Ministry dodges questions on sub-sea cable contracts
(CNS): The Ministry of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure (PAHI) has told CNS that answers to questions we asked about the modernisation of the submarine communications cable, a relevant report and the proposed spending for the project will all require a freedom of information request. On 22 November, the ministry issued a vague press release about plans for the cable, stating that Ranulf Scarbrough, described as a veteran of the industry, had been selected to lead the initiative.
The release also said that the ministry had entered into a strategic partnership with Cambridge Management Consultants, who have been awarded a $1.3 million contract and that they would be working with WFN Strategies and SBM International.
The ministry said in the release that SBM International, which is domiciled in Cayman, would “play a pivotal role in this collaborative effort”. However, it did not explain why it is working with four different consultants, what each one will do and how much each one has been paid. According to the government’s procurement site, only the CI$1.34 million contract with Cambridge appears to have gone through the usual open bidding process.
The ministry has also refused to release a recent external study, which officials said “underscored the paramount national importance of the Cayman Islands’ existing infrastructure in the context of global connectivity”.
During the last PPM-led administration, the government announced plans to sink another telecom cable. However, Cable & Wireless, a member of the consortium using the existing sub-sea telecom cables, including the MAYA 1 cable, that connect Cayman to the rest of the world, described the costly idea as pointless. The telecom firm said the current network has the capacity to manage even a five-fold increase in traffic.
Concerns in the wider community about telecommunication problems are far more localised and relate to the poor levels of service for the prices charged by providers and OfReg’s failure to properly regulate the sector.
Nevertheless, after coming to office, PACT continued to pursue this costly initiative, which has now been picked up by the UPM. However, the ministry is being less than transparent about the project, failing to explain the justification, the costs, the purpose of the consultant team or the benefits to the broader community of a third cable.
Infrastructure Minister Jay Ebanks said that digital connectivity is crucial to the way our islands live, work and play in a modern world. “These resources will help us ensure the Cayman Islands can be confident that our digital connections to the outside world will match the critical dependence we place on them,” he said, adding that he looked forward to working with the team the ministry had engaged.
However, neither he nor anyone from the ministry has answered our questions or explained why the external report on which the expenditure of public funds is being justified should remain under wraps. CNS has submitted a freedom of information request and will continue to pursue the answers to our questions.
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Category: Business, Government Administration, ICT, Politics
Does anyone know which entities are blocking Starlink. Jay talks about our digital needs but not a word about an obvious solution. Who are behind this digital death decision?
Starlink works jus’ fine here, bobo. Just get one in the US and bring ‘er down. Easy peasy.
OfReg once again oozing from its pores …. How a single authority/entity can be embroiled in so many leadership debacles and still have ‘say so’ on guidance… not to mention rumors that several current new members were longstanding supporters of said undersea cable PRIOR to joining the board.
Allow satellite internet companies on the Cayman Islands to break up the Mafia Flow and Digicel.
who says they are not allowed, I brought in my own Starlink
They should really just make starlink legal. No cables, 200+mbs as I was getting in Jamaica and only 50 dollars per month. It would remove any concerns of corruption from better and more reliable internet speed.
Mine arrived 2 weeks ago with an address in Montego.
Took about 20 minutes to get it working. Another hour to put it in place properly. Canceled my fiber on Tuesday.
Just authorize Starlink satellite internet, and enter the 21st century. No need for more cables.
Minster Jay is dumber than a bag of rocks and he’s negotiating deals for us?
Vote for uneducated unemployables and Da wa ya get..Jay, Seymour, Kenneth Mac and Saunders.
All they have to do is get a few hundred votes from their own kind, and the rest of us have to pay for it.
@ 10.22 Glad ‘your kind’ dont have control.
Fake slang poster strikes again.
If they are truly concerned about Cayman’s connectivity to the world then they should immediately approve Starlink to operate in the Cayman Islands. This would provide real competition to existing internet providers and provided the sister islands with superior service.
Kenny B’s new illegal billboard looks as bad as the previous ones.
Wussa
World class my arse! Pure bollocks and corruption within the civil service that always involves the same people
Wait… Jay can read?
Our country is being raped by this new group!!!
The Regressive Party strikes again. $125 million high school. Pier against the people’s wishes. Last second Dart dump contract. Undersea data cable.
These clowns want power again? That’s a big negatory. They need to disband, pay back the money they grifted and beg for forgiveness for their gross mismanagement of Cayman’s government and finances.
The schools are there and providing free education ..
