The Kids Clubhouse at Seven Mile Beach is now open! cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 $1 | Funding local journalism | Weekly, 4 - 10 September 2020 Police probe ‘alarming’ rise in knife crime Page 5 Deadly coral disease found over 4-mile area Page 7 Poker Run revs engines for Food Bank Page 16 Tourism industry fights back after devastating job losses Page 12 Photo: Taneos RamsayMatinees (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. 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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 89°F 78°F HIGH LOW WINDS East at 10 to 15 knots SEA STATE Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet FIND US ONLINE Caymancompass.com Facebook.com/Caycompass cayman_compass@cayCompassCayman Compass 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 30% chance of showers with possible thunder mainly over the Sister Islands. Forecast today 89°F HIGH WINDS East at 10 to 15 knots SEA STATE Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. Caymancompass.com Facebook.com/Caycompass cayman_compass@cayCompassCayman Compass weather Cayman Islands 78°F LOW Nana passes Cayman Nana was a tropical storm when it passed about 150 miles south of Grand Cayman on Wednesday morning. The storm strengthened to a hurricane as it approached landfall in Belize. Thunderstorms, strong winds and rough seas hit the Cayman Islands, which also experienced some minor flooding in low-lying areas. No major damage or injuries were reported locally. Nana was downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting the Central American coast. Fire erupts at Ritz-Carlton Firefighters on Wednesday night extinguished a blaze on The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman property. There were no injuries and no damage to the main hotel building, according to Ritz-Carlton general manager Marc Langevin. The fire was first reported at 8:41pm. It appears to have broken out in a linen storage area at the Bar Jack bar and restaurant on the beach side of the resort. Langevin said Cayman Islands Fire Service responders put out the flames in a matter of minutes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. CAL schedules repatriation flights Cayman Airways this week announced its updated repatriation flight schedule for September and October, with routes to Miami, Florida; Kingston, Jamaica; and La Ceiba, Honduras. In September, there are three flights bound for Miami, including 10, 15 and 22 Sept. Flights will depart for Jamaica on 16 and 30 Sept. In October, there will be weekly flights to Miami on Tuesdays, beginning on 6 Oct., and weekly flights to Jamaica on Wednesdays, beginning on 7 Oct. There will also be flights to Honduras on 23 Sept. and 22 Oct. 3 arrested in North Side anti-drugs operation Three people were arrested on 30 Aug. for drug-related offences after police and Coast Guard officers carried out a joint operation in the Kaibo and Rum Point areas of North Side. In a statement, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service said the operation was carried out in response to community concerns about drug activity and anti-social behaviour in the district. The operation resulted in three drug-related arrests in the area, and drug-related searches in two other districts, the RCIPS said. Those who were arrested have been bailed to return pending further investigations. Truck collides with police vehicle The RCIPS is investigating a collision on 31 Aug. involving a police service vehicle and a truck. Police say the incident occurred just after 11:15am on West Bay Road, opposite Marsh Road. The cause of the accident is unknown. At the time of the incident, police said, officers were responding to an emergency call at Governor’s Square. “During the course of their response, a collision occurred between the service vehicle and private vehicle,” a RCIPS spokesperson said. No injuries were reported. Fire Service adds 3 new trucks The Cayman Islands Fire Service has added three new trucks to its aerodrome unit fleet. A Government Information Services spokesperson confirmed the purchase and added that the trucks will offer support at Owen Roberts International Airport. GIS has not responded to query from the Cayman Compass on the cost of the new trucks. A similar truck purchased for Cayman Brac three years ago cost $599,328. news in brief cayman compass 2 N news FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020mindsinspired.ky This summer fifteen outstanding students made Dart their choice for professional development with the Minds Inspired Work-X programme. COVID-19 meant they also received a crash course in adaptability and personal accountability as part of a remote team. They had meaningful work, freedom to venture down paths they may not have considered before, and the opportunity to network with, and learn from, world-class thought leaders. We’re proud of the flexibility demonstrated by our employees and students who found ways to retain the mentoring and real-life problem solving that is at the core of Work-X. Start with Work-X Where endless career paths begin, even in the face of a pandemic. All of the COVID-19 test results reported for 29 Aug.