REGISTRATION: Opens at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, March 4th by the pool area at the GTYC & Captain‘s Table REGISTRATION COST: $200 per boat which includes 4 anglers. Each additional angler $100 FISHING: 6:00 am – 4:00 pm Friday – Sunday, March 6th - 8th WEIGH IN: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm at the Barcadere Marina & Channel Wharf AWARDS PRESENTATION: 7:00 pm on Monday, March 9th upstairs at the GTYC REGISTER ONLINE NOW AT FISHCAYMAN.COM MARCH 6TH - 8TH, 2020 with over $55,000 in cash and prizes to be won and giveaways for all participants. N.CONEISHCAYMA NOW AT FI cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 75 CENTS | Funding local journalism | Monday, 10 February 2020 NEWS Adventurer Bear Grylls demystifies success Page 2 NEWS Smith Cove enhancement to start in March Page 3 Cost-of-living increase cuts into court budget Page 5 Activists to sail Atlantic to address climate change Page 6 Hedge funds nudged toward green and social investing Page 8 Government committee proposes import restrictions, new private school buses. Pages 10-12 Plan to cut traffic chaos unds nd g Imported cars line up at the Cargo Distribution Centre awaiting collection.Matinees (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00 (Mon-Fri before 6pm) Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets 640-FILM (640-3456) 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. 1917 (R) 12:30 | 3:25 | 6:35 | 9:30 BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (R) 1:00 VIP | 4:05 | 7:05 | 9:55 VIP BIRDS OF PREY (R) 1:10 | 4:05 VIP | 7:00 VIP | 9:55 DOLITTLE (PG) 1:15 | 4:00 | 6:35 | 9:10 GRETEL & HANSEL (PG13) 12:35 | 2:55 | 5:10 | 7:25 | 9:55 WAVES (R) 12:35 | 3:45 | 6:50 | 9:55 WHAT’S PLAYING THIS WEEK MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Cayman Compass Ltd. Compass Centre, Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email:newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: T: (345) 949-5111 E: sales@compassmedia.ky W: caymancompass.com PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KEVIN MORALES Partly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of showers. weather Forecast today Cayman Islands 86°F 76°F HIGH LOW WINDS East to northeast at 10 to 15 knots with higher gusts. SEA STATE Moderate to rough with wave heights of 4 to 6 feet. FIND US ONLINE Caymancompass.com Facebook.com/Caycompass cayman_compass@cayCompassCayman Compass MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@compassmedia.ky Attendees at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit got a taste of the wild on Friday. In the case of adventurer Bear Grylls, this famously means eating things that are not ordinarily classified as food. The host of the TV survival programmes ‘Man vs Wild’ and ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls’ praised the virtues of eating healthy protein as he presented volunteers and the audience with a bucket full of maggots. Before the culinary finale to his keynote speech, Grylls had tempered his public image as a daring risk-taker. He shared the frequent failures and fears that accompanied and defined his career, such as failing the special forces SAS selection on his first attempt and the nerves he feels when talking to a room full of strangers or before every skydive. Grylls broke his back when his parachute failed to fully open in an accident that ended his time in the military. “Nobody is brilliant or brave all of the time,” he said, adding that failures and fears are essential parts of success. Grylls has co-founded BecomingX, an initiative that aims to create a world where everyone can realise their full potential. The charity, which launches next month, will feature interviews with people from all walks of life, including athletes and actors, who will speak about what made them successful. The goal is to “demystify success”, Grylls said, by showing that people who are successful are also “normal people”. Bear Grylls holds a handful of roasted maggots on stage, as Chris Duggan looks on. Adventurer Bear Grylls demystifies success Two men armed with knives robbed the Tortuga liquor store in Governors Square Friday shortly after 9pm, police reported. An employee was assaulted during the robbery and was transferred by emergency services to the hospital for treatment. The individual has been discharged. RCIPS did not specify the type of injury suffered. The two men made off with an unspecified quantity of cash. One was reported to have fled towards Cost-U-Less. The suspects were described as wearing all-black clothing, long pants, long-sleeved shirts and gloves, with their faces covered. Police have asked anyone with information to contact the George Town Police Station at 949-4222. Police are investigating a robbery of a man on West Bay in the early hours of Saturday morning. The mugging occurred around shortly before 2:30am, just south of Gecko Link, police said. A man had been walking along the road when he was approached by two men dressed in dark clothing who robbed him of cash and personal items. The robbers fled the scene in a dark pick-up truck, which travelled towards West Bay, according to police. No weapons were used in the incident and the victim was uninjured. Police are asking anyone who may have information or who may have seen anything suspicious in the area at the time to contact George Town CID at 949-4222. RCIPS: Men armed with knives rob liquor store Man mugged on West Bay Road cayman compass 2 news N news MONDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2020Ministry defends project's features RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky The Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure has said it will begin enhancements to Smith Barcadere next month. However, the ministry has assured work will mainly be done on the land purchased adjacent to the popular beach. “There