Project aims to focus civil service on sustainability
(CNS): Premier Wayne Panton has said his government’s goal is for the Cayman Islands to be held up as one of the most sustainable countries in the world. However, two years into the PACT administration, very limited progress has been made on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that he wants to be the basis of his government’s policies.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has been hired to conduct an audit to raise awareness and understanding of these goals across the civil service.
In a press release, Panton said the SDGs offer a holistic framework for sustainable development that balances social, economic and environmental considerations.
“These ‘Global Goals’ are broad-reaching and lofty. They call for peace and prosperity for people and planet, now and into the future,” the premier said. “When my administration came into office it was with a clear understanding of the values that guide us and a vision for a Cayman Islands that is held up as one of the most sustainable countries in the world. The SDGs offer a holistic framework for achieving sustainable development that benefits current and future generations.”
He explained that the project “aims to map existing efforts to the SDGs, identify areas of strategic alignment and recommend local targets under the goals for government to focus on for the next two years”.
Currently, there is very little in Cayman that can be described as sustainable. Runaway coastal development too close to the ocean, traffic chaos, an unmanaged growing population, continued dependence on fossil fuels for power, unattainable homeownership for local people and persistent threats to the environment and bio-diversity are just some of the critical unsustainable problems the country faces.
Nevertheless, Jennifer Ahearn, the chief officer at the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, said that this project with PwC will formalise “existing sustainability initiatives”. She said, “We believe there is increasing understanding within the civil service of the importance and relevance of the SDGs to the Cayman Islands.”
When CNS asked officials what initiatives are already considered part of the progress in making Cayman at all sustainable and what this project hoped to identify, we were told that the Sexual Harassment Bill aligns with the goal of gender equality, and the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy aligns with the goal of zero hunger. However, the point of this project was to map other existing efforts and identify what else is needed.
The lack of tangible issues relating to sustainability was illustrated in the release when Ahearn said that the “premier wears the SDG colour wheel pinned on his lapel and there are SDG posters in several offices throughout the Government Administration Building”.
She added that the SDG analysis project would “bring structure and cohesion to these efforts, help us raise greater awareness about the goals within the civil service and, ultimately, identify priority areas of focus for enhancing sustainable development and better outcomes in the Cayman Islands”.
Local activists Amplify Cayman welcomed government’s investment in the analysis of the SDGs in government and hopes the results will see the Cayman Islands efficiently achieve the UN’s SDGs before 2030.
“Amplify Cayman is ready to see CIG more consistently align its commitments to sustainability with its actions, and [we] are committed to doing our part to assist in the delivery of those outcomes as a community advocacy group that prioritises sustainable development,” the local non-profit said.
“It is no easy feat to shift the mindsets of a country or civil service to a new direction, but we feel that all in Cayman should support this project, as the outcomes will deliver equitable socioeconomic justice to our climate change-prone shores in ways that balance environmental conservation with community investment.”
The NPO pointed to the importance of protecting the environment and heritage for future generations, strengthening sustainability initiatives such as the enforcement of the National Conservation Law and investments into the Environmental Protection Fund.
Meanwhile, Sustainable Cayman another local non-profit doing what it can to raise awareness about the need for Cayman to embrace sustainability, also offered its support to what it said was a positive sustainability exercise.
The 12-week analysis will begin with a series of indepth stakeholder engagement sessions. It will include a survey to all civil servants, training for key civil service leaders, analysis to map ongoing efforts against the SDGs, a gap analysis and final recommendation on five to seven goals that should be considered as priorities. The final report is expected at the end of May 2023.
PwC Partner Kelli Koutney said the UN goals are seen as a global blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
“Aligning the SDGs to the Cayman Islands Government ministries, portfolios and offices’ initiatives is an important step in focusing stakeholders on achieving sustainability targets by 2030. We are honoured to have been selected as the partner for this project and to be part of the foundation of a more sustainable vision for the Cayman Islands,” she said.
More information on the project will be shared on the ministry’s webpage and through the its Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
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Category: Climate Change, Policy, Politics, Science & Nature
Premier Panton your days are numbered now as Sir Alden will be taking charge.
civil service is filled with poorly educated peeople with zero ability to tackle these issues.
if we can’t be honest and face these facts we will never be closer to a solution.
mount thrashmore tells you everything you need to know.
everything else is waffle and management speak.
