Politics
Mac faces first challenger as Hunter declares for WBW
(CNS): Julie Hunter has officially announced her intention to run for elected office next year. The well-known West Bay community leader, one of the first people outside of parliament to declare her candidacy, will be running against McKeeva Bush in West Bay West. Hunter, who was born and raised in Northwest Point, will hope to […]
Local Christmas travellers to get $1,000 duty-free allowance
(CNS): Cayman residents travelling this Christmas will enjoy double the usual duty-free allowance on their shopping. Last week, Cabinet approved an order under the Customs Tariff Regulations to allow the temporary increase of the duty-free allowance for people returning home by air until 6 January. However, people who can’t afford to travel over Christmas and […]
UPM needs opposition to back 21 bills when parliament meets
(CNS): The beleaguered UPM minority government will be looking to the official opposition and the independent members across the aisle for support to steer through a raft of important laws next month, now that the next parliament meeting has been set. There are 21 pieces of legislation listed for the meeting, which will start on […]
OAG: Lack of overall economic plan puts Cayman at risk
(CNS): The failure of successive governments to develop an overall strategic economic plan to finish the much overdue National Development Plan or to manage the country’s population surge is putting its future at risk, the Office of the Auditor General found in a report published Thursday. Even though Cayman’s economy is strong, largely due to […]
Cayman GDP increased to 3.6% in first quarter of 2024
(CNS): Economic activity in the Cayman Islands, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) in real terms, is estimated to have increased by 3.6% in the first three months of 2024 as the country continued its road to recovery after the 2020 pandemic which decimated the tourism sector for over two years.
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 […]
Premier chaired UKOT leaders meeting ahead of JMC
(CNS): Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly is in London this week leading a local delegation for the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) meeting, where she chaired the Political Council meeting for her fellow UKOT leaders, yesterday, in preparation for the meetings with the British government tomorrow. A number of issues will be on the agenda relating […]
$135M surplus expected to fall to just $16.5M by year-end
(CNS): At the end of September, the Cayman Islands Government was sitting on a whopping surplus of $148.6 million for the entire public sector and CI$135.7 for core government, but officials have confirmed this will likely dwindle to around $16 million by the end of the year.
Bryan continues to criticise conservation battle
(CNS): The tourism minister’s criticism of efforts by public and private sector entities to protect Cayman’s environment and dismissal of the hard battle to preserve our dwindling natural resources were on display again last week at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon, where he implied that the balance is tipped too much in favour of […]
Bryan pressing ahead with referendum bill
(CNS): Now that the date for the 2025 General Election has been set for 30 April, the UPM minority government has just over three months before parliament is prorogued and the official election campaign begins, leaving them very little time to steer through the catalogue of legislation and policies the beleaguered coalition has promised voters, […]
