Mango Habanero or Jerk Chicken Sandwiches Your most trusted news source Established 1965 Weekly, 14 - 20 June 2024 Cayman under water Pages 19, 20 and 21 Coming through trauma Pages 26-27 Cayman wins World Cup qualifier match Page 37 cayman compass Deadly airbag recall hits home in Cayman Pages 5, 6 and 22 Explosive truthMatinees (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $10.00 (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 lm 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 weather Friday Forecast FORECAST Chance isolated showers SEA STATE Rough with a wave height of 4 to 6 feet. Small craft should exercise caution over open water WINDS Southeast at 15 to 20 knots. 89°F HIGH 78°F LOW NEWS EDITOR CAROLINE JAMES ISSUES EDITOR JAMES WHITTAKER HEAD OF SALES CHERYL BIRCH-GILLIES news in brief Forecasters warn of ‘extremely active’ hurricane season Forecasters at Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project have reconfirmed their projection for an extremely active hurricane season, predicting up to 23 named storms with winds of 39 miles per hour or higher. The CSU team, in an updated forecast on 11 June, says information obtained through early June indicates that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season will have activity well above the 1991–2020 average. A typical season during that time span had 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, and 3.2 major hurricanes. The updated forecast, similar to projections released in April, calls for at least 11 of the 23 named storms on the forecast to become hurricanes, with winds of at least 74 mph. Five of those hurricanes are expected to strengthen to Category 3 or higher, becoming major storms with winds of at least 111 mph. The forecasters say they anticipate La Niña conditions to develop by the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, “likely resulting in reduced levels of tropical Atlantic vertical wind shear”, favouring storm activity. Sea surface temperatures, averaged across the hurricane Main Development Region of the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, remain at record warm levels, “currently measuring ~1.4°C above the 1991–2020 average”. “This warmth favors an active Atlantic hurricane season via dynamic and thermodynamic conditions that are conducive for developing hurricanes,” forecasters said. New tourism plan paused until after 2025 election Cayman’s tourism industry will have to wait until next year for a new roadmap to guide its development. Work on replacing the expired tourism plan has been put on hold until after the 2025 general election and the subsequent installation of a tourism minister. Tourism Ministry Chief Officer Stran Bodden related this decision to the Public Accounts Committee when he appeared before it on 6 June to answer questions about the auditor general’s performance report on Cayman Airways. Bodden, responding to a question from PAC chairman and opposition leader Roy McTaggart on the status of the plan, said the Ministry and the Department of Tourism had decided to extend the existing National Tourism Plan, which expired in December, and hold off on a new plan until next year. “It is still a very dynamic and comprehensive document,” he said, adding that the ministry will be publishing an adapted ‘roll forward’ document this month. Bodden said the ministry will then develop a new national tourism plan next year. “What is anticipated is that the next administration of government, that will be their plan, and they be able to take that forward during that term in terms of the initiatives, any projects identified, any changes in perspectives in terms of how to best leverage tourism for the entrepreneurship and employees in tourism,” he said. The National Tourism Plan was developed under the Progressives-led administration. Bodden said the ministry envisions having a new plan in place by December 2025. Murder trial continues, juror dies in accident The murder trial of Bryan Roy Welcome continued on 11 June with just 11 jurors after a jury member died in an accident on 9 June. Details of the accident were not revealed in court. The jury, which had not sat for the previous two weeks, was also not required to sit on 10 June due to the heavy rain and flooding. When they returned to Grand Court on 11 June, Justice Marlene Carter asked them if the death of their fellow juror might affect their ability to concentrate on the case. When the jury of nine women and two men responded that they were willing and able to continue, they were told the case would resume on 18 June, after the public holiday weekend. Welcome, 42, of Bodden Town, is accused of driving over and killing his informal business partner during a heated dispute that turned physical. He faces a single murder charge, which he denies, in relation to the 8 July 2023 killing of Omar Ryan, 34, a Jamaican national who lived in North Side. Ryan died after being hit by an SUV off Robert Foster Drive near the George Town Yacht Club. Next Parliament meeting delayed until 5 July The next meeting of Parliament is being delayed by nearly two weeks, and will now meet on Friday, 5 July. The last time Parliament met was in February. In an earlier announcement by government, the date set for