The de-Caymanization of Cayman
Ezzard Miller writes: The latest labour and population statistics released by the Economic and Statistics Office of the government are very troubling and alarming but not surprising to me as I have been trying to raise concerns about this for the last decade. Caymanians should be gravely concerned that they are now outnumbered three to one in the workplace and in our society in general. The urgent question is how did we get to this position and what can we do about it.
Young Caymanians are often faced with questions of identity that my generation never faced, such as: Who is a Caymanian? And what is Caymanian?
In answering these questions, we often, if not always, look to some legal definition as though we need some higher authority to support us or on which to hang our reply.
The reply often given is that found in the Immigration Law: a person who has British Overseas Citizenship by their connection to Cayman. The more colloquial Caymanian reply used to be someone who has their navel string buried in Cayman.
It is as though we no longer know who we are or have courage and confidence because, intimidated by economic and socio-political forces, we are ashamed, or at the very least reluctant, to say who Caymanians are and what the unique characteristics are that separate us from all the other nationalities that have taken up residence in Cayman.
Here, in my opinion, are a few character traits that separate us: our verbal skills (we talk differently), our Christian heritage, our cultural heritage, our friendliness and tolerance, our quiet wit. Caymanians were proud, confident, charming, honest, hardworking, educated, religiously tolerant, witty and friendly people, and should be in charge of the destiny of the Cayman Islands.
Today, the trend of the Caymanian identity is one that is complacent, disappearing, and under siege from several fronts. However, to understand and appreciate these forces, we need to look at them from a historical perspective, in particular, what actions have given rise to them and the threats to the Caymanian’s identity.
We need to determine what forces have contributed to this demise of the Caymanian identity. Why have we allowed these forces to erode this proud heritage and identity? What benefits have we, as Caymanians, gained by allowing this erosion, and was it worth the price? Do we as a people have the ability, need, or desire to recapture or recreate this proud Caymanian identity?
Or should we accept that the time has come for a complete debunking of this Caymanian heritage and forge a new identity drawn from the multiplicity of cultures now represented in these islands with a true melting pot philosophy?
The purpose of this article, as I see it, is to try to identify the dynamics that have contributed to the erosion of Caymanian values, work ethic and identity. Is this just an excuse that we Caymanians band about, looking for some justification for failure, our youth turning to drugs and crime, and the lowering of expectations from Caymanians as to job performance?
It is not the purpose of this article to place blame or to inflame the situation that is festering beneath the surface.
I am now seventy-two years old and have grown up and experienced all these changes to Cayman and Caymanian identity. I received my basic education in a one-room school in North Side taught by Caymanian teachers. I moved on to high school on an academic scholarship, moved on to college on a government scholarship, worked in government for six years to pay off my bond, went into the private sector as a businessman, entered politics, and am now comfortably retired.
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, the Cayman government decided to open up the Caymanian economy, particularly the financial and tourist industries, to foreign investors, workers, and influencers.
In a very meaningful and valiant attempt to prevent the situation we find ourselves in, where Caymanians have lost both economic and political control of Cayman and our future, Mr Benson Ebanks and others passed the Caymanian Protection Law, the Business License Law and the Local Company Control law.
These laws served their purpose well until the foreign influencers decided to lobby for changes to these laws to benefit them. All the changes to these laws that they asked for and were given to them by successive Caymanian governments reduced the protection of Caymanians and increased the benefits for the foreign influencers.
There have been many, even to change the name of the principal legislation from Caymanian Protection Law to Immigration Law. But not a single change enhanced the protection of Caymanians.
This infiltration or foreign takeover was not confined to the two pillars of our economy, Financial Services and Tourism, but included all aspects of Cayman Society:
The clergy. My great-grandfather was the preacher of the North Side Presbyterian Church for many years, and while he had a limited education, he loved God, saved souls, and built a beautiful church. Today, if I want to be the minister of the same North Side Church, now named the United Church of Jamaica, I have to receive special training and be ordained by the church authorities in Jamaica.
The police. When I was a youngster, the police force was all Caymanian, whom we respected and obeyed. Today, when I get stopped by a policeman, I can hardly understand their dialect.
The judiciary. Once utilized by Caymanian Justices of the Peace in the lower courts, it is now completely dominated by foreigners who have no local knowledge, while professionally qualified Caymanians are being completely ignored and bypassed.
The tourist industry. I can remember when, during the greatest growth in our tourist industry, every hotel in Cayman was managed by a Caymanian. Today, not a single one is managed by a Caymanian.
The financial industry. I can also recall when we had Caymanian bank managers. Today, we have only one.
The civil service. Once, it was all Caymanian. Today, many Caymanians are being overlooked and replaced by foreigners.
This paints a gloomy picture of Caymanian abilities and commitment to the job, as well as personal development and success in the workplace.
Hard to believe these are people with the same genetic structure as those of our parents who left Cayman in the early fifties as bedroom stewards and messmates and, within a decade, were recognised as the world’s greatest seamen on merchant marine ships of all classes
What changed? The gene pool? Yes, through inter-marriages and cohabitation, but more importantly, the system has changed.
Today Caymanians have limited opportunities in this open economy, but goals are less easily defined. They work hard, but rewards are not always the same as those on work permits, and success is more difficult to define.
Caymanians are always the ones being asked by Caymanians to be more accommodating. We are constantly being reminded and often browbeaten to be nice to foreigners and treat them well. They are here for our good, and God forbid that they should leave.
This is not the norm in other societies. Normally, when we Caymanians migrate to a foreign land, we are expected to change and conform to their lifestyle and culture or another identity. If we want to succeed in their land, we have to blend in with them.
Cayman is at a very serious crossroads, and we need to act now to prevent a national catastrophe. Caymanians, especially the young, educated Caymanians whom the Caymanian protection law was enacted to protect, are becoming increasingly frustrated and disappointed.
So what can we do as Caymanians, since next year is an election year? We should not support any individual or political party who is not prepared and committed to managing the growth of the Caymanian population. Here are a few policies we should consider:
- No more Cayman status grants. Limit Cayman status to only marriage and descent.
- Make status grants for marriage automatically revoked if divorced before ten years.
- Prevent persons who are granted work permits from remaining on the island for more than five years by granting fixed-term non-renewal permits for one year up to five years.
- Terminate the provisions in the Immigration Act that facilitate the grant of permanent residence.
Caymanians, these may seem like drastic measures, but I would issue a warning that they are now necessary as we have allowed the erosion of Caymanian authority.
The election in May 2025 may not be affected because there are still more generational Caymanians than those given status, but if we don’t make the changes now, the election in 2029 will see many of these second-generation Caymanians seeking and winning office if we allow their number to continue to grow.
