Bryan: Ministers need more say in CS recruitment
(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan wants Cabinet ministers to have more power in government’s hiring of Caymanians because people expect their MPs to help them get work. Speaking on Radio Cayman yesterday, he admitted that the current immigration system had created challenges for local people, from the increasing population to the housing crisis. He said private sector employers were not playing their part by hiring and promoting Caymanians, and ministers should be able to call out the civil service when it also overlooked local workers and recruited overseas.
When he appeared on For the Record on Thursday, Bryan said that “drastic measures” were needed to reform immigration, but it required the government’s caucus to agree. He said some changes that had already been agreed upon were coming.
The minister said the problem of people not hiring local workers had a far-reaching impact and that employers had an obligation to give local people work to support society. But he also voiced concern about the lack of powers ministers have when it comes to opportunities in government and the promotion of local people. He said they no longer had any influence over the civil service, even though it’s one of the country’s biggest employers.
Bryan said constituents expect MPs to help them find work in government. However, they can no longer do this because the elected arm cannot get involved in human resources in government and could be sanctioned if they do, as was the case with one minister. He said he was very cautious about making any comment to any civil servant about recruitment to avoid any allegation of interference.
Once in government, he realised he did not have the power to meet his constituents’ expectations. Even if Cabinet were to propose legislation requiring the government to get work permits for foreign civil servants, the governor could stop the act by refusing to assent to it, the minister told the radio audience.
Bryan said he planned to discuss this issue with the governor because trying to help Caymanians get work in the private sector was also very difficult. This is one of the main reasons why he has been so vocal about immigration reform, which he added “was desperately needed” to at least reduce the number of permits that are granted.
He said that politicians were unable to play any part in controlling the number of foreign workers hired, trained or promoted by the public sector, even when Caymanians are overlooked, and were also unable to influence private sector employers because the business community insists they should be able to hire who they want. But he said that was only true to a certain degree, which was why immigration reform was necessary.
“If we are too loose with immigration policies… and if it’s easier to find a non-Caymanian, then you are going to find a non-Caymanian,” he said, adding that employers “should be required to find Caymanians regardless of the ills they come with”.
Bryan argued that if it were not so easy to recruit expatriate workers, then employers would have to find, hire, train and promote local people. “Immigration is related to so many problems that we have,” he added.
Changes to the immigration law are coming this year, but Bryan said he was not the person to say what they are because the labour minister should make that announcement. But he said there was a power struggle between politicians and the administrative branch of government, which meant they could do nothing to address the problems in the public sector.
He argued that the civil service should give preference to Caymanians and the deputy governor should not have the sole power to make decisions about hiring overseas workers over locals. He said the civil service should not be exempt from the screening and requirements of a permit system.
In both the private and public sectors, he said, politicians were prevented from assisting their people because of the pressure from the business community and their profit margins on the one hand and the constitutional exclusion of politicians from the civil service recruitment process on the other.
Acknowledging that the political arm of government should not have absolute power over the civil service, he said there was room for more shared responsibility, and it was necessary to reform the legislation to make management more accountable when they put expatriates ahead of local staff.
The minister accepted that politicians should not interfere by placing people who support them in favourable positions but said there was room to open the door about discussing the issues when Caymanians are overlooked or special favours appear to be given to expatriates.
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Category: Government Administration, Politics
And have a repeat where they tried to push a certain Fire Officer (with no experience) to run the Port Authority. Cmon Kenneth…we know you are trying to secure your “cushiony” job as a politician.
I hope the UK and the Governor are watching and listening to this moronic, out of control ex con
Time for direct rule. This place is quickly going to hell.
Now convinced that Bryan is beyond stupid.
Why dont you send so e more to the prison so they can fall in love with prisoner or earn cash working for them again ?
Stay in your lane Bryan
The only thing I agree with “the civil service should not be exempt from the screening and requirements of a permit system.”
The Gov.ky hires from overseas without question while I see a LOT of experienced and degreed Caymanians passed over for jobs.
Care to provide specifics?
