ReGen exit talks to drag on as Cabinet grants extension
(CNS): The minority UPM government has extended the deadline to end the failed deal that the PPM administration entered into ahead of the 2021 elections with a Dart-led consortium to develop a waste-to-energy facility and manage the Cayman Islands’ rubbish. Last summer, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, the sustainability minister at the time, announced that the government was pulling out of what she said was an untenable deal because it was simply unaffordable.
However, Dwayne Seymour, the current minister who is supposed to be holding the reins until the elections, has now extended the closure talks for a second time.
It is understood that last summer, even before he took over sustainability ministry and while Ebanks-Wilks was still the minister, Seymour engaged in backroom talks without her knowledge. This was one of the reasons why she and three other members of the UPM resigned, leaving the administration in the minority.
Cabinet has now extended negotiations, which the government is still claiming relate to the closure of the deal. In October, it granted the first extension to close to 31 December. Now the government is allowed to continue talking with Dart until 28 February, just days before Nomination Day, the official start to the election campaign and some four years since the PPM administration signed the pre-deal deal.
“The extension grants the government and the Dart-led consortium additional time to complete the necessary legal requirements and negotiations to exit the project agreement,” officials said. However there is some indication that the goal is to keep the talks open until after the elections, allowing any new administration a chance to re-open what is believed to be a very bad deal for the Cayman people.
In a damning leaked report, the Office of the Auditor General found that the government made a shocking list of errors in relation to the agreement. The catalogue of mistakes led Auditor General Sue Winspear to conclude that the project was far from value for money.
The report showed that from the very start, the data used to shape the process was either missing, inaccurate or based on incorrect assumptions. At almost every turn, officials made mistakes or failed to make the necessary reviews, calculations and assessments to protect the public purse.
Seymour claims the extension to the closure talks will enable the government to execute the exit from the agreement efficiently.
“The government is committed to ensuring that the termination of the contract is mutually agreeable and we have already made significant progress in our ongoing negotiations,” Seymour said in a press release. “We will work diligently to find solutions that deliver a timely and beneficial exit.”
The failure of the project however puts the country’s waste management in a precarious position. As part of the deal, the previous PPM-led administration had allowed Dart to begin remediating the existing landfill — the organisation’s primary motivation for entering into a contract with government, given the proximity of the dump to its mixed-use urban development, Camana Bay.
This means that, as the population here continues to grow and the level of consumption shows no sign of a decline, the Department of Environmental Health is now at real risk of running out of space for the amount of garbage needing to be landfilled.
It will likely be many more years before the government exits this deal, re-tenders a more suitable contract and then constructs and opens any new WTE facility. In January last year, the director said that, based on the current rate of garbage being added to the George Town dump, the remaining landfill space at the George Town dump would be enough for around another four years.
This means that there is space for approximately three years of garbage left. Given the historic record on this project, this will not be long enough to complete a WTE facility, which means the Cayman Islands will need to find a new place to store its currently unsustainable level of rubbish.
The government selected the Dart-led consortium as a the preferred bidder on the proposed WTE contract in October 2017 and after seven years of talks and two administrations were unable to come to an affordable, agreement.
- Fascinated
- Happy
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- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Environmental Health, Health
…And what consequences for those incompetent “goWerment” Officials aka “#Worldclass” Cayman Islands Civil Servants?…….as usual, NOTHING. NADA. ZILCH.
IF, they were EXTREMELY unlucky, they’d be put on indefinite full paid leave (with associated full benefits), until they hit retirement age….and then they and their families continue on our, the public’s, “superannuation pay roll” until they enter the casket…….
Hence, the “wink and elbow language of delight” ‘twixt politricians, #Worldclass CICS and the oligarchy that runs Cayman, continues unbridled, unabated and unendingly …..and I for one have zero hope that the majority of the new crop who will come in after these upcoming elections, will be any better….
Einstein and the “definition of madness” and all that.
Plus ca change………
To 7:54am. Only the Governor, with the approval of the Foreign Office (UK), can change anything when it comes to civil or public servants (they are not the same thing). If you want her to change something, then write to governorsoffice.cayman@fcdo.gov.uk and lobby her to overhaul all the Public Service laws.
We voters need to learn to use our voice in the appropriate forum.
…..the brits will do nothing…..
We should build a monument of all of the disgraced politicians and put it at the top of Mt Trashmore where they all belong!
Allowing Dart to start remediation on the landfill was a mistake – it was the primary thing they wanted and anyone with a lick of sense could see that from a mile away we gave away leverage and now are going to pay them for the pleasure of increasing the value and appeal of their developments in Camana Bay and the surrounding area and having almost nothing to show for it aside from some claims about reduced risk of fires (which also primarily benefits Dart)
Another feather in the cap of the PPM
But Uncle has the Gov Ministries and Committes stacked with his peeps, with the knowledge of the World Class heroes.
How many have gone to work for him, esp from Planning?!
Term limits.
