Official estimate of population is almost 88,000
(CNS): As of June this year, the estimated population of the Cayman Islands had risen to 87,866, a more than 5% increase on the 2023 figure and a growth in headcount of around 3,000 people from December 2023, when the population stood at 84,738. The number of Caymanians rose by just 2.5% to 39,897, while the number of permanent residents grew to 7,822 from 6,433 in the spring of 2023. The non-Caymanian population is now estimated to be more than 40,000, a 4.8% increase from last year.
Cayman’s rapidly growing population is not a result of a growing birth rate but an increase in migrant workers. According to the Spring 2024 Labour Force Survey, more than 53% of the workforce (33,573 people) are expatriates. The overall population is made up of 44,936 men (up by 6.3% since last spring) and 42,930 women (up by 3.7%) — another sign that foreign workers are boosting the population.
Children under the age of 15 make up 14.6% of the population and people aged over 65 now make up more than 8.1%. Collectively termed as the ‘dependent population’, these two age groups accounted for 22.7% of the total population.
Non-Caymanians make up the largest proportion of the population, accounting for well over 54% of the population. Just under 9% of those are now permanent residents. Caymanians now make up 45.4% of the overall population.
Among the working population,, the largest group of workers is now in the construction sector, accounting for 12.3% of the workforce. Meanwhile, the financial sector is the fourth largest industry employer, with 7.7% of the workforce.
Despite government’s continued claims that small businesses are the backbone of the economy and a generator of jobs, in reality the vast majority of workers are employed in larger organisations with 50 or more employees. Almost one-third of the workforce and almost 40% of working Caymanians are employed by larger companies. By contrast, micro-business with five or fewer employees account for a quarter of the workforce.
The survey also revealed that the most people live in rented accommodation. Over 52% of households are rented while just over 44% are owned by residents. The vast majority of households, almost 98%, have cell phones, while just 17% still have landline telephones. 96% of the population has air-conditioning and 95% has internet connection, while 8% said they had domestic helpers.
In this survey the ESO also asked about rents and mortgage costs. The average rent paid by a tenant was $3,776, while the median was $3,000. The district of George Town recorded the highest figures, with anmean rent of approximately $4,009 and a median of $3,500. The Sister Islands had the lowest rents, with an average of $2,164 and a median of $2,000.
The estimated mean mortgage payment was $2,409, while the median was $2,000. Again George Town recorded the highest figures, approximately $2,637 and $2,150, respectively. The Sister Islands had the lowest estimates, with an average of $1,321 and a median payment of $1,138.
49% of households had housing structure insurance, while only 18.3% had content insurance.
See the full report on the ESO website.
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We need more home grown Caymanians. Give free viagra to Caymanians and ban condoms and the pill. Give free sex lessons.
Now the population are 90,000 are we better off than when the population was 30,000 in the 1990’s. I think not. the nineties was a lot better, no traffic problems, very low crime, cost of living was very much lower,less stressful, and every Caymanian had a job that wanted one. life in general was a lot better.Facts are facts, so why we want more people here ?.
And biometric system, fingerprints and face ID is long overdue for immigration purposes. The government needs to go door-to-door and try to figure out exactly who and how many people are actually here uncollected required data at the same time. The CIG statistics on the population is purely guesswork at best.
The Cayman Islands must be the only country left in the world that does not require this for visitors, expat workers, residents and locals.
As a fourth generation Caymanian, I would be more than happy provide my data. Time is long overdue to implement this system figure out who is here and exactly who they are.
Ah, but then you see, any civil servant that held the back door open for their friends would…
“. . .As of June this year, the estimated population of the Cayman Islands had risen to 87,866, . . . The number of Caymanians rose by just 2.5% to 39,897, while the number of permanent residents grew to 7,822 from 6,433 in the spring of 2023. The non-Caymanian population is now estimated to be more than 40,000, a 4.8% increase from last year.”