To add a short statement of the disappearance of Seven Mile Beach, this is just another ailment of the disease of GREED that has consumed Cayman. The Caymanians in authority have allowed these persons to destroy Seven Mile Beach by allowing them to build their million-dollar homes too close to the sea, and those in authority who allowed this have been, and maybe are still being, rewarded for their actions.
I proposed over fifteen years ago that the government should re-establish the line of vegetation from old aerial photos, and any building below that line will have to be moved.
However, that requires bold, honest leadership, which is now in short supply.
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Category: Viewpoint
“Prevent persons who are granted work permits from remaining on the island for more than five years by granting fixed-term non-renewal permits for one year up to five years.”
Heads up, the majority of expat financed businesses will leave if this is done.
I spent over $100,000 (excluding real estate) in the local economy, and I would be forced to move my business out of Cayman if this happened. Given that I am a net employer, is this really the future you want? Yes, you get rid of me, one person, but you also take away the job of a Caymanian in the process..
So Ezzard didn’t realise this all the years he spent in the LA?? He could have prevented some of the same situations he’s referring to and suggesting a solution to when he was there.
But Ezzard was elected for how many years and did what? Nothing but make uninformed comments during finance committee. Grand time to speak up Ezzard, when elections are just around the corner. Old elected members like yourself, Mac, Tibbets, Mclaughlin, need to feel the shame of how they have let this country down. Yall sold us out.
What is a Hostile Take over???
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/hostile_takeover#:~:text=A%20hostile%20takeover%20is%20a,hence%20the%20term%20%22hostile%22.
A hostile takeover is a type of acquisition where a company (the acquirer) takes control of another company (the target company) without the approval or consent of the target company’s board of directors.
In other words, the target company’s management is not in favor of the takeover, hence the term “hostile”.
I think this article by Mr. Ezzard Miller is well said and poses excellent policies to be considered which will benefit Cayman and Caymanians. He does have a heart for Cayman and Caymanians. He would make a great Premier for the benefit of these Islands.
The Caymanian people enjoy having visitors as well as expatriate workers in certain capacities. However, consider Cayman and preserve the Caymanian people as every other country preserves and looks after their own. Only then will Caymanians receive the respect they deserve.
As a proud Paper-Caymanian who has called Cayman home since 1977, I have heard the same concerns about loss of culture for the past 47 years. And while I can sympathize with Generational-Caymanians who are nostalgic for the traditional days of wompers and mosquitoes, I have a few suggestions to add to Mr. Miller’s list of solutions.
1. There are many generational Caymanians who share Mr. Miller’s views who own businesses and employ foreigners on work permits. That is hypocritical and should be outlawed.
2. There are many generational Caymanians who marry foreigners which dilutes the culture. This should be stopped.
3. The imbalance of generational Caymanians to foreigners is significantly shifted due to generational Caymanians leaving the islands to live in other countries. Emigration of generational Caymanians should be prohibited.
4. It appears that the current government’s proposal to build a new port in Breakers is geared toward a population of 200,000 residents. If the population is imbalanced with foreigners now then this projected increase of 120,000 cannot be allowed to be foreigners. All generational Caymanians must have a minimum of 12 children in order to safeguard the culture.
(for those who take these recommendations seriously, please learn to identify sarcasm)
Did you really just argue that Caymanians shouldn’t be able to marry who they like?
I guess you prefer the good old HSA maternity classes explaining that you need to check your spouse isn’t your relative right? because that is still going on at HSA and whilst we all appreciate the free classes, being told not to shag your own relative (after the fact by the way) probably isn’t the value it once was.
Clown.
It gene testing really now no longer need? The entire so-called ‘multigenerational’ cohort is rom this lot:
“With a reported 1975 newborn malformation rate of 8.3%, and with isolation and inbreeding of its racially admixed population (now 13,260) for over 200 years, the Cayman Islands, British West Indies, have been the site of an intensive genetic study. To date, we have found an increased incidence in many, particularly recessive, disorders, including: sensorineural deafness (27 cases), with and without retinitis pigmentosum; congenital cataracts (14 cases); congenital ichthyosis (2 cases); and two new disorders, designated Cayman Disease (25 cases) and a new Storage Disease (6 cases). Twenty-two of the CD patients are clearly related, and all come from the town of West Bay (pop’n: 2715) as do the SD cases. All CD patients have congenital ataxia, MR, and ocular movement abnormalities. The SD patients are all related, and while normal at birth, develop abdominal protuberance by 18 mos., MR by 3-4 yrs., contractures thereafter, and die by 9-13 yrs. These diverse disorders appear to be the result of the combination of consanguinity, founder effects, drift, and selection.”
Source: Bloom, A., Johnson, W., Murphy, M. et al. 513 CAYMAN DISEASE AND A NEW STORAGE DISEASE IN A WEST INDIES ISOLATE. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 449 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00518 / https://www.nature.com/articles/pr1978741.pdf
See also:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gtr/conditionst in y I ğ bin/C1832585/
https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article-abstract/5/4/525/595721
What could possibly go wrong?! 😂
Are you really trying to say that all multi generational Caymanians are inbred? Gee, that’s not discriminatory at all. GTFOH.
I don’t think that the commentor is saying that.
Rather, they defedning the HSA and warning that the multi generational Caymanian cohort – BY DEFINITION – originates from the 13,260 people in 1975 who suffered a deformity rate of 8.3% (presumably the highest in the world).
Thus, **the data from the 1975 study** is saying that there was a massive inbreeding problem. To quote Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, “I’m not a biologist”, but if an antecedent population had a problem, then presumably the advice criticised above:
“whilst we all appreciate the free classes, being told not to shag your own relative probably isn’t the value it once was”
is wrong. Presumably it’s not simply a matter of cross-breeding with expats for 50 years to fix a population deformity rate of 8.3%.
Anyway, thus concludes my defense of the HSA. I think they do a great job, and it’s unfair to criticize them.
I wonder how many people won’t get your irony, 11:17.
All you have expressed is true. But remember these things did not come overnight. It is going for years upon years now. You guys had the distinct opportunities to resolve these issues and only gave lip services. What did you all do, during your tenure in Govt? The horse has gone through gate so identifying these problems now hardly makes any sense. Govt upon Govt when canvassing votes have stated they would be ensuring Caymanians come first. Unless we have a complete changeover of Govt, things will remain as is. So I would same old same old rhetoric. Nothing gets done.
Maybe you are an ignorant person. Who is to say that it was a Caymanian that uttered those words and not another expat?
I hope you don’t have PR or Status. Hell will freeze over before you make any effort to integrate no doubt.
