cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 Weekly, 12 - 18 July 2024 Bush defiant in rape trial Page 3 CUC rate hike Page 5 Meet Cayman's Olympic team Page 30 Surging threat Record-breaker Beryl could be a 'harbinger' of things to come. Pages 22-24 Phot o: T aneos Ramsa yDeputy Premier and Minister for Financial Services and Commerce André Ebanks speaking at the official opening of the Cayman Islands government's new Asia office in Singapore on 26 June. - Photo: Supplied Matinees (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 Scattered showers hroughout the evening SEA STATE Moderate with a wave height of 3 to 5 feet. WINDS Southeast at 10 to 15 knots 88°F HIGH 78°F LOW NEWS EDITOR CAROLINE JAMES ISSUES EDITOR JAMES WHITTAKER HEAD OF SALES CHERYL BIRCH-GILLIES news in brief Cayman officially opens Asia office The Cayman Islands government has opened its Asia office in Singapore. Deputy Premier and Minister for Financial Services and Commerce André Ebanks led a delegation to Singapore late last month for a week of meetings and events, which included the officially opening of the office on 25 June. The new office will be led by Gene DaCosta, the government’s overseas representative to Asia. This is the Cayman Islands government’s third overseas office. It has a Europe office, based in its London premises, and a Washington DC office. During the visit to Singapore, Ebanks participated in an invite-only European Commission and Financial Action Task Force-organised side-event discussion on beneficial ownership and attended the FATF Plenary. He also attended a roundtable organised by the FATF and United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority on anti- money laundering supervision for designated non-financial businesses and professions, which was hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce branch in Singapore. One killed in Shamrock Road crash A 60-year-old man from East End was killed and another person injured in a two-vehicle collision in the early hours of 7 July along Shamrock Road, police have said. As of press time, the RCIPS had not released the man’s identity. The collision, between an Isuzu Elf and a Honda Fit, took place around 2:30am off Pasture Drive, according to a police press release. Both drivers were taken to the hospital with grave injuries, and the driver of the Honda Fit was pronounced dead by doctors. The accident remains under investigation. Man stabbed following business dispute A 23-year-old Bodden Town man was arrested following a stabbing incident on 9 July. According to the RCIPS, in a statement 10 July, just after 5pm, officers responded to a report that a man had attended the hospital with multiple stab wounds to his leg and back. Police said it was reported that the victim went to another man’s home in Bodden Town to discuss “business when a dispute began between the two”. The RCIPS said the man used a bladed weapon to stab the victim several times, causing him non-life- threatening injuries. The victim was transported to the hospital by a private vehicle. He was treated and later released. Young pedestrian seriously injured by vehicle Emergency responders rushed a girl to the hospital after she was reportedly struck by a vehicle along Esterley Tibbetts Highway on 6 July. At about 9:30pm, first responders were dispatched to the scene after it was reported that a vehicle collided with a pedestrian near the Island Heritage roundabout. According to a police press release, the victim sustained serious injuries. In a 7 July update, police said she was treated for the injuries, believed to be non-life- threatening, and was released. Police said no one else was injured, and the investigation is ongoing. The RCIPS is urging anyone with information to contact the George Town Police Station at 949-4222. Charles Jennings is the new chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission. Charles Jennings named Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Charles Jennings has been appointed at the new chairman of the Anti- Corruption Commission. Governor Jane Owen announced Jennings’ appointment, as well as the appointment of Elisabeth Lees, as a member of the commission on 9 July. Both appointments are effective from 1 July 2024 for a one-year term. Jennings, who has been a member of the ACC since August 2022, succeeds Adrian (Gus) Pope, who has chaired the commission for the past two years and been a member for the past four years. “I wish to thank Mr. Pope for his dedication to the Commission since 2020, and his outstanding leadership for the past two years. During his tenure as Chairman, the ACC conducted a number of complex investigations, and contributed to the Cayman Islands’ removal from the FATF grey-list in October 2023, which is to be commended,” Owen