I’d love to hear from the current crop of wannabe politicians how they intend to tame the 800lb gorilla in the room that is literally trampling over everyone on this island. Time’s up! Tax Dart!
DART has never had any practical WtE experience or knowhow to sell. It is not a WtE industry participant. It is neither an NGO nor a philanthropic social enterprise. What it does have is a record of intentionally failing delivery on earlier CIG agreements via exploitive time clauses. Relying on this determined bad actor to provide insight or correct answers, compounds the earlier rounds of folly, because they also don’t know. Worse, they don’t care that they don’t know, if it means they can swindle their way to an advantage via time. That puts them among finalists for worst candidate bidder to be awarded these serious responsibilities, knowing that our CIGs struggles with deadlines. Until they honor conditions of their earlier agreements, they are not entitled to any further land gifts, and likely the opposite. Hopefully the next government will review and factor previous deal non-performance with the AG, and seek to recover previous grants of land, as well as unpaid duties that exceed the finite waiver limits. That financial and performance review is long overdue. They are owed nothing.
incompetence till the bitter end and then some more….zzzzzzzzz
i hope dart take cig to the cleaners!
any comment ppm?
any comment Mrs governor?
any comment chamber of commerce?
You hope Dart takes CIG to the cleaners… like Dart has taken other countries/territories to the cleaners? and we get to pay for it? That’s what you hope? I hope you go home soon, because anyone who calls this place home would never wish for such a fate to befall the Cayman Islands.
dart has done nothing but good for cayman….very much the exact opposite of all your elected representative in the last 30 years.
so says oooh another sucker “Dart has done nothing wrong but good”
PEOPLE LIKE 1018 PM are in line for a good horse whipping (since a cow cod might get us in jail). YOU and others of your ilk who continue to breathe the same air we do deserve to be off and out of these islands asap. You are not only fomenting bad karma, but putting these precious islands at risk of just t…..y….T.
Someone Called for MPs and ministers with an IQ above 65 : My reply :
An IQ above 65? Now that’s asking for nothing short of an evolutionary miracle!
With all the shuffling back and forth, this deal looks less like a Waste-to-Energy project and more like an Energy-to-Waste project.
It’s as if the focus is on burning resources rather than solving the problem.
But hey, maybe one day we’ll get leaders who can grasp complex issues and actually solve them, rather than just stumble through photo ops and buzzwords.
A tall order, I know—but one can only dream !
You don’t select and announce a contractor until a contract has been negotiated and signed. You lose all leverage the way this was done. They really need to bring in some professionals that actually know how to negotiate to this level and have extensive experience in contract and project negotiations. If you’re going to play with the big boys you gotta bring in the big “guns”.
Historically, CIG has not been sufficiently aware of their handicap to appreciate how outclassed they are. Vanity and ego lead the way, with Seymour holding the torch as the key “most stupid” ingredient from 2021.
Are you implying Honorable Seymour has no idea what he is doing?
𝐓𝐨 𝟒:𝟏𝟎𝐩𝐦 — 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮!
𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐏𝐬 𝐭𝐨 “𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞” 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐏𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬; 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.
District Committees?
To 8:30 am: Of course! The problem is that people expect the MPs to set the DCs. That expectation is flawed. This works upwards. People form the DCs, pass on their concerns and recommendations up to the MP who then escalates those to Cabinet/Parliament. That is why the DCs have not been formed. People are waiting for MPs to the job, when it is the people’s job.
A concerned citizen enters the Cayman Pet Shop, located at 33 fort street,where an apathetic shopkeeper greets them.
Citizen: “Excuse me, but this government policy you sold me? It’s dead.”
Shopkeeper: “No, no, it’s not dead! It’s just… resting.”
Citizen: “Resting? Resting?! The National Conservation Act has been gutted, oversight’s gone, and the environmental plans have as much life as this so-called policy! Look, mate, I know a dead parrot when I see one! and I am looking at one, right now !”
Shopkeeper: “No, no, it’s alive! See, it’s just pining for a… new era of ‘development.’”
Citizen: “Pining? Pining?! The only thing this policy is pining for is a burial plot next to Cayman’s integrity!”
The citizen lifts the limp policy and flops it onto the counter.
Citizen: “This isn’t an act of governance—it’s a sham, a farce! It’s ceased to be!
It’s expired and gone to meet its maker! It’s a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in pieces, it has joined the choir invisible, If you hadn’t nailed it to the perch of corruption, it’d be pushing up the daisies! THIS. IS. A. DEAD. POLICY!”
Shopkeeper: “Fine, fine. I’ll replace it with… uh… a bright shiny road project!”
Citizen: “Ah, brilliant. A billion-dollar boondoggle that leads nowhere.
You’re not just flogging dead parrots now, mate—you’re selling the whole blasted aviary!”
The Dump is Cayman’s Alamo!
30storey buildings promoted by Mac.
100,000 people and still breeding.
Child rapists out walking free.