The Constitution and the Immigration Law need to be reformed as a matter of priority. We cannot continue this madness. The rollover Policy needs to be revised and enforced; we have limited land mass and cannot have thousands of people coming here with no intention of going back to their country!! It must stop!!
Caymanians need to unite and protest the injustice we are facing in our country. The Governments for the past three decades have allowed foreigners with money to dictate the policies. Look at the erosion in a certain area of the SMB. Our forefathers would have never allowed the erection of seawalls and the construction of these massive condos so near to the ocean!!! Many of them were uneducated but they had common sense, which no longer exist. The 2025 Election will be crucial for the existence of generational Caymanians!! Wake up and stand up or we will have no home!!!!
Caymainans are not alone strugling with Literacy Proficiency
Her are a few publicly notes to consider
Welsh Government gives additional funding to literacy programme
https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-government-gives-additional-funding-to-literacy-programme/
Reporter’s Notebook: Chicago schools face nightmare as Illinois pushes progressive politics
https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-schools-illinois-progressive-politics-teaching-standards-inclusive
In Chicargo during 2019, only 37% of third-graders in Illinois demonstrated grade-level proficiency in English-language arts, and when it came to math only 41% could demonstrate grade-level proficiency.
I’ll give you the quiet part out loud for those things. Look at the demographics, then start with the culture, then end with the home life.
Being poor is problematic, being poor from a culture that doesn’t value home life is terrible, sprinkle that in with a culture that does not value education and it’s a death knell.
I’ll leave you to connect the dots and it has nothing to do with race.
The Patterson administration ignored advice from international financial institutions on how to deal with the collapse of Jamaica’s financial sector in the 1990s because it would have been “costly”, former Finance Minister Dr Omar Davies admitted.
Just wait until similar information on advice about the collapse of the Cayman Islands Financial Sector is released if they ever release it
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20241018/costly-decisions
Please stand up sir, your voice is muffled!
THINGS HAVE GOT TO CHANGE
Our leaders are so consumed on passing laws to encourage prostitution, drug use and drug addition that it makes me sick
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/news/world/1842975/pretty-european-city-drunk-tourists-stay-away/amp
Instead of condoning drug use for people to sit under a tree and smoke drugs all day, our government and political lesders should be busy using there time more productively to lower the cost of living, find ways for our people to be able to own there own affordable home or apartment, create jobs and provide our own source of food supply by expanding the Turtle Center to farm lobster, shrimp and other fishery
The choices are simple, You can choose:
• Get an Affordable Home or Apartment
• Create well paying Jobs for Caymanians
• Create our own source of Food Supply
or
• Make Drugs Legal and turn our people into prostitues & drug addicts
Nothing inappropriate about decriminalization of small amounts of cannabis by adults in private (including possession of 1-2oz, cultivation of up to 5 plants per household per residential premises and consumption) — just like Jamaica has done pursuant to the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2015 — which is protected as a fundamental human right (pursuant to s.9 Bill of Rights).
Yes. We should follow Jamaica! They are such a shining example of leadership and integrity! A success! Any amazing model and inspiration for everything we should aspire to.
Ah, yes – Jamaica, the shining exemplar amid the Caribbean to which we all ought to aspire! How is Cayman’s former colonial overseer getting on nowadays?
Jamaica’s economic performance has been poor for centuries. Jamaica’s GDP per capita has not only not materially grown since 1990, but it is actually around the same level it was at independence in 1962. A good way to determine if a country is doing OK is the net migration rate. Every year since 1952 net migration has been outwards from Jamaica. With a population of around 2.8 million in 2021 living in Jamaica, some estimates suggests an equal number are living outside the country. In 1975 Jamaica’s population reached around 2 million. This was roughly the same as Singapore in the same year. But in 2021 the population of Singapore grew to around 5.4 million. Jamaicans are unambiguously voting with their feet to say that the country is not ok. The country ranks #2 on the Human Flight and Brain Drain Index. Given that #1 is Samoa, there is in fact no other country on earth with as much brain drain as Jamaica. Jamaican culture has little to no capacity to implement credible policies to boost employment, lower crime, and propel growth. The political establishment is so corrupt that there is a term specifically applied to it: garrison politics. “A garrison is an area in which criminal and political activity are tightly controlled by politically affiliated gang leaders.”
Source: https://cpsi.media/p/jamaica-is-not-doing-ok
And this is the country you want to emulate?!
Do you truly hate Caymanian children, and want to condemn them to a similar fate? Or are you merely short-sighted, lacking intelligence and bereft of any impulse control? Either way, it would be better for Cayman if you and your similarly-minded ilk would simply move to Jamaica and embrace the future you apparently so crave.
Very simple, one sentence, only people that have ruined Cayman Islands are your own ‘indigenous’, Cayman born ‘natives’!
I don’t think you can see the water you’re swimming in.
Need to replace your rose coloured glasses.
Salt stings.
The Attorney General
The Solicitor General
The Chief Justice
The Director of Policy for WORC
The Chief Officer of the Ministry of Labor and Border Control
Should all step in. Indigenous native born Caymanian people plainly cannot keep Cayman safe.
By the way, who are these native born indigenous Caymanians that have so ruined the Cayman Islands? What office and responsibility do they hold? Politicians don’t count (they already passed all the laws we need).
Stop manipulating, deciving, using violence, cruelty, trickery and deception to turn our women and children into prostitites and drug addicts
What on earth is this referring to?
We have a very strong British, Dutch and Colombian presence in our Water Authority that has a huge influence on our Central Government and the Civil Service, its finances, its operations and decision making that dates as far back as 1987 when British National Richard Beswick created, organized and headed the Water Authority
As an Authority it is my understanding; and while i stand to be corrected, the Decision Making of this Authority, the Finances and Operations are headed and handled by a Caymanian married to a Dutch National and all operations are controlled internally without the consent, direction or approval of the Cayman Islands Central Government, the HM Deputy Governor, HM Governor or the Civil Service
This independant operational process NEED TO STOP AND BE CHANGED and the responcibilities need to be retured back to the Central Government, the Civil Service & the HM Governor and Deputy Governor for consent, decision making, direction and aporoval if we Truely wish to see and have Caymanians in charge, running our country and our government as well as being held accountable and responsible for the decusions they make
Our Islands has been on a path if destruction since these Authoriities like Caymsn Airways the Port Authority, the Health Service Authority and the Water Authority were all given a mandate and a green light to operate as they please back in the 1980’s with no reprecaution, accountability or responsibility and Caymanians are all being pushed out of these organizations
Caymanians opened the door, they left the door open and now they can’t shut the door. (To get rich on selling their land and culture)
Take responsibility for your actions and stop blaming others.