…he is openly talking about gameing the system.
Corruption, coupled with the recent report stating that 74% (Seventy-Four per cent) of Government school children do NOT have the basics of “reading, writing and arithmetic”…and his response is make the Goverment the employer of last resort..sad…
More populist nonsense
Sounds like another vote buying tactic.
He wants to giveaway jobs to constituents instead of handouts from his own pocket I guess
Serving MP literally calling for more corruption. Governor? FCO? Any comment?
Blacklist?
This is by far one of the most dangerous comments I have heard from a Minister of Government.
The Premier should fire him immediately.
Kenneth background is in journalism. Exactly what kind of HR training does he have? Why does he think he can make better employment decisions than trained HR professionals.
The frightening reality is that he wants to give his constituents a job whether they are qualified or not.
Do you think we would have had a Commissioner of Police like Derek Byrne or a Prison Director like Steven Barrett if Bryan made the HR decisions? Hell no! he would have done the politically correct thing and given these key jobs to his favourite Caymanian.
Caymanians wake up! The days of electing grassroots uneducated Caymanians because you like them is over.
Kenneth’s background is in drug dealing – he was awful as a journalist. No qualifications there.
To be fair, he does also have a background in small-scale independent retail…
Kenneth’s background is as a criminal.
Just not a successful one.
What a colossal hASS he is. His Hignorance knows no boundaries.
“He said they no longer had any influence over the civil service, even though it’s one of the country’s biggest employers.”
No longer?? The man clearly does not understand the Constitution or the Anti-Corruption Act. Elected officials have NEVER been able to lawfully dictate hiring and promotion decisions in the civil service, although it may be that certain politicians with wondering hands and a penchant for gambling and obtaining free condos from developers have in the past made ‘deals’ to get lackeys into positions from which they could serve their master’s nefarious activities.
“Bryan said he planned to discuss this issue with the governor because trying to help Caymanians get work in the private sector was also very difficult.”
Bryan however did not mention 70% of student being trained for work are not passing basic school standards. All bluster and no substance.
That is the results of 70 % of the voting public electing 70% uneducated persons instead of the educated who stand for election.
Your Excellency please keep your office doors locked, don’t let him in .
Did Kenneth just say the Ministers and MPs should be able to place people in positions of employment as favours to those who elected them?
I am gesh, we may need a hearing and investigation into what is going on in the government if this is being publicly advocated.
So basically we have a politician who openly admits he would like to have permission to sell jobs for votes.
If the level of education of caymanians wasn’t so bad, and the attitude toward work less lazy, the private sector would hire them. Business owners are no fools and know a business has to run. Only in the civil service, where accountability is inexistent, can incompetent people be promoted to high paying jobs…
Because ministers like him always need alternative ways to ply for votes.
politicians and rich always get what they want…ZZZZZ
No worst than Sabrina the useless hiding behind the civil service nepotism ding dongs touting money wasting programs whilst avoiding and dodging our health care crisis issues! Prospect you can do better than this ???
I believe she put on a feed the masses event for her constituents over Easter.
Sounds like something a twice convicted criminal would say.
Maybe put it on an illegal billboard for all to see?
He is a real big Donkey. Cabinet sets the immigration policies and we know how well We Over Run Caymanians (WORC) is doing to help Caymanians. Now he wants to meddle in the CS. Please answer why the Eastern Districts are not getting its fair share of Tourist Minister?
Tourist numbers are still not back to 2019 level. Do you own job Kenneth and get the numbers back to 2019 Level. No more excuses.
Oh my word, absolutely NOT.
More friends, family, lovers, side chicks/hens, children, siblings, mothers, fathers would be hired with zero skill, education, qualification or common sense.
The civil service is bad enough now.
Kenneth Bryan doesn’t think there is way too much nepotism already. Please for God sake do not give him and his minions more power.
KB seems to have forgotten what happened to Bernie for dipping into civil service business. Franz should have him arrested if he does. He needs to stop expressing his stupidity.