UDPacts $100million planned woke “prison” resort will do nothing for us other than take away punishment as a deterrent to crime.
Kenneth’s beach ego trip will spiral money into supporters’s pockets. A great venue to carry on trading .
Want a bigger list of our new rabble’s wastes..?
Are you defending the Regressives or just against government overspending no matter which party is doing it? If the latter, we are in 100% agreement. If the former, I call rank hypocrisy.
I plan to bypass archaic cables and go with Star Link once available.
Available now, bobo
What a lot of nonsense. It seems like several of our MP’s feel that unless a project costs millions it is not worth any effort.
For example, the public bus service improvement could begin with little/no expense but no steps are taken.
That contract, no doubt, requires strict secrecy as is required by a top-secret contract that exists between government and another party.
Several other parties; it does little good to upgrade our leg of the cable without a corresponding upgrade to the core. Who pays for the upgrade which doesn’t directly affect each area? These are questions that have been kicked down the road for decades.
I wonder sometimes if we’d all be money ahead to switch to satellite comms. Except, well, that would require heavy-handed agreements between the same parties and the U.S. WHOOF!
Please keep asking these questions, especially regards OfReg and their lack lustre performance. Thank you
“the way our islands live, work and play in a modern world.”
Sounds like language frequently used by Dart. Is this 3rd cable being put in for Dart?
Is the plan by Jay, Eric and PAHI for Dart to replace Cable and Wireless as the telecoms provider?
Would be good to see the Outline Business Case as well to understand how PAHI justified this 3rd cable.
lmao dart and many other mix use developments and cities around the world but sure, sherlock; dart. lmao
We are Maya One and have a cable to Jam
What a colossal waste of money.
Where is the business case for this.
Madam Auditor General, Please request the relevant documents if they even exist.
Both of those cables are managed by C&W… a third cable is not technically required but it will lower connectivity cost and break their monopoly.
Rubbish. Every additional cable will bring more bandwidth and drive down costs. Data transmission is exploding in volume worldwide so IT businesses in cayman will need all the bandwidth they can get.
not true. there is already more than enough capacity but ofreg do such a terrible job, C&W/Flow are allowed to run a monoploy. New cable is needed though as the existing ones are too old.
another glorious day for the civil service…proving they really do deserve their $1500 vote-buying-bonus!!!…..zzzzzzzzz
Agree with the sentiment of your statement, however this has zero to do with the $1500 bonus.
Thank you for playing. Be well.
if cig won’t provide answers maybe media should forward the questions to governor and fco!!!
it’s time to save cayman and not accept the usual lazy incompetence from cig and the civil service.
The new purchasers of a local telecommunications provider will play a big role if this project is allowed to go forward given the lack of transparency and murky waters too many people in GOAB are swimming in right now.
Shameless obfucation indicating likely corruption. Will the Madam Governor step in and set this right? Or at least request an explanation?
Guido, The Governor has no power or right to intervene on this matter.
Ju Ju is our leader.
Well for full on corruption the Govenor can step in. The office still has reserved powers under the Constitution.
But considering all the other crap that has been let go nothing substantive will happen here.
INCORRECT
The Auditor General can request information and documents – documents, that is, that are supposed to be produced to satisfy the requirements of the Procurement Law.
Now, you can ask, When was Eric ever concerned about, or held to account as per any law?
The Auditor general is ignored like a mosquito bite…and if she continues to bite, she will be dismissed like the others who tried to do their jobs.
To connect the dots you have follow the money.
Alternately, one can try to become a member of the crystal harbour domino and supper club that meets regularly at Lalique point with the self proclaimed Caymanian elite that represent all key local players desperate for the the protect to go forward, other bidders, senior civil servants directly associated with the project and an assortment of current and former cabinet members all desperate to feed at the trough by dutifully playing their role.
I guess one of that elite group has been drunk and bragging again?? They cant help it. What is the point of having a massive ego if you cant brag about the civil servants and the politicians you have in your pocket?!
The answer, of course, is Spongebob Squarepants!
…and free ice cream cones in Times Square!
clear as mud.
just another day in wonderland.
I am sure the ownership of these companies awarded the contracts will provide all the answers.
I imagine one of our politicians family no doubt.
It is top secret and Madam Premier already told us idiot tax payers that they are not discussing anything, so CNS you will have to stop drumming up alarm as this is how life goes in a totalitarian/socialistic society. Look on the bright side, at least Seymour is providing the relevant oversight.
Socialistic? Autocratic more like,