Why? Why can’t you be compassionate and admit to your part in this?
Many (but not all) that hold the door open are Caymanian – but those that are, are here from Jamaica, the UK, and Trinidad, and were usually granted status by Mac. They do not truly represent the Caymanian people.
And I thought that racial purity had rather fallen out of fashion as a desirable quality for society post 1945.
What Ezzard and his ilk seem entirely unable, or unwilling to understand, is that the nature of nationality changes with time in any open society: what it means to be American, or British, or German, or even Chinese, is fundamentally different now to what it might have been in 1980, or 1940, or 1900, and there is no reason that being Caymanian should be any different.
Whilst there are undoubtedly countries which have tried to insulate themselves from demographic change, their experience has rarely, if ever, been positive: the world is both smaller and more fluid than ever before, and it is increasingly less realistic to step out of the flow.
This is not to say that there shouldn’t be controls, but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that what Ezzard really wants is a return to a far more insular world than the 21st century has any ability to sustain, much less an interest in doing so.
Stood still in time, bless them, as a person ages they reminisce, we all do and will, nature and circle of life.
Don’t blame others, except your own that created this Cayman now.
Certain progress is good, the corruption from it’s own people is not progress.
Up to you to stop it!
You do not understand. Yes, societies change, but how fast? In Sweden, they now say 1 in 4 people were not born there, and they have declared an emergency. They still accept immigration, but even mainstream parties now want to regulate immigration more stringently.
Very well said and extremely true. The world has changed, going back to what were the norms 30 years ago will hurt Cayman more than it would help.
Are you Caymanian (not paper)?
Can someone enlighten me on the benefits that expats who work in the civil service receive? I stand to be corrected, but this is what I believe:
*no work permit, though their contract has to be continuously renewed every few years
*dependents don’t need a work permit
*children allowed to attend public schools and taking space away from Caymanian children
*full government benefits including full healthcare for all dependents
Why why why are their contracts renewed continuously? Are you telling me that there is not a Caymanian who is able to take their role? I’m not even talking management roles, so the excuse of a Caymanian not having that expertise can’t be used.
I’ve said it before, and will say it again. We are too accommodating. We make it too easy for people to come, and too easy for people to receive PR and eventually Status. Why would anyone want to leave after coming here? Its definitely the minority who want to move on. There is nothing wrong with being more selective in who we give PR and status to.
While you’re on the subject, why is it that grassroots Caymanians don’t pledge to have a grassroots Caymanian as their spouse so they can have Caymanian children.
As a Generational Caymanian I have the right to marry anyone I want just like you. However, my spouse and my children should not be given less rights than someone who get Status granted by a Board though.
Unless you have Caymanian Citizenship by Descent, AKA CAYMANIANS AS OF RIGHT, All OTHER MEANS TO ACQUIRING STATUS COME WITH LOSS PROVISIONS.
They also do not face term limits. Or dependents fees.
Apparently, there must not be Caymanians available for the roles, otherwise the job is meant to go to a Caymanian.
It’s not that there are literally no Caymanians available but there are certainly very few. There were 1,100 unemployed Caymanians in the Spring Labour Force Survey compared to about 23,000 in the labour force.
So 22,000 Caymanians have jobs but 1,100 do not (4.7%).
60% of unemployed Caymanians (so around 660 people) have been unemployed for over a year – a stubbornly consistent percentage strongly suggesting that the same people are reported in this statistic each time around.
Some further insight is provided from the “steps taken to look for a job” section, which is based on follow up questions by the ESO during the LFS survey. Around 50% of the unemployed have “contacted an employer” to seek work (so perhaps unsurprisingly, 50% have not). 40% have registered with WORC.
In terms of their means of financial support, 75% of unemployed Caymanians are supported by their parents, or by a spouse. There is no indication as to how the spouses and parents view the arrangement.
You can draw your own conclusions.
The freebies to families is why we have so many Jamaican “police”.
Every time their work term is up the job is open to all, when a qualified Caymanian applies for it, they get it and the foreigner loses their job and right to live in Cayman. What is needed is for there to be more qualified Caymanians in sectors of the civil service where they are underrepresented.
Integrate the public schools. Caymanians and immigrants of all economic strata should go to school together. Such a missed opportunity. Limited space was the excuse for separation, but we have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on facilities since then (another $50 million on a school in Cayman Brac – wonderful).
The title for Me Miller’s piece should read
“The Jamaicanisation of Cayman.”
and that is no compliment at all but rather an insult and mockery.They destroyed Jamaica, now they are destroying Cayman! Stop getting impregnated by these Jamaican men, only giving birth criminals and public menaces will be the end result.Marry your own people.
100% agreed 4.49.
Stop employing Jamaicans is a first step, then revoke status and deport those who repeatedly abuse the privilege of bein here.
Dear moderator,
I tried to post a comment on the population statistics recently released , but my comment was not posted 🙄
CNS: It was posted. See here.
So , I will try again. No one really knows (CIG) how many people and who exactly is here on the island.
Government needs to put the biometric entry and exit equipment into place, Cayman Must be the only country in the world that does not use this Technology in the 21 century.
The work permit system needs to be overhauled, especially when it comes to the requirements of a police record. Why on earth are we asking for a KY Island police record? To approve a work permit?
But if you want to keep it which is obviously a good idea, but for God sake, try to find out what’s going on with the folks ( back ground checks) where are they are coming from!
Ezzy- you had your chance to make a difference I don’t know if you didn’t have the support or what, but things remain to be status quo. We’ve got laws lotta laws barking, but definitely no bite
Lol’ nobody knows who is in the US right now and what they are dong. 10-15M “fresh” illegals plus 10-15M illegals from the past decades. I don’t want to be tracked like an animal
Question. When is it ok to describe an ex-pat or a status holder as caymanian? Answer. When they represent the Cayman Islands for sport or academic achievement. At least that’s how it seems in the many articles and features that we see in the press. Just saying… there seems to be some inconsistency.
At what point can you describe a NewFoundlander as an Eskimo (leaving aside the apparent inappropriateness of that latter term in the modern world)? You understand there are distinct cultural differences? All are Canadian. But they are NOT the same.
Cut the woke crap. An Eskimo is an Eskimo.
Unless it is a football team.
they won’t fuss about the Caymanian title if you do well.
Never.
Exactly! Claim you as Caymanian when hitting the headline news in spirt, music etc., otherwise you are nobody!
Not sure you are right, Sir. IN such cases, the news I read more often says “a person with a Cayman connection” or a “Cayman person”.
The accurate and succinct response to Miller’s drivel comes from The White Stripes.
“Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too?
Who’s using who?
What should we do?
Well, you can’t be a pimp
And a prostitue too.”-Jack White
I believe that technically you can be both. Maybe we should ask some of our politicians what they think.
Kamala, I believe that you have been drinking. Again.
Ezzard Miller was uniquely stationed as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee for 3 election cycles, 12 years, during which time, among other screwball things he oversaw: DART’s NRA deals, and Ken Jefferson omitting $2 billion dollars of liabilities from the Balance Sheet of the CIG, and leaving it off to this day. He did not blow his whistle on those. Retired comfortably we can all be sure.
My wife and I have been here for 5 years. I own a home and consider this home. My son was born here. Does he get status? He’s never even been to the UK. It seems rough not to let him call this home.
He will get status if you get status. Our laws work the same as pretty much all of Europe. If he is still here on his 10th birthday, he will be able to register as a BOTC whether or not you are a BOTC. He would then become eligible to apply for status in his own right and become Caymanian whether or not you do.
Until age 18 when that status is forfeited without yet another application for Continuuance!
Per the Creed you’re transitional, and only until three generations of navel cords buried in Caymanian soil do you get to participate in the holy ritual of dropping a mL of blood into a dead conch shell on a full moon night while riding a donkey through Jerusa- I mean New George Town.
Once you throw said conch shell into the harbor you’re now considered Blood Caymanian.
/s
Nationality of a child should be based on the parents, not the landmass.
He can apply in his own right when he is 18 or he would get it through you if you acquired it. Caymanian status isn’t a right. You have to earn it. There are many countries that don’t give you immediate citizenship just for being born in their country. Maybe less of the attitude of he deserves it and more “How can I contribute/give back to the Cayman community in order to be accepted fully into the fold”
Only 10 more years to see if you are ‘granted’ status!
Anonymous says:
17/10/2024 at 7:20 pm
My wife and I have been here for 5 years. I own a home and consider this home. My son was born here. Does he get status? He’s never even been to the UK. It seems rough not to let him call this home.
———————————————————–
A Response From A Generational Caymanian:
1. Being born in the Cayman Islands does not automatically make a child Caymanian.
2. If you and your spouse are not PRs or possess Caymanian Status, then your child has to be placed on your Work Permit as a Dependent.
3. Let it be known that Permanent Residency and Caymanian Status are both PRIVILEGES and NOT A RIGHT for Expats living in the Cayman Islands. If you happen to receive such Privilege granted by a BOARD that determines that you are deemed worthy of this PRIVILEGE, then count your blessings.
4. If your child remains in the Cayman Islands, say before his or her 18th Birthday, then he or she will be eligible to at least apply for such PRIVILEGE as Permanent Resident and could later be granted Caymanian Status.
5. Do note that the only Caymanian Citizenship that does not carry Loss Provisions is CAYMANIAN AS OF RIGHT – AKA Generational Caymanian – Caymanians by DESCENT through parents, grand parents, great grand parents etc.
I would take Miller over Jay, but Jason is the person who really needs to raise his head above the parapets. I want new, non-fat, non-corrupted blood.
This is not a grade school popularity contest folks.
Miller wouldn’t work with anyone and got us nothing as northsiders…Jay just lines his pockets and his fathers and his friends…It’s time for a fresh face that weighs less than 220 and can actually speak and be put in positions of importance.
LOL I like your post and his name is Justin not Jason. I agree with your post.
I spoke with the young man several times and he impressed me with his forward thinking to address the issues of today and he easily pivots to alternative ideas when questioned. We need analytical thinkers that have great problem solving skills.
Good luck Justin.
AMEN!!!
Anonymous says:
16/10/2024 at 4:34 pm
Buzzard Miller.
Take my status grant and I’ll see you and your cohorts in court
———————————————————–
My response as a Generational Caymanian AKA Caymanian As of Right:
Well, whoever you are remember that your Status was a privilege NOT a right! Let’s start there.
Persons like yourself are quick to say you are Caymanian yet quick to kick another Caymanian down when you feel like what is being said is not in your favour.
The author is a ‘Generational Caymanian’. A Caymanian by Descent – Parents, Grandparents, and Great grandparent etc. ALL were Caymanians. His Status is Caymanian As of Right. Not a privilege BUT a RIGHT! Your STATUS was given as a PRVILEGE that was GRANTED BY A BOARD.
Based on your tone, maybe they made a mistake.
No doubt The Cayman Islands are one of the last ‘Gems’ of the world. Therefore, I get why you and others like yourself come and certainly don’t leave. But what I don’t get is why privileged people like yourself are OK when the Laws benefit you and YOUR ‘COHORTS’ BUT when someone speaks about Laws or situations that have plagued Generational Caymanians and their extended families for quite a while, you lose ALL respect for a person like Ezzard Miller and his ‘cohorts’.
He chose to ‘let it out’ on paper for all to see, and so that we may just ponder on the injustices that are going on throughout our islands with respect to Generational Caymanians and their extended families and then the wider society.
Let it be known, your privileged status comes with Loss Provisions. Ezzard Miller and ALL of Generational Caymanians can’t have their citizenship taken away. Until you and your ‘cohorts’ start to fully integrate into the Caymanian Society, and stop putting your noses in the air when you read articles like this one, then you are going to read more and more of these articles in time.
It is obvious you do not think that educating others on the matters as they relate to Caymanians in general is a good thing. So, on your road to integration, start with learning the Skill of EMPATHY. Just maybe, then, you may gain respect from Generational Caymanians.
NOTE: Generational Caymanians and their extended families
are referring to ALL families represented at all levels of our Caymanian Society.
This piece by Ezzard is 100% fact. I doubt that Cayman will ever recover from anything that is mentioned by Jim and that is very sad. Very many of those who have been granted status don’t even integrate with Caymanians. A lot that do have married a Caymanian.
Regarding elections, too many promises made just to get our votes and then its as if amnesia takes over once they have been elected. If you vote for one person who might stand for the rights of our ‘real’ Caymanians, they change once elected because on their own they can’t get anything done.
I believe those of us who grew up in Cayman before all of the changes are more upset than those who have not. We know what true Cayman was, the younger generation doesn’t and so it not a big deal to a lot of them.
Any country where it’s own people are given less opportunities than expats, will suffer in the end. The expats can and often do return to their country of origin after making a better living here than they could at home. The majority of Caymanians only have these 3 islands. I don’t have any faith in most of the people in our current government. There are 3 that I trust to have the best interests of Cayman and its people at heart. Unfortunately, I’m not in the district to vote for any of them.
Good post.