Inadequate, missing, or unaccountable performance should be unsustainable, yet these are exactly the benchmark standards for retention and promotion in Franz’s civil service. Failing standards that haven’t changed or reset across multiple political regimes, and OAG, AG, or PAC reports. There’s a solution, but it needs to come from the Governor. Voters can ask her to pull off the infected bandaid to heal the country, if they want that. They will have to ask.
Overregulation stymies sustainability.
No building in the world can boast a higher daily per capita presence of takeaway food containers than GOAB.
But we cannot do the simple things like recycling glass. How can we promote ourselves as a sustainably developed country. Sheer retoric.
Maybe we should start with listening more to the DOE. Remove the Boggy Sand wall, who gave permission to clear the mangroves at Red Bay??? Poor Wayne….still sitting and looking at the Premier’s range rover parked outside his house.
Project should focus politicians and planning board on sustainability. Start at the top where thete are ulterior motives and piss-poor decisions are being made.
might as well have the minister responsible for roads respond
Saying one thing but doing the exact opposite. Shameful. Ripping out mangroves, saying we can’t afford a glass crusher and letting developers just do whatever the hell they want. Pitiful and rudderless.
While simultaneously gearing up to destroy the last bit of major greenery this island
has. A joke.
Fix the damn dump.
Two years into the PACT administration and there is still runaway development, a stalled waste/dump management contract and not even a hint of a plan for a public transport system to alleviate the traffic.
The appropriate goals and recommendations in this regard should be plain for anyone to see without the need for an expensive paid consultation. This is likely just another means to defer any meaningful decisions or action.
“CI Go” taxi app isn’t even available in the USA iTunes store. Who signs off on these bozo decisions?
How about they focus on actually doing their job and not screwing things up while they run their side business using gov’t resources?
The premier is an absolute master at addressing with voluminous word salads that actually neither say or commit to anything. A true politician.
Well. The Premier is wearing the lapel badge, so that must put us in the world class ranking of sustainability. Oh, and don’t forget the posters.
Here’s a free tip for the Premier on what is not sustainable. Constantly spending she’s loads of taxpayers money on consultants reports because you haven’t the faintest clue what to do. You have an enormous civil service – how difficult would it be for some of those seat warmers to do some basic research on SDG and come up with some policy suggestions. Meantime we have people in genuine need who could use those funds, and there is no guarantee that the governments surpluses are sustainable given how reliant they are on financial services, tourism and real estate development – the latter in particular being completely toxic to the idea of sustainable development. Be better saving that money for a rainy day or investing it in sustainability like solar.
Because the civil service is a social welfare programme.
Well. The Premier is wearing the lapel badge, so that must put us in the world class ranking of sustainability. Oh, and don’t forget the posters.
***NOTE to CNS: I got a rule error page when I tried to post this. I modified the structure. If the first one went up, please disregard this. If not please post. THANKS!***
“has a vision” “aims to” “identify areas” “recommend” “focus on”
It is telling that Panton avoids using the word “accomplish” or any similar word to describe the results of their efforts. It is all about planning to plan and getting nothing done except contributing to global warming by way of the hot air spewing forth from Panton and his PACTless minions.
Ohh wowwww! Panton wears the SDG colour wheel pinned on his lapel and there are SDG posters in several offices throughout the Government Administration Building! Panton and his PACTless Clown Car certainly should win the Grand Prize for being the biggest do nothing poppy show government these dear islands have even been afflicted with. My my myyy! Little Gurney Wayne is wearing his little pin. I am SO damn impressed! [NOT!]
Bit like talking to a brick wall.
Mr. Premier your two faced approach to achieving the UN SDG is a joke. There’s been more unnecessary development under your watch than ever in the reign of your predecessors. Who are you trying to kid?
Your chief officer is a master of inaction, a stereotypical “swivel” servant, I guess that’s what you hired her for? You wear a badge, a fancy SDG colour wheel as your chief “blah blah blah” describes it, yet you aren’t anywhere near earning it. If what you’re doing, or not doing is supposed to be a balancing social, economic and environmental issues why is social strife on the rise and why is our environment being trashed at every opportunity? All I see being balanced is the bank accounts of developers.
