DCI continues to clamp down on Sunday music

| 04/08/2022 | 68 Comments
DCI meeting with music licensees, 26 July

(CNS): The Department of Commerce and Investment (DCI) is now conducting regular spot checks throughout the island every weekend to enforce a law that prevents bar owners from playing music on a Sunday. Under what some see as discriminatory legislation, since hotels and restaurants can play some music, regular local bars are banned from even having background music under the terms of their licence any time at all on Sundays.

The DCI’s enforcement team, the chairman of the Liquor Licensing Board and representatives of various enforcement agencies held a special meeting at Constitution Hall with around 40 people who hold an entertainment, DJ, mobile music or dancing licence.

Charmane Dalhouse-Morgan, the DCI’s newly appointed enforcement manager who appears to be spearheading the clampdown, said that the DCI motto was to educate before they enforce. However, the new spot checks began in earnest last month after years of officers largely turning a blind eye to what has long been seen as an archaic and discriminatory law.

“Given the changes to weekend enforcement, we wanted to meet with licence holders to ensure the current rules relating to music and dancing are understood,” Dalhouse-Morgan said. “Our goal was to give licence holders an opportunity to have their questions answered and to allow them to share feedback on our current processes.” 

The issue was raised during the last session of Parliament in June when former premier Alden McLaughlin presented a private member’s bill urging the government to change the law as soon as possible to put an end to the discrimination. As the government accepted the motion, Commerce Minister André Ebanks noted that this rule impacts around 58 bars. But he said the law had been changed piecemeal over the years and he wanted to take a holistic approach to amending the law.

During the meeting, officials said work had begun on this review, which will involve a public consultation on proposed legislative amendments. But until the law is amended, Dalhouse-Morgan said licensees are required to turn off the music every Sunday. “Until we hear differently… for now this is what we are working with,” she added.

However, licensees noted the arbitrary discrimination and anomalies in the law, and said that even hotels are breaching the legislation in different ways, such as allowing non-guest access when they have a live DJ, which the law prohibits. However, Dalhouse-Morgan said the DCI had plans to police the hotels as well.

Liquor Licensing Board Chair Noel Williams noted that they don’t make laws but have to enforce the law. He said all licence holders should be aware of the conditions set on each licence and observe them closely.

He encouraged holders of mobile licences, who are required to notify the board each time they change their venue, to submit these applications at least 30 days in advance. He also said that all participating agencies wanted to ensure the safety and legality of all events in the Cayman Islands.

See the meeting on CIGTV’s YouTube channel below:


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Comments (68)

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  1. B L Zeebuhb says:

    Sky fairy nonsense.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    My word you have one of the most backward mentalities to dealing with Covid, the education system is a shambles, the ‘culture’ of the island was long sold out to high rise heaven, hundreds if not thousands living in poverty, politicians who are possibly corrupt and /or racist and you are worried about a little music on a Sunday ?

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  3. Annie says:

    Well that’s a beneficial use of public funds during a time persons cannot afford food! Makes as much sense as taking away all the parking in central George Town. Great job! Two enthusiastic thumbs up CIG!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t worry about the music….worry about the construction going on. Music fills one ears with love and peace. Construction just causes stress. Stress on the roads, stress with congested areas, stress on the environment.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Have you HEARD the music we play? Where once we played soca and reggae and country, we now go full rugged. Regrettably, it is no longer about love and peace as it once was.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Lion’s Centre Sunday services are needed to soling loud to exorcise the slave master society abuses found here in Cayman and in every demographic.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Please also stop the loud music on Sundays at Rump Point coming from those ugly party boats! It’s a business too so let’s see if this crackdown is going to be fair.

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  6. Westbaya says:

    Helloo! ANYBODY HOME! The liquor bar owners should be the last ones to complain about this socalled “wrongful” discrimination when during Covid they were given the freedom to be opened for gatherings whilst the churches had to close their doors!
    STILL NOTHING REALLY HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT THIS ACT ☝🏽

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  7. Anonymous says:

    How pathetic

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  8. Annie says:

    Don’t we have anything better to do. Waste of time and money. Not surprising, giving all of the flipping waste from our tone deaf ‘leaders’. Beat up innocent servers, get a title, a prize, and a lifetime of paychecks! Not surprising at all. Same crap, same lies, same losers, no help for Caymanians. Just take our money and line your pockets.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    I wish authorities and police would show a lot less crack and enforce what’s priority under their mandate everywhere, equitably and all the time.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    So easy to pick low hanging fruit, but no effort on tackling real crimes

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  11. Anonymous says:

    another day in wonderland.
    civil service can’t go 5 mins without making idiots out of themselves.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Hallelujah…before we are all condemned to hell! Not a minute too soon…whew!

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  13. God is a fiction says:

    If your religion is really worried about this it is really lame.

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  14. Hancock says:

    Do churches need a music and dancing licence? Some of them are very loud. They must have some big organs in those churches.

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    • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

      I’m sure the church members are proud of their organs. j/k

      No, they do not need, nor can they acquire, a music and dancing licence. Agree with you that Churches should fall under the same Town and Communities enforcement rules.

      This should be the takeaway from all this: equality for all; equal application of law to all places.

      Obviously, the DCI cannot enforce their laws against churches, and likewise, RCIPS cannot enforce laws which fall exclusively under the DCI. We would do well to have a universal noise ordinance, as they do in the U.S., UK and almost everywhere else.

      The Town and Communities law references decibel levels, but didn’t set the actual permissible level. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel — we could begin by adopting those measures as are applicable in the UK.

      That would also address the cars with excessively loud music.

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      • Hancock says:

        I believe there is a law which forebids the creation of a bar within so many yards of a church. With this music problem should that be reversed. Surely a church should not be built within a similar distance from a bar.
        Or am I confused.

