CIG will help over 20,000 families with light bills
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has set aside around $5-6million to help families in need meet the rising cost of residential electricity bills and the additional fuel costs, according to Premier Wayne Panton. Responding to a statement by Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart in Parliament Thursday evening, asking how the government was going to provide relief for Caymanians from the high cost of living, Panton recapped a long list of moves the CIG had already taken and revealed plans to give temporary assistance to around 21,600 households.
He also said that public sector workers can expect another cost of living allowance, which should target those on lower pay grades.
Panton said that he would unveil more details about these and other policy plans to help deal with the current volatility of inflation, given that government has few tools to actually prevent interest rate increases and the inflationary economy.
He outlined more than a dozen areas where the CIG has either given out cash to the most vulnerable, funded important programmes or waived fees for the elderly, such as free school meals for all children in government schools and help for farmers to improve production and local food security.
The announcement came after government had accepted an opposition motion to cut the stamp duty that Caymanians pay for property, increasing the zero duty threshold to $500,000.
Panton said that PACT had already rolled out a number of measures that are helping families cope but they were working on a lot more to help people navigate what could be very challenging times ahead. He noted the pressing need to act quickly to begin reducing Cayman’s dependence on diesel for its power generation, as well as negotiate with banks to reduce interest rates for locals and reform foreclosure procedures.
The premier said his government understood the challenges and every little thing that can be done to help is in the process of being addressed.
“We have done a multitude of things in a range of different areas to help the economy, to help our people,” he said, adding that much had already been done to reduce the impact of inflation on families and there was more to come.
He said the ending of the pension freeze due this month was under review but there were concerns about that, given that the long freeze came alongside the significant withdrawal of funds by many people, which posed a long-term problem that also had to be considered.
Panton also warned about the potential for stagflation and then a recession, which the government had to consider, and explained that they were still weighing up more actions and measures to address the rising cost of living.
Check back to CNS next week for more on PACT’s plans to tackle inflation.
See Thursday evening’s session of Parliament on CIGTV below:
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That picture for this article CNS is so appropriate . The puppet and his civil service boss master. They have given themselves almost a 20 % salary increase now they giving a 4%one time payment to civil servants “F” U PACT blaming the no use ppm govt is not going to cut it Mr Wanee Panton all Pact is the Lightweight version of the ppm. Same greedy suckers
Actually, it was PPM that increased the salaries on Grades A to D in Jan 2021, not sure if the pay increase was retro to 2020. And the PPM did not consider giving the rest of the Civil Servants, that is Grades E and below, any salary increase at all. Their increase was done very quietly.
Since Jan 2021, some 18 months ago, Grade A got a 16% salary increase (not CoLA), which includes Dep Gov Manderson and the Chief Officers, and Grades B,C,D got a 7% salary increase.
Now, it has taken the Dep Gov 18 months to determine that the rest of the Civil Service should get “something”, so they offer a 2% CoLA
And this, after they received a report from the ESO that the cost of living has increased a whopping 11%
Yeah, ok. Tanks.
Giving 150.for civil servants. What about everyone else who are struggling? Stop the Pension waste of money at this time. Even when the Pension. payout was done last year we all lost money with the stocks going down. Why invest in Pension now when we are coming close to a recession? This is money coming out of my salary I cannot afford to give for what 1000 monthly if lucky when I am 65 ??? this should be our choice not the government. we can barely buy gas to get to work
150KYD per a person or per household?
No surprise! PACT campaigned on this. How do most of the voting public and the politicians in Cayman’s “system” see “help from Government”?
Handouts!!
Did you know, in a time based analogy :
One million seconds is ~11 days.
One billion seconds is ~31.5 YEARS.
Do you know how many Billionaires and multi Billionaires park their money here? For free?
We don’t let people walk around Foater’s and full their trolley and leave without confrontation the check out.
The non direct taxation on large deposits is not sustainable when government has nowhere else to turn.
Just saying.
Go to Venezuela, you can go live these under that same ideology.
Why not Denmark? What negative capitalist trope can you post about that socialist country?
Denmark is a free market run on capitalism.
Well, i’d not be one for taxing large deposits necessarily but there are a load of avenues that Government completely misses as long as direct taxation on income/savings are to be avoided – here are 2 for Real Estate (wait for the Cireba Cartel to wet their pants on this!) –
Stamp tax on Assigning Real Estate contracts. Currently the developments you see up and down SMB and elsewhere are comprised of yet-to-be-built ‘units’. Yet hundreds of them will already been sold and re-sold, often multiple times. government does NOT collect stamp tax on these sales. It’s insane that Government misses this opportunity.
