Business
ACT presses for referendum without consultation on bill
(CNS): The Association for Cruise Tourism (ACT) is calling for the government to bring the referendum bill on the question of cruise berthing to parliament next month without any public consultation. The lobby group that represents a small number of merchants who rely on cruise passengers to sell their wares want the national vote to […]
Sun chair rental business pops up on Boggy Sand Beach
(CNS): Rows of sun loungers and beach umbrellas for visitors to rent reappeared on Boggy Sand Beach this week. The spot located on Mary Mollie Hydes Road, behind the West Bay Four Winds gas station, is private land and was the site of a controversial pop-up beach rental business in the past. When chairs appeared […]
Offshore bills raising fees open for last public input
(CNS): A dozen amendment bills to implement the UPM government’s additional revenue-raising measures from the offshore sector and a bill to implement Phase 2 of the regulatory framework for virtual asset services in the Cayman Islands have now been published in the Gazette. These bills are now open for the last round of public consultation […]
Saunders calls for tax on foreign-owned property
(CNS): Chris Saunders, the independent opposition MP for Bodden Town West, has filed a private member’s motion asking the government to create a Healthcare Protection Fund through an annual fee of 2% on real estate properties owned by foreigners. In a video message on social media, Saunders and UPM backbench MP McKeeva Bush, who is […]
Government helps Brac farmers in the wake of Rafael
(CNS): The Department of Agriculture has helped over fifteen farmers on Cayman Brac following the destruction of crops and the loss of trees during Tropical Storm Rafael. According to a DoA release, the support was primarily technical, supplied by the DoA team dispatched to the Brac, which included the crop extension officer, lead arborist, and […]
Communications outage resolved ahead of storm
(CNS): OfReg said that all communications services were restored at around 2:30am on Tuesday after an issue that mainly impacted Flow and Digicel’s business customers. The regulator said it was now awaiting the final outage resolution reports, which are expected within 14 days from the date of resolution, when a “thorough review to assess the […]
Polluters dump toxic waste fuel near water supply
(CNS): In recent months, there has been an increase in toxic waste oil and fuel being dumped close to the Water Authority supply lines in and around its meter boxes. This poses a significant risk to the public water supply system, officials said, as they warned these polluters that hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel, motor […]
Business community jittery over government crisis
(CNS): Despite reassurances from former deputy premier André Ebanks and Governor Jane Owen that the government is still functioning as normal after three Cabinet ministers and a parliamentary secretary resigned from the UPM government on Thursday morning, the business community has reacted with concern. The Chamber of Commerce said the resignations amounted to a “seismic […]
Loss-making Turtle Centre seeks to increase appeal
(CNS): As the Cayman Turtle Centre in West Bay continues to lose millions of dollars every year, the beleaguered tourist attraction is looking for marketing experts to elevate its appeal, revamp the entire product, overhaul the website and help it make money, including encouraging donations. According to documents on the procurement website, the CTC is […]
CREA welcomes ‘long overdue’ increased solar rate
(CNS): James Whittaker, the president of the Cayman Renewable Energy Association (CREA), has welcomed the recent changes made to CUC’s Consumer Owned Renewable Energy (CORE) programme after OfReg announced the rate paid by CUC to domestic renewable energy producers would increase. He said the long overdue improvement had been eagerly anticipated but disputed CUC’s claims […]
OfReg blames CUC for stifling solar with low CORE rates
(CNS): The utility regulator has approved new rates and capacity brackets to increase the number of people on Grand Cayman taking up renewable energy generation options. OfReg said CUC’s Consumer Owned Renewable Energy (CORE) programme rates have stifled the adoption of green energy in Cayman and have done nothing to advance sustainability goals in the […]