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        • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

          There are zoning laws which don’t allow (any more) bars/clubs in residential areas; Churches, however, are allowed within those areas. I would be interested in seeing the law of which you speak. I don’t doubt you, I just haven’t heard of it.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Head to Smith Cove every Sunday then – big signs saying no loud music and they play it all day and night long and never any police there at all ever! Gosh even with the ridiculous parking all over the double yellow line roads the police could make some money from tickets.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Someone enforcing the laws on the books? The horror. They must be backward, ignorant, bible-thumping hypocrites. But is it any wonder so few laws are enforced and so seldom when you look at these comments.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    How about telling the bible bashers at Lions Centre to turn down their ear aching garbage that they play at full blast every Sunday.

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    • Anonymous says:

      DCI are the infiltrated policing arm of the Cayman Islands Ministers Association, exercising zealot coercive power to pull T&BLs for anyone that steps out of line, and the year is mid-2022.

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      • Anonymous says:

        No, they are not. They are the enablers of the Liquor Licensing Board, who has historically been the enablers of the bars, pubs, and clubs.

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    • Anonymous says:

      This is a real issue all over the Island. Churches and politicians turn it up to completely unacceptable levels.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    A complete and utter embarrassment to Cayman. I tried to rent a boat for a family birthday party and was told that since it was a Sunday, no music would be allowed as government said it is not permitted. I am talking about background music, not a DJ and massive speaker. This idiotic law implemented because of a fairytale book is proof that politics and religion should not ever mix.

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  19. Anonymous says:

    Lions Centre Sundays is noise pollution!

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Meanwhile our children are failing in our underfunded mismanaged educational system and Kenny & Colin waste funds on stupid concepts that will bring no extra income to the country.

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Lion Centre on Sundays is the worst

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  22. Anonymous says:

    I doubt god cares much about loud music on a Sunday. He/she/they have bigger concerns I would imagine.

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    • Anonymous says:

      True. Somewhere this God is personally managing, listening, and attending to the banal complaints, racist demands, and xenophobic pleas, while also ignoring conflicts, famines, pestulence, and planetary disasters (including colliding galaxies and death trap black holes) concerning how many ungrateful creatures, on how many planets, in how many solar systems, in how many galaxies, just within our known universe? Seems like such an incomprehensibly busy deity mightn’t be worried about a 4 hour speaker rental from AI, where (ironically) some congregate to joyously celebrate the special day-off provided in tribute to Him.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    CI Gov – Majoring in Minor things, half of the enforcement be in the same bars enjoying themselves to the same music they intend to restrict.

    Hypocrisy on full display.

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  24. born&raised345 says:

    Cayman is so backwards wow a little music on a Sunday not hurting nobody

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    • Mumbichi says:

      That’s where you’re wrong. Many people who live near bars have to suffer their excessive noise all day, every day. You think they shouldn’t have one. single. day. of quiet?

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  25. Anonymous says:

    Coming to Cayman Brac?

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  26. Anonymous says:

    Footloose… The draconian laws of the Cayman Islands… #Caymankind

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  27. Anonymous says:

    Oh good, please start at the large beach bar on NS that pumps out that ear bleeding noise the owners like to call music. Despite numerous and consistent complaints to staff, the owners feel that their taste overrules their patrons who really don’t want to hear fake Ibiza inspired ‘dance’ music whilst eating their very overpriced, (and not particularly good) faux food.
    Sunday would be a good start, then perhaps the police could enforce the laws regarding noise, drinking, and drug taking off Rum Point and Starfish Point.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I was told by the owner that they wouldn’t play Caribbean inspired music because they didn’t like it. Well how about serving your customers needs, who would really like efficient service, a cold drink, good tasting and good value food, their feet in the sand, and oh, some music that reflects the country and region they have chosen to take their vacation in. No one wants to hear whining euro trash on a Caribbean beach.

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  28. Anonymous says:

    Why would anyone want to visit our islands when more effort is put into checking if bars are playing music instead of catching drink drivers. Crazy.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You do understand that these two areas are enforced by completely different sectors of the government, right? Right?

  29. Anonymous says:

    Why don’t we just pack up the few remaining Caymanian business owners and shit them off to the same place the British sent those Pacific Islanders to when they sold their island to the USA.

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    • John Bull says:

      It was the Indian Ocean, the British compensated the islanders, we leased one of archipelago to the US for an air base and the moaning ever since is about a small number who see unwinding the past as a means to make their millions.

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  30. Anon says:

    How about policing the very loud, very live music coming from the Lion’s Centre during Sunday “church” service, if you’re going to be policing music on Sunday?

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  31. Anonymous says:

    But fronting is fine, eh DCI?

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  32. Anonymous says:

    It’s about time. The bars can’t have a single day where we don’t have to hear the noise? Not even one?

    The Music and Dancing law used to read that bars were permitted music on Sunday, but it had to be soft background music which wasn’t to be heard beyond the borders of the business.

    That, however, was not enforced, anywhere, as far as I know.

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    • A Theist says:

      The free market should decide that, not religious bigotry.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Who said anything about religion, Mr. Judgement? I’m talking about the will of the people, and the residents who would like to have a day of peace and quiet.

        You need to hear pounding music every day? Buy some headphones or earbuds. Why you would think it is cool to inflict your music on those around you says a lot about you. I like it loud also, but I keep it to myself.

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  33. Anonymous says:

    Brunch enjoyers, rejoice!

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  34. Anonymous says:

    The pro-hotel industry wins again.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Stupid period, can’t even bare to read more than the first paragraph of this article. We are a tourist destination for luck sakes. Step away from the buffet politician and do something productive.

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