, including residence, re- porting to police three times weekly, and non-contact with Crown witnesses. Justice Charles Quin granted bail accordingly and set the next mention day for Friday, Feb. 23. Joint Marine Unit makes drug bust Officers from the Joint Marine Unit of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Ser- vice made an early morning drug bust on Thursday, when they came upon a pair of suspicious ves- sels in the vicinity of the Big Channel entrance to the North Sound. Both vessels attempted to escape, and the Joint Marine Unit, with assistance from the Air Operations Unit, pur- sued one of them, which was subsequently abandoned in shallow water close to Uncle Bob Road. The boat was recovered, along with a large quantity of ganja on board. Local residents and land- based RCIPS officers as- sisted the JMU in arresting two people – a 36-year-old man from West Bay and a 39-year-old man from Ja- maica – on suspicion of being concerned in the im- portation of ganja and human smuggling. Both men remain in po- lice custody and the investi- gation is ongoing. The second vessel made off to sea. Officers from Customs and the RCIPS detained three Jamaican nationals on a canoe in Cayman Brac on Friday morning. The canoe is believed to be the vessel that fled on Thursday. The men – ages 33, 31 and 29 – were arrested on suspicion of numerous of- fenses including being con- cerned in the importation of ganja into Grand Cayman. The marine unit boat monitors Cayman’s waters. The Law Courts Building in downtown George Town. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS “We have over 100 na- tionalities in Cayman. We have so many types of food here, as well, from the smaller restaurants to the larger, premier restaurants across the island.” The event serves as CITA’s largest annual fundraiser, con- tributing to operating costs and advocacy efforts for asso- ciation members. Much like Cayman’s pop- ulation, the festival has grown significantly since the late 1980s. Since its humble beginnings as a small chili cook-off, the fes- tival has become a synthesis of local and international talent, from the food to the entertainment. Local cover bands, The Lionfish and 7 Miles Long, opened the evening, leading up to the headlining tribute bands for Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Journey and Prince. Winners of the heavy cake competition, the amateur chef cook-off and Cayman’s fa- vorite restaurant will be an- nounced later. Andiamo at the Ritz-Carlton mixed sweet and salty with osso buco over a pumpkin puree. - PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE Baranidharan Thirunavukkarasu cooks up beef for Beach House. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Sudharsan Thennarasu and Leo Gomes pose for Champion House. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Ruwan Nayanajith of Bandidos grills corn on the cob. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY The Rum Point team served up its island-style delights. - PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE Taste of Cayman turns 30 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Bon Vivant’s Amateur Chef Cook Off Competition gets going. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Marcello Piacentini shows off the food from Andiamo. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY 7 Miles Long band rocked the crowd with covers of hit songs. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Taste of Cayman had one of its best turnouts to date. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 Award-winning bartender Amba Lamb prepares drinks. - PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE Chefs showed off their talents at the demo stage. - PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE The Cayman Creperie offered sweet and savory options. - PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE Cayman’s Seven Fathoms promoted canned rum and Cokes. - PHOTO: STEPHEN CLARKE Stewart Brown, Brad Kuttner, Zulu and Kate Tiempo pour drinks for Caybrew. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Erica Asai jams out for 7 Miles Long Band. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY The Michael Jackson impersonator executes a move. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY The Stevie Wonder impersonator was one of the evening’s leading acts. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS was in touch with her [Sat- urday] via text after she had won. We had a couple ex- changes. I was wishing her congratulations from ev- eryone in the Cayman Islands, her home away from home. “She responded, ‘Thanks very much,’ and she’s obvi- ously delighted. She’s looking forward to getting back to Cayman for another break, but she’s got another few tournaments first.” Ms. Wozniacki visited Cayman in December with her fiancé, former NBA player David Lee, and they vis- ited Stingray City among other destinations. She will not be in town for the up- coming Legends At Camana Bay tennis showcase due to a schedule conflict but hopes to play in the event in the future. As part of her deal, Ms. Wozniacki will have ac- cess to accommodations whenever she wants to visit