The 2nd/3rd home ownership annual fee. This is completely normal all over the world, it should be brought in here. If you own multiple properties, you can afford annual fees on them.
Actually a 3rd option is to increase Stamp tax on on any property higher than 3 floors. Why not? They’re blighting our country, let them pay for the privilege of sitting up above us all. You could stagger it, the Penthouse pays 15% and all the way down to standard rates for 3rd floor and lower. Again, if you’re buying high floor units, you can afford this.
Why do we need more taxes? The government has an unbelievable amount of revenue. They just waste it
Those ideas should bring rent prices down. Great thinking..lol
Chris will get this inflation and price gouging under control, he had good ideas!
Cut the CIG Fat!
Remove the big raise you all took last.
Remove a Duplicate Miss Cayman pageant run by government. Why??!
SIMPLE: Triple the taxes on luxury properties.
Anything over a million.
And it kicks in whenever the CIG evaluations so determine.
And a luxury tax is paid every year.
And it includes Corporate Holding Companies which shuffle properties to avoid tax.
And rescind the impossibly exclusive Dart tax free forever ..and ALL it’s contractors…agreement made by PPM.
Triple tax on luxury trucks n vehicles too.
Disgusting commie.
Godless capitalist
Is that you mommie?
Isn’t it disgusting how the styrofoam man took over the Cayman Islands and bought all that land……………. and those politicians?
Not to worry, a scheme like that will definitely lower most every property down under $1M with no buyers and tons of sellers who can’t sell. And you’ll still be broke. Probably more broke.
Oh no. The rich may lose $$$. The horror.
Wayne: “Where’s that fire hose?”
CO: “We can either move it from over there or add another hose Mr. Premier.”
Wayne: What do you recommend as a concerned woter as well as a senior civil servant?”
CO: “I suggest two more fire hoses so as to not disadvantage any one group Mr. Premier.”
Wayne: “Let’s make it three more to be safe.”
CS/KB: “Can we add two more as we have both identified one more group we need to consider.”
Wayne: “Make it so.”
Ad infinitum.
Feeble attempt at cleverness revealing you hate poor people
No. My point is if the Government didn’t literally p*ss money down the drain on either vanity projects, vested interest projects/initiatives, or completely mis-manage other initiatives (the tourism stipend for one) then they could target appropriate measures to assist people in the most cost effective way. They are doing neither and hence continuously wasting millions of dollars of our, yes our’s as taxpayers, money.
Hey…7:28!
What has His Hindness Panton done to ensure that poor working people receives a fair and just living age? (Hint: Not even a feeble attempt.)
Thank you CIG for recognising that Caymanians are struggling to cope. Now tackle the supermarkets who are price gouging everyone on this island.
More handouts. Laziest, most disappointing governance. Look, I get how politics works here. Just hand voters cash which they use as a bandaid. In theory (and probably in practice) they remember it on election day.
And it’s a way to help Caymanians as opposed to those pesky PR holders and work permit holders.
The problem, of course, is it does nothing to fix the systemic issues of cost of living, which needs to be addressed for everyone’s collective benefit. If we don’t tackle these underlying problems now, what happens, in 10 years then, when according to Chris Saunders, we no longer have a financial services industry to provide government with a slush fund?
How will we cut the cheques then?
It’s unfortunate that these guys have no ideas and no will to change anything. Planning: no change. Immigration: no change. Traffic problems: no change. Dump: no change. Trade school or some kind of better job training for Caymanians: no change. Education system: no change. Ofreg: no change. Exorbitant duty rates: no change.
I don’t have a dog in this fight. PACT/PPM/UDP who cares. Somebody show some initiative and do something!
@3:58pm..and yet you will be one of the first ones there with you hand out..
As long as this is “means tested” I have no problem with it. Some people believe that in any situation it should be Government taking care of them. If you don’t need it, do not apply for it.
The stipends proved that every Tom, Dick and Harry stuck their hand in the cookie jar. We cannot allow that to happen again.
Why do you think I would take a handout? I’m complaining about them. Do you have reading comprehension problems?
And the place to start to get *real solutions* is having politicians and the media stop lying about cliches, bullshit crisis and promoting class and identity warfare.
Start there then maybe we can have real discussion grounded in *reality*
The PACT government has revealed plans to give temporary assistance to around 21,600 households? Hmmmm…?
