Minister gives conflicting views on immigration
(CNS): Labour Minister Dwayne Seymour, as a guest on Radio Cayman on Monday, failed to outline any specific plans the PACT government has to solve Cayman’s growing immigration challenges. Claiming he knew nothing about Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan’s controversial billboard demanding “Immigration Reform Now!”, Seymour expressed very mixed views about what needs to be reformed and how.
He said he had seen the billboard when he came back from Jamaica but that it had not been discussed with him. “I’m not sure what the billboard is about,” he said, adding that the government was determined to reform immigration. “I’m sure he has a reason for putting it up.”
Bryan, who was in New York, sent a message to the show’s host, Orrett Connor, stating that he had no intention of undermining the labour minister with the billboard.
Speaking about his own views, Seymour called for an undefined pause in status grants and suggested the ability to advance from work permits to permanent residency (PR) should be removed, among other ideas, but he did not express any clear policy position when he appeared on the talk show, For the Record.
He said that no draft legislation was “ready yet” in relation to any changes to the immigration law, and made no mention of when the report on the current review of the PR system would be made public.
Seymour said he believed that Caymanian status should only be given to people with family connections to Cayman and spouses of Caymanians. But he also spoke about the need for local business owners to be able to recruit whomever they want, even suggesting that the English language test was too difficult and unnecessary for some jobs. However, he did not say one way or the other whether any of these ideas were likely to form part of any policy changes.
The minister said the politicians were aware of the complaints about the current system. “We know exactly… we’ve been getting the complaints. We know some of the things that need to be done to make amendments to the immigration law to ensure that it is not this easy to come in here and just walk in the door,” he added.
Acknowledging the permanent residency application backlog, he said it was “getting us into trouble” and was just introducing more problems. He spoke about finding more resources to get it addressed, even using private sector people to help clear the non-contentious applications. “We need to follow the law,” he said, pointing out that people were waiting as long as 18 months for the results of their applications.
Seymour spoke about increasing the efficiency in managing the PR system, as the backlog was a representation of failure. He said the application process should not take a year and suggested it should take no more than 30 days. The new automated system was designed to meet that target, he noted and said people needed to give that time to be rolled out.
Seventy-five PR applications, based on the points system, were processed in August, and there are still 280 waiting. Since the start of this year, there have been 292 new applications based on length of stay as opposed to family connections. Seymour also said that in July alone, 5,273 work permits were considered by the boards or processed administratively, demonstrating the pressure on the WORC department and the number of people still arriving or seeking to stay.
In the face of a growing population, Seymour said that a plan to manage it was needed, but it was important to bring Caymanians along with that plan and ensure they benefited from the growth because it could not just be stopped. “We need to find a way to slow it down a bit,” he said, and find niche markets that could be reserved for Caymanians only.
See the minister on Radio Cayman below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
How can we accept such incompetent elected officials? It’s shameful.
Typical christian attitude.
blame the immigrant, just like Republicans do in the us.
dont forget its the foreigners that built your house, clean it and fix your yard. legal or not, they take care of you.
This just proves how dysfunctional this government are.
You needed this to prove that?
Any person born in the USA is entitled to stand for the presidency of the most powerful democracy in the world.
Any American citizen, whether born in the USA or not, can stand for any other elected office.
But they still need to be voted into power by the American people.
But this could never happen here because they are not allowed to stand for election. Nor are their children. Only their grandchildren.
You say, “I don’t want to be governed by a “foreigner”, which of course they aren’t. Then don’t VOTE FOR THEM.
Just because someone stands for election doesn’t mean they will be elcted unless the majority of CAYMANIANS vote for them.
Perhaps we could elect a few less embarrassments like John John.
In case you’re still somehow unsure why this scenario isn’t supported by generational Caymanians:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/09/minister-gives-conflicting-views-on-immigration/#comment-611776
I hope John John dusted his knuckles off for this one. He really can make a fool out of himself can’t he? Vote better Government.
Lol! Duhwayne never fails to make me laugh. If you took this muppet out of Cayman and dropped him ANYWHERE else in the world, he wouldn’t be trusted with a mop and bucket. You reap what you sow Cayman. A once fantastic island slowly strangling itself with stupidity.
