$45.5M spent since 2021 buying land for crown
(CNS): Since coming to office in 2021, the Cayman Islands Government, initially PACT and then UPM, has spent at least CI$45.5 million on acquiring more than 60 pieces of land, most of which were bought over the last 18 months. CI$12 million has been spent in Cayman Brac alone, over $2.1 million on Scranton Park and some $20 million for beach access on all three islands. But less than C$1.6 million has been spent on conserving endangered natural habitats or species.
The land shopping bill is significant, and much of it is on beachfront and shoreline land that has been acquired to provide public access and prevent development. But only a tiny fraction is being set aside for real conservation purposes, even though some of the lots, including some of the more expensive acquisitions, appear to have been financed by the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).
According to information released to a CNS reader following a freedom of information request to the Ministry of District Administration and Lands, the government has also spent $2,700,000 on the old Mariner’s Cove site in Prospect for a health and wellness park and $5,600,000 on the waterfront site in George Town for the tourism minister’s planned training and attraction centre.
While the documents released under the FOI law listed around 60 pieces of land, it is not clear where all of the lots acquired are located. CNS has cross-referenced using open-source information and government documents, such as the Ministry of Lands annual reports, to find out where the land is and more details on why the property was purchased and what the CIG plans to do with it.
However, in most cases, there is very little information available to the public about the land that has been purchased on its behalf.
Some of the beachfront acquisitions have been very expensive, such as block 39E parcel 67, which was acquired for $2,178,000 to provide public access to the shoreline and prevent development in the Rum Point area. The government has acquired several costly beachfront lots in the district of North Side along Rum Point Drive, but it is not clear exactly where many of them are or what the CIG plans to do with these sites, if anything.
The government also spent $1.3 million on land for public shoreline access and to prevent development in Old Man Bay using money from the EPF, a fund set aside to buy land to conserve specific habitats and endangered species under the National Conservation Act. However, this plot of land has not been acquired under the NCA, and, again, there is no publicly available information to explain the purchase.
As the Department of Environment and the National Conservation Council struggle to find the resources to buy land needed to protect specific endangered endemic flora like the ghost orchid or fauna like the blue iguana, the CIG has recently acquired a significant amount of land for an array of purposes. But it does not appear to be coordinating with its own environmental experts to find out which land parcels are in the most environmentally sensitive areas.
Beach access is a major problem, and it is extremely important to acquire land to enable people to continue enjoying Cayman’s beautiful coastlines. However, in some cases where land has been acquired, the government is clearing the natural habitat from these coastal areas and building infrastructure and car parks that local people feel are unnecessary.
At the new public beach at Pease Bay, the natural habitat has been sacrificed to make way for numerous parking lots, a turtle mosaic roundabout, and other concrete structures.
See a summary of purchases put together by CNS below and see more info in the CNS Library.
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Category: Government Finance, Politics
Good research here, CNS.
Thanks for your efforts to throw some light on this land-buying matter.
Are the Scranton purchases possibly for low-cost housing? Strange there’s no stated policy behind those acquisitions – gov’t needs to bear in mind that people assume the worst (ie corruption) when there’s no explanation offered.
CNS Note: Sorry if that’s not clear all of that land is under the same heading as its all for the Scranton Park development.
It’s clear to see what is happening here. Pieces of land are bought at very much inflated prices as a way to direct public funds to the personal bank accounts of the MLAs, their friends and families, and others. Then they are sold again I expect at much lower than market value back to those same sorts of people. It’s just a way of transferring money from the ordinary people to the rich people again, robbing all of us.
We all know it, but we are unable to stop it happening. Each and every transaction should be fully transparent, public record, and investigated by an independent auditor. Then when transactions are found not to be in the public interest, or at the correct valuations, the people responsible should be jailed.
Zero spent on chicken management programs.
More vote buying ….. where are the business cases and independent valuations to support prices paid… hope the auditor general reports on these.
I’m a bit confused as to why it’s necessary to purchase property to protect beach access when, as far as I understand, landowners are legally required to provide, or at the very least not obstruct, beach access around waterfront properties.
If this is not being done isn’t that more of a matter of enforcement? Or have I misunderstood something?