Cayman, and Mr. Duggan hopes she will visit the Seafire Residences several times a year. “I kept saying to them, ‘We really want to do a part- nership with Caroline, but it’s also very important to us that you want to be a part of the Cayman commu- nity,’” said Mr. Duggan. “It wouldn’t have made sense for us to bond with her if she didn’t like Cayman, but luckily, they both fell in love with the island. “It worked out great. From our standpoint, having Car- oline as an ambassador not only for our brands but for the Cayman Islands, and also her having a place that’s a home away from home. She can come down any time she wants to come down to have a break with her family and friends.” Ms. Wozniacki, 27 years old, was a runner-up in the U.S. Open twice before win- ning her first Grand Slam championship over Simona Halep of Romania. Ear- lier in her career, she be- came the first woman from a Scandinavian country to earn the world’s No. 1 ranking, and she won the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore in October. Her equipment bag al- ready bears a patch ad- vertising the Seafire Res- idences, and Mr. Duggan hopes that Ms. Wozniacki will eventually become a brand model for Dart prop- erties such as The Ritz- Carlton and Dragon Bay. For now, the two sides are just exploring the beginning of their partnership. “She’s super-nice,” Mr. Duggan said. “She really shared our opinion, which was really key for me in ne- gotiating this. We want this to be a two-way process. It’s not just us paying her an en- dorsement fee. We want her to be entrenched in the com- munity here. And she felt that way as well. She wants to be a part of the community.” Ms. Wozniacki is sched- uled for tournaments in Russia and Qatar over the next few weeks, and it’s not immediately clear when she will be in Cayman next. Mr. Duggan plans on finding ac- tivities where she would be a good fit, such as playing ex- hibition matches with other professionals or hosting events for charity. Most important, Mr. Duggan said, is that this is potentially a long-term part- nership. The two sides only agreed to a one-year deal which will expire just before next year’s Australian Open, but both Dart Enterprises and Ms. Wozniacki appear to be engaged in a mutual ad- miration society. “The agreement I have with her and her agents is that we anticipate it going on,” Mr. Duggan said. “It was all very last minute, and we wanted to get it signed before Australia. As a result of that we said, ‘Let’s just initially do the year.’ But both sides an- ticipate it being a long-term partnership.” was initially a five-year, US$13 million deal to provide ID cards for Cayman Islands Na- tional Insurance Company pa- tients who use hospital and health clinics. Those cards were to be used as a real- time healthcare claims adju- dication service, meaning cus- tomers who used public health services would be recorded and billed, if applicable, for those services at the time the cards were used. The claims adjudication service was never fully imple- mented and proposals aimed at putting private sector in- surance customers onto the CarePay system never came to fruition. The CarePay cards are still in use by CINICO-in- sured patients. Prosecutors said during the first stage of Mr. Watson’s confiscation hearing that some US$4.8 million was “creamed” from the CarePay contract and put into a Fidelity Bank ac- count that Mr. Watson set up through sham frontmen. A further US$1.8 million was spent on the proposed ex- pansion of the CarePay card system – “known as the na- tional rollout” – to private sector insurers. However, sub- sequent government audits revealed this amount was paid for no legitimate pur- pose and ultimately went to Mr. Watson and Mr. Webb. A further $147,000 was spent on a proposed pharmacy contract linked to the CarePay card system that also never hap- pened, prosecutors said. With the Grand Court de- ciding Friday that Mr. Watson did receive a benefit from the CarePay fraud and ruling that benefit had been jointly ob- tained, at a value of US$6.8 million, the only matter re- maining to be decided is how much Mr. Watson has to pay. His attorney, Amelia Fo- suhene, told the court that Mr. Watson has about US$1 million in available assets. It was not known if the Crown would dispute that figure. Discussion of specific as- sets held by the defendant have not been discussed in open court. According to publicly avail- able records in the U.S., Mr. Watson remains the listed owner of a property at 2128 Adel Dr. in Loganville, Georgia, which was purchased for US$515,000 in July 2011, ac- cording to Rockdale County tax records. A neighboring vacant lot is also listed as being owned by Mr. Watson that was purchased in 2012 for US$75,000. Based on trial testimony and Crown claims made in 2015-2016, at least some of the purchases made for the Lo- ganville house were done with funds from the CarePay fraud. Trial date set for Christmas Eve cocaine robbery Two men plead not guilty, will be tried together CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two men charged in connection with the rob- bery of cocaine that washed up on an East End beach on Christmas Eve appeared in Grand Court