will be no interference with the existing beach,” it said in a statement issued late Friday evening. Last month, the Cayman Compass highlighted movement on the project after a tender was issued for phase one of the enhancement, which includes the construction of a retaining wall, a carpark, and adjoining office and restroom facility. The announcement of the project drew widespread criticism from the public, including from members of the Save the Cove group, which was instrumental in highlighting the threat to the beach in 2016 when local developer Bronte sought to develop the area. At that time, government stepped in and negotiated a deal to buy the property from owner TFG Cayman and the application was withdrawn. Government withdrew $5 million from the Environmental Protection Fund to buy the land. On Friday, the ministry said the Public Works Department, which is carrying out the project management and consultancy services for the Smith Barcadere plan, “has underscored that the area being enhanced is primarily the parcel of land on the northern end of the property that was purchased by the government in 2016”. Tender process ongoing Tristan Hydes, deputy chief officer in the Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure said in the statement that, as the tender process is ongoing, some information cannot be disclosed. “The tender closed in January so we are in a position to share more information at this time, but we still cannot jeopardise the process,” he said. “We want to be as transparent as possible as this project is for the people, and so we will ensure that information is available to the public through several channels as we proceed with various stages of the plan.” He said the proposed enhancements of the Barcadere public beach and park will be for the enjoyment of all Caymanians, with increased accessibility for older people and those with disabilities, reduced congestion, and improved safety. George Town South MLA Barbara Conolly, in the statement, indicated that the project incorporated the public’s feedback from the July 2018 consultation meeting. Late last week, a video from that consultation was posted on the government’s CIGTV YouTube. com page. Conolly pointed out in the statement that Public Works is working to ensure concerns that were raised during the public consultation period will be taken into consideration. “Smith Barcadere will be a park and beach where all Caymanians can come and enjoy. It is a treasured beach spot for families to swim and spend time together and our vision for it is to do what we can to enhance what we already know and love. We will be adding additional restrooms that will offer the disabled full accessibility, an improved parking lot and environmentally friendly lighting,” she said. Parking lot Conolly pointed out the proposed parking lot will be located to the northern end of the purchased parcel “so as to minimise loss of vegetation and not block the view of the sea. In addition, local material will be used for the parking lot instead of asphalt to support natural drainage.” Sidewalks and traffic-calming measures are included in the plan to increase safety of pedestrians and users of the existing parking lot across the road, according to the statement. “On the proposed project, restrooms will be located closer to the new parking lot for easier access for older persons and those with disabilities. The location of the restrooms is also to minimise any loss of indigenous trees,” it added. “There are some non-native vegetation such as invasive ‘pop- nut’ trees that will be removed to allow for the construction of the parking lot. In addition, local vegetation such as coco- plum and grape trees will be added to improve shading and beautification,” the statement said. When the initial plan was shared with the public, concerns were raised about how many cabanas were proposed for the project. The statement said the number of cabanas in the new plan has been reduced from eight to one. Based on images which were included in tender documents issued by government for phase one of the project, the additions to the popular beach site included a new 45-space carpark, new restroom facilities, six deck platforms, walking pathways, accessibility ramps and mat, lighting, and two timber cabanas. It appears that plan has been modified. The number of car spaces has been reduced, and paths that were in the tender documents do not appear in the artist’s rendering released with the statement Friday. The statement said the Smith Barcadere Committee is managing the project and was formed specifically to administer the affairs of the project. The committee, it said, has assured that there are covenants in place to restrict commercial activities on the enhanced park and beach. Smith Cove enhancement to start in March “Smith Barcadere will be a park and beach where all Caymanians can come and enjoy. It is a treasured beach spot for families to swim and spend time together and our vision for it is to do what we can to enhance what we already know and love.” Barbara Conolly, George Town South MLA Smith Barcadere will be getting a facelift next month. An artist's impression shows the planned enhancements to Smith Barcadere. cayman compass 3 news N news MONDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2020FridAY'S SOLUTiONS 123456 78 910 1112 13 141516 17 181920 21 2223 24 123456 78 910 1112 13 141516 17 181920 21 2223 24 Puzzle 16295 ACROSS: 1 Point, 4 Culprit, 8 Oak, 9 At a glance, 10 Ageless, 11 Alias, 13 Climax, 15 Cyclic, 18 Right, 19 Equator, 21 Unscathed, 23 Age, 24 Hothead, 25 Eject. DOWN: 1 Prosaic, 2 In keeping, 3 Tease, 4 Coarse, 5 Lullaby, 6 Run, 7 Trees, 12 Ill at ease, 14 Actuate, 16 Current, 17 Method, 18 Rough, 20 Undue, 22 Set. ACrOSS 1 Police informer (5,6) 9 Pariah (7) 10 Northwest US state (5) 11 To subdue (4) 12 Informed (8) 14 One or other of two (6) 16 Soaked through (6) 18 Hostile (8) 19 Resound (4) 22 Motivation and energy (5) 23 Burdensome (7) 24 A promising beginning (6,5) dOWN 2 Tribal symbol (5) 3 Iridescent gem (4) 4 Large non-venomous snake (6) 5 American football field (8) 6 Generically similar (2,1,4) 7 Deserving disdain (3,3,5) 8 Continuing source of profit (6,5) 13 Thiamine deficiency disease (8) 15 Insignificant (7) 17 A Malay garment (6) 20 Group of singers (5) 21 For fear that (4) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 16297 The numbers in the black cells are clues. Numbers above the slash are across clues. Number below the slash are down clues. The goal is to enter digits 1 - 9 in the white cells to add up to the number clues. You cannot enter any digit more than once when adding up to clue. cartoon A person that is struggling with their sexual orientation and gender identity may often feel lonely, vulnerable and confused. They may also feel a sense of rejection from society, friends, family and loved ones; people to whom they would ordinarily first look for guidance and support. This often leads to anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health problems, potentially resulting in acute mental and physical harm. LGBTI people in Cayman have had to endure these intolerances, including from government officials and elected politicians, for too long. Reassurances that the lack of widespread hate crime or physical abuse directed at them should bring comfort, as we often heard, are wholly misguided in that they overlook the brutality of ignorance. The pain that is inflicted when someone is treated differently or less worthy of love and support. Everyone deserves to love and to be loved. To withdraw that leads to unquantifiable harm, deteriorating relationships and social interactions, resulting in wider harm to society as a whole. This is why I was sad to read the news regarding the discussions of the private members’ motion put forward by Anthony Eden. Regrettably, it was not one more example of this MLA’s views; the motion was passed. Merely to hint at placing any burden of blame on gays or other LGBTI people for the earthquake of last week or the challenges faced globally by the coronavirus, is profoundly wrong. When the government endorses this position, it becomes even more extremely concerning. It is reminiscent of mechanisms used to turn majorities against oppressed and already vulnerable and suffering minorities, as illustrated by the massacre of the Jews in the 14th century resulting from blame for spread of the Black Death. We no longer live in those times. Politicians need to start thinking about the consequences of their words, setting a better example for younger generations. Religion is not the exclusive domain of anyone’s faith. There will always be different interpretations and different ways in which one observes and expresses one’s faith. That is why freedom of religion is important, but also why it cannot be used to disrespect or take away anyone’s rights to be visible, loved, accepted and treated with equal worth by society and under the eyes of the law. This line should have never been crossed and certainly not by persons of power and influence benefiting from unlimited parliamentary immunity and privileges. Leo J. Raznovich Barrister ‘Everyone deserves to love and be loved’ Cyclist’s verdict: Better bike lanes needed Death wish, stay on the back- roads. You’re just making things worse and you will never get bike lanes on these roads. – Dennis St Claire Just as a suggestion, a lot of people who ride bikes need to know which direction and side of the road to be on, for starters! – Dan Baker Because the roads are a death trap and cyclists aren’t given an inch? I was a bike commuter around central London for years. I brought my bike when I moved here and I don’t use it: I’m terrified on a bike here. There are no cycle lanes on my daily commute and, it seems to me, zero awareness of how to treat cyclists as road users. – Kerry Lewis It would be nice to have cycle lanes and to not get knocked off your bike every time vehicles turn without signalling and checking their mirrors. If we only had the right facilities and proper driving ethics, it would be amazing. We could actually encourage people to use their bikes to go to work and have less traffic jams. Future idea? – Karen Vonny As with anything: We all need to be educated on the rules of the road, to expect and anticipate all road users (I know some drivers don’t even ‘look for’ cyclists and motorcycles). For example, I was brought up in an era when cycling proficiency was taught in schools. Those kids rode their bikes everywhere and, as they grew older, drove motor vehicles too! It’s quite understandable that they grew up looking for bicycles when driving motor vehicles. Imagine if a whole generation was taught this? The roads would be a safer place regardless of layouts and construction techniques. – Steven Abbott Cycle lanes? First you need them to say you need better ones. And in Cayman you need the cycle lanes with the pylons lining them so the impatient drivers don’t use them. – Mark D Schrank The cycle lanes are also a handy place for car breakdowns and making phone calls; you have to go around these stationary ve- hicles into the Wacky Races Lane! – John Broad And build pedestrian over- passes so they can cross the road without danger of dismember- ment or death. – Amar Sheow Curb between cycle and road lane to create a physical barrier on uninterrupted stretches. – Jess Peacey Million-dollar solution to restore eroding beach The sea giveth and the sea taketh. It’s not nice to tee off Mother Nature with ecologically unsound building practices. Go spend the $$ and see how long the fix lasts. – Amar Sheow Who is going to pay for this? The people who built way too close to the water’s edge? That is the only reason for this erosion. When will they ever learn? – Gillian Rudd I think