If so, something very interesting is going on.
Let’s do the math:
The census figures indicate that the number of households in the Cayman Islands is 29,502.
21,600 / 29,502 = 73.2%
This means that 73% of all households in Cayman are deemed to be in need of assistance. Wow! This is a very high figure. Sounds sketchy–maybe more like vote-buying–but let’s go with it…
More math:
The average household size is reported to be 2.4 persons.
21,600 x 2.4= 51,840
The total population of the country in 2021 was reported to be 69,656.
51,840 / 69,656= 74.4%
Meaning that perhaps 74%–or upwards of about 52,000 people out of a total population of about 70,000–could potentially benefit in some way from the giveaway.
Caymanians reportedly make up 52.9 percent of the population, while non-Caymanians counted in at 45.9 percent.
45.9% x 52,000 = 25,740
52.9% x 52,000 = 27,508
This means that potentially close to 26,000 non-Caymanians will be on the proposed dole, as compared to a bit under 28,000 Caymanians.
I should hope that assisting Caymanians will be given top priority!
This also illustrates that those who say we are importing an inordinate number of potential welfare cases are correct after all.
Panton pats himself on the back for increasing welfare, saying: “We have done a multitude of things in a range of different areas to help the economy, to help our people.” Panton’s rhetoric is typical of his ilk, it is political self-aggrandising propaganda designed to dupe people into buying into pathetic self-serving policy and politricks.
A handout to over 70% of households is telling us that there is a real problem.
Rather than reducing people’s dignity by having to accept his handouts, if Panton in truth did have the people’s best interest at heart, in conjunction with stop-gap measures–rather than patting himself on the back for the liberality of his welfare policy–he would be doing his absolute upmost to ensure that all people in the Cayman Islands earn at least a living wage. He would further insure that the wage level will be under at least annual updating to keep up with inflation and the cost of living. Anything less will continue to populate an eventual welfare state and further stratify society into classes of have’s and have-not’s. Have you ever heard Panton say the words “living wage” in the context of promoting a living wage? His eagerness to increase the dole, rather than ensuring a living wage, suggests that Panton and his PACTless Clown Car would rather maintain and increase government’s power over the people by keeping people dependent on Government for their handouts of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. What a damn SHAME!
A long and winding diatribe that is driven by capitalist narratives & also one that Jesus warned about in The Sermon On The Mount.
@8:05:
Yes! I agree that Panton and his PACTless minions are full of winding diatribes and pompous boastful actions designed to keep them in their lofty thrones
Speaking of Jesus, the PACTless ones, through their embrace of the unrighteous in order to consolidate their power are indeed the whited sepulchers full of dead mens bones about which Jesus warned: “”Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity”.
Indeed, the Lord pretty well summed up PACTLess. Thank you for inspiring a scriptural perspective to the iniquity of Panton and his minions.
Oh crap! Here we go again with the religious BS.
One needs not be religous at all to brush off the wisdom from The Sermon On The Mount, especially Matthew Chapter 6.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Let’s hope that this is not a case of robbing peter to pay paul. If this is deficit expenditure it is just kicking the can down the road and will eventually spell disaster for the Cayman Islands.
Government need to enforce the duty free law that are now in place to make sure it passed on to consumers, for now it’s never passed on to the consumers .
And ugly mix of socialism and vote buying.
Dont want it? Dont accept it. Burn it, donate it to charity, burry it in your damn yard. Im living paycheck to paycheck at the moment and what you call vote buying i call helping out the people who are struggling.
You earn what your vote gets you. In this case, having to grovel.
Earth to 6:44:
Did it ever occur to you why you are struggling? You are struggling because the elite who control you and control this country will not do what is right and ensure that you earn a just and decent living wage. The handout is just a patch to keep people quiet while they continue to struggle; some meagre crumbs offered to make people happy to be dependent upon the largess of their lords. I hope you put the money to good use and that you continue to be a very happy minion of your masters until the day you see the light.
Learn some skills and get a better job. Worked for me several times in my working years. I never waited for someone else to bail me or my family out. I made sure I could take care of myself.
Hi there, Libertarian Capitalist.
Fox Forbes Fortune Greed Bot
How about a law to cap real estate commissions at 2% across the board? Put a stop to that cartel rip-off who do virtually nothing for ridiculous fees.
I just can’t understand how our private sector has allowed the cost of living to get some high.
You are the problem private sector. Yet you complain when the Government and our DG gives relief to the civil service. Shame on all of you who are raised prices without the need to do so and then complain about the cost of living.