said. Jennings is a former worldwide managing partner of Maples and Calder law firm and a former president of the Cayman Islands Law Society. Lees served as the national coordinator to the Anti-Money Laundering Steering Group in the Cayman Islands from 2019 until January 2022. Owen said Lees was leading the Cayman Islands’ response to its Fourth Round Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Mutual Evaluation Report and “her expertise will be a valuable asset to the ACC”. cayman compass 2 N news WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024Defiant Bush denies rape allegations NORMA CONNOLLY AND ANDREL HARRIS A Grand Court jury has been hearing evidence from former premier McKeeva Bush and the woman who has accused him of raping her two decades ago in a dark lane as she was driving him home. The complainant took to the stand over two days, on Monday and Tuesday, 8 and 9 July, describing the alleged assault, which she said took place some time around 1999 or 2000. When Bush testified on Thursday, the veteran politician insisted the allegations were “pure unadulterated lies”, and blamed a conspiracy of powerful people who want to see him ousted from public office. The former premier and speaker of the house faces charges of rape and indecent assault, both of which he denies. Victim ‘froze’ during alleged assault Earlier in the week, jurors watched a police interview with the complainant, who told officers she “froze” during the assault. The woman, who was a single mother-of-two in her late 20s when the alleged offence occurred, broke down several times during the police interview. An edited video of the interview, recorded in 2022, was played to the jury on Monday, before the woman appeared in person to be questioned by the prosecution and defence. In the video, she said that she had gone to the Sea Inn Bar in George Town to pick up her mother, who had been drinking there. Also at the bar, she said, were several local politicians, including Bush, Alden McLaughlin and Kurt Tibbetts, who were celebrating an early milestone in McLaughlin's political career. She told officers, it was decided that she would drive Bush, who was inebriated, to his home in West Bay in his Ford Expedition, and then someone would collect her and bring her back to her car. When Bush took to the stand, he denied owning a Ford Expedition during this period, and claimed he would not have been drinking at the Sea Inn bar with political rivals at that time. In her police interview, the woman said Bush had asked her to turn off the road as they drove along West Bay Road. She assumed he wanted to relieve himself, so somewhere past Marquee Plaza, she drove the vehicle to the right onto a dark road covered in marl with “mangrove-type bushes” along it. ‘I was in the middle of nowhere in the dark’ She told police that, after she stopped the car, Bush began kissing her face and upper body. He got out of the car and came around to the driver-side door and “he started kissing up on me and slobbering on me. I could feel his tongue all over my face and upper body.” Asked by police how she had responded, she said, “I just froze.” “I was scared,” she said. “I was in the middle of nowhere in the dark and there was this man, he was much bigger than me. What was I to do? I did what he told me to do.” She told officers that Bush had “struggled” to get down on the ground because of his weight, and had then reached out and pulled her down. “I just remember him being on top of me and feeling his big fat self on top of me, slobbering and kissing me up and making noises and talking … He was really heavy, I thought he was going to squash me,” she said. She said Bush had intercourse and oral sex with her, and then “he stood up and started buckling his pants … I don’t remember the specific words, but he seemed satisfied.” Afterwards, she told the officers, they both got back in the vehicle and she drove Bush home. She said someone then picked her up, but she did not recall whom. ‘Needed to do it for my own sanity’ Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Jerome Lynch, KC, when asked why she had told her mother, who is a friend of Bush’s, about the rape two years ago, she said, “Because I needed to do it for my own sanity … I finally got the courage to do it and I wanted to let everybody know.” The court heard that after police later reached out to the woman’s mother to corroborate what her daughter had told her, her mother contacted her to say she knew nothing about it, at which point the woman resent the mother voice messages in which she told her about the assault. She said she also told her brother about the rape around that time, but said he had barely acknowledged it, as he was also a friend of Bush, and she felt he had sided with the West Bay West MP