a short-term solution is just fine, seeing that the sea level is rising and soon the entire beach will be under water anyway. Na- ture always wins in the long run. We are destroying our planet with materialism and greed. – Be Solomon Online What they’re saying 4Win a trip to Tokyo with your VISA ® Debit ScotiaCard . KY Planned staffing additions in limbo RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Government’s 5% rise in cost of living for civil servants has taken a toll on the judiciary’s budget and its plans for staffing increases. Court Administrator Suzanne Bothwell made the point Thursday when she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee in the Legislative Assembly to answer questions relating to the auditor general’s report on the efficiency of the Summary Courts. “My intentions are now put at risk because I do have to find quite significant funding in my budget to pay the cost-of-living adjustment because no dedicated funding was there and I do believe in my budget it’s about $300,000,” she told the PAC. “It’s not an insignificant amount. I am working with the chief officer to see how we can massage our existing budget but there may be, at the end of the day, a decision sooner rather than later,” she said. Bothwell said she had requested more funds to bolster the courts' existing staffing complement and had lobbied hard to ensure there would be no staff cuts. Roughly $6 million was allocated to Judicial Administration for the 2019-2021 budget cycle. However, she told the PAC, she now has to “find the money in my existing budget to pay for" the cost-of-living adjustment, which the original budget had not accounted for. She said her technical staff advised her to cut the unfilled posts she lobbied to get approval for. “I cannot do that,” she said. “We are still working through this year on what efficiencies we can bring to how we do our work to keep the cost down, so we can pay the staff the additional funds whilst I am successfully able to stagger our costs and fill the posts over time,” she told the committee. The judiciary has a staff of 60. The 5% cost-of-living increase for civil servants came into effect on 1 Jan. this year. PAC chairman Ezzard Miller expressed surprise that the additional funding was not included in the budget allocated to the judiciary. “That’s just bad budgeting,” he said. The PAC was reviewing the auditor general’s 43-page report, which found that a lack of performance and financial information made it “difficult to assess the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Summary Courts or Judicial Administration”. Staffing challenges was one of the areas identified in the report. It also questioned a lack of performance measures and the justification for 10 courtrooms, when a Gov’t’s cost-of-living increase cuts into court budget business case was not in place on the dollar-for- value for such a project. However, Bothwell questioned the fairness of the report, contending that little attention was paid to the World Bank measurement scale used by the judiciary to assess efficiencies, while emphasis was placed on the International Consortium for Court Excellence. Auditor General Sue Winspear defended the report, saying that the assessments were based on the evidence that was given to her team. “We saw limited evidence of performance information,” she said. “If we had seen significant information relating to the World Bank stance, which we do reference, then we would have given credit. So, our position is we’ve tried to be fair based on the evidence we’ve been given and the evidence we’ve seen around performance is limited.” Bodden Town West MLA Chris Saunders assured Bothwell the intention of the PAC was not to get into the inner workings of courts as there is a separation between the executive and the judiciary. However, he said there must be a clear outline of what the court needs to function efficiently to ensure justice is delivered. He questioned the delay in outfitting the Scotiabank building with courtrooms and finalising a business outline case for the overall project. Bothwell said both the outline and the full business cases should be completed soon. She said the delay in that process stemmed from reworking the plans for the Scotiabank building to give the Court of Appeal a permanent home. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, in his Grand Court opening speech in January, said the project was delayed because permission was needed from the Planning Department and input from Lands and Survey. However, during the sitting of the Legislative Assembly last month, Lands Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said she was still awaiting a response from the Judiciary Administration on the reason for the delay in moving ahead with the old Scotiabank building. She contended the departments under her ministry had completed their association with the project. Harassment charges against Marl Road host to be reviewed ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky Prosecutors will have to review their charges against Cayman Marl Road administrator Sandra Teresa Hill, who appeared before the Grand Court on Friday on allegations of harassment. Hill faces one count of using an ICT (information and communications technology) network to abuse/annoy/ harass, and another count of causing harassment, alarm or distress. The charges allege that, between 1 Feb. and 25 Feb. 2019, Hill used the ICT network and/or social media applications, as well as podcasts, to harass, annoy or abuse businessman Matthew Leslie. On Friday, when Hill was due to enter her plea on the charges, her attorney Clayton Phuran requested that the charges be quashed. “On count one [misuse of an ICT network], the charge is contrary to Section 92 of the 2017 Information and Communications Technology Law,” said Phuran. “The problem is that the offences are alleged to have happened