No women on new Cayman Turtle Centre board
(CNS): Cabinet has appointed three new directors to the board of the Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre, but despite indications from the premier that the PACT Government was going to diversify the boards, there are no women, young people or even new faces among the appointed directors. Kenneth Hydes, who has served on the board before as chairman, has been given that role again. He is joined by Attlee Ebanks as deputy chairman along with James Parsons and Burns Rankine.
Premier Wayne Panton said the new board was selected quickly and did not get a full review and is not reflective of the new policy regarding the future appointment of boards. Given the controversy surrounding the facility in the months before to the elections, the new government had to make a number of quick replacements to the Cayman Turtle Centre board just weeks after taking office in order for it to function, he said.
The turtle farm has been embroiled in several major scandals recently that were exposed by the former Public Accounts Committee, including the salary bonuses the executive had been paying themselves in breach of the public authorities regulations and at a time when staff morale was very low. This led to a strike just weeks before the election, in which staff had demanded the removal of senior executives, including the CEO Tim Adam and COO Peggy Hamilton, and a compete change in the line-up of the board.
Given the circumstances, government sought to appoint people familiar with the facility in order to ensure it could operate. However, CNS understands that this board will be subject to a future review.
Alongside the appointment of the four new members, Chamber CEO Wil Pineau retains his seat as a representative of the Chamber of Commerce, with the rest of the positions being filled with public servants. Brian Wight, the former chair, and directors Joseph Parsons and Dale Bodden have all been replaced.
While the line-up of government-appointed directors for the turtle farm remains all male, changes made to the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman Development Control Board provide a better reflection of where PACT is expected to go in future. New members include women as well as those supporting the need to protect the natural environment.
Ashton Bodden and Zanda McLean stay on as chairman and deputy chair, with new members Elsie Kynes, Carol Busby and Jason McLaughlin, with previous member Delano Lazzari returning to the DCB.
The appointment of boards remains a controversial issue and is the subject of significant criticism from the public as well as independent authorities, such as the auditor general. Political fealty has historically often taken precedence over experience, knowledge, competence and objectivity. This has led to significant problems when boards have turned a blind eye or missed questionable behaviour within the entities they supervise or have been conflicted in authority decisions that impact the wider community.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Government Administration, Politics
Ms. Leyda Nicholson-Makasarel
Director, Cayman Turtle Conservation Education Centre
Deputy Chief Officer | Ministry of Planning
CNS get your facts straight – please apologize and set the record straight
CNS: She has not been appointed to the board. There is a place reserved on the board for a representative of the chief officer of the Ministry of Agriculture (also MoT), but this name is not gazetted and can be changed.
Turtles don’t like women.
You have not seen anything yet- wait till the Cayman Airways Board and the Planning Board are announced by 2 of the most incompetent Ministers on this side of the world. Oh, and let’s not forget the Work Permit Board and the Business Staffing Plan Board as well. Listen, cronies of the current Government will be placed on these Boards- just as has happened in previous years.
Any sensible person (woman or otherwise!) would run from serving on that board! No way would I want my name associated with that disaster!
Why does this place even still exist? Millions of dollars lost every year to support the eating of an endangered species by a few. Shut to down, or turn it into a waterpark for once and for all.
we live in wonderland where nothing makes sense.
My Solution: Merge CTC with TAB. Run all 3 attractions as 1-Year Tourism Training Centers..then pump out qualified workers to the private sector.
You’re welcome.
Let’s try this one more time since it seems censorship by the press is a thing now.
Didn’t realise being a woman was a credential for being a board member. Thought it was being the best candidate and no conflict of interest.
Funny to see what narratives are being pushed. By this logic, being a caymanian should qualify me for any job I want here then.
Lets see if this gets rejected for posting too
CNS: I deleted your last comment because, like this one, it was fantastically stupid and blinkered and I had just added a note to another similar comment. Choosing boards from the Old Boys Club will not result in getting “the best candidate and no conflict of interest”, as we can see plainly on certain boards. No one has said that being a woman or a young person is a qualification for being on a board, but neither is being an older man (or it shouldn’t be). By recognising that there are qualified and very capable women who could sit on the boards and by allowing the next generation to begin to participate in some of the functions of government, we will get a more balanced, and in some cases more honest, approach and one that will take into account the consequences for the future and not just the here and now.
I hope to God that you are not invited to join any board because frankly, whatever your nationality, you just don’t seem that bright.
Do these clowns get paid for this?
Haven’t seen any pictures of women on turtling boats.
So what do women know about farming and slaughtering turtles?
Do you seriously think a job history of slaughtering turtles is what’s needed to be a good Board member?? Do all of the men who have been appointed to this Board have this experience? smh
So you are looking for pictures… Is that the best you can justify for the lack of women on this board????????