Thank you PACT for doing something that helps your average Caymanian.
This is not the private sectors fault. Seriously. This is a world movement where everything has increased in prices globally. This is not a Cayman problem. This is a “world” issue we are all dealing with. Get your head out of the sand.
No coincidence that companies are reporting record profits in this time of global inflation
No coincidence at all! Good, well managed companies actually plan ahead for times like this. Basic economic financial cycles are hard to predict, but with certainty they will come. Plan for God’s sake.
The private sector is not too blame. This is a “world” global issue with increased prices. We are not the problem. You don’t like us “private” sector or work permit holders kick us out. I believe in helping the less fortunate I do not agree with the initial let’s help civil servants who have a pay check more than than the guy pumping gas for $5 hour.
Agreed, unless they are Caymanian.
What “cartel”? That allegation is total tripe if you refer to the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association (CIREBA) and its brokers and agents. While CIREBA is the only existing real estate brokers association in the Cayman Islands, it hold no restrictive monopoly in the industry. (CIREBA does have some stupid ideas, but more on that later) There are several real estate brokers in the Islands who are independent of CIREBA. Any person legally able to own a business in the Cayman Islands may become a real estate broker or agent by simply obtaining a Trade and Business License. They may charge whatever commission they wish to charge. If they can afford to operate on a 2% commission, great. Good luck to them. It’s easy to write BS about a 2% commission but making that work, well here ya go… Go ahead, open your dream real estate brokerage based on a 2% commission: You will have maintain a place of business and all the accouterments, widgets, services and accessories needed for doing the business of real estate in a very advanced and highly competitive market: an office, furnishings and decor, telephone and data communications, professional looking web page and maintaining same, designing and printing business cards, stationery and promotional materials, paying professional fees to optimise your web page and social media platform to be competitive in the very competitive Cayman and global market, computer system, legal advice on drafting boilerplate and specific contracts, insurances, vehicle, forming a company to limit liability, maintaining a client trust/escrow account, office supplies and cleaning, expendables. If you want to expand to having agents and you split commission with them, you will not find any competent ones who will work for 1%, but have fun trying. Getting clientele to find you will entail being placed in top position in Google and social media searches. To do so costs money! More than you can begin to imagine. Cost per click (CPC) is the fee you pay per click. Across all industries, the average CPC in Google Ads ranges from $1.00 to $7.00. Real estate PPC cost per click typically ranges between $0.50 to $4.00 to get good leads. This gets very costly very quickly. This does not include paying for Google AdWords. Be prepared to pay the Cayman Islands Government CI$11,000 per year for a CaymanLandInfo Platinum subscription so you can have full access to locate parcels, print aerial maps and use aerials in ads, locate owners to solicit listings, and prepare comps tables to be able to be up on what property is actually selling for so you properly advise clients on the proper listing price. Be prepared for months of being in negative cash flow and then eventually barely breaking even until you build a good client base. Make that years if your commission is 2%. You might save a good bit if you did not have a walk-in office but were 100% virtual. After not getting any listings beyond those of the friends and family who want to help you out you might begin to see the light. Then you will see why others have been there, done that, few have survived and none survived charging poverty level commissions. There are a few successful independent brokers in the Cayman Islands. They may charge slightly less commission. But it is telling that none of the top independents even begin to come anywhere close to the success and volume of sales enjoyed by the top CIREBA brokers affiliated with global franchises. People wishing to list their property can choose whoever they want. The overwhelming portion of listings are in the hands of CIREBA brokers. Why? Results. In the Cayman Islands real estate game, those who wish to sell their property get what they pay for. Having said this, there are areas where CIREBA is CERTAINLY contributing to the higher commissions and these must be abandoned! They have the utterly brainless requirement that all brokers MUST maintain a physical built walk-in office space. In this age of eCommerce this requirement is beyond absurd! In 2020, research indicated that 97% of homebuyers used the internet in their home search. More and more brokers the world over are turning away from walk-in offices to an exclusively click-in web presence and virtual online brokerages. Some, needing meeting space for personal client interaction rent small office or meeting space by the hour or by the day. CIREBA could lead the way and offer such spaces to their members. If a broker did not have to pay many thousands of dollars per month in maintaining a physical office they could certainly put the money to better use in advertising and marketing their listings or toward reducing commissions. Another plus is that a virtual office has far less environmental impact and carbon footprint than a walk-in office. There are areas in the UK an USA where a majority of the listings are now with virtual brokers. The CIREBA physical office requirement is horridly antiquated and just plain stupid! It is designed to keep their clique more expensive and more exclusive. This cost has to be passed on to the client. This leads us to suggest that there is certainly room for another broker association in the Cayman Islands: maybe one that lives in THIS century.