Please note that these ‘new Caymanians’ and those that have PR and may eventually obtain Caymanian Status appear to have more rights than a Caymanian As of Right (AKA Generational Caymanian).
See the information below:
IMMIGRATION (TRANSITION) ACT
(2022 Revision)
Supplement No. 2 published with Legislation Gazette No. 5 dated 25th January, 2022
Caymanian as of right
27. In this Part —
“Caymanian as of right” means a child —
(a) born on or after the 1st January, 2004 whether in or outside the Islands, at the date of whose birth at least one of that person’s parents was settled in the Islands and was Caymanian;
(b) born outside the Islands, after the 1st January, 2004, at the date of whose birth at least one of that person’s parents was Caymanian otherwise than by descent; or
(c) acquiring the status of Caymanian under section 21 of the repealed
Immigration Law (2015 Revision) or under any earlier law conferring the
same or similar rights.
Please look at the interpretation below of Sections (A) and (B) of the Law according to Nick Joseph, former partner at HSM, to see the unfairness of the Law for Caymanians As Of Right (AKA Generational Caymanians):
Children Born to Caymanians Under the Immigration (Transition) Act (2022) (the “Act”), children born on or after 1st January 2004 are ‘Caymanian as of Right’ (no matter where they are physically born) if, at the date of their birth, at least one of their parents was Caymanian and settled in the Cayman Islands. If the parents obtained Caymanian status any other way than by descent, and their child is born overseas when neither parent is settled in the Cayman Islands, then their child will also be ‘Caymanian as of Right’. The responsibility for determining whether or not someone is in fact a Caymanian now falls to Workforce Opportunities and Residence Cayman (‘WORC’). If the children’s parents became Caymanian by descent (i.e. through a parent or grandparent), and the child is born overseas, then the child is not necessarily Caymanian.
According to the interpretation of (A) and (B) of the Law above by Nick Joseph, then a child born to a Generational Caymanian is Caymanian As Of Right IF one of his or her parents is settled in the Cayman Islands at the time of birth.
However, a child born to persons who obtain Caymanian Citizenship other than by descent, is Caymanian As Of Right but neither one of the parents have to be settled in the islands at the time of birth for the child to obtain such status.
Why is it that one of the Generational Caymanians MUST be settled in the Cayman Islands at the time of the child’s birth overseas AND the Caymanian Status Holder neither parent MUST be settled in the Cayman Islands at the time of the child’s birth overseas?
Where is the fairness in this matter for Generational Caymanians?
This outright discrepancy needs urgent attention.
If left as is, as more and more persons obtain Caymanian Status, then GENERATIONAL CAYMANIANS are going to be the people who will be classed as ‘Second Class Citizens’ in their own country.
As Mikey says.. Tax the Foreigners!!
That will pay for infrastructure they enjoy.
or. wait til yardies take over!
Saunders Seymour Kenny and Mac are leading the Yardie take over of Cayman.
I am quite frankly very worried for my children and grand children’s future in Cayman.
Like many, who won’t admit to it, I am looking at alternatives for our futures before the start of the rush to sell.
Where do you imagine all the money in Cayman comes from already?
The money surely isn’t coming from these ‘economic immigrants’ as they are just that! Poverty stricken and killing us n every way. Looking for everything they can get! Look where most of them came from!
Thank You! You are absolutely correct. Parasites are what they are! Literally sucking the life out of these Islands!!! Needs to STOP!
5.26 & 3.08 We’re already 2nd class citizens and Yardies have already taken over.