in 2019, and therefore the correct statute would be the 2019 law, which came into effect on 1 January 2019.” Phuran added that Section 92 of the 2019 law would not be appropriate to charge Hill, because it penalises a person who unlawfully acts as an administrative point of contact or technical point of contact, and not a person who uses an ICT network to abuse, harass or annoy. Phuran then added that the nature and circumstances surrounding the alleged offences were so similar that he believed by filing two separate charges against Hill, the prosecution was “overloading the indictment”. “It is for this reason that we request your Lordship quash the charges,” said Phuran. “Of course, the prosecution can bring back the charges under the correct sections and statutes of the law, should they wish to do so.” Justice Philip St. John- Stevens, who presided over the matter, decided not to throw the charges out. He said, "Instead I invite the prosecution to review the charges.” Prosecutor Nicole Petit agreed to review the charges and requested that the matter be brought back to court on 12 Feb. The old Scotiabank building on Cardinall Avenue in George Town will house additional court facilities. Sandra Hill cayman compass 5 news N news MONDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2020CAROLINA LOPEZ clopez@compassmedia.ky Two young activists from Cayman, Steff Mcdermot and Megan Ehman, are getting ready to sail across the Atlantic to collaborate with other countries on finding sustainable solutions to climate change. ‘Sail for Climate Change’ is a project in which activists from Latin America and Europe participate in a journey from Cartagena, Colombia, to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Following the trip, they will attend a UN climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, in June. Mcdermot, 19, who the Caribbean coordinator for the project, celebrated the initiative with a sunset sail send-off fundraiser at Red Sail Sports on Thursday, 6 Feb. She said the local sail was held to raise funds for Caribbean delegates, like Ehman, to attend the global event. “Since we’re all overseas territories, I feel like us doing this European tour in the middle of Brexit is going to help form partnerships or a bond with these European countries, and I feel like that’s going to be valuable in the future,” Mcdermot said. The ship is due to stop at some Caribbean destinations during the voyage, before heading to Europe and arriving in the Netherlands in mid-April. They will visit six European countries on the trip. Mcdermot said during the stops, the activists will be speaking to politicians, ministers, business leaders and others, and representing Cayman any chance they get. “Representing Cayman at each of these places, they’re going to know where we’re coming from. When we speak to them, we’re going to say we’re from the Cayman Islands, so when we’re being interviewed by the Portuguese press, for example, they will know who we are if they want to collaborate with us,” Mcdermot said. Ehman, 20, said the contingent on board the 144-foot, three-mast schooner Regina Maris will not only be getting to know each other during the voyage, but they would also be learning about different countries’ climate issues. “I’m excited to learn about all these countries, some of which I’ve never heard of before, and see how they are different from Cayman,” Ehman said. Mcdermot, whose trip is being funded by the Cayman Islands government, added, “Cayman is very globalised already and we are already a global leader, but this trip has given Cayman an opportunity to own something else, which is sustainability in the region.” She believes that working with different countries and talking about Cayman’s initiatives can promote the islands, and give the participants an opportunity to find out what other places are doing to address climate change and sustainability issues. “It’s understanding what they’ve done and what works for them, including their recycling efforts and lifestyle changes, and figuring out how we can implement that programme in Cayman,” she said. Mcdewrmot is set to depart Monday, 10 Feb., as she is part of a core team of five organising logistics and stocking the ship; the official kick-off of the Sail for Climate Change is Thursday, 20 Feb. Activists to sail Atlantic to address climate change Local group urges holistic plan RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Local legislators’ agreement to create a climate change policy has been welcomed by Sustainable Cayman’s Linda Clarke. However, she said any policy developed for the Cayman Islands must not only incorporate a way forward, but also tools to make effective changes to protect the environment. “While the national sustainable development strategy is under development, importantly, the legislature should also look to enact and implement other legal tools prepared by the experts in the Department of Environment, which aim to manage and protect our biodiversity, including culturally important and tourist-attracting species,” Clarke told the Cayman Compass via email. She said these legal tools should cover species named in the Turtle Conservation Plan, and ecosystems included in the Mangrove Species Conservation Plan which protect Cayman from adverse impacts of coastal erosion and provide protection during hurricanes. Both plans have been approved by the National Conservation Council and remain in draft format awaiting Cabinet approval. A week ago, lawmakers approved a private members’ motion filed by Newlands MLA Alva Suckoo to create a climate change policy locally, and to recommend modifications to the Cayman Islands Primary School Curriculum to ensure the topic of climate change features prominently across all the key stages of education. Clarke said it was “very encouraging” to hear the legislature recognising the very real impacts climate change is