I am going to ask one quick question after reading this: “I’m not sure what the billboard is about,” he said. Is Mr. Dwayne sure what the government is about or his role in being a minister? I seriously doubt it. Time to get rid of these useless politicians, my trained bull mastiffs, could do better!!! 😄😄
A real dufus, he is not sure, bla,bla . He thinks the English test is too difficult for who, is he saying it is too difficult for him? My wish is that they will stay off the radio and for the sake of the sane among us please don’t let them off the island.
Just another day in PACT wonderland. VOTE EM OUT!!
Wayne and these jokers are an embarrassment.
The violence, bullying and heavy handed religion doctrine in and out of schools doesn’t bode well at all.
Introspective now.
Starts in the House of Parliament.
Cayman deserves better 🙁
You get what you vote for.
You get what Mac’s thousands of Jamaicans status grants vote for…your Caymanian votes and values no longer count.
How about raising work permit fees John John? We have to slow the population growth to something that is manageable. Genereational Caymanians are outnumbered and if we are having over 5000 new work permits every month it doesn’t take much to understand that kind of growth is just not sustainable.
The honest to goodness truth, at the risk of sounding xenophobic, we need to curtail the work permits in certain industries like construction and put an embargo on permits for Jamaicans in those industries. Construction is over run with Jamaicans who don’t care about the quality of work they are performing and who don’t care about people’s property.
Cayman is addicted to cheap labour, and we have to stop the reliance. Because we are importing less than desirables who are hurting our society more than anything else. Enough is enough.
We live on an island of mistakes.
Some of you would think of me as a “king of mistakes”.
Let us look at wisdom and experience, not just academic credentials.
Many intelligences beyond book smarts exist.
Formal education has not always automatically produced better judgment.
Situations involving the exhibition of ever more useful practical skills do exist.
Cases involving incremental personal growth showing a slew of behaviours rooted in better use of common sense after learning costly personal lessons in life exist.
Facts that led not-so-educated people to behave in such a way as to cause better outcomes in the superior fiscal direction in the Cayman Islands, even at a leadership level, unquestionably exist.
Empathically rooted social capacities within local individuals who do generate a fuller, longer-lasting, healthier kind of living for some happier people today in this life, certainly exist.
A nuanced no-contest specialized cultural knowledge that genuinely gets better results faster from their stiff-necked people, more effectively than the “educated” undoubtedly exists.
Sure, we want to see a lot more of that.
But, good for all of us! Such things do exist!
And exist in the Cayman Islands.
I see a day approaching when better decision-making arises with a tidal effect, with increasing frequency from our leaders, and even with unpretentious humility.
Life may soon show us cases in the local parliament when the so-called “uneducated” make verifiably wiser choices for better outcomes than the formally educated.
Outcomes that make your children and my children get and retain an edge, a real advantage against the rest of the world, even in the face of such advancing challenges in Cayman.
Much hope comes forth from my heart for the Cayman Islands, despite our evident inadequacies.
The good still arises everywhere locally, as I see it, and not only on both sides of the political arena, as I prepare myself for the inevitable season sighs I will utter and rolling of the eyes because of upcoming political theatrics, but particularly in the numerous hearts and minds of people across the three islands daily.
Let us remember that super-intelligent individuals in these Cayman Islands choose to show the rest of us great mercy!
Let us recognize what that truly means.
Appreciate it.
It would cause more of us to admit to our true predicament here.
I pray that more of us realize that truly remarkable people do live entirely mercifully among the rest of us.
I pray that more of us realize that they do so in the same manner by which we show mercy on ants.
Furthermore, I expect one day excellence will overwhelm the Cayman Islands with such a deluge of impressive behaviours that people the world over will become aware and take their cues for authentic improved living from the magnificent people who live on these beloved little rocks pushing their verdant faces up from out of our sea of palest emeralds.
Too many, too frequently, only perceive struggles.
Too many, too often, only point to mistakes.
Still, I keep cheering for Cayman, despite it all.
You should do so too in your heart.
Choose to see how much love compels me to do so.
What is all of this jibber jabber trying to say?
Exactly! I love prose and poems, I write prose and poems but really what the hell is this. Was this written by one of the elected officials?
Not fair to ask Jon Jon any difficult questions this far out from the next full moon.
An illegal billboard. Get the facts straight!
Two illegal billboards, get the facts straight!
