Bid opened on $150 million loan for UPM projects
(CNS): The finance ministry has issued a request for proposals (RFP) from financial institutions for a CI$150 million loan facility. The borrowing was approved in the 2024/25 budget and is to cover the shortfall between the current UPM government’s anticipated surplus and its growing bill for capital projects. A government press release said the money would be used for school building projects, roads, Cayman Airways, district infrastructure, the prison, and land purchases.
The bid was opened and posted on the government’s procurement site last week and is open until 18 October. The government has approved borrowings of up to CI$150 million during the current budget cycle. The plan is to spend $27 million in the latter part of this year and the rest next. The UPM plans to spend $172 million in 2024/25 on capital projects and equity injections, but with a surplus of just $43 million, it needs to borrow to bridge the gap.
The 2024/25 Budget documents show where the money will be spent, including almost CI$66 million on the continued expansion and construction of schools. Another $26.5 million will be spent this year and next on roads, while CI$20.4 million will be spent on parks, district upgrades, civic centres, jetties and other infrastructure and development.
Cayman Airways will receive over $21 million to keep it flying, $15 million will go to the National Housing and Development Trust for building affordable homes, and $11.6 million will be spent on the prison. The CIG has budgeted $17 million to buy more land this year and next for beach access and conservation or to protect it from development.
Despite public concerns about government borrowing, Premier and Finance Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has said the money will not be used to run the government but for specific projects. In last year’s budget address, she said the borrowing was in full compliance with the Principles of Responsible Financial Management as prescribed by the Public Management and Finance Act (PMFA) and those specified in the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR).
She said that even with this additional CI$150 million loan, Cayman’s debt-to-GDP ratio will still be under 10%, making it one of the best ratios in the world. At the end of August, the public debt stood at CI$424.4 million.
The RFP for the loan is to help the CIG secure the best possible price and to promote competition in the market. The government is expected to incur more than CI$100,000 in interest and other fees. The Procurement Act requires the public tendering of this loan facility.
See the RFP on the CIG procurement site.
See the 2024/25 budget documents here.
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Category: Government Finance, Politics
I would actually be cheaper to fly the Brac kids over to Grand Cayman each day for school, then it would to build this unnecessary school.
More debt for your children and grandchildren.
Yes boi. Pump 21 million 88th Cayman airways to keep the flag in the sky at all costs to the country. Let the prison facility rot and fall around you all while you keep your people in sub human conditions. Yeah boi
Subhuman criminals get what they deserve.
We’re paying to feed and house people who contribute nothing but grief and social disorder, don’t expect any tears from me.
Just pray you don’t end up there then bobo
The UPM/PACK Government members rating out of 10
Bernie 0.0
Saunders 0.3
heather 2.0
Mac 4.0
Kenneth 4.2
Jay 4.4
Seymour 5.0
Sabrina 5.0
Issac 5.6
Wayne 7
Andre 8
Julie 8.5. Anyone that keep this bunch together is worthy of a high score
Andre is the only MP in the Chamber above a 3, and even he might only be a 6 or 7.
Forgot Kathy and no one noticed. I would give her the same score as Bernie.
More accurate scores:
Bernie 0.0
Saunders -10
Heather 5
Mac -15
Kenneth -5
Jay -8
Seymour -10
Sabrina 5
Issac 0.0
Wayne 7
Andre 7
Kathy 5
Julie -12
How ironic. Cayman has a huge love-hate relationship with a hugely successful Venture Capitalist (Drum roll… Ken Dart) (ruthless, but nothing wrong; has won court cases upholding his tactics; shrewd and thinks long-term). So Cayman is floating requests to get financing for a 150 million loan. This will not go well, we’ve seen this show before (i.e. Greece, Argentina).
Belize and Brasil can be added.
Vulture, not venture.
My bad – you are correct.