-3 Sept. came back negative, according to Government Information Services. Cayman’s two active cases – a pair of travellers who arrived in Cayman last month and were in isolation - fully recovered this week, meaning Cayman is back to zero active coronavirus cases for the first time since 19 Aug. As of Thursday, it had been 15 days since anyone has tested positive for COVID-19 in the Cayman Islands. There have been 205 people who have tested positive in Cayman since March, and 204 of them have fully recovered. One man – an Italian cruise ship visitor who was the first reported COVID case in the country – died from complications related to the virus. Globally, there were more than 26.1 million COVID-19 cases confirmed as of 3 Sept., with 867,762 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. India reported more than 83,000 new cases from 2-3 Sept., with the United States and Brazil each reporting about 42,600. Cuba has introduced regulations restricting movement within the island as it has seen a spike in cases, while Jamaica reported 224 new cases from 2-3 Sept. Honduras reported 755 new cases over that same 24-hour span. Cases in Jamaica have more than doubled since early August. There are now 2,683 cases in that country with 24 deaths. Some public officials blame the rise on citizens who failed to follow hygiene protocols after lockdown restrictions were eased. The United Kingdom recorded 1,735 daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to government data published on 3 Sept., up from 1,508 a day earlier and the highest since 4 June. The daily number of deaths within 28 days of testing positive for the virus was 13, the UK government said. Cayman returns to zero active COVID cases IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CONFIRMED CASES FULLY RECOVERED DEATHS TOTAL SAMPLES TESTED AS OF : 2 SEPTEMBER 2020 2051 20435,668 26.1 The total number of people, in millions, who have tested positive for COVID-19 globally. cayman compass 3 FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 20201234567 89 101112 13141516 17 181920 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13141516 17 181920 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Adhere (5) 4 Monotonous (7) 8 Helpful hint (3) 9 Ready for immediate use (2,7) 10 Acquit (7) 11 Father’s brother (5) 13 Meagre (6) 15 Give leave (6) 18 Spectacle (5) 19 Vehement shouting (7) 21 About to happen (2,3,4) 23 Devotee (3) 24 Unduly protracted (7) 25 Concisely cogent (5) DOWN 1 Short curving sword (7) 2 By the way (2,7) 3 Murmur angrily (5) 4 Quiet (6) 5 Unit of capacity (7) 6 Disencumber (3) 7 Possibly (5) 12 Don’t be ridiculous! (4,3,2) 14 Long-suffering (7) 16 Oppressive use of power (7) 17 Keenness of perception (6) 18 Disgorge (5) 20 Make sense (3,2) 22 A yellowish brown (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 16475 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. TODAY'S SOLUTIONS Puzzle 16475 ACROSS: 1 Cling, 4 Humdrum, 8 Tip, 9 On standby, 10 Absolve, 11 Uncle, 13 Skimpy, 15 Permit, 18 Sight, 19 Clamour, 21 In the wind, 23 Fan, 24 Lengthy, 25 Pithy. DOWN: 1 Cutlass, 2 In passing, 3 Growl, 4 Hushed, 5 Measure, 6 Rid, 7 Maybe, 12 Come off it, 14 Patient, 16 Tyranny, 17 Acuity, 18 Spill, 20 Add up, 22 Tan. cartoon Cheap tour bus - By Caymanman EDITORIAL BOARD editor@compassmedia.ky The Cayman Islands has successfully eradicated COVID-19. While that might be cause for celebration, the job is still only half done. Cayman can’t live in a bubble forever. Close to 3,000 Caymanians working in the tourism industry have been left unemployed and many more jobs and businesses remain in peril. The current government plan Editorial Cayman’s future depends on finding tourism solutions I just wanted to write a message to pass on my thanks to everyone involved with Travel Time, airport arrivals, the police and quarantine procedures when my family and I recently arrived in Grand Cayman from the UK. We were welcomed off the flight, organised into lines for the bus with friendliness and respect, and the transport team with police support then took us to our hotel. The food provided by the chefs at the hotel was very good. The fish dishes especially were delicious. The security guards did a great job and the isolation coordinators were patient and always answered our questions and kept us