the upcoming meeting was 24 June. No reason for the delay was given. A recent report by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association highlighted the infrequency with which the Parliament sits as a “primary cause for concern”. As of 10 June, six business papers have been sent to the members since the previous meeting in February. The Business Committee is set to consider sending six bills to the House. These include the Firearms (Amendment) Bill, the Pharmacy Bill, the Perpetuities (Amendment) Bill, the Summary Jurisdiction (Amendment) Bill, and the Supplementary Appropriation (January 2023 to December 2023) Bill. Plastic Free Cayman calls for clean-up campaign Plastic Free Cayman has welcomed an incoming ban on six types of single-use plastics, but says more has to be done to deal with the pollution impacting local coastlines. “We also need to draw attention to the fact that our islands need a national clean- up scheme,” the group, led by founder Claire Hughes, said. The group has been advocating for a ban on single- use plastics since 2017. They welcomed the upcoming changes to block the import of six types of plastics, and said government should consider a multi-pronged approach to the problem. “Our volunteers cannot keep up with the plastics that continue to overtake our shores due to waste entering the currents from other countries and cruise ships,” the group said in a statement. Government on 6 June announced that legal changes are being drafted to restrict the import of small grocery check- out bags, straws, stir sticks and chopsticks made of plastic, as well as sky lanterns, and cups and clamshell containers made of polystyrene. Plastic Cayman said this ban is a step in the right direction, as Cayman joins 14 other Caribbean islands in efforts to mitigate plastic pollution. Cayman will have to wait until after the 2025 general election for a new strategic plan for the tourism industry. - Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 2 N news WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024cayman compass 3 WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 20241234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Nervous breakdown (5-2) 5 Large narrow piece (5) 8 Dissuade from (4,3,2) 9 Wounding remark (3) 10 Owl’s cry (4) 12 Hooey (8) 14 Magnitude (6) 15 Persuasive (6) 17 Make a general disclosure (2,6) 18 Prefix meaning principal (4) 21 Timber used in shipbuilding (3) 22 Freedom and scope (9) 24 Cheery in temperament (5) 25 An intellectual (7) DOWN 1 Seize after pursuit (5) 2 Be unwell (3) 3 Problem (4) 4 Quality that evokes pity (6) 5 Sentimental weakness (4,4) 6 Teller of anecdotes (9) 7 Forbearing (7) 11 Candid (9) 13 Affected social superiority (8) 14 Absorb attention of (7) 16 Feasible (6) 19 Warm and damp (5) 20 Burglar’s haul (4) 23 Single (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 17657 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 17657 ACROSS: 1 Crack-up, 5 Strip, 8 Talk out of, 9 Cut, 10 Hoot, 12 Nonsense, 14 Extent, 15 Cogent, 17 Go public, 18 Arch, 21 Oak, 22 Elbowroom, 24 Sunny, 25 Egghead. DOWN: 1 Catch, 2 Ail, 3 Knot, 4 Pathos, 5 Soft spot, 6 Raconteur, 7 Patient, 11 Outspoken, 13 Snobbery, 14 Engross, 16 Viable, 19 Humid, 20 Swag, 23 One. KISHAN KHODAY As highlighted at the recent 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS- 4), it is clear that planet Earth’s ecosystems are in an accelerating state of flux, and that a course correction is urgently needed if countries are to maintain and sustain their hard-won development gains in coming decades. Together, the changing climate, loss of ecosystems and escalating toxicity and pollution – known as the triple planetary crisis – have emerged as an existential threat to lives and livelihoods, with the coming years likely to see millions pushed into poverty, inequality, and mass displacement, unless action is taken. No longer a dystopian tale of the future, these trends are now upon us, threatening to derail development. So, what can be done? First is the value of multilateralism. As highlighted in the 2023/2024 edition of the Human Development Report, on the theme of reimagining cooperation in a polarised world, addressing the planetary crisis needs a renewed level of collective action and solidarity within the international community. The priority needs to be on solutions that bring justice and remedy to those communities across the Global South who have little to do with the cause of the planetary crisis but are feeling the brunt of the impact. This is particularly important for communities in small island developing states, who have been vocal proponents of the need for scaled-up international support to SIDS for building the resilience of oceans-based economies, adaptation to climate change, resilience of coral reefs and marine ecosystems, and rapid activation of new systems to address loss and damage from climate change. Given the historical roots of the planetary crisis and growing conditions of vulnerability, enhancing global cooperation will also be about exploring forms of debt relief, scaled-up use of blue and green debt swaps, and reparatory forms of development. Second is the need to embrace opportunities from the transition. Blue and green solutions