A lawfully enacted immigration plan offered by the Cayman Islands Government has been in effect for many years (Persons of Independent Means). Although a small program, it had brought the CIG millions of dollars in revenue. The Government made a deal with these people who have lived here, obtained NO benefits from the Government, and have contributed untold additional dollars to Government coffers. Think 7 1/2% of multi-million dollar homes, expensive luxury cars, significant contributions to Cayman charities, frequent restaurant meals, and 25% of all retail purchases, and you get the picture. They made a deal with many people, especially those of high net worth, who paid a princely sum for permanent residency and a path to citizenship. Although some may say that the wealthy should not be given notable exceptions of full-status Cayman citizenship, we have come to live in Cayman for many reasons. The reason was that Cayman had a stable, reliable government. CIG set the rules for this program, and since we have paid the money, followed the rules, and employed Caymanians instead of taking jobs away from them, this portion of immigrants should be allowed all the rights of citizenship offered under the contract with CIG after fifteen years of loyalty to the government. Changing the rules mid-way is unfair and possibly illegal.
Caring to explore and re-explore popular industries here in the beloved Cayman Isle and other parts of the world.
I dare to ask the question. Why do certain companies not show their vacancy rate, highlighting the open positions? I think if candidates could use this information during their job hunting efforts, they could pivot toward
other openings in the job pool or exploring other legitimate ways to earn income.
If they must wait to be contacted, but for reasons like high application submission volume causes a delay to get the candidate to work sooner, then perhaps an organization could start undertaking new projects that could generate temporary employment, because secure income is one pillar for financial durability.
There must be equity among Caymanians and Permit Holders in contrast to this growing population.
Between small companies and large corporations, which of these should one know has the fastest turn-over for employment and vacancy space?
XXX and others too long to mention are the harbingers of the woes we face with immigration today. These are your Clowns with Crowns People. They will always take advantage of we. Better has to come one day and soon.
People of the Cayman Islands do not cast your votes for any of the above named or you will regret it even from your grave.
For heaven’s sake, can’t the government see that excessive population is the root cause behind most of Cayman’s ills? The obvious solution is a moratorium on new worker permits. If a current work-permit holder leaves, let the business where he/she works bring in only a replacement — but nothing to add to the total count. Yes, the usual suspects will howl in anger — but do we care about quality of life on Cayman, or do we just CLAIM that we do?
With an exception for financial services, since all the accountants and lawyers are paying CI$$$$$ to keep this island economically afloat!
PS.. Zero Taxes on Salarie$$ n Capital Gain$$$
…Property Investmentzzz.. Speculative.
It was only LOCALS who swam out to Wreck of 10 Sails to rescue the Crews!! The tax exemption that followed was only for US!!Not for everyone who washed ashore after.
Who else would swim out??? People from Cuba, or Jamaica?
Wreck of the Ten Sails is a lovely story, but the tax free part of it is a lil embellished.
You enjoying the benefits now tho.
Ingrate pirate
We need two hundred thousand so our businesses can really flourish. Our great and wise leaders will show us the way!
Hear, hear!
The grocery stores just love to have a huge population.
Great point, 12:34
Consideration isnnownjnderway to require new Status Grants to NOT have Dial Citizenship.
Choose a country, and if Cayman is the sole choice, you can then be considered as a local.
But also somehow not qualify for public service? Cayman has outgrown this provincial fishing village thinking. We are not turtle rangers, or ship wreckers/salvagers, any more. Those that stick around, investing and contributing for 15+ years will qualify on merit, based on the legal process defined. Xenophobes need to educate themselves on what is involved in that and learn to accept it’s not nothing.
Choose 1 Country..hero.
nowhere to run then
Cayman is not an independent country, it is a dependent territory. Happy to oblige once all the Caymanians give back their UK passports.
Add to that all the Jamaicans and their dozen or so offspring, who immediately apply for UK passports as soon they get status.
nope. don’t even want it!
uk have to get visas to go 🇺🇸
Never had and don’t ever want UK Passport, been there, never liked it and never going back.
want an American passport!
Don’t worry 11.30., Saunders and his close circle of Jamaicans are working to fix our Independence from prosperity, like his fellow countrymen did to Jamaica.
Does that include all the born Caymanians who now have US or UK citizenship?