informed. On the day of testing, the sample was completed quickly and with minimal fuss. I’d also like to thank the volunteers who helped with issues like picking up our order of nappies for our young daughter. In these tough and uncertain times, it’s encouraging to see what can be accomplished when we work together, and I’m grateful for the thoughtfulness and kindness shown to us as new arrivals in Grand Cayman. James Adams New arrival thankful for all involved with quarantine Letters to the editor envisages a soft reopening of the borders targeted at vacation-home owners and long-stay visitors in October. How quickly the islands move towards a more comprehensive return of tourism could be critical to the survival of hotels, restaurants, water-sports operators and attractions, among many others. While the virus still raging in the rest of the world, it feels like we are living in an alternate reality in Cayman – safe from the impacts of the pandemic. But a significant portion of our island economy relies on tourists. At some point, we will need to take some risk with our hard-won status as a COVID-free destination to bring back those dollars. It is not a case of valuing wealth over health. Lives and livelihoods will be ruined if tourism does not return in a meaningful way in relatively short order. Over the next month, the Cayman Compass, as part of our ongoing Cayman 2.0 series, will be taking a deeper look at the impacts of COVID-19 on the second pillar of our island economy. We will examine ideas for a safe re-opening and for re-imagining the tourism product in the short term to ensure that businesses can adapt and survive. And we will also look at the longer-term impact and ask what changes will be needed for Cayman to remain a desirable and safe destination in a global travel market that will be fundamentally changed by the pandemic. We will examine the viability of new technology as a means to facilitate travel, look at the potential for Cayman Airways to seek out new gateway cities, and assess ongoing efforts to retrain and recruit hundreds of Caymanians into the areas of the industry expected to be most resilient to the aftershocks of the COVID crisis. How soon tourism will come back to Cayman, and what the industry will look like when it does, are now the most fundamental questions facing our islands. Our future depends on finding the right answers. 4 FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020cayman compass 5 FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020 Tel: 640.6272 / 922.9711Email: carclinic.ky@gmail.com Oil & Filter Service + 26 POINT INSPECTION OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE Mon-Friday 7:30am - 5pm Saturday 9am -12pm. Auto Care Center diagnose the problem and fix it right the first time. We have certified licensed technicians. We diagnose and test your vehicle so we will NOT charge you for a FULL SERVICE if it’s not needed - NO HIDDEN FEES. FREE QUOTE. FREE DROP OFF SERVICE. 100% Customer Satisfaction Oil & Filter Service + 26 Point Inspection........................... $49.95 2 or 4 wheel Alignment starting at .................................... $80.00 Computer Scan Test.................................................................. $59.95 Full A/C Service........................................................................... $85.00 Drop Off Service to your Home or Office in the George Town area......................................................... $FREE AUTOCARE CENTER CallServiceDrop Off ice IO .......... $FREE WITHTHIS AD $ 49.95 529 Shedden Rd. Kirk Motors Building JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky In a packed bar, a young man brazenly waves a hunting knife in an image that police warn symbolises an alarming escalation in knife crime in the Cayman Islands. The man in the picture, taken from CCTV footage at a popular venue, is being sought by police on weapons charges. Senior officers are concerned about a rise in violent crime in the past month, culminating in a bloody seven-day period during which one person was killed and two others were left with severe injuries after being stabbed in alcohol-fuelled conflicts. “The critical care unit at George Town Hospital saved two lives in the past week,” Commissioner of Police Derek Byrne told the Cayman Compass. “We could have been looking at three murders instead of one.” Detectives say the incidents are not connected to gangs and there is no clear motive for any of the crimes, other than the dangerous combination of weapons and alcohol. Detective Superintendent Peter Lansdown said there had been at least half-a-dozen serious violent incidents around Cayman’s late night bars and nightclubs since COVID-19- lockdown restrictions were lifted. He described the recent violence