having and will have on “our small island nation”. She also welcomed Prospect MLA Austin Harris’ announcement, during the debate, that in the very near future resources will be allocated into developing and implementing a national sustainable development strategy, which will include public consultation. “We look forward to the public consultation process,” she said. Clarke added that a holistic sustainable development plan which includes issues such as climate change, energy policy, food security health impacts, tourism strategy, and consultation with other regional and global bodies “is long overdue in Cayman”. She said extensive public resources are available, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development goals for policymakers to help perform risk-based assessments under 17 key areas, or goals, “to derive and implement policy to best mitigate and adapt not only to the threats of climate change but to manage other unsustainable practices for their nations”. Environment Minister Dwayne Seymour, during the debate, said the issue of climate change will feature at this year’s Joint Ministerial Council meeting in London in March. Climate change policy push welcomed Steff Mcdermot and Megan Ehman at the 'Sail for Climate Change' fundraiser at Red Sail Sports on 6 Feb. The climate change activists will be sailing on board the schooner Regina Maris. MLA Alva Suckoo’s private members’ motion on climate change was approved by legislators last week. Source: United Nations 6In Loving Memory of Marco P.O. Rankine Feb 12, 1992- Feb 10, 2013 We don’t need a special day to bring you to mind The days we do not think of you are very hard to find Each morning when we wake, we know that you are gone And no one knows the heartache as we try to carry on. Our hearts still aches with sadness and secret tears still flow What it meant to lose you, no one will ever know Our thoughts are always with you Your places no one can fill In life we loved you dearly In death we love you still Forever love and miss you, Marco Your broken hearted Mother, Susan; step father, Ricky; Sisters, Ashantae and Azariah ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky Hundreds gathered at Pedro St. James on Saturday for a chance to celebrate all things coconut. From Coco-Jitos to coconut fried chicken, coconut-themed decor and healthcare products, the family-friendly event provided attendees with a chance to explore and sample the many flavours and potential uses of the tropical drupe. “When people come in, they get to see what can be done with the coconut,” said Deborah Bodden, the operations manager of Pedro St James. “Each year, the event continues to grow. Last year, we had 27 vendors; this year we have 35. In fact, we sold out of booths within 12 days of them going on sale, and we ended up having a waiting list.” Now in its fifth year, the annual gathering offers vendors like Zena Rochester a chance to showcase their coconut-infused products. “My grandson is allergic to everything except pork,” said Rochester. “When he was very young, he had eczema, but he couldn’t use the medication. Then I found out coconut was good for it, and from there I got interested in the possibilities.” Rochester’s stall, Health Alternatives Cayman, was one of several booths that offered fairgoers a chance to purchase coconut lotions, creams, shampoos, face masks, essential oils and scrubs. Local artist Michelle Bryan’s watercolours typically feature children and animals. For Saturday, she included coconut trees in her portraits. “I don’t normally paint coconut trees,” she said. “But the coconut tree is a very important part of who we are as a people. It’s a part of our culture, and it has many benefits.” Coco Fest also provided young entrepreneurs with a chance to exhibit their products. Destiana Edwards , a mentor for Junior Achievement Tropical Ja Company, said the students were learning business skills while making eco- friendly and sustainable products. “We’ve made more than $100 in sales today,” said Edwards. “We are selling decorative coconut products, that are wrapped in thatch rope, and painted. The students are learning valuable business and marketing skills, while providing a product that has many natural and healthy benefits.” The half-day festival also featured hours of local music, quadrille dancing and a baking competition, as well as arts and crafts and games for children. The event also provided a chance for people to donate to Meals on Wheels. “This is a really important event for all Caymanians,” said Bodden. “It brings together the people and coconuts in a place of great historic value. We are grateful for support from the community and we are looking forward to next year.” ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky A woman accused of stealing her friend’s debit card and withdrawing $1,800 has been cleared of the theft charges. The accused and the complainant were said to have been co-workers and good friends. Court documents reveal that after noticing her debit card was missing, the complainant reported it and another one was issued. A few months later, the second card also went missing, which prompted the complainant to contact her bank. According to court documents, the woman was notified of a series of withdrawals from her bank account. The police were called, and a formal report was made. In that report, the complainant told police she never gave her card to anyone, nor did she give anyone permission to access her bank account to withdraw money. During the police investigation, CCTV video was recovered which showed a woman using an ATM machine to access the complainant’s bank account. According to the court documents the woman, 39, was caught on CCTV footage making six withdrawals from the complainant’s account, from 20-22 July 2018. Each time she took $300. The court documents also state that the accused and the complainant would