Nope. A deal is a deal. For people already in the system (on the pathway to status), the Cayman government made the offer and took their money. The government must now follow through on the deal they made. If the government wants to change the offer for FUTURE people, fine. But not for people who are already in the system and have invested their time and money to get however far they’ve gotten.
I must say this comment makes perfect sense. In the scope of things, people who straight out purchased the Right To Be Camanyan (at some future dat) and who have 100% lived up to their part of the deal deserve to have the CIG live up to its end of the bargain. as is said above, A deal is a deal.
If anyone ever purchased the Right to be Caymanian could they please send details of who sold it to them to the ACC? Please also tell us how many pieces of silver that cost. It is hard to put a value on a soul.
Could you wait one second? As noted above, the CIG has made a deal with many people, especially those of high net worth, who paid a princely sum for permanent residency and a path to citizenship. Although some may say that the wealthy should not be given notable exceptions, we have come to live in Cayman for many reasons. Among those reasons was the fact that the CIG legally approved and implemented this program, and the CIG set the rules. Since we have paid the money, followed the rules, and paid the price, this portion of immigrants should be allowed all the benefits offered by CIG when we, after fifteen years of loyalty to the government.
I’m sorry but Cayman status isn’t even “Cayman” nationality. So even with status there is no dual citizenship.
Now the population are 90,000 are we better off than when the population was 30,000 in the 1990’s. I think not. the nineties was a lot better, no traffic problems, very low crime, cost of living was very much lower,less stressful, and every Caymanian had a job that wanted one. life in general was a lot better.Facts are facts, so why we want more people here ?.
So I’d have to give up my uk citizenship in order to become Caymanian so then I can apply for British citizenship by right again?
Doh. Refusing to accept dual citizens would hurt far more Caymanians with US and UK passports than it would hurt anyone else.
….Well the government is strategizing an infrastructure for the goal of 250,000. so we are barely over a third the way there and it looks like they better figure a few things out…for the long term that is.
The correct population number = number of persons resident on Island with Health Insurance + an estimate of those without health insurance.
The Health Practice Commission compiles this data from all local health insurance providers on a monthly basis. This data used to be published on their website…but they have done so for a while.
The population is not the problem. It’s the infrastructure that is not keeping up with the population. More electricity, water, roads, drainage, garbage collection, and please decentralise development in George Town. Let’s start building anywhere East. Too many people need to go to town? Let’s get some Government buildings in the other direction (east) therefore traffic will not clog up more roads. This is a simple solution, why we are not doing it is beyond me. We have a 15 minute city in Camana bay. How about one in the middle of the island??? Then traffic could go to the middle and back out like the spokes of a wheel? Wouldn’t that be better. Does this make sense to anybody out there?
That’s an excellent idea. Go further though, and relocate all of the “CIG/civil service/NAU recipients” blob to East End. The entire area is underutilised, and this would balance out the island, as well as allow George Town to die the natural death which it so desperately needs to. Camana Bay would then be crowned as the commercial and private sector capital (with an honorable mention for those remaining in Cricket Square).
There are precedents for countries that have successfully relocated their capital cities (or built new ones from scratch):
– Australia: Famously established Canberra as the capital in 1913, a purpose-built city between Sydney and Melbourne to resolve rivalry between the two.
– Brazil: Relocated capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília in 1960, a planned city designed to promote development in the interior.
– Nigeria: Moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991, a planned city chosen for its central location and to reduce congestion in Lagos.
– Kazakhstan: Moved its capital from Almaty to the newly constructed Astana (now Nur-Sultan) in 1997 to promote economic growth and better geographical positioning.
– Myanmar: Relocated its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2005, with the new city specifically constructed to house the government.
– Egypt: Currently constructing a new administrative capital east of Cairo, intended to house government buildings and alleviate Cairo’s overcrowding.
Looks like we have a Class A infrastructure snob here.
There were more than 88,000 people in traffic this morning!
the number is not the issue…..its the lack of devleopment plan for the island. 90% of people try to get to gt/smb every day.
this island could handle 200k easy with proper planning and infrastructure.
