ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 High of 88 Low of 79 Moderate to rough with wave heights 4 to 6 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 GOOD NEWS DAY: A LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING RIGHT WORLD | PAGE 8 UK TORY RACE DOWN TO 4 AS RIVALS VIE TO CATCH BORIS JOHNSON Regulated in the Cayman Islands as a licensed insurer by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Generali Worldwide is a trading name of Utmost Worldwide Limited. Registered Head Office address: Utmost Worldwide Limited, Utmost House, Hirzel Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands GY1 4PA. Regulated in Guernsey as a licensed insurer by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission under the Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (as amended). Incorporated in Guernsey under Company Registration No. 27151. www.generali-healthcare.com Your health means the world to us. Congratulations to the Class of 2019! www.generali-healthcare.com Detailed plans revealed for Beach Bay hotel GOVERNMENT DENIES INTERFERING IN CRUISE PETITION VERIFICATION Crown dependencies to introduce public ownership registers Developer aiming to create ‘Caribbean’s best resort’ JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Plans for a Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Beach Bay include two central build- ings and a cluster of restaurants, pools and other amenities dotted around the sprawling oceanfront site. The project has been in the discus- sion phase for several years, but detailed plans are now with the Central Planning Authority, which is expected to consider the application next month. The drawings, reviewed by the Com- pass, show a ten-storey and a nine-storey building alongside a smaller arrivals area and a central restaurant. The taller buildings include set-backs from both ends that taper towards the upper floors. The design also features separate pool and beachside rooms, as well as an Italian restaurant, sunset bar, spa build- ings and a meditation pavilion. The drawings show the amenities contained in several smaller buildings connected by pathways that snake across the landscaped site. The application for the hotel, named St. James Point Hotel and Resort, Opposition joins criticism of process JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Premier Alden McLaughlin has insisted gov- ernment “has not and will not” interfere with the process to verify the petition calling for a refer- endum on the cruise port amid criticism from campaigners and opposition politicians. Opposition leader Arden McLean issued a statement Wednesday, backed by other mem- bers of the political group, accusing govern- ment of political interference in the process and asking Governor Martyn Roper to intervene in the situation. Meanwhile, Cruise Port Referendum Cayman campaigners wrote to the governor Wednesday, requesting that he share with them “the legal basis for the anticipated door-to-door verification process and ancillary form”. McLaughlin said government had instructed Supervisor of Elections Wesley Howell that he would need to satisfy Cabinet that the neces- sary number of signatures of voters to meet the 25% threshold required by the Constitution, had been reached. But he said government had left the method of the verification process en- tirely to Howell. The statement from the Opposition and the letter from CPR Cayman to the governor followed comments by Howell this week. In response to media questions, Howell had said, “The Cayman Islands does not have leg- islation which prescribes a process verifica- tion of the petition signatures.” He added, “With Cabinet requiring an independently verified list, we are therefore in the posi- tion of proceeding with full verification.” Those comments were interpreted in some news outlets, and by Opposition members, as MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com The British Crown Dependen- cies Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man announced on Wednesday they would make information on the true owners of companies in their juris- dictions more transparent. In a joint statement, the depend- encies outlined a series of steps that will move their respective cen- tralised beneficial ownership reg- isters “towards developing interna- tional standards of accessibility and transparency in the coming years”. The islands’ registers will be first connected to those within the EU for access by law enforcement authorities, then opened up to fi- nancial services businesses that re- quire access for corporate due-dil- igence purposes and subsequently to the public, in line with the EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive. The EU directive eliminated the need to demonstrate a legitimate interest for access to beneficial ownership information, except for trusts and similar legal arrange- ments, and proposed an EU-wide linking of national beneficial own- ership registers. UK parliamentarians have long pushed for company ownership in- formation to be made accessible to the public, claiming that non- public registers were enabling money laundering, tax evasion and corruption. While the UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act, passed last year, included a clause that will force the Overseas Terri- tories to make this type of infor- mation public, the British Crown Dependencies were excluded from the requirement. The UK is threatening an order in council, effectively imposing The site of the proposed Mandarin Oriental hotel in Beach Bay includes 3,000 feet of beachfront land. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL NEWS MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico’s Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ratify a new free trade agreement with the United States and Canada, making it the first of the three countries to gain legis- lative approval. Mexico’s upper chamber voted 114 to four with three abstentions in favour of the US-Mexico-Canada Agree- ment, or USMCA. US President Donald Trump had demanded a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agree- ment that it will replace. Mexican President An- drés Manuel López Obrador said in a recorded mes- sage that the vote was “very good news”. “It means foreign invest- ment in Mexico, it means jobs in Mexico, it means guaran- teeing trade of the merchan- dise that we produce in the United States,” he said. Mexico’s economy min- istry in a statement said that with the approval “Mexico sends a clear message in favor of an open economy and of deepening its economic in- tegration in the region.” Mexican lawmakers had already executed a series of labour reforms that the US had demanded. Sen. Ricardo Monreal, leader of the governing party in the Senate, said the vote was “an important step to diminish the existing un- certainty for North Amer- ican trade”. The treaty is still awaiting consideration by law- makers in the United States and Canada. Ratification of the agree- ment still faces some op- position in the Democrat- controlled US House of Representatives. THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS BREAKTHROUGH (PG) 1:25 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 SUN: 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 KALANK (PG) 3:10 I 9:00 (SAT ONLY) I 9:30 (NO SAT) SUN: 3:10 I 9:20 LITTLE (PG13) 12:30 I 3:25 (SAT ONLY) I 3:50 (NO SAT) 6:50 I 9:45 SUN: 3:50 I 6:50 I 9:35 DUMBO (PG) 10:30 (SAT ONLY) I 4:35 I 7:15 (NO SAT) SUN: 4:35 I 7:15 CAPTAIN MARVEL(PG13) 1:40 I 10:00 (NO SAT) SUN: 6:30 I 10:00 THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA (R) 1:10 VIP I 4:35 I 7:00 VIP I 10:15 HELLBOY (R) 12:35 (SAT ONLY) I 1:00 I 6:10 (SAT ONLY) I 6:45 SHAZAM! (PG13) 1:30 I 3:40 VIP I 7:15 I 9:30 VIP SUN: 3:40 VIP I 4:40 I 6:40 VIP 8:00 I 9:40 VIP KIDS CLUB: OVER THE HEDGE (PG) 10:00 (SAT ONLY) CULTURE AT THE CINEMA: THE TRAGEDY OF KIND RICHARD THE SECOND(R18) SAT ONLY: 8:00 • 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. - THURSDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) GODZILLA: KING OF MONSTERS (PG13) 1:15 I 9:55 ALADDIN (PG) 12:55 I 3:55 | 7:10 3D I 10:05 JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM (R) 4:25 | 10:15 SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 (PG) 12:30 | 2:50 3D | 5:10 | 7:30 3D MEN IN BLACK (PG-13) INTERNATIONAL 1:00 VIP I 1:20 | 4:15 | 6:55 | 7:15 | 10:00 ROCKETMAN (R) 7:25 X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX (PG-13) 1:15 | 3:45 VIP | 4:20 | 7:00 | 9:45 VIP | 9:50 ank you to Dr. De Alwis & Sta for a very professional service. I thought that this surgery would be a complicated one, but they made it very simple and I am now in good health. anks to God, Dr. De. Alwis & Team. Christine Seymour Surgery saved man stabbed in liver SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com For one man, the pag- eantry of Batabano this year quickly dissolved into a struggle for survival. A 29-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke to the Cayman Com- pass this week about an or- deal that nearly took his life. He was stabbed in the liver while visiting a food vendor at the end of Batabano, and it took an odyssey between two local hospitals to save his life. The man was ultimately saved by an operation con- ducted by Dr. Deepak Varma, a senior consultant in gastro- intestinal and bariatric sur- gery at Health City Cayman Islands, but before that hap- pened, he had run to George Town Police Station to get help. From there, he was taken to Cayman Islands Hospital, where he was di- agnosed and given prelimi- nary treatment. “My instinct told me to run to the safest place,” he said Tuesday when reached by phone. “The adrenaline was pumping, so there was no pain when I was running to the police station.” The doctors at Cayman Islands Hospital discovered that the patient was bleeding internally, which triggered a call to Health City to see if there was a surgeon on call who could handle a liver in- jury. Then, after making the call, they shuttled the pa- tient 18 miles to Health City’s waiting trauma centre. “We started this trauma care centre last December,” said