rather than with her. The complainant said she was angry at her mother, because she was the one who had told her to drive Bush home that night. “She put me in that position,” she said, as she sobbed in the witness box, saying she would never have been in the car with Bush nor would have been raped if it were not for her mother. When Lynch noted that she had only told people about the alleged rape in recent years, she responded that she had told a cousin, and an aunt. The cousin had since passed away, and the aunt had refused to give a statement to police confirming she had been told of the incident because the woman’s brother – the aunt’s nephew – was close to Bush, the woman said. Lynch repeatedly asked the woman why she had not resisted her assailant’s advances. She said she had been molested as a teenager and the experience with Bush had taken her back to that time. Several times during the cross- examination, the woman broke down in tears, holding her head in her hands. At one point, she told the defence lawyer she was feeling “intimated and under duress” by him. Political ambitions Lynch also questioned the woman about her ambitions to become a political representative, asking her about a meeting she’d had with Progressives leader Roy McTaggart. She confirmed she’d asked McTaggart about the possibility of running as a Progressives candidate, and added that she had also spoken to others about running for office. Bush’s evidence During his testimony on Thursday, Bush insisted he was innocent and did not know the complainant. Referring to the allegation that he had met the woman at the Sea Inn bar while he was drinking with McLaughlin and Tibbetts, The rape allegations against him are “pure, unadulterated lies”, McKeeva Bush claimed in court on Thursday, 11 July, after the jury heard from the woman at the centre of historical rape and indecent assault accusations against the veteran politician. - Photo: File PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8» “I was scared. I was in the middle of nowhere in the dark and there was this man, he was much bigger than me. What was I to do? I did what he told me to do.” Rape complainant cayman compass 3 news N news WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 20241234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Solicit votes (7) 5 Point in question (5) 8 Sworn to tell truth (5,4) 9 Advocates collectively (3) 10 To try (4) 12 To set aside by greater power (8) 14 Giant woody tropical grass (6) 15 To secure as support (6) 17 Qualified to be chosen (8) 18 A disguise (4) 21 Follow persistently (3) 22 On trial (2,3,4) 24 Content (5) 25 Underground prisoners’ cell (7) DOWN 1 A sovereign’s establishment (5) 2 Silent gesture of assent (3) 3 An affected manner (4) 4 Deprive of nourishment (6) 5 Intrinsic (8) 6 Presently before a court (3,6) 7 A pledge (7) 11 Judge’s review of evidence (7-2) 13 Firmness (8) 14 Side-to-side measurement (7) 16 Jubilant (6) 19 Compare (5) 20 Blood vessel (4) 23 Be in debt (3) 13 Firmness (8) 14 Side-to-side measurement (7) 16 Jubilant (6) 19 Compare (5) 20 Blood vessel (4) 23 Be in debt (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 17681 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 17681 Across: 1 Canvass, 5 Issue, 8 Under oath, 9 Bar, 10 Test, 12 Overrule, 14 Bamboo, 15 Enlist, 17 Eligible, 18 Veil, 21 Dog, 22 In the dock, 24 Happy, 25 Dungeon. Down: 1 Court, 2 Nod, 3 Airs, 4 Starve, 5 Inherent, 6 Sub judice, 7 Earnest, 11 Summing-up, 13 Solidity, 14 Breadth, 16 Elated, 19 Liken, 20 Vein, 23 Owe. What they’re saying Online pic of the week Barkers in West Bay is a popular spot with bird-watchers, with its woodland areas, mangrove marshlands and mud flats. Among the many local or migratory birds that frequent the area is the tri-coloured heron, also known locally as the grey gaulden. Cayman Compass photographer Taneos Ramsay recently captured this shot of a tri-coloured heron in mid-flight. The birds, which can grow to 24-28 inches in height, have the long legs and neck characteristic of herons and egrets. Their legs are yellow in the non-breeding season and pink in the breeding season. Taking flight CUC retroactively increases rates by 3.2% Profits went up 18% but they increased fees 3.2%. Why? If they are making more money and people can’t afford food, why increase electricity rates? Especially when temperatures are at record highs. Bruce Leibowitz Nothing but a bunch of criminals, followed closely by the banks. David Khouri It’s coming down to either pay the mortgage or pay for electricity! Imagine if we’d been hit by Beryl – what would the percentage climb be? Triple? CUC lost $11 million in Ivan because of being underinsured and we’ve been bearing that cost ever since! Innovators been helping people in remote Africa to get cheap