as the consequence of a growing trend of people carrying concealed weapons. “It was escalating towards the end of last year and it slowed down during COVID. Now it has started again with a vengeance.” There have been 32 crimes involving serious violence, including murder or attempted murder, so far this year and 21 of those involved a bladed weapon. Byrne said the issue would be on the agenda of the National Security Council at its next meeting. He said police would be increasing ‘stop and search’ patrols and working with night clubs to beef up security to prevent people bringing weapons through the door. Being caught with a concealed weapon can lead to a jail sentence of up to four years under Cayman’s Penal Code. From an enforcement perspective, Byrne said police view it as seriously as possession of a firearm. “They are both serious offences, they are both lethal weapons,” he said. Nightclub security requirements The commissioner is looking for cooperation from clubs and bars, particularly those that serve alcohol into the early hours of the morning. “They have got to be more alert to these issues and we have got to work with them in partnership,” he said. Byrne wants to see new security standards enforced as a condition of licence for those venues that participate in the “night-time economy”. He said high-quality CCTV inside and out, trained security guards, and body scanners at the door should be standard. He also wants to see female security guards at venues to assist with pat-downs of female customers, amid concerns that they are smuggling weapons into clubs. Police will meet with the Liquor Licensing Board and club owners next week to discuss the issue. “You can’t bring a knife to the airport, you shouldn’t be able to bring a knife to a disco,” Byrne said. “We are injecting ourselves into the licensing process and saying this should be a precondition of the licence.” Police say there is no obvious explanation for the increase in people carrying knives in public. Lansdown said the vast majority of the knife crimes that his detectives were investigating were petty disputes that flared up in nightclubs and spilled out into violent assaults on the streets as the bars closed. “After people have been drinking excessively for quite some period, it gets out of control,” he said. A serious stabbing on Monday evening in George Town started with a dispute over a dominoes game. Police believe the melee that ensued on Saturday morning in the parking lot of The Strand shopping centre stemmed from a series of minor conflicts that escalated into murder. Byrne said anyone who brought a knife on a night out automatically raised the stakes of any dispute. “These are disputes that happen in nightclubs when people have had a lot to drink,” he said. “You can’t reconcile that with going outside with a knife and taking someone’s life.” He said anyone who carried a weapon risked ruining their own lives and someone else’s over relatively minor disputes, and he urged people to put down their weapons. “We are not talking about juveniles; we are talking about people in their 20s. These are adults, some of them working in responsible jobs, and they need to take responsibility and stop carrying knives. “If you carry a knife, then you have that intent [to use it],” he said, “If you use that knife, it is pure luck if it is not fatal.” Police are also appealing to the public to treat knife crime more seriously and to report incidents of anyone carrying weapons. Lansdown said detectives spent almost as much time trying to chase witnesses as they did looking for suspects. “There were crowds of people present on Saturday but we did not have a single witness come forward,” he added. “We can stop this by the public not accepting it and coming forward to give evidence.” Police probe 'alarming' rise in knife crime Detectives are investigating three serious knife crimes in the space of seven days. 24 Aug. – A 17-year-old girl suffers life-threatening injuries after being stabbed in the chest outside a bar in George Town in the early hours. She survives the attack and police open an attempted-murder inquiry. 29 Aug. – Recordo Lionel Pars, 27, is stabbed to death as fighting breaks out in the public area around The Strand shopping centre after nightclub closing time in the early hours of Saturday. A man has been charged with murder while another man has been charged with wounding in relation to another incident in the same area, the same morning. 