will emerge as the greatest development opportunity in the coming decades, driven by a new generation of thought leadership, innovative technology, and sustainable finance instruments. New nature-based models of development can serve OPINION Nature in crisis: Rethinking development pathways to restore and maintain an ‘ecological safety net’, ensuring productive land, water access, food systems and other services that communities rely on for lives and livelihoods. Embracing the opportunity rests on three critical shifts. Foremost will be a shift in behaviour and values, with a new generation of young leaders and creative thought leaders placing nature at the heart of their vision for the future. Importantly, this includes evolving sensibilities around citizen rights to a healthy environment, participation in decision-making on the use of natural resources, and access to systems of justice to remedy impacts. Another critical shift is being seen in economic and financial systems, from nature- negative to nature-positive fiscal policies; impact investments with social and environmental co- benefits; expansion of blue and green bonds; and capitalisation and rapid commercialisation of clean technology investments. Equally important will be a shift in development practice and systems, through greater community empowerment and local action, and solutions driven by communities’ lived experiences and locally crafted solutions on ways to manage risk and build resilience. The impacts of such a transition will be seen in people’s lives, particularly for the poor and most vulnerable in society – through more equitable access to and benefits from use of the natural resources and the environment; more sustainable food systems; climate-resilient water systems and rural livelihoods; future-proofed infrastructure and early warning capacities; greater access to affordable energy and reduced electricity cost; solar-empowered health, education and water systems; more energy-efficient and cost-efficient buildings and transport; and new systems of environmental justice. The United Nations Development Programme is working with local partners on many of these issues, supporting over 2,000 projects today in SIDS across the world, with US$400 million per year to achieve global and local goals of resilience. In the Caribbean, nature-based solutions are at the core of this cooperation. In the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica, local projects are helping protect critical forests and coral ecosystems, expand solar solutions, develop capacities for new climate- resilient food and water systems, and restore damaged ecosystems. In addition to local adaptation and community resilience, our focus is also on upstream systems and policies to ensure impact at scale. This includes support in establishing national institutions for biodiversity and climate change, coupled with new climate and biodiversity finance plans, investment frameworks and tools for use of blue and green bonds, debt for nature swaps, and other instruments. With a view to the future, during the recent 4th International SIDS Conference, the UNDP also launched a new Blue and Green Islands Integrated Programme, a US$153 million grant-based initiative supported by the Global Environment Facility and implemented in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, UN Environment Programme, World Bank and World Wide Fund for Nature. Together, UNDP and partners will support participating countries around the world to integrate the value of nature into decision-making; advance innovative nature-based solutions within tourism, agriculture, and other sectors; crowd-in private sector finance; and empower civil society, women and youth as agents of change. The world’s collective response to the planetary crisis and the existential threat faced by vulnerable countries will be one of the greatest tests of solidarity and multilateralism in coming years. The time has arrived to move from dialogue to action, through renewed levels of global cooperation to future-proof countries’ hard-won development gains, and forward-looking policies and institutions that help embrace the transition to a new nature- based model of development. Kishan Khoday serves as Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Contact Kishan.khoday@undp.org. cayman compass news N news WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024 4 WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky The shocking revelation this month that a young Caymanian doctor was killed by a defective airbag has brought home to many car owners in Cayman that they may be driving deadly machines. With more than 65,000 vehicles registered in Cayman – many of which are models that are included in the world’s biggest safety recall – there could potentially be thousands of cars on local roads with the faulty airbags. The Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing on 29 May – just days before the inquest into Dr. Amber Martinez’s death began – announced a policy to fail any vehicles that are subject to a worldwide recall of the Takata airbag and in which the defective equipment has not already been repaired or replaced. The 2008 Honda Fit that 29-year-old Martinez was driving when she was