AC, clean water, etc. I think we need to look into what new technologies are out there and bring them here. Caymanians should form a think tank to try to get to the bottom of why CUC’s costs to us can’t be trimmed instead of rising! And I’m so tired of political candidates saying if and as soon as they get in, they’re gonna tackle CUC about these high prices charged to us. Then when we put them in, they all go completely mum! Pam DaCosta I don’t think the Office of Regulation and Competition understands the definition of ‘competition’. Kris New I am just curious why is there not a lot more solar in use. Randy Jaeck Frankly, the increase isn’t what’s bothering me ... It’s the fact that it can be applied retroactively. What is OfReg doing that it doesn’t mandate that proper notice should be provided for any increases from utility providers? Ron Reid CUC is already reporting record profits, so how the heck can they justify an increase in rates. Nothing but crooks, greedy for more and more money. Andrew McLachlan Cayman’s Crystal Caves among Tripadvisor’s top 5 world attractions My family of a party of seven visited Crystal Caves in December of 2023. We had a delightful visit with Archie and staff. Everyone was very knowledgeable and friendly to all the tourist visiting the caves. When I return to Grand Cayman, I will make the caves a destination on my trip! Keep up the good work, Archie and staff. Richard M. After Beryl, fears for long storm season ahead People need to prepare their homes. And that Landlord and Tenants Act needs to be passed. These landlords are building shacks and renting at unrealistic prices. ... Demand your politicians to not ignore the draft. Dela J. Watler-Marte Scaremongering at its finest. The destruction caused in Cayman may change because of the poor building codes, but the rates and severity of hurricanes has not changed. Jeffrey Rankine They are developing these islands so weak by chipping away bit by bit the remaining natural resilience we already have. Alejandro Dominguez Ebanks No one to blame but themselves – greed building massive buildings by the sea, huge sea walls ... I could go on ... but no one is listening ! Fiona Theaker ‘Hurricanes don’t stop babies arriving’ Congratulations. I hope you made her middle name is Beryl. ThatChick Fliqq Congratulations. I had a Hurricane Gilbert baby. And, no, I did not name him Gilbert. Rose Marie Powell This epitomises the human spirit. In whatever downfalls, life must carry on. Angelina Menapa I was in Cayman (our second home) while pregnant with our last child. While on the island, I started getting incredibly sick. At over 8.5 months pregnant, I was worried. But the staff that we saw were incredible and made me cry because of how caring and loving they were. It ended up being dehydration and after being pumped full of fluids, and some rest, I was able to enjoy the rest of our baby moon. emalinesmom Premier on Beryl devastation: ‘We are going to lend a helping hand’ Please don’t forget out docks! lovesunsetandstars How can we send money and supplies to other countries while our own people are sleeping in their cars and having to get food from the food bank??? t.devere She needs to help us first. Get the costs of living down. tony_hugh cayman compass 4 news N news WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024 RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Caribbean Utilities Company has announced a 3.2% retroactive rate increase, effective 1 June. The power company said it has received approval from the Utility Regulation and Competition Office, OfReg, for the electricity rate adjustment. OfReg, however, in a statement issued on 10 July, said it has no power to give or refuse approval for CUC rate increases, as the power company’s ability to do so is ingrained in a licensing agreement it signed with government in 2008. The regular noted that it can only verify the data submitted by CUC and agree that they are correct. CUC: Average increase will be $4.88 CUC said, in its statement on 5 July announcing the rate change, that it expects the average residential customer’s monthly bill to increase by $4.88 based on the average monthly residential household consumption in 2023, which stood at 1,153 kilowatt hours. CUC last increased its base rate in February 2023. That rate increase had been deferred in June 2022 amid high inflation to ease the financial challenges faced by consumers. This latest rate increase, CUC said, was approved in accordance with the rate cap and adjustment mechanism contained in the company’s Transmission and Distribution Licence issued by the Cayman Islands government. CUC said rates are reviewed on an annual basis as outlined in condition 25 of the company’s T&D Licence. “If a change is required, per the prescribed formula