Dr. Binoy Chattupar- ambil, the clinical director and chief cardiac surgeon at Health City. “The whole reason was that anybody on the island who has an emer- gency like this will need ur- gent care where time is pre- cious. It can be a brain injury or a heart injury, a lung, liver or bone. We need the entire specialty tree in any hospital. There’s no point in having a liver surgeon when someone needs neurosurgery. And it has to be 24/7.” The patient made it to Health City, was stabilised by the emergency room phy- sician, and within an hour, he was on his way to the operating theatre, where Dr. Varma and a staff of seven nurses and doctors were ready. “The first thing we do is see where the bleeding is,” Dr. Varma said. “We put pressure on it, packed it and it stopped. From the operating the- atre, he received some blood transfusions and he was sta- bilised once the bleeding stopped. Then we stitched the bleeding spot. There was a big wound on the liver. It was very deep and just bleeding profusely. We had to suture the bleeding points and re- pair the laceration.” For the patient, there was not much fear or anxiety. He was in pain by this point, but he did not really know that he was in critical con- dition. He said on Tuesday this week that he did not remember much about the procedure except for staring up at the white lights on the ceiling and being told to count as the anaes- thesia took hold. But for the medical staff, there was an intense recog- nition of the severity of the situation. The surgery took 90 minutes, said Dr. Varma, and the liver’s proximity to the heart meant that every minute mattered. “The liver has three blood supplies; one that comes from the intestine, another where the good blood goes through the artery, and an- other where blood is taken out through the liver into the heart,” he said. “The liver is very close to the heart, and it’s very close to the major blood vessels in the ab- domen. If there’s an injury on the liver, it will bleed pro- fusely. Within hours, the pa- tient can die.” “If he had continued to bleed for a couple of hours more, he’d go into shock,” added Dr. Chattuparambil. “The next stage is the other organs will shut down and he will die. And there’s no liver surgeons on the island or in the region. The only other option for him would be to go to the United States. And he wouldn’t survive that time. The air ambulance get- ting organised takes six to eight hours.” The patient, an active ath- lete who loves to play bas- ketball, spent seven days in the hospital before being dis- charged. He said he is still re- covering nearly two months later, and he’s still not able to run at full speed. But his liver is fully functioning, and Dr. Varma said that the organ is able to heal itself. “The good thing about the liver is that even if you remove 60%, the rest of the liver will grow to make-up for the functionality,” he said. “There’s a story in Greek my- thology. Prometheus. The eagle ate the liver every day and the liver would grow [back]. The same thing is found in modern science.” The patient said Tuesday that he is well aware that the alternative to surgery meant a flight out to Miami, and he acknowledged that he may not have made it if that had come to pass. “I can’t thank them enough,” he said of the staff at Health City. “Every time I go up there, I ask for Dr. Deepak and I go see him and say hello to him. … My family was very grateful.” Dr. Deepak Varma, who arrived in Cayman earlier this year, participated in a life-saving surgery for a patient who was wounded at Batabano. – PHOTO: SPENCER FORDIN Police release name of man in fatal stabbing Police have publicly named the man found dead from a knife wound on Sunday in the Boat- swains Bay area of West Bay as Errol George Grey, 42, of Jamaica. Grey, who had lived in Cayman since 2005, was found unresponsive and with a stab wound to his chest by first re- sponders. A woman and two children had also been stabbed. Police officials said they are not looking for suspects outside of the four people involved. No arrests have been made. The injured woman turned up at a neighbour’s home around 10:30pm with her two children, aged around 9 and 13. The woman told the neighbour that Grey, her boyfriend, had attacked them and then turned the knife on himself. She and the children were admitted to Cayman Islands Hospital in serious condition. By Wednesday their conditions had been upgraded to stable. Woman reports bag stolen, assaults police Police used pepper spray to subdue an in- toxicated woman at a Cayman Brac bar after they responded to a report of her bag being stolen. The incident oc- curred just before 8pm on Tuesday night. According to a po- lice statement, officers at- tended the bar in Watering Place Road where the 23-year-old woman had complained of the theft of her bag. “Officers attempted to calm the woman, who ap- peared to be highly intox- icated, and investigated the report, ultimately lo- cating her bag and re- turning it to her,” an RCIPS spokesperson said. Police said it was unclear whether any theft had place. The woman then began making threats to kill a man in the officers’ pres- ence, and lunged at the man. When officers inter- vened, she assaulted the officers, who used pepper spray on her. The woman, who lives in Cayman Brac, received medical treatment. She re- mained under medical ob- servation, in police custody, on Wednesday. Police said she was ar- rested for making threats to kill, disorderly conduct at a licensed premises, re- sisting arrest and as- saulting police. MEXICO’S SENATE APPROVES TRADE DEAL WITH U.S., CANADA The Senate building in Mexico City. Mexico’s Senate voted Wednesday to ratify a new free trade agreement with the United States and Canada. – PHOTO: AP3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 Tropical wave nears Cayman on Friday A tropical wave south of Puerto Rico is expected to move into the Cayman area Friday evening, bringing scat- tered showers through Friday night, according to the National Weather Service. The rains should not last long, however. Forecasters an- ticipate a lower chance of rains, 30%, on Saturday and Sunday, as well as partly cloudy skies. A high-pressure system should result in increased winds and wave heights Friday. The National Weather Service is expecting winds between 15 to 20 knots and has issued a small craft warning for Friday. Cloudy skies hanging over Cayman Wednesday and Thursday were the result of a separate weather system that is moving east, away from the islands. The cyclonic flow was located near central Cuba, extending into the Cayman area on Wednesday. Anticyclonic wind flow countered the strength of the system, and forecasters expected it to weaken through Thursday. Man sentenced to prison in wrongful confinement case SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com Brandon Jamahl Beckett was sentenced to 42 months in prison Wednesday for the wrongful con- finement of a woman and a series of offences that breached his probation from previous sentences. Beckett pleaded guilty on 5 Dec. last year to wrongful confinement, assault causing actual bodily harm and causing intentional harass- ment, alarm or distress, relating to an incident that occurred in the late- evening hours of 31 Oct. and the early morning of 1 Nov. 2017. The court heard Friday that Beckett met the complainant on a dating application on 18 Oct. and moved into her home shortly there- after. Then, after attending a dinner with the complainant’s friends on 31 Oct., Beckett became en- raged on the car ride home and in- sulted the woman. When they reached her home, Beckett allegedly punched her in the face and pinned her to the floor to keep her from answering the door twice after she had phoned po- lice. The police came back a third time and arrested Beckett, who has spent the last 20 months remanded into custody. “In effect, Mr. Beckett has already served the custodial element of a 33-month sentence,” said defence counsel Jonathon Hughes. Beckett’s trial began on 4 Dec. 2018, and the complainant testified as to her account of events. Beckett, who was originally charged with rape and threats to kill, pleaded guilty to wrongful confinement and two other offences. The Crown of- fered no evidence on the rape or threats to kill charge. Justice Linda Dobbs read the re- sults of a social impact report and psychological assessment conducted on the defendant. Justice Dobbs said that he had been abandoned by his mother and abused by his stepmother, and the death of his fa- ther in 2014 triggered a “downward spiral” in his behaviour. Justice Dobbs said that Beckett has been arrested and convicted for multiple charges of domestic vio- lence in the past and that his risk of re-offending is “very high”. Justice Dobbs also said the complainant and defendant were in a “one-sided relationship” that was clearly not reciprocated. Beckett was afforded a 10% dis- count on his sentence due to his late guilty plea. Justice Dobbs sentenced him to 32 months for wrongful con- finement, and she said he would have been sentenced to 36 months if he had been convicted without pleading guilty. Beckett was sentenced to no jail time for assault causing actual bodily harm because Justice Dobbs said that the violence factored into her sentence for wrongful confine- ment. He was sentenced to two months for causing intentional har- assment, and those two months will run concurrently with the wrongful confinement sentence. Justice Dobbs also sentenced Beckett to an additional 10 months in prison for a series of offences that occurred between 2014 and 2016. Those offences included mul- tiple cases of assault causing actual bodily harm, insulting the modesty of a woman, criminal trespass and failure to surrender. The 20 months that Beckett spent remanded into custody will count towards his sentence. When they reached her home, Beckett allegedly punched the woman in the face and pinned her to the floor to keep her from answering the door twice after she had phoned police. UCCI hospitality graduate receives grant A University College of the Cayman Islands hospitality programme graduate has re- ceived a grant from spice company McCormick & Com- pany to further his studies. Laurent Bodden has been accepted into Johnson and Wales University in Florida and plans to even- tually return to Cayman to pursue a career in the hos- pitality industry. Bodden received a US$5,000 grant provided by McCormick & Company’s Mc- Cormick Global Ingredients Limited annually for 10 years to support Caymanian grad- uates of the School of Hospi- tality Studies. Recipients can also spend a week at McCor- mick to explore career op- portunities in the food in- dustry, with the prospect of a summer internship. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit. The scholarship com- mittee looks at scholastic, sporting and civic attain- ments, as well as a candi- dates’ character and ability to lead. Bodden, a local foot- ball star, has participated in on- and off-campus events. Big waves are common at The Blowholes in East End, as seen here on Wednesday, but there will be a lot more big waves around the island on Friday and over the weekend as a tropical waves enters the area. - PHOTO: ALVARO SEREY Laurent Bodden, third from left, receives McCormick Global Ingredients Limited’s first ‘Wendy Bullock Lifetime Achievement Bursary’ from Wendy Bullock, third from right, who dedicated 49 years of service to the flavour giant. Also pictured, from left, are School of Hospitality Studies Director Wayne Jackson, MGIL Financial Controller Phil Michael, UCCI President Stacy McAfee and MGIL Managing Director Donald Pratt.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion & Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Caymanian Compass Limited 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 PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” Scientists say the human brain is hard-wired to take note of bad news. They say this ‘negativity bias’ helped make sure our ancestors weren’t oblivious to danger. But as useful as it may have been for outwitting wild animals and escaping natural disasters, in today’s infor- mation-saturated environment, all this pessimism can be a bit exhausting. It’s nice to hit the reset button every once in a while and focus on what’s going right. Thankfully, our islands have much to choose from on that score. Here’s a sample from the past few days: SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS: As the school year draws to a close, a number of our young people are being rec- ognised for their accomplishments. On Cayman Brac, Belen Scott and Jonah Tibbetts were awarded brand new bicycles from the Cayman Brac fire service as rewards for their outstanding academic performance at West End Primary School, while Kai Roberts was named the winner of the 2019 RUBiS Top Student award. Sixteen- year-old Roshe Riley earned a 100% tuition scholar- ship at Burman University of Alberta, Canada, where she will pursue a degree in religious studies. Helping to grow even more stellar scholars, the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Sunrise donated 500 books to Sir John A. Cumber Primary School as part of their annual ‘Buy A Kid A Book’ project. It is great to see the community reinforcing the importance of learning, and to see so many of our students achieving lofty educational goals. OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS: The Cayman Islands Tourism Association announced they have received a record-breaking 88 nominations for the annual Stingray Tourism Awards, recognising excel- lence in this critical sector of our economy. The National Trust has selected 14 finalists from 30 applicants for the fourth Governor’s Conservation Awards. The first cohort of Women Code Cayman received their certificates of completion. The programme, a partnership between Cartan Group, the Ministry of Community Affairs, Walkers and Cayman Enterprise City is designed to open new career opportunities for women in technology. IGUANA CULL: According to Department of Environ- ment statistics, green iguana cullers turned in nearly 30,000 lizard carcasses last week — the largest weekly total of the year. In total, cullers have nabbed 738,639 of the beasts since last October, when the cull began. Back when environmental officials announced the cull, this editorial board had its doubts about the pro- gramme’s long-term sustainability and effectiveness. We are pleased to find that, so far at least, those fears have proven unfounded and that progress continues in ridding Grand Cayman of the invasive pest. GIVING BACK: Dart Enterprises’ newly formed Dart Grants programme announced the donation of $250,000 in support of local non-profit organisa- tions in the form of eight grants of $25,000 and an additional $50,000 to the Special Needs Foundation. Maven Entertainment donated proceeds from recent music events to the Cayman Islands Cancer Society and Meals on Wheels. Thanks to a $38,000 donation from the Cayman Islands Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority was able to purchase a new respiratory machine to better diagnose and treat patients with breathing and lung problems. A record number of individuals have made donations of a different sort, as the Cayman Islands Blood Bank announced the 1,529 individuals who donated blood in 2018 represented a 20% increase in donors over the previous year. Good news day: A look at what is going right THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS ‘Privatisation’ makes charter schools great DAVID OSBORNE When US Senator Bernie Sanders recently unveiled his education reform plan, it pre- dictably castigated charter schools, claiming that they were “privatising public schools”. Sanders joined a long line of leaders who tar charters with the privatisa- tion brush. Before, during and after the Los Angeles teachers strike last winter, union Presi- dent Alex Caputo-Pearl did so repeatedly. “The charter school movement,” he declared, is “a vehicle for billionaires to pri- vatise the system and under- mine the public district”. His teachers constantly repeated the charge. National union leaders Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers and Lily Eskelsen García of the National Edu- cation Association regularly add to the chorus. From the picket line in Los Angeles, Eskelsen García went so far as to announce that “the bil- lionaires who are behind this [chartering], the venture cap- italists, the Wall Street guys, are out to make money on public schools”. (For the re- cord, California outlawed for- profit charters last year.) And in the District of Columbia, Washington Teachers’ Union leaders raised the issue against Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee during his nomina- tion hearings. “My real con- cern here is privatisation of public education,” Wash- ington Teachers’ Union ex- ecutive board member Signe Nelson told the D.C. Council. But if a publicly funded service is delivered by a pri- vate organisation, does that make it a private service? Is Obamacare a private programme because most services it funds are deliv- ered by private hospitals, clinics or doctors? How about Medicare and Medicaid? Are our roads and highways, all built by private organisations with public funding, public or private? Fifty or 60 years ago, public monopolies deliv- ered most of our publicly funded services, but today, most people want more effi- cient, effective methods. Do the math, and it’s clear that a majority of publicly funded services are now delivered by private organisations. Consider the federal gov- ernment. In fiscal year 2017, it spent $3.98 trillion. Of this, almost half went to pay- ments rather than ‘services’. The former include social security checks, unemploy- ment compensation, retire- ment benefits, payments to farmers, interest on the debt, and many others. Of the re- maining $2 trillion or so, more than $1 trillion went for healthcare – Medicare, Med- icaid, Obamacare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program – most of which was delivered by private doctors, hospitals and clinics. A majority of the almost $600 billion defence budget was spent contracting with private companies. Of the $72 billion the federal gov- ernment spent on higher edu- cation – for Pell grants, work- study, student loans and the like – a big portion went to private colleges and univer- sities. (Of more than 7,000 post-secondary institutions that participate in federal fi- nancial aid programmes, only about 28% are public.) More than 80% of the $50 billion we spent on housing assistance went to private landlords, and most of the $93.5 billion we spent on transportation went to private contractors. NASA spends roughly $20 billion a year, and as one agency history put it, “From its es- tablishment to the present, NASA has contracted with the private sector for most of the products and ser- vices it uses.” Add it all up, and about three-quarters of the $2 tril- lion the federal government spent on services was deliv- ered by private organisations. State governments spent about $1.94 trillion in 2017, but almost a third was from the federal govern- ment. So without double- counting, states spent about $1.34 trillion. Subtracting pensions, debt service, wel- fare and other non-service activities knocks out more than $300 billion. Of the re- maining $1 trillion, $215 bil- lion went to Medicaid and $14.4 billion to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, mostly to pay private health- care providers. Transporta- tion consumed an additional $108 billion, most of it con- tracted out. (Three-quarters of new public investment in transportation goes to high- ways and roads, and almost all of that work is done by private firms. The rest goes to air, rail and water transporta- tion, for which private compa- nies are also very active.) Add in human services, housing and economic development, and it’s safe to say that more than a third of state-funded services were delivered by pri- vate organisations. Public education is the largest chunk of local spending. Seven percent of students attend charters, others attend private schools with public vouchers, and 9% of spending goes to construc- tion, renovation and equip- ment, all provided by private companies. Add in preschool, busing, food