killed by flying shrapnel from an exploding airbag was among the vehicles on the recall list. It had last been licensed by the DVDL in 2021. According to documentation presented at her inquest this month, it had been inspected annually and passed at least five times in Cayman. The Compass has contacted the Ministry of Transport and the DVDL to ascertain exactly when they became aware of the Takata airbag recall and at what date the policy to fail cars with defective airbags was introduced, but a response has not yet been received. The DVDL has published on its website a long list of vehicle makes and models that are subject to the recall. That list features more than 30 brands and almost 200 specific models of vehicles, including ones that are very common on local roads, such as Toyota RAV4s and Honda Civics, CR-Vs and Fits. The years of the cars listed by the DVDL vary by model and make, with the earliest being from 2000 and the latest being 2017. However, local dealerships say models that date back as far as 1996 are also affected. A ban introduced by government last year on the importation of vehicles that are more than eight years old means that any new cars coming on island will not have the potentially deadly airbags installed. But that does not address those already imported and on the roads. The Martinez family – still mourning the loss of Amber, who had recently returned home from Turkey where she had just qualified as a doctor – in a statement released following the inquest, said they hoped their case would help drivers realise the potential danger they may be facing. “We want to ensure that every member of the motoring public in all of the Cayman Islands (this also includes Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) are aware of the impact of the Takata Airbag recall and just how serious and dangerous this situation is. Your life or the life of a loved one could be at stake,” they said. Noting the wide variety of vehicles impacted, the family urged “all motorists to check the VIN number/chassis numbers of their cars immediately to ensure that you are not driving a vehicle with a ‘ticking timebomb inside’”. More than a 100 million airbags around the world are estimated to be subject to the recall, with about 67 million having been replaced. Japanese company Takata was one of the largest airbag manufacturers in the world before it went bankrupt due to the massive number of injury claims against it. What’s the problem? As explained by an expert witness at the Martinez inquest, the problem with the airbag lies in the inflator device. An airbag is deployed by the use of a booster tube, which contains an ammonium nitrate-based propellant. Investigations found that the propellant lacked a chemical drying agent. Because the booster tube is not hermetically sealed, in a hot-and- humid climate like that of the Cayman Islands, the propellant can soak up moisture, expand and become unstable. This can compromise the metal tube in which it is encased. In Martinez’s case, that tube blew apart, shooting shrapnel from the bottom of the tube into the car’s steering column or floor and from the top of it into the driver’s throat and neck. The jury at the Coroner’s Court where the case was heard were told by expert Michael DiCicco that the force would have been similar to being shot by a bullet. Similar fatal accidents involving Takata airbags have been reported 27 times in the United States. The cause of Martinez’s death only came to light after her family hired lawyers and experts to help them get to the bottom of what had happened to her. The forensic pathologist had found a plastic-and-metal fragment in her neck during the autopsy, but initially believed it was an incidental piece of material that had transferred to her body during the fire that engulfed the vehicle after it ran off the road at Queen’s Highway in East End on 21 Oct. 2022, or while her body was being removed from the vehicle afterwards. That fragment was later examined by DiCicco, who previously worked for Takata, when he visited Cayman at the invitation of the family to help investigate Martinez’s death. He was able to confirm that a number still visible on the fragment equated to a 2008 Takata airbag booster tube. This indicated that it belonged to the original airbag installed in the 2008 Honda Fit she had been driving. This in turn led the pathologist to change his original findings and to determine that Martinez had died as a result of being struck by shrapnel from the exploding booster tube. The Coroner’s Court jury delivered a verdict of death by misadventure, or accident, following the three-day hearing earlier this month. This was the first time that a death related to a defective Takata airbag was recorded in the Cayman Islands. The explosive truth about defective airbags Dr. Amber Martinez died in a car crash on the morning of 21 Oct. 2022. – Photo: File Takata airbags have been subject to a worldwide recall. - Photo: File PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6» cayman compass 5 news N news WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024According to a timeline included in a report by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Association, the history of defective Takata airbags