Friday, when they pleaded not guilty and had their trial set for June 4. Marvin Gregory Grant pleaded not guilty to the robbery itself. The charge was that he stole 60 pounds of cocaine from a named man on Dec. 24 and, at the time of doing so, put him in fear of being sub- jected to force. The man had been watching over the drugs awaiting the ar- rival of police. Mr. Grant, 35, was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon out- side his own house and premises on the same date and possession of cocaine with intent to supply. He pleaded not guilty to these charges also. Fred Ollen McLaughlin appeared in the dock with Mr. Grant. He pleaded not guilty when charged that on Dec. 24, he con- spired with others to rob a quantity of packages from staff at Morritt’s Re- sort, East End. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Pat- rick Moran told Justice Charles Quin that he was applying for joinder – that is, joining the two defen- dants in one trial because the charges against them arose from “precisely the same incident.” He suggested a trial date of June 4 with an esti- mated time of five days. Attorneys Prathna Bodden and Jonathon Hughes, defending Mr. Grant and Mr. McLaughlin respectively, agreed with the date. They indicated that it had not yet been determined whether the trial would be by jury or by judge alone. Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki visits Stingray City with Chris Duggan in December. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Cayman’s ‘Caroline coup’ Crown has days left for CarePay confiscation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Friday, Feb. 2, will be the last business day available to the Crown and Mr. Watson’s attorneys to agree on a sum repayable to the government. The house registered as being owned by Canover Watson in Loganville, Georgia. – PHOTO: ROCKDALE COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR’S OFFICE “She can come down any time she wants to come down to have a break with her family and friends.” CHRIS DUGGAN ON THE WOZNIACKI DEALThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018 IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad dies at 91 Ingvar Kamprad, the IKEA founder who turned a small-scale mail order business into a global furniture empire, has died at 91. IKEA Sverige, the chain’s Swedish unit, said on Twitter that Kamprad died Saturday at his home in Smaland, southern Sweden. Amid turmoil, Trump seeking a reset with State of the Union WASHINGTON (AP) — Beset by poor poll numbers and the grind of the Russia in- vestigation, President Donald Trump will look to reset his term with his first State of the Union address, arguing that his tax cut and eco- nomic policies will benefit all Americans. The theme of his Tuesday night address to Congress and the country is “Building a safe, strong and proud America,” and the president is looking to showcase ac- complishments of his first year while setting the tone for the second. Aides say the president plans to set aside his more combative tone for one of compromise, and to make an appeal beyond his base. Trump often engages in hyperpartisan politics, and his tax overhaul has been criticized for disproportion- ately favoring the wealthy. But he will try to make the case that all groups of people have benefited during his watch, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to pre- view the speech for the re- cord and spoke on the condi- tion of anonymity. The annual address is a big set piece for any presi- dent, a prime-time window to address millions of voters. Every word is reviewed, every presidential guest carefully chosen, every sentence re- hearsed. The stakes are enor- mous for Trump, hoping to move past a turbulent first 12 months in office. Trump is giving the speech “with the lowest approval ratings of any president in his first year in the history of presidential polling, and can point to the least number of legislative accomplishments,” said Wendy Schiller, political science professor at Brown University. “Every month that goes by in which Trump fails to increase his support works against him because voters’ negative impressions of him will just solidify.” She said the address “could turn that around if he strikes a bipartisan con- ciliatory tone and makes it more about the country than about himself.” Five themes are expected to dominate: the economy and the tax overhaul, in- frastructure, immigration, trade, and terrorism and global threats. Selling the GOP’s tax plan is an election-year project as Republicans look to retain their majority in Congress. The tax changes are billed as essential to powering the ambitious projections of economic growth, and Trump is ex- pected to cite the benefits to the public that propo- nents envision. Trump also plans to out- line a nearly $2 trillion plan that his administration con- tends will trigger $1 tril- lion or more in public and private spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects. On immigration, he will promote his new proposal for $25 billion for a wall along the Mexican border and for a path to citizenship for hun- dreds of thousands of young people brought to the United States