Nothing like the spoils system. Minister Bryan must have read about how great it was to be a politician in the Tammany Hall Machine.
Thats funny do you think Bryan has a clue what you are talking about He dosnt know where the town hall is much less Tammany hall!
Political interference! This is tantamount to corruption. How ignorant can some people get? 2025, please hurry come.
I’m sorry to say, that it won’t make any difference.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
It has always been this way, however our MLAs/MPs had the grace to not put it right in front of our faces.
How about the MP’s educate their constituents? When a voter asks what an MP can do for them you know what the answer is. Anything for a vote.
Mr Bryan, a question: do we have to hire Csymanians even if they have a criminal record, for (let us say) drug dealing?
Good question. Can Jeff Webb cut my lawn . He knows a lot about grassing.
You’re an employer and can’t even spell yourself? (Caymanians).
When will they have the willpower to use the same sections of the Constitution ie s.61-62 that give them advantages over others, and use those same sections to ensure promotions in judicial branch adhere to it as much as possible
but the entire civil service including statutory authorities, independent entities should be clearly subject to s61-62
because every country will seek to ensure the policies of their elected are being carried out (executed) by their own.
Bring the public servant hiring into a central body where reps from departments can still be on panel this will be useful in decreasing all these overpaid Human Resources managers who are overpaid glorified administrators. They always need to pay lawyers to tell them what to do, most can’t prepare policies which should be the same across all entities anyway.
All the new Caymanians who have used work time to get degrees be told to find jobs in private sector and have all the Caymanians especially women with years in private sector compliance customer service etc be given opportunities to use those skills in public service and get benefits all the new Caymanians are enjoying and working as a group to keep Caymanians out or not promoted.
The best way to prevent people earning a promotion is to guarantee it.
Exactly. Sitting in offices spending most of the day working on online degrees, stroking egos of bosses is the proven way in the civil service.
“He said private sector employers were not playing their part by hiring and promoting Caymanians,…”
Kenneth, based on the above statement, why stop at being involved in the hiring in the Civil Service? Why not seek to have elected Members getting involved in hiring of Caymanians in private businesses?
For example, you could start with the private companies that operate airport security and baggage handling services. I am waiting on your response.
Don’t forget the WP workers within various ministers’ personal businesses.
Just when I think Kenny can’t surprise me by saying something, he comes along with this.
Doing a disservice to Caymanians who have pushed themselves to succeed through hard work and determination.
The elected politicians choose who is appointed to the Work Permit Boards and Tribunals. So, if there is a problem with Caymanians not getting jobs or opportunities for jobs, that seems to be ultimately the fault of the elected politicians.
They can’t hear you over in GAB.
Speak louder please.
But I thought Honorable Seymour was in charge of this department? If so he can put a stop to anything as he is a self proclaimed “son of the soil” and only has us Caymanians best interest at heart. By the way where is Honorable Seymour at these days?
3:46 That is a great question !Maybe going somewhere to see the full eclipse. we know how much he love’s the moon
An embarrassing surprise! Too much nepotism goes on among these politicians already.
He has probably gone to the US to watch the eclipse. That is up his alley!
Every time they open their idiotic mouths they show how little they know about government, economics and how to handle matters concerning the public purse.
That is not true, they really know how to spend the tax dollars as they see fit!
Isn’t his wife an expat or is she now a “paper Caymanian” through marriage?
She arrived a legal secretary and is now a realtor, I wonder if that is in the spirit of Kenny’s immigration policy reforms.
A least she is not one of those bartender turned realtor types.
Or waiter turned realtor.
Or dive master turned realtor
Or accountant turned realtor
Or banker turned realtor
Or store clerk turned realtor
Or bus driver turned realtor
Or hairdresser turned realtor
Or line cook turned realtor
Or dishwasher turned realtor
Or ……….. turned realtor.
😂😂
It’s almost like that’s where the easy money is…
Amen
This moronic MP does not understand the offence of corruption. He does not know we have a Constitution to protect among other public officers from political interference. Lord save us from this tin pot ex drug dealer.
can’t remember reading that recommendation in the miller-shaw report!
this clown should be sacked yesterday
Caymanian is not a qualification.