Absolutely agreed. Many other places have far denser populations and move people far more efficiently. Our over-reliance on private cars and lack of public transportation only exacerbates the issue.
This would be good for Caymanians, how?
Hmm, let’s see.
Would you rather have your pick of ten jobs or two?
Would you rather have an army of foreign workers paying duty and work permit fees and taking none of the most expensive government services (education, healthcare and welfare) or only Caymanians paying their own way with income tax?
Would you rather have a good selection of amenities and companies competing to provide services or a small selection?
If you are a Caymanian business owner or would like to be, would you rather have 100,000 customers or 200,000?
Put it this way, who is better off, the Caymanian living in Grand Cayman or the Caymanian living in Cayman Brac?
I rest my case.
The one in the Brac. By far!
We don’t want that. We don’t want you either.
number of caymanians is much lower and number of non caymanians is much higher. Is a paper caymamian who hasn’t renounced their home country’s citizenship classified as a “caymanian” or foreigner ?
A person who has qualified for and been Granted “Caymanian Status” is legally “Caymanian”, that is, a citizen of the Cayman Islands. They can own and operate businesses, be self-employed, but cannot run for office, unless they renounce their birth country’s citizenship.
Caymanian Status used to be — rightfully — a somewhat arduous process, where those with heritage here were given priority, however they still had to comply with all the requirements. It wasn’t easy, nor should it have been. Then came changes which allowed MPs to grant it to various individuals, without the Immigration requirements.
Now, we are at a place where no country or territory wants to be: that where the expatriates outnumber the citizens.
There MUST be a legal avenue for good people who belong here to go through a process of qualification to become part of us. Prior to moving here decades ago, I was not aware of any other place that had degrees of citizenship, however I did and still do understand it, within context of our small size and large influence.
I believe that the privilege of Caymanian Status should be a very difficult thing to attain, as it once was. I greatly dislike that MPs can join people into our fold, simply because they are a benefit to them personally.
Rights of Caymanians are in peril. Caymanian companies used to have to be a majority holder, and employees used to have to be primarily Caymanian. Well, now a Caymanian can have a company or corporation, outsource construction and hire hundreds of expats to run their new moneypot. It isn’t right. It hasn’t been right for a long time.
We have to invest in Cayman and Caymanians, and by that I mean more than just giving them government jobs. We are falling behind our own culture, and have NO avenue of making change.
CI status is quite difficult to attain for those not buying it from the Cabinet, even for those that have followed the legal process. The PPM government suspended the process completely and interfered with the Board’s handling of application for years, causing a backlog of now-certain affirmatives. That didn’t help.
Actually, the PPM granted status to everyone that asked for it. The Board in that period hardly said no to anyone.
go back far enough, we all paper caymanians
don’t hurt the Denizens mind with these profound statements.
Driftwood is not denizens! Choose 1 Country..hero.
nowhere to run then
theyre still foreigners to me, I only consider them Caymanian once they’ve assimilated with Caymanians
Which Caymanians?
What are you classified as?
An ignorant xenophobe probably, 5:24.
Prevented from assimilation by excluding expats from government schools.
The Caribbeanisation of the school system is punishing Caymanians who now can’t compete in the job market.
There are a thousand expats in government schools. Almost all from the Caribbean.
90% Caymanians are Jamaicans anyway, so already not expats in schools.
ExPats say “Local”
Police constantly dragging repeat offenders to court only to be frustrated by lenient sentences that release offenders after a few months.
There is no longer any fear of incarceration and deportation impeded by local MPS afraid of losing votes from the families of these criminals.
Do something Caymanians , if you want to have a safe community for your children.
It’s growing DAILY, even as over 800 hundred new graduates this week, as well as returning overseas students!
No jobs or housing for our OWN but cheap 3rd World Labor piles up!!
