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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 weather Friday Forecast FORECAST Chance of isolated showers SEA STATE Slight with a wave height of 1 to 3 feet. WINDS East to northeast at 10 to 15 knots. 90°F HIGH 84°F LOW NEWS EDITOR CAROLINE JAMES ISSUES EDITOR JAMES WHITTAKER HEAD OF SALES CHERYL BIRCH-GILLIES news in brief Newlands explosion prompts fire home-safety checks The Cayman Islands Fire Service says it will commence island-wide home-safety checks to ensure families have proper measures in place in case of fire-related emergencies. It comes in the aftermath of last month’s explosion which destroyed a Newlands home. The explosion on 5 June, which also damaged surrounding properties, was caused by a gas leak, according to the findings of David Schudel, the UK expert who was brought in to investigate the blast. Four people were injured by the explosion on Bayfield Crescent. The Fire Service home-safety programme, which is set to begin 1 Aug., will start with visits in the Prospect area, according a government statement. Chief Fire Officer Randy Rankin, in the statement, said, “Our Home Safety Inspections are a major part of our proactive fire safety education practices. Visits will be conducted on all three islands, and the Fire Service will also share information on its channels to keep the public safe and informed.” The initiative, the statement said, is designed to increase fire-safety awareness within the community, particularly for high- risk individuals such as senior citizens, households with minors, smokers, disabled persons and those who reside in wooden structures. Checks will include testing fire detectors, assessing fire evacuation plans, and discussion on cooking safety and fire-safety practices for children. Outdoor workers at risk as intense heat takes toll With temperatures hitting record highs, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Gent is urging caution during peak heat hours, especially for outdoor workers and visitors unaccustomed to hot climates. Gent, speaking with the Cayman Compass, said though he had not seen a rise in heat- related complaints, he was concerned for employees in industries like construction. “We should always be conscious about how much exposure we give our skin to the sun, and if we see unusual skin lesions getting them assessed very, very quickly,” he said, adding that especially pertained to construction workers. Cayman has not experienced the extreme temperatures recorded in Europe, but he said he is monitoring the local situation. However, Gent advised employers to assess the risk from the rising temperatures and take steps to ensure their workers’ safety. “They need to be making sure that you’re wearing the right cover [so] that you’re not burned, you’re getting the right rest periods, and importantly, you’re getting plenty of water to drink. Employers and employees need to work together… to make sure that they are working in safe conditions,” he said. Dan DeFinis, of the Cayman Contractors Association, said the rising temperature is a concern members have noted and during the summer months steps are taken to ensure employee safety. “It seems that this year it got hotter than normal earlier than normal in the year so we’ve definitely noticed it in the field,” he said. DeFinis said contractors adhere to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules and that includes protecting employees from “environmental exposures”. Regular safety briefings are held to discuss issues including weather-related concerns. Sentencing of former Miss Cayman Islands Universe delayed again Former pageant queen Tiffany Conolly, who was found guilty of seven criminal offences in February, will have to wait until August for her sentencing after another adjournment. Summary Court Magistrate Philippa McFarlane, on Wednesday, 26 July, adjourned the matter to 23 Aug. to allow for the presentation of further reports. Conolly was released on bail. Conolly was convicted of two counts of common assault, two counts of damage to property, and one count each of disorderly conduct at a police station, and assaulting police. The sentencing was originally scheduled to be held in April but was postponed until this month to allow for a social inquiry report to be completed. The former holder of the Miss Cayman Islands Universe crown was found guilty of all charges against her on 9 Feb. following a trial in October 2022. The assault and property damage charges stemmed from an altercation which began when Conolly visited her estranged partner’s house shortly after 10pm on 15 Oct. 2021. Following her convictions, Conolly was stripped of her title, which then passed to first runner-up Chloe Powery-Doxey. FLOW facing fines for overcharging business customers Cayman telecoms provider FLOW is facing financial penalties for overcharging business customers over a three- year period. FLOW pushed up prices for its business telephone line customers without seeking approval from telecoms regulator OfReg and then stopped providing data to officials after an investigation was launched into the price hike. OfReg has a mandate to monitor and approve price increases in the telecoms industry. In an enforcement notice, issued last week, the regulator indicated that FLOW had acknowledged breaching the terms of its licence by increasing business line rates from $30 to $34.99 per month from January 2019 to April 2022 without approval to do so. The notice also highlights a second breach by FLOW of failing to provide mandatory data to the regulator as part of its quarterly reporting requirements. A press release from OfReg on 21 July indicated the telecoms giant will face fines as a result of the finding, but did not indicate how much it would be required to pay or if there is any compensation for customers who it says were overcharged. Executive director for the telecommunications sector Sonji Myles said in the release, “The law and the people of the country expect that all utility operators must comply with their licence obligations”. This image shows the destruction left in the aftermath of the Newlands explosion. – Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 2 N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky Cayman Airways will launch direct flights to Barbados this winter, officials announced Monday. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, with Cayman Airways representatives, as well as Barbados Tourism Minister Ian Gooding- Edghill via Zoom, made the announcement at a press briefing, at which details of the new route – and how it would link to a variety of other regional and international gateways – were revealed. Bryan also announced a second weekly flight to Los Angeles, which will be timed to enable travellers to connect with the Barbados flight. He described the twice- weekly Barbados flight, which is tentatively set to launch on 18 Oct., as a “game changer” that would open up travel between Cayman and the eastern Caribbean. It would also help establish Cayman as a hub for travel between Barbados and North America, and Barbados as a hub for European travel for Cayman, he said. There are currently direct regional flights from Barbados to Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago – meaning that travellers from Grand Cayman wishing to fly to those eastern Caribbean destinations would no longer have to fly via the US to get there. Though the price of tickets for the new Cayman Airways route was not disclosed, Bryan said the flights will establish a “faster and cheaper alternative” for travel between Cayman and Barbados than anything currently available. “It will make it possible to travel from one side of the Caribbean to the other within the same day without connecting through Miami,” he said. Linking to UK Bryan said that the route would also expand Cayman’s reach “within the United Kingdom” by adding connectivity beyond the current London Heathrow service provided by British Airways, which operates via Nassau, Bahamas. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways currently run daily flights from Heathrow to Barbados, and Virgin is set to launch a direct Manchester-to-Barbados route on 19 Oct. this year, which will fly five times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Bryan said he anticipated that the Barbados route would generate increased travel into Cayman from the UK and Europe, and would build cultural connections between the Cayman Islands and Barbados. He described the route as a mutually beneficial agreement between Cayman and Barbados, which could boost tourism numbers in both places. He said he could not answer any questions regarding the financial arrangement and contract between Cayman and Barbados on the new route, but said, “the Cayman Islands will not lose in any capacity”. Asked why passengers from Europe would opt to fly to Grand Cayman via Barbados, rather than through one of the several US hubs available, Bryan said research showed travellers from the UK and Europe were opting for multi- destination travel, and that others would choose not to travel via the US because of visa restrictions. “When you add up the little pieces of information together, you start to see there is a… percentage we can tap into that we are not currently tapping into. The more routes you have to your destination, as long as they are profitable, and not loss makers, it increases your opportunity from a tourism perspective,” he said. Flight schedules Cayman Airways CEO Fabian Whorms noted that the anticipated 18 Oct. start date for the new route is tentative and subject to change, as the airline is still awaiting operational and ticket sale approval from regulators. If the necessary approvals are received, he said, tickets are expected to go on sale in early or mid-August. The plan is for the Cayman- Barbados flights to operate on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Whorms said. Outlining the timing of the flights, which are being scheduled to connect with the airline’s Los Angeles flights, Whorms said flights on Wednesdays would depart Grand Cayman at 7am, arrive in Barbados at 11:10am, and then land back in Cayman at 2:45pm the same day. This means that people on that flight could connect to CAL’s 3:45pm mid-week Los Angeles flight, which would get them into LAX by 7:45pm. That aircraft will then turn around for a ‘red-eye’ overnight flight from LA back to Cayman, arriving at 7am Thursday, in time to connect with the Grand Cayman-Barbados flight at 10am. That flight would land in Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados at 2:10pm local time, enabling passengers going to the UK to connect with Virgin and other flights, Whorms said. There would then be a flight back from Barbados to Grand Cayman at 4:15pm, arriving at 7:10pm local time. “These flight times are still being tweaked, but we wanted to give an indication of what it will look like,” Whorms said. Using that same proposed schedule, travellers who want to fly from Manchester to the Cayman Islands via Barbados could depart Manchester Airport on Thursday morning and arrive in Cayman that evening, or, if going in the other direction, would be able to fly from Cayman to Barbados on Thursday morning to link up with a 7:55pm flight to Manchester that would arrive at 8:25am the next day. One-stop flights from Manchester John-Paul Clarke, chairman of the