which uses inflation indexes as a reference, the change in the rate is enacted for electricity consumption effective June 1 of each year,” it said. “Customers can expect to see a marginal increase in the facilities and energy charge component of their billing statements received in early July when compared to prior periods. Additional information on this rate change will be provided on customer bills.” The increase comes after the power company announced its net earnings for the first quarter of 2024 had increased 18% to $6.2 million when compared to the same period in 2023. Projected efficiency improvements CUC said this latest energy charge increase will be offset in part by fuel efficiency savings from recent upgrades to two of CUC’s large generating units. “There are plans to upgrade three additional generating units by 2025, which will bring further fuel efficiency savings to customers,” the company said. The implementation of the 20-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), CUC said, should bring additional fuel savings by August. “It is estimated that this project will allow for annual savings on fuel factor charges for customers and therefore will offset the majority of the energy charge adjustments,” the company said. Fuel factor rates, the company said, are “pass-through costs” from fuel purchases, so any fluctuation in fuel prices will affect the rates. CUC has encouraged customers to be mindful of their electricity usage. “During the summer months, the heat index and increased demand for air conditioning will lead to higher electricity consumption,” it said, pointing out that its website offers a number of energy-saving tips. OfReg response Regulator OfReg issued its response to the CUC’s rate hike a few days after the announcement to clarify, it said, that it had not “approved” the increase. It noted that CUC’s Transmission and Distribution Licence includes a Rate Cap and Adjustment Mechanism, known as RCAM, which provides the formula on which annual rate adjustments are calculated and implemented. “This process is not new and is conducted every year as part of CUC’s licence agreement,” the regulator said. “OfReg’s legal role in this process does not involve ‘approving’ the rate which the RCAM dictates - it has no discretion to refuse such a rate increase. Its function is to verify the data upon which the RCAM adjustment is based to ensure that the proposed increase is compliant with the conditions of the T&D licence. “The RCAM is an automatic rate adjustment mechanism designed to ensure that there would be no sudden swings of the base rate based on inflation brought about by sudden increases in the cost of known inflators such as food and fuel. For that purpose any base rate adjustment under the RCAM is based on a mix of 60% Cayman CPI and 40% US CPI, minus food and fuel.” OfReg pointed out that the RCAM is a rate mechanism, agreed between the Cayman Islands Government and CUC in 2008, which allows for an annual incremental adjustment of CUC’s existing base rate based on an increase in CI/US CPI minus those inflationary factors and has been taking place annually since then. “OfReg inherited, and is legally obligated to follow, this rate making regime, until there is some other form of rate making mechanism implemented, which could only happen with an amendment of the CUC T&D Licence. Once OfReg has verified the data upon which an annual RCAM adjustment is predicated, it has no choice but to agree to implement that change in the base rate, otherwise it would be immediately subject to successful legal challenge by CUC.” Denied other rate adjustment OfReg also pointed out that it had earlier denied an application by CUC to “rebalance” its consumer class rates, based on its Cost of Service Study. “OfReg refused to approve the rebalancing of the base rates between the commercial and residential classes, as there was no apparent rationale and it would mean that commercial rates would be reduced at the expense of residential rates which would have increased by an additional 3-4% over and above the RCAM adjustment increase,” it said. It added, “The Board’s decision was based on its conclusion that such a rebalancing, especially in light of the RCAM adjustment, would impose an undue additional expense on the class of CUC consumers who could least afford it.” OfReg interim CEO, Sonji Myles said in the statement that part of the regulator’s role “is to protect consumers and ensure that our licensees meet the terms and conditions of their licence. CUC’s annual rate cap adjustment review is one such condition of its licence and the submission for this year was reviewed and found to be within the set terms of the licence. Based on the existing terms, OfReg is unable to deny a justified adjustment.” He added, “Any proposed