You and your “soon come” chief officer need nothing short of a miracle to achieve any kind of milestone towards the goals you promised. And why do you even need a consultant to “formalise” anything if your chief officer is such a hot shot planner she purports to be? I personally voted for a sustainable future and thought you were the best man to bring it about. Regrettably, I was dead wrong. You and your PACT Mr. Premier are just like all the greedy, corrupt politicians we’ve had previously that have systematically demolished rather than building a sustainable future for Cayman. Lobbying by private interests namely developers has taken precedence over your mandate.
You have again put the cart before the horse, neglecting key pillars of infrastructure like education, waste management and affordable housing. What you are doing is not a balance it’s a sellout, you’re a sellout Mr. Premier!
Fools rush in. Why bash the good guys?
The Planning Ministry is ruled by newbie MP Jay Ebanks and the development agenda, all that ya’ll pissed about, is run by legacy chief officer Eric Bush and enshrined planning directors Haroon Pandohie and Ron Sanderson.
They operate like the Chinese wall. These educated civil servants know well how to achieve sustainable development- but the incentives or instructions not too have prevailed for far too long in this our beloved country. Unless you wield the weedwacker, nuttin gonna change and a change in the politicians is not gonna help one bit.
blah blah blah.
let’s spend more of other people’s money fighting the evil windmills.
blah blah blah
Oh my goodness, Jennifer. “Existing sustainability initiatives”. Pure management speak.
And by the way, it’s not primarily the civil service that needs “ awareness and understanding” to be raised. It’s the politicians.
Ms Jennifer is busy and that is why they need all the consultants.
#carepay
#$800phone bill scrutinized, while #carepay glossed over.
Awww, c’mon, Mister Premier. How about doing something instead of just talking about it. Maybe help the people in stead of the glorious leaders for a change! (?)
We literally had to commission an extra >$100k for an accounting firm to do Ahearn’s job of reading the UN SDGs and summarising global recommendations to the Cayman Islands context. Fire her, and all the other incompetents wearing lapel pins they don’t understand. The “C” in PACT is supposed to be Competency…this request is the People-driven “P”…still waiting on Accountability and Transparency…
Complete waste of the people’s money. Ask your MP to explain what the UN 17 SDG’s are and they will tell you that they have no idea. Wayne is in panic mode planning his reelection. Cayman does not need to adopt the UN SDG’s in order to protect our environment.
What a lot of BS. It is not the mindset of the country or civil service that needs to be changed but rather the elected officials who think they are working for a few of the big developers. No matter who we elect nothing changes. We get uncontrolled population growth. So now we need a bigger sea port, air port, more roads etc. etc. Follow the money folks. Your vote doesnt matter. We have to let the politicians know we wont take it anymore. How about next Monday at 8am wherever you are you just shut you car off and park for 2 hours. WE are going to have to put up or shut up!
Please objectively define “Climate Resiliency”, That isn’t just pulled out of someone rear end.
One of the most sustainable countries? while he tries to grow the population to 100K, develops all the mangroves and wetlands, and continues to “fly out” for these meetings that should be held over Zoom.
Failed at the first sentence.Cayman isn’t a country, but one would have thought its political leader would know that.
8:05, So many Caymanians on this site think they live in a country. They simply don’t understand we are a colony. Plain and simple.
Your beaches do deserve a colony in the terms of the archaic colonial mindset but we are now more endearingly called as the offal shoot of the former Empire which now consists of smatherings shed like a skin of the monty.
Third world bunga bunga parties are in person only.
Where is the LOL button when you need it? PACT wouldn’t know sustainability if it hit them in the face. There is no need for yet another expensive consulting project to determine what needs to be done, Wayne and co can read CNS for free and get the same answers. And the answers start with reigning in the pro development at any cost Ministers in the PACT cabinet. But we all know that will never happen so, just another waste of time and resources
This is very good news, with PACT working on getting the cost of living down, better wages for all, renewable energy that works, fighting climate change and now making sure the mangroves are not ripped out anymore this is a very busy government. Oh and let us not forget getting the landfill all sorted out. They better start burning the midnight oil then as lots to get accomplished before the next election!
100% waffle.
nothing has been done or will be done.
classic stuff from waffler-wayne and no-plan-pact
No one wants do be ruled under the UN government or have to live under climate change social credit system we refuse to hand over sovereignty of the Cayman Islands to a cult.
Why not we have two cults now – PPM & PACT!