Wby you hate paragraphs?
Aint nobody reading that
And that is the problem. Willfull ignorance.
Triggered much? !
Problem with cireba brokers is they’ll find it challenging to remember to call back any independent broker who may have a buyer
I’m being polite
Too long-winded without spacing between paragraphs.
“…at 9:48 am
Too long-winded without spacing between paragraphs.”
Too short, lacking relevance regarding facts presented.
Geez! That was exhausting.
I presume you are a CIREBA broker/agent. After all your diatribe, please explain why there are so many of you with more surfacing every month? Could it be that it is simply due to the excessive commission potential? We have an awful lot of low skill wealthy persons from this racket.
Lower commissions would quickly reduce the pool of greedy agents. Then those left could likely make the same income as their market slice becomes greater. My maths works just as well. I do agree that the non-cartel companies should get together and promote their lower fees. I have found them more able and professional to deal with.
Enjoy your climate change policies.
Now DG and PPM gave themselves a 15% increase in salary with the higher scales A to D but the lower scales get 2%????? Really???? And a welfare stipend for 3 months of $150 for civil servants???? WTH is going on in Cayman?
And pensioners still ZERO!
What about the old pensioners and old seamen ? They got to pay bills and try to Iive and DON’T forget they can still vote too ?.
They already got raises for the pensioners and seamen.
Public sector = social welfare.
I certianly hope you dont consider yourself a Christian because Jesus would be disappointed in you.
How much are you willing to pay for each CIFS, RCIPS and EMS service call?
4400 in the civil service alone. They are not all emergency response services, or even essential public services. You may as well ask how much would pay for each MLA to have two staff, or how much I would pay the government protocol team, or the post office, or the customs staff handling duty on shipments, or Eric Bush.
These people will not step down willingly. The people must use their voice and strength.
What strength?
Shameful Pandering for votes!
Many US States have Low Income Home Energy Assistance Programs. It pays fixed amount once a year, directly to the Utility company. https://liheapch.acf.hhs.gov/tables/benefits.htm
Florida:
Minimum amount is $200, maximum $400. NOT per month. TOTAL.
2022 Maximum eligible income for
1 Person Household:$20,385
4 Person Household:$41,625
Proof of Income is Required for all household members over 18 from the last 30 days.
What about those of us retired? I’m not getting any cost of living bonuses or increases like the already overpaid government employees. I have a fixed income which is rapidly depleting in real terms.
I don’t see any plans to make costs easier for me to contend with.
So far all I have seen is plans to give more money to people who already have money and jobs – the very people who don’t need help.
We all need help here
Old people need to go to the UK
Good for Civil Servants. What about pensioners and Statuory Authority workers? Especially low paying pensioners. We are retiired Civil Servants too. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander!
Birds of a different feather. 😂😂
The chickens will serve a useful purpose for laying eggs.
But will CIG do the right thing and cut the cayman civil service by half? Uk moving to cut the civil service by 100,000 jobs, us today ended Covid tests,,, time to abolish Travel Cayman, cut down the cayman government jobs by at least 30 per cent… this is not sustainable or value for money
The question is where do those people go? Is the cost of cutting employees less than the cost of the resulting welfare costs and social issues?
I don’t know the answer but based on the perceived employability of some folks I honestly question what else they might do.
What did they do before they invented Travel Cayman?
Back to their homelands! Too many of them have been brought here to do things we do not need, or to do them at an embarrassingly low standard!
Election season start early this cycle though.
Wait till it actually heats up. Playing for keeps now.
Thank god they’re helping Caymanians whilst their Filipino and Jamaican slaves (sorry, indentured servants, slash UAE, Saudi style workers) still struggle to get by. Just like the rest of us gauged by the Fosters and Kirks and CUCs and everybody else on this rock.
Go home, where you came from, because that’s an option.
Focus on growing fruit trees;
Ackee, breadfruit, mangoes, jackfruit, bananas, plantains, pumpkin. If you eat it grow it. Do not be dependent on imports. In every country, their citizens are first.
They are not helping this country, let alone me. Not that I would take their tainted money. Just do the right thing, grow a pair. Stop these foolish mandates. They don’t work. And you yourself and Sabrina do not abide by them. Stop the pandering, it is very off putting.