TAX FREE CI Treasury Bonds
Instead of borrowing Loans, why don’t we offer TAX FREE CI Treasury Bonds
https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/09/two-more-questions-to-be-added-to-2025-referendum/
With the Cayman Islands Moodys Triple A Rating, why doesn’t the Cayman Islands issue an IPO Initial Public Offering TAX FREE Cayman Islands Digital Treasury Infrastructure Development Bond Certificates on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange and deposit the money invested from investors in the Cayman Islands Treasury Bonds in the Cayman Islands Development Bank to encourage cheaper long term debt or mortgages with lower interest rates for locals to be able to afford an Affordable Home,
https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/09/deadline-looms-for-voters-to-make-new-year-register/
These TAX FREE Cayman Islands Treasury Bonds could pay Quarterly Interest or Dividends at 5% and attract Quarterly Interest Earned at 8%
CI Treasury Bonds Interest/Dividends Paid
10 Yeay Treasury Certificates 2.00%
20 Year Treasury Certificates 3.00%
30 Year Treasury Certificates 4.00%
40 Year Treasury Certificates 5.00%
Cayman Development Bank Auto & Home Mortgage APR Interest Earned
10 Yeay Mortgage 8.00%
20 Year Mortgage 8.00%
30 Year Mortgage 8.00%
40 Year Mortgage 8.00%
And use the funds invested in our Cayman Islands Treasury Bonds or loaned to our government over a longer term to build a proper Coast Guard, Cadet Core and Regiment Stations.
Add bigger and better new Police Stations in each district, expand the Turtle Center to start farming Lobster, Shrimp, Snappers and Parrott Fish and pay our Cadet Core, Coast Guard and Regiment Members a decent wage
Purchase larger and better Ocean Patrol Coast Guard Boats for our Coast Guard to properly patrol our oceans and purchase smaller Patrol Vessels for Customs & Border Control to patrol our shorelines
This would certainly create lots of long term law enforcement employment and long term sustainable Aquatic Fishery Farming employment at our Turtle Center
If you spoke to every local mortgage lender to recount tales of customers being quoted astonishingly low rates by their bank.
You wouldn’t guess there’s a rate war based on what’s being advertised.
For example,
The local banks are only paying Interest Rates on Savings Accounts around 1.25% to 1.75% per annum the last time i checked and if you survey every local lender at the moment, the average conventional published mortgage rate charged on a twenty five-year fixed mortgage is 12%.
At Barclays Bank, someone securing this five-year fix interest rate on a £200,000 mortgage could expect to pay £1,024 a month for the first five years if they are repaying a mortgage over a 25-year term.
However, the Barclays Bank Fixed Mortgage 3.71% per cent interest rate comes with a £899 banking product fee.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-13889833/Barclays-cuts-mortgage-rates-Lender-cheapest-five-year-fix.html
And the reason our local Home Mortgage Interest Rates are so high, at 12%, is because our Bankers Association allows our local banks to charge 8% above the Prime Interest Rates or the Interest Rates that the UK, the US and Canada charge, to cover a guaranteed Operational Cost like Rent, Wages, Pensions and Health Insurance etc….. as well as to earn a gurantee Corporate Profit
Prime Interest Rate 3.71 %
Local Banks Interest Mark-up + 8.00%
Local Mortgage Interest Rate = 12.71%
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sees Housing Cost Coming down
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/yellen-sees-us-housing-costs-coming-down-enabling-2-inflation
So why aren’t our leaders being financially prudent and forward thinking responsible to introduce a Long Term Cayman Islands Treasury Bond to encourage our locals to build and purchase more affordable homes with a Lower Fixed Mortgage Rates
https://www.google.com/search?q=google+mortgage+calculator&oq=google+mortgage+calculator&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTE0OTQwajBqN6gCALACAA&client=ms-android-samsung-gj-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
You can do the math for yourself
In early January, Mexico, Indonesia, and several other developing economies easily raised more than $50 billion from bond investors.
https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/silent-debt-crisis-engulfing-developing-economies-weak-credit-ratings
If we decide to issue TAX FREE CI Treasury Bonds through our local CI Stock Exchange and deposit the proceeds of income earned at our CI Development Bank
Those Funds could be re-invested into or purchase US Treasury Bonds for the Cayman Islands Government to have a Guaranteed Fixed QUuarterly Dividend Income to pay those who invest in the TAX FREE CI Treasury Bonds
TAX FREE CI Treasury Bond Benefits:
• New Administrative Job Creation
• New Local Investment Job Opportunities
• New Local Stock Exchange Job Opportunities
• Increase New Foriegn Businesses to the Island
In-addition to that, with the Global Taxation prevailing and taking shape with the support of many countries in favor of paying a Global 15% TAx in the country where they do business, may increase and spark a vast amount of interest of Foriegn Businesses to Invest in opening an office branch or locate there head offices in the Cayman Islands to benefit from the None Corporate Taxes the Cayman Islands do not charge or offer
Venture capitalists are waiting – NEXT DOOR! CIG is running out the line and will be reeled in as spent bait! All the above garbage comments will be sent out with the old fish tails. Nice chatting with ya all.
