UPM drops plans for future trends report
(CNS): Efforts by former premier Wayne Panton to address the chronic information gap in the Cayman Islands and find out more about the demographic, economic, environmental and social trends shaping the country and what direction it should go over the coming decades have been scrapped by the UPM.
In 2023, the premier’s office opened a request for proposals for experts to compile a report to give government leaders and the private sector a better understanding of local trends to make better policy and business decisions. However, following Panton’s removal from office, the request was cancelled before a contract was awarded.
Panton told CNS that he had embarked on the process to understand the trends and drivers shaping Cayman’s future and the needs and priorities of its people. He said the country doesn’t have this type of information, which poses a challenge to the government’s ability to understand what the future may hold and to respond to the risks and opportunities of that future.
“Not having this information also poses a threat to the resilience of the country and its ability to prepare for future threats,” Panton told CNS.
He explained that the aim was to pull together a range of information and data in one place to help policymakers and the broader public prepare for potential future scenarios for the Cayman Islands. If the government had the information it needed to identify opportunities and threats facing the country, it could prioritise longer-term policy or resources with the aim of preventing costly social, environmental or economic problems in the future.
But shortly after he resigned as premier, just as the RFP had wrapped up and researchers were about to be awarded a contract, the RFP process was cancelled. Given the $1 billion budget required to run the government and the value of the information that would have come out of the project, its estimated cost, which was well under $200,000, wasn’t a particularly expensive endeavour. He said he was surprised and puzzled over why the initiative had been cancelled.
CNS has made repeated attempts to contact Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly’s office, both directly and through the government’s communications department, but we have not received a response to our questions about the reasons for the cancellation of the RFP and whether or not the government intends to redo it or do the work in-house.
The lack of comprehensive data in government has historically contributed to poor decisions. But after taking office as premier and forming the PACT government, the group of independent MPs had agreed, as a government, that everything it would deliver would be based on the needs and wishes of Caymanians.
To do that they needed to understand the long-term aspirations of the people they serve, the drivers of change, the future trends and scenarios related to risks and opportunities.
At the start of 2023, Panton said Cayman needed to define a shared vision, establish a list of priorities for a sustainable future and decide on the kind of physical, economic and social development and at what pace. Undertaking the type of research and collecting the data envisioned in the Future Trends report was critical to that aim.
In a speech after being voted into office, Panton spoke about the widely held perception that Caymanians had failed to benefit from the rapid development and economic growth of the last decade.
Excessive physical development and a growing population have continued since, but the UPM has not made any moves to address the fundamental problems that have fuelled Caymanians’ commonly held view that their country is lost.
Local people feel they have lost control of the future of the Cayman Islands due to dwindling public access to beaches, the erosion of Seven Mile Beach, the development of luxury properties pricing local people out of the housing market, the rapid and recent population increase due to increasing low-paid labour, the failure of Caymanians to advance in the workplace, alarming traffic congestion, the continued absence of a public transport policy, a shortage of schools, and problems over access to healthcare.
See the original documents that were issued for the RFP below.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
“pricing local people out of the housing market”, you mean like by giving personal loans to people to facilitate the flipping of high value properties they can’t otherwise afford?
Direct rule by the Dart organization as they are the best at what they do.
Soon come bobo.
No, wouldn’t want facts and data to get in the way of traditional decision making.
Wayne is either totally naive or deliberately obtuse. He foisted this rabble of clowns on the country and made Ministers out of the unqualified, incompetent and downright dangerous.
Juliana, McKeeva, Jon Jon, Joey, Kenny, Kathy, Heather, David, Barbara, Issac would all be broke and jobless if not for politics. They are unfit to represent this country in any capacity. None understand anything about sustainability and planning for a better cayman in the future
Juju is the worst leader this country has ever had. Brackers are idiots for voting for her!
Morons have no clue what “planning” means!!
The bigger question is why the capability to produce this report does not already exist within the PWD – Roads division? How does PWD – Roads set its strategic objectives and priorities?
Give it a rest, Wayne’s shit stinks just as bad as the rest of them.
How’s the Standards in Public Life enactment/enforcement coming along?
Who was it that formed a goverment with a convicted woman beater and a convicted drug dealer again? Do remind us.
usual cig and civil service incompetence.
any comment mrs governor?
The Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and his protected minions that are ineffective as Chief Officers, deputies and CFO’s in multiple ministries need to be fired for their incompetence and failure to provide transparency, good governance and value for money. They are directly responsible in multiple projects for the mismanagement that costs this country hundreds of millions annually.
The country is going broke because of the madness in the civil service. They could never hold those positions in the private sector or last this long in any positions where results matter.
Spare me the sad song Wayne. You were Premier for 3 years and did nothing. and don’t use your colleagues as excuses, if you knew it was not working out, you could have simply asked the Governor to call early elections.
You are only concerned with keeping power and being Premier for your own nefarious reasons.
Ps. Has Sabrina re-paid that short term loan yet?
Not your loan or business. A private transaction between friends
Stop your foolishness and have some context: shall we start digging into all the undocumented and undeclared affairs and interests of all 19, see who comes up smelling of roses? I bet my bottom dollar WP and AE would be at the top compared to all 17 others.
“Shall we start digging into all the undocumented and undeclared affairs and interests of all 19, see who comes up smelling of roses?”
You drive a hard bargain, but find your terms acceptable. Yes we absolutely should.
We seriously need this bible bashing dictator out now!