They are Willing to take slave labor wages of $4 to $5 hourly!!
Cayman is now untenable for local people.
All due to greed since we have “No Taxes” and most essential foods are Duty FREE!!
It will grow alarmingly quicker unless Jamaicans learn to use contraception.
NAU dependents are outbreeding those who supply the funds for their upkeep.
Destroying Cayman by land air and sea the population expansionist are wining Cayman to the detriment of our children’s future !
The onslaught continues unabated Cayman ! Stop electing imbeciles who preaching all these Caymanian whilst doing otherwise behind our backs stop supporting government officialdom from Cayman and elsewhere who are destroying the very fabric of Cayman with their hypocrisy agenda.
it’s one thing to say don’t vote for idiots but where are the good candidates? explain why someone like Bo Miller who actually had good ideas didn’t get elected?
Sadly it’s idiots who are the voting majority .
If you add part-time residents (persons here that own property but not on work permit), the population is over 100,000.
(Add to that the amount of stayover tourists at any given time to get a sense of the amount of people in Cayman at a point in time).
When I first arrived in the 90’s you could not change employers on a WP and you needed a full release from your existing employer. Also, you had two weeks to leave the island if you didnt have a WP. You could not just hang around without work. Why did we stop enforcing these rules?
Ask Alden, Saunders and John John.
2.34.
Saunders quietly lurking in dark corners plotting , with his Jamaican inner circle , how to best get us turned into a 3rd world version of Jamaica.
Keep a close eye on this danger to Cayman’s future.
DuhWayne will follow whoever throws him straps and Alden will go back to his farm to shake his head.
Exactly. Consider also, who benefitted by those changes.
Easier to kiss up to the obvious shine heads at Office or harbor, and soon leave a WP for a plush gummy job in the CIGovt.
Because Caymanian employers were abusing the poor expat workers who couldn’t afford to go back home after mortgaging their house to finance the flight here. let’s not gloss over how terrible some Caymanian employers were and continue to be.
The blue windbreakers from Immigration would also conduct regular inspections and raids to ensure some semblance with the standards that were to be in play. The refrain on lips was, “do you know ya labour law?!?” It’s still a good question, turned inside out by the number of permit overlords now held by on the clock side-hustling Civil Servants.
Cruise ship dock building, will just lead to move overseas workers here, rather than using Cayman labor.
And 51% of buildings have no structural insurance, that is a huge risk for Government finances, as the owners are relying on Government payouts to fix buildings after a hurricane
Why can’t Cayman get back to the good old days of 95% Caymanian, fishing, hunting and gathering to get food and where no one had to lock their homes.
Be careful. Do not tempt the Caymanian people. Your offer is quite attractive.
Used to leave keys in car ignition… there was no prison here. Any criminals were sent to Jamaica to serve their sentences, and believe me… NOBODY wanted to go to jail , and fear of incarceration meant a very low crime rate.
Now going to prison, over and over again, no big ting ….and with our planned $200Million prison, nobody will want to leave it.
Quite right, 9:52. I would love to get back to mosquitoes killing us, no air conditioning, no variety of food except a little bit at Xmas and no supermarkets, no TV, ancient terrible movies at the cinema or drive in in uncomfortable conditions, most roads out east made of marl and full of incredible pot holes, health care provided by well meaning but very limited practitioners who had to try to refer you off island for most things other than very basic problems. Ah yes, those were the days, the good old days as you say, 9:52.
No you need to go further back than those days… I’m talking the real authentic way of gathering sticks for fire fishing for food and refuge in the caves come hurricane season 👌🏿
Happy days, kindness and honest hard work were the main pursuits of daily life.
Also, no obnoxious 3rd world immigrants with their guns drugs and crimes.
Meanwhile, while our highly paid civil service provides its estimates, there are 100,000 people here. Too many of them shouldn’t be.
Less development = fewer workers looking to rent, clogging the road up, cheaper rents for everyone else.