dates back to May 2004, when a driver-side airbag inflator ruptured in a Honda Accord in Alabama. Similar ruptures occurred again in 2007 and 2008 in Arizona, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and California. In November 2008, Honda began the first Takata-related recall action to address the driver airbag ruptures. This involved the recall of only 3,940 2001 Honda Accords and Civics. When more driver airbags ruptured in Honda vehicles in 2009, the car manufacturer expanded the recall, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association opened a recall query. Several other recalls of specific Honda models followed, and then it was determined that airbags were malfunctioning and rupturing in other brands, including BMW, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota. Most of those incidents occurred in states with hot, humid weather. In June 2014, Takata and the various vehicle manufacturers agreed to begin parts-collection campaigns in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands “to verify the apparent connection between long-term exposure to high heat and humidity and the ruptures in Takata inflators that occurred despite a lack of any known defects that could be attributed to a mistake in the manufacturing process”. Later, the geographic region of the recalls was expanded to include the southern coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In May 2016, Takata agreed to recall another 35 million to 40 million of its airbag inflators, in addition to the 28.8 million previously recalled, making this the largest recall in history. The following year, the airbag manufacturer pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a US court, and agreed to pay US$1 billion in penalties. This included a US$25 million fine, the establishment of a US$125 million victim compensation fund, and US$850 million to be paid to carmakers. Since then, several other makes of cars have been found to contain the defective airbag and the recall now extends to at least 30 brands, some of which have issued ‘Do Not Drive’ warnings to car owners, including, most recently, Nissan in May this year. Local recalls Cayman’s DVDL, in its announcement regarding the Takata airbag recall at the end of May, urged car dealerships in Cayman to reach out to vehicle owners to inform them of the potential dangers of the airbags, and to replace any defective ones as soon as possible. Honda dealership Car City has been trying to trace vehicles with the faulty airbags since 2016, and brought a team from the United States to help replace them in an ongoing campaign. Taylor Foster, manager at Car City, says the Honda dealership has “checked tens of thousands of vehicles for the Takata recall since 2016”, and has replaced more than 3,500 inflators. Dealerships have been replacing the defective inflators free of charge. A factor that may put some owners off from checking if their airbags need replacing is the waiting time for parts. One driver in Grand Cayman told the Compass, when she had her Toyota checked after reading about the Martinez case, she was informed that she may have to wait up to six months for the replacement part to arrive. Though this driver was a customer at a different dealership, Foster acknowledges that there may be some wait time involved. “We currently have over 500 airbag inflators in stock,” he said, “and we receive monthly shipments to maintain our inventory. If we have to order from scratch, it would normally take anywhere from four to eight weeks. This timeframe assumes that the part is not on international backorder, which could double the wait time.” Foster added, “One of the main challenges we have faced is not only the sheer volume of inflators, but also the variety, with over 10 types of airbag inflators. For instance, a passenger inflator differs from a driver inflator and a [Honda] Fit inflator is different than an Accord. “Compounding this issue are supply chain shortages and logistics issues that the world has recently experienced. Currently, only the customer with whom we have a service relationship is notified of the recall.” This means that if a person buys a car from Car City, or any other dealership, and then sells the car to another person, the dealership would not have contact details for the new owner, unless that person then takes the car for a service or repair to that dealer. This hampers dealerships’ ability to proactively contact owners about recalls. Vampt Motors, which deals in Toyotas and Fords, is another local dealership that is taking proactive action to inform car owners about the recall. “We cannot stress enough the gravity of the Takata recall, which impacts 34 brands from 19 different automakers,” Greg Hall, Vampt Motors’ service manager for Ford and Toyota in the Cayman Islands, said in a statement. He says he first began raising concerns about the Takata recall vehicles on Cayman 27’s Daybreak show in 2013. “This is a straightforward fix, one that should not be a matter of life and death,” he said. Vampt Motors’ parts manager Jason Hauck urged people to check their VIN numbers with their dealers as soon as possible to find out if they need to have the airbags replaced, rather than waiting for the date of their next vehicle