service and building maintenance, much of which is contracted out, and perhaps 20% of local ed- ucation dollars go to private organisations. Taking all three levels of government into account, this kind of ‘privatisation’ is actually more common than public delivery of services. It is widespread because it has many advantages. Al- lowing public leaders to shop around for the most cost-ef- fective service providers helps them squeeze more bang out of every buck. It substitutes competition for monopolies. It helps governments insist on accountability for perfor- mance. And it preserves max- imum flexibility to respond to changing needs. This is simply the way we do business in the public sector today. Public educa- tion was late to the game, but with chartering, 21st-century methods have finally arrived. In truth, charters are just as ‘public’ as Obamacare, Medi- care and Medicaid. They are accountable to public school boards and other public au- thorisers; they are tuition- free; and they must accept all students (or use a lottery to choose if demand is too high). Indeed, because many district magnet and exam schools select their students, one could argue that charters are more ‘public’ than these district schools. David Osborne, whose most recent book is ‘Reinventing America’s Schools: Creating a 21st century Education System’, directs the K-12 education work of the Progressive Policy Institute. © 2019, The Washington Post. Do the math, and it’s clear that a majority of publicly funded services are now delivered by private organisations.5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 Red Cross volunteers prepare for hurricane season Lecturer wants input on rebuilding local reefs Nearly 100 volunteers gathered to hear of the poten- tial tasks ahead of them and the preparations they should be making at the Cayman Is- lands Red Cross’s pre-hurri- cane meeting. Organisers said the an- nual meeting, which is held at the start of the season every year, is an opportu- nity for the organisation to refresh or provide informa- tion to new and existing volunteers. “Cayman is a transient so- ciety, and as such we always have large numbers of new volunteers who are unaware of the magnitude of the tasks that the Red Cross under- takes in times of disasters,” Branch Director Jondo Obi said in a press release. “Our organisation runs additional programmes, like First Aid, the Thrift Shop and Child Protection and Sexuality Ed- ucation, so it’s important to let all volunteers know that should a disaster hit, it is all hands on deck.” The 30 May meeting started off with a review of the 2018 hurricane season in the region, which saw 15 storms, five of which were tropical storms, eight were hurricanes, and two were major hurricanes. “Last year’s season was significant,” said Disaster Management Programme Manager Eddie Tinling- Miller, “Two major hurri- canes, Florence and Michael, were retired by the Regional Hurricane Committee. How- ever, the weather conditions changed rapidly and unpre- dictably, and the storms es- calated into major hurri- canes. Eventually, these two were together responsible for over 170 fatalities in the region, and caused damages estimated to cost close to US$50 billion. These storms serve as a reminder to always be alert, connected and, most importantly, prepared.” John Tibbetts, director general of the Cayman Is- lands National Weather Ser- vice, gave the Red Cross volunteers an oversight of 2018 season and predic- tions for 2019, providing sci- entific input and describing the best practices before, during and immediately fol- lowing a storm. Volunteers were re- minded that general prepar- edness at the individual level and having a family disaster plan are vital. “If you haven’t done so, go home and discuss this with your families,” Tinling-Miller told them. “Decide if you’re going to be here or if you’re going off island. If you are staying here, where are you going to stay? Do you know if you live in an area where evacuation is mandatory? Can you stay with friends or will you be going to a shelter? All of these questions need answers, and you must in- clude your family members in this discussion.” He also emphasised the importance of having addi- tional medication for the af- termath of the storm, as well as knowing blood types for family members. “It’s some- thing that is so simple, but so easy to forget,” he said. “If re- cords are unavailable or sys- tems are down, this can be life-saving information, so make sure that all of your medical records, just like your passports, insurance information and other cru- cial documents, are scanned, copied and are stored safely in a waterproof container.” Participants received a full rundown of tasks and activities that the Red Cross undertakes in the event of a hurricane, and volunteers were asked to not only think about those roles but also indicate areas of interest that they would be able to undertake. “The work begins once there is a hurricane warning: we are the first shelter to open in Grand Cayman, and we also make it a point to as- sist the most vulnerable the best we can by helping the elderly and disabled popu- lation sandbag their homes,” Tinling-Miller said. The volunteers would also be called upon to assist in the evacuation of flood- prone zones; manage the Red Cross shelter; provide first aid coverage at all non- emergency shelters in Grand Cayman; conduct damage and needs assessment fol- lowing a storm; provided first aid support for the public at Red Cross headquarters; as- sist with search and rescue efforts and relief distribu- tion; and connect families via the Restoring Family Links programme. “Those of us who were here in 2004 remember the devastation caused by Hur- ricane Ivan,” Tinling-Miller said. “But since then, we’ve learned and adapted, and are now more prepared than ever – not just as individuals or as family units, but also as a community. As CIRC volun- teers, our job is to ensure the resilience or our homes and communities, and to be ready to assist at all times. “And before anything else, make sure you home is pre- pared and well stocked: stock up on water – a gallon of water a day per person, non- perishable food items, medi- cation and special dietary items if needed, battery oper- ated lighting, extra batteries and personal safety and sani- tation items.” Obi said the 2018 hurri- cane season, which was cata- strophic for the eastern Car- ibbean region, did not directly impact Cayman, but that the Red Cross had learned im- portant lessons from it. To learn more about the Cayman Islands Red Cross, to get assistance in writing a family disaster plan, or to register as a volunteer, email vrm@redcross.org.ky or call 949‑6785. Researcher Claire Dell, of the Central Caribbean Marine In- stitute, will deliver the latest in the institute’s Reef Lecture se- ries at 5:45pm Tuesday, 25 June, at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands. ‘Important Fish on the Reef: What do you Think?’ will in- clude a discussion of Dell’s work on reef herbivores along with an open discussion about rebuilding damaged reefs. Dell is eager to solicit feed- back from attendees, both about their experiences in the past on the reefs, and on what they think needs to happen to safeguard local reefs in the future. “I’m really looking forward to hearing about the experiences res- idents and Caymanians have had and also what the community wants to see for the reef over the next 20 years,” Dell said in a statement. “My hope is that we can discuss this and together create a plan for re- building the reef.” Dell has been working for CCMI for the past two years. She has been the primary researcher in a Darwin Plus Initiative-funded project looking at the key herbivores on the reef, as herbivory is a critical pro- cess in maintaining and promoting reef health. The event is free to the public. Registration is requested at: https://donate. reefresearch.org/importantreeffish. “ The work begins once there is a hurricane warning: we are the first shelter to open in Grand Cayman, and we also make it a point to assist the most vulnerable the best we can by helping the elderly and disabled population sandbag their homes.” EDDIE TINLING-MILLER, disaster management programme manager, Cayman Islands Red Cross Dell is eager to solicit feedback from attendees, both about their experiences in the past on the reefs, and on what they think needs to happen to safeguard local reefs in the future. Devastation is seen in Bodden Town following 2004’s Hurricane Ivan. Red Cross volunteers were briefed recently on preparations to make during hurricane season and the tasks they will be called upon to do in the event of another hurricane impacting the Cayman Islands. - PHOTO: CAROL WINKER Researcher Claire Dell will present the latest in CCMI’s Reef Lecture series.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or non-profit organisations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Road or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS THURSDAY, 20 JUNE HUMANE SOCIETY QUIZ: Monthly trivia night to raise funds for the Cayman Islands Humane Society. 7pm at Fidel Murphy’s on West Bay Road. Questions by Anna Haydon. $10 per person. Six people per team. Call Fidel’s on 949‑5189 to book a table. LITTLE CAYMAN VEHICLE LICENSING: The DVDL will visit Little Cayman today from 9am to 2:30pm, at Little Cayman District Office. FRIDAY, 21 JUNE YOGA CLASS: The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre and Bliss Yoga host an International Day of Yoga event on the rooftop of Grand Cayman Beach Suites. Doors open at 5:30pm. Class starts at 6pm. Tickets are $40 and include a yoga class led by Cayman’s top yoga instructors. Only 50 tickets available, so space is limited. Purchase a ticket in person at Bliss Yoga. Proceeds will be donated to the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre to help victims of domestic violence. SATURDAY, 22 JUNE OLYMPIC DAY: Celebrate Olympic Day by joining a 5K run/walk at 7am this morning at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. Represent your country by wearing costume and national colours or symbols. This is a family‑oriented 5K that is open to people of all ages and abilities. Free of charge, but participants do need to register at www.caymanactive.com/ registrations. Registration on the day is also possible from 6:15‑6:45am, but participants are urged to register online. The event will be timed. 