Stop building gargantuan eyesores that benefit a tiny sliver of people here, be it residential or commercial.
Do the buildings bring the increased population or are they built for the increased population.
Majority of these expensive condos are empty. they are simply money washing assets that gets passed around and one of the reasons why real estate is so out of whack in cayman.
we are literally drowning.. please, we just don’t have the capacity for so many people. Caymanians and long term PR/status holders need to be prioritised and looked after now.
If there are 37,500 people here on current valid work permits (and one assumes they are ALL expatriates and working or no work permit would be required); and
There are 7,822 people here as Permanent Residents (none of whom will be Caymanian and most of whom will be working); and
There are thousands of working age expatriate dependents on work permit holders, government contracted workers, Caymanians, and Permanent Residents who are seeking work or capable of working if the right opportunity arises;
Then HOW can the ESO possibly claim there are only 33,573 expatriates in the workforce?
They seem to be off by around 25%.
Are they saying there are at least 5,000 fraudulent work permits?
How much do we pay for this data?
need more housing.
Need fewer expats without full time employment. Then we would have more than enough housing.
Banning foreign investors from owning AirBNBs would certainly help as well.
This seems fair.
You have to live/work in Cayman.
AND have a Trade and Business license.
Seems like a very simple decision for a quick win, right? Makes me wonder who is getting paid under the table to ensure it doesn’t happen.
Actually, if we actually looked at the data as to what is really happening in our housing market, and what will inevitably happen when whole categories of our expatriate workforce have little to nothing to do when the market shifts (construction, security, car cleaners) we almost certainly already have too much housing.
Who will stock the grocery stores, pump gas, build, wait tables etc……You?
Once upon a time, all hospitality services, all bartenders, all dive operations, all clerks, and most waiters were Caymanian. Then, someone in government got the bright idea that the elite could make buckets of money, literally buckets, by allowing low-paid expats to fill those positions.
Oh, there was lip service toward “advertising” for jobs, while they crafted those advertisements toward the lowly paid expat employees already in place. It’s NOT the fault of the expats. Nope. They are just trying to make their way in the world. Most of them well-educated and willing to sacrifice for their families.
No, we somehow decided that we would try to shuffle born Caymanians into government positions, and that was good enough. The other services could pay extremely low wages — wages which a Caymanian could not support their family on.
No worries, said government, those that can’t rise to the challenge, we’ll support by the NAU, and the elite continue to make buckets of money on the backs of their expats.
Well, I want those old days back, where we all worked together. Yes, there were expats, and they will always be necessary, but they were the exception, not the rule, and while not everyone grew wealthy, overall, we all had a very respectable level. Caymanians graduated from high school and either pursued higher education, or went to work, and a couple who both worked could afford two cars and a house that they would someday own outright, as they raised their family.
We have allowed government to embrace poverty, while they pursue huge projects that fill their coffers. Some of those projects should never have been allowed, because they damaged our natural resources, which is the gift from God to us. What will we leave our children? Will our children even be able to compete?
Caymanians do not want to work in hospitality, landscaping, grocery stores etc., so the need for expat workers is necessary. You can’t have it both ways.
Philipinos do an excellent days work , politely and without stealing from you.
Import them and stop the Jamaican takeover of Cayman.
Woody would stock the stores (still does occasionally), Garth would build (he does now), and my kids can wait tables. I would continue to consult, and plant trees.
What would you do (other than complain about how cold it is out, and pay taxes)?
Need fewer Jamaicans, and we need to deport those. (even if they have status) who are unemployed repeat and often violent offenders constantly in and out of Northward.
Get a grip on Cayman , Caymanians.
Don’t worry SMB condos will soon be taken over by the sea, that should clear out a few.
Would that really change inventory and availability of housing?
If many of the so called part time expats (minimum wage expats) are living many to a home to survive financially, what changes if there are only 6 persons living in a 1 or 2 bedroom place instead of the current 8 persons?
phantom problem …