Cayman Airways board of directors, said through an interline agreement with Virgin Atlantic, CAL would have the “only one- stop itinerary… with convenient baggage check-through, between Manchester International Airport in England and Cayman, which means we now have a one-stop service with the British midlands, a place where we have great interest from a tourism perspective”. He told reporters that Cayman is looking to add two more US destinations, “both within four hours away”, and to add more interline agreements, which will be announced later this year. Asked if the airline had a large enough fleet to deal with an expanded flight schedule, Clarke said while Cayman Airways’ planes were very busy at weekends, weekdays were quieter times and operating additional flights mid-week would not stretch resources. The Barbados flight will be the fourth Caribbean route for Cayman Airways, which currently also flies to Jamaica, Cuba and Honduras. Opposition questions viability of route The Progressives Opposition questioned if the newly announced direct route to Barbados and the second weekly flight to Los Angeles would be financially viable, and whether other more potentially profitable routes should have been considered. In a statement issued following the press briefing, the Opposition called for more transparency on the decision behind launching the Barbados route. While acknowledging that the Barbados flight will make travel between the Cayman Islands, Barbados, and the eastern Caribbean more accessible and enhance inter-region travel, Opposition leader Roy McTaggart said several questions regarding the decision “remained unanswered”. “Worryingly, the Minister and CAL are proposing to start the flights during the slow season in October,” McTaggart said in the statement. “This certainly seems detrimental to the viability and success of this second flight to LA. It does not seem like a business decision that CAL would usually take. This appears to have been acknowledged by the CAL chairman who said that he and the CAL board were not initially planning to provide a second flight at this time. But the partnership with Barbados was the impetus for starting in October.” He called on the government to answer two questions: “First, does a proposed new air route pose any undue increased financial or other risks to CAL and the Cayman Islands Government? And second, is there an alternative and more profitable route for CAL and the Cayman Islands that better uses CAL’s aircraft?” McTaggart and the Opposition was also concerned that, based on what was stated at the press briefing, Barbados “had not provided their marketing data/ route analysis for CAL to consider when deciding on the route – including the viability of the second LA flight. Instead, CAL effectively relied on assurances that all would be well. We can only conclude that a formal and complete route analysis was not performed.” At the briefing, Cayman Airways board chairman Clarke, answering a press query on what market research or analyses had been done prior to the decision to launch the route and expand the LAX schedule, said the airline had “not been privy to the details” of the analysis done by the government-run Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. However, he said, the Barbados authorities had “exuded great confidence” that the route would be beneficial. He added that Cayman Airways had “done our numbers” regarding the second weekly LAX flight and expected to see larger loads on that route. “It will make it possible to travel from one side of the Caribbean to the other within the same day without connecting through Miami.” Kenneth Bryan, tourism minister Cayman Airways to launch Barbados route cayman compass 3 news N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 20231234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Restrain (7) 5 An intense fire (5) 8 Remarkable occurrences (9) 9 Jump on one foot (3) 10 Hindu system of philosophy (4) 12 Spend money lavishly (2,2,4) 14 Successively (2,1,3) 15 Contrive (6) 17 A goner (4,4) 18 Dissolve (4) 21 Person’s destiny (3) 22 Underlying principle (9) 24 All possible (5) 25 Snobbish (4-3) DOWN 1 Express indirectly (5) 2 Tool used for weeding (3) 3 To pant (4) 4 Slight earthquake (6) 5 Published prominently (8) 6 Greek goddess of love (9) 7 Cost incurred (7) 11 Ensure (9) 13 Thick fabric with velvety ribs (8) 14 Gratify wishes of (7) 16 Put an end to (6) 19 Deal with (5) 20 Yearn (4) 23 Tree with silvery bark (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 17381 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 17381 ACROSS: 1 Inhibit, 5 Blaze, 8 Phenomena, 9 Hop, 10 Yoga, 12 Go to town, 14 In a row, 15 Devise, 17 Dead duck, 18 Melt, 21 Lot, 22 Rationale, 24 Every, 25 High-hat. DOWN: 1 Imply, 2 Hoe, 3 Blow, 4 Tremor, 5 Blazoned, 6 Aphrodite, 7 Expense, 11 Guarantee, 13 Corduroy, 14 Indulge, 16 Scotch, 19 Treat, 20 Long, 23 Ash. What they’re saying Online Letters to the editor GUEST COLUMNIST Aleigha General Silver thatch palms, wild banana orchids, elusive blue iguanas. Representatives of the flora and fauna of the Cayman Islands. They reside on our national symbols and tell a story of the islands’ history, resilience and unfettered natural beauty, all of which can be seen and felt in the mangroves along the coastline. You may have heard that these extraordinary mazes of roots and branches are home to hundreds of different fish, insect and bird species (including our very own Cayman parrot). Or you may know that the mangroves are our first line of defence against weather-related flooding. It may even be common knowledge to you that the mangroves influence the structure of the island as a whole, protecting against