31 Aug. – A 27-year-old man is stabbed multiple times in a dispute that follows a dominoes game at a home in Sound Way, George Town. A suspect is being questioned by police. Anyone with information can call 649-2930. Anonymous tips may be provided directly to the RCIPS Confidential Tip Line at 949-7777. FLASHPOINTS This image captured on CCTV at a local nightclub shows a young man brandishing a large hunting knife.cayman compass 6 FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020 Above-average tropical cyclone formation through mid-September KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@compassmedia.ky Tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic basin is forecast to be above average during the first half of September, according to researchers with the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project. Current storm patterns indicate favourable conditions for Atlantic hurricane formation and intensification from 2-15 Sept., considered a peak period for the storm season, forecasters wrote. The CSU forecast analyses Accumulated Cyclone Energy, a measure of the total wind energy produced by a tropical system over its lifetime. Standard ACE activity for 2-15 Sept. would fall between 12 and 34 ACE. Forecasters expect activity in coming weeks to surpass that range. Hurricane Nana, which passed earlier this week, was estimated to generate 2-3 ACE. As of Thursday afternoon, forecasters were observing three other systems located off the northwestern coast of Africa. Those systems were forecast at a 70%, 40% and 20% probability of formation between Thursday and Tuesday. “The global models vary considerably with how much intensification these systems may undergo, but each of these could generate low to moderate levels of ACE depending on their exact track,” CSU wrote in its forecast. Long-range modelling found the possibility of “vigorous easterly waves emerging off of Africa” in coming weeks. Vertical wind shear, which can inhibit hurricane formation, is expected to be below normal over the eastern tropical Atlantic and Caribbean over the next two weeks. Slightly elevated shear, however, is forecast for the central tropical Atlantic. As of 3 Sept., the 2020 season had produced 15 named storms, including five hurricanes and one major hurricane. An average season, based on data taken from 1981-2010, would produce 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes and 2.7 major hurricanes. Overall, 2020 is forecast by CSU to produce 24 named storms, including 12 hurricanes and five major hurricanes. CSU’s next two-week hurricane season forecast will be released on 16 Sept. More rainfall for Cayman Meanwhile, in Cayman, local forecasters say above-average rainfall is expected across the Cayman Islands over the next three months. The National Weather Service released the latest predictions in its September Weather Bulletin. “The usual rainfall range for Sep-Oct-Nov is 483.1 to 652.0 mm (19-25.6 inches),” reads the bulletin. “The Aug-Sep-Oct outlook calls for 60% probability of above-normal rainfall.” Forecasters say they also expect above-average temperatures, which could lead to heatwaves. The bulletin reads, “Warmer than usual conditions are forecast for the Cayman area. For Sep-Oct- Nov, there is a 30% chance for at least 7 heatwave days.” Increased storm activity forecast 15 The number of named storms already seen so far this hurricane seasoncayman compass 7 N news FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020 DoE launches reporting platform, enlists public’s help RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Department of Environment researchers say they are growing increasingly worried as the deadly Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, first spotted at Penny’s Arch in the Rum Point Channel, appears to have spread over a four- mile area. The researchers are working to contain the disease at its epicentre in the North Sound and keep it away from the prized Seven Mile Beach reef. “We sort of isolated it mainly to the north side of Grand Cayman and the Rum Point area and [have] focussed our efforts on that and doing mitigating factors to contain the disease over time,” Croy McCoy, DoE senior research officer, told the Cayman Compass on Wednesday. He said data has shown that the disease, which was first discovered locally in late June by a diver, seems to be moving approximately a nautical mile a month along the reef track, and so far has infected more than 20 species of stony coral. “[It] is highly contagious and the virulence factor for the disease is very high,” McCoy said. “They have been trying to figure it out since 2014. It first emerged in Florida in the port of Miami and they haven’t yet [determined the cause].” The disease, which is believed to be caused by a pathogen, is known to attack several types of coral, including primary reef-building species, like pillar coral, elliptical star coral, maze coral, brain coral and smooth flower coral. “It can be considered, I guess, COVID-19 of the reef,” McCoy said, since the DoE has not