Just end the insanity, and do it now. Get rid of Travel Cayman, useless bs. Get rid of the masks, also ineffective, and hugely detrimental. Stop punishing hard working Caymanians for your campaign goals. No one is ever going to vote for you again, no many how many CUC bills you pay.
What a complete moron you are
Whilst I agree, there needs to be a better replacement for Wayne than Alva. New blood.
What would happen if everyone is given $1M and who would object?
Not many would object, but I can tell you the likely outcome. Not all, but a large portion of it, would end up in the hands of those who are able to manage it wisely. There would likely be a lot of luxury vehicles purchased, which would not be maintained well and sold for pennies on the dollar it’s worth.
For that I’m Sold! 🙂 🙂
Tax CUC! Cost of living tax, just like they hit us with an Ivan tax
I like that.
What a lack of good government we have. Eliminate one man one vote it’s bs.
No. Elect the Parliament via constituency vote (as we do now).
Then, also have a National vote for the Premier and the Speaker.
Take the horse trading, which does not help Caymanians, out of the picture.
Let the legislative arm of government (the Parliament) carry out purely legislative functions.
And let the executive arm of government (the Cabinet) carry out purely executive functions.
The Westminster-style system, at least in the Cayman Islands, does not often attract the best and brightest to do the job (especially who end up in the Cabinet).
Running a country is not usually the forte of people who specialize in shaking hands and kissing babies.
Perfectly said Mr. Orrie.
Right on point.
It’s not the Westminster System that is the problem, Mr Merren. In Cayman politics, the problem is the same as in the workforce/employment situation: the very limited pool of very limited talent that there is to draw on, once the bright, ambitious, already achieving Caymanians are removed from the scene.
“Panton recapped a long list of moves the CIG had already taken and revealed plans to give temporary assistance to around 21,600 households.”
If you only assume two people per household, that is most of all of us. I fear that CIG’s ‘recovery plan’ is much like that of the U.S., and for the same reason — keep them dependent and controllable.
I certainly want to assist those who can’t make ends meet. I would rather spend money toward helping people develop business plans which enable them to do for themselves.
As with the U.S., I fear we are continuing down the road of reinforcing a class difference which supports the succoring of the elite, and the suppression of the once-middle-class-now-poor.
Well said.
Develop a business plan? Are you mad? The poor are trying to survive and dont have the means to pay the light bills, much less start a business.
Two options… (1) Learn, (2) remain in the dark.
Spoken like a truly disconnected from poverty business owner.
This is great news especially the cola and payments to our hard working civil servants. This will immediately boost the local economy.
The civil service has always stepped up and performed their duties whether it was hurricane Ivan or Covid. I shudder to think were we would be without our civil service during the hight of the pandemic.
Finally we have leaders like the Premier DG and Deputy Premier who stand up for Caymanians.
Thank you PACT for caring.
I shudder when I hear the word “civil servant”
Frustrated. Why? It’s civil servants who take care of you everyday. How ungrateful!
Our public sector workers are the backbone of these beloved islands.
If you have a home. A civil servant made sure it was safe
If you drive a car. A civil servant made it possible for you to drive it
If you have a helper a civil servant granted the work permit
If you have a job a civil servant protected you.
If you woke safely this morning. A civil servant watched over you while you were sleeping.
Wake up an smell the roses that a civil servant helped you import.
No. They did none of those things.
If you had a package that was lost for weeks, thank a civil servant.
If you have speeders and people who play loud music at all hours, thank a civil servant.
If you wonder if your foray into traffic on a daily basis will someday result in your death, thank a civil servant.
If you a frustrated trying to renew your business licence, or actually accomplish anything within the district administration system, then thank a civil servant.
If you were robbed or burgled, thank a civil servant.
If you watch your own property, thank yourself.
If you work your ass off for little gain, thank yourself, because you are doing your best.
If you manage to navigate the roadways and somehow survived, thank God and your own driving skills, because the deck is stacked against you, and very little of the Traffic Laws are being enforced to protect you.
If you hear gunshots, or hear/read about somebody being robbed/beaten/assaulted/mugged then thank civil service for having failed to identify and arrest those thugs which demean us all.
I have respect for many civil service employees I know, but they aren’t gods. They don’t help the public sector so much as they further the works of their own and their relatives. So it goes.
Can you explain what the civil servant has done for all of the above?