The place is a mess with far too many ex pats from a certain area/ areas of the world. No wonder crime is growing . There is no work or career prospects for your own people. Kmt
Jamaicans..say it, but it makes no difference because these are the people keeping Saunders and Seymour rolling in inflated salaries and benefits.
The proudest Jamaican’s always seem to be the ones that won’t live there. You see more Jamaican flags here than in Jamaica, even local taxis sporting a Jamaican flag!
Just because he couldn’t pass the English test, doesn’t mean it’s too hard.
I hope they don’t make the English test any easier. It’s hard enough now to understand, or be understood by, some of the newcomers here.
Does anybody actually know how John John got a leg up into politics? I know he was voted in. But who sponsored him? He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.
How has he blagged it?
Jamaicans..Bodden Town Jamaicans.
Little Kingston.
Sponsored by Roy Bodden. If you think about it and read Roy’s books, you can see why.
Who would read that tripe?
Actually Roy’s books are great! Perhaps you should read one. However I must say they are written for the intellectuals, except ” A gathering of Old Men”
I beg to differ, Roy Bodden’s books are all very well written and informative . His writings are not for everyone, you do need a certain amount of intelligence to appreciate his books.
I was hoping for a few more thumbs- up! Obviously most of the posters on here never read one of his books. That there is a huge problem. Do not bad mouth the author if you have not read his writings. I remember when these books and others written by local authors would be on a book shelf in many homes in the Cayman Islands. We were encouraged to expand our knowledge of our history, culture, customs and our vision through reading and intelligent conversations. That too is being lost and with it our consciousness. Slowly we are losing too much including ourselves. We cannot blame that on others.
There is no Parliamentary Privilege on Radio Cayman, not even for stupid people. Expressed incompetence, negligence, xenophobia, conspiracy to obstruct due process should all meet with consequence. Gifts of intention for Nick Joseph’s oppressed clients.
…and the vultures circle around again…
PR applicants aren’t just walking in the door. They’ve been invested resident contributors for close to 8 years, and HAVE TO apply on merit to avoid the CIG’s own permit rollover policy. Residents over 10 years have A RIGHT to apply for Naturalisation as BOTC, per the UNHRC. With Seymour’s grasp of elementary school civics, he should never have been eligible to run for politics, let alone handed oversight responsibilities. Challenging the UK’s obligations, just ends predictably in another avoidable settlement payment on successful class action challenge. Seymour should pay it.
English test too difficult and unnecessary ? that’s not correct. I encounter people in different jobs that I as a Caymanian can’t understand what they saying. In my opinion, the English it’s too easy, NOT TOO DIFFICULT.
Agreed! I sick and tired of repeating myself three or four times to Filipinos! At least with the Spanish we can get by easier.
Jamaicans are worse.
Wussa
Not true. The Filipinos speak much better English than the Spanish people do.
much better?
You have obviously not talked to a Jamaican speaking full on patois at the speed of light. Also Jamaican culture is that to make your point in a difference of opinion situation you just say it louder.
Ask yourself how half a the restaurants on Island including the largest Canadian owned lot seem to have kitchens full Subcontinent staff that quite literally can not even ask for the person they are in the place to meet and put two and two together.
This place sold out years ago. Post Ivan the place got completely cobbled up as nobody wanted to risk holding the bag the next time something like that turned up.
Try advertising for restaurant help and see how many Caymanians show up for an interview.
I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to work in a restaurant. But don’t then complain when other take the job.
Pay a decent wage. Tired of cheap help setting the standard for Caymanians.
You must be new here. Caymanians refuse to do service industry jobs… Caymanians only want jobs they’re not qualified to do! 🤡
History repeats itself with more errors from the mistake-riddled playbook of Tibbetts-era PPM, and is probably headed for similar lawsuits and settlements. Bryan and Seymour’s xenophobic platforms are proof that Cayman can no longer afford to promote buffoons.
Totally out of his depth, bless him.
So Kenneth erects a Billboard calling for Immigration Reform and the Minister responsible (Jon Jon) doesn’t even know why Kenneth is calling for Reform, yet they sit in Cabinet right next to each other? I am seriously worried about the future of this country!!!
Total lack of leadership on the part of Pantless Panton. What a joke.
https://youtu.be/tMwhl4IrPNc?si=gmTlpdAH_8UwK4W6
Kenneth is obviously playing games for votes.