inspection. “If they fail the inspection due to the Takata recall, this also means the vehicle is not drivable until it gets the repair parts,” he said. “If we don’t know the VINs, we won’t have the parts in stock, and stocking can be very delayed even under emergency stocking parameters as these are HAZMAT regulated.” This refers to shipping regulations of hazardous materials, such as the propellant in the inflators. “We want to help save lives and get these parts, but we cannot do so if we don’t know the VINs that are actively on the island and need repair.” How to get your vehicle checked To check if your airbag is one of those subject to the recall, check your VIN number on your vehicle. This can be found stamped on the chassis of your vehicle, usually in the engine bag, or beneath the plastic trim around the driver- or passenger-door opening. Your vehicle insurance documentation should also contain the VIN number. Then, contact your local dealership and ask them to run a check on the VIN number to see if it is one of those that are subject to the recall. Once this is confirmed, visit the dealership or make an appointment to have the faulty airbag replaced. For the full list of vehicles subject to the recall, see page 22. The explosive truth about defective airbags In November 2008, Honda began the first Takata-related recall action to address the driver airbag ruptures. This involved the recall of only 3,940 2001 Honda Accords and Civics. A technician removes an old inflator from the airbag mechanism of a car at Car City’s Honda recall event in January 2019. – Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 6 news N news WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Detailed reasons for the decision to halt the indecent assault case against McKeeva Bush are being kept under wraps until the conclusion of a second criminal case involving the former premier. Justice Stanley John halted the case two weeks into a highly public Grand Court trial in February, ruling that there had been an ‘abuse of process’ on the part of the prosecution. In brief remarks explaining his decision at the time, John highlighted concerns with the way the decision was taken to prosecute Bush, also a former speaker of the house, saying the process had caused “a level of disquiet”. “The court is … concerned with the process, and I stress the process, by which the decision to prosecute was made,” he said. “I pose this question rhetorically. Would a right-minded citizen hearing the process used to have the defendant brought before the court ... not have serious concerns?” Delivering those initial remarks on 28 Feb. as the trial was halted, John indicated that this decision was based on the disclosure information provided to the defence and that “detailed reasons will be given in writing at a later date”. Written judgment embargoed Earlier this month, the courts confirmed that John had delivered his full judgment but that this is now subject to an embargo. “Upon circulation, a request was made to embargo the judgment to prevent prejudice in the second trial,” a Judicial Administration spokesperson said. “Justice John granted the embargo in the interest of justice. Once the upcoming trial, scheduled to take place on June 24 has concluded, the judgments will become available.” The Compass understands the request was made by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, there is no public record of the request, there was no public hearing and no written ruling has been published on the decision to embargo the judgment. The indecent assault case, which collapsed in February, centred on complaints about Bush’s conduct towards two female civil servants at a government function at The Ritz- Carlton hotel in September 2022. The second case involves an historical allegation of rape, dating back to 2000. Bush declined to comment, citing legal advice. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions did not respond to requests for comment. The Compass has sought additional clarity from the court over when and how the decision to embargo the judgment was made and has yet to receive a response. McKeeva Bush leaving court on Thursday, 29 Feb., after the judge ruled abuse of process from the prosecution in his indecent assault trial. - Photo: File Judgment that halted Bush trial under wraps “Once the upcoming trial, scheduled to take place on June 24 has concluded, the judgments will become available. ” – Judicial Administration spokesperson JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky The extent of the UK’s power to legislate for the Cayman Islands will be considered by the Privy Council, the highest court of appeal for the British overseas territories. The test case centres on former Governor Martyn Roper’s decision to use his emergency powers to push through legislation on same- sex partnerships that had been rejected by Cayman’s elected MPs. Kattina Anglin appeared to have reached the end of the road in her efforts to challenge that decision when the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s decision that Roper had acted within the scope of his powers under the Cayman Islands Constitution. The same court also refused an application from Anglin to bring the case before the Privy Council. However, the