1920S MURDER MYSTERY: One Dog At a Time hosts a 1920s‑themed murder mystery fundraiser, set in a speakeasy after Prohibition, 6:30‑10pm at Cayman Spirits Company. Characters will be issued in advance so participants can plan their outfits. $40 fee includes buffet food and one drink. Prizes for best dressed participant and most convincing actor/actress. For more details and booking, email info@odaat.ky or visit the Facebook page onedogatatime13. CIRCUS MURDER MYSTERY: Run away with the circus to raise money for scholarships at Cayman Drama Society’s summer acting camps. CDS is hosting an interactive murder mystery night. For more details and booking, visit www.cds.ky. FRIDAY, 28 JUNE STUDENT REGISTRATION CLOSES: The registration for students enrolling in, or transferring to, government schools for the 2019/2020 school year will close today. SATURDAY, 29 JUNE KIDFEST: Family fun day at Pedro St. James in memory of baby Nolan Evans. 2‑6pm. Children 13 and under, free; ages 14 and over, $25. Raffle prizes, face painting, complimentary sno‑cones and pizza slices, bouncy castle, lawn games, live entertainment, food and drink sales, Kids Zumba. First 50 kids through the gate on the day get a free gift bag. Proceeds go towards helping children with congenital heart defects. SUNDAY, 30 JUNE TALENT SHOW: The New Self Help Community Foundation presents the annual Xposition of the Arts talent show at the Harquail Theatre. Doors open at 5:30pm, show begins at 6:30pm. Tickets are $10 if prepaid and $15 at the door. Tickets can be bought in advance at Funky Tang’s or Winners Circle Sports. Proceeds go to the Frances Bodden Children’s Home. ENVIROWALK: A 5K walk/run will be held this morning at SafeHaven to bring awareness to the environment and to raise funds for the 2019 Miss World Cayman pageant in September. Bring a water bottle, hats, sunscreen and comfortable walking shoes. $25 for adults and $12 for 12 and under. MONDAY, 1 JULY PUBLIC HOLIDAY: Today is a public holiday in the Cayman Islands to mark Constitution Day. SATURDAY, 6 JULY BEACH CLEAN-UP: Plastic Free Cayman holds its monthly community clean‑up at Sand Hole Beach, Sand Hole Road in West Bay, at 8am. All welcome. Bring a reusable water bottle, hat and gloves if you have them. Chance to win a trip for two with Red Sail Sports. GENERAL INTEREST YMCA SUMMER CAMPS: Registration for YMCA Summer Camps is now open. Camps will take place from 2 July to 23 Aug. across three locations – Field of Dreams, Camana Bay Sports Complex and the Youth Centre at the Cayman Islands Baptist Church in Savannah. Families can also register for Y Fun Days, which are offered Wednesday– Friday, 26‑28 June, at Field of Dreams. For more information, visit www.ymcacayman.ky. On‑site registration is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm at the Field of Dreams. The Day Camp team can also be reached at ysummercamp@ ymcacayman.ky. To find out about financial assistance, which is available for families in need, email info@ymcacayman.ky. CELEBRATE CAYMAN: Celebrate Cayman Coat of Arms memorabilia will be on sale in the lobby of the Cayman Islands Government Administration Building 11am to 2pm every Tuesday and Thursday through the month of June. Items on sale are Celebrate Cayman umbrellas $25, neckties $25, bandanas/scarfs $15, puzzles 35pcs/200pcs $10, plates $35, bistro mugs $10, car flags $10. ‘I CAN QUIT’ SMOKING CESSATION CLASSES: The Public Health Department reminds smokers who wish to quit the habit that there are still some spaces left for upcoming smoking cessation classes. Classes start on 5 June, from 5:15‑6:45pm every Wednesday for seven weeks in the Public Health Department. Location will be Smith Road Centre, second floor. For more information or to sign up, contact the Public Health Department on 244‑2889/244‑2621, or email sarah.hetley@hsa.ky or nola.sanderson@hsa.ky. COUNSELLING SERVICES: The Family Resource Centre and the Counselling Centre have moved. They are now with the Department of Counselling Services at their new home on Mary Street, at 87 West Apollo House. Hours are Mondays and Fridays from 9am to 1pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am to 7pm, and Wednesdays 9am to 4pm. SQUASH CLUB: The Cayman Islands Squash Club hosts a social evening for women on the last Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm, and holds squash beginner lessons for adults every Monday at 7pm. For more information, email info@squash.ky. PIRATES WEEK VENDORS: Food and craft vendors interested in participating in the upcoming Pirates Week Festival can reserve stalls starting Monday, 3 June. Food Festival dates are 8, 9 and 11 Nov. A valid DEH Food Handling Certificate must accompany completed application forms. All food vendors must use biodegradable containers and utensils (available from Pirates Week Festival office – limited supply). Space is limited, please register early. Download the application form at www.piratesweekfestival.com/ participate. To learn more call 949‑5078 or info@piratesweekfestival.com. LOCAL HARVEST MARKET: Local farmers sell their produce and farmed goods at Camana Bay on Wednesdays from 10am to 3pm in Heliconia Court (located next to Scotiabank). COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5‑8pm, West Indies Wine Company. Join the Cayman Chess Club for a complimentary chess class and open challenges weekly. Anyone can learn to play and enjoy chess, even beginners. ART OPEN CANVAS: At KARoo Restaurant in Camana Bay, Wednesdays 7‑11pm. Artists of all levels are welcome to come and enjoy painting and socialising with other artists. Includes use of easels, lights, space and a beverage ticket. No fee. For more information, contact info@visualartcayman.com or jar.was@gmail.com. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY: Adult Open Studio available to those who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Wednesdays for adults, 9am till noon. Thursdays Adults and Youth, 10am till noon. Watler House Art Studio, Pedro St. James. Fee is $5/$15 pp for ceramics. $15/$25 pp non‑members. Includes use of studio, glazes and ceramic tools. Clay available $30 per bag/fee for kiln usage. To register, call 546‑9422 or email info@visualartcayman.com. SEAFARERS HALL: The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association wishes to inform the community that the hall is now available for rent every day of the week, including Saturdays. THRIFT SHOP: Cayman Islands Humane Society Thrift Shop. Located in Venetia Plaza, next to China Village. The Thrift shop is open Tuesday – Saturday 9am to 2pm. Closed on Sunday and Monday. The phone number is 945‑5596 THRIFT SHOP: One Dog at a Time’s New To U shop is now located at JJT Warehouses, Row 2, Unit 2 on Industrial Way. Open Saturdays 8am to 5pm and Wednesdays 10am to 2pm. Variety of items available, including men’s, women’s, children’s and baby clothes, shoes, household, electrical items, CDs, DVDs, books, home furnishings, toys, baby cribs, car seats, dog beds and more. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5:30pm at 68 Mary Street. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946‑6575. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30‑4pm; Tues‑Fri 9:30am to 4pm; Sat 9:30am to 4:30pm. Volunteers are needed for front desk a few hours per week. For more information, email humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or call 946‑8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, cards, etc.,in good condition needed. CLUBS, ORGANISATIONS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: Meets daily to help with drinking problems. Call 926‑9044 or visit www.caymanaa.org. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Is available for substance abuse help. Call the info line at 929–NANA (6262). AL-ANON GROUP MEETING: Are you troubled by someone’s drinking? Al‑Anon Family Groups can help. Call 928‑8843 or email caymanalanon@gmail.com for meeting times. OVERCOMERS OUTREACH: A Christ‑centred 12‑step recovery group addresses addictions and those affected by them. Meetings at Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Tuesdays, 7:15pm. For details, contact Vanessa Gilman at 946‑2422, or visit www.overcomersoutreach.org. DEMENTIA/ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at ADACI’s office, 4th floor, Cardinall Plaza, 30 Cardinall Ave., George Town. Call 924‑4170 or email info@adacayman.com. GRAND CAYMAN TOASTMASTERS: Club meets each Thursday 6‑7:15pm on 3rd Floor, George Town Public Library. Visitors and guests welcome. Contact George R. Ebanks at 322‑9369 or Grand Cayman Toastmasters club on Facebook. Email info@ toastmastersclub2686.org. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. Zoe Levy and Monroe Barton have fun at last year’s KidFest. The annual event will be held again this year on 29 June at Pedro St. James. - PHOTO: KAYLA YOUNGThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 signifying that Cabinet was directly involving it- self in the verification pro- cess, which is supposed to be carried out independently through the Elections Of- fice under the supervision of the governor. Premier McLaughlin in- sisted this was not the case. He said, “For the avoid- ance of any doubt, let me be clear. There has been no po- litical involvement at all in the process for verifying sig- natures on the petition. We have not and nor will we in- terfere in any way. “The Constitution re- quires the Cabinet to act if a threshold of 25% of regis- tered voters has been met. In order to fulfil our du- ties under the Constitution, we therefore need to know if the threshold has indeed been achieved. “Accordingly we have in- structed the Supervisor of Elections that he must be able to satisfy Cabinet that the target number of sig- natures has been properly achieved by the petitioners. The method of verification we have left entirely up to the Supervisor of Elections. We have every confidence in the integrity of the elections office and the Supervisor of Elections.” Howell told the Compass that Cabinet has “the right to question such a petition with a request for a verifica- tion process”. He said the methodology of the process had been de- cided by the Elections Of- fice, stating, “as far as establishing the actual ver- ification process – as in the detailed steps/requirements to complete such an action and ensure it’s carried out in a balanced and efficient way, that is done (and in this case was done) by the Elec- tions Office”. In the absence of a ref- erendum law or other legis- lation that might allow for sampling or other statistical methods to be used, he said that a full in-person verifica- tion was required. Howell said the Elections Office does not have the sig- natures of everyone on the electoral roll, particularly those who registered before 1996, so would not be using signature comparison as a verification process. He added that there were other petitions circulating, including one on same-sex marriage, and that there may have been some con- fusion from people over which petition was being verified. For those reasons, he said the verification pro- cess was not a simple ‘yes or no’ exercise. Despite public concerns, Howell insisted the pro- cess could be done in six to eight weeks. Once staff begin going door-to-door, he said, all people would need to do to verify their support for the referendum was to read a form and sign it. People can also visit the Elections Office on Smith Road to verify their signatures. Johann Moxam, one of the campaign leaders, has criticised the process, saying the Elections Office is effec- tively conducting a re-run of the petition. In its statement Wednesday, the Opposition focussed on the perception that Cabinet was directing the verification process. McLean said he had re- quested an urgent meeting with the governor to discuss claims Cabinet was acting outside of its powers under the Constitution. “The people of this country should be very con- cerned. The verification process has now become contaminated by political in- terference,” he wrote. George Town Central MLA Kenneth Bryan sug- gested the verification pro- cess was designed to put people off. “It is clear that this move by the government, forcing persons who signed the ref- erendum to now complete and sign an official gov- ernment form, is designed to intimidate persons and instil a fear of victimisa- tion,” he said. CPR Cayman, in its letter to Governor Roper, also raised issues of poten- tial intimidation of petition signatories. “The proposed verifica- tion form is intimidating in its current form and simply duplicates the information already provided. Many civil servants and others who signed the petition in good faith may well feel uncom- fortable being asked to sign a separate form such as this in the presence of a govern- ment employee for fear of losing their job, a government contract or their pension,” the group stated. McLaughlin has pre- viously said that govern- ment will proceed with pro- curement on the cruise and cargo port and has been ad- vised by its legal team that it does not need to concern it- self with the petition until and unless a fully verified version containing the sig- natures of more than 25% of the electorate is submitted to Cabinet. is brought by Beach Bay Land Ltd. It features 104,000 square feet of space for around 100 hotel rooms and 147,000 square feet of space for a similar number of residences. A spokesman for the developer said there had been a lot of planning and behind the scenes work to get to this stage. He said the design took advantage of the large site, particularly the 3,000 feet of seafront. He said a resort of this limited density would not have been possible on Seven Mile Beach, where undeveloped seafront land is so limited. “Every hotel room and condo unit will have direct ocean views. If we didn’t have this much coastal property to work with, we couldn’t achieve this re- sult,” the spokesman said. “We have been working on this for a long time and our aim is to build the best resort in the Caribbean.” He said the main hotel and residential buildings featured setbacks on both ends and were designed to minimise the overall height and impact of the buildings along the coastline, mim- icking the wave movement of the water. Though the project has been in the pipeline for several years, the devel- oper, which signed a part- nership with Mandarin Oriental last year, expects things to progress more swiftly now that the plans are with the Central Plan- ning Authority. The developer believes the reception from local residents and the busi- ness community has been largely positive, and that concerns outlined in recent community meetings will be addressed through the planning process. CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 The project has been in the discussion phase for several years, but detailed plans are now with the Central Planning Authority, which is expected to consider the application next month. the establishment of public registers in the Cayman Islands and other territories, if they have not implemented them by the end of 2020. The UK government later agreed with the overseas territories that under such circumstances the public registers would be operational by the end of 2023. The Cayman Islands gov- ernment maintains that it would only make the ben- eficial owners of companies public if and when that be- comes a global standard. The Crown dependen- cies had previously warned that a similar move by the UK regarding their islands would lead to a “constitu- tional crisis”. Jersey’s External Rela- tions Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, said on Wednesday that Jersey was among global leaders in matters of tax co- operation, transparency and in combatting money laun- dering. “The commitments we are announcing today, alongside Guernsey and the Isle of Man, will help to en- sure that this leadership role is maintained, while taking into account the standards being developed within Eu- rope,” he said. “We hope to encourage other jurisdictions to raise their own standards, particularly in relation to the verification of data and the regulation of the financial services sector.” Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell and Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who called for public beneficial owner- ship registers in the Crown dependencies by 2020, said the plans were “an impor- tant first step”, but con- tained “a number of get out clauses” and an “unaccept- ably long timetable”. Mitchell added it was unacceptable that finan- cial services providers, “the very people who devise the schemes exploited by those who trade in dirty money or avoid paying their tax”, would get access to the infor- mation before the public and the media does. Naomi Hirst, an anti- corruption campaigner at Global Witness, said: “This positive move shows that we are finally seeing years of campaigning by civil so- ciety and parliamentarians take effect. Transparency is the new norm. “The era of secrecy is a thing of the past and other tax havens must now make their own moves to bring the real people behind anony- mously owned companies out of the shadows. Any state failing to do so will be left behind.” However, she also empha- sised concerns over the time frame and that details given by the Crown dependencies were still ambiguous. John Christensen, director at the Tax Justice Network, called the announcement the opposite of leadership, stating that the dependen- cies had “set out a three- year plan to table a discus- sion in parliament with no commitments and no details on whether they will comply with emerging international standards on beneficial own- ership transparency”. For public beneficial ownership to be effective in tackling financial crime and tax abuse, it must cover all types of legal entities and legal arrangements, in- cluding trusts and founda- tions, Christensen said. “And verified data must be readily available to the public from day one. Anything short of this cannot be considered meaningful action, let alone leadership in the global fight against criminal and corrupt practices.” Detailed plans revealed for Beach Bay hotel Gov’t denies interfering in cruise petition verification Crown dependencies to introduce public ownership registers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Hearing pushed back in Webster case SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com The case of former political candidate Errington Webster, who was sentenced to six years in March 2018 for indecent as- sault and gross indecency, was back in court on Wednesday, as the Crown seeks costs involved in his prosecution. After repeated adjournments, Magistrate Carlisle Greaves said Wednesday that the matter will be heard or dismissed on its next appearance in court. Webster was not in court for the hearing. Defence counsel Jonathon Hughes told the court that the matter has been going on since September 2018, and that the de- fence provided a financial affi- davit to the Crown on 16 April. The matter was adjourned in May and scheduled for a Tuesday hearing but ultimately pushed back to Wednesday. Crown counsel Nicole Petit told the court that her colleague Dar- lene Oko has conduct of the case, but was unavailable to appear in court due to another trial that is scheduled to begin Thursday. “The court would be better served if Ms. Oko were here,” said Petit. Hughes countered that Web- ster cannot be considered for temporary home visits until all his legal matters have been re- solved, and he said the delays are a massive delay to the court and his client. Justice Greaves contemplated and told both attorneys that the matter appears to be “very narrow” and that it should take “no more than an hour” to com- plete the hearing. Justice Greaves deliberated the merits of dis- missing the case or forcing it to be heard Wednesday, but ultimately opted against either option. The case will be heard on 11 July at 9:30am, but Justice Greaves said that if the court gets an unexpected opportunity to hear it before then, it would consult both sides about their availability.Errington WebsterThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Europe’s oldest person has died at 116 A 116-year-old Italian woman who authorities say was the oldest person in Europe and the second oldest in the world has died. Giuseppina Robucci died Tuesday in the southern Italian town of Poggio Imperiale, where she was born on 20 March 1903. UK Tory race down to 4 as rivals vie to catch Boris Johnson US sending troops to Mideast amid Gulf tensions over Iran LONDON (AP) – The race to become Britain’s next prime minister is down to the final four on Wednesday, as Boris Johnson stretched his lead among Conservative law- makers and upstart Rory Stewart was eliminated from the contest. Johnson, a former London mayor and UK foreign secre- tary, won 143 of 313 votes cast in a third-round ballot of Con- servative lawmakers. Many fellow Brexit supporters in Parliament have rallied behind his insistence that Britain must leave the European Union as scheduled on 31 Oct. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secre- tary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid trailed well behind, while Stewart came last and was dropped from the race. More votes on Thursday will winnow the field down to two. The final pair of can- didates with the most votes will appear on a runoff ballot mailed to about 160,000 party members across the country. With Johnson all but guaranteed to be one of the two finalists, Hunt, Gove and Javid are battling for the second spot in the runoff. The winner, expected to be announced in late July, will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime min- ister. May stepped down as Conservative leader earlier this month after failing to se- cure Parliament’s approval for her Brexit deal. Wednesday’s vote ended the gravity-defying campaign of Stewart, who began as a longshot but sent an electric charge through the race as the “anti-Boris” candidate. He got just 27 votes, fewer than in the second round. A former diplomat who once walked across Afghani- stan and was a deputy pro- vincial governor in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion, the 46-year-old lawmaker called out his rivals for what he saw as their fantasies and empty promises, and called for compromise on Brexit. His quirky campaign, which saw him crisscross Britain talking and listening to voters, struck a chord with the public – though was less of a hit with his Conservative colleagues in Parliament. After the result, Stewart said it had been “the most incredibly wonderful, ex- citing campaign”. He said that although he had not managed to persuade his colleagues, the public re- action proved that “pragma- tism” and “the center ground” were alive and kicking in politics. Hunt, who got 54 votes, and Gove with 51 are tus- sling for second place and the slot of Johnsons’ runoff opponent. Javid straggled in fourth place, with 38 votes. Many in the party doubt that anyone can beat Johnson, a quick-witted, Latin-spouting extrovert admired for his ability to connect with voters, but mistrusted for his erratic performance, and record of inaccurate and sometimes of- fensive comments. Hunt is considered an experienced and compe- tent minister, but unexciting. Javid, the son of Pakistani immigrants, says he offers a common-man alternative to his private school-educated rivals like Johnson and Hunt, although he was a highly paid investment banker be- fore entering politics. Gove is the sharpest per- former and could come out best in head-to-head de- bates with Johnson, his long- standing frenemy. Like Johnson, Gove helped lead the campaign to leave the European Union, but scut- tled his friend’s bid to be- come prime minister in 2016 when he unexpectedly with- drew his support and decided to run for the job himself. The move left him with a lingering taint of treachery in the eyes of some Conservatives. All the candidates to re- place May have vowed to suc- ceed where she failed and lead the country out of the EU. They differ widely on how to do that – and critics say none of their plans is realistic. The EU says it will not re- open the Brexit agreement it struck with May’s govern- ment, which has been rejected three times by Britain’s Parlia- ment. Many economists and businesses warn that leaving without a deal on divorce terms and future relations would cause economic tur- moil as tariffs and other dis- ruptions are imposed on trade between Britain and the EU. Johnson has won backing from the party’s die-hard Brexiteers by insisting the UK must leave the bloc on the rescheduled date of 31 Oct., with or without a divorce deal to smooth the way. The UK’s withdrawal, originally set for 29 March, has been pushed back twice amid political deadlock in London. Johnson said during a TV debate on Tuesday there would be a “catastrophic loss of confidence in poli- tics” if Brexit was delayed any further. Javid, like Johnson, says he would try to leave the EU without an agreement rather than delay Brexit beyond 31 Oct. Gove and Hunt both say they would seek another postponement if needed to secure a deal, but only for a short time. WASHINGTON (AP) – The US is sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East as tensions in the Persian Gulf mounted Tuesday over Iran’s announcement it will not comply with the inter- national agreement that keeps it from making nu- clear weapons. At the same time, Iran insisted it was not seeking war. Iran’s announcement Monday that it could soon start enriching uranium to just a step away from weapons-grade levels chal- lenged President Donald Trump’s assurances to allies that the US withdrawal from the deal last year made the world a safer place. The Pentagon responded by ordering 1,000 more troops to the Middle East, including security forces for additional surveillance and intelligence-gathering. The escalation of American mili- tary might was aimed at de- terring Iran and calming al- lies worried about the safety of strategic shipping lanes. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, insisted Tuesday that while “we do not wage war with any nation”, Ira- nians will withstand mounting US pressure and emerge victorious. After Trump withdrew from the deal signed by Pres- ident Barack Obama, he re- instated stiff economic sanc- tions, leaving the European and other partners in the accord struggling to keep Iran on board. Iran’s announcement that it would not abide by a limit on uranium stockpiles estab- lished under the 2015 agree- ment puts the US in the awk- ward position of demanding that Iran comply with a deal that Trump derides as the worst in history. “We continue to call on the Iranian regime not to obtain a nuclear weapon, to abide by their commit- ments to the international community,” State Depart- ment spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Monday. The US accuses Iran of attacking two tankers near the Persian Gulf; the Ira- nians deny responsibility. With details murky and no one owning up to the at- tacks, the Pentagon released new photos intended to bol- ster its case. In announcing the new deployment, acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the forces are “for de- fensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats” in the Mideast. “The United States does not seek conflict with Iran,” Shanahan said, describing the move as intended “to en- sure the safety and welfare of our military personnel working throughout the re- gion and to protect our na- tional interests”. He said the US will continue to adjust troop levels as needed. Russia urged restraint by all parties and wor- ries that the additional American forces could “bring in extra tensions”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Some supporters of the multinational nuclear deal blamed the Trump adminis- tration for Iran’s provocative announcements, saying they were predictable given the re- newed US pressure. “While Iran’s frustration with Trump’s reckless and irresponsible pressure cam- paign is understandable, we strongly urge Iran to remain in compliance with the nu- clear deal,” the Arms Control Association said in a state- ment. “It remains in Iran’s in- terests to abide by the limits of the agreement.” Iran has shown no will- ingness to negotiate an- other deal and has pledged not enter into talks with the United States while the ad- ministration keeps up the pressure with sanctions. Administration officials are struggling with whether to press the remaining par- ties to the deal, including Britain, France and Ger- many, to demand that Iran stay in compliance. They must also consider whether such a stance would essen- tially concede that the re- strictions imposed during the Obama administration are better than none. Under the deal, Iran can keep a stockpile of no more than 660 pounds of low-en- riched uranium. Behrouz Ka- malvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s atomic agency, said the country would pass that limit 27 June. A senior US official said the US is most concerned about any violation of the deal that would reduce the time Iran would need to produce a nuclear weapon. The deal aimed to keep that “breakout time” at one year. The official said certain violations would not neces- sarily reduce that time. But other violations, such as en- riching uranium to 20%, should be addressed imme- diately if they occur, said the official, who was not author- ised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condi- tion of anonymity. The contenders still placed to become leader of the Conservative Party, Wednesday, from left: Michael Gove, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid. – PHOTOS: AP This image released by the US Department of Defense on Monday shows a view of blast damage on the starboard side of the motor vessel M/T Kokuka Courageous, which the Navy says was sustained from a limpet mine attack while operating in the Gulf of Oman on 13 June. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD®IONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 20 JUNE 2019 Israel holds large military drill amid US-Iran tensions JERUSALEM (AP) – Is- rael wrapped up its largest military drill in years on Wednesday, with thousands of troops from the army, navy and air force simulating a fu- ture war with the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group amid fears that Iran would draw its Shiite proxy into the recent growing tensions in the Persian Gulf. The Israeli military said the four-day exercise had been planned long in advance and focussed on the immer- sion of all branches against threats emanating from Isra- el’s north. It included a large deployment of unmanned air- craft and the first use of the F-35 stealth fighter planes to prepare for scenarios of mis- sile attacks and underground infiltrations from Lebanon. But rising tensions be- tween Iran and the United States clearly served as a backdrop. Iran recently announced it was breaking its compliance with the nuclear deal with world powers amid the re- newal of crippling American sanctions. The Trump admin- istration has ordered 1,000 more troops to the Middle East amid accusations that Iran was behind a series of strikes against oil tankers near the Persian Gulf. Israeli officials fear Iran may try to mobilise Hez- bollah as its most potent toll against Israel in a confronta- tion. Israel has long identified Iran as its greatest threat, citing its suspect nuclear programme, development of long-range missiles and hos- tile rhetoric. The Lebanese Shiite mili- tant group battled Israel to a stalemate in a month-long war in 2006 and has since gained valuable battle expe- rience in the Syrian civil war. Over the past 13 years, Is- rael has carried out dozens of airstrikes against sus- pected weapons shipments from Iran through Syria to Lebanon and has engaged in several dust ups. But its field training has been pri- marily aimed towards deliv- ering a far more decisive vic- tory in its next full-scale war with Hezbollah. Though the military would not mention it by name, Hezbollah was clearly the central focus of the drill. “I am very impressed by the improvement in readi- ness, by the fighting spirit of the soldiers and commanders, and mainly by the destructive power,” Prime Minister Ben- jamin Netanyahu said as he attended part of the drill. “I say to our enemies: The (mili- tary) has very great destruc- tive power. Don’t test us.” Netanyahu, who has been a vocal critic of Iran over the years, has been uncharac- teristically quiet throughout the latest escalation in the Persian Gulf. Speaking Tuesday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was far more specific in identi- fying the threat. “We caution Hezbollah not to subordinate Lebanon to Iran’s agenda, and we cau- tion Lebanon not to be used as a launching pad for at- tacks against Israel,” Rivlin said. “We are not happy to go to war, but the military is fully prepared to respond to any threat and any scenario.” The drill in northern Is- rael featured the country’s ever-growing arsenal of un- manned aircraft, already de- ployed continuously in re- connaissance missions along Israel’s borders. Though never confirmed by Israel, the drones are also sus- pected of being able to carry out surgical aerial strikes that have lightened the load of Is- rael’s fleet of fighter jets. Able to carry out missions that would be more challenging and perilous to manned flight, the drones look to play a major role in any future war with Hezbollah, said Capt. M, the deputy commander of the Black Snake Drone Squadron, who could only be identified by his first initial according to military protocol. “The north is a more com- plex fighting arena,” he said. “We are preparing for a pro- longed round of fighting and the drones are an integral part of it.” Missing You ON YOUR BIRTHDAY 20th June 1987 - 8th October 2017 Today is full of memories Happiness and tears, of birthday celebrations we’ve shared throughout the years. And though we’ll always miss you the endless joy you brought, warms our heart with gratitude and lls our every thought. Wherever you are resting We hope that you can see, how precious and upli ing Your memory is you see. We feel that you are with us in everything we do, So we’ll celebrate your birthday but we’ll spend it missing you. Always in our hearts & forever on our minds Love , Mommy, Daddy, Taylor, Tascio, Denay, Dior, Tajha, Aunt Gen, Nekita Tonie “Montana” Rodrigues INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING will be closed from 12 noon on Saturday June 22nd 2019 to facilitate the Funeral service of one of our sta members MR. Bernie Manderson. We will reopen as usual on Monday 24th June 2019. Funeral services will start at 3PM at the Church of God Chapel Bodden Town. INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING will be closed from 12 noon on Saturday June 22nd 2019 to facilitate the Funeral service of one of our sta members MR. Bernie Manderson. We will reopen as usual on Monday 24th June 2019. Funeral services will start at 3PM at the Church of God Chapel Bodden Town. UN: Nearly 71 million now displaced by war, violence at home GENEVA (AP) – A record 71 million people have been dis- placed worldwide by war, persecution and other vio- lence, the UN refugee agency said Wednesday, an increase of more than 2 million from a year earlier – and an overall total that would amount to the world’s 20th most popu- lous country. The annual ‘Global Trends’ report released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees counts the number of the world’s refu- gees, asylum-seekers and in- ternally displaced people at the end of 2018. The figures, coming on the eve of World Refugee Day on Thursday, are bound to add fuel to a debate at the inter- section of international law, human rights and domestic politics, especially the move- ment in some countries, in- cluding the US, against immi- grants and refugees. Launching the report, the high commissioner, Filippo Grandi, had a message for US President Donald Trump and other world leaders, calling it “damaging” to de- pict migrants and refugees as threats to jobs and security in host countries. Often, they are fleeing insecurity and danger themselves, he said. The report also puts a sta- tistical skeleton onto often- poignant individual stories of people struggling to sur- vive by crossing rivers, de- serts, seas, fences and other barriers, natural and man- made, to escape govern- ment oppression, gang kill- ings, sexual abuse, militia murders and other such vio- lence at home. UNHCR said 70.8 mil- lion people were forcibly dis- placed at the end of last year, up from about 68.5 million in 2017 – and nearly a 65% in- crease from a decade ago. Among them, nearly three in five people – or more than 41 million – are displaced within their home countries. “The global trends, once again unfortunately, go in what I would say is the wrong direction,” Grandi told reporters in Geneva. “There are new conflicts, new situations, producing refugees, adding themselves to the old ones. The old ones never get resolved.” The phenomenon is growing in both size and duration. Some four-fifths of the “displacement situa- tions” have lasted more than five years. After eight years of war in Syria, for instance, its people continue to make- up the largest population of forcibly displaced people, at some 13 million. Amid runaway infla- tion and political turmoil at home, Venezuelans for the first time accounted for the largest number of new asylum-seekers in 2018, to- talling more than 340,000 – or more than one in five worldwide last year. Asylum- seekers receive international protection as they await ac- ceptance or rejection of their requests for refugee status. UNHCR said that its fig- ures are “conservative” and that Venezuela masks a po- tentially longer-term trend. Some 4 million people are known to have left the South American country in recent years. Many of those have travelled freely to Peru, Co- lombia and Brazil, but only about one-eighth have sought formal international protec- tion, and the outflow con- tinues, suggesting the strains on the welcoming countries could worsen. Grandi predicted a con- tinued “exodus” from Vene- zuela and appealed for donors to provide more development assistance to the region. “Otherwise these coun- tries will not bear the pres- sure any more and then they have to resort to measures that will damage refugees,” he said. “We are in a very dangerous situation.” The United States, mean- while, remains the “largest supporter of refugees” in the world, Grandi said in an in- terview. The US is the biggest single donor to UNHCR. He also credited local communi- ties and advocacy groups in the United States for helping refugees and asylum-seekers in the country. But the refugee agency chief noted long-term ad- ministrative shortcomings that have given the United States the world’s biggest backlog of asylum claims, at nearly 719,000. More than a quarter-million claims were added last year. He also decried recent rhetoric that has been hostile to migrants and refugees. “In America, just like in Europe actually and in other parts of the world, what we are witnessing is an identifi- cation of refugees – but not just refugees, migrants as well – with people that take away jobs, that threaten our security, our values,” Grandi said. “And I want to say to the US administration – to the president – but also to the leaders around the world: This is damaging.” He said many people leaving Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador through Mexico have faced violence by gangs and suffered from “the inability of these gov- ernments to protect their own citizens”. At more than 1.5 million, Ethiopians comprised the largest population of newly displaced people – nearly all internally – last year, prompting the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council to decry a “forgotten crisis” in the east African country. The report also puts a statistical skeleton onto often- poignant individual stories of people struggling to survive. This group of Venezuelan migrants in Pamplona, Colombia, are among the record 71 million people who have been displaced worldwide because of war, persecution and other violence, the UN said Wednesday. – PHOTO: APNext >