coastal erosion made worse by climate change. But what if I told you that the value of the mangroves is deeper and so much more intimate than we tend to realise? To dive deeper into this value, I spoke with Emily DeCou, a young Caymanian, sustainability consultant and mangrove ranger who has made protecting the mangroves her career. When asked why the mangroves mean so much to her, she discussed how learning about them at an early age helped her develop a sense of purpose. Seeing firsthand just how dependent we are on the systems and practices they protect, the mangroves quickly became part of her identity as a Caymanian. Through educating other young Caymanians about all the ways mangroves make our ecosystem viable, Miss DeCou has found a way to keep the culture she grew up with alive as times continue to change. This sentiment is not a new one. She states, “Climate change threatens to take away the places, traditions and communities we hold dear, so mangroves are particularly important.” This can be seen all over the world as temperatures continue to rise, along with sea levels and strong weather patterns. As climate change worsens, communities all over the world have lost their livelihoods and significant parts of their culture and history. Alongside Miss DeCou, Miss World Cayman Islands Leanni Tibbetts is also an avid mangrove enthusiast and environmental activist. She has been vocal about the importance of preservation and recently spoke out about the mangroves. Most recently, she has shared a petition to encourage democratic discussion as it pertains to construction projects. Through collaboration with organisations such as Sustainable Cayman and True.M, Miss Tibbetts is facilitating outreach to younger members of the population who may not know how they can protect the mangroves on a personal level. Traditions like fishing in the mangroves are a key memory for many older Caymanians who have watched the country develop. A gentleman in his late 40s who spoke to me, remembers spending hours in the mangroves with his friends and family as a child and wishes he could take his children to have the same experience now. However, recent construction projects and demolition work have made this significantly more difficult, not only in getting to the mangroves but finding ones that haven’t been removed altogether. This is the heart of why ecosystems like the mangroves are so important. The ability to share cultural activities with new generations is what connects the young to the old and gives young people a sense of belonging in their community. It is nearly impossible to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you have been, and protecting the mangroves protects a passageway back to history. That history has the capacity to teach lessons and cultivate national pride in a unique way. Aleigha General is the Compass Gen Z columnist. She will be entering her final year at the University of West London studying international relations and sociology. Kudos to Dr. Sunku Guptha and his team at Health City for helping my husband, Joseph Caputo, when he was admitted there in June. He spent 13 days there and Dr. Guptha and his team constantly did tests on him to get him back to health. He’s home now and doing well thanks to the team at Health City. Carol Caputo Grateful to Health City Protect mangroves as they have protected Cayman Westin’s $153 million 10-storey expansion plan approved Shameful. Do we not have enough condos and hotels? Only justification for this is greed. Enough is enough. Time for a moratorium on building along West Bay Road/beach! The sea will soon be at your back door. Krystal Arch Cayman is looking like a New York City concrete jungle. Orlene Ebanks Yea, let’s pile even more people on the beach with sun loungers. Cancun, here we come. Jesse La More private beach again and soon no more Public Beach access. Jemmalyn Bonayon I have no problem with it being the other side of the street but not on the beach. Sara Harbison Mackay Cayman Airways to launch Barbados route This is a very good move. Barbados has amazing airlift already and into regions that Cayman doesn’t. This will open us up to those regions. Good stuff. Christine Maltman How many people will visit us from Barbados? What is the average spend of a Barbadian vs someone from Canada or the USA? Phillip Wood How odd. Didn’t see that coming. James Punnet Mangroves growing in a shallow lagoon in Grand Cayman. – Photo: File cayman compass 4 news N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky In Florida, there are reports of world record sea-surface temperatures equivalent to those normally found in a hot tub. In Cayman, it’s more like a tepid bath, but still warm enough to break seasonal records and spark fears of a major coral- bleaching event this summer. Disaster-management experts are also taking note of the early spike in temperatures, fearing warm seas could raise the threat level in what was otherwise anticipated to be a slow hurricane season. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s satellite system shows the sea-surface temperature around Cayman hit 31.14 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) earlier this week – a record for July. That’s especially concerning as August and September are statistically the hottest months in Cayman. The highest recorded temperature since records began in Cayman, was 31.24 degrees C (88.2 degrees F) in September 2005. At the Department of Environment, Deputy Director Tim Austin is worried. “We are already over the threshold for coral bleaching and we still have the hottest months of the year ahead,” he said. The longer coral is exposed to heat stress, the greater the extent of the damage and the greater the potential for large- scale morbidity. Three months of elevated temperatures could be ruinous for Cayman’s reefs Coming on the heels of the stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak which killed off hard corals at sites around Grand Cayman, a major bleaching outbreak would be particularly hard to take. Bleaching occurs when stressed corals expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, turning completely white. In 2005, parts of the Caribbean lost half of their coral reefs in one year due to a major bleaching event across the region. Cayman was less widely impacted than others during that heatwave. Such a drastic loss would have implications for Cayman’s fishing and diving industries as well as for the ecosystem. The DoE’s dive team is currently seeing patches of paler coral – meaning they are under stress but not yet critically impacted – and NOAA has issued a ‘bleaching warning’. The threat level will be stepped up further, the longer temperatures stay beyond their current threshold. Long-term trend Equally troubling is the thought that recent sea temperature spikes – fuelled by unseasonably hot weather – could become a regular occurrence as the climate changes. That could mean prolonged exposure to thermal stress, threatening the existence of tropical coral reefs over the longer term. “Every year the ocean temperature is increasing and the long-term outlook for reefs is fairly bleak,” said Austin, noting glimmers of hope in research around the resilience of certain corals to temperature changes. The impact of warmer ocean temperatures has consequences for fish reproduction and migration patterns. Separate research by the Department of Environment hints at the ‘vertical migration’ of certain species, particularly sharks, to seek cooler water at greater depth. There is little that anyone in Cayman can do to control ocean temperatures and Austin cautions the best approach is to protect corals from other stresses, such as overfishing and pollution, and to continue with its enforcement and monitoring of the island’s extensive marine protected areas. Research, including recent studies from the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in Little Cayman, show healthier corals are better able to withstand heat stress. Hurricane threat Of more immediate concern is the possibility for the elevated ocean temperatures to inject fresh energy in what was initially forecast to be a relatively benign hurricane season. A complex variety of meteorological factors influence the frequency and power of tropical storms. “Deep, warm water is a necessary ingredient for tropical cyclone development,” says Simon Boxall, of Hazard Management Cayman Islands. “Higher water temperatures have often been associated with rapid intensification of cyclones.” Other factors are working in Cayman’s favour, though, including Saharan dust clouds that have been sweeping across the region, impeding storm development. Equally, El Niño is bringing upper level wind shear in this region, helping to break up nascent cyclones. Those are variable phenomenon, however, and Boxall cautions against complacency – especially with sea-surface temperatures already 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average for July and likely to increase further through August, September and into October – the most critical months for hurricane threats in Cayman. Record sea temperatures threaten corals Warm water could also intensify hurricanes Tim Austin, deputy director of the Department of Environment The destruction of coral reefs and more storm activity are part of the existential threat that rising global temperatures pose for small island nations. The same coral, captured before and after bleaching. - Photo: File cayman compass 5 news N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky The premium price tag for Cayman’s hotel rooms has led to government revenues from tourism accommodation taxes and fees in the first six months of 2023 being $3 million higher than the amount projected for the entire year. Between January and June this year, government earned $28.8 million in those taxes and fees – $12.4 million Higher hotel rates boost government tourism revenue more than had been predicted for that half-year period. At this rate, revenue for the entire year is expected to exceed 2019’s record- breaking levels, tourism officials say. Despite fewer stayover visitors than in 2019 – the last pre- pandemic full year of tourism in Cayman – more expensive room rates at hotels and other tourist accommodations have resulted in the higher revenues, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan acknowledged in a press release. The government collects 13% of the room rate of hotels and other tourism accommodations. In 2019, government collected more than $39.6 million in tourist accommodation revenue. “Tourism performance over the first half of the year has surpassed expectations and underscores the significant rebound in our tourism industry. Revenue collection influenced by the increase in the Average Daily Rate of accommodations over the past year is indicating a strong and sustained interest in the Cayman Islands as a premier travel destination,” Bryan said in the release. Former Cayman Islands Tourism Association president and The Ritz-Carlton general manager Marc Langevin noted in an interview with the Compass earlier this year that, as tourists were returning to Grand Cayman following the pandemic, there had been a 15-20% mark-up in room prices across the hotel industry. Bryan said 235,370 stayover visitors came to Cayman between January and June, equating to 84% of the number that arrived in the first six months of 2019, a year