attorney, also a spokesperson for the Christian Association for Civics, made a special application direct to the Privy Council, which announced last month that it has granted the right to appeal. The Privy Council only takes cases which it believes have some merit or raise arguable points of law of general public importance. A similar application on behalf of the Central Planning Authority for the Privy Council to appeal a separate Court of Appeal decision about the powers of the National Conservation Council was rejected as “not an appeal which should be considered at this time”. Speaking to the Compass on 10 June, Anglin said she was delighted that the court had agreed to hear the case. Describing herself as a lone citizen taking on “humungous machinery”, she said that – whatever the result of the final appeal – she is happy to have fought to the end. “I can wake up every morning and think I have no regrets because I stood up for what I believe is right,” she said. “The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will make its own decision, but I will have seen it through to the end. I will have taken it as far as it can go and we will all have the final word on the matter.” Anglin believes the court’s decision to take the case demonstrates that it is an issue of significant importance, bolstering her appeal for legal aid. She insisted the case was not about opposition to same-sex relationships, but rather the respective powers of the Cayman Islands and the UK in ruling the territory. Roper used his reserved powers in the Cayman Islands Constitution to pass the Domestic Partnerships Bill into law, arguing that it was a matter that came under his remit for ‘external affairs’. The nuances of how that is determined, and what can be decided by overseas territories parliaments and by the UK- appointed governor, are central to the case. Anglin said, “When you look at the full scope of this, there is no case law on this subject in any of the overseas territories. How do we actually govern the territories and where are the real boundaries of the governor’s power? “That’s the issue here and it is extremely important for all of the territories.” Kattina Anglin Privy Council to review governor’s same-sex partnership decision “The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will make its own decision, but I will have seen it through to the end. I will have taken it as far as it can go and we will all have the final word on the matter.” cayman compass 7 news N news WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has renewed his appeal for a cruise pier referendum, saying the country must make a decision about the industry and whether construction of berthing piers will move forward. “There needs to be a referendum,” Bryan said, speaking with the Compass on 7 June. The minister said there was no other way to “sugarcoat” the reality the country is now facing, as he said local businesses are feeling the pressure from declining cruise calls. The cruise industry had a rough start to the year, as nor’westers forced at least 21 ships to bypass Cayman between January and February. The weather conditions, coupled with the drop in port calls, have added to the existing burden. Cayman must decide Businesses dependent on the cruise industry have appealed for more action from government in the wake of declining cruise calls. Bryan said he has tried, since taking office in 2021, to signal to the country what was coming. Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart has accused the government of abandoning the cruise industry. He said if the cruise sector is going to be “reshaped with fewer passenger numbers, then the Government needs to manage the transition, helping businesses and workers adjust, not just abandoning the sector to the whims of the market”. McTaggart, in a statement, said the urgency of this work is such “that it cannot wait another year for a new government after the election. It needs action now”. However, Bryan said he has been in many meetings seeking to encourage more calls. Bryan said there were even offers to make changes to the law to allow casinos to operate on ships in the evening, which could encourage ships to stay in port longer and allow passengers to spend more time on island. “Logistically, they said it doesn’t help them because they still needed to get from one port location to the other and they needed the time. They couldn’t increase their speed to make up for it because they would be taxed by new emission fees,” the tourism minister said. The reality is that the ship models that cruise companies have moved to means they cannot disembark or embark 6,000-8,000 people by tender boat in the short period of time they are in harbour, Bryan said. “They need a pier to make it make financial sense," he said. "It’s not that they don’t want to come to the Cayman Islands. It’s just the model that the industry is moving to doesn’t make financial sense, and if it doesn’t [make] any sense, then they are not going to come.” Bryan was once strongly opposed to the construction of piers and objected to the arguments put forward by the former Progressives- led administration on looming cruise challenges when they sought to deliver a berthing project in 2019. The