Vulture not venture.
Do you have anything else to contribute other than spell check???
All bonds are “TAX FREE”. Any tax owed on shore is due on the income or gain of the owner, not specific to the bond.
Except, the territory of Cayman does not have good credit, or even its own. The rating agency scores are illusory, lent from the backstopping parent, the United Kingdom, who are (for the moment) ultimately responsible for paying and honouring our loan book with their full faith and credit. The problem is, they are being lied to brazenly about the state of our territorial Balance Sheet, by our corrupt backwater politicians. If the truth were properly understood, Cayman would immediately fall out of compliance with Framework for Fiscal Responsibility and the relationship would unravel. Without the UK, Cayman’s credit review would reveal deep accountability/ reliability fractures, and the finishing grades would be similar to other sub-investment grade jurisdictions that have previously lied – all of which carrying much much higher interest expense/servicing obligations. Concurrently, the Financial Sector would redomicile, leaving the people of the Cayman Islands with no productive mechanism to pay it all back on time. This is the comeuppance that Cayman’s leadership have proudly set us on course for. It’s scary that our island of CAs and CFAs don’t join Winspear in warning about the dire state of public accounts.
I would take shorts on that bond in a heartbeat if it happens this debt would bf issued publicly, CIG should address its unfunded liabilities first lest we want to see the KYD become as valuable as the JMD in a heartbeat !
As of this moment there aren’t any provisions to address the issue and that will greatly impact the future of Cayman as a financial services center, as previously stated the FS industry has voted with their feet out of the Bahamas in the late 1990’s never to return, don’t think the same thing can’t happen to us as well !
Some family offices are already considering the move and it won’t be long before others follow suit IMHO! I have seen this happen in the late 90’s to the early 00’s and left the country in the lurch ! Our jingoistic elites, woefully inadequate leadership and asleep at the wheel successive governors contributed to the situation!
For those wanting to see the parallels:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingoism#:~:text=Jingoism%20is%20nationalism%20in%20the,perceives%20as%20its%20national%20interests.
The KYD is not floating. It is fixed to the USD. It cannot become worthless, unless the USD becomes worthless.
lol. It’s fixed until it isn’t.
You know nothing!
The world’s press reporters will revel in the financial irony that Cayman, as a financial center of professional accountants and number crunchers, faces a sudden death by fiscal omission authored by Ken Jefferson and Cayman’s recycled political elite. The undeclared liabilities, which are unavoidable legal responsibilities and financial commitments, stand at minimum 200% of GDP. There’s only one vulture capitalist willing to take on this lopsided bet, so long as there is a control package of default receivables, knowing the very likely odds on that outcome. Recognize the smell of what is stewing, Cayman.
Just don’t mention the KYD$2+ Bln that has been improperly suppressed from the liabilities column…shhhh.
How much of the $150mil loan will be spent to help SMB?
Hopefully none!
Yup. Better to spend it on walls instead.
Fix the dump!
Damn it!
I’ll look forward to reading about this on CNS in a couple of years as the latest ACC or Financial Crime investigation for fraud and corruption.
Well we know those investigations will go absolutely nowhere ! 😂 😂 😂 😂
If you eliminate JuJu’s school and the workers building that comes before it, you could save $57.5m or so before cost overruns.
This place kills me.
absolutely not, no government should be permitted to borrow ANY money when in the last 8 months of its term.
CIG has flittered away its budget with nothing to show for it but a mountain of debt and failed projects.
NO!
No government should hide $2 billion from the Balance Sheet without prison time.
A new Prison…$150M..?
Unbelievable waste of money that will not generate ANY income, and put a very heavy ongoing financial burden on us with Salaries, maintenance, utilities bills, insurances, food costs and so on.
A cruise pier , like it or not, will at least generate some return.