visit the ATM machine at the same time when they got paid and, because they were good friends, the complainant would at times leave her unsupervised in her house. The court documents went on to say the accused woman, from the Philippines, was aware of where the complainant kept her debit card, and it was thought that she stole the card during a time when her friend left the room for a few minutes. She was subsequently arrested and charged with six counts of theft. On 1 May 2019, she pleaded not guilty to the charges but agreed to repay the complainant. The prosecution accepted the plea and told the court that should the woman repay the money by 30 Jan. 2020 and make a full apology to the complainant, they would be prepared to offer no evidence. On 30 Jan., the prosecution offered no evidence against the accused, and the judge returned formal not guilty verdicts and imposed no fines. The woman was released from her bail. Festival celebrates the coconut Woman cleared of theft charges From Coco-Jitos to coconut fried chicken, coconut- themed decor and healthcare products, the family-friendly event provided attendees with a chance to explore and sample the many flavours and potential uses of the tropical drupe . A fairgoer poses for a picture at CoCo Fest, while sipping on chopped coconut. A vendor chops fresh coconuts at the 5th annual Coco Fest at Pedro St. James. cayman compass 7 news N news MONDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2020cayman compass 8 B business MONDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2020 MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@compassmedia.ky As climate change and inequality are dominating the media and public agenda, a growing number of institutional investors are basing their investment allocations on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and are forcing alternative funds to take these factors into account in their portfolios. A survey of 135 institutional investors, hedge fund managers and long-only managers with total assets of US$6.25 trillion in 13 countries showed that investors increasingly expect their asset managers to generate high returns and consider the environmental and social risks associated with their investments. The sustainable investment report published by KPMG, the Alternative Investment Management Association, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association and CREATE- Research was released at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit last week. “The traditional risk-return equation is being rewritten to include ESG factors,” said Anthony Cowell, head of Asset Management, KPMG in the Cayman Islands and co-author of the report. “In the hedge fund industry, ESG has gone from being a nice-to-have to a must-have.” Some 45% of institutional investors now base their investments in ESG-based hedge funds on the view that they present opportunities to generate alpha, or outsized returns, while also offering a more defensive portfolio that looks beyond the blind spots in markets that are slow to price in ESG risks, the report found. Because more investors now believe ESG investing is serving their own long-term interest as well as society’s, hedge fund managers have responded by implementing ESG processes through policies, committees, research and data. In terms of ESG implementation, 15% of the surveyed hedge fund managers said they are at a mature stage, 44% said they are “in progress”, while 31% are still raising awareness and another 10% of managers have not implemented any of the social, environmental and government factors. Of the funds that are responding to investor demands, 52% make ESG criteria part of the investment process and 50% exclude securities that sit uncomfortably with the personal values of investors. Changing attitudes Panellists at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit confirmed that attitudes in the industry have changed in the past year. Asha Mehta, director of responsible investing at Acadian Asset Management, said, “In the last 12 months there has been a sea change in the way ESG investing is perceived and how it is invested upon within the industry broadly.” Acadian, a quant fund that manages global equities, she said, has incorporated intangible-related issues and exogenous variables in its models since well before the theme of ESG was coined a little over a decade ago. “We do so in part because we recognise we have an active role in terms of stewardship but also and largely because we do see latent alpha embedded within ESG,” Mehta said. The fact that the global investor base wants to see ESG expressed in their investment mandates and more money is flowing into funds that take environmental and social issues into account, is partly due to more millennials and women allocating investments, she added, as they are more likely to invest according to their personal values. Andrew Weir, the China-based global head of asset management at KPMG, believes “sustainability is set to reshape the ecosystem of capital markets and the behaviours of their participants”. While it will require a shifting mindset from the way investing has been done historically, he said in a press statement it will become “the gold standard in investing”. However, currently only 29% of hedge fund managers and only 11% of institutional investors are reporting positive results, mainly because it is difficult to establish a direct link between environment, social and governance factors and investment outcomes. “Creating the necessary infrastructure of data, skills and technology is proving challenging,” said Amin Rajan, CEO of CREATE- Research and co-author of the report. “Progress may not be enough, but it remains exponential. Investors and their managers are having to climb a steep learning curve via learning-by-doing,” he added. The ambiguity around the data leads to the suspicion that sustainable