been able to “identify the pathogen or the virus responsible for it”. Cayman, he said, has a unique opportunity to research the disease, unlike other Caribbean countries whose reefs have been devasted by the disease. DoE launches platform to track spread of disease Visiting researcher Tammi Warrander has been part of the team leading the charge to fight the spread of the disease here. She said a massive effort has been undertaken to document the reefs on all three islands. “We don’t know how it travels and whether it’s completely water borne or whether it was brought here by a boat. We’re not completely sure of that yet. So, there’s ongoing research into that area and that means that it can turn up at any time. We surveyed around 60% of Grand Cayman, we’ve done 85% of Cayman Brac, and in Little [Cayman] just under 50% of the island has been surveyed for this disease,” she said. Given the virulence of the disease and the wide area to cover, the DoE has launched an online platform which DoE deputy director Tim Austin said he hopes the public will use to report when they see the coral disease. “We’re very dependent on the public taking part in the surveys to let us know if they see any signs of this disease. We need kind of need to be able to act fast when we do see it,” he said. Austin stressed that it was very important that the DoE finds out as soon what sites are affected, so it can act fast. McCoy said they have determined that there are four highly susceptible species that the disease infects ahead of its spread. “Those species sort of light little fires, I guess, ... and then ... infects all the others,” he said, adding, “We know there are four that are highly susceptible and they sort of lead the way with this whole thing, coming along the reef, [infecting] the rest of corals and [killing] them off,” he said. He said the disease is spreading east and west of the epicentre, which is located north of the Rum Point area. “We are worried about it progressing on all of our reefs, but we also have the Marine Park on the west coast that is very important to the Cayman Islands for tourism and for the economy. So we started removing corals from the perimeter of the western extent of the disease, and we’ve been working back towards the heavily diseased area, which is just outside of the Rum Point channel, and we’ve removed 200 colonies in four days,” Warrander said. Deadly coral disease found over 4-mile area An example of diseased coral found in the Cayman Islands. See our website for a link to the reporting platform. Delivery delays attributed to lack of paperwork, unpaid fees KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@compassmedia.ky There are school uniforms, medications, gifts from family, and business supplies. The list goes on of online orders and packages stuck in limbo somewhere between Cayman’s courier mail services and Customs and Border Control. Meanwhile, disgruntled residents continue to queue at customer service desks, wait for an email reply or remain on hold on call phone lines, all to no avail, in search of items often collecting dust in storage. “I ordered online two months ago and shipped through UPS and I’m still waiting for my package,” one customer said in a written comment to the Cayman Compass. “My mother-in-law paid $200 to expedite ship something that took a month to ultimately be delivered,” wrote another. The reasons for package delays and mail confusion in Cayman are myriad and, in large part, come down to the ripple effects of the COVID-19 crisis. An increase in online shopping has created record-breaking import statistics for Cayman. In August, CBC Deputy Director Kevin Walton said 23,000 items were logged in the online import system, beating the 22,000 items from July. But the increase in personal and home shopping isn’t the issue, Walton said, explaining that CBC has repurposed staff to its import department to handle the surge. Instead, he said most of the issues arise from the courier services, lack of compliance with CBC procedures and, in the case of UPS, outstanding bills owed to government. Shoppers must also comply with CBC’s bureaucracy that requires even small shipments, like personal items, to arrive through an officially declared agent. Of Cayman’s more than 8,000 importers, Walton said the islands’ courier services attract a majority of public ire. “Ninety-nine percent of the complaints that we get each week, which could be up to four to five complaints, we have investigated and we have found it’s not CBC’s fault,” Walton said. “Our objective is to release your goods within one business day.” So, where are Cayman’s lost packages? Walton broke down several reasons customers may be experiencing frustrations. 