However! This “ Very many of those who have been granted status don’t even integrate with Caymanians.” I can promise you it is not from lack of trying!!
30yrs here and I still haven’t been accepted. And believe me when I say I tried. I have been told that I am outgoing and friendly, and I have tried to befriend my work colleagues as well as those at church.
At all of my jobs I’ve been treated like a pariah, like I am a threat. All except when I worked in the food&beverage industry. An industry that is overwhelmingly expats.
And here’s a funny thing.. I shopped exclusively at the grocery store on Walkers Road, for 15yrs (before Ivan took it). Every cashier would have recognized me but do you think I was given friendly service with a smile? Never. I have been going to the Wight’s gas station for 30yrs and the only time I got recognition from either of those boys was when one of the them ran for office. It was then that his attitude towards me changed. AND not all Caymanians act that way but the majority do. I have met many many Caymanians that are friendly and accepting but I’m still not included in their circle of friends.
I am not the only one that feels this way.
So if you ever believed the statement “two sides to the story”, there is ALWAYS another side to “don’t even integrate with Caymanians”.
I call BS on that.
Leave Cayman and go where you’re accepted then.
10:34 is another arrogant Caymanian!
Maybe you are an ignorant person. Who is to say that it was a Caymanian that uttered those words and not another expat?
I hope you don’t have PR or Status. Hell will freeze over before you make any effort to integrate no doubt.
Hi
Obviously I don’t know who you are but its hard to imagine you living in Cayman (especially for such a long period of time, and not be embraced by some Caymanians. I am not saying you’re lying. My experiences are what I wrote about and I was being 100% honest
The 2003 status grants is the number one reason that generational Caymanians are now out numbered.
So why did you not throw him out???
We did. But the thousands of voters he gave status to overwhelmed our democracy.
It’s not. Less than 3000 were granted, their names Gazetted for review. Three times that amount were added subsequently via birth right, or the points systems, tests, employment, property, training/public service, PR apps with supporting born-Caymanian references, Naturalization apps reconfirming the same, and CI Starus apps, again reconfirming same,,following the Caymanian-designed merit based system prescribed by UNHR. These folks, many of them illegally obstructed by past and current PPM members, do not deserve any of your distain. They are among the best people in this society.Proven contributors.
That and the Government’s desire to obtain more revenue (via work permit fees and import duty).
It’s really tough to reconcile the language of “infiltration or foreign takeover” when it was the lawmakers that you were apart of that help roll out the red carpet.
You didn’t just leave the door unlocked. You set up a party and handed out flyers, gave them a right to party as long as they could and didn’t foresee the consequences.
Ah, but it was all subject to term limits, and rigorous systems as to PR and status.
Then our gatekeepers (the overseers of the Department of WORC) destroyed the barriers built to protect us.
[Summary. Financial services fund Cayman, including the amorphous CIG/World Class Civil Service/NAU blob. Therefore , the only people who matter are financial services firms’ CLIENTS. 60% of Caymanian kids leaving school are functionally illiterate and innumerate. Accounting firms, etc. simply cannot employ such people, and even when they do CLIENTS get to choose who they instruct.]
We can all agree that Cayman needs far fewer low-skill, low-wage immigrants. However, the author does not make that distinction, instead indulging in (no doubt cathartic) weaponised xenophobia.
Professional services firms fund Cayman, and pay for everything here. These are ferociously competitive industries, and clients have freedom of choice as to who they instruct. Mutatis mutandis as to in which jurisdiction those clients choose to invest. Therefore, in that free market, CLIENTS’ preferences are paramount:
(1) Caymanians are free to compete with non-Caymanians to sell their services, and clients have the freedom of choice as to who they instruct.
(2) Qualifications and overseas experience are however vital, both substantively and presentationally (e.g. such people are both objectively superior and look superior to clients), and this is why clients choose to instruct them.
(3) The reason Cayman is the most successful Caribbean territory is specifically because Cayman has commendably not indulged in xenophobic, self-sabotaging economically suicidal rhetoric and protectionism. The exception is at election time, e.g. in articles such as these.
Almost everything the author writes is high-emotion, low-intellect nonsense. For example, it is inconceivable that accounting firms would survive much less thrive if their employees (a) were forced to leave after several years; and (b) were not able to secure permanent residence (PR), and in due course status. Even Hong Kong, home of the evil CCP, grants PR after 7 years. That’s because they know that, if they don’t, people will work elsewhere, such as Singapore or Dubai. Cayman’s golden goose, financial services, is not guaranteed to keep the money flowing, if the islands decide to self-immolate in a frenzy of protectionism.
Competitor locations compete by employing both expats, and highly-skilled locals. Cayman is therefore utterly dependant on highly-qualified expats, unless Caymanians perform better. How’s that’s going, after Roy Bodden’s famous Caribbeanisation of the Cayman education system? ⬇️
“Premier Wayne Panton has said the civil service headcount cannot continue to grow… Panton said that the government must move away from “social hiring”” https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/09/premier-says-civil-service-must-stop-growing
“It’s the duty of communities all over the world to give their children an education to a standard that enables them to become full members of their home communities. It takes a village, as they say. By that measure, Cayman’s government has failed, and continues to fail. Some of our Islands’ children succeed, but most don’t…” https://www.caymancompass.com/2016/01/21/barlow-education-versus-protection/
“Cayman’s current representatives have their knickers in a twist, trying to resolve the consequences. An uncomfortable number of the tribe’s members are coming up short in the following respects:-
· Unschooled beyond a minimal level
· Unemployable because of an anti-work attitude
· Untrained and undisciplined in the management of their personal finances
· Intolerant towards foreign ethnic groups
Those deficiencies have steadily worsened in recent years; the drift to full dependency on government handouts has passed the point of no return. There is no apparent solution on the horizon. It looks as though, in time, our “native” citizenry will become overwhelmingly dependent on welfare.” https://barlowscayman.blogspot.com/2015/05/caymans-entitlement-culture.html
If Caymanians want better jobs, they must perform better. That starts early. See:
(1) 2021: “Almost 60% of Year 11 students miss 2021 exam targets …according to the Data Report for the Academic Year 2020-21, just 40.3% of Year 11 students achieved the national standard target of five or more Level 2 subjects including English and maths.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/04/almost-60-of-year-11-students-miss-2021-exam-targets.