Until you get status right ?
“people expect their MPs to help them get work”. Says it all doesn’t it?
It is connected to the poor educational results. Why study and work hard in school when you are owed a good paying job by birthright?
Sounds like you are the delusional one to believe we live in a true meritocracy! But gone on, study your life away
WTH “should be required to find Caymanians regardless of the ills they come with” ????
So I am to hire a drug addict and a thief just because they are Caymanian ??? Make it make sense???
I must hire and pay someone who is functionally illiterate just because they are a Caymanian???
I’ve heard a lot of stupid ideas before, many of them from Kenny, but this one takes the cake.
Anyone remembers who he had out campaigning for him? Total moron. Birds of a feather!
I wonder what his wife thinks about this.
Even if Cabinet were to propose legislation requiring the government to get work permits for foreign civil servants, the governor could stop the act by refusing to assent to it, the minister told the radio audience.
This is scaremongering. There is no chance the governor would get involved in stopping such legislation.
Maybe Mr Bryan should read the news about performance in government primary schools if he is looking to solve the issue.
No! Civil service needs less involvement from political parties. It should not be anywhere near a political appointment. Our civil service already runs to closely to political appointments and there needs to be certainty than goes beyond political beliefs. Sorry, no.
I understand where that is coming from, but the best you can do is encourage your constituents to use the processes afforded them.
If the civil service ran closely to political appointments I wouldn’t be unemployed. It very much does not. A political appointment can be made in a day. Just waiting for the civil service to advertise a job you know about takes 6 months.
Care to provide specific details?
Absolutely not lol. Appreciate the curiosity though.
Kenneth should explain to his voters that to get a job being Caymanian is not a qualification.
They need to be able to read , write , and in some cases, do sums. They also need to know that they have to show up for work, on time, every day, and do a full days work.
We do realize of course that , with elections soon come, Kenneth frequently spouts populist garbage, just so he can say he’s for “My people”. There’s never any follow up or positive result, just a sound bite for electioneering use.
The solution to all of the Kenneth’s usual griping, is to create a functioning education system that delivers graduates capable of obtaining jobs by virtue of their own merit. This mandate lies with the elected government of which Kenneth is a part.
Handouts may help Kenneth’s political ambitions in the short term, but they are certainly not helpful to society in general.
The problem is that no one in Government knows how to fix the education problem! One of the most serious problems is that Government primary and high schools cannot hire their own teachers, so Mark Ray, Director at the Department of Education, does the hiring, and he does a blanket hire, and then places people as best he can. If they were to look at the teachers that Cayman Prep School hire for their Reception (4-5 year olds) and their Year 1 (5-6 year olds) classes they would find that these teachers are highly specialised in teaching that age group, and therefore their results in laying the early Maths and early literacy skills has been producing exceptionally good results. For decades! Looking at what Cayman Prep and St. Ignatius do, would be a great place to start. I got on really well with the previous head of the Office of Education Standards, and he was quite open about the fact that, in his view, the problem with the education of Caymanians in Government schools was because they were not picking up the early phonics/literacy skills in Reception or Year 1, and then by Year 2 they felt so far behind, that they ‘switched off’. If the Government really wanted to fix the education problem they could! They just need to talk to the private schools, work out what they are doing and copy that. I think you will find it starts with really really well qualified early primary school teachers with lots of experience.
That includes status holder. Please tell those entitled group who believe their families friends should all be given preference
Status = Caymanians bobo. Make peace with it.
Most status holders are Jamaican, and they will certainly support anyone who gives them , or their relatives anything they don’t have to earn, merit or work for.
Hence the ruin of Cayman by pandering politicians….you know who they are.
that would mean admitting that a foreigner is doing it better…maybe not hire mainly Jamaicans that don’t even speak English and only have high school diploma as a teacher. There is a reason there is teacher’s college.