rate increases or change, from any licensee, is closely scrutinised and reviewed for compliance with its terms and conditions, supported by financial information, before approval. Those that do not comply or which would appear to impose an unjustifiable, unnecessary or unfair burden on consumers are refused, as was the case with CUC when it submitted a proposal to rebalance its commercial and residential base rates.” OfReg calls for updating of T&D licence agreement OfReg is calling for the terms and conditions of the 16-year-old Transmission and Distribution Licence to be updated, noting that when it was granted, the “significant changes in power generation technology” could not have been predicted, although there was recognition at the time for the need to encourage renewable generation. “In addition, given the current cost of fuel, which forms a significant part of every energy bill, OfReg suggests that more needs to be done to implement measures for regulation of efficiency standards,” the regulator’s statement noted. Myles said OfReg believes “the time is right to review and update the existing licence regime (especially in light of the recent proposals reflected in the National Energy Policy) to better protect consumers by allowing for a contemporary, yet competitive mix of generation solutions that are routinely monitored to ensure the highest standards of efficiencies and quality of service”. Sonji Myles, interim CEO, OfReg CUC increases rates by 3.2% CUC headquarters on North Sound Road, George Town. - Photo: File cayman compass 5 news N newsRESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Government has rejected the Electoral Boundary Commission’s recommended changes to the local constituency boundary lines and will now be seeking a new commission to review the make-up of Cayman’s parliamentary seats. The decision to reject the commission’s report was taken during Cabinet’s 27 June meeting, according to a post-Cabinet summary published Wednesday, 19 July. The summary stated that Cabinet had approved that Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly table a motion proposing the acceptance of an order from the governor “to reject all recommendations contained in the 2023 Electoral Boundary Commission Report”. The motion will “seek the Governor’s support in accordance with Section 89 (1) of the Constitution, to establish a new Electoral Boundary Commission with revised Terms of Reference to ensure equitable representation and comprehensive consultation”. What the rejected report says The report, which was completed after 12 public meetings and other public consultations last year, offered one set of proposed adjustments to constituency boundaries in West Bay, George Town, North Side, East End, and the Sister Islands. It also offered two sets of adjustments to Bodden Town – one map with four constituencies and a second map with five constituencies. Specifications for the boundary lines were also provided in the report. With the changes, the commission also recommended constituency names be switched to numerical designations to more accurately reflect the communities where the new lines will fall, such as George Town 1 and George Town 2. The commission, which was formed in January last year, spent eight months compiling and finalising the report last year. Since it’s extremely unlikely that a new commission would have time to draw up new electoral boundaries before the next election, which is expected in Spring next year, Cayman voters will be going to the polls in 2025 in the 19 constituencies that currently exist. Next steps Legislators will have the opportunity to debate the motion when it is tabled in Parliament. The decision to reject the commissioner’s recommendations comes after months of silence from the UPM administration on the status of the report. There has been no official comment from the government on this latest development, as of the Compass’s press time Thursday. The report recommended the creation of a new constituency in Bodden Town and the redrawing of lines in 15 other districts to make the electors’ numbers more in line with international standards. Compiled by commission chair Lisa Handley and members Steve McField and Adriannie E Webb, the document was delivered in August 2023. Since then, there had been no comment on the recommendations that were made, nor whether the report would be accepted. The Compass has also repeatedly queried how much the exercise has cost the public purse. Leader of the Opposition Roy McTaggart had previously stated his concerns about the delay and silence on the report, especially with the 2025 general election approaching. Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell, responding to Compass queries back in May, had said the timing of the presentation of the boundary report to Parliament is determined by the premier and other elected officials, but that his team was “prepared to undertake the necessary measures to inform registered voters of the proposed changes to their electoral districts, per the 2023 Electoral Boundaries Commission recommendations”. This decision comes after months of silence from the UPM administration on the status of the report. Cabinet rejects recommendation to redraw electoral map With Cabinet rejecting the proposed revised electoral boundaries, it is likely that Caymanians will be voting in the existing 19 electoral districts in the 2025 election. Electoral Boundary Commission chairman Lisa Handley, left, with members Adriannie E Webb and Steve McField. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath cayman compass 6 WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky An oil tanker called the Sea Elephant ran aground off the coast of the eastern shore of Cayman Brac on Saturday afternoon, 6 July, while delivering diesel to the island. There were no reports of fuel leakage from the double-hull tanker, which was closely monitored in the several days it spent off the island's coast before setting sail for Grand Cayman on Thursday. Several government agencies, including the Cayman Islands Coast Guard, Maritime Authority and Department of Environment, conducted the initial investigation of the maritime incident, according to a government press release. The Compass understands that teams were able to free the 29,401-tonne tanker, but that both the hull and coral heads on a shallow offshore bar appeared to sustain some damage. On Monday, 8 July, utilities regulator OfReg announced it had begun inquiries into the incident and confirmed that there have been no reports of any fuel spills. “The situation continues to be monitored closely as a precautionary measure,” the regulator said in a statement. “OfReg will provide updates as they become available and will work diligently with all relevant authorities to ensure the highest standards of environmental and operational safety are maintained.” Assessing damage Personnel from the Department of Environment’s Marine Resources Team were on the Brac during the week to carry out “a detailed assessment of the damage to marine resources”. The Compass understands that the ship, which is 600 feet long, received damage to its first hull. A government statement, in response to Compass queries, said a marine surveyor from the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands completed his inspection of the ship on Sunday. “[He has] advised that temporary repairs to the hull of the vessel need to be made before the vessel can leave for Grand Cayman to continue discharging its cargo,” the statement said. Those repairs were done on Wednesday. The statement said that following the offloading of cargo on Grand Cayman, “the vessel will need to be subjected to a proper damage assessment and repaired to a condition which would allow her to be authorised to travel to a facility where further inspections and permanent repairs may be carried out”. The statement added that Department of Environment and Cayman Islands Coast Guard officers continue to collect “witness statements and interview key personnel to aid and further the investigation”. The Sea Elephant is a chemical/ oil products tanker and sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands. 600 feet The length of the Sea Elephant “The situation continues to be monitored closely as a precautionary measure.” OfReg statement Tanker runs aground off Cayman Brac coast The Sea Elephant underwent temporary repairs on Wednesday, allowing her to sail to Grand Cayman on Thursday to offload her cargo. – Photo: Supplied cayman compass 7 news N news WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024Bush told the jury, “At that time, the PPM and Alden were my opposition. I would never have gone to any of their celebrations. Plus, at that time, I did not go to George Town bars, that was Kurt and them territory. I’m a West Bayer, I go to West Bay bars. That’s my stomping grounds.” Bush was charged in relation to the allegations in June 2023, having been arrested several months earlier. He claims this is an orchestrated attempt to have him removed from office. “At the time I was Speaker of the House, when they came to my office, and I thought to myself, ‘What in the world are they coming with now?’” said Bush. “When they said rape, I was shocked, because that would be the last thing I would have expected.” During an initial police interview in the presence of his attorney, Dennis Brady, Bush read a prepared statement to officers, in which he said, “I do not know this woman, I have not been anywhere with her, there was no such event; therefore, this complaint is nothing