which broke all previous stayover records for Cayman. Bryan said his ministry had projected that by June, that number would stand at about 70% of the 502,739 stayover guests in 2019, so it is considerably higher than expected. The minister also noted that the recent tourism success was bolstered by a robust performance in Cayman’s traditional source markets, like the US, Canada and Europe, as well as emerging regions. The release stated that proactive efforts to improve air connectivity, including adding new and direct flights, “have also paid off significantly”, and had resulted in “increased bookings and enhanced convenience for business and leisure travellers”. As well as the accommodation taxes and fees, government has also earned $4.4 million in departure taxes from the 738,462 cruise passengers who visited Cayman in the first six months of this year – 6% higher than the mid- year forecast. The number of cruise visitors between January and June amounted to 73% of the corresponding period in 2019. Officials had anticipated that cruise arrivals this year would be at about 70% of the 2019 figures. As in previous years, the vast majority – 83.6% – of visitors are coming from the US, while 7.5% come from Canada and 4.4% from Europe. Government ignoring auditor general’s budgeting advice REBECCA BIRD rbird@compassmedia.ky The government’s lack of action on dozens of recommendations on budgeting, financial management and reporting is “disappointing”, according to the deputy auditor general. Angela Cullen told a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, 27 July, that only two out of 33 directions from the Office of the Auditor General had been implemented within three years. As she gave her opening speech on behalf of Auditor General Sue Winspear, she said the Ministry of Finance has made limited progress in improving budgeting in work and processes. “We won’t see a user-friendly, transparent and outcomes-focused budget until 2026- 2027,” she told lawmakers. Cullen added that the government is not reporting information that is needed for proper accountability, and the public does not have access to its accurate financial position. The committee gathered this week to discuss in public the auditor general’s March paper, ‘Follow-up on past PAC recommendations 2023 – Report 1’. The report lists the auditor general’s 17 recommendations on budgeting, and 16 recommendations on financial management and reporting made in 2020 and 2021. It also shows that the committee endorsed all of the auditor general’s recommendations in two of its own reports from 2021, and details government progress. Auditor general concerned over lack of parliamentary meetings Parliamentary Standing Orders say the government must respond to recommendations within three months of the PAC’s report being tabled in Parliament. Winspear, in her written comments in the March report, recommended Parliament update its Standing Orders to allow reports, including financial statements and annual reports, to be tabled throughout the year, and not just when the House is meeting. She added, “I continue to be concerned that the lack of regular meetings of the Parliament contributes to the late tabling of annual reports, financial statements and Government Minutes, which hampers the accountability process.” Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson and Accountant General Matthew Tibbetts attended Thursday’s PAC meeting to provide the committee with further information and documentation. Following the hearing, the PAC will hold an administrative meeting where members will discuss the evidence they received. They will then begin to write a report on their findings. The PAC may wish to make other recommendations to the government in addition to those set forth by the auditor general. The non-partisan PAC is a standing committee established by the Cayman Islands Constitution. It is responsible for holding the government to account for its spending and financial management. The committee comprises chairman Roy McTaggart and members Isaac Rankine, Barbara Conolly, Heather Bodden, Joseph Hew and McKeeva Bush. “We won’t see a user- friendly, transparent and outcomes-focused budget until 2026-2027.” Angela Cullen, deputy auditor general cayman compass 6 news N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Patients with medical issues requiring specialist overseas healthcare will now be able to access treatment at the “ordinary cost of care” under the UK National Health Service quota system, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Gent has said. Cayman recently signed on to the quota system which allows British overseas territories to access, at cost, healthcare for specialist cases that cannot be treated locally. “We can do so at what is the ordinary cost of care. It makes a big difference to us, both in terms of the access to highly specialist clinical services, but also of the affordability of some unusual complex care needs,” Gent explained. Cayman’s inclusion in the quota system follows May’s Joint Ministerial Council meeting in the UK. A total of five patients annually can access the facility. This year, Ascension Island, Bermuda, Tristan da Cunha and Cayman were added to the facility already open to territories including Bermuda and Turks and Caicos. Gent said since Cayman’s use of the facility is limited, it will be reserved for specialist cases, including rare cancers. “We wouldn’t want to use it for minor things. This is really for where we’ve got very complex care needs of a child with multiple conditions; pregnancies with very difficult, potential complications; and unusual surgery that we couldn’t access elsewhere,” he said, adding the facility is