If you have a car it could automatically be registered to the blockchain when the car is imported, resales could then be transferred on the same blockchain. The same applies to homes.
How does a civil servant protect a job? If you wanted to create jobs maybe force banks to allow anyone to open a bank account and stop discriminating against the unbanked who can’t get a bank reference because they don’t have an existing bank account. Because of these banks these people then have to pay Western Union and other legacy financial providers way too much money to transfer funds overseas.
You could easily remove 90% of civil jobs and the world would move on.
The environmental department is the biggest joke, it might as well not exist.
Crypto bot
Yes we need more civil servants and more money!
Bullshit. I was at the front lines in the immediate aftermath of Ivan. Not a civil servant in sight. In fact, it was the private sector taking over and dealing with what was needed, voluntarily, that allowed our recovery. Volunteer Rotarians and Lions did more than the so called civil service.
Yes, and money from the Fosters and the Kirkconnells, same as with Hurricane Paloma. In both cases CIG was the distributor of the funds, but they came primarily from both of these families.
Bedtime, grandpa
That is utterly untrue, 3:43, and you should be ashamed to try to claim it. It was a joint effort by civil servants AND non civil servants that assisted us with our recovery. But, as always, especially in posts on CNS, the efforts of civil servants get trashed.
Where were the police? Who fixed the power system? Who flew in water and generators? Who distributed food?
Where was the the then Chief of Police? Not off getting his vaccine, that much is certain.
He must have meant people, not households. The error is nit surprising when last week he said FS will be replaced by tourism in 10 years. As an expat with PR, I look at cayman politicians over the last 20 years an PhD would not trust them to turn on a generator or weather radar with a hurricane brewing. But then they don’t plan for that.
Pal, the class lines were drawn years ago. Buying citizenship to live in a tax haven and a below poverty level minimum wage will always ensure class divisions.
I bet you are a privileged ass
You are wrong. I am not priveliged.
And I love it; get out of paying those high income taxes, have a couple of house helpers that get to work at a good price plus I get work done on our properties by people who pay for their own work permit but are allowed to contract work. Man this is heaven; living in my gated community and living it up at Camana Bay. What else could you ask for!
150 a month to all Civil servants just wow. How about reduced duty on fuel, all benefit not just the Golden few
for 3 months only
Help their largest voting block. To hell with everyone else.
It’s not even…and they still don’t realise that!
We need a full pay of everything for needy people. Food, housing, medical, utilities, etc. Make the rich pay for it as they are here just to beat there home country out of taxes anyway.
Oh my. You have triggered all of the tax dodgers sure to post up here.
One of the most uneducated comments ever posted on CNS. Well done
Short term hand outs are not the answer. Cut import duty on essentials and set up a consumer protection board to monitor retail prices. This will ensure savings are passed onto customers.
Well said
Stop the banks from charging us $2.50 to $3.50 per ATM transaction. Free ATM use would help all of us. The banks already have the benefit of our money and their exorbitant banking fees.
Agreed. Banks and insurance companies believe they have a God-given right to make a profit to the detriment of their customers.
Ummm, yes. In a free market economy that is exactly the right they have.
You mean predatory capitalism
Yes. Not responsible capitalism.
But they help us poor out
Yes but the money comes in handy. Love you PACT
In before the bougeuoise cry about the Premier leading the charge to help the people in need.
More money in the hands of consumers is a positive for not only them, but it will help restaurants and other businesses relying on disposable income for their success.
And fuel inflation…
Restaurants? Probably the last places to go if you’re trying to save money.
You have to eat to live. Depending upon what restaurant your going to as well, because Subway and Steak Social might draw in different customers.
You have to eat to live, sure. But if you buy and prepare your own food, might just be a little cheaper than going to a restaurant.
I hope Kenny isn’t in charge of this one. He will have GTC lit up like a Christmas tree with all the free electricity
Lights being installed around his illegal signs as we speak.
It is a sign, so should be approved by planning. If you only knew the headache to get a sign up for a client years ago, which was minuscule.
Are they approved by planning? Citations required.
ROTFL so true!!!!
If it were individuals, 21,600 would be over one third of the total resident population. If there are only 23,558 registered voters, who are the people included in these 21,600 households, and what is their connection to Cayman? More info please!
Their connection as you put it is that they live here. What, do you want, to distinguish recipients by nationality, religion, party allegiance, sexual orientation, whether they hold a work permit or not… ?
That’s exactly what the poster wants to do. Everyone pays tax, but the government should only spend it on voters.
