Government Administration
Civil service headcount increased 4.6% in Q3 of 2023
(CNS): Alongside the unprecedented growth in work permits over the last year, the civil service headcount grew by 203 (4.6%) between September 2022 and September 2023, when it stood at 4,629, according to the Economics and Statistics Office’s latest publication. The Third Quarter Economic Report 2023 said there were 36,079 work permits during this period, […]
CIG denies cyber breach but engages consultants
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has finally issued an explanation about a cyber attack on its online systems that took place on 9 February, having issued a statement just three lines long last week following press inquiries. Officials have claimed there has been no successful compromise, but, like other governments around the world, the CIG […]
Both cranes break as port battles with aging equipment
(CNS): Both cranes at the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands on Grand Cayman failed last week, but one has now been repaired, allowing cargo operations to resume, PACI said in a release. The authority apologised to customers who experienced delays over the weekend but said that one crane was back in working order by […]
Ministry refuses release of study on proposed subsea cable
(CNS): The planning and infrastructure ministry has released some documents relating to the proposed new undersea communications cable and the recruitment of the project manager and team, as well as the basics of the CI$1.3 million contract with Cambridge Management Consultants. However, an external study, which CNS understands is the Outline Business Case, that should […]
New line-ups for immigration boards and tribunal
(CNS): Cabinet has approved the appointment of numerous new members to the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board (CSPR), the Business Staffing Plan Board (BSP), and the Immigration Appeals Tribunal (IAT). The processing of PR and status applications, in particular, has been delayed significantly because these boards barely met this year, and then their terms […]
Ministry dodges questions on sub-sea cable contracts
(CNS): The Ministry of Planning, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure (PAHI) has told CNS that answers to questions we asked about the modernisation of the submarine communications cable, a relevant report and the proposed spending for the project will all require a freedom of information request. On 22 November, the ministry issued a vague press release […]
WORC appoints two new Caymanian deputies
(CNS): Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC), one of the government’s busiest departments, has appointed two Caymanians to the leadership team. Allison Lovinggood is now the deputy director of business operations, having been formally given the responsibilities she has held since December 2022. Mervin Manderson, who has been acting as deputy director of compliance, has […]
Parliament undergoing comparative review by CPA
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Parliament is going through benchmark assessment this week with two representatives from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The review is a voluntary, comparative initiative that will enable officials here to see how the local legislature compares with others around the world, what Cayman is getting right and where it can do better, […]
New WORC system shows huge client numbers
(CNS): The rollout of a new ticketing system at Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman revealed that WORC dealt with almost 7,000 customers during the three-week soft launch last month. The new system, called Qlogik, will track service delivery times and give an overview of the customer numbers at one of the government’s busiest departments, given […]
Procedure still an issue 15 years after FOI law passed
(CNS): As Cayman marks Right To Know Day, Ombudsman Sharon Roulestone has said that last year, the number of freedom of information requests was above pre-pandemic levels after 452 were made to the government, the most in one year since 2018. As the public continues to make use of the law, managers are releasing more […]
Premier says civil service must stop growing
(CNS): Premier Wayne Panton has said the civil service headcount cannot continue to grow at the current pace and that a request for 1,100 new posts in the upcoming budget would not be fulfilled. He said there would be no job cuts in this coming spending plan and that the government finances remain solid, but […]
