Archive for February, 2025

CPR calls for full transparency ahead of cruise vote

CPR calls for full transparency ahead of cruise vote

| 07/02/2025 | 16 Comments

(CNS): The leading campaign group advocating for a ‘no’ vote in the upcoming referendum on cruise berthing facilities is calling for full transparency on the issue ahead of the referendum so voters have access to the critical data needed to make an informed decision. To date, the government has failed to disclose any details of […]

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Bryan increases welfare payments on last day in House

Bryan increases welfare payments on last day in House

| 07/02/2025 | 48 Comments

(CNS): People receiving long-term financial assistance from the Cayman Islands Government, ex gratia pensions or seafarers and veterans benefits will see an increase of CI$250 per month, as the CIG has upped the monthly payments to CI$1,500. Kenneth Bryan, who took on the social development ministry last October, said it was the subject of a […]

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Sir Alden exits parliament with a warning

Sir Alden exits parliament with a warning

| 07/02/2025

(CNS): After 25 years representing the people of George Town and Red Bay, Speaker Sir Alden McLaughlin said Thursday that he was leaving politics satisfied he had finally achieved the last element of Cayman’s constitutional reform, referring to a motion to modernise Standing Orders (the rule book governing parliamentary procedures and conventions) that was supported […]

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Poinciana could be adapted to house criminally insane

Poinciana could be adapted to house criminally insane

| 07/02/2025 | 22 Comments

(CNS): The government is considering how it can adapt the recently opened Poinciana Rehabilitation Centre to house the criminally insane. The centre was not designed to detain individuals who are a danger to society because of their illness. But with nowhere else to house people found not guilty of violent crimes by reason of insanity […]

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Supermarket drops plastic bags but no sign of wider ban

Supermarket drops plastic bags but no sign of wider ban

| 07/02/2025 | 51 Comments

(CNS): More than seven months after the government’s last indication that it was still working on a single-use plastic ban, first raised by the then PPM coalition some seven years ago, Foster’s Supermarket has made a decision to get rid of plastic bags from all its stores and is selling reusable bags at 25¢ instead. […]

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Ruling shows NCC needs power to challenge poor decisions

Ruling shows NCC needs power to challenge poor decisions

| 06/02/2025 | 41 Comments

CNS): The Grand Court has again demonstrated why the National Conservation Council needs to retain its ability to challenge unlawful decisions made by government entities in relation to the National Conservation Act in the courts. On Wednesday, the court delivered its ruling in the judicial review brought by the NCC against a decision by the […]

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UPM still pursuing forced acquisition of GT beach land

UPM still pursuing forced acquisition of GT beach land

| 06/02/2025 | 78 Comments

(CNS): The minority UPM administration is proving to be less of an actual lame duck, despite having lost its majority and mandate to govern. The Cayman Islands Government has revealed it is continuing to pursue a compulsory acquisition of a small piece of beachfront land in George Town known as Red Spot. Speaking in parliament […]

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Lack of referendum financing rules creates free-for-all

Lack of referendum financing rules creates free-for-all

| 06/02/2025

(CNS): Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell has confirmed there are no rules in the Referendum Law to prevent anyone from anywhere spending unlimited money to promote any side of the three questions that will be put to voters on 30 April. Deputy Premier Kenneth Bryan successfully steered the bill through the House on Wednesday, which means […]

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Referendum bill passes 13-5 after PPM backs minority UPM

Referendum bill passes 13-5 after PPM backs minority UPM

| 06/02/2025

(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan successfully steered through the bill for a government referendum to take place on Election Day, 30 April, after he secured the support of the official opposition. All five members of the Progressives and independent opposition MP Chris Saunders voted ‘yes’, while all five members of TCCP gave the bill a […]

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Revised immigration law must be ‘grounded in realities’

Revised immigration law must be ‘grounded in realities’

| 05/02/2025 | 92 Comments

(CNS): The public consultation on the draft discussion paper outlining the changes the UPM minority administration wants to make to the current immigration law is open. However, the document is already being criticised for its significant inadequacies and the obvious problems some of the proposed changes will create without solving the existing fundamental flaws in […]

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US military choppers fly into ORIA for fuel stop

US military choppers fly into ORIA for fuel stop

| 05/02/2025 | 16 Comments

(CNS): Video of three American military helicopters coming into land at Owen Roberts International Airport on Monday was circulated on social media, raising the question of what they were doing here. According to local government officials, the three choppers are from the Joint Task Force-Bravo and stayed on the island overnight to refuel.

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