Government Finance
CPR: CIG cash crisis makes cruise piers even less viable
(CNS): Campaigners pushing for a ‘no’ in the upcoming cruise port referendum have said the pre-election finance report shows the country is in no position to invest in a costly cruise berthing facility. Katrina Jurn, from CPR Cayman, said that even if the Cayman Islands Government were to come up with some deal with the […]
Minority Cabinet votes extra $7.7M for police budget
(CNS): The minority UPM government added another CI$7.7 million to the RCIPS budget last month, just days before the release of the Pre-Election Economic and Financial Update from the finance ministry. Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson confirmed that this vote for the supplementary funding was taken into consideration in the report and is part of the […]
CIG spends $2.5M on Turtle Centre pump project
(CNS): The tourism ministry has signed a CI$2.56 million deal with Sanpik Contracting Cayman Ltd to implement a saltwater pipe and pump project at the Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre. The deal follows an open procurement process. The project involves the relocation of the pumping system and replacing the pipes that fill the tanks […]
UK won’t step in yet over potential FFR breach
(CNS): The results presented in the Pre-Election Economic and Financial Update for this year and next are projections only, and at this stage, the UK government will not intervene in local public finances. Responding to CNS’s request for comment on the newly forecast deficits, Greg Gibson, who heads the governor’s office, said that if there […]
New CIG faces UK takeover of public purse
(CNS): The revised prediction for public finances over the next two years, which shows a massive turnaround from a healthy forecast surplus to a deficit, not only leaves the next administration with problems funding existing spending obligations and its political agenda but the potential intervention of the UK.
PACT/UPM gave CI$12+ million waivers to hotel projects
(CNS): The development concession giveaways continued over the last administration, despite the opportunities the PACT and UPM coalition governments had to address a major concern for voters at the last election. More than CI$12 million in duty waivers was given away to three Seven Mile Beach luxury hotel and condo projects, even though they offered […]
UPM leaves next government a CI$26.2m deficit
(CNS): The departing UPM administration is leaving behind a public finance crisis for the next government. After an increase in core operational spending and a drop in expected revenue for 2025 and 2026, the minority government managed to turn what should have been a surplus of almost CI$55 million this year into a $26.2 million […]
Church and Christian NPO get $1.65M of public cash
(CNS): During its last meeting of this administration, Cabinet approved a reshuffling of public finances and some additional spending to grant money to a church and a religious charity as well as extra funds for several government projects, according to the official brief summary of the proceedings. On Tuesday, 25 February, the minority UPM government’s […]
Public to pick up $17.7M tab for failed ReGen deal
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government (CIG) has said the negotiation period for the exit agreement on the ReGen deal with the Dart Consortium expired on Friday “with several residual issues remaining unresolved”. The first of what could be more costly bills amounts to about $17.7 million, which the public purse will be paying to the […]
OAG issues warning over debt and future liabilities
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government is heading for significant fiscal challenges because of increasing public debt to cover its growing list of capital projects and the liabilities to cover the healthcare cost of retired civil servants now and in the future. In her most recent report about the sustainability of public finances, the departing auditor […]
Winspear bows out warning of unsustainable finances
(CNS): As Auditor General Sue Winspear prepares to bid farewell to Cayman this weekend after more than eight years scrutinising, but also trying to help with, public finances, she has published one of her most damning reports to date, stressing the long-term unsustainability of government spending and concerns about its ability to meet future financial […]