(2) 2023: “A data report released by the education ministry reflects a decline in external exam results…with standards in mathematics dropping back to 2017 levels… despite the significant investment that has been made in public education… Only 27% of all students at Key Stage 2, when they leave primary school, had reached the expected standards in all three core subjects of reading, writing and maths.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/05/report-shows-school-leaver-results-drop-from-peak/
(3) 2024: “…only 26% of children leaving all government primary schools achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, according to a data report published last month by the Department of Education Services and the Ministry of Education. This is 1% down from the [previous] academic year.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/04/education-data-report-reflects-poor-school-results/
Also:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2019/09/school-standards-gap/
https://caymannewsservice.com/2018/12/2018-year-11-exam-results/
https://caymannewsservice.com/2017/05/education-results-fall-in-2016-data-report/
Businesses are not welfare schemes for the unemployable (that’s the “World Class Civil Service™” AKA ‘Shadow NAU’). The equivalent of the obsessive navel-gaving about Caymanian affirmative action, and whinging about expats, is the Black Economic Empowerment legislation in South Africa. As with all attempts to impose racial preferences/unmeritocratic tribalism, it has been a failure: https://theconversation.com/only-south-africas-elite-benefits-from-black-economic-empowerment-and-covid-19-proved-it-189596.
If Cayman wants to regress to being a handful of fishing villages, then quasi-Jamaican politicians can have hissy fits about expats. If not, keep quiet, knuckle down, and focus on educating the kids so that in due course they can compete for clients to further develop Cayman. Compete on merit: not skin color. There will be limits to this, though. An island of only 30,000 so-called “multigenerational Caymanians”, with the record of educational achievement documented above, seems unlikely to be able to rapidly generate any more that a tiny % of competent, internationally competitive, white collar professionals necessary to fulfil the wide range of roles here – without which, the island collapses into bankruptcy.
Other islands have demonstrated what happens if you indulge in lobotomised protectionism. See:
https://cpsi.media/p/jamaica-is-not-doing-ok
https://cpsi.media/p/why-does-barbados-underperform
https://cpsi.media/p/colonialism-and-progress-fb9
Be careful what you agitate for.
Excellent comment.
I’m sure the down voters are struggling to comprehend some of the big words.
Excellent post. Sir or madam, I doff my cap/silver thatch hat to you.
Pity this highly intelligent contributor can not sign his name as Mr. Miller did
You don’t appear to have signed your own name…
More importantly though, no expat can safely comment critically on events in Cayman under their own name. Some examples from my time here so far:
“…to be taken into consideration is a peculiar power that Caymanians are reputed to have over the rest of us on Island. I am told that it only takes one Caymanian, any Caymanian, to have a word to the, ever fascistic, Department of Immigration to have a foreigner’s visa cancelled and have them thrown off the Island within forty-eight hours. It doesn’t matter the reason or the individual complaining – a single complaint from a Caymanian and you’re gone.” “Cayman Islands – What the brochures don’t say”, from July 2005: Part 1 – https://h2g2.com/entry/A4503665 and Part 2 – https://h2g2.com/entry/A4503683. < For the avoidance of doubt, I am not endorsing all of the comments in those blog posts. Some are quite rude, e.g. about inbreeding – the person writing it was a physician practising here, and his view was probably skewed by his exposure to narrow problems.
For a concrete example, see the experience of Gordon Barlow:
“Cayman hillbillies try to curb freedom of speech. Heads are rolling in the Cayman Islands after another comical attempt to curb freedom of speech on the island.OffshoreAlert has been told that several Immigration Board members are facing the chop after a letter was sent to expatriate Gordon Barlow threatening to take away his Permanent Residency because he was writing letters to the editor of the Caymanian Compass and making other public comments deemed to be undesirable.”
https://www.offshorealert.com/cayman-hillbillies-try-to-curb-freedom-of-speech/
“When we first came to Cayman in 1978, our biggest shock was discovering the fear among expats of summary deportation for speaking out of turn. The Chairman of the Caymanian Protection Board was in effect the chief censor. Not all that much has changed since then, unfortunately. It's instructive to visit our local news website Cayman News Service (accessible via Google) and to see how few commenters dare identify themselves. At least 95% sign "anonymous". Isn't that something, in a British colony in the 21st Century? My blog-post "Confessions of a Subversive" (Archives, October 2012) tells of my own experience as Manager of the local Chamber of Commerce. I had just enough friends in high places to keep me from deportation, but I spent the next two years (after being removed from the job…) being stamped in as a tourist, month-to-month. My 12-year-old son's residence permit was cancelled, and reinstated only with the help of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London. Heavy manners, as we say here! As I said, not much has changed since then. Any intending expat who expects to be allowed to criticise any government policy will get a "culture shock" in short order!” Gordon Barlow 18 September 2015, https://archive.is/CO7qu
“…the islands have a clannish culture. “When I opened up the chamber of commerce, that was a revolutionary act,” says Gordon Barlow, a resident of the islands for 35 years. He says that Cayman, for all its modernisation efforts, remains a small community dominated by special interests. “One thing you have to bear in mind is that there is a fairly strict unwritten prohibition on free speech here,” he says. “Any expat who is out of line can be thrown off the islands …or any resident can get an expat thrown off the islands. You write an anonymous letter to immigration, or you whisper to your cousin’s cousin and boom, they’re off the islands.”” Financial Times: Frustrated investors are pushing Cayman for greater transparency but few expect rapid change, 7 August 2013, https://archive.is/qWPma
I don't know Gordon well, but I did admire him during his working life for investing time and effort into trying to help get a more effective political system here. As he warned: “The bulk of native Caymanians will continue to fight a defensive war to withhold full civil rights from long-term immigrants, and proper human rights from transients. The bulk of immigrants and transients will continue to be united in this war, striving to achieve those civil and human rights… There is a third option … It would require that Cayman become a non-tribal democracy with full civil and human rights for all and no discrimination of any kind…” http://archive.caymannewsservice.com/2009/01/02/cayman-at-the-crossroads/
The attitudes he faced continue. See for example the experience of EPACI (Expatriate Association of the Cayman Islands), which was howled down with threats and abuse during covid: https://www.caymaniantimes.ky/news/the-panel-discussion-secretive-online-pro-expat-group-labelled-divisive – https://caymanmarlroad.com/2021/10/14/ex-pat-association-threatens-cmr-claiming-concerns-over-being-outed.
Hopefully that explains why most of us keep mouths shut and watch in bemused silence as Caymanian politicians destroy their people's own future.