pandemic, however, changed the industry, Bryan said. “Rightfully so, the Progressives gave an indication that these are the projections of the future,” and they are coming to pass sooner than even they expected, he said. The difference from 2019 to today, Bryan said, is that project timelines for cruise companies have sped up since COVID, “and that’s why the numbers are declining”. Cruise lines used the decline in travel during the pandemic to build the bigger vessels they wanted and transition to their new business model. “I can’t say to you with any level of confidence it is going to get better without a pier. “Now, I’m not here to scare the public into wanting a pier. I am just saying, give me clear directions as your leader what you want me to do,” he said. Bryan added that, if the decision is that a pier is not what the community wants, and they accept that the cruise arrival numbers will continue to decline, then “we as government leaders need to prepare for that reality”. He said the administration will need time to prepare workers who will be negatively affected by the decline in the cruise industry to ensure they have economic opportunity. “That may mean we will need to tighten up on immigration, because we’re going to have Caymanians out of work. This includes making sure they find [work] in a different industry, whether it’s in the leisure and stayover market or financial services or construction, but you cannot make the necessary moves without a clear direction,” he said. Different result In 2019, a petition triggered a people-initiated referendum to decide on a potential cruise pier. With the onset of the COVID pandemic, however, the then Progressives-led government said it did not intend to move ahead with its plans to build a cruise pier in George Town Harbour. With that announcement, there was no longer a need for a referendum. Bryan, however, said the country’s voice has to be heard on the matter, because the decline that is happening will not be reversed. “There needs to be a choice by the people, and it can’t be one that is the government saying ‘we are in support of it’, or ‘we’re against it’,” he said. “The people need to choose whether they want to be in cruise or not. Without a pier, the numbers are going to continue to decline.” When the topic of berthing piers was first raised, he said, the community was confronted with a lot of different information – “some justified and some not justified”. At the time, it was logical to come to a conclusion without a referendum that most people were not in favour of the project, he said. While the opposing voice at the time “was very loud”, he said, “it was not confirmed because we never did have a referendum. But the voice was convincing.” Bryan said if the question were put to the country today, he thinks the result would be different. “With a new set of information that the realities of those projections are coming to fruition, I think that we’d have a different viewpoint today,” he said. Bryan said he knows there will be a section of people who don’t support the cruise industry, and if that is the majority, then the government will have a clear indication. “That’s how democracy works,” he said. Cayman can control calls Bryan said he warned tourism- related business owners not to ramp up to 100% coming out of COVID, because he knew the country would not return to 2019 numbers, nor is that what he wants. He said that if the country agrees to a pier, however, that does not mean there must be mass tourism. The country dictates how many ships it will welcome and when, he said. “Having a pier doesn’t mean that you need to have five ships. You can still limit it, but just make sure they have the opportunity to want to come. “That means if you say only one mega ship per day ... then that’s all we want. That’s the load factor of what we’re willing to accept that doesn’t disturb the local community,” he said. Small ships and luxury vessels cannot sustain the cruise tourism industry that Grand Cayman has created, he said, and the economic strain being felt now will worsen over time. “It’s just not enough, and they’re not going to come often enough. You may get one luxury ship if you’re lucky, once every two weeks, and the average for those luxury ships is 1,000 people,” he said. Chris Kirkconnell, vice president of operations at Kirk Freeport, shared the minister’s concern. He said that if the island wants to look at increasing numbers, then that “is probably going to involve that conversation about some kind of berthing for the cruise lines”. He said he is hopeful the addition of new cruises next year, such as Virgin Cruises, will bring a much-needed injection of business for the industry. “From what we’re seeing, [they] should have a good demographic and something that would be on par and in line with what Cayman is looking for,” he said. “But there are fewer and fewer additions to the cruise industry that don’t require berthing.” Bryan presses for referendum on cruise piers Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan Cruise ships remain an important tourism pillar. – Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 8 news N news WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024cayman compass 9 WEEKLY, 14 - 20 JUNE 2024Next >