Feral uneducated children, from South Sound to Dog City.
Debt chokehold on workers.
Serfs n Emperors!
Here is an idea to help cope with all infrastructure issues including roads, dump, schools, police, hospitals, prison space…
Control who gets to come and live here and control how long they can stay!
There has been a PR and CI Status Board since 2008. There is also a department called WORC that is supposed to regulate grant of initial and subsequent work permits, employer hiring ratios, supervise the training and upgrading of Caymanian hires, their placements, the minimum wage, and majority Caymanian control/ownership of businesses. That none of those essential functions satisfy Caymanians, is a Caymanian problem, not an Expat problem.
I work on WTE projects and the timeline is typically 5-7 years from site identification, design and construction to full operational status. So basically we are no further ahead than we were a decade ago except for the height of Mt Trashmore.
How about you identify yourself to The DoE. Then your expertise could maybe be used to assist to get the project moving. Either this one or a new one.
Cayman hosts all kinds of professional skill sets, including sensible economists, pragmatic consultants, high stakes negotiators, and various subject matter experts in sophisticated specialty fields, but their input is never sought because our school leaver MPs know everything there is to know.
I am happy to help, but a firm I am associated with was involved in a prior bid and I would not go through that process again. The political will does not exist to do what is in the best interest of Caymanians.
In Cayman timeline it means 10 to 15 years ! Maybe the poster wants to keep a sliver of sanity before undertaking such a project !
Look at the time spent dealing with red tape to build a house and prove me wrong . I certainly have receipts of that we live in a place where time and red tape are so prevalent they bend the space time continuum with ever increasing fervor !
I work on WTE and the timeline is typically 9-12 years from site identification, design and construction to full operational status. The real question here is: why are both of us lying about our careers on the internet?
Instead of saying that they are talking/negotiating with Dart, they should just be honest and say they are doing whatever Dart tells them to do. We all know who is the true boss and it sure as hell is not Seymour and O’Connor-Connolly.
We might expect the following Forward Looking Statements: whoever wins Bodden Town will be eager to accept the district bribe to relocate the landfill there. Not coincidentally, it’ll emerge that the dump relocation is also the anchoring purpose of the East-West Arterial highway. DART will readily burn the trash regardless of airborne cancers, poisoned reefs, and $0.40 per kWh electricity rates. DART will take a lb of flesh at each transaction level, if it can: a fee to collect trash, to sort it, to build and manage a cost and safety corner-cutting upwind incinerator, to sell that power to CUC at an inflated rate, and CUC will be told to buy it by a corrupt OfReg as part of a dirty renewable CIG agreement good for 30 years, and renewed every 30 thereafter. CUC will raise it’s dividend. All the Lodge members get paid. The nuisance of pollution regulations (particularly handling of slag/fly-ash and scrubbers), and consumer protection laws will continue to be shunned. Many of Cayman’s consumers will have to seriously rethink whether they can afford to live in Cayman, with the new costs (not counting the billions in costs for the road and incinerator). Cruise shippers and mariners will be able to identify Cayman from 20 or 30 miles away from the smoke stack and Westward blowing carcinogenic soot trail. All of these are part the exciting future that this minority government wants to keep hope alive for.
OMG!
Time to elect some competent ministers, people!
Define *competent*
Let’s just start with persons with an IQ over 65 and see how we go.
Comment on CNS about the dump deal well more about the lack of an adoptable plan :
Well, we do need MPs whose integrity and intellectual horsepower surpass the limitations of speaking in tongues during lockdowns, do have pattern recognition capability past the one of chickens finding a cutlery or whose commitment to the betterment of the island doesn’t melt like ice cream under the mid day sun in July as soon as elected !
I know it’s a high bar , but one can only hope !
What are the qualities of competence for ministers? I wish we, the people would have some type of consensus on this. We often wait for elections, with little time and ambition to assess candidates, then elect based on various short-termed criteria or personality.
The grandparent eligibility requirement in the Election Law filters almost all of those out.
How? They aren’t eligible.
there are none.
the best in cayman society cannot be elected.
welcome to wonderland.
Minister Seymour’s backroom dealings reek of corruption and incompetence. Instead of solving Cayman’s waste crisis, he’s burying us deeper in a landfill of bad decisions. Time to take out the political trash.
Seven years, two administrations, and countless extensions. This ‘waste-to-energy’ project is ironically the perfect metaphor: a lot of heat, plenty of rubbish, and absolutely no progress. Cayman deserves better than a landfill of broken promises.
Joke Joke negotiating with his sponsors is a horrible idea for this country
If Franz & Eric is leading the negotiations with DART on behalf of government this will be another expensive disaster for Cayman as they give away even more to DART than what the UDP & PPM did over the last 20 years!
They both want cushy jobs after there retirement from Government.
Uncle dart owns the UPM and PPM
Juju and joke joke need to go utterly useless and for sale from day one.
Name one positive thing they have each done as a Minister over the last 4 years?