A cruise pier will generate some return? Maybe like the Turtle Farm generates some return. Get real. The loan payments will far exceed the income generated and require massive subsidies from CIG. For decades!
I’m not favoring piers, just making a point about a $150M prison which will only gift us a massive debt and ongoing increasing costs with NEVER a hope of any ROI.
Read the article. It doesn’t say 150m for the prison.
The cost of the new prison is not being publicized, it is however under way with consultants appointed working on it…the prison expense from the $150M loan is for fees being incurred.
Forever, not decades.
scary…..
Keep asking….
How many recommendations of the miller-shaw or ernst & young reports have been implemented?
They still shuffling around the Rejects from the issues back then, like the ballet dancing around the OffReg
The Millet-Shaw report was a devest everything approach. Under it we would paying rent for the Government Admin Building, probably to Dart. We’re still paying rent for commercial buildings but not for everything. Report may have had some good ideas but wholesale adoption would have been a huge mistake in my opinion and it is now out of out of date. Suggest its time to stop the Miller Shaw mantra.
They are so not in this world where people including Cayman are struggling!
This not the ‘rich’ Cayman it used to be except for some and needs to be brought into nearly 2025.
Was Bushy granted his utilities payment schedule?
How much he been paid still?
That would save some money to be put to better use, not their ‘projects’!
‘A government press release said the money would be used for school building projects, roads, Cayman Airways, district infrastructure, the prison, and land purchases.’
‘At the end of August, the public debt stood at CI$424.4 million.’
No comnent on that female’s comment.
Spend $5M upgrading Nortward at approx 50% of just the consultants fees for an unnecessary new one.
Borrowing money that we and our children and our grandchildren will have to repay trying to buy our votes – outrageous business as usual for this bunch
It’s OK folks.. at least our prisoners will be very comfortable a well fed….better than most not in prison.
Tell everyone that you have never stepped foot in Northward without saying you have never stepped foot inside Northward. If you did, you and anyone else who thinks a new prison isn’t needed would feel very different – I can absolutely guarantee that!
It is an affront to the human rights of everyone who lives and works there. It is not fit to support the work needed to assist the rehabilitation of those who have caused so much harm to others. It’s unfair on the wider community that this disgrace of a facility is representative of how many some want other people to be treated, regardless of their status.
The place is a national embarrassment, and quite rightly, has been the subject of international criticism. It was condemned in 2012 as unfit for human habitation and, in 2015 was still considered as a national blight by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Oh, and just to clarify, prisons are very expensive to build, is not like constructing a condo for goodness sake.
It’s a prison ffs… part of the deterrent to criminals.
Give them a holiday camp and fear of incarceration vanishes.
Deterrence is the loss of freedom, not in being held in conditions that are sub human. Treating people like caged animals will only negatively influence their future criminality.
Just look at those models of incarceration around the world (in Scandinavia and Netherlands) where prisons are humane, well designed, safe and productive in terms of rehabilitation outcomes.
If you think any Prison is a holiday resort then you have never experienced one.
It’s Spending over $150. Million on a facility for criminals that would be a National fiscal Disaster , which our great grandchildren will still be paying for.
Take a few million of the consultants fees and upgrade in phases.
It would also be a disaster should there not be a new prison. What price continuing to patch up buildings that are crumbling? What price the fact that serious and dangerous offenders have to be held overseas, because Northward is not secure enough to hold them (as we do just now with likely eye watering month on month costs)? What price a mass breakout and the devastation that would have on community safety and victim Safeguarding? What price on future generations if much needed facilities to enable multi agency working which supports and deliver rehabilitation of offenders and encourages desistance from crime? It would be ultimately more expensive not to replace the existing prisons.
Whatever the spending priorities are for CIG, none should be more important than replacing Northward and Fairbanks. It may not be electorally sexy, but to ignore it is to accept that Cayman is happy to defy international standards for penal establishments and welcomes the future disaster that will inevitably follow.
You’re obviously one of the consultants in line for the millions, yes Millions, in fees which could be spent on upgrades.
You couldn’t be more wrong. If you had said that I have been a victim of serious crime, you would have been correct.
