Archive for November, 2023
Parliament meeting set to deliver UPM budget
(CNS): The United People’s Movement government will bring the 2024/25 budget to parliament on 8 December. In a press release from the House, the Speaker, Sir Alden McLaughlin called for the second meeting and official state opening of the 2023-24 session of the parliament to begin next Friday at 10am. It will include the governor’s […]
Losses covered on CAL’s Barbados route
(CNS): Cayman Airways’ deal with Barbados to launch the route to the eastern Caribbean island guarantees the airline’s costs, plus a small mark-up according to documents released under a Freedom of Information request. The route ran at just 24% occupancy in October and although November is expected to be better when the numbers are in, […]
CUC goes to New Zealand to find new energy VP
(CNS): CUC has announced a new senior appointment to help the monopoly power provider on Grand Cayman transition to a lower carbon future. According to a press release the firm, well-known for employing Caymanians in senior positions as well as among the rank and file this time CUC went ‘to New ‘down-under’ and found Dr […]
Bills passed to improve BO disclosure regime
(CNS): Financial Services Minister André Ebanks has steered several bills through parliament, including a stand-alone Beneficial Transparency Ownership Act to improve the current regime on how information relating to who benefits from financial entities registered here is shared and to stay ahead of changing standards and rules. Explaining the law during last week’s special parliamentary […]
Senior denies killing Hernandez in daylight shooting
(CNS): George Orlando Senior (35) has denied murdering Divonte Alejandro Hernandez (25) who was gunned down outside a George Town Liquor store in broad daylight in September. Senior, from West Bay, is one of two men charged with Hernandez’ murder but the second man, Sean Austin Connolly Amaya (24) from George Town has not yet answered the charges […]
Foreign worker denies groping women on buses
(CNS): Palinda Maduranga Dissanayake, a former work permit holder, denied groping two women and 15 year-old-girl on public buses earlier this year, when he appeared in Grand Court of Friday. The man entered not guilty pleas to four counts of indecent assault where he is accused of touching the women’s breasts in relation to separate […]
Ministers paid an average of over $305k per year
(CNS): Members of the Cabinet earned CI$3.3 million, about $305,000 each on average in 2022, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has revealed in a new public interest report. Government ministers were not the only senior public sector employees to take home salaries and benefits that the average resident can only dream of; other members […]
Civil servants getting one-off payment of $1,500
(CNS): Core government workers will be getting an additional CI$1,500 in their December pay packets to help with the cost of living and to reward their contributions. Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the cash payments were being funded by the efficiencies and savings made this year in public spending. The new leader told parliament that the […]
Rules changed to allow hotel rooftop pools and bars
(CNS): Government has amended the development and planning regulations to enable hotels and condos in the tourism zones to utilise rooftop space for amenities such as swimming pools, restaurants, bars or spas. The change was passed through parliament at the end of Thursday’s proceedings by Planning Minister Jay Ebanks to promote the use of roofs […]
Locals get more access to pensions to buy property
(CNS): Caymanians with private sector pensions can now gain access to more of their funds in order to pay down mortgages, raise deposits to buy a home or land, or pay off strata debts, after an amendment to the National Pensions Act was steered through parliament Thursday. Minister Dwayne Seymour, who has returned to the […]
Prison fire began in high risk unit cell
(CNS): As the joint investigation by the Cayman Islands Fire Service and the police into a fire at HMP Northward on Tuesday continues, officials have revealed that the blaze started in the high-risk unit where category A prisoners are held. Initial information is that prison officers detected smoke within a prisoner’s cell on the unit […]