His supporters are so stupid that they don’t realise they’re just being used to keep him flying and living first class, at their expense.
Many young Caymanians still struggle to find employment, while numerous professional Caymanians face victimization as others seek to advance their careers.
It’s time for a fresh approach instead of repeating the same old tune for your puppet masters.
Seems like you are the one repeating the same old tune! Opportunities for young Caymanians are everywhere.
Every professional organizations is eager to hire them. Just have to put in the effort.
I know gaslighting when I encounter it, stop gaslighting.
Turning up on time with your pants pulled up would help
Is that why you couldn’t be successful back home – sagging pants? You sure it wasn’t the throngs of imported poverty who are willing to work for unlivable slave wages and tolerate being treated as a sub-human?
No, you’re probably right; after all you’re almost certainly educated well past what is on offer to Caymanians, and you’re here out of sheer benevolence to save us from ourselves with your messianic complex. It’s probably just their pants. 🙄
Go far and stay long.
I’m confused by this. It contains several mutually-contradictory ‘Entitled Caymanian’ tropes:
1. The assertion that, “you couldn’t be successful back home” is in my experience, invariably incorrect. Everyone with whom I work was successful back home, but decided that they prefer, e.g. the weather here. They were persuaded to come to Cayman because employers here are unable to find intelligent, qualified, hard-working Caymanians who can do the job. WORC agreed with the employers, hence granting work permits.
2. I have no idea what the ‘slave wages’ rant is about. Nor, one suspects, do you.
3. The assertion that expats are, “almost certainly educated well past what is on offer to Caymanians” is also bizarre. Caymanians have their entire education, including higher degrees overseas in decent universities, given to them on a silver platter. I am unaware of anywhere in the world which is quite so generous in giving out taxpayers’ money (I include import taxes, stamp duty, etc: Cayman is far from tax free). Yet, 75% of the children here graduate school functionally illiterate, innumerate and thus unemployable – never mind their atrocious attitude. That’s entirely down to Caymanians. Nary a work permit holder to be seen in the quest to excuse Caymanian educational knuckle-dragging.
4. Your concluding remark shows – for a Caymanian – a rare depth of self-awareness: “you’re here out of sheer benevolence to save us from ourselves with your messianic complex”. Yes, we pity you. Yes, we recognise that you have squandered your inheritance and created a political structure whereby utter morons bleed you dry by pandering to – and exacerbating – xenophobia. But, and this is the truly tragic thing, other than paying vast amounts in taxes (see import taxes & stamp duty, above), we can’t save you, because we’re not allowed to stand for election, even us status holders. You’re correct, we do what we can to help you, but that’s limited.
Finally, taking your assertions at face value, what does it say for the calibre of Caymanians, if expats really are third-rate failures from their home countries? It shows that Caymanians are so utterly useless that (1) employers would rather pay tens of thousands in CI$ work permit fees to employ an expat than you – you’re that hideously useless; and (2) even if you start your own competitor companies, e.g. your own accountancy, banking companies, etc. international clients also won’t touch you with a barge pole – they think you’re sh*t, too. And – according to you – you’re only competing with third-rate expats? Perhaps show some humility and respect to your betters.
Sort your culture out. Sterilise future single mothers before they breed. Finish your education. Get qualified overseas and get international experience. Get a job – any job, you’re not “too good” for manual labour, if that’s all you’re offered. Work your way up. Get married before having kids.
This is your fault. All your fault. Your fault.
I suspect you are confused by a lot. You can try to twist and control the narrative all you want, but the reality is if home was your better option you would have stayed there. You’re welcome for the opportunity.
… as well as not starting to eat your breakfast at your desk when you turn up…
Then going for break at 10:00
ZZZZZ….our poor youth! these dont care
More pearls of wisdom from our senior elected officials, utterly amazing.
You both are friends and Brothers… He is doing your job which you don’t know. Now, you can do his job, he doesn’t know.
Simply switch your ministry, we don’t care.
When you appoint a convicted drug dealer together with a bull penis wielding lunatic should we really be expecting anything different, – we’ve failed ourselves 🤠
To be fair, the bull penis wielding lunatic wasn’t elected this time around. This is a whole different lunatic altogether.
I think the cow cod assault and arrest was Ozzie Osbourne Bodden.
it was Ozzy, not Duhwayne who wielded the cow cod!