not bound by any particular specialty. Good news for rare cases He said being able to have this facility is an “extra string to the health services bow”. To date, no cases have been identified for the NHS option, but Gent said in the 10 months that he has been chief medical officer, he has seen only two patients for whom Cayman could have used that benefit. However, he said, there were other providers available in the US that could provide similar services. He said there will probably be one or two cases a year that Cayman will use the system for, “but it will be for cases that we would’ve otherwise had real difficulty in finding the right care for”. “The fact that we will only be paying at cost at the standard NHS tariff is also a nice reassurance to us because you know that both the service is there and it’ll be affordable,” he added. Under the new arrangement, some rare medical cases from Cayman can be treated at NHS hospitals in the UK. - Photo: File RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Cayman’s ongoing health survey has been extended by a month as two-thirds of those who have participated in the national exercise to date have failed to show up for their finger-prick blood tests. The STEPS survey was expected to close at the end of July, but has been extended to 3 Sept. to get more people to complete all parts of the process. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Gent told the Compass in a recent interview, ”We’re doing everything we can to make it convenient and if it’s not the right night, we’ll come back,” as he appealed to the public to cooperate to help define “the future health needs for Cayman”. The survey of randomly chosen households, which began in June, involves a three-step process – a detailed questionnaire; measurements of height and weight and blood pressure taken at the respondent’s home; and a finger-prick blood test done by a nurse at a medical facility or at home. Gent said the finger-prick test, which is the last step in the survey, does not require anything more than a drop of blood. “This isn’t the old-fashioned blood test where you have to sit there and go, ‘How big’s that needle?’ This is a tiny little stylet that [takes] just one drop of blood,” Gent said. He added it was “remarkable” what a simple drop of blood can tell health officials as he urged respondents to get their sample done. Testing at home Gent said tests can be done at the home if respondents prefer. “We can come to you; you just need to call and make an appointment,” he said. Gent stressed that these tests are beneficial to the respondent, as they indicate if that individual could require professional care. “If we find there’s an anomaly in those results, we will actually not just give them the results, but we will guide them that they should get an appointment, routinely or urgently, for healthcare as a result of that,” he added. He said the hope is that by the end of the new survey period, health officials will have “well over 2,000 to 2,500 people completing steps one and two, and we would hope to have got step three up to at least 1,500 people”. Intrusive questions? While Gent acknowledged that some who find the detailed questionnaire intrusive, he said getting the requested information is necessary. “It’s often important to get information that might not, at first sight, be important to people – and particularly about lifestyle,” he said, adding that some may question why health officials need to know about eating habits or drugs an individual might be taking. “[However,] every single item that we ask for is something which has a consequence for people’s health and where we may need to be able to plan to help support people in the future,” he said. He urged respondents to answer all questions, even the ones that are uncomfortable, stating that only he and national epidemiologist Rachel Corbett will be assessing the gathered information. “We’ve done an incredible amount of work around data protection and safety of data and making sure that nobody can be identified. We won’t be publishing records of individuals, everything will be done in aggregates. It will be, generally speaking, divided up between men and women who are older and younger, into those four groups,” he added. Gent said the data, when it is collated, will be strictly anonymous and names will be removed. He urged respondents to contact the Ministry of Health if they have any concerns or complaints. Health survey extended due to low testing numbers “It’s often important to get information that might not, at first sight, be important to people – and particularly about lifestyle.” Dr. Nick Gent, chief medical officer The target for stage 3 of the STEPS survey, the finger-prick test The number of cases from Cayman that can access the NHS each year. 5 Access to UK National Health Service for rare medical cases 1,500 Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Gent is urging people to complete all three stages of the STEPS health survey. - Photo: Reshma Ragoonath cayman compass news N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023 7REBECCA BIRD rbird@compassmedia.ky Planning chiefs have granted permission for the owners of The Westin to build a 10-storey hotel block with 234 guest rooms and a conference centre at its resort in Grand Cayman. Invincible Investment Corporation’s $153 million expansion project also includes an off-site carpark with 350 spaces near Sunshine Suites, accessible using a shuttle or valet service. This is the second application for a major expansion on the Crown- owned beachfront 8.6-acre site after the planning board rejected a similar proposal in 2020. The latest plans include a hotel tower with a restaurant, lounge, fitness