as children and now here illegally. Trump’s trade talk will reflect what he discussed at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Friday: a preference for one-on-one deals instead of multilat- eral agreements. The public should get an update on the fight against terrorism and an assessment of international threats, in- cluding North Korea. The se- nior administration official said Trump probably would avoid the taunts of “Little Rocket Man” for Kim Jong Un and “fire and fury” that he used before. The White House says one of Trump’s guests for the speech will be someone who has been touched by the opioid crisis. The address comes at a critical point for the presi- dent. He wants to move past the government shutdown that coincided with the an- niversary of his inaugura- tion and prepare for a gru- eling election season that is shaping up as a referendum on his leadership. Trump and members of his Cabinet are expected to travel in the days after the speech to drive home its themes. Critics wonder why the president will show the re- solve to stay on message. “The most capable White Houses use the State of the Union as an organizing mo- ment to set agenda for the whole year, from both a mes- saging and legislative per- spective,” said Jennifer Palm- ieri, former communications director for President Barack Obama. “I don’t think this White House is capable of that kind of discipline. So even if he gives a good speech, it is unlikely to have any staying power and tran- scend his broader problems of not being able to drive a coherent agenda or generate support for himself beyond his core supporters.” Sometimes, the ad- dress is a high-water mark for a president. In 2002, Republican George W. Bush used the speech to define the “axis of evil” — Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — that he believed sup- ported terrorism and sought weapons of mass destruction. In 1996, Democrat Bill Clinton declared that the “era of big government is over” after emerging from a shutdown fight. In 1941, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt out- lined the “four freedoms” that people across the globe held dear in the face of World War II’s horrors. Afghanistan says death toll from Kabul bombing rises to 103 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Af- ghan authorities have raised the death toll from Satur- day’s suicide bombing in Kabul to 103, as hundreds of people gathered for fu- nerals or awaited word of loved ones outside hospi- tals and morgues. The attacker, driving an ambulance filled with ex- plosives, was able to race through a security check- point by saying he was transferring a patient to a hospital. The explosion dam- aged or destroyed dozens of shops and vehicles in the heart of the city, near govern- ment buildings. Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak provided the updated death toll on Sunday, saying another 235 people were wounded in the attack. He said police were among those killed and wounded. He said the attackers drove two ambulances, both of which made it past the checkpoint before one of them turned around and left the area, indicating some of the attackers escaped. The Taliban claimed re- sponsibility for the attack, which dealt a major blow to the U.S.-backed Afghan gov- ernment. Afghan security forces have struggled to combat the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally con- cluded their combat mission at the end of 2014. Saturday’s bombing took place in the heavily-guarded city center, near a number of foreign embassies and the of- fice of the High Peace Council, which is charged with pro- moting peace efforts with the Taliban and other groups. The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, also has offices in the area. Ahmad Fahim, a shop- keeper who survived Sat- urday’s attack, said sev- eral fellow merchants were wounded or killed. He said he had seen many victims who lost arms or legs in the blast. The government de- clared a day of mourning, with shops closed and flags at half-staff. Officials at the Public Health Ministry said the fo- rensic medicine department is still trying to identify a number of bodies before re- leasing them to families. The powerful explosion could be felt across the city and left the surrounding area blanketed in dust and smoke. It came a week after Taliban militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with se- curity forces. Masoom Stanekzai, the head of Afghanistan’s intelli- gence service, said five sus- pects have been arrested for their involvement in the at- tack on the Intercontinental Hotel and that another had fled the country. He said four people have been arrested in connection with Sat- urday’s attack. An Afghan security officer stands amid the aftermath of Saturday’s suicide attack in Kabul. A car bomb in the Afghan killed at least 103 people and wounded 235 more. - PHOTO: AP The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which dealt a major blow to the U.S.-backed Afghan government. Donald J. Trump delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington last February. The president will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday. - PHOTO: APNext >