1. Limited airlift The first mail issue in Cayman comes down to the jurisdiction’s continued border closure, which Premier Alden McLaughlin addressed at a recent COVID-19 press conference. The previous transporter for the US Postal Service – American Airlines – is not currently permitted to enter Cayman. Negotiations are ongoing with Cayman Airways to re- establish service. In the meantime, the public is relying increasingly on courier services to fill the void. “Prior to the closure of Cayman’s borders to control COVID-19, the United States Postal Service had contracted American Airlines to transport its mail to Cayman. Of course, AA is not currently authorised to fly into Cayman, so an alternative has had to be explored,” McLaughlin said. “The United States Postal Service, the Cayman Islands Government and Cayman Airways are in negotiations and, I think, close to concluding an agreement to allow Cayman Airways to transport United States Postal Service mail to and from the Cayman Islands.” 2. Airport runway works With little air traffic flowing through Cayman, construction works at Owen Roberts International Airport have been accelerated. These works have limited the hours in which daily courier mail flights are able to land on island, Walton said. “Because the airports were closed for expansion of the runway, the courier flights and the cargo flights could only land certain times of day,” he said. Currently, courier mail planes typically arrive in Grand Cayman around 4pm and leave by 6pm. 3. No agent declared Even for imports of small items, like personal shopping, CBC now requires customers to officially establish a shipping agent. “We can’t allow someone to carry goods on your behalf without you authorising it,” Walton said. To authorise a company like DHL or FedEx to handle personal mail, customers must fill out an agent authorisation form from the CBC website, www.cbc.gov.ky. That form should be turned in to the courier service with a copy of the customer’s driver’s licence. Those documents should then be submitted by the courier to CBC. “The couriers have been having a challenge in getting persons to cooperate and do that,” Walton said. 4. Invoice issues Another requirement for CBC to release packages is that they include an invoice. This applies to all items – even gifts. More than 40% of imports shipped through courier services, however, have arrived without an invoice, Walton said. The onus to provide an invoice to the courier falls on the customer. “It’s a challenge because persons are not cooperating with [the couriers] or not providing invoices to them and that causes another slowdown,” Walton said. “If the couriers don’t have the invoice, they cannot provide the necessary declaration to CBC.” When an item is ordered online, Walton said shoppers should be proactive in reaching out to their courier service and providing them with the invoice. 5. Outstanding bills In the case of UPS, packages have not been released by CBC due to non-payment of fees. CBC issued a public notice about the matter in July but, as Walton explained, the problem is ongoing. “They’re not keeping up with their payments so we can’t release the goods,” Walton said. But even if a new shipment is paid for and the items are released, “the goods remain stored in our warehouses”, he added, because of the non- payment of outstanding fees. Until UPS clears its debt with CBC, packages ordered through them will be held by Customs. Walton warned that after seven days, items left with Customs will begin to accrue storage fees. After 30 days, they will be transferred to another warehouse and, after three months, the items could be put up for auction. Customs has been placing pressure on companies to remove items from its facilities, he added. “Within the next week you should see improvement in the delivery of goods from the couriers, but we are mindful the Christmas season is coming up,” he said. To verify if a courier has submitted an item to Customs, Walton said customers should request a declaration number. This number is used for tracking within Customs. “If they can’t provide you with a declaration number, that means they have not submitted your declaration to Customs as yet,” Walton said. The Compass was not able to get comments on these issues from the islands’ major courier services, UPS, DHL and FedEx. At UPS, an employee said the manager was too busy attending to incoming complaints to take a call from media. At DHL, a customer service representative answered the phone but was unable to connect to a manager. At FedEx, the publicly listed telephones were out of service. The Compass ran an online poll asking people about their experiences with importing items onto the island. Of the 530 people who responded within 24 hours of the poll going live, 86% (457 individuals) said they were not