and wellness facilities, laundry, and rooftop bar with landscaped pool and deck. A second building will feature a sub-divisible conference facility and ballroom. Approval subject to conditions The Central Planning Authority granted approval subject to 29 conditions which must be met before any work begins at the site. They include the presentation of a new traffic-impact assessment, details of off-site parking, a revised site plan, landscape plan, construction operations plan, site boundaries and more. The authority said it approved the application because the new buildings comply with the relevant requirements, such as setbacks, site coverage, density and building height. Off-site parking During the 5 July meeting of the Central Planning Authority when the plans were considered, a local landowner objected to proposed access to and from the off-site carpark. Attorney Robert Jones, representing Meow Ltd which owns Cayman Falls shopping centre across the road from the Westin, said the company granted easement previously, but additional use would be unlawful. The resort “does not have right of way over my client’s parcel”, he said, describing it as a “fundamental problem”. The conditions of approval, published on Tuesday, 25 July, consider the objection and request the removal of access from West Bay Road across the northern boundary of the private land. At the same meeting, Joe Gould, managing director of Invincible Investment Corporation, requested an off-site parking provision variance from the regulated 50% to 90%. He described on-site parking with as “robbing valuable waterfront land better situated for tourism development”. He added that off-site parking would provide greater benefit to the resort guests and neighbours who would have access. The planning authority approved the variance, saying, “Hotel operations have evolved globally and in order to maximise valuable hotel land, the option of valet parking utilising off-site parking facilities is common.” In her analysis before the meeting, Gina Ebanks-Petrie, director of the Department of Environment, highlighted “moderate adverse impacts on ecology”. She recommended conditions to minimise those effects, such as introducing turtle lighting, climate-resilient design features and adopting best management building practices. The planning authority’s conditions of approval include a turtle friendly lighting plan and proof that no turtle nests on site will be negatively affected during the build. The existing Westin resort, built between 1994 and 1999, includes a five-storey hotel with 343 guest rooms, a pool, a spa facility, meeting and conference space and two restaurants. It is positioned between two low density developments – the Villas of the Galleon to the south and the governor’s residence to the north. The planning application was first presented on 12 Oct. last year and was adjourned three times before being approved. The location of planned new buildings at The Westin. - Image: Central Planning Authority Westin’s 10-storey expansion plan approved The latest plans include a hotel tower with a restaurant, lounge, fitness and wellness facilities, laundry, and rooftop bar with landscaped pool and deck. The Westin hotel's expansion will include a new conference centre. - Photo: File cayman compass news N news WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023 8Notice of Unclaimed Accounts THE DORMANT ACCOUNTS LAW, (2011 REVISION) (Section 6) Name of Financial Institution Cayman Islands Civil Service Association Cooperative Credit Union Limited Address of Financial Institution 58 Huldah Avenue George Town P.O. Box 1450 Grand Cayman KY1-1110 CAYMAN ISLANDS Previous Names of the financial institution The Cayman Islands Civil Service Association (CICSA) Cooperative Limited The Public is hereby given notice that the Cayman Islands Civil Service Association Cooperative Credit Union Limited holds the following dormant accounts - Unless one or more of the following transactions are effected on a dormant account listed above on or before 31st December 2023, the monies in the dormant account will be transferred to the general revenue of the Islands without further notice – The public is also hereby given notice of the following – 1. a) increase or decrease the amount held in the financial institution ; b) present the passbook or other record for the crediting of interest or dividends in respect of the items enumerated in section 4(6) (a) and (b) of the Dormant Accounts Law, 2010; c) correspond in writing with the financial institution concerning the monies; d) in the case of a trust, make a claim under the trust; or e) otherwise indicate an interest in the monies as evidenced by a memorandum concerning the monies written by the financial institution. 2. Subject to the Dormant Accounts Law, 2010, on the transfer of the monies in the dormant account to the general revenue of the Islands, the dormant account holder will no longer have any right against the finalncial institution to repayment of the monies transferred, but the dormant account holder will have against the Government such right to repayment of the monies transferred that the dormant account holder would have had against the financial institution. 3. Any interested person should contact the financial institution mentioned above to establish if that person is a dormant account holder. 1 Interest paid by a financial institution on monies held in the financial institution shall not be regarded as a transaction, which increases the amount held in the financial institution pursuant to section 4(5) of the Dormant Accounts Law, 2010 1 cayman compass 9 WEEKLY, 28 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2023Next >