Don’t make assumptions about me because I have a different opinion to you. I live and work in Cayman, and have done for many years, I am invested in having a safe place to bring up my children – treating people, who may be in prison for any number of reasons, like animals will not help that. I say that as someone who was subject to serious harm by a man who is still in a Northward.
If I was to make an assumption about you on the basis of your remarks I would be asking you which part of North Korea are you from…….. I will resist that temptation though.
Well said, ain’t that the truth!
There should absolutely be no new spending or other significant government initiatives within months of an election. WTF … somebody please help!
Why Cayman airways need the money? They should support themselves like other airlines.
Cayman doesn’t NEED the money, our uneducated unemployable politicians WANT the money.
That is the reason most carribbean countries dont have an airline,Mr.Dave,you need Govt.to subsidies them,if not,they will fail..Thats the nature of the airline business..
But, but …they were giving cash away, literally! 😡
I see the ‘Super American Circus’ has arrived. Hope all relevant work permits are in place which seems kind of redundant considering the ‘super’ local talent we already have here in the CIG .. 🎪🤡🤹🏻♀️
Election season money hose.
Progress in Cayman is measured not by results but by national debt.
Never in the history of public administration has so little been achieved with so much.
Airport in Little Cayman and Hospital in Cayman Brac could use some upgrades too.
Little needs a cruise berthing facility.
NO. It does NOT. It needs nothing other than continued supplies. It is the ONE remaining pure thing in all these islands, and people like YOU want to screw it up.
also the arrival area at rhe Airport on the Brac need to be at least twice the size
The continued arrogance and lack of prudential oversight is astounding!!
Just because the government is within the 10% debt to GDP ratio does not mean that this ratio can continue to be met! It is predicated that government will continue to receive existing revenues. When businesses increase revenue, they also need to hold cash for a rainy day, inflation, increased cost of doing business etc.
Why does NHDT need another $15million??? If they built the 40 homes in North Side that are selling for an average of $175K ie 40 multiplied by $175K is $7 million and NHDT already received quite a bit of money already but I need to research what was approved in the budget. Sounds like mismanagement to me and cost overruns.
Alot of this money earmarked does not help with inflation and cost of living. It is their re-election war chest.
Someone’s friends and family need some contracts. That simple.
The CIG gravy train continues at all of our expenses.
This regime continues to underwrite Ken Jefferson’s conspiracy to conceal KYD$2,000,000,000+ from the liabilities column of the CIG Balance Sheet. Our Debt to GDP ratio is closer to 2:1, 200%, not 10%. An international headline comeuppance approaches the Cayman Islands. We can’t afford to borrow any money.
just The new Resort prison planned for Northward is going to use all the $150M and more..$Millions in fees alone being kept very
very quiet..
It’s underway now and consultants enjoying proceeds.
Why they never just ask Wayne? He’s in the business apparently.
Lols.
I ask a simple question “Name one thing this government has to show for all of their wild spending?” There is nothing. Is it any coincidence that this amount is exactly the same number that Juju gave the public for the new Brac School. Being against that school was the nail in Wayne’s coffin, everyone knows she will do what it takes to rid the Brac of Laymen E Scott and erect the new Julianna O’Connor Connolly named school, with all the same bells and whistles as the new JGHS and CIS. In her words “it will be better than both those schools”
So all that for 148 students and 20 teachers. She is determined to get shovels in the ground before the election.
You forgot to mention the massive pay increases that they gave themselves plus the $100,000 SUVs for ‘official business’ like driving into heavy equipment late at night…. there are many similar things that THEY have to show for spending our money.
A Wishing Well, what more do you need!
😂😂🤑🤑
Forget the referendum and that’s only 148.5M
Remember this on Election Day!!
If only we had choices.
Isn’t that the sad thing. Kenny or not Kenny. But that isn’t an option. It isn’t an option for any of them. What if 60% of us didn’t vote at all?
yea,most of them needs to go.Replace the 2 in the Brac..Bt west,all of Gt..Red bay and prospect,Mac and Bernie in the west Jay,Cathy,Andre,Johnjohn& Issac,Wayne and Heather I willing to give unna a second round.
John John, what are u smoking ? or are u living under a rock ?, the donkey full moon man running into light pools and excavators at night and didn’t even have to take breath test, are u crazy ?
jo Jon yeck. what a bunch of fool voters we have