satisifed with the turnaround time for their goods to clear Customs. Bureaucracy, confusion mar Cayman’s courier mail Many customers in Grand Cayman have complained that they have been unable to receive courier packages that arrived on island weeks, or even months, ago. Kevin Walton, deputy director, Customs and Border Control 8 FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Local workers withdrew almost $310 million from their pensions in May, using government’s COVID-19 emergency-withdrawal measure, according to statistics from the Department of Labour and Pensions. There are a total of more than 73,000 private pensions in the Cayman Islands, and according to officials, more than 34,000 applications were received in May to withdraw money from those pension funds. The emergency-withdrawal measure, which allowed workers to access their private-sector pensions up to a certain amount, was made possible through changes to the Pensions Law. It was one of the initiatives implemented by Premier Alden McLaughlin to assist employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of local borders. Deputy Director of Pensions Amy Wolliston, in response to queries from the Cayman Compass, said the total amount paid out in May under the emergency- withdrawal scheme was $309,885,025. She said the figures for June and subsequent months are still being processed. It takes approximately 45 days for an application to withdraw pension funds to be finalised. A formal statement will be issued soon with the totals for May and June, Wolliston told the Compass. Based on these initial numbers for May, it appears that Cayman is on track to hit targets predicted by Paul Byles, director of consultancy company FTS, in his report ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Cayman Islands’ released in late April. He projected between $373 million and $512 million would be withdrawn from pension funds. In a June hearing of the Public Accounts Committee with pension providers, it was said that, cumulatively, the nine providers have more than 73,000 accounts, and based on that figure they said they were expecting $450 million in withdrawals. Wolliston said 34,086 applications were received in May, and 25,596 of those were approved. S he said 8,490 applications were either rejected or were duplicates. Wolliston said the department has received complaints from members of the public about the handling of applications by some pension plan administrators, and those matters are being investigated. “Given that these matters remain under investigation, we are unable to provide any further comment at this time,” she said. Under the emergency-withdrawal scheme, eligible individuals can withdraw from their private pension accounts up to 100% of the balance up to $10,000. Those with accounts in excess of that maximum can withdraw $10,000 and up to 25% of the remaining balance. Together with the emergency withdrawals, government also implemented a pension holiday which took effect, retroactively, from 1 April to 30 Sept. Last week, the premier, when asked if government will be extending the pension holiday, said, “It is within our contemplation.” Wolliston declined to weigh in on the extension of the pension holiday, saying it would not be appropriate for her to comment on a government policy or a pending decision. “The extension of the pensions holiday is presently under consideration by the government, which was discussed at the last press briefing. When a decision regarding this matter is reached, the relevant press release will be issued,” she told the Compass. As for the department’s managing of the influx of applications, Labour and Pensions Director Bennard Ebanks said his team is faring well. “As it is publicly known, there are challenges, however the DLP staff are giving a great team effort in order to meet them. I am very pleased with the efforts of the Pensions staff and the DLP team as a whole,” he told the Compass via email. Nearly $310 million withdrawn from pensions Amy Wolliston 34,086 The number of applications to withdraw money from pensions in May 2020; 25,596 of those were approved, and 8,490 applications were rejected or were duplicates. cayman compass 9 news N news FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2020 ANNUALGENERAL MEETING VOTEFORTHENEW 2020/21NATIONALTRUSTCOUNCIL 16thSeptember2020at6:00pmatGeorgeTownYachtClub,606North SoundRoad.Drinks&canapeswillbeserved. Registrationstartsat5:30pm.PleaseensurethatyourNationalTrust Membershipiscurrentsoyouareeligibletovote. Visitwww.nationaltrust.org.ky/newstoviewthe2020/21Council Nominees.Ifyoucannotattendinpersonpleaseensuretonominatea proxy.Theformcanbefoundonthewebsite. ToRSVPpleaseemailinfo@nationaltrust.org.kyorforgeneralenquiries call(345)7491122Next >