You are correct. Landowners have to provide beach access if so asked by CIG.
There is not a problem with beach access in Cayman. Govt has recently stated, as far as I recall, that there are are over 300 beach access points. In Pease Bay alone we have four beach access points within a space of 800 yards. They are very rarely used.
“CI$12 million has been spent in Cayman Brac alone, over $2.1 million on Scranton Park”
Clear evidence of corruption and vote buying.
And Julianna bought good bluff land running farmers off to build a school.That is some good soil. Also, destroying trees to build a parking lot on the bluff.
Election promises being delivered just in time.
sell it all to the billionaires! u cant fix stupid! i looking elsewhere in retirement….
What a joke. Our government hate us.
just don’t buy more beach land for cemeterys….
My humble opinion is that it’s great for Government to purchase land, however this Government and past Governments why did they wait until prices were through the roof before thinking of this? With a little financial foresight like Dart for example knows how to obtain value for money. Is it not possible for elected officials that claim they are all for the Caymanian people have this quality?
Let’s face it, lots of straight up thieving goes on around here.
Friends and family plan.
Knowing the people involved you can put sure bets on the realtor selected for these sales..UDP what’s in this for me is back in full force.
Land acquired by any government should not require an FOI request. The acquisitions should be made public knowledge via the Internet as soon as possible after the transaction. This should include the cost, location, seller, and potential usage.
I cannot help but to say that in the immediate past 9 years, even almost 4 years, a new facility could have been built (if that is what it would take). Since the existing property/facility have not materialised find a Plan B please. Governments have the authority and power to get these projects passed and operational. Land has been bought around the islands, projects have been approved, started then completed. Yet the most DIRE needed facility is still in limbo. With no end in sight. Our people want to be home amongst loved ones. The millions being spent to facilitate them overseas. Who exactly is benefitting from this?! We sadly realize it is not the patients or their beloveds 😔. This is an utmost failure to provide services for our vulnerable. Utmost failure. 💔
My personal heart tugging opinion is that families/loved ones may want to consider consulting Human Rights and Constitutional Rights attorneys, maybe a class action suit for Judicial Review if necessary. All else efforts obviously have failed for all these years. Taking action through provisions in the law is the only power one has. Patients are broken hearted, missing their homeland, and missing loved ones and families.
Up until the PACT/UPM disaster, where the corruption is out in the open and blatant, prior governments were somewhat more restrained and only employed the EPF to fiddle CIG’s accounts by showing it on the books as an available cash balance.
Government should own more land.
Depends on what type of land. Government certainly does not need to buy random plots that have no environmental, historic or preservation value.
Since the lands were purchased with public money it requires ultimate transparency where these parcels are and whom they were purchased from. It’s our money, we deserve nothing less than full disclosure! By the sounds of it there seems a high probability that some lands were purchased from persons with a direct connection to MPs.
Like the parcel bought in West Bay for over a million, then valued at $75,000…!
And the police make no arrests. And the Governor grins. And the Commissioner says the crime situation is stable. And the DG says it is all world class.
Probably the best money spent during their time in office, even if there was nothing altruistic about the purchases.
49B46 – Access to what exactly? The bush?
39E67 – You sure they don’t mean 39E69?
49B234, 235, 236 – Prevention of development? Didn’t Jay say he was building a park there? A couple hundred feet away from an existing park?
20C184 – Bullshit
– No development would ever have been permitted give the proximity to the runway.
– Access? – Why is the gate locked and who has keys?
57E224 – How is the Bo Miller Memorial Park coming along?
59A333 – Conservation of what? They giant road running through the middle of it and the adjacent quarries?
Ah yes. Using the EPF to buy property from your favoured constituents and voters.
The politicians took a while to figure this out. But then along came PACT/UPM.
Corruption is real and here folks.
Lady Guv? FCO? Any concerns?
Well now they can use it to buy John John a new Tahoe as well. Given that he used the last one to attack an excavator, I’d say its environmental protection.
Oh dear! Fancy a cup of tea?
Nah, happened under PPM too. Remember Barbara Connolly’s purchase of land next to Smith’s with EPF conservation money? Yeah, her plan after buying it was to cut down the trees and make it a car park. SMH.