Ummm, the immigration law effectively makes it unlawful for expats to receive government assistance on an ongoing basis. Just sayin.
How about raising minimum wage and curtailing the mass importation of poverty so hard working people can earn enough to afford to pay their own light bills?
Make the Hotels and Restaurants pay the 6 $ per hour minimum wages plus tips. NOT 4.5 $ THEY PAYING NOW
You are making too much sense. Just stop it. You KNOW we can’t deal with so much logic.
How’s about no government hand outs, look after yourself
What would Jesus do? The prosperity gospel is a lie.
Ah, the old “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” advice.
Awful tough to pull yourself by your bootstraps when you cant even afford the boots.
A luxuey tax on luxury vehicles and homes to help the poor would be great.
So they’ve done nothing then.
Another handout that is bound to be abused in an effort to boost vote buying.
Yet there are only 23,558 registered voters…so who are these households?!? 21,600 seems like a strange number to have in mind.
Lots of expats being subsidized by government while Caymanians cannot access needed services and support. This is insanity.
How about helping pensioners with their CUC bills? Esp those living alone
4:19 pm: seniors in other countries are given all sorts of concessions. There is not much of that mind set here.
As a senior I have had to fight to get a 50% break on a $3,000 dental bill for essential dental work at the govt clinic—for a procedure that had been partly due to wrong advice by a govt dentist and partly due to an underlying condition. In the process I had harassing calls from HSA and threats of court action.
I was pleasantly surprised—I think it was in 2019–to learn that the DVLS had knocked a $100 off my vehicle registration fee.
Thst is the kind of thing they need to do.
In will be interesting to see the criteria they use to determine who gets electricity bill grants. I wouldn’t mind that at all. My bill went up more than 33% and my vehicle gas bill is not far behind that increase. That is a lot yo cope with all at once, while income is stagnating.
Exactly right. Seamen, veterans and others who gave their best years and now live on a slim margin.
10 26 pm, your are correct, thank you sir
Well said, Beaumont.
Make us a priority in our country again and we can pay for our utilities.
McTaggart was part of the reason we can’t afford utilities…. we might have decent jobs if it werent for informal refulatory breaching concessions demanded in exchange for the financial service permit hike that avoided community enhancement fee.
Here’s the simple answer…reduce duty across the board on everything by some amount that makes it so the revenue collected on the items stays the same as it was before inflation it.
For example if a 2×4 used to be $10 and duty was 15% that’s $1.50.
Now that same piece of wood costs $20 so make the duty 7% and CiG still collects $1.5 but it saves the consumer the extra hit. Do the math and implement across the board until prices go back to some specific level.
The only reason they’ll never do what I just said (which is a perfectly good idea) is because CIG needs the funds to support it’s ever bloating payroll. A COLA for civil servants is a terrible idea as unfortunately too many are already overpaid and some are completely unjustified in being employed at all.
And who pays for civil service payrolls?!….the people. The people will not get a COLA and will just be in a hole.
But that’s what they do to get votes.
Thank you.
Respect.
The reduced duty won’t make it down to us, it will just benefit the shop owner. Which store do you own?
Why was there the longest Parliamentary lunch break that I am aware of in the history of the Cayman Islands on Thursday (9 June 2022)?
It couldn’t have been owing to the need to eat food, although a lot of MPs are gaining weight at an alarming rate.
Was the question Parliamentary Question (No. 8) posed (by the MP for Red Bay to Hon. AG) as follows:
“Can the Honorable Attorney General advise what is preventing the commencement of the Legal Services Act, 2020?”
I am interested in what the Hon. AG’s answer was, if it was answered.
Obviously, as the MP for Red Bay should know by now, it has not been brought into force because it is seriously flawed and unconstitutional, but I am interested in hearing the AG’s response.
I’d like to hear the same feedback on landlord and tenant act, gathering dust since 2009, still not commenced.
Drop the restrictions for travel. The US is and we should have long before them.
I agree 💯, lift all restrictions now. Get back to normal. Your mother country has done so , follow suit. I bet if you do now, Tourism would improved. How long can Cayman continue under this regime?
Oh please. Japan has more restrictions and they are getting plenty tourists.
BS. Government needs to reduce duties/taxes on the items that people use. Not a piecemeal approach. Inflation is a huge issue the government doesn’t want to think about.
Another half-baked scheme for fraudulent claims.
The fraud (vote buying) is fully baked…
I,along with thousands of others will take it off your hands if you dont want it.