investing results in lower returns, something that Anna-Marie Wascher, founder and CEO of Flat World Partners, said is frustrating. “My continuous view is that it is alpha generating, when you truly understand and interpret the data.” Arguments of the past that investment managers as fiduciaries could not invest in ESG because the returns were lower are largely off the table. Kareen Stangherlin, CEO of Zelos Capital, said, “I used to hear frequently that we cannot do ESG because we are fiduciaries. But last year the CFA Society published a position paper that clarified CFA charterholders should be incorporating ESG into their investment analysis and it is consistent with fiduciary duty.” Most other professional organisations have followed suit. Given the pressure from institutional investors, fund managers are increasingly expected to act as agents of change and a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to corporate engagement is emerging. The sustainable investing report found that investors and managers have increasingly collaborated with their peers and external advocacy groups in promoting ESG-related goals among the target companies. For the time being, however, divestments remain rare in cases in which such cooperation does not yield visible results. Hedge funds nudged toward green and social investing From left, Ashta Mehta, Anna-Marie Wascher and Kareen Stangherlin speaking at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit. Of the funds that are responding to investor demands, 52% make ESG criteria part of the investment process and 50% exclude securities that sit uncomfortably with the personal values of investors . Celebrating our culture and community News: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky Tel: (345) 815-0095 Advertising: sales@compassmedia.ky Tel: (345) 949-5111 FIND US ONLINE Caymancompass.com Facebook.com/Caycompass cayman_compass@cayCompassCayman CompassJAMES BOVELL This time of year is always a good time to compare statistics, in order to give a feel of where the market is heading for the year ahead and beyond. I have concentrated my study in the condos and homes around the US$1.5 to US$3 million market. Looking at the statistics as they relate to condos on Seven Mile Beach, we see that 43 beachfront condos were sold in 2018, according to statistics provided by the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association. This figure compares with 28 sold in 2019. The fact that the figure dropped quite considerably in 2018, I believe, actually gives a poor impression of the market on Seven Mile Beach. This is principally due to the fact that there is little inventory available, and that which is coming to the market is doing so at an increased price point, and as such, this changes the transaction numbers considerably. Also, these figures do not include pre- construction properties that have been sold. If these were included, it would bring the number far beyond 2018’s figure of 43. I feel the market on Seven Mile Beach will continue to be strong and looking ahead, I believe prices will continue to rise as availability becomes even scarcer, even with the advent of the new luxury WaterMark and Lacovia properties. What does this say as far as foreign investment in the Seven Mile Beach market is concerned? It says this market is very solid. I would tell any prospective buyers that they should not be deterred from entering this market in this current environment because they will lose out if they do not. Now is not the time to sit on the fence; it is a time to act. Luxury homes Looking at the statistics as they relate to homes between the US$1.5 million and US$3 million mark, it is interesting to note we see the opposite trend, with 24 homes sold in 2018, versus 45 homes sold in 2019. This has been driven, in a large part, due to the fact that people are seeing value in existing structures and that they are being obtained at an appropriate price on which people are prepared to act. In the past, people looking to own a home in the luxury end of the market have been prepared to build; however, increasingly, more people are now willing to purchase an existing home, due to factors such as land costs, construction costs, the availability of desirable parcels and the time and effort involved in building. People therefore have been receptive to purchasing instead. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of people who are looking to move to the Cayman Islands, seeking to invest somewhere offshore in a beautiful property in which to reside with their family full time. An increase in residency applications associated with such purchases has helped this sector of the market – one which, historically, has been a difficult sell. Offering the means by which people can reside here part of the year has meant an increase in the numbers of people coming to Cayman to enjoy the wonderful lifestyle with which we all are blessed. The good news is that there are still opportunities within this marketplace that are good value in great locations, such as Canal Point, Crystal Harbour, the Yacht Club and Grand Harbour. Boiling down the statistics, I would say the most important message is that if you feel inclined to purchase a property, act now or you will miss out, as prices continue to go up while inventory goes down. The time is right! A statistical analysis: Seven Mile Beach condos James Bovell Property Prospective In the luxury market, more people are interested in buying existing homes rather than building their own. James Bovell is broker/owner at RE/MAX Cayman Islands. cayman compass 9 B business MONDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2020 Career guidance and educational opportunities for Cayman’s future workforce. Discover exciting career paths with the help of skilled professionals and industry leaders. 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