Shame! Stop looking for pictures – look for credentials.
Your comment is appalling! I hope you are not going home to a meal prepared by a ‘woman.’
Yeah but best chefs in the world are men, not women
I see the Speaker is getting his cronies on boards.
BS! You mean to tell me they can’t find three women or a mix of young people and women ? THREE!! You had one job to do PACT … one job !
I thought there were several employees involved in misappropriation of funds who after several years have still not been prosecuted. No specific details have ever been released by management of the Turtle Farm – what is going on?.
James Parsons, as in “James Parson” who was on leave from the Port due to possible improper problems and went for “counseling treatment”????
Mac went for counseling didn’t he…..? And look where he is ffs.
May God help you that you or none of your relatives are wrongly accused of anything in life, would you be able to handle it?
Stop being a crab in a barrel and pulling others down to your level of thinking.
When a person exposes CORRUPTION, a dysfunctional work environment can become even more unbearable and toxic so that a person pointing this out will be faced with an unpredictable backlash in an effort to get them out. This has happened in the past in Cayman and in this case also the perpetrator of the CORRUPTION walks relatively free with a huge settlement because of the secrets he has.
“Man to man is so unjust” as Bob Marley said.
The Caymanian society is so extremely critical of its own and do not support one another. In other territories they call it ‘bad mind’, yet we have those who sit in the front pews in churches and say they are Christians and we are a Christian society. Walk in a man’s shoes first before you pass judgment on him and what others say about him.
The cartels are operating here. We’re (not) on it.
End of Watch.
Is it possible no women were willing to serve on the board of this travesty?
Tim Adams gone, but Peggy still there
Women are too smart for that!
Probably because there are no qualified women.
There aren’t too many white guys in the NBA basketball league either.
You are soooooooo stu….pid!
Go back to your lily white city! (And just to be honest, I’m white, live in Ohio and HATE Racists!!!)
I crave being able to revisit Cayman! And I hope to visit in 2022 – be safe, be secure Cayman!
That would be a fair comment if you could demonstrate that the men on the board were qualified other than by their connections. Or are you seriously trying to pretend that the Board is composed of turtle experts or corporate governance gurus.
The “turtle farm” has been a scam since it was started. Some of the people involved should be in prison! It was….. and is, a money making scheme for certain people. Clean it up or SHUT IT DOWN!
One question: Will anything be done about the millions of dollars “lost” every year?
The Chamber of Commerce representative should be squash too. They allow the staff to have the pay cut to below-m minimum without standing up for their rights.
Plus Board self raises all the other stuff they approved it too and didn’t even object about it or report.
Wasn’t aware that the Chambers job was to protect employees rights. Here I was thinking that they are a lobby group for businesses and employers and it turns out they are there to replace the Department of Labour.
Some of these board members are connected to the Politicans and some of the management team needs to also be replaced. They too are connected politically. They still have a theft case to be resolved. Lots of skeletons hanging on the walls in that place.
Women can’t cook turtle meat properly.
I wish people would just hire the best available talent – this quota b***s*** does no good for anyone
CNS: You fail to understand that choosing almost exclusively from the Old Boys Network, which is the situation now, is not the same as choosing the best talent. By deliberately widening the choice to include people outside the OBN, the idea is that the boards will have more talent and less deadwood and conflicted members. We’ll see if that happens.
As for the Brac, a developer on the board. Shouldn’t be.
Who is the developer on the Brac board?
Well I’m sorry CNS but I agree with the poster above. I have 3 cats that would be a better choice on the Planning Board in Cayman Brac than Elsie. Matter of fact, I would replace the whole board as none of them knows anything about planning. All a bunch of Julie cronies. They so far up her back end that they can’t breathe. I’m surprised Ms. Laverne and Temp not on there too. My replacement for the planning board is 1 iguana, 1 dog, 1 parrot,1 cat, 1 hen and 1 goat and they will all be females since you all want females no matter what.
Attlee Ebanks, as in Andre’s daddy?🤣🤣
#pactfail
30/06@12:27pm – Yes, Atlee Ebanks is Andre Ebanks’ father. Atlee is also a past MD of Cayman Turtle Farm and according to staff at the time, a very good GM. So isn’t it remotely possible that he has valid contribution?
The retention of Ken Hydes (who did NOTHING about Tim Adam’s and Peggy Hamilton’s severe improper actions) as Chairman and the appointment of James Parsons is what the public should be upset about!!
Anyway, let’s see if Ken Hydes will have the cojones to replace Adam & Hamilton now!!
Ken has not been retained. Try again.
Actually, according to the article above KH is now Chairman again!!
Still not “retained”.
Ken Dart?
Why would he stoop so low?