but utter lies, these are pure unadulterated lies.” When asked by prosecutor Eloise Marshall, KC, why he chose to answer some of the police’s questions but not others, Bush told the court of his mistrust. “I don’t trust you, I don’t trust them, I don’t trust the DPP [director of public prosecutions] who has put together a case with no evidence, no DNA, not even a proper date or time,” said Bush. “So, why would I tell them anything?” He added, “But I would rather go to the court and tell the judge who is an honest man that I can trust.” According to Bush, he believes the complainant has a vendetta against him and is being assisted in her efforts to have him removed from office. “I don’t know why she is doing this, she is a sick woman,” he said, before recalling what he says was the first conversation he ever had with her. “It was sometime in the early 2000’s when I was on the steps of the Legislative Assembly. At the time, I didn’t know her. She came up to me and said, ‘You gave our citizenships away to black Jamaicans, whoring Hondurans, and I’m going to get you out of this House’.” ‘It never happened’ Bush told the jury that there are several aspects of the allegation that either were not true or didn’t make sense. “She said I was driving a Ford Expedition. Lies! I never owned an Expedition at the time. I owned a Lincoln Town Car,” he said. “Plus I was over 400 pounds and very unhealthy. I was going to get down on the ground and rape her?” According to Bush, the prosecution’s case is flawed as it lacked key corroborating evidence, and people mentioned by the complainant had “denied her claims”. “Go call Alden, go call Kurt, go call the bar owner – they have all said there was no such event, it never happened! These are all just lies,” Bush told the court. A history of bad behaviour During his testimony, Marshall drew the court’s attention to his previous convictions of assault, claiming he had a history of bad behaviour. “You were convicted of assaulting a woman while in a drunken state. We say this is the same thing that you did to the complainant. You, while in a drunken state, kissed and slobbered all over her, raped her and performed oral sex,” she told Bush. Still refuting the latest allegations, Bush accepted that he pleaded guilty, in December 2020, to a charge of common assault, in relation to a drunken altercation that occurred at a West Bay Road bar in February that year. However, in that instance, he claims he was the victim who was there to stand up for workers’ rights. “I have never lied to my country. I grabbed her blouse, which I knew was assault, and I did it to get my phone, but I never went and beat up no woman,” Bush told the court. He said he had only been to the Sea Inn bar twice – once on the night of his son’s birth and the second in 2021 while the country was attempting to form a government. When exiting the witness box, Bush apologised to the court for his explosive testimony, telling the jury that he has a hearing issue that causes him to talk loudly, adding that he is an animated person when he speaks. Witnesses recall hearing rape allegations The woman gave several names of people to police, whom she says she had told of the rape in recent years. Three of those gave evidence via Zoom from the US, where the woman had met them while living there, confirming she had told them she had been raped. One woman confirmed that the complainant had told her about 12 years ago that she had been raped by an “important man” in Cayman, though said she did not specify that he was a politician nor named him. The two other witnesses – a pastor and a pastor’s wife – whom the woman met in 2018, stated that she had told them she was raped by a politician. The pastor told the court the woman, in a personal counselling session, had mentioned the name McKeeva in relation to the rape. Bush remains on police bail as the trial continues before Justice Roy Jones. Defiant Bush denies rape allegations CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 “I do not know this woman, I have not been anywhere with her, there was no such event; therefore, this complaint is nothing but utter lies, these are pure unadulterated lies.” McKeeva Bush cayman compass 8 news N news WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024caymannational.com PE R SO N AL BA N K I N G | B U S I N E S S B A N K I N G | FI D U C I A R Y & I N V E S T ME N T S E R V I C E S | F U N D S ER V I C E S * * Refer a friend, get $ to spend when the friend you refer opens their first-time Personal Account with Cayman National. Talk to one of our Customer Service Representatives today or call + -. Offer applies to new personal account openings only and available for a limited time. Other conditions may also apply. cayman compass 9 WEEKLY, 12 - 18 JULY 2024Next >