Amen!
Wasn’t it Ozzie that wielded the bull’s penis?
My apologies one MLA incident confused with another, – Mr Seymour was the ‘sacred vessel’ fiasco
Trainergate, lightpolegate, the list goes on….
Wasn’t he also the light pole on the way home from the “office” ? And you forgot Kenny’s assault conviction.
Jeez stop it with the “Kenny drug” thing or the “Kenny assault” narrative already – please! The drug thing was a million years ago. People change. The assault thing is nonsense. I was with him at the time. He genuinely was protecting a woman from being assaulted. Those who spout defamatory statement implying he assaulted someone, were you there? If you weren’t, please do try and put a lid on it would you? Hate on policies, hate on billboards, hate on political decisions, but just do your homework before commenting. Please? For those of us who value intelligent input and debate, or even smart remarks, be better.
The Private Sector has been volunteering to help with PR Processing FOR FREE – for more than a decade. Just sayin.
fox guarding chickens LOL
Nope. Not how true professionals roll.
And just where is the Premier while all this ramble-jamble by these two is going on? Ride the donkey Jon-Jon is off to Jamaica and Spend the Money Kenny is off to New York; we really have quite the government in action here! Just what does the Labor minister know? Enqueuing minds want to know.
The Labour Minister is fluent in multiple languages……
Donkey Boy and Cryin Bryan, what a mess we in! Who puts a tick by their names and thinks “this is a good idea”?
10.59 you know those who put the ticks are carefully groomed third world imports, and their children, who rely on Saunders, Kenneth, Seymour for favors and NAU handouts.
Long term plan, power ,and finally Independence.
The really sad part is that he likely does not understand that his views were conflicting.
the dwayne and kenny show!….both poorly educated fools way out of their depth.
caymanians elect these people so you have no-one else to blame but yourselves.
and to make things worse, you also prevent the most qualified and successful people on island from being elected…
welcome to wonderland.
Who would be the most qualified and successful? Expats? I do not want an expatriate speaking for me, SORRY!
Actually, I think you will find it is overwhelmingly Jamaicans electing “these people.”
…yet your presence here indicates that, despite all you’ve stated, Cayman is *still* indubitably superior to your other options. We appreciate the compliment! 🤗
you miss the point…do you want things to get better or not?
it will be the next generation that suffers most…not me or you.
Exactly. Cayman is in a downward spiral and doom loop, due to its dysfunctional politicians. Many expats are preparing contingency plans for when the MLA Moron Mob eventually finish the place off. Sadly, because of the political system, it’s probably beyond salvage. Make your money, and prepare to get out in 5-10 years at most:
1. Expats can’t engage in politics: even those of us with status can’t stand for election. Colleagues without status can’t risk annoying people and losing their work permit by being openly critical (hence anonymous CNS comments are the only source of dissent).
2. No capable, hardworking and intelligent Caymanian would sensibly enter politics here because that would cripple their life chances. Being trapped in any location is a risk, particularly a tiny one like Cayman. Anyone sensible will therefore pursue a profession which gives them global opportunities, e.g. IT or accountancy. By such choices the top e.g. 75% of Caymanians self-select out of politics. The bottom 25% of remaining oxygen thieves then engage in a race to the bottom to bribe people for ‘wotes’.
3. This is why Caymanian politicians are so uniquely* awful (definitely incompetent, probably corrupt, often criminal). They have effectively excluded anyone decent from power. This then exacerbates the problem identified at (2): capable, hardworking and intelligent Caymanians see the ‘death spiral’ direction of travel, and are determined to develop escape options focusing on global skills, not parochial, inbred local politics. (* uniquely, because while other countries have their bottom feeder politicians, Cayman _only_ has such people.)
4. Cayman is presently incapable of self-government. PR and status holders should be allow to both vote and stand for election. See comments under: https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/03/premier-admits-widening-of-caymans-economic-success-gap/comment-page-1. It won’t happen though, because the MLA Moron Mob know that (a) only idiots will vote for them; and (b) the current mob rely on their being no decent alternatives – they’re terrified by the idea of competition. PR/status voters and candidates would wreck the morons’ gravy train. As one person noted on this article, most Caymanian politicians wouldn’t be trusted with a mop and brush anywhere else in the world (or even in the private/expat sector here).