A lot of the teachers in the private schools have Masters degrees and education. Others are hold PHDs. While advanced degrees don’t prove teaching competency it does indicate a clear dedication to their profession and correlates to student performance.
Excellent observations were presented in the post at 1:16pm.
There is a pressing, urgent need for stricter qualifications when selecting teachers for government schools. Additionally, diversity in nationality and religion among imported educators should be ensured. Moreover, children with special needs are not receiving adequate attention and support. Is there still a deaf unit in our government school system for hearing-impaired students? Or are teachers overlooking the needs of students with hearing aids, assuming they require no special assistance?
Jon-Jon knows how to fix it
Kenneth Bryan wants Cabinet ministers to have more power in government’s hiring of Caymanians because people expect their MPs to help them get work.
Once in government, he realised he did not have the power to meet his constituents’ expectations.
employers “should be required to find Caymanians regardless of the ills they come with”.
If he is willing to make these statements on the radio, can you imagine what he says in private?
If a cocaine dealer can become a Minister, they why not Chief Inspector with the RCIPS?
What he is saying out loud is the exact definition of corruption.
Exactly. Politicians are not supposed to be able to secure a specific job for a specific person. That’s corruption and bribery. They’re supposed to create a framework for the country to function properly.
To say, “well my voters want me to get them better jobs with more money, regardless of their ability to do the job and earn the money; but I can’t because I don’t have the authority, please give me more authority” is beyond ludicrous.
GTC voters you need to find someone else to be your rep. This guy talks a good game, smiles nice for the cameras, and shows up to all the events to mingle with the right people. He is a self-serving moron who couldn’t land a job in the private sector if his life depended on it. That’s why he needs this job SOOOO badly. Vote for someone else please.
Ministers can’t have educated foreign professionals questioning the legality of Ministers activities and their wielding self serving power . I mean, you can’t have a Driftwood telling a Minister he should pay his expenses, telephone and other personal charges, can you,.?
If he wants to spend public funds sponsoring a minor league football team, he should be allowed to fight.?
Populist promoting entitlement.
He graduated from Trump University.!
Get rid of the small percentage of expat CIG staff and watch the productivity level fall to a level never seen before. Sit back and watch, it’s going to be entertaining!
Small percentage? More than a thousand, not counting hundreds more that ultimately granted themselves status!
The majority of civil servants especially the education system, police service and health services are Jamaican nationals or Jamaicans married to Caymanians. They’re also in charge of hiring so they make sure their own are hired or if they add a Caymanian that person must be married to one of their people, Trinidadian or Barbadian otherwise the Caymanian is treated so badly they leave.
If you don’t believe this look at your departments and which departments are doing worse in terms of performance?
They all praise Franz Gloria and even show fake liking towards the ‘British and Governor’ to hide it and fool these people with egos refusing to look out for Caymanians.
If you think Kenneth’s words are shocking listen to how Jamaicans really feel about ‘serving Cayman and its people’.
They are only hear to feather their own nest. The police are a perfect example; traffic stop and the Jamaican lady officer tickets a white expat yet the loudmouth Jamaican they also stopped gets off with a warning and conversation in the Jamaican patois.
I’m sure that Jamaicans’ true feelings for Caymanians are heartily reciprocated.
Amennn
Them leeches dem know how to sup up and curry favors!!
So his constituents are struggling to find work & he’s at risk of losing their vote in the next election if he can’t help secure them a job they probably aren’t qualified to do is essentially what I’m reading.
Caymanian workers should always be looked at first based on merit. my company offers training for all Caymanian staff. 4 of us were enrolled in an online It certificate program. I was the only one to complete the course, and now have to do the work of 4 because the other 3 have no clue. Life is too easy for the Caymanian worker. we throw in the face of the expat we will report them to WORC all the time, so horrible work ethic and attitude just gets ignored. A foreign worker misses a shift, we send them packing after 3 warnings…. this is the problem. Laziness and protectionism is the cause for poor qualit of work on this island
I have recruited numerous Caymanians, with their ills, and guess what? They were terrible employees. Late, no-shows, lazy…yes, there’s a reason they find it hard to get jobs.