By way of example of what is so frustrating: the dump, the public 'transport system', Kenneth Bryan's new personal Cayman Airlines' new route to his Caribbean tourist board meetings in Barbados (but no restoration of the pre-covid evening Miami flights which used to be so useful for travellers coming home to Cayman), 1 in 4 children in Cayman starting primary school overweight (https://www.caymancompass.com/2023/05/03/1-in-4-kids-begin-primary-school-overweight), the number of MLAs who have beaten women, Jon Jon's drunk-driving cover-up, Saunders' transparent attempt to introduce garrison politics, 2021: “Almost 60% of Year 11 students miss 2021 exam targets*, 2023: “Only 27% of all students…reached the expected standards in all three core subjects of reading, writing and maths.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/05/report-shows-school-leaver-results-drop-from-peak (https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/04/almost-60-of-year-11-students-miss-2021-exam-targets), the Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) August 2022 warning that banks and trusts are moving off island: “Banks & Trusts: The total value of international banking assets domiciled in the Cayman Islands declined by 12.9 percent… Similarly, international liabilities domiciled locally fell by 13.0 percent…" (https://www.eso.ky/UserFiles/page_docums/files/uploads/the_cayman_islands_annual_economic_repor-7.pdf, page 27).
I don't blame intelligent, honest and hard-working Caymanians for not getting involved in politics: I picked my job to look after my children, and any Caymanian with sense will do likewise, which means being internationally employable. That does, inevitably, however mean that you are led by the dregs. Ultimately, even though I have status, I can go home: most Caymanians aren't as fortunate, which is why I highlight the problem.
Top class, for stating facts that are defensible.
Ezzard , pay attention , if you are able.
can you imagine any other place in the world that has Been inhabited For just the last couple of centuries with its people calling themselves “indigenous“? This is provincialism at its zenith
Yes we call ourselves indigenous. We are an ethnic group. The Caymanian part of the population bred itself, don’t you see? We have our own skin tone, creole accent, and permanent settlement took place about 300 years ago, with the first recorded birth about 360 years ago, so ‘couple of centuries’ is not right. There was no one here when we came. We did not take this land from natives; we are the natives because we chose to settle this empty place. In the period since then, the constraints of living here forged a common culture, slavery created a majority group of mixed Caymanians, the other two islands were settled, people came here from other places in the region and added their genes to ours, and from the 1730s until the 1890s we ran our own affairs, occasionally communicating with Jamaica and even less often with the UK. We called ourselves The Islands Time Forgot for a reason. But we knew about them because we were here, slowly growing our population organically, at the speed of the turtles that used to be found on the beach.
What is so hard to comprehend about that?
If your ancestors of 10 generations ago discover somewhere hospitable and make it livable and you descend directly from them, if not indigenous, what are you? Now that you are the mixed product of those 300 years all contained in that place, how can you be considered anything other than indigenous to it?
It would be a different matter if the people who came here kept their foreign identities but a common one was forged. It’s not an invented thing. It happened the way it does in human societies organically over time.
But where did you come from…?
Here…I only know, and not for certain, anything that predates the arrival of my earlier ancestor…and that goes for all of us…that’s the point.
My ancestors landed in what would become the United States in the 1600’s. By your definition that would make me “indigenous” which I am definitely not.
No you aren’t. But you can trace your ancestors’ arrival to that country, and it wasn’t theirs when they got there. Caymanians cannot fully trace their ancestry, and there was no one here when our (unknown) ancestors first came. Does the distinction make sense?
Not really, I’m not saying I am indigenous. You are adding in a lack of oral family history, but there is a historical record of the first family names Ebanks, Bawden/Bodden etc.
The point is that there may be so called “Generational Caymanians”(GC) there are no indigenous ones.
The real problem is that the majority of inhabitants of Cayman have been sold out by GC politicians and business “leaders”. It is really a shame and the only fix is actually going to come from the group that Ezzard is slamming. At some point in the next 20-30 years, if we make it that far the number of voters and group eligible to run for office will have expanded to the point where we might get less corrupt gov’t that does something positive.
We all know the current system which Mr. Ezzard was a part of for years is not working.
You bred yourselves too and it shows.
I mean – how can you argue with this? Ezzard, I hope you reading this.
I don’t think anyone can argue with this. That would appear to be why no one has bothering trying.
To all those who downvoted the long post above: please explain why the arguments therein are incorrect.
Should you fail to do so, we will have no choice but to infer that you simply have no arguments.
Correct. See here, for an example of where other places are trying to take $$$$$ from Cayman:
“Redomiciling your Cayman Islands Company to Singapore:
Singapore amended its companies legislation in 2017 to introduce an inward re-domiciliation regime allowing foreign companies, including companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands, to transfer their registration to Singapore.
https://www.harneys.com/insights/redomiciling-your-cayman-islands-company-to-singapore/“
This is an island in which the three top priorities of the electorate appear to be:
1. Legalizing cannabis.
2. Legalizing gambling.
3. Electing corrupt morons who desperately want to earn kick-backs by embarking on economically insane projects: https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/03/bryan-challenges-report-on-low-value-of-cayman-tourism/#comments
Do Caymanians secretly hate their own children, and want them to fail?
The first two priorities are actually:
1. Blaming the Gays for things
2. Blaming the people who do the actual work for things they can’t blame the Gays for.
Point 3 is pretty much spot on.
Nonsense. Every country would like a place where they are a majority and are in control. As a foreigner in Cayman, I can say so. Also, saying black empowerment in South Africa has failed is not just untrue but is ridiculous. Sir, keep your misguided ideas to yourself.
Read the article.
• Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy in South Africa, originally aimed at redressing racial economic imbalances, has been repurposed by the ANC for self-enrichment and corruption, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The ANC’s cadre deployment policy appoints individuals based on party allegiance rather than merit, fuelling vast patronage networks and fostering corruption.
• BEE has benefited only a small elite, excluding most of the population from economic opportunities.
• Merit-based selection is disregarded, inevitably resulting in disaster.
https://theconversation.com/only-south-africas-elite-benefits-from-black-economic-empowerment-and-covid-19-proved-it-189596
More broadly, do you actually know any South Africans? Have you followed the news? The country is falling apart – everyone who can is trying to escape. Levels of corruption are so great that an attempt was made to murder the head of the national power company, because he was attempting to Challenge such corruption.
TRUTH!
The world over is getting full. The ones who prosper are hard working, well educated, and work to have a skill. Lazy, undereducated, and no skills will always find themselves behind the rest no matter where you are and no matter what you are Ezzard. If you want a person to get ahead you must change their culture. Do you see that happening here? Most Caymanians are doing well and keeping up. Some just won’t. Want to really help young Caymanians? Making sure they have a great education system instead of what you have now is the best thing you could do. But that would go against the culture here wouldn’t it.
That’s funny that the downvotes seem to be against a better education for our children. Who do you think is going to run this island when you and today’s government are long gone??
“Keep ‘em stupid” is no longer what’s needed for the government to get what they want.
9.04….Correct, so long as they’re stupid the likes of Mac Kenneth Seymour Saunders and Jay will stay in power .