To counter that, I’ve employed many amazing Caymanians, but those who are unemployable are just that for very good reasons.
It’s a shame we can’t get non-Caymanian politicians, you know, someone with more than a pair of brain cells.
I have had better luck with hiring guys out of prison looking to turn their life around rather than your run of the mill man child or baby momma with 5 kids from 5 different men.
Are you referring to all the new Caymanians since status grants? See how device deteriorated since?
They got status then got jobs in government., old Caymanians trained them let them get degrees while working, even police officers, so we need to really look at who’s offering poor work ethic.
So again define Caymanian since many have that title but with nothing but entitlement even those still in work permit even without work feel entitled to the Caymanian golden dream.
100% of civil service should be Caymanian. They are typically overpaid and underperform their duties. So, pay the Caymanians and dump the expats.
9:48 – That would finally bring the complete collapse of the CIG. 😂😂😂
So what, it really isn’t that great right now so better let is completely collapse so can be started all over again.
The Myth of unemployed Caymanians continues. There are definitely underemployed Caymanians for certain but any that are unemployed are there of their own making.
Also, I bet the people asking are of a certain 2003 generation. Big Kenny should ask to see their papers and marriage certificates first.
There is not an unemployment problem in Cayman. Based on international standards, there is full Caymanian employment. The Public Service Management Act requires the Civil Service to appoint Caymanians over expats and so expats will only be employed when there are no Caymanians meeting the requirements of the job. It is to avoid nepotism and cronyism that Ministers are rightly kept out of recruitment but of course they can ask questions to hold recruiters to account for their actions.
They just have to be willing to accept the legitimate answer when they ask ‘why did my constituent Bob not get hired?’ Therein lies the rub.
So true. But them ones you all gave status to is controlling HR hiring now.. and getting kickbacks.
Just like the NAU voucher and aid scammed do.
And then throw it back in the face of locals.
Fix that first Mr Ken.
BTW sir, does the DART DutyFree Development Concessions Agreement have any expiration? Asking for a friend.
“…because people expect their MPs to help them get work…”
That’s the problem right there. Again, link the above to the poor educational standards.
Get rid of the Jamaican teachers who are too prejudiced towards Caymanians. That’s why standards have dropped. Use the stats see the correlation between decrease in education standards and increase in Jamaican teachers getting rewarded without performance criteria and being able to have their 3-5 children educated for free
Use the stats it’s all there and no need to say it’s racism prejudice against Jamaican nationals it’s actually the opposite. It could easily be argued our leaders are intimidated and believe they have to be Jamaicas main employer.
Did our lodge MPs, those with Jamaican parents or spouses working for Dart the wealthy and Jamaicans only?
Minister Bryan said “Cabinet Ministers need to have more power in government’s hiring of Caymanians because people expect their MPs to help them get work.”
No.
Letting Mininisters help their constituents get jobs in the Civil Service that they cannot get on their own merit will only weaken the Civil Service with unemployables.
Cabinet Ministers need to fix the broken public sector education system, invest in training and TVET to match the labour force needs and stop making work permits so damn easy to get.
Then your constituents got get one of the nearly 40,000 jobs currently held by work permit holders or get a job in the Civil Service.
Vote buying is essentially what he means lol.
I hope so because there’s too many foreigners here and yes it does make life difficult for us Caymanians.
But you Caymanians are always complaining. Theres one that i work with that constantly whine and leave work early. Cussing out the expats, that work hard.
If you think life is difficult with them here, just wait until all the foreign born professionals that make the island’s quality of life as high as it is all disappear.
That would make life significantly easier, right?
except quality of life has continuously gone down for Caymanians…
There are Caymanians alive today who were born before electric lighting came to these islands.
Electric lighting provided by expatriots.
Expatriates motivated by profit who earned that profit and to whom we owe nothing, not even thanks. They got exactly what they wanted out of the arrangement and so did we.